Colorado hotshots, Big Head Todd and the Monsters recently released the album Riviera, and are already working on the next release. The band will be performing at Red Rocks on Saturday.

Drummer Brian Nevin took some time out of working with lead vocalist and guitarist Todd Park Mohr and bassist Rob Squires to have a little chat about himself, the band and what the future looks like for BHTM.

Elliot Parks: You guys are just about to start your tour, but you are also working on a new album, how is that coming along?

Brian Nevin: It’s coming along great. You get in this mind set and every once in a while you come up for air and realize that the world is going on without you. That is where we are at and it is going to be a great record.

EP: How did the three of you meet?

BN: Well the three of us went to high school together. I was in a rock band with Rob and the school jazz band with Todd over at Columbine High School. Then in college the three of us were roommates and decided to put a band together and drop out of school.

EP: At what point in your career did you realize that you could make a living creating music?

BN: Probably with the success of Sister Sweetly (the band’s third album released in 1993). Up ’till then it was just something fun to do.

EP: So did the success of Sister Sweetly surprise you at all?

BN: Yeah, it did because I knew they were great songs on the record, but we had worked so hard before and so we didn’t know if we would ever break through.

EP: You will be playing at Red Rocks on May 17, what do you think of that venue for a concert?

BN: It is one of the best in the country. For one thing, it is a natural amphitheatre, and it is small in size compared to other amphitheatres, but still large. It also has a great history, made famous by U2 playing there.

EP: The album Riviera was your first studio release in four years; would you say that this was a difficult album to make?

BN: No, it was a really easy record to make because we were back to being an independent band. It was a joy just being the three of us there in the studio without record execs breathing down your neck. There were easily 15 songs that didn’t make it that are just as good as what is on there. That is why we are releasing a new album so soon.

EP: If you could meet any musician, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

BN: Um…boy, obviously I have to pick just one.

EP: You can pick two if you have to.

BN: I would think Miles Davis for sure. There is nobody cooler than Miles Davis. And Bob Dylan; that guy is a freak. I would love to hang with him. He is a genius.

EP: What is your impression of the hit show “American Idol?”

BN: I know of it and I saw a bit of it two days ago, but other than that I don’t watch it. What I saw was a boy and a girl, she was good, he was not. I think those shows are really entertaining and I see why people watch them. They are a lot more constructive than some of the stuff on TV and the other options kids have. The judges are obnoxious and annoying. Other than that, those kinds of shows are great.

EP: Ok, one last question. What CD is in your CD player right now?

BN: Well, I was just listening to The Best of Anita Baker. I listen to everything though. Right now I am in this female R&B phase.