Those within a mile radius of the Bluebird Theatre last Thursday night probably heard—rather, felt—the explosive country-rock debut of up and coming local band Birch Street. The band, featuring DU’s very own second-year audio recording and production major Cooper Leith on drums, transformed the Bluebird’s modest theatre into an arena-sized spectacle of blazing rock-n-roll energy with a dash of country twang—all of it in celebration of the April 3 release of their self-titled debut album.
For Cooper Leith, this band is a culmination of a long passion for music. When he was 11 years old, he first discovered his interest in the drums.
“My younger brother started playing the guitar, and every time we went to his lessons there was a worn down little drum set in the corner that I’d go hit when he was taking lessons,” says Leith. He convinced his parents to let him take drum lessons, and just like that, a star was born.
Leith kept up his lessons during middle school and high school, picking up the guitar and piano along the way. When he decided to make his music more than a hobby, he transferred to the Denver School of the Arts in 10th grade to focus on his craft. His dedication to music led him to audition for the Audio Recording and Production program at DU.
Through his drum lessons, Leith eventually found his way into Birch Street. Lead vocalist Jake Langenhorst and bassist Chad Macht were friends from high school and not long after graduation, they decided to put together a band—but they were short a few key members.
“Our bassist took lessons where I took lessons. They asked my drum teacher if he had any students who would be interested and he gave them my number,” said Leith.
About six months later, they found keyboardist Sheldon Slater, another high school buddy of Langenhorst and Macht, who brought with him guitarist Andy Burns. They named the band after the street Langenhorst and Macht lived on, Birch Way.
“But that doesn’t sound as catchy as Birch Street does it?” Leith posits.
Birch Street got their first big break during a global Battle of the Bands event at the Hard Rock Café downtown last year. This exposure led them to meeting their manager, Ryan Clarke. According to Leith, the show was electric.
“There [were] 300 people in this tiny little room and the energy from the crowd was unreal,” he says. “[And] we beat out 500 other local bands to claim the title of Colorado’s Hard Rock Rising winner.”
After the competition, Birch Street gained enough support to fund their first album through Kickstarter.
“It took about a year to get enough material to record it, and then it was about 14 vigorous days in the studio playing,” explains Leith. “[And that was followed by] nearly a year of waiting as the studio worked on it.” In the meantime, Leith taught himself how to use Adobe Photoshop and worked hard to create a distinct look and brand for Birch Street—he even designed the album cover.
The self-titled album was released on iTunes the night of the concert, April 3. At the show, the band played most of the songs from their album, and their dedicated family, friends and fans were already singing along. The packed audience was full of people of all ages—everyone from their grandparents to nieces and nephews to best buddies to new fans showed up in support. The love was palpable in the room, and the energy from the crowd never dwindled.
Beginning with their blazing, all-out rock anthem, “Ride,” and continuing all the way through their encore performance of “Take Me Home,” Birch Street was firing on all cylinders. Even the quieter, tender songs, like “Live for These Moments” (written by Leith) or the stripped-down ballad “Down the Line,” maintained the full attention of the otherwise rambunctious crowd. They also displayed their versatility, delivering a sexy, funk-fused cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” about halfway through a perfect set list of country-rock showstoppers. Perhaps the highlight of the night was their catchy and cool song, “Devil’s Lettuce,” a love-letter to Colorado’s recent legalization of marijuana.
Looking forward, the band wants to share their music with as many people as possible.
“We have people at MTV listening to the album, a tour manager of several famous country bands is listening to it, many local stations are planning on playing [our songs],” says Leith. “Music for a living is what we strive for.”
Check out Birch Street at facebook.com/birchst. Their album is available now on iTunes.
