Manalive

Certainly not to be confused with the bluegrass band Man Alive (the one with the two words separated), though both ensembles released recordings in the same year, 2001, Manalive could be the country band's doppelgänger with songs that are short, explosive bursts of anger with a driving intensity. The Denver, CO trio (they were all born and continue to reside there) features drummer Brooks Miller, bassist/vocalist Charles VonRosenberg, and vocalist/guitarist Mike Neff. They started out as friends in high school and formed Manalive, recording their debut 7" single after three months of being a musical entity. Their eight-song self-released CD titled Robotic Youth soon followed. After issuing Heart, Hands and Mind independently (to be picked up later by Universal Warning Records), VonRosenberg moved to Paris for a year; Bryce McPherson filled in on bass for a tour of the midwest. Upon VonRosenberg's return they recorded the Roots, Rock, Rebel album. The band has toured over a half a dozen times before going on hiatus and has featured Justin Bradford on second guitar and Tyler Griswald on drums when Miller was unavailable. They list their styles as "raging up-tempo punk to semi-ska and hardcore dashed with waves of melody" and have shared bills with American Steel, Leftover Crack, and Planes Mistaken for Stars. Manalive has played probably a couple of hundred shows in Denver and another hundred or so on their tours of the East and West coasts, as well as in the South. Key gigs include The Paradox in Seattle with Zao, Gilman St. in Berkeley with Babyland, The Spot with Alkaline Trio and The Gothic with Dillinger Four. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide