'We'll give them a high-energy rock show'

By GARY DEMUTH

For 20 years, the Colorado-based rock band Big Head Todd and the Monsters has rocked to their own inner beat.

They're actually a rock band in the broadest sense -- influences of folk, blues, country, rhythm and blues, soul contemporary pop, indie, hard rock and alternative can be heard in their eclectic recordings.

When writing songs for the band, singer/guitarist/songwriter Todd Park Mohr follows just one rule: Never write the same song twice.

"I've always resisted being labeled," Mohr said. "I've always wanted to push the envelope for myself and for the band. It makes us difficult to market, but I think it's why our fans love us."

Big Head Todd and the Monsters will be in concert July 14 at the Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts, 151 S. Santa Fe.

The band was formed in the mid-1980s by Mohr, bassist Rob Squires and drummer Brian Nevin while the trio were students at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. That same lineup has stayed together for 20 years, with the exception of keyboardist and steel guitarist Jeremy Lawton, who joined the band about three years ago.

"We have a great partnership and friendship because we all love what we do," Mohr said.

Early musical influences for Mohr primarily consisted of such rhythm and blues legends as Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin. The band's name was inspired by a blues artist named Eddie "Clean Head" Vincent, Mohr said.

During the past 20 years, the band has managed to amass a fanatical fan base, something Mohr and the band don't take for granted.

"I definitely wouldn't have a career without them," Mohr said.

The band is known for spending hours signing autographs after every show and hosting intimate outings with fans that include cruises to the British Virgin Islands and Hawaii on four-masted clipper ships.

The band also has launched a podcast, "Big Head Toddcast," that allows an Internet audience to download free music and talk in a chat room.

"It's just another way opportunity to get closer to our fans," Mohr said.

Salinan Tom Gates has been a fan since 1993, when the band released their biggest commercial hit, "Sister Sweetly." The album spawned three top 10 hits, including the number one hit "Bittersweet."

"It was a great album, with riffs that you couldn't get out of your head," said Gates, a residential remodeler who is a co-sponsor of the concert.

Gates said that while the band reminds him of Blues Traveler and The Spin Doctors, they have a sound of their own.

"If you've never heard their music, you'll walk away from this concert in disbelief, wondering why you've never heard of this band," he said.

Mohr said that what keeps the band's live concerts exciting is their unpredictability.

"We never play the same set twice," he said. "With eight studio releases, we have an active song list of about 120 songs. We also take requests and play what the audience wants to hear."

One of the band's biggest strengths is Mohr's songwriting, said Dr. Bill Kossow, medical director of the rehabilitation center at Salina Regional Health Center and co-sponsor of the concert with Gates.

"He writes great lyrics, in the tradition of (Bruce) Springsteen and (Bob) Dylan," Kossow said. "But the blues feeling that comes out of the songs is what really attracts me."

Mohr said he is looking forward to playing in Kansas, where he has family members living in Emporia.

"We'll give them a high energy rock show," he said.