Colorado band Tenth Mountain Division is pushing the sound found in the mountains in bold new directions with their high-energy and exploratory take on Americana, draws influences from classic Southern rock, the progressive bluegrass that was born in their backyard, and the adventurous spirit of 60s psychedelic.
After a soaring 2019 which saw the band travel from coast-to-coast playing their biggest shows to date including Summer Camp, WinterWonderGrass, ARISE, and Yarmony, they took the plunge back into the studio at the turn of the year. With Producer Tim Carbone (of Railroad Earth), the band recorded their third studio album with engineer Todd Divel at Silo Sound Studio, recently dubbed the ‘Abbey Road of Denver’ [Westword].
The band’s mandolinist, Winston Heuga says, “It’s been hard to know the best way to adapt to this new culture and keep our momentum moving. Just before the shutdown, we completed a Kickstarter for the new album and were lucky enough to have 358 backers pledge $38,765 to help bring this project to life. We’re very fortunate to be in a position to keep creating and get music to our fans."
Tenth Mountain Division is excited to start releasing this new music with an animated video for their new single “9 to 5.” Watch the World Premiere of “9 to 5” now at DittyTV → https://dittytv.com/world-premiere-video-9-to-5-by-tenth-mountain-division.
“9 to 5” was penned by the band’s bassist Andrew Cooney who says, “This song is about trusting yourself to take the path you feel is right. The first verse lays out what could be, and the second draws the final straw that leads to the solution in the chorus, ‘going home another way.’ It’s a somber, yet uplifting song that makes you ask if you are really following your heart.”
"TMD's music video for their new single, "9-5", directed by Chase Allen Taylor, takes the viewer through a flowing mosaic of animated, interwoven tableau vivant,” says the band’s guitarist MJ Ouimette, “We travel as if 'with' the song through wraparound backgrounds reminiscent of the Flintstones, subbing Bedrock for psychedelic cartoon landscapes and subterranean pho factories and the foot-powered Rubstone Special for a rendering of the band's beloved short-bus-tour-bus, Dorothy. The thread unifying the piece is the animation's reaction to the track's sound wave, sometimes gently as in during pianist Campbell Thomas light-as-a-feather solo and others dramatically to vocalist/songwriter Andrew Cooney's inviting yet poignant vocals. An audiovisual treat for the modern aesthete."
“9 to 5” is the first single of their upcoming third album [Release date TBA], and a follow up to 2018’s In Good Company which Live for Live Music declared was, “chock full of raw rock and roll, with a savory listening experience guaranteed for all.”
Marquee Magazine writes, “...the group’s electro-acoustic sound… gives unapologetic nods to the jam gods that have come before them… Tenth Mountain Division takes some Widespread Panic inspired jams, and meshes them with Leftover Salmon-styled arrangements, and couples that with a hell-bent love for classic rock, soul, and pub sing-alongs.”
Tenth Mountain Division formed in 2010 when high-school classmates, Winston Heuga (mandolin) and MJ Ouimette (guitar) first met when they discovered a shared musical interest. The two young musicians started penning songs together that were inspired by the natural beauty that surrounded their hometown in the Rocky Mountains and the lore of the 10th Mountain Division military infantry (The WWII pioneers of mountain combat who founded Vail, CO and many other ski areas across the country.) They ended up at the University Colorado Boulder where they briefly played as an acoustic trio with upright bassist, Connor Dunn before meeting drummer Tyler Gwynn and keyboardist Campbell Thomas. The addition of drums and keys to Heuga and Ouimette’s deep musical bond, widened their musical palette, taking the band in new directions and pointing to bold, uncharted, musical horizons. They released their first album, Cracks in the Sky, in 2016 and followed it up with a national tour that saw them packing shows across the country. The band’s lineup was solidified soon after with the addition of Andrew Cooney and immediate success followed. Since then they have become a regular presence on the festival circuit including stops at Summer Camp, Aiken Bluegrass Festival, Winter Wondergrass, Yarmony, ARISE, and Leftover Salmon’s Boogie at the Broadmoor. They released their second album, In Good Company, in 2018.
