Before Braille Performs Saturday at Aggie - Anna Maria Basquez - Fort Collins Coloradoan With voices that meld like Stoke 9 and intentions like the Foo Fighters, Before Braille, comes to Fort Collins. "I wouldn't say we're too different from Smashing Pumpkins or Foo Fighters, but in our own way," says Hans Ringer, guitarist and back-up vocalist for Before Braille. Before Braille brings its melodically edgy, dynamic alternative rock to the Aggie on Saturday, opening for the Accidental Superheroes. Before Braille is a brand of rock out of Mesa, Ariz., where the scene of music is, "a mostly independent underground, punk kind of scene," Ringer said. "There are lots of good bands that are springing up not just out of Mesa, but out of Tempe and Phoenix," he said. "There's lots of good indie rock. When I went to high school, people usually went to high school basketball games. Nowadays, more people go to rock shows here than to high school events." Before Braille emerges out of the same "Mesa Rock" indie scene in Arizona- often called "480 area core" - that launched fellow East Valley compatriots Jimmy Eat World to fame. But it's a music scene that generally doesn't have a lot of record label support, with few bands selling CDs at shows. Before Braille has it with Aezra Records behind its debut album "The Rumor," and BMG distributing it. A featured band at such events as Mesapalooza, Before Braille has extended its spring 2003 domestic tour that launched in February and the group is returning to Fort Collins. "We have the opportunity and label support to do it," said Ringer. The group's lead single "Twenty Four Minus Eighteen" propelled the band to having the No. 1 most added single at college radio stations last fall and premiered on the Top 5 on Alternative Specialty radio when it first appeared on the group's promo album a year ago. The second single, "A Cinema Spine" was released on alternative radio in January. "People around the station were getting tired of me singing 'A Cinema Spine' all the time," said Jeremy Pritchard, program director of KFSD in San Diego. "Now, they're singing it as well!" Before Braille was formed by a tight group of high school friends, delivering alternative rock for nearly three years. Tracks to listen for: "The Spanish Dagger," "A Cinema Spine" and "Goodnight Quiet Noise." back to the Press page