Wheelchair Sports Camp has spent years establishing a reputation as "Denver's biggest smallest band" through live shows, EPs and singles that blend Kalyn Heffernan's rap lyrics with rock, jazz and even country instruments. Their music has won them fans like rapper Sage Francis and landed them on the cover of The Village Voice.
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This month the band released their debut studio album, "No Big Deal." They worked with keyboardist and producer Isaiah "Ikey" Owens on the album shortly before his death in 2014 while on tour with Jack White.
Wheelchair Sports Camp returned to our CPR Performance Studio this month to perform some music from the album. They also spoke with Alisha Sweeney about working with the late Owens, signing to Sage Francis' Strange Famous label and getting "roasted" by comedian Jeff Ross at South By Southwest in Austin, Texas.
Stream the session and watch Wheelchair Sports Camp perform "Mary Had A Little Band" above. Read interview highlights and watch more video below.
Heffernan on working with Owens:
"It was just such a humbling honor to be in the studio with him. And he just, like, scrapped apart all my beats and just stripped them to nothing.
"He just spoke the language of music to everybody. He was able to talk to everybody about their instruments in their language."
Heffernan on being roasted by Ross at a live show:
"He was like legitimately asking for disabled people and, of course, I'm the only visibly disabled person in the audience. And so the Rubedo dudes are elbowing me like: 'C'mon, c'mon.'...
"They carried me up onstage, and turns out being roasted is just signing up to lose a rap battle. It was fun. I could take it for sure. I like to make fun of myself just as hard as he made fun of me."
Songs performed:
- "Mary Had A Little Band"
- "Teeth"
- "Take Stairs In Case Of Fire"
- "Hindsight"
"Teeth"
"Take Stairs In Case Of Fire"
"Hindsight"
