Pulling off the perfect concert
Formula 151 to debut CD at Community Concert Hall

The members of Formula 151, from left, Jason Uhl, Pete Pheteplace, Katherine Tischhauser, David Mensch and Richard White, pose for a photo in downtown Durango on Friday. The band will be releasing its first CD, "Down on the Beaten Road," this Friday during a performance at the Community Concert Hall at FLC./Photo by Todd Newcomer.

by Todd Thompson

David Mensch has a vision of the perfect concert. There is a lush tapestry of music and a complex mood. The sound is excellent, the lighting is profound, and there is a story, an amazing story, delivered in powerful cadences and rich vocal depth. The people are attentive and responsive. This vision does not take place in a bar.

When Mensch started pulling together the main players of Formula 151 two years ago, he could sense the band had something special. When they started recording a CD with some additional performers last year, he could tell it was going to be a great production. When it was time to plan the CD release party for the band's new release, "Down on the Beaten Road," he knew it wasn't going to be easy. "There aren't a lot of great venues in Durango if you want a real performance space," says Mensch. "We've enjoyed playing in the bars and it's great we at least have that, but I felt like Formula 151 deserved a real performance to debut our CD. We want to show people that we're more than just a bar band. We are committed to this music and to our vision." After protracted negotiations with the Abbey Theatre didn't work out, Mensch decided to take a chance and rent the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College. The Community Concert Hall does not often feature local bands, especially of the rock and pop genres, but Gary Penington, concert hall director, says he was glad to rent out the hall to provide a venue for the show.

Mensch has been playing music his entire life, but he has always been most interested in lyrics and song structure. He has an admitted fondness for good old pop music which comes out in his own compositions. Some of his songs play out like a five act play, some follow the verse-chorus formula, and a few wander like lucid dreams. Mensch's catchy hooks rival the best pop music, but the lyrics make the songs worth listening to again and again. There are nuanced tales of tenderness, bravado, fragile love and impish flirtation. The stories are sometimes nervous with genuine despair and sometimes unflappable with determined hopefulness.

Mensch has had an interesting music career. He has, perhaps miraculously, opened for Kansas, .38 Special, The Lovin' Spoonfuls, Badfinger, Dan Fogelberg, Tanya Tucker and Charlie Daniels. He has also headlined in various combos at nearly every venue in the region. With that kind of experience, it wasn't difficult for him to assemble the perfect cast of characters to fulfill his vision of the perfect concert. A few of the band members are well known local session musicians and instructors. The others are sort of hidden gems that were persuaded to join Formula 151 for the quality of the material. Katherine Tischhauser is of the latter group. She started playing cello at age 11 and has been classically trained at some of the most prestigious musical institutions in the country. She graduated from Florida State University with a doctorate of music in cello performance, which opened the door for her to tour with several renowned classical orchestras. As associate professor of music at Fort Lewis College, she teaches cello and bass. She is a member of the college's Red Shoe Piano Trio, which performs locally and across the Southwest. Tischhauser joined Formula 151 last November. "This is a different side of me that not everyone knows about," says Tischhauser. "It's an unusual ensemble and a different type of music for a cello, but we seem to complement each other pretty well." Jason Uhl started playing percussion when he was 14 years old. He studied under the former drummer of the Chuck Mangione Band but is largely self-taught. In concert, he is often seen banging on a box with a hole in it, the traditional Caribbean cajon. He also gets on the rock drum kit and has been known to go at it fairly vigorously. Uhl provides much of the sonic texture in the music, with tribal instruments such as the wind whistle and chimes. He helped found Formula 151 in 2001.

Singer David Mensch flexes his lung capacity during rehearsal at Katzin Music last week./Photo by Todd Newcomer.

Mensch has had an interesting music career. He has, perhaps miraculously, opened for Kansas, .38 Special, The Lovin' Spoonfuls, Badfinger, Dan Fogelberg, Tanya Tucker and Charlie Daniels. He has also headlined in various combos at nearly every venue in the region. With that kind of experience, it wasn't difficult for him to assemble the perfect cast of characters to fulfill his vision of the perfect concert. A few of the band members are well known local session musicians and instructors. The others are sort of hidden gems that were persuaded to join Formula 151 for the quality of the material. Katherine Tischhauser is of the latter group. She started playing cello at age 11 and has been classically trained at some of the most prestigious musical institutions in the country. She graduated from Florida State University with a doctorate of music in cello performance, which opened the door for her to tour with several renowned classical orchestras. As associate professor of music at Fort Lewis College, she teaches cello and bass. She is a member of the college's Red Shoe Piano Trio, which performs locally and across the Southwest. Tischhauser joined Formula 151 last November. "This is a different side of me that not everyone knows about," says Tischhauser. "It's an unusual ensemble and a different type of music for a cello, but we seem to complement each other pretty well." Jason Uhl started playing percussion when he was 14 years old. He studied under the former drummer of the Chuck Mangione Band but is largely self-taught. In concert, he is often seen banging on a box with a hole in it, the traditional Caribbean cajon. He also gets on the rock drum kit and has been known to go at it fairly vigorously. Uhl provides much of the sonic texture in the music, with tribal instruments such as the wind whistle and chimes. He helped found Formula 151 in 2001.

Richard White started playing guitar when he was nine, favoring bluegrass from an early age and adding banjo and mandolin to his repertoire. As his playing progressed, he switched back to rock, metal and classical styles on the guitar in high school, paving the way for an education at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. A veteran of several local bands, White joined Mensch and Uhl last year. He has taught privately, in college, and in grades K-12. He currently teaches students of all ages at Katzin Music.

Peter Pheteplace has been playing music since he first took piano lessons at age seven. As he grew older, he switched to acoustic and electric guitar. A graduate of Fort Lewis College with a bachelor's degree in music performance, he has become a top jazz guitarist, winning Best Soloist honors at the Reno Jazz Festival in 2002 and 2004. He also plays bass and was invited to fill that hole in the F151 lineup last November. Pheteplace teaches at Katzin Music and is the frontman for the Frank Trio.

The members of Formula 151 rehearse at Katzin Music prior to their Friday night performance at Fort Lewis College./Photo by Todd Newcomer.

Jeff Wise is the manager for F151. He is optimistic about the prospects for the band. "I think Formula 151 is the premiere up and coming band in the Four Corners," he says. "They've got a unique sound, but it's also familiar. They've got charged lyrics and a great range of personalities. It really captures your attention."

He says their biggest challenge is the economics of the music recording industry. "Never Now Records is a small company," he says. "Durango is a small town. The hardest thing is getting the music past the industry directly to the people to hear. That's what we want to do with this show."