The story of how four guys and an accidental boxing match became one of the Front Range's most reliably great live bands.
Andy Howard, Johnny Lasker, and Tim Keegan first met in a Mexican boxing ring. They weren't there to fight — it was more about moshing than pugilism. What matters is that Howard and Lasker ended up in the CU dorms together that fall, and what started as a late-night shared playlist turned into a band called Claimjumper.
Keegan stayed close even as life scattered them. When their friends started getting married, one version or another of the trio played the reception. It was almost impossible to get married in their circle without one of them handing you a corsage and firing up a setlist. When the last wedding cake was eaten and everyone had settled down, Lasker moved back to Colorado and the band officially came back together.
They added powerhouse drummer Mark Lacis — whose groove locks the whole thing together — and became Ultralowfi: four musicians who'd spent years learning what people actually want to hear on a Friday night, and how to deliver it.
Andy (a.k.a. Hammer) handles lead vocals and rhythm guitar. Johnny and Tim both move fluidly between guitar and bass, trading roles depending on the song. Mark holds it all down from behind the kit. The result is a band that plays like it has nothing to prove, because it doesn't.
The frontman and founder. Andy (known to friends as Hammer) is the voice and energy center of the band — the one who learned every song you've ever loved and figured out how to make a room feel it. Co-founder of Claimjumper and the thread that runs through every version of this band.
Johnny can play the bass line and the guitar solo of the same song and make you wish he'd do both at once. A co-founder of Claimjumper and one of the architects of the Ultralowfi sound, he's the kind of musician other musicians watch when they think no one's looking.
The third original, who was there from the boxing ring and stuck around through every wedding, reunion, and late-night rehearsal. Tim's versatility — moving between guitar and bass as the song demands — is what gives the band its range. He plays what the song needs, not what the instrument usually does.
The powerhouse. Mark joined the band and immediately raised everyone's game. His drumming is the reason the band can go from George Michael to Metallica in the same set and have both feel inevitable. He also sings, which remains slightly unfair.
Over a decade on the Front Range, we've played everything from intimate brewery taprooms to outdoor festival stages. Here's a partial list.