Not Quite Alright

Expect to take a a music journey across the universe of new wave, power pop, alternative and hits from every decade from the late 1970s to today. The band infuses energy into the crowd and enjoys seeing the surprised look on everyone's faces when we take a left turn from The Cure to Cheap Trick.

We generally play 45 minute sets, but we're happy to work with you about the flow of your event and connect the right songs at the right time.

NQA -- Colorado Springs' Alternative Rock Powerhouse!

Not Quite Alright is an alternative rock band based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Our cover song selection is eclectic, focused on nostalgic hits from the past as well as alternative rock songs that are currently on the charts. We tend to play songs not too many other bands cover, giving us a unique place in the music scene.

The band hails from a diverse background, with decades of training and live playing experience. Here's a rundown of our members:

CHARLIE
LEAD VOCALS/GUITAR
Charlie was born in a little town in Alabama and moved to Colorado Springs when he was a young boy. His mother is a country singer and multi-instrumentalist, so his musical addictions began at a young age. Charlie started playing cello is school, but he always wanted to rock. He soon switched to saxophone and played in the marching and jazz bands in school. When he joined the Navy at 18, the saxophone was too loud for his neighbors, so he switched to electric guitar and has been playing guitar ever since. He began singing at a very early age with his mother and was soon singing in church choirs. Most of his vocal training came from singing in chamber choir in high school. He has been singing in various rock bands since 1996.

JUSTIN
KEYS/SYNTH/BACKING VOCALS
Justin is a member. Of. The. Band. The other members don’t really know what Justin does, but they put him behind keyboards to look important. Luckily, the keyboards are pre-programed so no one worries about the absolute disgrace Justin makes of himself as the band plays. Prior to joining Not Quite Alright, Justin provided therapy to assorted domesticated rodents. (Seriously, he's a classically trained pianist.)

JOHN
BASS
Join me as we hop on the way back machine, to the land of LPs and 8-tracks, Shag carpet and Van runs, Saturday morning cartoons and Star Wars movies where the worst that could be said about them was that they had Ewoks. While I didn’t have a musically capable family, I was fortunate enough to have parents that were into music that would set me on my path; KISS, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Devo, Hendrix, ZZ Top, Boston, etc. I also didn’t have any older siblings to leech music from, but my best friend had an older sister who was neck deep in all things hard rock and heavy metal. He played a cassette of hers for me, Iron Maiden’s Piece of Mind, specifically the track Die with Your Boots On. He was chuckling at the title, something a couple of 12 yr olds didn’t understand, but I was focused on trying to keep my head from exploding. Fast forward a week or so and I got my hands on one of the best live albums ever across any genre, Live After Death. As soon as I finished watching it, all I knew was I wanted to do whatever that guy in the black and white striped spandex pants was doing. Turns out, that was playing bass. I dove heard first into all the appropriate rock and metal, developing a deep appreciation for the holy trinity, Steve Harris, Geezer Butler and Geddy Lee. Then something weird happened. Or so I thought. After talking with plenty of bassists over the years, it turns out it ain’t so weird. It happens to us all. I started to like disco and funk. To quote the kids these days, “It’s all about that bass”. Ain’t that the truth. I’ve now been playing bass for over 35yrs, and have been in a mix of cover, tribute and original bands. Cover bands have usually fallen in the category of 80s-00s rock, and the 2 original projects I was a part of are at opposite ends of the spectrum, pop-rock and death metal. The tribute band should be obvious at this point, I got to take it all the way back to the beginning and pretend I’m Steve Harris in an Iron Maiden tribute band. From the angsty teen combing through liner notes for deeper meaning in all the lyrics, to spending significant amounts of my paycheck on music gear or concert tickets, a habit that continues without letting up still today, I’m still that 12yr old kid trying to keep music from melting my face too badly. Just a few (ok, a lot) more gray hairs, and a whole lot more back pain.

BARRY
DRUMS/BACKING VOCALS
Barry went drum crazy at age 10, playing along with Kiss, Kansas and Heart vinyl records. Then he heard Rush’s Permanent Waves album ... and his life changed. Since his first high school band at 13, Barry has studied and played classic rock, hard rock, progressive, progressive metal, blues and many other styles of music with many fabulous musicians, mostly on his 1980s Gretsch maple drums but now also on his pioneering custom electronic drum set that can make any sound. A talented guitarist and vocalist as well, he also has written, recorded and produced two albums at the legendary South Florida L7 studios. One, Trail Dust, was accepted for performance at South by Southwest (SxSW).

Each venue should have ample power of at least 15-30 amps on at least one but ideally more than one circuit. We bring all sound reinforcement (PA) equipment, in addition to our musical instruments and accessories, although we're happy to use a venue's permanent PA system and lighting. Let us know if you need more than basic lighting or if your event facility is larger than 300-500 person capacity so that we can plan bring additional speaker cabinets. In terms of stage size, the drums need about an 8' x 10' area or greater, while the rest of the band needs 5'x7' each, plus some walking around space. That said, we can flex to fit on a smaller stage, but this may limit our equipment and ability to play certain songs.