By Bill Forman
Last Word Features

In a music world marked by fleeting trends, one-hit wonders and ever-changing band lineups, Big Head Todd & The Monsters are a model of consistency and stability.

With nearly 40 years under their belt, the Colorado-based band has proven its staying power with a steady stream of albums, a touring schedule that now numbers more than 1,000 shows and a timeless sound that mixes rock with shadings of soul, blues and country.

Big Head Todd & The Monsters will perform Saturday at The Broadmoor.

“We consider ourselves a rock and roll band, which means that we borrow from a lot of different types of music and traditions,” front man Todd Park Mohr said of the group that’s maintained the same core lineup — Mohr on vocals and guitar, Rob Squires on bass and Brian Nevin on drums — since the beginning. In 2003, the band welcomed keyboardist Jeremy Lawton, who is still called “the new guy,” expanding its sound while maintaining the chemistry that has defined its music for decades.

And while the group has spent significant amounts of time on the jam-band festival circuit, its current album, “Her Way Out,” is a concise and catchy collection of rock tunes that suggests early Tom Petty more than the Grateful Dead.

Mohr’s musical journey began with piano and saxophone before he found his true calling with the guitar. His playing was influenced by great blues guitarists such as Albert King, B.B. King, and Albert Collins, as well as Stevie Ray Vaughan, whom he says had a huge impact on his generation of players.

“I got to see him twice and meet him once,” Mohr said with fanboy-like enthusiasm.
Mohr’s songwriting, meanwhile, leans more toward story telling than personal sentiments.

“I’m not a writer who emotes about myself,” he said. “I just love writing from the particular point of view of a real person who’s trapped in a real situation, where there’s a clear story to be told and I do the best I can to tell it.”

That sort of story telling will come alive whenever Big Head Todd & The Monsters hit the stage in Colorado Springs, and its current tour promises the kind of high-energy, soulful performances that have become the band’s hallmark.

“We know a lot of songs,” Mohr said, “and we’re good entertainers.”

IF YOU GO

What: Broadmoor Sessions featuring Big Head Todd & The Monsters

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Where: The Broadmoor, 1 Lake Ave.

Price: Contact reservations at 855-634-7711