"Mary Beth Abella typifies North Denver music scene" by Justin Case Perkins North Denver News November 9 edition Every Monday night the musicians of North Denver and beyond religiously crawl from their basements to express themselves at the Meade Street Station's open mic night, affectionately known as 'Guitar Church'. Tuesday night, a similar phenomenon occurs a few doors down at The Common Grounds Coffee shop. For some musicians, twenty minutes a week is enough to satisfy the rock star dream. For others, these open mic nights are the training grounds for a full-blown music career. Regardless of whether you are Joe Schmoe or the next Jimi Hendrix, there will always be a warm welcome and a smile from Tony Padilla while he plugs in your guitar at the Meade Street. And if you are nice, Michael Tucker, the host at Common Grounds, just might hand you a copy of his cd 'Big Love.' Between the two establishments lies the crossroads of 32nd Avenue and Lowell Boulevard, the epicenter of Highlands and a growing community of the young and hip. And within the demographic which revolves around this hub of hipness, musicians abound. Each month, I will dig deeper into North Denver's secret stash of musicians and seek to expose the talent and hipness that lurks within our midst. Our first victims live just down the street-the Abella kids, Mary Beth and John. Mary Beth Abella and her brother John caught my attention one night last summer at Meade Street Station. On any given Monday night you will see a hodge-podge of abilities perform in one two-hour sitting, but it is clear when professionals walk on stage. Mary Beth's voice is smooth and sexy. Her songs have alluring melodies, the comforting sound of the singer-songwriter in the coffee shop, and a rocking edge that will appeal to your suppressed angst, teenage or otherwise. She can lure you in with the beauty of it when you're not paying attention and then she'll punch you with a blunt lyric when you are. To quote local music critic Maris the Great,'...the best thing about Mary Beth Abella may be just that she isn't afraid to make accessible, commercial sounding rock and roll with the dirt still under her fingernails.' Brother John will make you take notice with his nimble and melodic guitar shredding. And then, out of nowhere he will sing the blues with a powerful voice that could not possibly come from his body-it defies physics. He definitely has the blues, and enough soul and grit in his music to make a blues man have the blues all over again. Then he'll walk off stage and be one of the most cheery and energetic guys you'll ever meet, in a surly kind of way. To sum them up, the Abella kids are both like mango-chile ice cream-they and their music are both smooth and sweet, yet oh so spicy. Mary Beth has been playing music in the Denver scene since 1990 and has most recently started to get the recognition she deserves. Playing original music in Denver can be a difficult path, but through hard work, perseverance, honesty and talent, Mary Beth has carved out her niche as a leading female musician in the Colorado scene. She is also an activist for social change, especially in behalf of women. Recently, Mary Beth spearheaded Colorado Women in Music (CWIM), an organization in collaboration with the Colorado Music Association destined 'to propel the local women's music community into national consciousness.' John Abella has taken time off from his life as a gypsy guitar man to help his sister record and produce her debut album 'What Happened to the Girls?' in their home studio just down the street from the Meade Street Station. John has played guitar for about twenty years, and the album features a tasty glimpse of his skills and his musical depth as a producer and arranger. Despite the normal sibling rivalry stuff, the Abellas seem to have discovered a musical relationship that takes Mary Beth's music to a deeper level beyond your run of the mill standard coffee shop girl singer. These are two of the hardest working musicians in town. They love what they do, tell it like it is, and seem to have a rockin' good time along the way-when they don't have the blues, of course.....