By Nicholas Merl
When asked what concertgoers at Denver’s Bar 404 could expect from Linda from Work, guitarist Elliott Gregory put it simply: “Rock’n’Roll baby. Loud, fast, and a lot of movement.”
Taking to the stage alongside fellow rock band No Fauna, Linda from Work delivered just that. With merciless guitar riffs, hard-hitting drums and powerful vocals, Linda from Work came together as an explosive, high-energy act, defying Denver’s post-St. Patrick’s day torpor.
Playing from across their discography, Linda from Work kept the audience’s adrenaline high and raw with deliciously irreverent performances of their songs like “Tell Me I’m Good” and “Moon Sign.” They also included a selection from their most recent album, 2023’s The Night is Short, including the raw beat of “Paralyzed” and their fast-paced opening act, “Wasting all my time.” They even brought some nostalgia to the evening, with a standout, almost punky cover of Bryan Adams’ “We’re in Heaven.”
Off stage, the band’s four members are much less frenetic than their music. Starting in 2018 as a collaboration between lead singer Hillary Tusick and drummer Sam Nowak, with Gregory and bassist Shayla Riday joining later.
Photo by Alyssa Chavez
“We had played in some other bands, but we were looking to start something of our own.” Tusick said. “Kind of just started writing to see what came of it, started putting the name together, and about two years ago, Elliott joined the band on guitar, and a year ago almost exactly Shayla joined.”
According to Tusick, the name “Linda from Work” is a tongue-in-cheek reference to a difficult colleague.
“I mean everyone has that coworker where they’re not a horrible person, you’re not wishing they were dead or anything but they’re just the most annoying person on the planet for you,” Tusick said.
“Yeah, like Linda, I only have one thirty minute lunch today, we don’t need to talk about your cats for the whole time,” Nowak added.
The name serves as a neat tie-in to the band’s own lives and experiences. In the years since, they’ve certainly come far. Nowak recalled their first album, 2019’s “Two Weeks Notice” being “recorded and mixed in four-and-a-half days on a thousand dollar budget,” adding, “That first album is basically live takes.” In the years since, Linda from Work have not only upped the sophistication, but also solidified as a group.
”I feel like we’ve really learned best how to work really well together,” Tusick said.
Gregory agreed.
“It’s been really easy to make it all work because we mesh so well together. It was kind of an instant click when I joined the group, and same with Shayla,” he said.
Riday was equally glad to have joined Linda from Work.
“This is my first time being in a band ever, so it’s all new to me,” she said. “I feel like I got really lucky because it’s fun, it works and we don’t suck.”
Nowak’s aesop summarized the last years neatly: “The main thing we’ve learned in the last four years is how to not suck.”
For accompanying band No Fauna, who played the night’s opening set, it was no less edifying. Band members Trip, Brian, Zip and Sam all agreed that they had a fun night playing alongside Linda from Work, noting the similarity between their musical styles. Lead singer Trip especially saw kinship between the two bands.
“I can totally see why they put us together,” he said.
Ultimately, as bassist Zip put it, “We all agree we bring the fun rock vibes.”
Yet, for both bands, the journey is far from over.
”It’s a great stage, we’re happy to be here at Bar 404,” Gregory said. However, when asked what the future of Linda from Work will look like, he simply said, “Stadiums. We’re coming.”