Into it with Boulder band Intuit

Intuit draws on a lot of different influences for an eclectic sound, but the core of the Boulder band’s music is pretty simple and straightforward.

“Inspired by love for the earth and all her creatures,” the band’s bio reads. “Intuit intends to inspire movement in the body, the soul, and society.”

Talking to Chloe Watkins, Intuit’s frontwoman and cellist, that peace-and-love vibe is strong. She doesn’t want to sound cheesy, but the message is important to her and the rest of the band, which includes Jake O’Neal on bass, Eli Mueller on drums and Neil Sullivan on guitar.

“We’re just really into the environmental movement and want our songs to inspire the love for the earth,” Watkins said. “It’s a huge part of our mission.”

It’s apparent in Intuit’s lyrics, and the various styles they incorporate suit that. It’s got that classic Boulder blend of “world music,” jazz, blues, hip hop and, most prominently, reggae.

So far, the band only has five songs professionally recorded. They’re available for free listening on the band’s website, and they’re just a sample of a larger catalog; Watkins said they have a lot more material waiting to be recorded this spring.

They plan to have O’Neal engineer the record and bring in some outside help for the mixing and mastering. The writing is a group effort, but it starts with Watkins.

“I do a lot of the writing. Neil does a lot of the writing, too. It’s kind of unique in the fact that we don’t write our parts for every instrument. It’s definitely total collaboration,” Watkins said. “I’ll come with the chords and the lyrics and kind of the feel, and everyone will come up with their own part.”

Probably the most unusual thing about Intuit, though, is the cello front and center. Watkins has been playing cello since she was in the third grade and wanted to work it into the band somehow. There are challenges, she said, like amping it to compete with electric guitar and bass without getting a lot of feedback. Over the band’s two years, though, she’s worked it out.

“It’s funny because when we started the band it was just me, [former drummer] Max [Grossman] and Neil, and I played the bass on the cello, and I was playing it like a stand up bass. I didn’t do a lot of bowing. I was just holding down the low end,” she said. “Eventually we needed a bass player, but I didn’t want to give up cello.”

When Intuit takes the stage at the Fox Theatre Friday night, it won’t be the first time, but it will be the band’s first headlining spot there. It’s a pretty big gig for a band that’s only two years old, and it must have a lot to do with the band’s good vibes. Even when they have their individual problems, the band has a pre-show ritual to shake it off pre-show.

“We do this thing that we learned at Naropa. It’s called bowing in, and you breath really deep and bow in together,” Watkins said. “It’s interesting, like right before performing, we do this thing where we kind of leave all of our shit at the door. We really get in this different mindset and we try to transform and be present.”

Hear it, see it and feel it for yourself at the Fox Theatre tonight, when they’ll be co-headlining with The Pamlico Sound.

Contact Ashley Dean at 303-473-1109 or dean@coloradodaily.com. On Twitter: twitter.com/AshaleyJill.