BandWagon Magazine - September 2020 - Kyle Hollingsworth by BandWagon Magazine

album reviews Bison Bone PG. 4 Gasoline Lollipops PG. 5 NOT A TOY PG. 6 Royce DeZorzi & the New Freedom Movement Pg. 7 The Wild After Pg. 9

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Dream Cult Press PG. 14

THE COLORADO SOUND’S my5 PG. 11

Hungry for HUMOR

FoCoMX at the Drive-In

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EDITOR

KEVIN JOHNSTON

ART DIRECTOR

CARTER KERNS

CONTRIBUTORS DAN ENGLAND VALERIE VAMPOLA LAURA GIAGOS COLE PETERSON NATE WILDE

ATTN: BANDS AND MUSICIANS Submit your album for review: BandWagon MAgazine 802 9th St. Greeley, CO 80631 or kevin@bandwagmag.com

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Kyle Hollingsworth Band

PG. 12 3

Bison Bone

Find Your Way Out Cole Peterson

BandWagon Magazine

Bison Bone is a little bit country, a little bit rock & roll, and fully led by the boisterous singer/songwriter Courtney Whitehead. The veneer of their “Americana Rock & Roll band” description doesn’t seem to phase the group, as is apparent in their newest album, Find Your Way Out. Whitehead has unabashedly embraced the spirit of the aforementioned term, almost to the point of mockery. The Denver-based band seems fully aware of the connotations surrounding surface level labels and uses it to their advantage by

tricking listeners into thinking they are listening to something they are not. It would be easy to think Bison Bone is just another simplistic Americana band, but this is not necessarily the case. Set to release on September 25, Find Your Way Out boasts a heavy hitting production team featuring Mark Anderson of Paper Bird, and Ben Wysocki of The Fray. In addition to the album’s production, a quick look at the already released single “Alright,” and accompanying expertly-shot video, further reveals the band’s ability to take their stuff seriously. “Alright” features chunky driving guitar riffs, punchy drum kicks, and lyrics that connect with anyone who follows their own wanderlust, with symptoms of homesickness carrying through the track as a main theme. It’s overall catchy, not unlike a more upbeat version of Futurebirds’ hit “Rodeo.” “Drinking To Do” stakes its claim as the class clown, finding itself at home in any country-themed latenight party-spot, while “I know” is where Bison Bone begins to set themselves apart. Setting off with

Nikki Rae Photography a slow bass funk, “I know” builds into a mellow, heady rock piece, guiding the listener through to a smarter mind space. After getting that mainstream Americana out of their system again in “Pack It Up,” “Bad Luck” brings back a slower pace, keeping with a more nostalgic set of lyrics. “What Do You Know About Me” clicks along in a traditional sense until we’re blindsided by a Hendrix type guitar solo; reminding us of the band’s true priorities. “All Your Love” showcases a modern take on a traditional southern country jig, with intertwining elements of blues. The album’s final track, “Sad Machine” hits hard with a John Bonham type drum kit intro, and

unfolds as a classic “sad song,” but with a deeper sense of musicality, and a bit of odd-ball humor to lighten the mood, with lyrics implying the gorging of an absurd amount of tacos. Where heady, heavy, posthippie Americana is what many find themselves drawn to these days, Find Your Way Out is an overall accessible release which gets there enough times to tickle the fancy of most fans of the style. But the deeper side of the genre is what Whitehead and crew truly feel in their bones. Find Your Way Out releases September 25 - pre order the record directly from the artist at bisonbone.com

Gasoline Lollipops

All The Misery Money Can Buy Nate Wilde

BandWagon Magazine

band’s unique ability to blend singer Clay Rose’s gritty singing style with what appears to be a full-on gospel choir, on the title track as well as on “Train to Ride,” and “Flesh and Bone.”

All the Misery also showcases the sheer talent of the band’s members, with impressive guitar work from Donny Ambory throughout. Ambory melts faces with his blues guitar work on “Dying Young,” goes full country on “Taking Time,” and later displays a juicy slide guitar solo reminiscent of Derek Trucks. With COVID-19 essentially destroying the 2020 concert season, many predicted that a wave of great new music would be released while artists hunker down in rehearsal spaces and studios, unable to play live. Fortunately, this prediction seems to be coming true, and one of Colorado’s most popular bands, The Gasoline Lollipops, will be delivering what can arguably be considered their masterpiece on September 11, 2020.

The retro, old school rock n’ roll of “Get Up!” sounds as if Chuck Berry or Jerry Lee Lewis were frozen in a time capsule back in 1957, then awakened in 2020 to lament about current struggles, including giving their lives “to the one percent.”

The album, All the Misery Money Can Buy, has been described by the band as a “politically charged union of soul music and Southern rock,” a statement that describes the upcoming record to a tee.

The album closes with the haunting, dark, gospel blues composition “Sinnerman,” a direct nod to Nina Simone’s version of the African American traditional. The track sounds like it was recorded at the Crossroads in the presence of the devil himself, and at over seven minutes in length, it’s a more than fitting way to close out a record with hefty undertones.

The Gas Pops truly shine on this new effort, incorporating their signature, dirty Americana folk style with elements of blues, gospel, country, and even nods to early ‘50s and ‘60s rock n’ roll. The keystone of the record is the

Gasoline Lollipops perform a live album release show for All The Misery Money Can Buy at Red Rocks Amphitheater on September 14, 2020. Pre order the record, buy tickets and more at gasolinelollipops.com

Builder. Leader. Humanitarian.

Meet Mac at myGreeley.com 5

NOT A TOY NOT A TOY

USE THE CODE: BANDWAGON for 20% off

Laura Giagos

into something palatable for the masses. BandWagon’s Jed Murphy spoke with the band in 2018 (still calling themselves Shatterproof at the time) when they were taking a break from shows to fully focus on new material. Drummer Benji Spoliansky described the struggle of congealing all their different ideas, stating: “We’ve been writing what we feel. We were kinda scared with that because some of the stuff sounds a little different, but it’s still us and that’s what we’ve really started to believe and understand to be true.”

Gaudy for the sake of it, NOT A TOY’s self-titled release is as bombastic as it is fearless. Coincidently signed to Fearless Records, this former Fort Collins, now Denver band is hitting an incredible new level.

That process eventually gave way to NOT A TOY, and with the announcement of joining Fearless Records, their new chapter has begun. This seven track EP is the culmination of that work, fully capturing the craziness that has always been at the heart of their sound into something that’s, well, amazing.

BandWagon Magazine

Before changing their name, these guys went by the name Shatterproof and their bizarre brand of gypsy/pop/metal made them an interesting band to watch in Northern Colorado. They had a lot of the pieces back then; the exuberance and charm of youth, an army of high school-aged fans, and the confidence to pull off a sound that some would call… erratic. But after the shows were over and it came time to decide what’s next, they faced the problem of how to boil down their sporadic and expansive sound

Shooting for the stars, NOT A TOY is one of the most prolific recording projects to come out of Colorado in a while. Tracks like “Quit Quitting” and “Antidote” are pop gold and the overall quality of the EP is achingly immaculate. 2021 is going to get weird. Thankfully, NOT A TOY will be out there getting with the times. Check out fearlessrecords.com for more.

Royce DeZorzi & the New Freedom Movement

Royce DeZorzi & The New Freedom Movement Valerie Vampola

BandWagon Magazine

track on the album is a first take recorded directly to tape. Third & James Studio in Denver, where the record was laid down did not have a tape machine on hand, but DeZorzi did, so after just a couple of hours, the whole album was recorded over an old reel of Bruce Springsteen songs. (Gasp!)

Royce DeZorzi & the New Freedom Movement released their debut self-titled album last month, delivering what anyone could expect from a jam album: jams. They have a pocket groove, play elongated solos, and do a great job of building energy collectively. But what really stands out about the album is not the notes they play, but how they want the listeners to hear them: every

The first track fades into a nostalgic white noise listeners might remember from their dad’s old Beatles albums (not the remastered ones, of course), quickly followed by a familiar groove from a Gwen Stefani song, “The Sweet Escape.” Their three tracks include reimagined covers of famous songs from the 2000s, including Stefani’s song and “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers, plus an original by guitarist DeZorzi. As their name the New Freedom Movement suggests, after departing from the main melodies, the 9 minute tracks are largely improvised

solos using grooves and Jack White-inspired guitar effects while reincorporating bits of the original melody to make sure you’re still listening.

Royce DeZorzi & the New Freedom Movement highlights the rawness of improvisation with full commitment by using first takes on a tape reel. DeZorzi and

crew not only trust themselves as individual players, but they trust the moment and their music itself.

Support Royce DeZorzi & the New Freedom Movement by purchasing their record directly from the band at newfreedommovement. bandcamp.com

The Wild After Former Lives EP

Laura Giagos

BandWagon Magazine

Colorado alt rock legends The Wild After are back with their second EP after the release of Lessons Learned in 2014. It’s a long stretch between releases but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been busy. The Wild After is a sort of Colorado super-group comprised of members from The Heyday (featured on the cover of BandWagon issue number one in 2011, fyi), The Northern Way, Churchill, and Leash of Foxes, each having a strong presence in

the local scene in their own right. The EP, Former Lives, is each of these guys doing what they do best: creating solid, pop-leaning rock jams. With vocalist Randall Kent at the helm, the sweeping folk rock melodies and pop rhythms are reminiscent of The Heyday but with, you know, like nine years of hard work and practice to hone their craft. That hard work is evident throughout, and the EP shines in terms of delivery and presentation, not to mention that Blasting Room polish all over it like a perfect new coat of paint. “Running Blind” and “Up in Flames” pop, making clear that they are going for something big. With a close listen you’ll find all the bells and whistles that made their independent projects so special, draped in a very tight production package. The main hang-ups here lie in the uplifted, yet somber nature of some of the songs which walk

dangerously close to worship music. That’s not a bad thing, but it can be distracting from what the band is trying to communicate. The strengths of this EP are in both how everyone brings something to the table and how well executed it is overall. No one steps on anyone else’s shoes, allowing fans of any of the bands these guys have

been in to find something they like. And while the final product is some finely-chiseled pop unlikely to offend anyone, it’s likely to surprise you. Support The Wild After by purchasing Former Lives directly from the band at thewildafter. bandcamp.com

Ron: Weekdays 6am - 10am 1. The Colorado Sound Presents: Swallow Hill Live – What started in June as a “toe in the water” to bring some form of live music back, has developed into a daily stream of sounds from Colorado and national artists! It helps raise funds for the artist and Swallow Hill too! swallowhillmusic-eb.ticketfly.com 2. Record Store Day times 3 – The annual Spring Record Store Day was going to be in April again. Now it’s August 29, September 26 and October24! Our website has a link to the store nearest you and a way to win special RSD vinyl! Visit coloradosound.org and search for “Record Store Day 2020.” 3. The Colorado Sound Presents: FoCoMX Drive And Jive – Another way to enjoy live (and in-person) music is on Tuesdays at the Holiday Drive In! Check out the lineup, pile in the car/van/jalopy and come enjoy live music again! holidaytwin.eventsmart.com 4. More Time = More Cleaning – With no shows, no movies and minimal social hangs, I’m digging deeper into the ephemera I’ve carted around for decades. Lightening the load after going down Memory Lane, I’ve uncovered newspaper articles about the Bird-led Celtics and the Bob Dylan/Tom Petty tour! 5. Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band – When the BIFF Drive In showed this film last month, I was reminded of how wonderful it is, along with the joy of getting to sit and interview Robbie last March. A must for fans of The Band! oncewerebrothers.com

Margot: Weekdays 10am - 3pm Since 2017, I’ve hosted a music history show on the Colorado Sound called Music 101. (10am Sundays and 8pm Wednesdays on the air; on demand at exchange.prx.org) Here are my Top 5 favorite episodes. 1. CBGB’s – This episode explored the legendary NYC music club and some of the bands that got their start on the CBGB’s stage, including The Ramones, Blondie, Television, Talking Heads, and more. 2. More Cowbell! – Taking a cue from the famous Saturday Night Live skit with Will Farrell, Jimmy Fallon and Christopher Walken, this episode explores the use of cowbell in rock music. (Yes, it includes “Don’t Fear The Reaper.”)

3. The Elephant 6 Collective – From Louisiana to Colorado, Georgia and beyond, four childhood friends formed a loose but significant musical collective. There are more than 50 musical acts associated with Elephant 6, including The Apples In Stereo, The Olivia Tremor Control, and Neutral Milk Hotel. This episode explores not just Elephant 6, but their influences and those they have influenced. 4. Produced By Elvis Costello – As Elvis Costello started releasing his own songs on Stiff Records, he also started producing albums, including releases by The Specials, Squeeze and many more bands through the 1980’s. 5. Detroit Rock City – The city of Detroit has a rich rock music history. Iggy Pop, Bob Seger, and the MC5 hail from Detroit, and it’s where Glenn Frey and Suzi Quatro got their start too. This episode explores the city’s early rock history, from the mid-1960’s until the early 1970’s.

Stacy: Weekdays 3pm - 7pm 1. Atlas Obscura Website – AO’s tagline is: “Discover 20,041 curious places” and it delivers! Explore hidden gems around the world like Tikaboo Peak (US), Bolwoningen (Netherlands), Gereja Ayam - the Chicken Church (Indonesia), and Walden 7 – an amazing apartment complex in an abandoned cement factory (Spain). atlasobscura.com 7. Resurgence of the Drive In! – From the traditional drive-ins to the float-ins on water, drivethrough live theater (an act at every stop), pop-ups at airports, Red Rocks and more, it’s good to get back out! driveinmovie.com 8. Sylvan Esso: Free Love – Frontwoman Amelia Meath describes their 3rd album as “a record about being increasingly terrified of the world around you and looking inward, so that you can find your way back to that place.” Thanks for spreading the love, Amelia! sylvanesso.com 9. The Stooges: Live at Goose Lake: August 8th 1970 – Third Man Records released this never-before-heard recording of the band’s last show with the original lineup. The soundboard recording was discovered in a Michigan basement and lovingly restored by Vance Powell. thirdmanstore.com 10. Cameo.com – Ever wanted skateboard legend Tony Hawk to record your voicemail? How about a “happy bar mitzvah” message from competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi, or a sweet

wedding message from Wu Tang’s RZA? It’s all possible thanks to the crazy cameo.com!

Benji: Weekdays 7pm - 10pm 1. September Top 20 Question: Your Favorite One Hit Wonder – We all have embarrassing guilty pleasure songs. (Hues Corporation’s “Rock the Boat”? Looking Glass and their earworm “Brandy?”) Give us yours at ColoradoSound.org – we’ll play #20 to #1 on September 25 to start our One Hit Wonder Weekend! 2. Jerry Joseph: The Beautiful Madness – Joseph surrounds himself with talented friends like Dave Schools and Vic Chesnutt. This time around, Jerry pulls in Patterson Hood (Drive By Truckers) to produce. He in turn brought the rest of the Truckers to play on this collection of songs, making you think and sing at the same time. jerryjoseph.com 3. Mavericks: En Español – Blending country, tex-mex & rockabilly since 1989, Mavericks have Grammys and Top 10 records, having played thousands of sold-out shows, but they’ve never recorded an entire album in Spanish ‘til now. Hear the joy in every song as they croon through “Recuerdos” and belt out upbeat Tejano songs like “Poder Vivir.” themavericksband.com 4. Bobby Rush: “Shake It For Me” – This Grammy winning bluesman is 86 and ain’t slowing down. He was in the studio with Howlin’ Wolf when he recorded the original; 50 years later his own soulful version blends perfectly with the saucy lyrics. bobbyrushbluesman.com 5. Your Moment of Twang – As host of Torch and Twang (7am Sundays) I have the pleasure of spinning the finest Americana songs for you. Now, enjoy Your Moment of Twang Monday to Friday around 9:45pm when I share a great Americana song: an old favorite or maybe something new!

TUNE IN TO

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THE COLORADO SOUND. AIRING ALL ALONG THE FRONT RANGE! 11

KYLE HOLLINGSWORTH BAND JAMS ON A FULL TANK BY K EVIN JO H N S TO N Kyle Hollingsworth and his bandmates in The String Cheese Incident had been on tour for a solid decade. They needed a break, so they took 6 months off. Then, live music itself took a break for the foreseeable future. “Ironic, isn’t it?,” Hollingsworth said in an interview for BandWagon. “We were on our 25th anniversary last year. We hadn’t taken a break in 10 years. We said ‘let’s just take 6 months off.’ Within that 6 months, the pandemic hit.” This was good timing in some ways (they saved enough to

survive that 6 months) but that 6 months is more like 10 now, and the daunting absence of full-on touring with a jam-band giant wasn’t the only thing Hollingsworth had on the line as COVID-19 put the music industry to the test. In February, he released his 5th solo record, 2020 (a much weightier title now), with excited plans to complete his personal creative cycle by playing live. That screeched to a halt, and it’s been tough. “I put a lot of creative energy into 2020,” Hollingsworth said. “I did things I would never have done. I was excited to tour

around that – to musically make a statement. To then not be able to do that has been a challenge.” Hollingsworth and his band, KHB did get one big show in before lockdown, but rather than being a voyage kick-off, it ended up as a surprise last-normalshow-maybe-ever. “I played my birthday show / CD release in March,” he stated, “but that was a lifetime ago.” “The last 6 months have been hard,” Hollingsworth reported, “especially after you put all this creativity and preparation to release an album. It was like ‘OK cool, I got my creative ya-yas out, now let’s go tour it ...’ I miss the collaboration.”

But the wake of the live music experience as we knew it has created a unique opportunity for Kyle Hollingsworth Band. “I just played a venue which String Cheese plays every summer, the Dillon Amphitheatre, which holds about 4,000 people. This year 175 people were allowed in. That was really interesting,” Hollingsworth said of the compact head-count. The band’s compact size is part of it too. “KHB is just a four piece and one crew guy,” he said. “I bring stripped down gear, and the stages we’re playing; usually bigger bands are playing them, so we’re pretty spread apart. I’m feeling pretty safe about that.” Safe feelings aside, seasoned performers still get pre-show jitters, though they’re headier concerns now. “There’s lots to be nervous about,” Hollingsworth notes, “but I was more nervous about: what is my moral gauge? Am I OK with getting people together? Am I encouraging [unsafe] social gathering? But then the other part is like: ‘I played this last year, it was totally slammed, sold-out, and people were at the front of the stage screaming. Then I played it this year and they’re like . . . way over there (he laughs).” But that’s not a letdown for Hollingsworth

or his audiences. “They screamed like they were 4,000,” he said. “They were ready to see live music. There is great love for live music and the community it brings, even if it’s from 6 feet away. I saw more people smiling in those two 75 minute sets than I’ve seen in a long time. People were even crying, they were so happy to see music and see friends.” Still, KHB couldn’t rehearse for their shows in Cheyenne and the Poudre Canyon this month. They used a pre-show soundcheck as the first time they’d played in the same airspace since March.

“We talked through all the songs but we hadn’t played for 6 months.” Amazingly, that was better than over-thinking a giant rehearsal, Hollingsworth said. “This group has been together 6 years now. We just went for it and had lots of nice jam spaces, a lot of listening – it was nice to get back into the groove of playing music again.” On September 11th, Hollingsworth and band will play a socially-distanced Drive-In Theater show at The Chinook in Cheyenne, Wyoming, another first for him. He’s curious about that experience, but knows the audience will feel how thrilled his band is at the opportunity to connect live after so much time. The full-tank of energy after an unexpectedly restful spring and summer will be palpable. “For us, the joy of just playing music is oozing out of us,” Hollingsworth says. “We’re just, so excited to be playing - it’s shining out of us. We’re bringing great energy. Any time we can get on stage and do what we love to do is awesome, but sometimes after you’ve been doing it all summer, the energy can be low. Right now we’re in this super pocket and it’s coming out really great.”

KYLE HOLLINGSWORTH BAND PLAYS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 AT THE CHINOOK DRIVE-IN ON TERRY BISON RANCH IN CHEYENNE, WYOMING, TICKETS AT BLUEPIGPRESENTS.COM. HIS TWO SHOWS AT THE MISHAWAKA AMPHITHEATRE IN BELLEVUE, COLORADO SEPTEMBER 12 AND 13 ARE SOLD OUT.

GIRLS JUST WANNA

OWN A LABEL 17-YEAR-OLD MADDIE HEIN’S DREAM CULT PRESS PROVIDES A PLATFORM FOR DIY MUSICIANS B Y VA L ERIE VAMP OLA Maddie Hein loves art, both visual and musical. She was planning to publish a collection of art pieces that would be released alongside a mixtape of songs created by herself and some friends. In a group chat, someone suggested they start a record label and release the collection that way. Then her friend Brock Pierce ordered some 7-inch vinyl, and Dream Cult Press was born. “I mean, what is stopping us? Why don’t we?” said Hein in a phone interview for BandWagon. Well, she was 17, but that wasn’t enough, apparently. Nor was the fact that she met those friends in an online group chat and not in her

hometown of Greeley, Colorado (one of them, in fact, was from Kazakhstan). She met the quazi-founders of the concept on an Alex G Discord server. Alex G was notable for being a DIY musician since the beginning of his career in 2010. Hein was obsessed with his music, so she joined the Discord server (a messaging and distribution software for gamers, business and more), where she eventually became friends with Brock from California, Daniel Weaver from Virginia and Sofia Safinova from, yes, Kazakhstan. They released their first album in July 2019 called Dream Compilation 1, containing mostly affiliates of Hein, Pierce, and Weaver. With many contributors across the United States, they’d started picking up fans and followers for themselves and the artists they support in just over a year’s time. At the end of 2019, Weaver and Pierce flew to Colorado to put on a house concert showcase in Hein’s parent’s basement in Greeley. While planning some collaborations of their own, they also invited other Colorado artists like Jakob Mueller of Slow Caves, April Gloom, Poinciana, and Violet Visionaries to pack Hein’s basement. “I was wanting to do shows with friends when they came to visit. But the house venues in FoCo weren’t doing shows, so we decided to put one on and invite other bands,” said Hein. When the Coronavirus quarantine hit, the Dream Cult Press team knew it was time to release another compilation album, this time opening submissions up to the public. They released Bathroom Pop: Summer 2020 in July. Like their first release, this compilation album featured tracks by unique artists (ssiigghh, Weird Bug) and while they didn’t plan for a certain theme, what they ended up with was an album full of dreamy-sounding psychedelic and indie rock mixed with lo-fi. The best part of the compilation is that fans of one artist can discover other similar artists from different communities. It’s like a

Spotify playlist for the little guys on a non-corporate platform, IE better for the artists.

“I PERSONALLY LIKE COMPILATIONS [ALBUMS] BECAUSE YOU GET DIFFERENT ARTISTS. PLUS, MOST PEOPLE HAVE JUST ONE TRACK INSTEAD OF AN ENTIRE EP. WE CAN GIVE THEM AN ADDITIONAL PLATFORM TO RELEASE A SINGLE LEADING UP TO AN EP.” - MADDIE HEIN. Constructing the compilations is a pretty simple task because the songs are sent as finalized recordings. The team sorts through the music to create a track listing, while Hein finalizes/masters the mixes to ensure there are consistent volumes from track to track. Digital copies of their albums are then sold on Bandcamp, along with limited hard copy stock which is available for some of their albums. For their Bathroom Pop: Summer 2020 release, they had 50 purple cassette tapes recorded that quickly sold out. But Dream Cult Press quickly realized they could do more than just connect indie artists to fans in a cool way. They decided to use their platform to benefit individuals and organizations that were helping out during protests across the country. These included Mission Meals Coalition, House of GG, and personal Venmos to individuals delivering food to those affected by riots. The opening track of Bathroom Pop: Summer 2020 features this reactionary quote: “Is that just how musicians start out, like in the basement?” The answer from the team at Dream Cult Press is yes. If Hein wants to make something happen, then she will manifest her own opportunity, proving that business, philanthropy and rock n’ roll can go global – even when it starts in mom and dad’s basement. DREAM CULT PRESS PLANS TO RELEASE THREE MORE COMPILATIONS IN THE NEAR FUTURE. CHECK OUT THE DOZENS OF ARTISTS ON THE LABEL, BACKING THEM DIRECTLY AS WELL AS THE CHARITIES THEY SUPPORT AT DREAMCULTPRESS.BANDCAMP.COM

HUNGRY FOR

HUMOR COMEDY FORT TAKES THE PLACE OF HODI’S HALFNOTE BY DAN ENGLAND David Rodriguez wanted to be a comedian, but the only ones he knew were the ones everyone knew, such as Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock, and those guys were as big as rock stars. He didn’t think there was a place for him — he hadn’t even heard of an open mic night — until he moved to Fort Collins. The comedians there were warm and supportive, like a book club with jokes, and they practically pushed him on the stage, where he finally did tell a few himself. He got a couple good laughs, and he was hooked. Rodriguez’ first set, more than five years ago, was at Hodi’s Half Note, the beloved FoCo rock club

which recently announced its closing. He believes it’s fitting, then, that he will open Comedy Fort in the Hodi’s building, probably sometime in January. Hodi’s last day was a month or so ago – yet another victim of COVID-19 – and Rodriguez was truly just as sad as you were about that death. He didn’t even mind when the announcement of his dream of opening a comedy club turned into a Facebook wake for Hodi’s instead of a ton of “attaboys” for him. He even assured one commenter that the vibe of Hodi’s was a true priority for the new entertainment venue at that address.

“When this opportunity came about, it just felt perfect. I want to maintain the hip, artsy culture there as well as highlight the history of old-time Fort Collins. There were brick walls [at Hodi’s] and I want to keep those walls behind the performer.” - David Rodriguez.

Rodriguez got to know comedy in those aforementioned five years, both as a working, touring comedian himself — he won the New Faces of Comedy competition at Comedy Works in Denver, acting as a host there now — and as a host and producer for comedy shows in Fort Collins, including the Colorado Room, where he’s put on a regular show with comics for nearly three years. He named Comedy Fort after the Facebook page he started, and he’s proud to have helped grow the scene in Northern Colorado. “When I got to Fort Collins, there were maybe 20 comics working regularly,” Rodriguez said. “Now we have almost 100. Usually you get funny and you move to Denver, but now this city is a destination for Denver comics who want a different audience.” Therefore, he believes it’s easy to book local talent as well as some larger national acts, and with good reason: his productions were in high demand

before COVID-19 shut everything down. But the lockdown has provided Rodriguez with some development time for the venue while he maintains as normal a life as possible for his family. He’s busy working as a stay-athome dad to his two young kids, while his wife, Alea, works as a counselor. People are still mourning Hodi’s, however, after Dan Mladenik, the owner of the building, shut its doors. “I literally had some of the best times of my life in that building,” said Bri Long on Facebook. Long is the owner and founder of Longevity Productions, which hosted a weekly Tuesday night event at Hodi’s. “Made some of my best friends,” Long continued, “Started my career. Met the love of my life.” Mladenik said he thought about it for a while before finally closing the doors, even before the pandemic. “But when COVID

hit, it just made it that much more serious where I had to figure something out,” he said. On the new side of things, Rodriguez isn’t worried about Comedy Fort making it. He has time and patience to wait it out, even if he has to go beyond his planned soft opening in January and grand opening in maybe March. He’s leasing the Hodi’s building, and although it’s for sale, Mladenik understands his situation all too well, according to Rodriguez, and isn’t expecting income right away. So the shift of venue identity at 167 North College Avenue is amicable, and though sad for some, it’s an exciting, even practical opportunity for Rodriguez and the NoCo Arts and Comedy scene at large.

“If there was something else here in Northern Colorado, I’d probably be an employee of it. But there’s not, so I just thought I’d create my own.” - David Rodriguez 17

Writing on the Wall, Festival on the Screen

FOCOMX AT THE DRIVE-IN AND ON THE WEB The organizers of the beloved, 12th annual FoCoMX music festival waited until August 11 to cancel. They know that’s late, but they just couldn’t help but hope. “Of course, we are super bummed not to be able to do it in person,” said Peggy Lyle, a FoCoMX board member and the director of the Downtown Fort Collins Creative District. “We just wanted to wait until the writing was on the wall.” Of course, even the antimaskers would tell you it’s been on the wall since April, when the huge Fort Collins music festival postponed, or since June, when FoCoMX “pivoted,” as Lyle put it, more than outright canceled, and began

hosting FoCoMX Drive & Jive. FoCoMX hosts live music concerts to folks in their cars every Tuesday via Drive & Jive, pulling from its scheduled lineup of more than 400 acts as well as offering up a few new bands, which Lyle calls “discovery” acts.

“We knew we could hire musicians that were needing the work and great ones people wanted to see,” Lyle said. In lieu of the real, rescheduled thing, FoCoMX will also offer “A Digital Retrospective” of photos taken by fans as well as rare backstage shots by FoCoMX staff on September 4-5 via the festival’s social media channels.

The festival will also have some produced videos which celebrate the music community, but they want to celebrate the fan perspective and involvement as well. “If anyone just wants to share funny stories or tag us in photos, that would be great,” Lyle said. Lyle calls the Drive & Jive lineup “a little discovery and a little comfort,” meaning the newer bands she talked about earlier as well as old NoCo favorites like Guerrilla Radio (a tribute to Rage Against The Machine), Sabotage (a Beastie Boys tribute) and Kind Dub, who’s chill brand of hip-hop hits on September 15. Sabotage and Guerrilla Radio play the week before on September 8. The concerts take place at the Holiday Twin drive-in movie theater in Fort Collins and feature three acts each night: a discovery band as the sun begins to set, then an opener and main act once night falls. Those two acts get projected onto the Twin’s big screen as they play live. Just like FoCOMX, the juxtaposition of the acts offers a wide variety of music to attendees.

by Dan England

“Honestly the Holiday Twin shows have been a godsend,” Lyle said. “We are still able to connect with people and still provide in-person live music in a safe and socially distanced way.” Still, FoCoMX is already thinking about what the festival could be like in 2021, and that could mean another virtual offering, only on a much larger scale, with live performances. They are already planning for that incarnation, Lyle just hopes they don’t have to do it.

“We feel committed to having something,” Lyle said. “We miss that broader sense of community, and that goes for life in general right now.” FoCoMX takes place every Tuesday evening through the end of October at the Holiday Twin in Fort Collins. Go to focomx.org for more information and to holidaytwin. eventsmart.com to purchase tickets. FoCoMX: A Digital Retrospective will take place online on September 4-5.

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