JIMMY EAT COLORADO

It’s rare, so you better enjoy what you’re doing. Not everyone gets to do it. If you’re not actively seeking out something rewarding every single day that you’re doing this thing, then what are you doing? Your time is the most expensive thing you have. It’s priceless. Don’t waste it.”

This keen sense of our numbered days is key when it comes to maintaining Adkins’ sense of the urgent and ever-present now, that “something loud” he still feels part of with the mighty little emo band he started in the Arizona desert 30 years ago. For the

Arizona’s favorite sons on the charms of the Centennial State

“Colorado was an important place for us because we could drive there to start a tour circuit. We made friends early on with the guys in Christie Front Drive, who all lived in the Denver area. Almost every tour or eastward loop, Denver — or Boulder, actually — would be on our list of early places to hit. We played all the time at the old Arapahoe Warehouse [in Denver], where some of the Christie Front Drive guys lived, and Club 156 in Boulder.

It’s funny: Stuff like that, I can recall instantly. People I met last week? My kids’ friends’ parents’ names? No. But Club 156 in Boulder — yeah, I still remember everything about playing there.”

— JIM ADKINS, VOCALS AND GUITAR

“My grandparents lived in a tiny town called Timnath, Colorado. It’s just outside of Fort Collins. They’re no longer with us, unfortunately. But in the early days of the band, we would go and stay with them when we didn’t really have any other place. They had a fifth-wheel camper they parked on their property where we would stay and hang out. They were awesome grandparents. I have vivid memories of going to visit them after landing in Denver and driving up to Fort Collins. I always have a soft spot for that — it’s one of the prettiest drives. Whenever we do it [now], I try to make sure I’m sitting at the front of the bus by the window to take it in.”

— ZACH LIND, DRUMS

frontman of what has since arguably become the most defining pop-rock act of the century, that mindfulness helps keep his feet on the ground during each short step of an epic journey.

“Not everybody is going to come along for the ride with you every time. I’m under no illusion that even our most hardcore fan is going to love everything we do — that’s not gonna happen,” he says. “So it’s about keeping things in perspective: Celebrate the small victories and don’t let this stuff go to your head, because you’re just lucky to be here.”

ON THE BILL: Jimmy Eat

World with Manchester

Orchestra and Middle Kids. 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 25, Red Rocks

Amphitheatre, 18300 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison. Resale: $75+

“I visit Colorado any chance I get. I’m an avid mountain bike rider, so one of my favorite places is Mary Jane over by Winter Park. You know: Ride the lift up, and have gravity take you down. I spent a few summers going up there riding bikes and just enjoying being up at the top of the Rockies. Just beautiful. I’d like to do more hiking — particularly around the Boulder area, and around Red Rocks. I just haven’t had the opportunity yet. So I’m hoping we get out there early enough to be able to head out on the morning of the show and do a little exploring.”

— RICK BURCH, BASS