Colorado Music Buzz April 2013

MANAGING PUBLISHERS Keith Schneider Keith@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com Christopher Murphy CMurphy@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com MANAGING EDITOR Jennifer Cohen 303-895-1351 JCohen@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com MANAGING EDITOR Tim Wenger 303-725-9359 TWenger@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com ASSOCIATE EDITORS Darnell Teague- The #Definition DTeague@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com WEBSITE EDITORS Tim Wenger TWenger@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com Jennifer Cohen JCohen@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com WEBMASTER SwamiSez Web Design SwamiSez@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com SENIOR WRITERS Jenn Cohen, Chris Daniels, Jami Duffy, Ryan Edwards, Jennifer Livingston, Brandon Marshall, Jonathan McNaughton, Sean Michael Morris, Charlie Sullivan, Darnell Teague, Torch, Harrison Welshimer Tim Wenger PHOTOGRAPHY Miles Chrisinger, Jenn Cohen, Ted Davis ADVERTISING & MARKETING INQUIRIES Sales Manager Brett Finn - 719-217-9771 BFinn@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com Advertising@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com Marketing Manager Chris Murphy 720-429-8717 CMurphy@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com Account Representitive Ryan Edwards 970-381-4366 REdwards@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com WEB ADVERTISING Keith@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com 303-870-7376

GENERAL INQUIRIES Info@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com SPONSORSHIPS / OTHER Please email us a written request proposal for all inquires to Editor@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com with the subject line including the words “Sponsorship proposal”

CMB Submissions and Advertising Policy Colorado Music Buzz welcomes submissions, advertisements and sponsorships from those connected to every musical genre and style, as well as the general public. Due to our publication’s community focus, article content and advertisements containing nudity, drug references, profane words/visuals, or sexually exploitative material will not be accepted. Please feel free to voice any concerns you may have and collaborate with us to adapt what you would like to present in a way that respects both our all-ages audience and your artistic integrity. We are here for the music, and we are here for you.

Artists may submit press kits/CDs for review by mail. Please email requests for coverage directly to the editor and copy the writer of your choice in your musical style.

Music Matters May Brings Fresh Take on Showcase Performances While Benefiting Flobots.org The Vote is In – Music Matters

by Jami Duffy

jami@flobots.org

There is an understanding– spoken and unspoken – that young people are more engaged in their education if they are also involved in creative activities.

Having growing up with both a love of art, and with reasonable athletic ability, I found myself on the volleyball court, the track field, sculpting and painting in my high school art studio, and at rehearsal with the thespian crowd.

Looking back, I realize just how fortunate I was to have access to a variety of programs offered by my high school. Most of us have an inherent desire to create something, to be part of a team, and to participate in activities that inspire us. One of my all-time favorite quotes, “When you are inspired, you are creating. And when you are creating, everything is working,” – reminds me just how deep the longing for inspiration truly is. At Flobots.org, we see this desire every day in our students.

Fortunately, Denver voters agree. In the list of things that we have to be proud of as Coloradans, something that ranks high on that list is the passing of the Mill Levy and Bond for

Music Matters May to Make Huge Impact for Youth Media Studio

by Sean Michael Morris

editor@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

This May, music matters more than ever.

Denver’s Arts District on Santa Fe, along with Flobots.org, will host evenings of music, art, food, and wine throughout the month, all to benefit the Youth Media Studio (youthmediastudiodenver.org). Enjoy the talents of our best local artists in the beautiful spaces of the 910 Arts Gallery, Vertigo, the Colorado Arts Center, Space Gallery, and more.

Tickets are $40/person for each evening, and include three intimate art gallery performances and three free drinks. And all proceeds from Music Matters May go to support music education for Denver’s youth.

Shows run at 8:00, 9:00, and 10:00pm each evening. The dates for Music Matters May are: Friday, May 10 Saturday, May 11

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Denver Public Schools last November.

in the district?

Colorado was lagging behind in government funding for school arts programs, even while research showed that students participating in these activities are more likely to excel

Schools with music programs have graduation rates of 90.2 percent, as compared with a 72.9 percent rate for schools without music education, according to a 2006 Harris Interactive poll of high school principals funded by the National Association for Music Education and International Music Products Association, known as NAMM. The poll also found that

schools with music programs have attendance rates of 93.3 percent, compared with 84.9 percent for those that don’t. academically and become involved in leadership opportunities. So, voters took to the polls and approved significant funding for arts, music, and physical education programs in DPS. The question now is what impact might this funding have on the staggering 52% graduation rates

Saturday, May 18 Sunday, May 19 (shows at 4:30, 5:30, and 6:30) Friday, May 24 Saturday, May 25 The month will finish off with one final concert featuring some of Denver’s top musical acts.

Music Matters May was created by the folks at Flobots.org to support their work with Denver youth. As part of their ongoing mission to bring musical play, experimentation, and education back into the lives of Denver’s young, talented artists, Flobots.org founded the Youth Media Studio. The YMS will provide digital arts-based programming for at-risk youth in Colorado, and will connect local youth to students around the world in a state-of-the-art global classroom.

When it is constructed, the YMS will house not only instruments and production equipment, but also cutting-edge technology that will allow Denver’s at-risk youth to discover and grow their own musical abilities through hands-on experimentation and instruction.

Flobots.org believes that Denver is a vibrant center for art of all kinds. From music and song writing to fabric arts, paint, and sculpture, the arts community -- centrally located in the

This is why Flobots.org’s programs and the Mill Levy are so crucial. Our school partners recognize that Flobots.org brings something unique and valuable to the table – professional accomplished musicians who are also educators, role models and activists who teach

Arts District on Santa Fe -- forms the oftenoverlooked backbone of creative work in the city. Because Flobots.org recognizes the overlap between song, dance, drama, and art, they chose to create a multimedia event in May to raise awareness for all of Denver’s art, as well as support the ongoing construction of the Youth Media Studio. By supporting music, you’ll support all of Denver’s artistic community -and contribute to the growth of that community in the form of youth music education.

“I’ve been involved with music at many levels,” says Denver musician Matt Morris, who has released independent as well as major-label albums, has appeared as a musical guest at Denver’s Light the Lights event as well as on national television programs like Ellen and The Letterman Show. “And I believe it’s important to support music on all those levels. We can’t just fund the highest levels of music. We have to honor all our musicians, singers, and songwriters... Starting with our young people.”

Come out throughout the month to enjoy the best music Denver has to offer, and make a real difference to the music and arts communities, and to Denver’s talented youth. They’re waiting to be discovered... All they need is your support.

Make music matter this May.

April 2013 | ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

for-credit classes during the school day. In a time when youth are searching for positive interactions with adults outside of their families and schools, Flobots.org is able to meet this need in our classrooms.

Further, our educators come from diverse backgrounds – not unlike the backgrounds of the students that we serve. As such, when students interact with these accomplished and respected musicians who look and speak like they do, they begin to see the possibilities for a brighter future.

And while Flobots.org isn’t specifically a mentoring program, many of our partner artists do end up becoming role models and mentors for the students we serve. We know that young people in high-quality mentoring relationships are more likely to graduate high school and pursue higher education. The Denver music community can now provide those relationships - and that’s why music matters.

FLOBOTS.ORG AND DENVER’S ARTS DISTRICT ON SANTA FE PARTNER FOR THE FIRST-EVER MUSIC MATTERS MAY WHO:

Flobots.org members, Denver’s Arts District on Santa Fe members, local recording artists Chiney Choir, Grayson Erhard, Melissa Ivey, Bianca Mikahn, Adrian Molina, Angie Stevens, Suzi Q, Varlet, Wheel Chair Sportscamp, and Mike Wird, and more musicians to be announced.

WHAT: Music Matters May celebrates the Denver artistic community by connecting local musicians and visual artists to produce authentic, live and unplugged performances. Eighteen different art galleries serve as the venues over three weekends and six days.

Tickets for a single night are $40 and include three drinks. Colorado Music Buzz is an event sponsor.

All proceeds benefit Flobots.org, a nonprofit organization offering diverse programs that reflect the belief that music and the arts are tools for building awareness, inspiring action, supporting personal transformation and building leaders. Their mission is to create positive social change by harnessing the power of music and those who love it.

WHEN/ WHERE: Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11 – 800 Block on Santa Fe Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19 – 700 Block on Santa Fe Friday, May 24 and Saturday, May 25 – 900 Block on Santa Fe TO PURCHASE TICKETS: https:// adreproductions.webconnex.com/Music_ Matters_May

Second Annual Upper Root 40 Music Fest to Showcase Denver Talent, Showcase Local Music Industry these historic structures in the area.”

by Tim Wenger Mark your calendars for April 21-27. The second annual Upper Colfax Root 40 Music Fest is hitting, of course, at the Upper Colfax business district, which runs from the State Capitol east to Columbine St. Those familiar with the area, or with Denver’s music community, have undoubtedly spent their fair share of nights

crawling the 24 blocks that make up Upper Colfax, and have probably spent a fair amount of time drinking cold brews and watching live music in the 15+ venues that span the district.

The idea for Root 40 came from the brain of former Upper Colfax Business District board member Randy Swan, who is involved in architectural preservation, and has been involved in helping improve the business district for years. “During his second term, he had been nudging me with the concept of doing a weeklong music event,” says Stephanie Salazar with the Upper Colfax Business District. “The reason for this was, this area in Denver is the gateway to the State Capital, to City Hall, and is one of the most historic areas in Denver.”

Originally, they hoped to not only highlight the many venues and independent shops on the strip, but to celebrate the rich history of music in the area. “Music has a history here,” says Salazar. “This is where the epicenter of Denver’s music scene originated.”

“East High School has produced some pretty renowned artists including Judy Collins and Bob Dylan. The Satire Lounge at one time was very active with music, and they are becoming more active during Root 40. You’ve got all of

“Randy kept saying, ‘You know, we really need to look at doing something to draw attention to this area,’ which has really been changing and growing,’” says Salazar. “We want to celebrate the history of music and culture in this district. We want to draw attention to this district from our neighbors and visitors to bring people onto Colfax as a dynamic and fun place to be, and to celebrate the fact that it is a very entrepreneurial area.”

The weeklong celebration also aims to help their four beneficiaries. Musicians In Action will be collecting non-perishable food items throughout the week, leading up to the outdoors close out party on Saturday, April 27, on the Musicians In Action stage in the parking lot next to the old Smiley’s Laundromat. 9 Cares Colorado Shares will be distributing the collected items, as well as promoting the legwork that MIA will be doing. Baby formula and any other items that homeless people can use are encouraged donations.

The support from the community has been overwhelming. Over 229 artists submitted for consideration. There are 21 venues on board in the district alone; many of who do not normally feature live music. Additionally, over 30 vendors have come on board. The only ticketed events will take place at the Fillmore, Ogden Theatre and Lion’s Lair. The events throughout the week at the other 18 venues will not require advance purchase. “It’s all about taking the registrants and trying to book as many acts as we can,” says Salazar.

There are two big things that separate Root 40 from the majority of music festivals that grace our fine city every year; first and foremost, this event is billed not only as a festival, but also as a conference with workshops and features heavy interaction with music industry professionals throughout the week. The whole thing kicks off on Sunday, April 21 with the Root 40 Expo at the Fillmore Auditorium. Featuring live music outside as well as on the main stage, the event plays host to bands, vendors, and

Gently used cell phones and musical instruments will also be collected by KBCO for redistribution. “KBCO wants to celebrate earth day by collecting these items,” says Salazar.

“We will be doing that at the expo on the 21st.”

And, of course, there is something for the kids coming out of all this. “The other initiative we want to support is music education,” says Salazar. “We know that [East High School’s] music program has been slashed over the last 2-5 years, really significantly in the last

“We’re trying to accomplish several different things with this one event,” Salazar says.

“It’s all about the surrounding community and promoting our neighborhood and our businesses. I think our tagline says it all- ‘7 Days of Music and the Business of Making Music.”

industry pros looking to showcase their services and do as much networking as possible. “Both regionally and locally owned music-related businesses will showcase their products.

There will be listening sessions (bring a music sample), keynote speakers and performances,” said the Fillmore’s parent promotion company Live Nation in a press release.

two years, and they have a really good music program. What we’d like to be able to do is have some substantial corporate sponsorships and be able to provide resources to East High School.”

“We are expecting this to be very interactive,” says Salazar. Musicians will be able to set up tables to promote their music. There will also be guest speakers.

On Monday, April 22, there will be a panel discussion featuring top music industry pros from across the nation. Being put together by CU Associate Professor Chris Daniels, this event will take place at L2 Arts &Cultural Center beginning at 7 pm. Attendees will have the opportunity ask questions and interact with the panelists after the discussion.

Tuesday, April 23, features two additional panels at the Auraria Campus, focusing on the publishing industry. 100-150 seats are available to public, with the first discussion starting at 2 pm and the second at 3:30 pm. Check the current schedule at root40.com.

Online: root40.com

Last year’s inaugural Root 40 Music Fest was just a fraction of what the organizers hope to do with the festival as it grows.

Board approval was required to get the festival off the ground. “Last year they supported a pilot project,” says Salazar.

“We rolled it out as a pilot just to test, with very little promotion. We had so much interest from musicians, educators, businesses, and vendors who asked if we were going to do it again that we brought it before the board. Our seven-person board unanimously supported moving forward with it.”

They acquired non-profit status under the name of the Upper Colfax Community Foundation 501c3,” says Salazar. “This year, the objective is to have really broad promotion of the event, and we want to make sure that we really develop a platform to support and strengthen the music industry in Colorado.”

April 2013 | ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

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April’s ReverbNation Featured Artists of the Month are a varied group- we’ve got some hard rock, some soul, some punk, and some pop, and each of the five artists featured were selected because of the way they represent their genre. Check out their profiles to learn more about the artists! We’ll be back next month with the next batch of selections.

LoadstoneD An English teacher, a firefighter/graphic designer, a doctor, and a guy with a slate of music degrees? Yep--that’s LoadStoneD! And they’re your “kinda crazy”! Brought together in the summer of 2011 and based in Denver, Colorado, LoadStoneD is Chris Shoults (rhythm guitar, vocals), Dave Sandusky (drums), Dan Baker (bass), Tim Buckman (lead guitar)--and so much more.

The group’s latest project is a full-length release (December 1, 2012) entitled My Kinda Crazy. It’s rooted in LoadStoneD’s own brand of driving rock—as can be heard in tunes like “My Kinda Crazy,” “You Want It, Too,” “Bell Jar,” “Stuck,” and “With You, Without You”—balanced against the country stylings of tunes like “Mama, She Lied” and tied together by edgy crossover songs like “Sippy Cup” and “Ocean Eyes.”

Don’t think such variety can live together on the same record? Give the latest album a listen; they’ll show you how it’s done.

As for who these guys are as musicians, they’ll tell you the music speaks for itself—revealing influences from classical to metal, as well as the members’ broad range of musical experiences. But who are these guys as people? Suffice it to say that whether Dr. Bass is charging the camera, Dave’s offending everyone with his attire, Chris is defending his drink of choice, or Tim is blazing his guitar—or banjitar—into submission, the members of LoadStoneD don’t take themselves too seriously. So, as Hunter S. Thompson put it, “Buy the ticket, take the ride”—or in this case the “trip.” The members of LSD bet you won’t be sorry. reverbnation.com/loadstoned

Zanya Laurence Zanya Laurence, new to the stomping grounds of the Mile High City, is ready to blaze her own soulful trail through the many opportunities of a new land. Her highly anticipated sophomore album “Always”, just released this October 30th, is only the latest chapter in the story of her musical journey she graduated from the Vocal Institute of Technology at the Musician’s Institute in Hollywood, CA with extensive training in theory & performance, while performing the Hollywood area regularly with her band in well-known venues such as the Knitting Factory, as well as cozier venues, like the Bliss Café’.

Although, Laurence is compared to several established artists, her original writing style & unique voice can be heard through her passionate expression, phrasing & thoughtful delivery. At the end of the day, Zanya’s sound is truly one of a kind. reverbnation.com/zanyalaurence

The Dusty Neil Band Dusty Neil is originally from Dallas, Texas, where his band played from 2006-2008, eventually landing gigs on local festival line-ups.

When his band disbanded, Dusty moved to Fort Collins, Colorado to continue the music project. He met some really great musicians to form the Electric Country Powerhouse a.k.a. The Dusty Neil Band.

After tapping into the Colorado music scene, the band found themselves stepping onto the stage for FoCo Mx, Cervantes Ball Room, Greeley stampede, Mishawaka amphitheater and many more.

The Dusty Neil Band blends Electric vibes of Country with Alternative Rock and Blues. This “Electric Country” is an uplifting brand of contemporary country and rock music with an almost-classic rock feel. We are currently tracking for The Dusty Neil Band’s debut album, Electric # 13. reverbnation.com/dustyneil

No More Excuses Formed in the fall of ‘09 No More Excuses set out on an Epic journey, a Rock odessey of sorts. Only good things have happened since to the eclectic quartet, so they decided to share it with everyone else. Face melting guitar mixed with driving bass, creative drumming and vocals stingingly sweet but still raw, No More Excuses is poised to return Rock N Roll to its rightful place in the underground. Lead singer Justin Duran put it best, “Rock n roll lost its edge, its supposed to scare your parents and make you wanna take ur pants off! We wanna bring that back.” Their music borrows from hardcore, indie, metal, punk, rock and whatever forms of trouble Kyle, Cody, Sam and Justin can find their way into. Sam rounds out this motley crew with innovative drums with Kyle on bass and Justin and Cody on guitars. Give ‘em a chance you won’t regret it, or maybe you will but at least your pants will be off! reverbnation.com/nomoreexcuses

Starcar Sunday Starcar Sunday is a female-fronted rock-pop band from Denver. If Gin Blossoms had two women as lead singers and they had a baby No Doubt that was raised by Cheap Trick, they might sound something like this. Together for roughly three years, Dayna Geiger, Carla Weikel, Ryan Miller, Brian AC and Billy Small make up the Denver-based powerhouse that is Starcar Sunday. They write original pop/rock songs that teem with love, fury, jealousy and compassion, and perform regularly around Metro Denver. reverbnation.com/starcarsunday

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April 2013 | ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

Take To The OarsThe Bow & The Stern

by Tim Wenger

TWenger@ ColoradoMusicBuzz. com

It has been a hectic twelve months for Take to the Oars. What with playing Red Rocks, being on the cover of Colorado Music Buzz, and performing a number of other big gigs around the metro area, it’s almost hard to believe that the Denver based rockers had time to record a new EP. It happened, though, and the seven tracks that make up The Bow & The Stern are delivered straight, with no filler, staying true to the melodic alt-rock sound the band has become known for.

“White Noise” is the catchiest tune on the record, despite most of the immediate attention being paid to “Morning Coffee.” The track is filled with solid lead guitar and picturesque vocals from front man Ryan Gombeski.

Each song on the album tells a story, and the instrumentation does its’ part to paint the intended picture firmly into the mind of the listener by not over killing the tempo. Remaining placid and full throughout the album, Take to the Oars is able to maintain complete control over the emotion delivered through their music.

Online: taketotheoars.com

Ben Hanna- We Were All Like Whatever

by Tim Wenger

TWenger@ ColoradoMusicBuzz. com

Ben Hanna describes himself as “postsuburban Americana.” Before we proceed any further, Colorado Music Buzz is going to attempt to define this term, in order to increase the understanding of the remainder of this article, if not the actual album itself. The Americana part rings true with slow picking acoustic guitar, the post-suburban part, well we’re assuming that is referencing the satirical, sometimes dark, ominous lyrical work Hanna displays.

The song “Titty Bar Chicken (Ringin’ in My Brain)” is a pretty good example of what we’re talking about here; not your average tune, as you may guess, but certainly entertaining. “I Wish We Were Beginning It” is the first original take on a break-up song that we haven’t heard in years. The songs all have a humorous touch, with just enough pace to them to keep your head bobbing while you are laughing your ass off.

Musuji-Chancey The Wizard Wagon

by Tim Wenger

TWenger@ ColoradoMusicBuzz. com

There are not too many acts in Colorado that put out the sound that Musuji does. It may not be a sound for everyone, but they do it damn well. Their new record Chauncey the Wizard Wagon delivers ten hard-hitting tracks that rely heavily on the funked-out bass wizardry of Thom Whitney to make it inherently obvious that you are listening to none other than Musuji.

Vocalist Arnie Blomquist at times sounds a bit like Zack De La Rocha, at times more like the long-haired hipster front man of an early ’90s alt rock outfit, at others like nothing I’ve ever heard before. They’ve got the weirdness of Primus with some hip-hop, screaming, and trance rock all tossed together. The album sounds, at times, like a group of acid freaks locked themselves in a cabin in the woods with a plethora of instruments and ProTools, and the new Musuji record is what emerged from the madness. Musuji is more than entertaining to watch live, and this full-length record is definitely a good album to bump on your drive home from work.

Online: facebook.com/pages/ Musuji/188845482183

Na’an Stop-It’s All in the Cheese

by Tim Wenger

TWenger@ ColoradoMusicBuzz. com

Where else would a band called Na’an Stop be from, but Boulder? The five-piece drops songs that are reminiscent of their classic reggae forefathers, but what really stands out about these guys (that often goes unnoticed in the reggae world) is the guitar. The upstrokes are very prominent throughout the record. Not necessarily pushing the envelope musically, but the guitar work is solid and provides backbone for the songs.

The opening song “Support” is very up-tempo, almost sounding like two-tone ska at times.

They feature horns on “The Cheese,” giving some more of that ska feel. They demonstrate their ability to slow it down and go more traditional on “One Question.”

Na’an Stop has a great sound, very energetic, and could easily become the next big force to be reckoned with in Colorado’s reggae scene.

Sam Lee- Raise Your Flag

by Jenn Cohen

JCohen@ ColoradoMusicBuzz. com

Sam Lee’s latest effort, Raise Your Flag, is a cohesive blend of country, rock, and pop. This is a mustadd to your music assemblage. Delicious from the beginning, Lee’s vocals are so comforting it’s like hanging out with an old friend and reflecting on times gone by. Beginning with the toe-tapping, upbeat “According to Me,” and ending with the stripped-down tearjerker, “My Dear Warrior,” every track conveys a message of standing up for what you believe in, finding strength from your mistakes and so-called imperfections, and leaving behind the need for external validation.

There are so many good songs on this CD, I kept it on autoplay, but my favorite today, is “My Dear Warrior,” reminiscent of the Eagles “Desperado,” but better.

You can listen to RaiseYour Flag on Soundcloud, and the CD will be available for purchase on April 26, supported by a CD release party at the Oriental Theatre, along with Eldren and the Yawpers.

Online: samleemusic.com

Straight Outta Luck

by Tim Wenger TWenger@ ColoradoMusicBuzz. com

Straight Outta Luck has finally given us what our ears have been asking for since that one drunken night at 3 Kings Tavern that no one remembers leaving--the ability to bump their jams in the car. Their debut EP epitomizes their west coast punk-rock style: rapid fire drumming, chunky power chords and quasi-melodic, sometime scratchy vocals that are easy to sing along to, understandable, and meaningful.

Thesongs“Here”and“Khakis”showcaseexactly that. It is almost impossible to not sing along to the anthemic choruses. The entire record is solid and consistent, never compromising the punk-rock style that undoubtedly brought the band together in the first place; the music that has always given us “Something to Believe In.” Online: reverbnation.com/straightouttaluck

TWenger@ ColoradoMusicBuzz. com

The ska/punk world has seen many incarnations over the years, and through it all there have always been those bands that stay true to that classic upstroke sound that we all fell in love with as teenagers. The Repercussions maintain that aura with an overdose of two-tone fury jammed inside their new album Observer Effect.

For those who know the genre, it is easy to pick out their influence from bands such as the Specials and Operation Ivy with a dose of ’90s punk-rock flavor thrown in for good taste. “Love it or Leave it” and “Agents” bring out that classic scratchy ska sound, while “MRI” provides the dose of distortion to round out the band’s sound.

The record reflects what their fans have come to love about the band’s live performances- a skank-a-licious dose of toe tappin’ magic that makes it nearly impossible to sit still when you know there is a steady circle to be had, even if you’re alone in the living room.

Online: facebook.com/pages/TheRepercussions/121611784578919

The Worth

by Tim Wenger

TWenger@ ColoradoMusicBuzz. com

The Worth has dropped their debut EP, an energetic take on sludge rock that presents elements of everything from metal to punk to alternative.

The 4-track album kicks off with “The Tide,” jumping right into catchy, sometimes dark, guitar riffs and lyrics that are actually well presented and sung, and fit well with the music, something not always associated with sludge rock.

They slow it down a bit with “Statistic,” still melodic, but more of a rhythmic head banger.

The last two tracks stay more on line with the opener, hooking the listener with well-written guitar lines.

Online: theworth.bandcamp.com

Online: facebook.com/naanstopmusic

Online: benhannamusic.com

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The ReprecussionsObserver Effect

by Tim Wenger

Want your music reviewed?

Send 2 copies to: P.O. Box 2739 Littleton, CO 80161 April 2013 | ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

KING. Joe King.

by Jenn Cohen Feature Photos: Jenn Cohen If anyone still harbors doubt about Colorado’s stellar music scene, they’re in for yet another reality check.

We Coloradans have always known there is something mystical about our soil, so we just keep producing mad musical talent. The latest local to grab the music scene by the proverbial balls is KING, also known as Joe King. The name may or may not ring an immediate bell, but Google it, and everything will fall into place.

King is, for the moment, best known as the guitarist for the Fray. But remove the man from the band, and it won’t be long before KING is established as his own thriving solo-artist entity. KING’s debut CD, Breaking, is set to drop on April 23, followed by four shows in Colorado. Still a virgin to performing solo, KING will perform his first show as a solo-artist at the Bluebird Theatre on April 25. “It’s important to me [to have the first show in Denver],” says King. “I want to play here first, [with] friends and family, it’s my hometown. Whatever Denver bands that are touring right now, if they’re in town, if they want to come out, and come on

stage . . .”

Since releasing the first single, “Need a Woman by Friday,” on March 5, (available on iTunes), King has been preparing for the release of the video this Friday on VH-1, as well as an appearance next week on the Big Morning Buzz Live Show. “I’ve been doing a lot of hustling,” says King, “which is fun, because it’s definitely getting into the roots of the music business and why I do it. Just the fact that, instead of you having to connect through eight people at a label, it’s nice to say, ‘I’ll meet you on Monday.’ I find it’s actually refreshing for the industry as well, when they get to work with independent artists. They’re excited that we can create fresh ideas, and it’s not like going through a label.”

Not that having “people” and being on a major label is bad . . .

“Yeah, I’ve been on the major label thing, which is necessary, you know. It’s nice, but also, you get really disconnected from people, which is okay if all you want to do is write music; everybody else does everything for you. That’s a beautiful thing, and I love that aspect of it. But I also love connecting,

like, ‘I’m going to send this song to this guy over here, and maybe we’ll do something.’”

A “sheltered kid who [wasn’t supposed to] see R-rated movies or listen to Dr. Dre,” King was raised chiefly in Aurora and Arvada, with a family heavily involved in the church. “My dad was a pastor,” he says, “which is probably why I turned out to be a musician.” Driven by classic teenage angst, King found himself in trouble growing up, “but I was smart about it,” he says. “My parents didn’t know what I was up to--until I came home in a police car.”

“Need a Woman by Friday,” the first release off of Breaking stemmed from being single around his birthday. “It was my birthday, having a party that Friday, and I had a feeling that I wish I had a woman--wish she was there waiting for me, so yeah, that came out of wants or desires.” I can’t imagine it’s hard for King to find dates.

“It’s not a bad place to be, in a band, when you’re single,” he says. “Those things are helpful, but it can be extremely caustic.”

However, he has two daughters who keep him on his toes. “I’m the hero right now,

they want to hang out still. I know it’s going to change a couple years from now. Unless I can introduce them to the next Justin Bieber at that time . . .”

Everyone starts somewhere, and King claims that before the Fray, he was in a couple of bands that played, “really bad, bad music.” And as for advice to those just starting out? “Just starting out, I don’t envy that. But I also feel the same way right now. I feel like a new artist because if you hear ‘KING,’ or the song, you have no clue, unless you read a backstory about it,” says King. “I think it takes a lot more hustle now than it did back in the day when I started [with the Fray in 2002]. Obviously, connecting through social media, [and] I just started that. I literally just signed up for a Twitter account a couple of weeks ago.

“It’s usually the ‘left-field’ things that break you. It’s not usually what you’d expect. Even for the Fray, we were chugging away, we had our single out, we were starting to tour, the first single was doing well— at least put us on the map—we’re selling records, and then

we got a call about some TV show, (“Grey’s Anatomy”), and that was a complete leftfield thing.”

On deciding to go for a solo album, King says, “In all ways of my life, I was ready for fresh, ready for innovation, ready to change the way I’ve always done things; my perspective, relationships, how I approached songwriting, or how I approached the production of songwriting.

So everything changed. One of the quotes that was resonating in me was, “You either innovate or you die. I think that’s true for a relationship or your songs. If you continue to copy yourself, like, ‘It worked last time,’ and you just keep doing it again and again, it gets boring.”

“I feel like, for a couple of years, I was drifting into the ocean. Like things were taking me to spots, and I didn’t have any control, not that I really want control. I feel like if you try to control your life, it only ends up in more frustration. So for several years, I felt like I was drifting in some ways, which was great, and then, you know, I drifted to some islands, and it was like, ‘Yay, stay at the island for awhile,’ then get off and go to another one. And I feel like I’m ashore to a new plan, to whatever that is right now, like I’m just venturing out into this somewhat of a new world, which is exciting.”

Collaborating with locals Matt Morris, Patrick Meese, and even a cameo on a track by Bethany Kelly from Churchill, this CD is loaded with goodness. The six songs on Breaking are very different from one another, each one tapping into a different emotion. I tried to think of who I would compare the sound to, (some people feel more comfortable having that comparison before they listen), but all I kept coming back to is, ‘It sounds like Joe King.’ Refreshingly upbeat tracks surround sometimes-personal lyrics, and delve into emotions everyone can relate to. Says King, “Coming out of a long-term marriage—when that ended, it was scary. But it felt good to be liked again, and then just falling very quickly, and learning what girls are right, but may not be right for me. But some songs, I just channeled something that was going on, not necessarily from a specific experience.

“I love what Quentin Tarantino said, ‘You’re not really writing unless the people around you are uncomfortable.’ I love that.

Not that you should try to write to make people uncomfortable

because then it just feels contrived. You don’t want the response [to what you write] to be what’s expected; you want the response to be shock, and that people don’t really know what to think at first.”

Best compliment you’ve ever received? “It was kind of a compliment/ bubble-bursting thing from my daughter.

We [The Fray] were opening for U2, and she didn’t know who U2 was. We’re at the show, she sees daddy’s set, this massive stage, stadium—and she’s seen shows before, so it’s normal for her. So we get off the stage, it’s like this incredible high; lifetime experience, they’re one of the biggest bands in the world. And it’s our time to go out and see the show. So I take my girl out to the front of the house, she’s on my shoulders, people are screaming, lights and lasers and sunglasses—rock stars, like the biggest rock stars. And she leans down half way through the set and yells in my ear, ‘Daddy, why is U2 so much cooler than the Fray?’ So, I consider that one of my greatest compliments, and also one of the most humbling. Brutal honesty.”

I wish I could . . . “I wish I could speak any language in the world at any time.”

And while King loves to travel, “After awhile you’re in your own little bubble, not grounded to normal, domestic life. I start craving making eggs, or something, pulling weeds, or shoveling snow. It’s so therapeutic to shovel snow. These are the domestic things you miss when you’re on the road.” Also therapeutic to King is Ping-Pong. (Just don’t crack the Ping-Pong ball. Especially if it’s the last one. He doesn’t like that.)

Lucky for us, KING has four Colorado dates in April. You’ll want to capture his local shows now, before the rest of the world recognizes his remarkable talent, and he hits the road. Joining King, locally, are Patrick Meese on keys, and Jeff Linsenmaier on drums. Tickets are available at joekingoffficial.com, and at only $16, you should be there.

Shows: April 25 @ the Bluebird Theatre in Denver, April 26 @ the Aggie in Fort Collins, April 27 @ Black Sheep in Colorado Springs, April 28 @ Fox Theater in Boulder.

Online: joekingofficial.com | Twitter: @joekingofficial

Imagine Dragons Bring National Buzz to Fillmore March 23

by Wendy Villalobos photo credit Miles Chrisinger

WVillalobos@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

There are only a few bands that truly inspire me. There are even less bands that portray themselves as humble individuals, especially those that have reached a level of stardom which allows them to travel the world to put on shows. On Saturday, I came face to face (or at least close enough to the stage to be considered that) with a band just like that.

Imagine Dragons really knows how to put on a show, and their energy was present even before they got on stage.

Dan Reynolds, the lead singer of the band, also showcased his persona, as he got the crowd stomping and dancing. Reynolds made it clear to the audience that he still couldn’t believe that he was able to stand in front of such a huge crowd to sing songs that the band

had put together. He also said he never would have guessed that he would be the one up on stage, and thanked the audience for getting them there.

Imagine Dragons’ music is uplifting and really gets me in a great mood, rather than tell me to raise a glass in the air, and wave my hands like I just don’t care. I’ll do that anyway while I listen to them, and that’s what makes them so unique. Their sound is their own, and their words resonate with you, as they did at the Fillmore Auditorium.

The fast-paced drums with sliding guitar melodies that made the sold-out venue come to life was great to watch; so many people celebrating great music at the same time is always something I love to see.

The huge ocean of bodies splashed with red, blue and white lights from the stage is exhilarating to be a part of, and I’m sure that the guys in Imagine Dragons felt the exact same way. The band is due back in May for another North American tour, and you can already guess people are on watch as they wait for tickets to sell. Imagine Dragons at Red Rocks? I don’t think you want to miss it.

Online: imaginedragonsmusic.com

Anberlin Bring Alt Rock Style to Gothic

solving social problems, in counter distinction to the traditional economic, political, or philosophic approaches). The album is the culmination of previous thought processes from other works. Zucker has a message that he wants to spread with his music. The laws of man are not in concert with nature. Technology is eliminating the labor force. Resources aren’t being distributed properly. Things need to change.

Zucker has released two EPs since August, Inner Demons and Clean, and has another album in the works.

“The new material has a lot of break beats and pop sounds that will grab the listener’s attention,” states Zucker.

Michael Zucker, Working Both Sides of the Tracks

by Charlie Sullivan

CSullivan@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

I’m always amazed when I find a talent like Michael Zucker (guitars, vocals) operating somewhat unnoticed on the local music scene.

I was shopping at Absolute Vinyl and noticed a Zucker record on the wall. The cover grabbed my attention; I took a chance, gave it a spin, and discovered a guitar virtuoso among other talents. Zucker has been busy crafting some of the finest experimental alternative rock that this writer has heard in years. The man has amassed 14 or 15 solo projects in a ten-year span; even he’s lost count. Zucker’s music pushes the listener into another realm.

“I’ve always got lots of ideas and want to keep the music coming,” shares Zucker. “I got my first big push on the music scene from the video game music community. I was performing with various bands and stepped into the solo scene and things started rolling along.”

And the music he’s creating has been consistently good; simple melodies, layered sounds, and great musicians tracking it all.

Zucker released his last full-length record in late August of 2012, Technocracy (the term technocracy was originally used to designate the application of the scientific method to

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Through all of Zucker’s musical efforts, he has also started his own record label (2011), Differential Productions, in Boulder. The label has blossomed with six additional acts jumping on board.

“I’m engineering, I’m mixing, I’m producing,” remarks Zucker. “We use several different studios but I’m partial to Immersive Studios and Decibel Garden.”

“I’ve also invested in equipment and set up a post-production studio at home,” he adds.

Zucker likes working with other artists and pushing them has far as he can. He tries to see the end result immediately. He wants the artists to show him where they want to take their music.

“I’ll have the band show me a CD or album that has the vibe their looking for,” Zucker states. “I push where they’ll let me push and help them see the end result.”

Zucker hasn’t been playing a lot of live shows lately because he’s been in the studio working on solo projects and various side projects. He does plan on getting some live dates on the schedule for the band Dark Matter, an outfit he performs with. Check out the Differential Productions website and see what’s happening.

Were it not for music, we might in these days say, the Beautiful is dead. -Benjamin Disraeli Online: differential-productions.com

by Ryan Edwards Photo credit Ted Davis

REdwards@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

You know a venue is solid when it can pack the house on a Tuesday night. It also tells you the headlining band has a hell of a following.

Florida natives, Anberlin, started back in 2002 and since then have toured nationally multiple times and launched six albums with numerous hits on the radio. Once I heard them back in 2004 I was hooked, and once I realized I had a chance to see them at an intimate setting like The Gothic Theatre, I thought, sign me up!

Before this show, I had never seen them perform live, but I just knew that this show was going to be amazing, and I wasn’t disappointed.

The night began with people of all ages pouring into the venue with conversations all around me about how excited they were to see Anberlin. As the venue filled up, the first band All Get Out warmed them up, and afterwards, Tennessee locals Paper Route surprised everyone with how good they are, getting the crowd clapping and screaming to their remarkably catchy tunes.

Eventually, as I was ordering a Coors Light from the bar, Anberlin bolted on stage and the crowd erupted. Right away they didn’t hold back, opening up with smash hits that everybody in the audience sang word-for-word.

April 2013 | ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

Songs like “The Resistance” off of their album New Surrender and “Paperthin Hymn” off of their second album Never Take Friendship Personal. The crowd loved the show from the start with clapping and fist pumping to almost every song.

Stephen Christian (vocals), and the rest of Anberlin fed off the crowds energy with ridiculous guitar and drum solos, and at one point as patrons were getting kicked out for crowd surfing, Christian decided to crowd surf while singing, which got the crowd going further.

As the night went on, every song seemed to be better than the last, and the audience (including myself) didn’t want it to end.

Right away they didn’t hold back, opening up with smash hits that everybody in the audience sang word-for-word.

Anberlin came out for their encore and played multiple songs including “Feel Good Drag,” as one of their last songs. Walking out of the Gothic, I was still somehow surprised at how good they were live, and the only thought that was circling in my head for the drive home was…I would love to see them again.

Online: anberlin.com

Denver Rockers Medic Come From Storied Past, Look to Bright Future

to the hospital, there was a nurse there that recognized the [mother’s] name from Dominick’s case a few years before,” says Aaron. “She heard the name and figured out that Dominick’s brother was born.”

TWenger@ ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

Without concern for anything other than the safety of the newborn child, the nurse made a decision that could have jeopardized not only her job, but the future of the child. It turned out to be a heroic move, even if only in the minds of the few who knew about it. She called the adoptive parents of Dominick and informed them that his younger brother had just been born. “She called my parents immediately,” says Aaron. “She said, ‘I’m not supposed to tell you this.

I will most definitely get fired if anyone finds out, but Dominick’s little brother was born and you guys need to investigate this and if you want him, come get him.”

by Tim Wenger

Every band has a story-a story of who they are, how they formed, and how they ended up with that ridiculous name. But most bands do not have a story the way Medic has a story.

Aaron Wagner and his older brother Dominick Wagner were born in the toughest of situations, from the same mother with two different fathers; Dominick, a crack baby; and Aaron, born while his mother was intoxicated, attempting to give birth herself in her home.

Through an amazing adoptive family and a lot of hard work, the Wagner brothers have been able get started on what looks to be a successful musical path, growing from what they have been through and turning it into a positive path.

Their adoptive parents didn’t think twice, they brought Aaron into the family and united him with his older brother. “I was the easy one out of the bunch,” Aaron says with a laugh.

“My parents were always interested in foster care,” says Aaron. “My folks were a foster home. I think they have had something like 80 children in and out of the house throughout the years, that they would bring in and take care of and feed and house.” Seven of them are the children of the foster parents, with four of those seven being adopted, including Dominick and Aaron.

Music has been a part of the Wagner household for Dominick and Aaron’s entire lives. “We were always kind of engulfed in music,” says Dominick. “My Dad played music growing up, and had his own band and they toured all over the place for years and years, so playing music and doing that thing was just what we did to connect as father and son. We grew up in church and started playing in church.”

Being born to a drug addicted mother, it was instantaneously necessary that Dominick find a home where he would be raised under responsible eyes. It was far from an easy shot, however, as the family that wanted to adopt him had to jump through hurdle after hurdle to make it happen. Dominick and Aaron are black, and were adopted into a white household, which even in the 1980s was a bit more taboo than it is today. “Dominick was immediately taken away from the mother, and had to get all of the stuff out of his system,” says Aaron. “It was very hard for our [adoptive] parents to get us because it would be a multi-racial home. They fought a lot of wars to get that happening.

Dominick was almost taken by a grandma that we have, but she wasn’t in great health and was already pretty old as it is.”

Two and a half years later, Aaron was born to the same mother. His story is a bit different in scenario but the same in vulnerability. “Our mother was trying to have me in the home, she wasn’t telling anyone,” says Aaron. It is unclear as to whether the birth mother was trying to hide the fact that she was having another child, but it took a neighbor hearing her screams of pain to get an ambulance to the scene. “They have no idea if she was going to try to throw me away. She was drunk trying to have me in her house or her apartment or whatever it was. A neighbor heard her screaming and called the ambulance. I was actually born in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.”

The ambulance arrived at the same hospital where Dominick was born, and what happened next could be considered by some to be fate, by others to be an act of God. “When we got

The ambulance arrived at the same hospital where Dominick was born, and what happened next could be considered by some to be fate, by others to be an act of God.

Dominick started playing drums in church around the age of six, and Aaron got into the action a couple years later, although he wasn’t very happy the instrument he was initially stuck with. “Dominick was always the drummer, my Dad played guitar and sang, and there were some family friends that would also play with us, so I would always get stuck on the bongos,” says Aaron. “I hated it. I thought it was the most degrading and humiliating thing. No one thought I was cool.”

winning some battles of the bands with their previous group Saving Daylight, they thought they had it made. “We would just go to high schools and win battles of the bands and that was pretty much it,” says Aaron. “We won all these battles, and thought, ‘We’re gonna be signed, we’re gonna get huge!’” The group went to Nashville to perform at a showcase for some legit music industry professionals, and it did not turn out as fortunately as their previous competitions. “We go to Nashville, we spend a ton of money to get out there, and they pretty much were like, ‘You guys aren’t that good.’”

“That was the longest drive back from Nashville,” laughs Dominick.

The band eventually called it quits, but Aaron and Dominick did not give up on music. “[Dominick] and I have always been the constants,” says Aaron. “Friends come and go and move away, but [we] have always wanted to play music together.” A couple of their friends, Drew Barnard and Miller Harveaux came to be in the right place at the right time for the brothers, and Medic was formed.

“We’ve done some tours with it, people have taken to it really well,” says Dominick. They have toured behind the record a few times, with good response both locally and nationally.

The EP is titled Grace and Gravity. “I think I talk a lot about change,” says Aaron. “I don’t adjust well to change. Songs are easier to write when you’re struggling or sad. I think Grace and Gravity has a lot of hopeful elements to it.

I think an overall theme is hope. I like to talk a lot about hopeful situations and let people know that there is a lot more beyond what they can see, and what is going on right now.”

Look for them to be playing more around Denver in the near future. “When we started playing shows, I think we neglected a lot of what was happening in Denver,” says Aaron.

“Not intentionally, it just never really worked out for us to hang out in Denver. We figured we should start making some friends around here.”

Online: wearemedic.com

The group has an EP out currently, with hopes of recording a full-length album in the near future.

Hey Congress, Home Depot is Hiring

by Torch

Torch@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

Most people who don’t do their jobs get fired.

We the People would like to fire Congress and start over with some folks who are “working” for solutions to the tasks at hand, and with the same obstacles we the people have been overcoming to survive. You may re-apply for your position, but be prepared for some changes. From now on, you will be job sharing with someone else, so none of you will get benefits and you will all start at $10.00 an hour.

This will be an at-will position so you may be fired at anytime for any reason.

Regardless of that, they played on. “We started traveling all over and playing in different churches that would have us,” says Dominick.

Eventually, Aaron persuaded his parents to buy him a guitar so that he could promote himself to a “real” instrument.

Now, you will all have to have pass background tests, drug tests, and have a thorough checking of references. You will probably have to work multiple jobs to cover expenses to enjoy being a congressman/ handyman, or congresswoman/ waitress at Chili’s where you bring home your shift meal to share with your family. You may need a smaller house, and good luck trying to get a mortgage, as the banks aren’t lending.

Have fun paying for gas with change you dug out of the couch, the bottom of your purse, and under the car seats. Get your hair cut at Great Clips with a coupon, buy your suits at Good Will.

“Dominick and I were almost treated as twins growing up,” says Aaron. “When I got my first guitar, they also got him a guitar. We never had formal lessons, we just learned to read tabs and ask guitar players that we knew. He was better than me at first, and I was like, ‘No! I’m not getting stuck back on the bongos.’ So I would lock myself in a room for three hours at a time playing just so I wouldn’t get stuck on the bongos.”

You see, the rest of us have been doing this for some time. I work four jobs right now in order to get by. I am tired. I have a degree, spent years working for non-profit organizations that have run out of money due to the economy, and they lay off over half the staff or close down, and my job disappears. I have enjoyed doing community work, but have now had to take a part-time seasonal job while I continue to look for work.

The two played in bands growing up and after

Home Depot is hiring. I took a position as a

April 2013 | ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

cashier, as a knee-jerk reaction to my last and loved job that ran out of money. I sat there listening to the big “Welcome Aboard” speech, and all I could think about was the wild ways one could commit suicide in a Home Depot. I thought about dangling from the rafters like a bloody display over the aisle that sells chains and garage door openers. As they played the video, I thought about shooting myself in the head with a nail gun, but then I remembered a news story where a man somehow managed to impale himself with a screwdriver in the forehead and he didn’t even notice until he saw it in his rear view mirror. My dark fantasies were simply a distraction to keep my reality at bay while sitting there trying not to cry.

We endured more instructive speeches followed by a video of the CEO. Then we were all given a folder, which included a letter from the CEO. I read it and found three errors.

I wanted to tell someone but knew that on my first day I shouldn’t say anything. All the new recruits received an orange apron, tape measure, and a box cutter. The suicide dream had presented itself with an orange handle and sharp razor blade, and I giggled. Next we were instructed to put our names on our aprons. I had to fight my desire to write “Inigo Montoya” a joke from the movie “The Princess Bride.” I just wrote my name in small letters, as I was feeling embarrassed to be there.

We had a break, and not being a smoker, I went to the training room to wait. There were two guys chatting in there and I casually posed the question about letting the CEO know about the errors in his letter. They looked at me with the shock of “How dare I correct the CEO!” I was quickly put in my place by who turned out to be the General Manager, a former football player ,and the assistant manager, a young guy with spikey hair. I asked the GM if he thought I was a little snot, he agreed. I usually have a regular case of foot in mouth disease. As much as I struggle with this job, I have a job.

The point to this is that our policy makers have lost sight of the fact that we are out here paying higher prices for the basic necessities, and people are swallowing their pride along with the day old food from the food bank. It is humiliating but it is survival.

If suddenly Congress had to play by the rules and uncertainties the rest of us do, they would become very efficient and forget party politics and get the damn job done!

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Between The Lines

by Brandon Marshall

BMarshall@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

This month we have a very special edition of Between The Lines. CMB caught up with a rocker who rarely has opened up in the past.

While Rex Brown may have been a monster on the bass, creating a wall of sound during his tenure with Pantera, he remained largely silent and let the music do the talking. Very rarely would Brown grant interviews, guarding his rock-star mystique in the age of the Internet and social media, until now.

The Official Truth, 101 Proof: The Inside Story of Pantera offers a perspective from the eyes of the silent member of Pantera. Often humorous, tragic, brutally honest, and always entertaining, The Official Truth is a unique view told in the way only one man could say it.

Scheduled for a March 12 release and published though De Capo Press, “The Official Truth” is a mustread for any fan of rock, metal, and Pantera. Coauthored by Mark Eglinton, “The Official Truth” is filled with shocking revelations, mostly chronicling Brown’s time in Pantera, and offering a story that surely will surprise the reader with each turn of the page.

“The Official Truth” is a 259-page book that flies by, while still leaving some questions and statements open for interpretation. Filled with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, “The Official Truth” is a rollercoaster ride that you want to keep speeding along with. Bottom line, “The Official Truth” is similar to the music of Pantera, no compromise and no room for bullshit. Below is an interview with Mr. Brown: CMB: You stated several times in your book how much you value privacy and how you preferred to stay out of the public eye. Was the decision to publish a difficult one for you?

Rex Brown: This book is just my truth about what my eyes saw. I had the really good, cheap seats. There were only four of us in the band that really knew what went on with the internal Pantera situation. I thought it was about time for me to go ahead and spill some truths. Even with the private life I do like to lead, I think that there was something inside of me that said, “OK Rex, it’s time to go ahead and let this thing out.” It’s just my side of the story.

CMB: Was it tough to get the words out, onto paper, about certain subjects?

Rex Brown: Of course. The whole Dime thing was f**king--some days were fun, thinking of the great things; and then others, the sad times. Absolutely, I had to brush through this thing like ten times with a toothbrush, dot the “I”s and cross the “T”s. Some days were good, and some days were really rough.

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CMB: Did you place limits on what to print and, in hindsight, do you wish you left some things out or added a few more topics in?

Rex Brown: Probably add topics in. I have 600 pages of stuff on the cutting room floor that I wanted to put in, but the book company didn’t want to. Maybe this is just the start, maybe I’ll do number two. The reaction so far has just been great; now that I know how the publishing side works, who knows, I have a bunch of stuff that would be just funny stories.

CMB: Why did you write a book mostly about your time in Pantera instead of an autobiography?

Rex Brown: For me, it was all about the jam. I didn’t care about the press or anything like that.

So, I never really said anything. To me, it’s more about the jam; it’s more about getting onstage.

It’s not about the Rock stardom or anything like that.

CMB: What do you think will be the most surprising revelation for the reader? What do you hope they gain after reading the book?

Rex Brown: Whatever you want to take out of it.

Pick your favorite story; pick your worst, I don’t care. I put my truth out there, my experiences and my point of view.

CMB: Terry Glaze is the only member of Pantera quoted throughout the book in depth. Why not include Vinnie and Phillip?

Rex Brown: Because, it’s my book, and they can write there own damn book.

tour.” Do you think the fans will enjoy the drama that’s in your book?

Rex Brown: I hope so. I put in entertainment value so you could turn the page, so you want to keep reading this thing. I’ve read so many books. Actually, to tell you the truth, I was reading “Life” by Keith Richards, Keith’s a hero of mine, and I kind of ripped the old boy off. Mine isn’t 900 pages, it’s 300 pages. It’s hard to get 20 years your life into 300 pages.

Just the way he talks in the first person, and how he has other corroborating stories to go along with it.

CMB: What was the process of writing the book? How many hours did you log?

Rex Brown: Down was in Spain, and we had like five days off. I rented a cottage. My coauthor and I just stayed in and got like 60 hours of tape. That’s a lot of coffee; just going through and trying to dig. He had his work in front of him prepared out, and we had to just edit it. That’s the hardest part, trying to get everything into 320 pages for years of your life. Like I said, I am a private person, but it was time. I didn’t want to be 65 years old and say, “OK, I’m going to write a book.” The time is now, and I think it’s a good read.

CMB: Do you think you will receive backlash for the way you portrayed a few people in the book?

Rex Brown: I couldn’t give a shit less.

CMB: Do you have any plans on a full book tour and signing copies at\ stores throughout the USA? Rex Brown: Yeah, it’s in the works. I’m trying to get the record done with Kill Devil Hill at the same time. So my plate is pretty much full.

We’re trying to go to as many places as we can to sign these books, but the problem is the book stores are going out of business, just like the record stores. It’s hard. You’ve got to find the mom and pops, but that’s what I like to do anyway.

CMB: Phil has an autobiography in the works. Have you been helping him with ideas, stories, or anything like that?

CMB: Any interest in becoming a New York Times best seller?

Rex Brown: Umm NO! Phil and I are still great friends. We talked about a year ago. He said you are going to do your work, and I’m going to do mine. We are not going to talk about it in the press, and that’s the way it is. I don’t want to turn the fans off what he does, and he doesn’t want to turn the fans off of what I do. It’s an amicable decision.

Rex Brown: If it comes to me, great!

My expectations are always at five. You keep them there, and if it goes below five, you bum out a little bit|; if it’s at ten, what the f*ck!

CMB: What I found unique about this book was how you included contributing thoughts from friends and family, from front to back, in the book. Did you want to include anyone else but declined?

Rex Brown: I basically can tell my truths and my story, but there is always collaboration and corroboration with what’s going on in the book.

To me, at least it’s honest, and that’s why I call it “The Official Truth,” because I’m not bullshitting anybody. This is through my eyes, but there are different stories that go along with it. It’s all in the same picture, the same genre, and I’m not bullshitting anybody.

CMB: In your book you state, “I’d read books like “Hammer of the Gods” and shit like that. I loved reading about the drama of Rock n’ Roll bands and what they did on

C M B : H y p o t h e t i c a l l y, if Pantera were still together, how would you want the last chapter to end?

Rex Brown: Without Dime around, that is not an easy question. I would just answer that I just hope we would have worked our stuff out by now. We all get into the same room, beat the shit out of each other, go to rehab together, and figure it out. We can’t do it without the original band. There is just no way.

CMB: Is the Pantera reunion talk frustrating for you?

April 2013 | ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

Rex Brown: Not at all. I think it’s kind of funny, in a weird way. Who are you going to get to replace Dime? Who’s going to be able to play the way he did? There are a ton of players out there, there are a ton of pickets out there, and we’ve got a ton of offers on the table, but until things are water underneath the bridge between Phil and Vince, I just don’t know. Let me say this also, I never say never. Phillip and I, we are open armed. It’s up to Vinnie if he wants to go ahead and do something like that, but I just don’t see that in the immediate forecast.

CMB: You stated in your book that Vulgar Display of Power was your favorite album to record and that magic was in the studio.

Do you have that same feeling now with Kill Devil Hill?

Rex Brown: It’s just come full circle, being able to play with the guys I’m playing with now. We have just become so tight as brothers and that feeling again. It’s full circle, invigorating, and the hunger, and just that feeling in your stomach when you know that it’s good. I’ve never been known to put out crap, and I feel confident in what I’m doing with these guys. As cliché as it may sound, when I first plugged in with these guys, I blew an amp up at the practice studio that we had, and we got down to business.

We only played like four or five tracks here in Texas, but I never met these guys before, except for Vinnie (Appice). We have been good friends and acquaintances for 20 years. I get to play with the baddest mother-f***ing drummer on the planet. I’m just blessed. These two other guys are just as good as we are, and so this adds to this big aura of, again, a music journey.

How many times are you going to get blessed?

You are not going to take things for granted.

CMB: You stated earlier that you are recording Kill Devils Hill 2 release. When do you expect that do be out?

Rex Brown: We have nine tracks that are finished down, and vocals are going on as we speak. Jeff Pilson is co-producing this with us.

Jeff is a brilliant engineer, and it’s so good to have that kind of ear. Jeff is so good with the vocals, because he is such a great vocalist himself. He knows what works, and what doesn’t.

Dewey Bragg is writing everything (lyrics) for this record, but it’s more of a collective and collaborative piece of work than the first one.

I just kind of came in and put my spice onto it. Half the songs were written before I came in. We played a few shows, then went into pre-production, and put the record out. Now, Mark Zavon and I will come up with a riff. I’ll say yes, or he’ll say no, and that’s cool. We take it to Vinnie, and he will put his two-cents in, and then Dewey will sing what he’s gotta sing. If you like the first one, this is going to knock your damn dick off.

CMB: Any final words?

Rex Brown: Go check out my book and the new Kill Devil Hill album this August or September.

We may tour in between there, you never now.

Thanks again.

Online: pantera.com

basically.” The song is available for download/ purchase on iTunes, CDBaby, ReverbNation, and other online sources.

“I think that there is a lot of the military creed in here, as in, ‘No one left behind,’” says guitarist Jeff Schaeffer. “The body is not left behind, and neither is the spirit of what you represent, and that is the American flag.”

Crosley Hotshot Drops Single With a Purpose

by Tim Wenger

TWenger@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

Local country outfit, Crosley Hotshot, has just released a new single, and in the vein of what the band stands for, it is meant to honor the troops who have served and died in foreign wars past and present. The song is called “Sing

Freedom’s Song,” and it is the first single from the band’s upcoming album.

The group has been working on the album for the past three months, and is looking at a fall release. The band has been climbing to the top of the ReverbNation country charts in Denver, and hopes that this album will put them at the forefront of the scene. “I think we are one of Denver’s best kept secrets, or worst kept secrets,” Sayer says with a laugh.

“It’s a song I wrote, it’s a kind of tribute to the men and women who live and die in the armed forces,” says keyboardist/vocalist David Sayer.

“We will never forget them, whether they are serving today or [served] back in the Vietnam or World War II eras. It is the only song that is about this, the rest of the album is about life,

“The first time we ever performed [“Sing Freedom’s Song”], we actually had the audience singing in the end of the song,” says guitarist and vocalist Andy Fontana. “That’s a rare occasion, to have that happen the very first time it is performed. I hope everyone out there enjoys it as much as I do.”

Founded in 2011 by the group’s CEO and Producer, SunnieBeats, (arguably Colorado’s most promising up-and-coming producer), and his long-time partner and protégé Rufus, they set out to raise the bar on quality, substance, and overall creativity. “We want to take you to a place musically where the radio and these “copy and paste” artists can’t take you,” says Rufus.

New Label Founded Under Name LOOPHEAD MUSIC GROUP, Focuses on Underground Hip-Hop

by Darnell Teague & Jonathan McNaughton

DTeague@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

One of Colorado’s most talented music groups, Loophead! “Get ya L’s up or take one.” via daily FaceTime chats with guitarist Harry Springer. Technology has not only allowed this young group of musicians to form a band, but also to put together an EP and hone their musical skills in the process.

Garcia flew to Denver the week of the group’s performance at Rocky Mountain Sound Garden on March 29, which was not only the band’s first show together but also marked the first time that the Colorado members met face to face with Garcia. “I feel like I’ve known him forever, but I (had never) actually met him in person,” says Springer.

Local Teens Form Band Via YouTube

by Tim Wenger

TWenger@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

Courting Disaster is proof of how convenient (and some would say easy) it can be to meet like-minded musicians and get a band going these days. The group features five teenage kids keeping their dream alive and working a hectic band schedule around being in high school; the kicker being that lead singer, Logan Garcia, resides on the opposite side of the country from the rest of the guys in the band.

While they all attend school here in Denver, Garcia is down in Florida, keeping in touch

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Their EP was put together with Springer writing and recording the music, then sending it to Garcia who would put vocals on top. Their take on metal, consistent with many of the bands prominent in the scene these days, features screaming as well as melodic singing on top of the instrumentation.

“I write all of the instrumentals except for the drums,” says Springer. “For the EP, I wrote everything instrumentally except our producer would always program the drums. Logan would write all the lyrics.”

“The guys send the instrumentals to our producer, David Alexander, who is actually my cousin,” says Garcia via FaceTime. “Generally, we’ll have an idea of what we want the track to sound like and what it will be about. Recently we’ve been writing a lot of angsty-teen sounding stuff, very angry. We’re trying to move away

Widely known as one of the state’s best production duos, Sunnie and Rufus have written and produced for some of the region’s top artists and local acts.

Crosley Hotshot came together in 2006, with current drummer “Slim” Jim Phillippe jumping on board just a couple months ago, and has seen other members come and go over the years but are very content with the current status. “We feel like the group that we’ve got right now is a really solid core of individuals,” says Sayer. “I think everybody is into it for the long haul.”

“It’s a treat for me with my background being country, southern rock, and some rock-n-roll to join a band with guys that are very good at every corner,” says Phillippe. “They all handle their instruments very well.”

The group describes their style as typical of the Nashville sound, as it includes keys, a fiddle, as well as two guitars. “We borderline on the rock edge with the guitars and keys,” says Sayer.

Catch Crosley Hotshot at the CHUN People’s Fair in June, as well the Jefferson County Fair singing an arrangement of the “Star Spangled Banner.” They also regularly gig around town at bars and clubs.

Online: crosleyhotshot.com on the freestyle circuit; fashion vixen and songstress Vogue, in-house DJ Q-Steed, beat maker King Solomon, and Loophead’s princess Precious, who is another amazing vocal talent. Together they have been hard at work in the studio preparing some monster projects slated to be released this summer and latter part of the year. With the addition of its two newest members, Lesha Rox, a powerhouse vocalist, and fellow rap lyricist Kandyman, Loophead is poised to make a huge splash in the Colorado music scene.

Each member of this Mid-west collective was recruited and hand picked by the two, and consists of lyrical wordsmith Flame, who has annihilated all competition willing to face him from that a little bit. 90% of the time my lyrics are about things that have recently happened to me. The song “Girl Named Disaster” was written about a person of the female persuasion.

I have a big problem with people who lie- I like to say I do to people who lie to me what Taylor Swift does to her ex-boyfriends.”

The debut single “Wolf in Sheeps Clothing” is out now and is available on Springer’s YouTube page by searching for Harry Springer. The EP Your Dream is My Reality will be released very soon.

The formation of the entire band follows a similar technological path, with Springer attracting other members through his YouTube channel.

“I do covers on YouTube, and I got 2,000 or so subscribers,” says Springer. “[Guitarist PJ Rutt] saw one of my covers, I was wearing a Broncos shirt, so they went to my page and we talked about getting together and maybe jamming. We met at the Word Alive concert, started a band, it broke up.”

They stayed in touch, however, and got what would become Courting Disaster going shortly afterwards. “I wanted to get another band going, so I went on YouTube and made another video asking for members.” This was how Springer first came into contact with Garcia, who responded to the video despite the obvious gap in distance. “It was me and him for a while, we did pretty much the whole EP, and then I started searching for other members, preferably in Colorado.”

April 2013 | ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

Springer reached out to bassist Henry Lovelace, whom he had heard about through friends. “It felt like I’d known [Springer] forever, it was an instant connection,” says Lovelace.

The two originally met through Facebook.

“We had a drummer in Florida, and it didn’t really work out because it was too expensive to fly him and Logan out,” says Springer. Palmer Davis came into the band on recommendation from Rutt, with his status as a permanent Colorado resident helping his case.

As many a fifteen year old would agree with, the guys don’t mind putting off some homework to practice music and tighten up their songs.

“When I go into school, they’re like, ‘Where’s your homework?’” says Lovelace. “I want to use the guitar excuse, but who’s going to believe that?”

They’ve got the teenage appeal going for them, and they sound tight enough to be twice their age. Time will tell what happens for Courting Disaster, but if anything they have proved that the new generation of musicians will go to any length to pursue their passion.

Online: facebook.com/wethewaiting

The Manager’s Corner

by Chris Daniels

CDaniels@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

I’ve managed my own band since the 1980s and despite the amazing change in technology, success in the music business is built around four tried and true elements: great music, really hard work, and timing (often mistaken for luck).

The other key element is getting the help you need to make that luck happen. These days that help is everywhere. The book I wrote for my UCD class on artist management is called “DIY: You’re Not in it Alone” and that is exactly what you need to understand.

Write. I know it sounds so simple to say and nobody who actually writes songs has ever had a clear and easy path to making money, much less big bucks. There are some tools that can help you, and some amazing outlets to take advantage of when you are ready. But the simple fact is that writing – lyrics, chord changes, melody lines, beats and “tracks” for EDM, all of it, from country to hip-hop anthems are YOUR story. If you are lucky, and if you work at the craft as hard as you can, you might actually put something down that is extremely personal to you – and by getting that honest – that song or composition becomes important to others, sometimes even millions of others.

It takes work, letting go of your own fear of being edited, finding partners to write with who force you to be a better writer, and a lot of very honest soul searching to say what it is that is exactly what you mean. I’ll get to a few

of the tools that can be helpful, but first I want to ask you something. What is more important to you - the rhyme or the story? What I hope you answered is the story. Because so many songwriters get caught up in the rhyme, that they produce wonderful rhyming lines that are meaningless.

Your task is to find the honest “thing” you are trying to say, without any thought to make it

poetry, and then make it poetry. If I want to say I love you, how do I say it the way I feel it … I mean really feel it … and then find words and melody and rhythm that eventually become something that only I could say, and yet everybody feels. One of my favorite examples is “I’m A Creep” because it is so bloody honest about what is going on at that moment in the writers heart and life.

So enough about the craft, I could go on forever about that. Let’s get to the tools. Things to check out include Creative Commons, The Durango

Songwriting Expo, the PROs (BMI, ASCAP, SESAC) various songwriting websites like Taxi, Beatport and Lyric House just for starters.

You can Google all these pretty easily, and once you find them, DIG IN. Start to understand that there is a world of dedicated music lovers out there who believe that great songwriting is one of the best things we can do for each other.

In no particular order: Creative Commons is a relatively new concept and organization that allows songwriters to make their compositions available to people that want to sample your music for mashups or hip-hop tracks etc. YOU set the dials on your songs, so that if somebody is just doing a mashup and playing it in clubs and not making any money, you can allow them to use it for free. You can also set a limit on the free use so that if somebody samples your songs and turns out a hit, you can get paid. This is a gross oversimplification but it gives you the basic idea. Check it out.

The Durango Songwriting Expo is really one of the signature songwriter outlets in the world, drawing writers from all over to their fall and spring events. Go check it out but what I can tell you is that a number of Colorado songwriters have placed songs with various publishers that are getting used in TV shows and are being cut

by major artists.

ASCAP, BMI and SASAC are all ‘performing rights organizations” that collect money for songwriters when their music is played live, on radio and TV etc. I have written extensively about them in this column but I really want to make a point of the fact that all of them encourage songwriters, and do whatever they can to help them out. Again, check out their sites, they have some really helpful tools and information. Plus, if you perform your music live, they make it possible to get paid from the ‘venues’ that are enjoying the performance of your music. It’s very easy to set up once you do a little homework.

Lyric House is a new young publishing company here in Colorado that is starting to make some real connections and placements in the industry. Again, take some time and Google ‘em up. From Taxi to Beatport to so many others out there that this little article does not have room to mention, the music business IS supporting your efforts as a songwriter. Will you make a killing right off the bat? Not likely.

But the “use” of music has never ever been greater. From video games to ‘webisodes’ to TV and movies of every shape and form, not to mention concerts, airplay and the like, it’s hard to think of a place where music is not being “used” in one from or another. So hone your craft, work at it, perfect it, study it, and make the most of all the new opportunities there are to get your music “out there” where others can find meaning in YOUR story.

The First Lady of Denver’s Bringing Back the Arts editor@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

Denver’s First Lady, Ms. Mary Louise Lee, is presenting the “Bringing Back the Arts” music competition at the Bluebird Theater on April 14th at 6:30 p.m.

Pit Stop with JC

by Jenn Cohen logo credit: unguarde.dk

Yay! Your bff’s cousin’s friend got you a photo pass for a concert! Congratulations! No, really, congrats. However, before you jump into the photo pit with your shiny new camera or . . . (insert gag reflex here) iPhone, there are a few basics you should consider.

Let’s start with, perhaps, the biggest offense: the iPhone. If you’re planning on going into the pit with an iPhone, plan on being run over. Even better? Get out, and come back when you can take quality photos of the band that made it possible for you to have this opportunity.

Have a flash? Turn it off. Not only is it distracting to the musicians and other photographers, your pictures will look like crap. Learn how to shoot without it.

Most photo pits are small, and (most) seasoned photogs have an unspoken symbiosis, like a choreographed dance, if you will. There is mutual respect. If you’re tall, stand in the back; quarters are tight, backpacks have no place there. Want to move around? A simple tap on the shoulder let’s someone know you’re behind them; never walk in front of another photographer. Seriously.

Also, it’s not necessary to style your hair as high as it can possibly go. The band members will

neither notice, nor care, how your hair looks.

They’re working, and likely being blinded by someone’s flash, so they can’t see you anyway.

Also, it sucks to be the person behind you getting a mouthful when you back up without looking behind you.

Look, we all start somewhere. There will be photographers in the pit who have been doing this for years. They will be the ones with those “big cameras.” They’ve worked hard, saved their money to buy quality gear to support their skills, so at the very least, shoot with something more respectable than an iPhone.

Also, it sucks to be the person behind you getting a mouthful when you back up without looking behind you.

Your best defense is to befriend a seasoned photog before you go in. No matter how well you think you’ll blend in, you might as well be wearing head-to-toe fluorescent orange. Ask questions; don’t assume that because you shoot photos of your friends you’ll be an expert at your first show. Concert photography is very different, learn the basics before you go in.

Students of Denver Public Schools submitted their songs to KS107.5 in March, and the finalists from that competition will perform live at the Bluebird Theater on April 14, and have a chance to win $1,000 cash, an opportunity to record a KBCO Studio C Session, a live radio interview, and an opening gig for an upcoming show at the Bluebird.

Ms. Lee, well known throughout Denver’s performing arts district, opted not to change her last name when she married Mayor Hancock, stating, “I come with my own identity.” Lee, a Denver native, has been singing and performing since the age of three, and has been an advocate for children for more than 15 years in Denver. Ms. Lee has been encouraging children to make positive choices in life, and guiding them toward careers in the performing arts.

This is the second year for the “Bringing Back the Arts” concert. It is a fundraising initiative, inaugurated last spring with the intent to grow Denver Public Schools’ arts and music programs, and will feature some of Denver’s most talented young musicians.

This is a FREE event. Tickets are available on at axs.com, or bluebirdtheatre.net, or charge by phone at 888-929-7847.

Oh, and if you plan on lifting your camera up to get some hail-Mary shot, plan on being called out. And remembered. Respect boundaries.

April 2013 | ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

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The best way to make something happen is to do it yourself.

Aaron Saye has become The Man at 7th Circle, but no matter how many epic moments happen there, he wants the focus to remain on the music. again with the Mad Caddies. My friends and I in high school thought we were filmmakers and we

by Tim Wenger

TWenger@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

Seventh Circle Music Collective, at 2935 W. 7th Ave in Denver, has become a hot spot for DIY all-ages shows across a variety of genre lines. Everything from young locals playing their first show, to punk legends like Agent Orange, has graced the stage. Aaron Saye, the man behind the scenes, has been making it happen since he took over the former Blast-O-Mat space in September of last year. The venue is volunteer-run, and is always accepting new smiling faces to help run the operations and keep Denver’s music scene out of the corporate gridlock of doom.

Colorado Music Buzz caught up with Saye at the infamous Candlelight Tavern on South Pearl Street, where this ever-responsible reporter enjoyed a delicious PBR while Saye sipped enthusiastically from a bottle of water. Saye, in addition to running the venue, has accumulated one of the, if not THE, best collections of concert footage in the state, all done by his own passionate hand. He shared his infatuation for music and the music community in Denver along with some of his best stories from his time served as a Denver’s biggest music fanatic.

CMB: How did Seventh Circle Music Collective come to be, and how did you become El Hefe?

AS: Seventh Circle wouldn’t exist without Blast-O-Mat. Blast-O-Mat started as far as I’m aware in 2006, maybe late 2005. I wasn’t involved in it in the beginning, but it came to my knowledge as an underground DIY punk rock venue. I went to shows there whenever something would peak my interest, and they started becoming more and more frequent. I got more and more interested in the stuff they were booking so I just became more of a regular. By spring 2010 I started volunteering there as somebody helping run the shows, running sound, doing door, whatever the case may be. After a couple years, in July of 2012, the guys in charge announced that they were going to shut it down and move on to something smaller and more manageable that they could focus on running, and it would be easier than running Blast-O-Mat had become. I said, ‘Would you be down to put me in touch with the landlords of the property? I would love to try and keep the venue going, whether it’s Blast-O-Mat or something new.’ They said, ‘Sure, we’d appreciate if you change the name because Blast-O-Mat is our thing.’ So I got in touch with the landlords and took over the lease as of September 2012. I put the word out to the Denver music scene that I was taking it over and I was going to do more shows more often, and I needed help running it. A ton of people came out of the woodwork from every little subculture. Everybody that is involved was really enthusiastic about it.

CMB: As far as booking out-of-town bands, do you hit them up or do you let them come to you?

AS: I have been letting them come to me. It’s been astounding how many bands have come to me about it. I would say it’s about half-and-half as far as people who booked at Blast-O-Mat before. The other half is people who have not heard of Blast-O-Mat before, or touring bands who have not been to Denver.

CMB: How did you get into music? What hooked you?

AS: If you want to go back to the very beginning, the first show I was ever at, it was friends of my parents that had a classic rock cover band that was playing at a campground. I had never experienced live music before, and the volume and energy was such a new thing. I got into actual rock music later on, and discovered punk rock after that through Blink-182. I was in 8th grade, and that was the thing that everyone in my school had discovered. From there, I discovered the smaller punk-rock bands. The first Warped Tour I went to was in 2002 with the sole intention of seeing Bad Religion. I went to the show, and discovered so many bands that day. I held that day as the best day in my life for like five years until something topped it. The first small show I went to was the Misfits at the Ogden with Qualm and the Stuntdoubles in September of 2002, and then Flogging Molly played the Ogden after that. I started going to the smaller shows and it just ballooned out of control from there. I fell in love with it and with the experience of being an audience member.

CMB: Talk about how you got into filming and some of the best things you have filmed.

AS: How I got into it was a band Throw Rag. They opened for the Supersuckers at the Gothic, and I went specifically to see Throw Rag. I had made my own shirt of their album cover, and they were like, ‘What! This kid did that?!’ and were all stoked. I just kind of became friends with those guys over the next couple times they came to town. The following April they came to town

32

were running around with camcorders making a movie. We had written in a scene in our movie for Throw Rag to act in, not having contacted them or anything. We were just like ‘Whatever, they’ll probably do it, they’re good dudes.’ So we showed up to the show all early and asked if they would do it. They were like, ‘Yeah, do you want to do it after the show or do you want to do it onstage, or what do you have in mind?’

We were like, ‘We were thinking afterwards.’ It had never even crossed my mind to try and film a show. They hooked it up with a video pass and made it all official and stuff. We didn’t have a tripod or anything; we just switched off holding the camera with our arms back by the soundboard. It ended up sounding really good so I made a live CD out of it. I filmed them again when they came back in August of 2004.

In September of 2004 this local band called the Allergies had started to play more often. They were kind of my entrance into the local punk scene. They didn’t have any recordings or anything so I was like, ‘I’m just going to bring my video camera to the show, shoot the show, then make a CD out of it so I can listen to you guys more often than seeing you.’ From there, it slowly got to be more and more until now, if I’m at a show and I’m not filming, chances are the band or the venue have told me that I can’t.

Before Gogol Bordello blew up all big, I filmed them at the Aggie and the Bluebird. Then they came again and they sold out the Gothic, and that is probably one of the greatest shows that I have on tape. I shot that Descendents show at the Fillmore (in 2012). That’s the only headlining show at the Fillmore that I’ve shot.

CMB: What makes a great live show great, and not just another band playing another set?

AS: I don’t tend to focus on the show as much as the music. If the music is average, then I guess the live show needs to compensate for that. There are some bands who will just stand there and play but it will send chills down my spine and just blow my mind because they are just such good musicians. I think the music should speak for itself.

CMB: What are you listening to these days?

AS: I was just listening to Ozzy Osbourne in the car on the way down here. I have been an Ozzy fanatic pretty much since I discovered rock music. That was my entrance into heavy metal was Ozzy and B. Other than that, I’ve been listening to Ghost a lot. They are a newer band from Sweden. Their whole schtick is that it’s like a satanic mass. It’s hilarious. I’ve always got Ghost of Glaciers spinning. Them and Native Daughters are two of my absolute favorite locals. I’ve been on a real post-rock, post-metal kick lately.

CMB: Is their anything else you would like to do with Seventh Circle?

AS: I’m pretty happy with where it’s at, honestly. I like the fact that we fill that void for the smaller bands that are only going to draw out fifty people or so. With us, because it’s an all-volunteer thing and we work off of door splits, we can afford to bring in these bands and give them a place to play. Between [us and the other DIY spots in Denver] we fill that void for that market and I really like that. We get to have these local fifteen-year-old punk bands play their first show at our place, then send them over [to the bigger venues] after they get good enough. It helps the whole scene in general. It gives them the opportunity to play their first shows without having to go out and sell those tickets to their friends and family for $15, which none of that money they get to keep. That pay-to-play crap has always irked the hell out of me.

It’s important to me to keep it all ages too, because that’s when the music scene is thriving is when these kids are 15 and 16 and just discovering music.

What I always wanted it to be is to model it after that 924 Gilman in Berkeley where Green Day and Rancid and all those bands started. I wanted this to be the 924 Gilman of Denver, where there are shows every weekend and sometimes kids will just show up because there is something going on. That has started to happen, and I am elated.

CMB: Where do you eat after a show?

AS: My house.

Online: facebook.com/seventhcirclemusiccollective

April 2012 | ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

Chunk! No Captain Chunk! with Handguns / State Champs / City Lights Fri, April 5, Marquis Theater, Denver, CO

March of Swine and The Westcoastless Crew April 12, 9:00 PM, Denver Art Society, Denver

Hank Smith, The Hollywood Farmers, and Bazikunani April 5, Denver Art Society

Tina & Her Pony Sat, April 13 , 4:30pm, The Tasty Weasel, Longmont CO

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong April, 5, The Lazy Dog, Boulder

Sonic Angels, Brainbox, Pollution, Buteo Buteo Sat, April 13 , 9:00 PM, Tennyson’s Tap, Denver CO

Sawmill Jow, Fiction is Fun April, 5, Tennyson’s Tap, Denver

Channel 93.3 presents: Soul Asylum w/ Reno Divorce, Sublingual Sat, April 13 Show 9:00 PM • All Ages • The Gothic Theatre, Englewood CO

The Rocket Summer w/Joe Brooks, Saving Verona, Ian Mahan Fri, April 5, Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO, $14 Shady Elders EP Release w/Wild High Fri, April 5, Doors: 9:00 pm / Show: 10:00 pm - Hi-Dive, Denver, CO, 21 and over $6.00 Ryan Chrys CD Release w/Little Goose, Jonny Barber Fri, Apr 5, 8:00 pm, The Walnut Room, Denver CO(Walnut St), This event is 21 and over Chunk! No Captain Chunk! w/Handguns / State Champs / City Lights Fri, April 5, Marquis Theater, Denver, CO, $12 RMRG Sugar Kill Gang vs. The United States Pummeling Service Saturday, April 6, 2013 at 6:00pm Varlet, Chimney Choir, Help Is On the Way Sat, April 6 Doors 9:00 PM • 21 and over • Hi-Dive, Denver CO Fu Manchu with Luna Sol Sat, April 6th, Marquis Theater, Denver , CO The Epilogues with Vetta Star / We Like Monsters Sat, April 6, Summit Music Hall, Denver , CO Pigeons Playing Ping Pong April 6 ,Quixote’s, Denver, CO 2nd Annual Girl Wreck Fest April 6 ,The Oriental Theater, Denver CO Sonic Archers and Happy Daggers April 6 ,12 Volt Tavern,Arvada CO Pigeons Playing Ping Pong Sun, April 7, The Goat Saloon, Keystone, CO Strong Survive Promotionz Proudly Presents: The Stress Free Tour Sun, April 7, 7:00pm, Denver, CO Thee Dang Dangs, Violent Summer Mon, April 8 Doors 8:30 PM • 21 and over • Hi-Dive, Denver CO Purity Ring, Blue Hawaii Mon, April 8 Show 8:00 PM • All Ages • The Gothic Theatre, Englewood CO Band Of Horses Monday, April 8, 2013 at 8:00pm, Ogden Theater, Denver CO Illegal Pete’s Presents: Hey Marseilles, The Wales Tue, April 9, Doors 8:00 PM • 18 and over • Hi-Dive, Denver CO Modestep, DJ MUGGS of Cypress Hill Tue, April 9 , Show 9:00 PM • All Ages • The Gothic Theatre, Englewood CO CU Denver does Motown : A Tribute to Motown, Costello & More!

Tue, April 9, The Moon Room at Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO Acid Mothers Temple, Tjutjuna, Paw Paw Wed, April 10 Doors 8:00 PM • 21 and over • Hi-Dive, Denver CO BAD RELIGION w/ The Bronx & Polar Bear Club Wed, April 10, 6:30pm, Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, CO Channel 93.3 presents: An Open Book: an evening with Justin Furstenfeld of Blue October Wed, April 10, Show 8:30 PM • All Ages • The Gothic Theatre, Englewood CO Suffocation with Exhumed / Jungle Rot / Rings of Saturn / Primitive Man / Of Feather and Bone Wed April 10, Marquis Theater, Denver, CO Charlie Parr, Gun Street Ghost, Al Trout Thu, April 11 Doors 8:30 PM • 21 and over • Hi-Dive, Denver CO Anchorage with Viretta / Second to Last / MissyGoneMissing / Parkview Thu, April 11, Marquis Theater, Denver, CO Beach Day with Special Guests Thu, April 11, The Moon Room at Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO Radio 1190 Presents: Mike Fest 2013 w/Il Cattivo, SPELLS, Miss America, Sawmill Joe, Marty Jones Fri, April 12 Doors 7:00 PM • 21 and over • Hi-Dive, Denver CO BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE: The HardDrive Tour Friday, April 12, 2013 at 6:00pm Rusko Fri, April 12, 2013 at 9:00pm, Ogen Theater, Denver CO

Johnny Marr w/ALAMAR Sun, April 21 Show 8:00 PM • All Ages • The Gothic Theatre, Englewood CO Talib Kweli with Input & Broken / Eddie Knolls / Dealz Makes Beats Sun, April 21, Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO needtobreathe Tues, April 23, 8:30pm, Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO

Radio 1190 Presents: Mike Fest 2013w/the Outfit, In the Whale, Kitty Crimes, Ark Life, Patrick Dethlefs Sat, April 13 Doors 7:00 PM • 21 and over • Hi-Dive, Denver CO

Starcar Sunday Wed, April 24, 9:00, Grizzly Rock, Lakewood CO

Slo Pain Reckordz and Strong Survive Promotionz Present: Benzo Da Crook Cd Release Party Saturday, April 13, 7:00pm, The Roxy Theatre, Denver CO

Warner Drive & Lola Black with Stay Awake Thu, April 25, Marquis Theater, Denver, CO

The Revival Tour featuring Dave Hause / Tim McIlrath / Chuck Ragan / Rocky Votolato / Jenny O Sat, April 13, Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO William Beckett with Jilette Johnson / Defy You Stars Sat, April 13, Marquis Theater, Denver, CO DeJangles and Strong Survive Promotionz Proudly Presents Spit Factory 18 Sun, April 14, 6:00pm, The Roxy Theatre, Denver CO Angel Olsen, Villages, the Still Tide Sun, April 14 , Doors 8:00 PM • 21 and over • Hi-Dive, Denver CO Suicidal Tendencies : The Slam City Tour Sun, April 14, Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO Illegal Pete’s presents: Death Anciients, Vimana, Legion of Death Mon, April 15 Show 7:00 PM • All Ages • The Gothic Theatre, Englewood CO Fear Factory with Kill Syndicate / Moth / Broken Image Mon, April 15, Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO Taddy Porter with Special Guests Mon, April 15, Marquis Theater, Denver, CO An Evening With: The Dear Hunter with Naive Thieves Tue April 16, Marquis Theater, Denver, CO GWAR w/Warbeast, Wilson Wed, April 17 , Show 8:00 PM • All Ages • The Gothic Theatre, Englewood C2C with Special Guests Wed, April 17, Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO Joshua James with Special Guests Wed, April 17, Marquis Theater, Denver, CO The Patient Zeros, Dead Pay Rent, the Jane Thatcher Band, Rusty Harrows Wed, April 17, Doors 8:00 PM • 21 and over • Hi-Dive, Denver CO Lydia with From Indian Lakes / Sweet Talker / Indigenous Robot Thu, April 18, Marquis Theater, Denver, CO Ghost B.C. Thu, April 18, 8:30pm, Ogden Theater, Denver CO Royal Dead with Captain Blood / Even Death May Die Thu, April 18, The Moon Room at Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO Tina & Her Pony Thu,April 18, 7:30pm, Swallow Hill Music, Denver CO Hell’s Belles, MF Ruckus, Harpoontang Fri, April 19, 9:00 PM, The Oriental Theater, Denver CO

He Is We (Acoustic) with Dylan Jakobsen Thu, April 25, The Moon Room at Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO LGL Records Presents: Radkey, Joy Subtraction Thu, April 25 , Doors 8:30 PM • 21 and over • Hi-Dive, Denver CO Channel 93.3 presents: Face To Face w/Teenage Bottlerocket, Blacklist Royals Fri, April 26, Show 9:00 PM • All Ages • The Gothic Theatre, Englewood CO Bonobo Fri, April 26, 9:00pm, Ogden Theater, Denver CO Dead for Denver with Down the Rabbit Hole / Stratagem / Almost Eden / Rather Dashing Fri, April 26, Marquis Theater, Denver, CO Phutureprimitive & Ill-Esha with Unlimited Aspect / Blendrix Fri, April 26, Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO Radio 1190 Presents: The Men, Glass Hits, Dirty Few Fri, April 26, Doors 9:00 PM • 21 and over • Hi-Dive, Denver CO Sam Lee (CD Release) w/ Eldren, The Yawpers, and Shannon & Jared Fri, April 26, 8:30 PM, The Oriental Theater, Denver CO Murder the Cat and The Born Readies Sat, April 27, 9:00 PM, 12 Volt Tavern, Arvada CO Speakeasy Tiger Reunion Show with Brave Song Circle Sat, April 27, Marquis Theater, Denver, CO Twist & Shout and Radio 1190 Present: Imperial Teen w/the Lollygags, the Baltic Sat, April 27 Doors 8:30 PM • 21 and over • Hi-Dive, Denver CO Fight To Unite Tour with Kottonmouth Kings & More Sat, April 27, Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO Strong Survive Promotionz Proudly Presents: Stevie Stone Sun, April 28, 7:00pm, The Roxy Theatre, Denver CO Senses Fail with Such Gold Sun, April 28, Marquis Theater , Denver, CO Octaves with Orphans / Circle of Defeat / Catholic Girls Sun, April 28, The Moon Room at Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO Touché w/Vega Evaga Mon, April 29, Doors 8:30 PM • 21 and over • Hi-Dive, Denver CO Transit with Special Guests Tue April 30, Marquis Theater, Denver, CO Har Mar Superstar, Kitty Crimes Wed, May 1 Doors 8:30 PM • 21 and over • Hi-Dive, Denver CO Red Fox Run, Instant Empire, Anthony Ruptak

Voodoo Glow Skulls with Left Alone / The Repercussions / The A-Oks Fri, April 19, Marquis Theater, Denver, CO

Thu, May 2 Doors 8:00 PM • 21 and over • Hi-Dive, Denver CO

The Broadway with The Photo Atlas / Rumours Follows / Pawnee Fri, April 19, The Moon Room at Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO

Radio 1190 and Twist & Shout Present: Crystal Castles, Pictureplane Thu, May 2 Show 8:00 PM • All Ages • The Gothic Theatre, Englewood CO

Danzig / Danzig with Doyle (Misfits Set) Friday, April 19, 8:00pm, Ogden Theater, Denver CO

To Write Love on Her Arms Benefit Show with Taking Canyon / The Coast is Ours / Syke 96 / Discount Cinema / Sell Me Short , Thu May 2, Marquis Theater, , Denver, CO

Greater Than Collective, Illegal Pete’s, and Open Air 1340 Present: A. Tom Collins ‘Stick & Poke’ Album Release Parties, Fri, April 19 Doors 8:00 PM • 21 and over • Hi-Dive, Denver CO

We Were Cosmonauts with Special Guests Fri, May 3, The Moon Room at Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO

Tesla w/Drug Under Fri, April 19, 8:00 PM • All Ages • The Gothic Theatre, Englewood CO

Barb Wire Dolls Fri, May 3, 9:00PM, Triple Nickel Tavern, Colorado Springs CO

The Worth Sat, April 20, 8pm, 3 Kings Tavern, Denver CO

Barb Wire Dolls Sat, May 4, 9:00 PM, Tennyson’s Tap, Denver CO

Tina & Her Pony Sat, April 20, 7:30pm, Wesley Chapel, Boulder CO

18 Squeeler and In The Company of Serpents Sat, May 4, 9PM, 12 Volt Tavern, Arvada CO

The Ghost Towners, Coastwest Unrest, Maudlin Magpie Sat, April 20, 9:00 PM, 12 Volt Tavern, Arvada CO

Vices I Admire EP Release Show with Special Guests Sat, May 4, The Moon Room at Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO

New Elastic Time feat Kang, Shields, Travis and Hann,Ryan Burnett (Of Signal Path) Sat, April 20, Show 9:00 PM • All Ages • The Gothic Theatre, Englewood CO

Ken Zimlinghaus Sat, May 4 Doors 7:00 PM • 21 and over • Hi-Dive, Denver CO

Soilwork, Jeff Loomis, Blackguard, Bonded by Blood, Hatchet Fri, April 12 Show 8:00 PM • All Ages • The Gothic Theatre, Englewood CO

Strong Survive Promotionz Proudly Presents: Twiztid - Abominationz 420 Celebration Sat, April 20, 7:00pm, The Roxy Theatre, Denver CO

Victory Heights with Eyes Like the Tide / Hit the Ground Running / Hemingway Hero / The Fulfillment Fri, April 12, Marquis Theater, Denver, CO

Boldtype CD Release with The Gamits / Reno Divorce / Red Stinger Sat, April 20, Marquis Theater, Denver, CO

Arliss Nancy with Lawsuit Models Fri, April 12, The Moon Room at Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO

(Hed) P.E. with Special Guests Sat, April 20, Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO

Katchafire, Maoli Sat, May 4 Show 9:00 PM • All Ages • The Gothic Theatre, Englewood CO PARAMORE with special guest KITTEN - ALL AGES SHOW! Tue, May 7, Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, CO