Colorado Music Buzz June 2015 by Keith Schneider

MANAGING PUBLISHERS Keith Schneider Keith@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com Christopher Murphy CMurphy@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com MANAGING EDITOR Tim Wenger 303-725-9359 TWenger@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com WEBSITE EDITOR Tim Wenger TWenger@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com WEBMASTER SwamiSez Web Design Swami@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

SENIOR WRITERS Chris Daniels David Elliott Thom Jackson Michael Maddon Norman Provizer Charlie Sullivan Torch Tim Wenger PHOTOGRAPHY Jenn Cohen Ted Davis Alex Geller Ray Tollison

EVENT AND MAGAZINE MARKETING Chris Murphy 720-429-8717 CMurphy@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com WEB ADVERTISING Keith Schneider 303-870-7376 Keith@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com LEGAL Stephen Replin - 303-322-7919 SReplin@ReplinRhoades.com INTERNSHIP Maddie Norton Ryan Hughes Abby Kaeser

GENERAL INQUIRIES Info@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com SPONSORSHIPS / OTHER Please email us a written request proposal for all inquires to Editor@ColoradoMusicBuzz.com 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 publicationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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.

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Colorado Music Buzz Magazine is published monthly by Colorado Music Buzz Magazine LLC (Publisher) and distributed to over 650 locations throughout greater Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, and surrounding areas. Reproduction in any manner in whole or in part without express written consent of the Publisher is strictly prohibited. Views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher or its staff. Colorado Music Buzz Magazine LLC does not limit or discriminate based on ethnicity, gender, age, disability status, spiritual beliefs, familial status, or national origin, and does not accept editorial content or advertisements that do.

The Yawpers Sign With Bloodshot Records Bloodshot Records is excited to announce that Denver shitstarters The Yawpers have joined our roster of artists. The band’s forthcoming album will be released in the fall of 2015. We’ve had our collective eye on these fellas for a while, after getting our grubby little hands on the recordings that will soon be their Bloodshot debut release, in addition to seeing the amazing video for their song “Silicone Love” on YouTube. Trust us, just watch it. (Spoiler alert: ROLLERBLADES! FIREARMS! GASOLINE!) After missed opportunities to see the band play in Chicago, we finally got a chance to catch them outside a dingy punk club in east Austin at this year’s SXSW. The band took the stage in front of a sparse, meandering, slightly day-drunk crowd on an outdoor stage during the thick of the festival, conditions that would typically chew up and spit out most burgeoning outfits and have them swear they’d never play the Austin event again. But by the end of TheYawpers’ brief set – brimming with brutal and deeply soulful bottleneck slide guitar tones from Jesse Parmet, the stylistic and outright drum kit pummeling from Noah Shomberg, and lead man Nate Cook’s irreverent effervescence and searing vocal melodies – the crowd was packed with folks who were rejuvenated, dancing, and all in (seriously, there was a woman up front who was dancing so hard that her clothes were falling off). And we were all in, too. The Yawpers craft tunes that are engrossed in creative context. Some might recall edges of the mid-1900s Delta blues, but only if those lived-in riffs were played by the MC5, broadcast through booming stadium speakers and drenched with pounds of fuzzy distortion and full-throttled punk rock energy. For what it’s worth, a friend at their aforementioned SXSW show called them “a bluesy Melvins.” They conduct parallel frequencies with the ferocious and raw proletarian roots of Uncle Tupelo, the burning-hot thrashings and cavernous sonic space of Hot Snakes, and mix in derisive scrutiny that brings to mind Ween or the Minutemen (and might we add that Cook is the spitting image of D. Boon). For a sneak peek you can check out a newer song shot live at Colorado Public Radio’s Open Air by searching on YouTube. The band is currently on tour and, if you’re lucky, will soon play a town near you. Check the Bloodshot website below for more information. 6/10 – Zoo Bar – Lincoln, NE 6/11 – Davey’s Uptown – Kansas City, MO 6/12 – Singers – Hays, KS 7/10 – Fly Me To The Moon / The Ride Festival – Telluride, CO 7/23-25 – The Underground Music Showcase – Denver, CO 8/8 – Mishawaka – Belvue, CO 9/5 – The Village at Mammoth Rock N Rye – Mammoth, CA Bloodshot artist page – bloodshotrecords. com/artists/yawpers Bloodshot tour page – bloodshotrecords.com/ tours-events/10092 The Yawpers on Facebook –facebook.com/ yawpersmusic The Yawpers on Twitter – @theyawpers The Yawpers website – theyawperes.com

HEPCAT, MEPHISKAPHELES ROUND OUT SKALORADOFEST 2015 Event Takes Place June 14 at Casselman’s Bar and Venue

Benefit for Levitt Pavilion includes 2 stages, Denver’s Biggest Ska Bands DENVER — Rock Panther Presents announces SKAloradofest 2015 on Sunday, June 14, 2015 at Casselman’s Bar & Venue (2620 Walnut Street, Denver, Colorado). Event begins at 2 p.m. and ends at Midnight. The line-up includes: Hepcat, Mephiskapheles, Alpha Schoolmarm Orchestra, Judge Roughneck, The Dendrites, Synthetic Elements, Denver Vintage Reggae Society, Oatie Paste and All Waffle Trick. Tickets are $20 presale and $30 at the door; all ages. Tickets on sale at skaloradofest.com. This event is a benefit for the Levitt Pavilion Denver project. Hepcat last performed at Red Rocks Amphitheater in 2009. “It took a lot of back and forth, but we were able to get these legends back into Denver. Everyone is really excited to see them live,” says Mike Blecha, executive producer of the event. “There will be non-stop ska all day long,” says co-producer Chad Aman, conductor of Alpha Schoolmarm Orchestra. Rock Panther will host an outdoor stage in the parking lot right behind Casselman’s Venue in addition to the one inside — with two stages going, there should be zero downtime between acts. Blecha and his team have been active supporters of the Levitt Pavilion Denver project since working with the non-profit last year for their Sounds of Levitt event. This event is sponsored by SKA Brewing and DenverMind Media and produced by Rock Panther Presents. To purchase tickets, get more information on all the acts and get updates about the event visit the website at skaloradofest.com.. For more about the Levitt Pavilion Denver levittdenver.org..

SoulTalk Bring Lynn Baker to Mercury Cafe SoulTalk Events presents: Lynn Baker and the Jazz Legends Concert Series with Paul Romaine playing the music of Wayne Shorter Saturday, June 20, 2015 8:00 pm Mercury Café 2199 California Denver, CO Mercurycafe.com Contacts: Phone: 303-428-9235 Email: lynn@lynnbakerjazz.com SoulTalk Evnets soultalkevents.com Lynn Baker Quartet lynnbakerjazz.com ReverbNation reverbnation.com/ lynnbakerquartet SoulTalk Events presents Lynn Baker and the Jazz Legends Concert Series at the Mercury Café. The concert will feature local jazz legend drummer and educator Paul Romaine performing the music of jazz legend Wayne Shorter. Joining Paul will be Lynn Baker - tenor saxophone, and CCJA Alums Steve Morley – trumpet, Annie Booth – piano, and Patrick McDevitt – bass. The all-star quintet will perform such classics as Yes or No, Infant Eyes, Adam’s Apple, as well as less well-known works like Wild Flower and Dance Cadaverous, among many others. Please join us for this great event that will also feature mandala coloring honoring the contemplative nature of some of the tunes and the connection that legends have to Buddhist traditions. $12 General Admission Reservations are suggested: 303-294-9258

Megan Burtt Speaks About Performance with Symphony by Tim Wenger

Megan Burtt joined Ian Cooke, Landlines, and Jake Clifford and performed with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra on My 28. Burtt and the other local musicians were onstage performing original music with the CSO in what has become one of the month’s most talked-about events. This show is part of the CSO’s series Turn Over The Keys. Clifford, who wrote the music charts for Gregory Alan Isakov’s performance with the CSO last November, also put together himself and Burtt’s charts for this upcoming performance. It will be Burtt’s first performance with the CSO. This opportunity for Burtt came about after CSO Senior Vice President of Program Innovation Tony Pierce saw Burtt perform at a previous gig and approached her with the opportunity to perform with the symphony. “About two months ago, I had gotten a last minute call from the Soiled Dove to open up for a couple of the guys from Better Than Ezra,” says Burtt. “Tony happened to be there as a fan of the headliner. He and I hadn’t met before that show. After he saw me open, he came up to me at the merch table and said ‘Hey give me a shout, I have an opportunity for you.” The four guest performers will each have a half hour set with the CSO. The score for Ian Cooke and Landlines was written by DeVotchka violinist Tom Hagerman, while Burtt and Clifford will perform the score written by Clifford. “The Symphony is performing our original music to the scores written by both Jay and Tom,” Burtt says. The show was a resounding success and showcased the CSO’s attempt to unify with the greater Denver music community. “Tony seems to be really breathing fresh air into the Colorado Symphony,” says Burtt. “The projects that they’ve done throughout this season have just been incredible. It’s standing out and making our symphony more an integral part of our music community.” Following this performance, Burtt will turn her focus to releasing a new album in late August, with a corresponding show at the Oriental Theatre August 29. The release will be followed by both US and European tours in subsequent months. Keep up to date on the latest happenings at facebook.com/ meganburttmusicpage.

UP-TO-THE-MINUTE NEWS AT COLORADOMUSICBUZZ.COM June 2015 | ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

All Chiefs, No Indians by Tim Wenger

All Chiefs, No Indians will be bringing an eclectic blend of indie and what can only be described as avante-garde pop to this year’s Higher Ground Music Festival. We peppered the group to get their story, and their thoughts on the scene. CMB: First things first. Give us the story of the band. ACNI: We assembled All Chiefs, No Indians with purpose. We were all involved in the local music scenes in both Boulder and Denver. Through that we all came to admire each other skills and after some awkward flirtation and late nights we formed what we hope is the band equivalent of Voltron. CMB: You guys come from a multitude of locations and backgrounds. Why did you settle on Denver? ACNI: We found ourselves in Colorado for a lot of different reasons. What keeps us here is being part of this Denver music scene. People here are so receptive and enthusiastic about new music that it inspires us to constantly be doing new things with the All Chiefs sound. We all bring a piece of our musical backgrounds to this band, that’s what makes us who we are. it feels great to play to a crowd that genuinely wants you to be successful. CMB: Have you found the scene here supportive, or have you guys felt that you’ve had to claw your way up? ACNI: To us it feels like All Chiefs are just now starting to really break into the Denver scene. We started in Boulder with a different style than what people there were used to and have been having a lot of success. You always have to claw your way up, but getting to do what we love with people we love to do it with doesn’t feel like a struggle at all. CMB: What direction do you see pop-rock heading this year? ACNI: Pop Rock means something different than it has before. We can front line synths and dance around while still spilling our souls. Now more than ever artists can pull from many different genres to create something that is still widely considered to be popular music. We love that. Musical styles in general are feeling less constrictive these days. CMB: Other than HGMF, what is the

group up to this year? ACNI: So far this years has been amazing for All Chiefs,but this band is always looking to do more. Our goal this summer is to play in front of as many people as possible, and more specifically really attack Denver leaving a trail of sweaty dancy pants in our wake. So shows, festivals, house parties, débutante balls, ice cream socials, quinceaneras we’ll be there. We are also gonna drop our second EP on the he world this Summer. Were currently gathering funds via Kickstarter, and couldn’t be more excited. CMB: What is the best place to check out your tunes? ACNI: Come see our shows!! Nothing beats the live All Chiefs experience. Otherwise search All Chiefs No Indians on iTunes,Spotify, google play, SoundCloud, Tidal, youtube etc. Were on all the major outlets. Come find us. Online: allchiefsnoindians.com

Be Calm Honcho by Tim Wenger

Be Calm Honcho is an act to be seen. The band has been putting the pedal to the metal with constant touring pushed by constant social media promotion and a memorable stage show. The music is a modern blend of indie and west coast pop and they are gaining a reputation as a band that does what they say they are going to do- here is the lowdown on the group, straight from the horse’s mouth. CMB: First things first. Give us the story of the band. BCH: Be Calm Honcho has been a gigging musical animal for just over two years. We started in San Francisco in 2013, but Alex & I met in college at Davis and started playing together there in 2010. We got our start touring with my solo material, which had a heavy folk tilt, very singer-songwriter. Eventually we began writing music as a band and have been evolving our collective musical identity ever since. We released our debut LP “Honcho Dreams” on Crossbill Records in July 2014 and are in the middle of recording the follow up. We made some line-up changes this winter and have been touring as a three-piece. Alex took the lead with song writing and our new material is more minimalist, we’re experimenting a lot with synth bass, piano and diversifying our sound.

HIGHER GROUND FACTS Higher Ground Music Festival debuted in August of 2012 in the mountains outside of Central City, CO. The festival has showcased over 100 of Denver’s top acts since its inaugural year, and has grown into a national showcase of emerging talent. If you want a chance to check out the nation’s top indie bands in an intimate setting, this is your chancebands like RDGLDGRN and DREAMERS will not be playing independent venues for long. The festival found its new home in Denver’s RiNo District in 2013 Last year, Higher Ground saw everything from rowdy cd release parties to intimate candlelight vigils. This year’s event looks to be bigger and better than ever.

CMB: How was the process of gaining traction in San Francisco? Is the scene there very supportive, or have you guys felt that you’ve had to claw your way up? BCH: Hah! I wouldn’t characterize San Francisco (or the greater Bay Area) as a cutthroat music scene. It’s just very saturated and a really popular market, so in that sense it’s competitive, but more importantly it’s collaborative and community oriented. Local musicians generally want to help each other out and certainly now that we have an greater lay of the land, I want to see other emerging artists have success and put together shows with musicians I think work hard at their art, aren’t just “in the loop” or well connected. I mean we got our start just hustling weekday shows super hard and making good relationships with bookers, proving that we really we’re going to promote and bring

June 2015 | ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

bodies out and that’s a huge priority. Being organized, polite and keeping your word with bookers goes a LONGGGGG way. CMB: What direction do you see pop-rock heading this year? BCH: I’m probably not the leading authority on the direction of specific genres, but I’m certainly observing a huge celebration of the “performance”. I think the climate is so inundated with touring bands with generic tag lines and basic line-ups and a lot of my favorite musicians are focused on distinguishing themselves from the pack. There’s been a departure from the ‘staring at your sneakers looking awkward’ aesthetic of the last decade and a lot of audiences want to find expressive and outward connection with bands. I’m a big fan of technology too and I’m always looking forward to creative ways people are going to exploit new tech to simplify, diversify, augment and improve their live and recorded music. CMB: Other than HGMF, what is Be Calm Honcho up to this year? BCH: We’ve been on a touring tear this year and our trip out to Denver in August will be the middle of our last (probably…hopefully) tour of the year. When we made our line-up changes this winter, we kicked off 2015 with a bunch of new material, a new drummer & new instrumentation. It was really important to us to get our live show groove going and just work out the northwest circuit for a while. We also have a new full-length album in the works that we’re producing ourselves so that’ll continue to occupy all of our non-road time. 2015 is still a bit of an adolescent year for us as a band and we are continuing to learn the ropes and tricks of the trade; everything we do this year is going to set us up sweet for a big fat sweaty 2016. CMB: What is the best place to check out your tunes? BCH: Well, after you buy our limited vinyl edition of “Honcho Dreams” off of bandcamp, I suggest inviting your top ten favorite people over to your house, cooking up a big pot of gumbo and quickly teaching yourself how to make a killer mint-julep (peach bitters are key!) Proceed to turn the speakers so they face the backyard, bust out your bocci ball set (or croquet) and just enjoy the ones you love most. Our music celebrates not just the west coast, but the best things in life: babes, girl vocalists & the ocean.

“It all just seemed funny,” said Kramer, again swiping a rogue hair from his line of vision. ‘It seemed funny to do seven minute sets, it seemed funny to record stupid sounds, it seemed funny to have dumb stage names.’ A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Kramer first got involved in music through his father, who would teach him on his 12-string guitar. From there he picked up piano, bass, drums, music production and, to an extent, the saxophone which he describes his abilities on as, “half my fault, half the sax’s fault.” Following his then-wife’s change of job location, Kramer then arrived in Chicago in 2009, seeking to quickly involve himself in the local music scene.

The Lemons Open Up About Touring, Band, Life by Michael Maddon

It was 5.30 when he arrived. The day’s dying light was giving way to the more customary Chicago chill as the regulars followed the sun’s lead, and slowly exited the Parts and Labor bar. Against the backdrop of the fading haze entered Chris Kramer. His denim clad arms clung tightly to the guitar cases as he waded through the front doors, trying to maintain his balance as the glass panes swung back towards him. Introducing himself to the staff by his ‘The Lemons’ pseudonym (Chris Twist), Kramer continued to haul his wiry frame and heavy load past the departing customers.

the guitar cases with a clatter. After a scratch of his head the realization that he forgot the snare drum then appeared to him. “I’m going to the apartment too, if anybody needs to come with me.” Back he went, slaloming through the ice crusted streets in a beaten-up, 90’s era Toyota Previa, littered with cassettes and cigarette ash. Accompanied by his fellow Lemon Epstein, they went back to the band’s Logan Square apartment. Inside the basement/kitchen/recording studio, they tried to avoid the distraction of a stoned friend buttering his way through a loaf of bread, and set about finding the snare drum. The room, crammed with analogue synths, vintage guitars, and Kramer’s record collection was,

“In the Mid-West its kinda the place to be,” he said almost apologetically, like he was still sorry for abandoning his hometown. His first gig was at Hotti Biscotti (“RIP’ he added remorsefully) where he accompanied his solo guitar and vocal performance with just a drum machine. In a moment that he categorizes as one of many “lucky breaks,” in the crowd at his first performance was the aforementioned Epstein. A brief meeting after the gig then served as the basis to a strong musical and personal friendship between the two. Epstein, who Kramer affectionately describes as “the man behind the curtain,” was also involved with Kramer’s other band, Slushy. Similar to the music of The Lemons, Slushy, who were formed in 2010, were a two-piece studio band that incorporated numerous other local musicians during live performances.

‘Is this the stage, Max?’ called Kramer to his fellow Lemon, with his bouncing eyes searching across the room for an alternative to the small area laid clear by the bar staff. Max Epstein, (or John Lemon as he is known in the Lemon world) nods his head spasmodically, with his short curls and pale skin the only distinguishable features beyond the glasses and baseball cap that shelter his face. Kramer is currently one of a band of five, and one of a million other musicians who seek to carve their own little space into the crowded house of the indie music scene. Whether it was with his two-piece group Slushy or now with The Lemons, Kramer displays the kind of compulsion to play and create that bewilders the onlooker and represents the long lineage of artists who still struggle against themselves in the name of self-expression. Whether playing an empty roadhouse in Florida, or a dive bar run by bikers in New Orleans, Kramer has always managed to forget about the hardships that the reality of the Rock n’ Roll dream throws at him, and persevere with the childlike enthusiasm that he emits from every guitar jangling performance. On this particular night it was ‘The Burger Revolution’ that Kramer was bringing his mile wide grin and shaggy, hair-waving charm to. This is an event promoting the live performances of indie artists in venues all over the world from Tel Aviv to London, New York to Rome. Kramer’s band, The Lemons were opening the Logan Square incarnation and, despite the worldwide reach, The Burger Revolution was unfolding like little more than just another night for Kramer. “Hey, I’ll be back in a minute. I need to park the van first,” he called to his band-mates, dropping

“You can’t survive on music alone,” confessed Kramer, who is a journalism graduate from the University of Nebraska. “All of the members in the band work other jobs. I work nine to five downtown for a marketing company… But life isn’t that bad.” He continued, “It’s easy to stay happy on stage, it’s the best thing I get to do.” On the way back to the venue, the two reminisced about the origins of The Lemons. Snare drum in hand, Kramer bashfully began, “Me and Max started about five years ago,” he said, his words stumbling past his cigarette. “We would write these little jingles for, like, Logan’s Theatre.” At this point Max and Kramer hum the chorus line a few times for nostalgia’s sake, before breaking up into laughter. “Did we ever try to sell those to the companies?” asked Epstein. “Oh god no, they never heard them.” Upon arrival at Parts and Labor, the tension of the band seemed to rise along with the increase in audience numbers. “We usually win them over by the end,” said Kramer as he began to trawl through his memory bank. “I think it was in Florida that we played to like, 4 people,” he recalled. “We ended up playing ‘Ice Cream shop’ a record 14 times, I think we even did a dub version near the end.” To the uninitiated, Ice cream shop is a 27 second burst of Lemons’ pop that fizzes past your ears like a shook up bottle of Sprite. There would be no such problem tonight. The crowd, mostly angel headed hipsters, filled the entirety of the stage floor now, with a sea of fake Buddy Holly rimmed glasses and plaid shirts canvasing the bar. Among the crowd was the band’s housemate Maddie Williams. “Chris is just so warm-hearted; there’s always a smile on his face,” said Williams, bouncing gently on the balls of her feet. “His music is such a reflection of his personality,” she continued, “A band that lives downstairs could be the worst thing in the world, but Chris and the guys are just wonderful housemates.” Soon they were onstage, and almost as soon they were back off again. High energy and short song length meant that their set of 12 songs was no more than fifteen to twenty minutes long. “Play the long version,” heckled one unimpressed member of the crowd, as the band rattled through their jangling jingles, without reprieve.

like the minivan, enamored with the stench of eye-reddening smoke that could make an anchor fly. “We’re kinda like the Partridge family... except with weed,” said Kramer, as he roughly brushed his lank blonde hair away from his bouncing eyes. Indeed The Lemons, since their formation four years ago, have built up a reputation as the “sunshine band of Chicago.” Their music is light, happy, and rarely outlasts the two-minute mark per song. Online fans have also, to the chagrin of Kramer who prefers “Rock N Roll,” described The Lemons sound as “bubblegum pop so sweet that it could give you a toothache.” The band’s retro 60’s jangle, mixed with their stoner punk appearance and a lexicon of lemon based puns (‘Lemon Shake up’ anyone?) gives off an air of calculated randomness. However, the genesis behind their very particular, and largely unique aesthetic is a lot less considered than one would think.

However, trying to pin down just who these members were at each stage of the bands existence is like trapping a fly with a cheese grater. As Kramer points out when defining the Chicago music scene, “Everybody plays in everybody else’s bands. You get used to it after a while.” Kramer’s original bandmate and co-founder of Slushy, Brent Zmrhal is currently still an official member of the band however his relocation to Seattle has more or less ended the immediate future of Slushy. The absence of Zmrhal, and the addition of Kelly Nothing, Kimmy Slice, and Juicy James to the musical partnership that Kramer already forged with Epstein, has eventually led to the sunshine brand of Rock N’ Roll that The Lemons emanate from their Logan Square base.

Standing on stage, guitar in hand, Kramer looked the physical epitome of what you expect an indie rock n roller to look like. Years of playing and touring across the country have molded him into a lean, shaggy haired brush shaft, held together with tight, pale denim. He played and sang loosely, as his head bobbed back and forth to the beat. Really on stage, whether as Chris Kramer or Chris Twist, he seems to undergo no transition. There is no dichotomy in character, no façade in his performance. When you see him smile across stage at his fellow Lemons you can believe it is genuine. He’s just happy to be playing. “My Ultimate goal?” he repeated, trying not to laugh at the question. “An LP for the Lemons would be cool, but really, I’d also like to be able to pay our rent.”

For a band to be so focused on the bright side of life, the natural inclination for any onlooker would be to question how to always keep smiling.

The Lemons are playing the Rhinoceropolis in Denver on the 22nd of June as a part of their summer US tour.

Kramer acknowledges that the life of a musician is not an easy one.

June 2015 | ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

and the Kids Table),” says Nicole Swan.

The A-OKs Are Back With New Album, Same Beer Bong by Tim Wenger

“Mark, whenever we’re on stage, he always goes ‘We are the A-OKs, and YOU are the AOKs, and that is one of the biggest things we have always done is to make them a part of us.” Inspiring words from The A-OKs trumpet player Nicole Swan, describing front man (and husband) Mark Swan, and seeming in an instant to summarize the band’s attitude over their seven year rise up Denver’s ska and punk rock scenes by including their fans as their own. Perhaps that’s why their force unsuspecting journalists to hit the beer bong during interviews- after I proved to them I was worthy, everyone cheered. I felt welcome (and relieved-it’s been a while since college). Their live shows are rowdy, loud, and often involve a good portion of male nudity mixed with the occasional on-stage broken bone. The group has has shared the stage with so many of the ska and punk world’s heroes, everyone from The Slackers to MxPx, that they’d need more fingers in order to count them all. This summer, The A-OKs will be bringing their self-described “ludicrous” stage show party across the country on their first coast-to-coast tour. “We’re really proud to announce that we are one of two bands headlining the Ska Revivial Tour,” says Mark Swan. “It’s going to be us and our good friends from Las Vegas Be Like Max.”

These days, four releases is quite an accomplishment, one that the seven current band members aren’t taking lightly. I walked in to their band practice, and prior to being handed a lukewarm PBR, overheard Nicole Swan explaining a recent call to what I was led to believe was a promoter or booking agent surprised by the band’s level of accomplishment and perseverance. The current and former guys and gals in the group have all put in extreme personal sacrifice of both time and money to get the band to the level they currently play at, and it certainly didn’t happen overnight. full month in the van. “Our last tour was based around doing the west coast leg, but this year we get to do the whole thing,” Mark says. As they have never toured to the east coast, the group hopes to work with some of the region’s premiere ska bands locally to support the out of towners, with a similar concept on the west coast. “This is our first time heading further east than Council Bluffs, Iowa,” says trombonist Matt Sanchez. Dates for the tour are July 13-August 8. Local ska stars The Dendrites will be joining on select days. Denver fans may have seen Be Like Max on the bill with The A-OKs a few times in the past- the two bands have been hosting each other in Vegas, Denver, and in-between for couple years now. “It’s fun going around with Be Like Max, it’s like a traveling circus because it’s two big bands,” says A-OKs guitarist Justin Cantrell. “When we meet together, it’s a lot of fun. There is a lot of different dynamics playing off between us.” The two bands have become close enough that A-OKs sax player Mark Malpezzi throws down some licks on the new Be Like Max album and will likely be jumping up to rock with the group on the upcoming tour.

Last summer, the group played an opening slot on part of the ska revival tour, but took the promotion this year and signed up for a

Speaking of new albums, June 20 sees the release of Maybe Partying Will Help, the much-anticipated (as proven by the successful crowdfunding campaign) fourth offering from The A-OKs. Recorded at Black In Bluhm studio with Chris Fogal (of The Gamits), the record demonstrates a strong amount of musical maturity for the band while still maintaining their signature, frantic ska/punk energy. Celebrate with the band at the Bluebird Theatre that night. “It’s being mixed and mastered by Steve Foote (Big D

Instant Empire Strikes Back

around for four years and they weren’t happy with where they were musically, they needed to find their Mike Mogis.

by Charlie Sullivan

Local alternative rockers Instant Empire took a leap of faith this past year and are about to be compensated for the consistent effort they’ve put into their music. With the solidified line-up of Scotty Saunders (vocals), Sean Connaughty (guitar), Aaron Stone (bass, vocals), Doug Chase (keys, guitar, percussion), Lou Kucera (guitar, vocals), and Tristan Kelley (drums) the lads set off for Philadelphia in October of 2014 under the tutelage Jonathan Low to record some new music. Things worked out so well that after the recording sessions for the soon to be released Lamplight Lost, June 23rd, they hooked up with John Vanderslice and headed off to San Francisco in the latter half of October to record the second half of the record. Prior to their travels Chris Tyng, Grow Music Project, connected with the band and produced the “Dead Air” single. The turn that Instant Empire has taken with the new music is astounding, fans of the band and soon to be fans are in for a treat. The band has been

“We took a definitive step as a band about a year ago,” says Saunders, “I was walking back from lunch and thinking where are we, where are we going to record our new record.”“We were rehearsing one night and I threw down the gauntlet,” continues Saunders, “Since that night there’s been a big difference in our thought process.” “We were talking about how we could go about finding someone great to work with,” says Connaughty, “And came up with the idea to reach out to all of the top producers we could think of.” “It worked out and John Vanderslice got in touch with us, things started to fall into place after the call,” adds Connaughty.

“One thing that we did that I noticed a lot of bands back in the day didn’t do was spend a day or two going around town with fliers, either printed from the venue or printed out of your own pocket, and making a day of posting it at every record store you come across, every sign post that seems to draw people’s attention,” Mark Swan says. The modern age of social media have made it a bit easier, but The A-OKs have found that nothing beats some good ole’ fashioned street work. “Talk to people, make friends with everybody, go to pages of bands that are bigger than you and talk to them,” Swan says. “Don’t count on social media for everything, but when you get to a certain point where you have relationships based on your reputation, just be everyone’s friend.” Bands like The A-OKs, who are certainly known for creating a sense of community at their shows, are the bands that make a scene coercive and whole. By becoming friends with everyone, and making their fans feel a part of the show, they have maximized the sense of their shows being the place to be in Denver. “I remember in our early days, we had some interesting tactics,” laughs Sanchez. “There was a point where we were young and at least somewhat attractive, so it was, flirt with all the girls and maybe they’ll want to come see us. Another big thing that we did was that we were a ‘yes’ band. If we got offered a gig, we weren’t especially difficult to work with. We’d be like’ Oh, drink tickets? WE”RE IN!’” “We talk to people, we give them stuff, we do whatever it takes just to make them feel comfortable at our shows, rather than The evolution that the crew has taken with the new material is stunning to say the least. The band has always come at their music with a lot of humility. Now they’ve cleared a big hurdle and have learned to believe in themselves and not be jackasses. They’re last EP, Keep Up, was the bands attempt to let people know they could rock with an abrasive edge. They were trying to be tough and show a little attitude. It didn’t suit the band. The time spent with Low and Vanderslice revealed a new side to the band. The group let their guard down and learned that they could have softer spots in their songs; they didn’t need to be as tough and could stay true to the songs. The new music maintains the punchy flare that the band has always had, “Young Adult Fiction” and “Flickering Youth”. The new songs “Neighbor Girl” and “Zoo Lions” have a slower groove, something the band hadn’t really experimented

June 2015 | ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

completely ignore them and stay downstairs and do nothing,” Nicole Swan adds. “That’s how a lot of bands don’t get further than they do, because they just are that band on a show rather than becoming someone that (fans) like.” But even with all this positivity and fun, the clouds still occasionally roll in. A band, especially one with seven members, has to make some tough calls now and then. Sometimes you have to say no, and sometimes you have to say goodbye. “I think the kicking a member out thing is probably one of the single hardest things of my entire life,” says Sanchez. “Because you think about it like, everyone here is making insane sacrifices to do this, and that person is doing that too. They went all in on the dream too, and to cut someone off from that, ugh.” Like the saying goes, though, from sorrow comes strength. The A-OKs are, seven years later, a strong rock in the wall of Denver’s ska and punk communities and along with other groups like Potato Pirates and 3 Grams Over an Ounce (RIP) have helped the scene to become an inclusive one over the years, even with bands around them constantly forming and ending. “We kind of stepped into the scene at a moment it felt like it emploded,” says Sanchez. “In one summer, it felt like we lost The Rightaways, The Haggardies, 12 Cents For Marvin.” Luckily for Denver, The A-OKs have done more than their part to fill the gap. It has been a hell of ride, even just watching these guys grow over the years, and their train shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. An A-OKs show is not an event you will soon forget and the seven members of the group are hard at work adding on to their laundry list of accomplishments and having fun the whole time. “Internally, one thing that we’ve always been pretty good at, and I think this is reflective of the album that we’ve done, is setting your goals, knowing what that next step is, stating your goals and having everyone on that same page,” says Cantrell. “What’s really been cool about this album is that everyone has done that. Whatever you want to do next, just remember that it’s going to be work and nothing is just going to happen for you.” I’ll do a beer bong to that. Online: facebook.com/theaoks with. The songs are quietly powerful and the energy builds as the songs progress; it’s great music and the new tempo suits the bands dynamics. The feature song from the album is “Dead Air” and the accompanying video is incredible. The song takes on coping with loss, the fear of dying, being left alone, cheating death, and feeling cheated; it’s a powerful piece of music. The video takes a young girl trying to cope with loss (is this really happening or is it all just all in my head) and uses spirit animals to bring the message home; it’s all beautifully done. The band is in the middle of an extensive promo project with Team Clermont out of Georgia to ramp up the release of the new album. They’ve also pumped the release with an OpenAir session on Colorado Public Radio. This is infinitely bigger than anything the band has ever done, wish them luck. “To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself, incredible, and inconceivable.”

The Jesus and Mary Chain are Old, and That’s Okay by Dave Elliott

I think back to the music I was listening to as a 13year old dork in 1985, and it’s not a very hip playlist – basically, it was whatever Casey Kasem told me was good that week. I was too young, too sheltered in my (red) neck of the woods to even hear about anything cool in the world of music, much less find a way to actually explore it. While I be-bopped my way through the often-cringe worthy sea of the American Top 40 tunes (listen to Eddie Murphy’s “Party All the Time” and disagree, I dare you), there was a hell of a lot of cool music being made around the world…I just didn’t find it until I was old enough to join the military and move to a big city with a college radio station and MTV (I’ll never forget you, 120 Minutes). That’s how you found the cool stuff in decades past. The first song I heard by the Jesus and Mary Chain was “Reverence” from their 1992 release, Honey’s Dead. Great song: driving beat, fuzzy bass, wall of distortion, controversial lyrics, maaaannn. Bought the cassette, blasted it, played air guitar on the steering wheel, trying to match the strange noises coming from William Reid’s guitar. How’d he even make those sounds? What was this strange, glorious noise? It wasn’t until years later, perhaps the mid-nineties, before I listened to their 1985 debut album, Psychocandy. At this time, I was into the Cure, Depeche Mode, Catherine Wheel, Lush – I felt pretty hip to what was going on in the UK music scene. What I didn’t know is where much of it was born, and Psychocandy popped me on the head like a drunken grandfather telling me to go change the channel. Part noise-rock, part pop, part doo-wop, smattered with dark lyrics that both complemented and confused the music behind it, I found myself instantly sorry that I hadn’t discovered the album at the same time I discovered the Cure’s Disintegration. They would have been perfect companion pieces. Hell, throw in Joy Division’s Closer, and it would have been the trifecta of forlornness. Where’s my black nail polish? My eyeliner? My mother-loving hairspray? Where was I? Oh, right – a military kid in his early twenties, discovering the roots of noise-rock. Going

Is Anti-Flag Still Legit? by Tim Wenger

I was a sixteen year old kid growing up in the Denver suburbs the first time I saw Anti-Flag live. Truth be told, I was at the show to see Less Than Jake, but the giant, inverted and reversed American flag that Anti-Flag used as a backdrop for their set and the rally-like energy they brought to the stage has remained imprinted in my mind ever since. I felt like I had joined some radical political movement just watching them play their songs. I was literally swept away by the message, a fresh and willing new member of their punk rock army that was, at that impressionable age, just beginning to form my own opinions about how I wanted to live my life. There were many things about that night that I’ve kept with me over the years. My friend Jon getting onstage and drinking off the makeshift bar LTJ had set up in the corner for themselves and then rambling on and on in a drunken tone in the passenger seat of my piece of shit car on the way home. Us both jumping over the barricade into the pit area from the GA seating of the Paramount Theater and ducking down behind some meatheads every time the bouncers walked through to check wristbands. Jon eventually getting busted and kicked out, then sneaking back in through the front

back in time from Honey’s Dead, which I listened to religiously. Climbing down from the branches to the roots, through Automatic and Darklands, finding the beginning: the revered debut album, Psychocandy. It was a fascinating, emotional journey, and I loved every minute of it. Fast forward to now. May 2015. In my forties, kids, lame-ass, grown up responsibilities. In my neverending quest to be a good father, my 16-year old daughter and I traveled to Denver to see one of her favorite bands in concert, All Time Low. It was a decent show, but boy, was I out of place. By, like, 30 years. I occasionally made eye contact with another member of the Sad Dad Club and nodded solemnly, the unspoken solidarity of knowing we had to survive this thing together. As far as I know, we all made it out alive and mostly unscarred. The best thing about the trip, besides hanging will my cool-ass kid, was catching a glimpse the marquee of the Ogden Theatre, right across the East Colfax from our hotel, boldly displaying: 5/11. The Jesus and Mary Chain. The Black Ryder. All just 48 hours after the suburban teen angst of All Time Low. Whaaat? I’m there. Ear bleach, amIrite? -The opening act for the show was an Australian band that I hadn’t heard of before, the Black Ryder. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but what we got was eight dreamy, poppy, gloriously lush songs. Drawn in by singer/guitarists Aimee Nash and Scott van Ryper, it was as if Lush and Mazzy Star had set up camp in the Grand Canyon and decided to cover some Sonic Youth and Belly songs. By their swirling finale, “Let It Go,” I was hooked, and I mayyyy even have forgotten that they weren’t the headliners. Just for a second, though, I promise. If you haven’t listened to them before, go to your favorite streaming music site right now and, at the very least, check out “Gone Without Feeling” and the aforementioned “Let It Go.” Go ahead; I’ll wait. *busying myself* Welcome back! Good stuff, right? That was just a small taste of what we were awash in that night. After you’re done reading this, perhaps you’ll skedaddle to your nearest music store to buy (or just sit there in your pajama pants and download) the Black Ryder’s first two albums, Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride and The Door Behind the Door. Just don’t download it illegally, guys – help them make a few bucks. I need to ensure I have another opportunity to be near Nash. door. The feeling of waking up the next day comfortable enough in my thoughts to confirm everything I had begun to think about what I had seen in my young life, from topics as big as religion all the way down to the cookie cutter house I grew up in. Really, this show was the defining moment of my teenage years and has since been made a personal legend as the best show I’ve ever seen. Over the course of the next week, I took all of the extra money I made from working at the grocery store across the street from my high school and bought the albums of the three bands I hadn’t previously heardAnti-Flag, of course, plus New Found Glory and Teen Idols- at Angelo’s CDs and Tapes. The previous few years had seen me begin the fall into my addiction to live music but that night was the injection that put me over the edge. Over the fifteen years and thousands of nights spent at shows since, I’ve yet to have a punk rock memory trump that night. Here in 2015, an email came in to my inbox with the opportunity to speak with Anti-Flag drummer Pat Thetic in regards to the

After a somewhat surprisingly short intermission (hey, that smoke pit is tiny and jam-packed with us folks in our forties, shuffling along), the lights dropped, the smoke billowed, and the Jesus and Mary Chain came out, readying themselves slowly and deliberately, sipping bottled water (a friend had told me had been at a show on the original, infamously violence-marred Psychocandy tour, and that they had come out too drunk to perform, the disaster lasting only about fifteen minutes followed by flying bottles and riots and carnage – all of my 155 pounds were braced for anything). Singer Jim Reid politely informed us that they would be breaking the show into two sets: a shorter assortment of some hits, followed by a brief intermission, and then Psychocandy performed in its entirety. The crowd understandably erupted into cheers and applause as the band launched into it.

live. The crass crispness (or crisp crassness?) of the bass and guitars was urgent, dagger-like, forcing your body to absorb it. The thud of the kick drum, ruffling your shirt, made you bounce along whether you wanted to or not. At the risk of being labeled BLASPHEMER the album sounded a dozen times better that night, live and just a shade over thirty years later.

And boy, did they ever. If you didn’t know it, you never would have suspected you were listening to a band 30-plus years into their career, playing songs they’ve no doubt played hundreds of times in front of thousands and thousands of screaming fans. Sharp-sounding and tight, buried underneath layers of feedback, scraping guitars and fuzzed-out bass, they sounded more powerful, more vital, that night than on any of their albums.

After the finale, “It’s So Hard,” there was a buzz in my body that wouldn’t leave for hours afterward (and, no, it wasn’t the beer or my happy pills). The droning, the thudding, the smooth-as-goth lyrics rattled around in my body as the lights came up and the brothers Reid and their band of merry men walked off the stage, again waving politely. It was likely just another routine night for them. Maybe somewhere in the back of their mind, they were thinking about a paycheck. Isn’t that what all the old bands do after so many years? I mean, come on – Mick Jagger has to want to blow his brains out every time Keith-UndeadRichards cranks out the opening riff to “Satisfaction” on stage, right? When (insert 2015 drummer here) starts whacking out the Shangri-Las drumbeat to open “Just Like Honey,” can Reid honestly feel the any semblance of the maudlin, affected emotion that led to the final verse of the song, “Eating up the scum is the hardest thing for me to do…”?

The highlight for me was “Reverence,” which they stretched out from the almost-four minute long album version to what seemed about seven minutes. Reid’s vocals were as cool as the other side of the pillow as he told us all about wanting to die like Jesus Christ. Like JFK. By the end, the repeated cries of “I wanna die…” became very nearly agonized, the crowd screaming right along, middle-aged fists pumping in the air, like it was 1992 all over again. It will likely go down as one of my favorite live music moments ever, up there with listening to ten thousand Metallica fans chant “Die! Die! Die!” during “Creeping Death” in 1989. Something about crowds chanting about death gets me going, I suppose. (Noting for my next head doc visit.)

It doesn’t matter, frankly. Not anymore. The fans have aged along with the band (I spoke to one younger couple, perhaps in their early twenties, who seemed surprised that there weren’t more younger fans in attendance), and you don’t buy tickets hoping to see the infamous violence of the first Psychocandy tour. At this point, the pure joy comes not from the antics, the pageantry, the spectacle. Nope. It comes from hearing a goddamned classic album being played right before your eyes. Not just played, but played amazingly well. My body buzz was strong as the salt-and-pepper haired gents exited stage left. I wondered, though, did they know what it just meant to the fans? Did they see the awe in the aging eyes of the crowd?

After the first set, another brief intermission abruptly ended by the opening drums and guitar riff to “Just Like Honey.” Cue the crowd going nuts again, and it was well deserved. If Psychocandy suffered from one problem, it was a common one on nearly all small-label releases in the ‘80s – slightly muffled and dirty production. This was definitely not the case

Did they feel the reverence?

band’s new album coming out on Spinefarm, American Springs. My initial thought was that I don’t really care to talk about the new album. I’d rather pepper the guy with questions about what I’ve taken from their music to see if they are still walking the walk after all these years.

that they still care about the scene as a whole and the things they have been singing about for over twenty years. Pat elaborated on how their actions have evolved as they’ve gotten older. “One thing we’ve learned as we’ve gotten older are where the battles are that we can win and where the battles are that we can’t win,” he says. “When we were younger, we would fight any battle even though you couldn’t win it. Now, there are some battles that I know I can’t win that are still a part of my heart and I will still fight them personally, but I know I can’t change the US into a socialist economy in the next 25 years. It’s just not going to happen.”

So, on a recent Thursday after a few beers with my Dad and an awkward time-killing stroll through Denver’s Ballpark neighborhood that ended up landing me half-cocked at a Cuban cigar bar drinking fine wine and smoking a Dominican, I sat down with Pat in a dressing room at the Marquis Theatre to see what I could get out of him. Is the drummer of a band of notorious non-drinkers about to call me out on being sauced? I doubt it, this is a punk show. We’ve all got at least a bit of a libertarian mind set here. To each their own. In many ways, most that I could tell, Anti-Flag has stuck to their roots. Playing a small allages club like the Marquis and taking the time to talk to fans before their set, and to prying journalists like myself before that, I got the vibe

June 2015 | ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

I was curious as to their thoughts on the battles they are fighting for. In terms of one that society is dealing with currently, I asked for Pat’s thoughts on climate change and the music industry’s part in it. “We deal with this a little bit in the song “The Debate Is Over” on the new record,” Pat says. “Changing your light bulb, sure. That’s going to change the world a tiny little bit and I’m in favor of that, but it’s not the light bulbs that are the problem. It’s the economy and how people use greed and how the US rewards greed. Until there is a change

CONTINUED on pg 19

Anti-Flag from pg 18 on that, we’re not ever going to get a handle on climate change. Rewarding greed, and rewarding consumer culture where we create things just to be thrown away, no matter what light bulb you put in we’re still going to suffer.” They still drive a gas powered van around the country just like you and me drive a car to work. “We haven’t found another way to get from Pittsburgh to Denver to play a rock show,” Pat laughs. Within their band and crew, they have worked to make sure everyone is happy and content with the way their affairs are run dayto-day, however, and as he said about choosing their battles, they believe in making differences where they can. “I think in our little community that we’ve created, the four of us in the band and the guys that have been with us the last ten, fifteen years, we have a more socialist world within our world, and that is a way of us achieving these goals that we believe in. We can’t achieve them in the broader macro-world but we can achieve them in our micro-world and that’s important to us.” Their world has seen them go from local punk rockers to a major label band with song placement in big video games, but through it all they seem to have not forgotten who they are and the scene that helped them get there. During the show following this interview, front man Justin Sane talked repeteadly about how proud the band was to be a part of the punk rock community and made every effort to make the crowd feel a part of their own. These guys don’t at all come across as big rock stars but as normal dudes in a band, a trait I have found quite a bit when dealing with punk bands over the years. “There was glamour for about a month when we did some stuff with Rage Against The Machine and got to hang out with those guys,” Pat says. “That was about it. We’ve been in vans, we’ve been in busses,

New TV Show Focused On Local Music ‘Now Playing’ editor@coloradomnusicbuzz.com

Over the past few years, the music scene here in Denver has been fortunate enough to gain a handful of local TV programs focused on promoting the music community and the artists that make it happen. Denver Film Compay and founding members of local microbrew stars Black Shirt Brewing have been running a show called Now Playing, which just aired their fifth episode. CMB caught up with founders Marty Jones and DFC’s Gabriel Dohrn to get the lowdown on the program and what is upcoming. CMB: You guys are working with Black Shirt Brewing, KGNU, and Denver Film Company. That’s a pretty good sponsor list, what is the show doing that is attracting so much attention? NP: The show was actually founded by members of Black Shirt Brewing Co & Denver Film Co as a side project – one filled with all of our passions. Early episodes were filmed at the brewery with Denver Film Co’s equipment and crew, then postproduction was all handled by Denver Film Co. Almost immediately, we decided that we couldn’t have a worldclass show without world-class sound and so we partnered with Evergroove Studio in Evergreen to run the live sound, as well as record, mix, and master for our episodes. The result is

we’ve been in RVs, we’ve been back in vans again so the life when we got in a van 22 years ago and said we’re gonna go on tour is the same life we have now. “Where we’ve been lucky is, all four of us and the broader community around us, we’ve been consistent for the last ten to fifteen years. That consistency has been able to come out in the music and how we perform our business, how we manage our lives, and how we are as human beings.” I can get down with that. As for the new record, which is out now, the guys wanted to breath some fresh air. The previous couple Anti-Flag records were recorded completely DIY, a sharp 180 from their time spent on RCA from 2005-2009, and released on SideOneDummy. For this one, they kept it real but decided to branch out a bit. “The last two records we did, we recorded ourselves in our practice room, just the four of us,” Pat says. “We didn’t want anyone else’s input. The new record, we felt like we had gotten back to where we wanted to be and it was time to take a few risks.” The guys reached out to Kenny Carkeet of AWOLNATION and connected with his producing partner Jim Coffman. “We said ‘Hey, we’ve got these great songs and we want you to listen to them,’” Pat says. “(Jim) had toured with us in one of his bands when we were on Warped Tour so he knew what we were about.” They recorded in LA and incorporated Coffman’s perspective into the final recordings for the album. “It was good,” says Pat. “We were looking for something to expand a little bit and they took us in some directions that we wouldn’t have gone.” Online: facebook.com/anti.flag.official

a team of highly skilled and passionate people working together on a show that we all believe in. CMB: Give us the background on the program and how you all came to work together. NP: Gabe of Denver Film Co & I (Branden Miller – head brewer and co-owner of Black Shirt) are best friends and have been for years. We dreamed this idea up because we believe there is a major movement happening in the Denver music scene and we don’t believe anyone is truly capturing it and telling its story. Additionally, we believe that the Denver music scene ties directly into the food, drink, art, and culture of our city. We see these as very important pieces of the city, and things that should be celebrated. That is our mission. CMB: How does your season structure work? How many episodes, how many seasons, etc? NP: Right now we’re releasing 8 episodes a season, we have 2 seasons done, and the 3rd season is in post production. Many bands have 2 shows created about them. There is so much story to tell, and great music to hear, that we found that 1 half hour episode just didn’t do bands justice.

PRESS PLAY: HOT VIDEOS FROM COOL ARTISTS Slow Caves Drops SXSW Documentary by Tim Wenger

Fort Collins rockers Slow Caves brought some major debauchery down to South By Southwest with them this year. Lucky for us, they also brought along a camera to document it. The footage was recently debuted at coloradomusicbuzz.com. Here are some words from the band and the production team at Rev Films, LLC, about the process. CMB: Tell us about the process of making this documentary, and how the filming went. Who did the filming? SC: Rev Films, LLC was the brains behind this documentary. They shot and edited the whole thing and really helped us piece together a storyline that portrays our trip to Texas. All we had to do as a band was be musicians and that really helped us have a successful trip. Not to mention that the guys from Rev Films, Ethan and Dimitri, are a lot of fun and made us feel really comfortable. I think that’s important, to be able to be yourself in front of the camera and this documentary really captures who we are as a band. CMB: Did the filming and editing flow smoothly or was it a pain in the ass? SC: For this documentary we shot over 13 hours of footage. So compressing that into a 10 minute video was really hard. There are tons of funny stories Working with 2 episodes, we can bring out different aspects of a band in each episode, and tell a grander story. For Covehoven, the first episode focused on his upbringing, and the family cabin his grandfather built by hand. The cabin itself is named Covenhoven. The second episode focused on his collaboration within the Denver community, which included a music collaboration and a beer collaboration. CMB: Anybody you haven’t had on the show yet that you are shooting for as a guest? NP: I’ll speak for myself and say that Devotchka was a big goal of ours from the very start, and a band that I thought we’d have a hard time being able to include. That has already happened for us, and that episode will be a part of Season 3. That really boosted our confidence in the project and has given us a feeling that we can successfully capture the story of any band, and it’s allowed us to approach large names in the scene as well as really small, grassroots type bands.

June 2015 | ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

and hours of b-roll that went unused. But in the end we were really happy with how the story is told. From Ethan at Rev Films, “It was a pain in the ass picking through hours of interviews to capture the right story. But once the base was laid, it was smooth sailing.” CMB: What do you feel you guys got out of SXSW? SC: For us as a band, this was our first out of state tour. So we learned a lot about what it’s like to be on the road, and how to act professionally even when things don’t go exactly as planned (a sound guy doesn’t show up, the power goes out at show, or the promoter is drunk and can’t remember who he booked). I think this trip brought us a lot closer as a band and we know that we can tour successfully and have good shows away from Colorado. It was fun to be a part of something as big as SXSW, and to be playing on the same stage as some of your favorite national acts. To have that experience together is something we will never forget. CMB: Where can we find your music online? SC: You can find our music at www. slowcaves.com , on iTunes, or at www. slowcaves.bandcamp.com

Without dropping a bunch of names, I’d say it’s become more important for us to tell the whole story, not just the bands that we might have a preference for or might be listening to at the time. We’re looking to get outside of the rock, folk, singer-songwriter, and bluegrass bands that have encompassed the show so far and also include the hip hop, electronic, dance scene as well as so much more. Like I said, telling the whole story is more important than personal preference. CMB: Where does the show air? NP: Currently it shows on Colorado Public Television (CPT12) on Saturdays at 10:00 pm; we also show them on Saturdays at 8:00 pm in the tap room at the brewery (3719 Walnut St – in the RiNo neighborhood). Along with that, we have our own YouTube channel, Facebook page where we link videos, and through the social media outlets of our other businesses – Black Shirt Brewing Co and Denver Film Co.

by Chris Daniels

I’ve managed my own band for 31 years and I’m in the Colorado Music Hall of Fame. All that’s nice but today’s music business is changing at light-speed and you have to be more engaged in the ‘biz’ than ever. Some things have not changed, careers are still built on some tried and true elements: great music, performance and timing. But today’s artists must work harder than ever to succeed. The good news is that we have new tools to help young musicians grow their fan base. The book I wrote for the course I teach at CU Denver on artist management is called “DIY: You’re Not in it Alone.” While you are ultimately responsible for your own career, these days it’s essential to make the most of all the help that is offered along the way. International touring. It’s weird but for some reason Colorado artists have garnered the interest of fans outside our little borders in Asia and the Paciﬁc Rim, and in Europe. While I have been part of negotiations for Asian tours I’ve not been, but I am writing this month’s column from a hotel an Haarlem, The Netherlands (and no that is not a misspelling – that is the way the Dutch spell it. First, how do you get there? In the old days you needed to get signed to a record company who was willing to distribute and promote your album in a region like Western Europe or you had to ﬁnd

an “anchor date” – usually one major festival that supported multiple dates around that show. The former has been replaced by YouTube, SoundCloud, ReverbNation and a slew of other internet outlets that make it possible for American acts to get an audience, or at least a promoter, interested in your music. For argument sake, let’s assume that you have a killer live act and you have garnered the excitement of a booking agency, promoter, festival, label or other entity that is going to bring you to a foreign country. The ﬁrst thing you will be looking for is an “anchor date.”

a 15 day run with no break, don’t stay out all night in Amsterdam smoking pot, you can do that in Denver when you get home. Just be smart, you should care enough about your fans and your band mates to do that.

An anchor date is the one that pays enough to cover your basic costs. Cheap airfare to Europe in nonpeak times (peak is late May to mid September) will run you about $1,000 on IcelandAir – the current cheapest way to go. That means your anchor date needs to pay your five-piece band $5,000 plus rooms plus backline just to go over and play and not make any money. (That’s about 4,500 Euros). Then you will want to find an agent (the festival or anchor date should help you with this) that can get you some other gigs in the country that do not compete with their show…and hopefully some TV and radio appearances too. The important thing to know about your backline is that you are not going to get the exact drum set, amp, or keyboard you are used to so – get over it – and figure out how to perform with what you get. Remember Europe runs on DC current so bring a converter for your effects.

Example: I woke up this morning and I had hours before “lobby call” (when everybody meets in the lobby to go to sound check) so instead of sitting on my ass in the hotel room watching bad reruns of “Two and A Half Men” I went out and found the United Press International exhibit in a church just off Dam Square. It was powerful, sad, and heartrending but it made me get on the bus with a new appreciation of how ﬂippin lucky I was to be playing music for people. That is what I’m talking about. Find ways to inspire yourself to blow your fans’ minds with great music, and to help your fellow band mates and crew. If there is shit going on around you all, dig in and help. Your music will grow tighter and your energy will be better on stage.

Foreign touring is hard, strange food, the hotels are different, most Americans don’t speak foreign languages and a hundred other things make it difﬁcult to function day to day including missing your loved ones a long way away. But attitude will get you through it.

Last but not least, borders. Don’t screw around

In order to put on the best show possible you need to know what the audience is looking for and -- that they are different than your normal Lion’s Lair crowd – and also not that much different. If your song, “Big Ass Fool” is the number one song in Colorado but the one that everybody in Europe is listening to is “Mink Farm,” then for god’s sake build your show around ramping up to that song - making the most of the drama in your set that features that vibe. Have t-shirts made with “Mink farm” – whatever – play to your audience. If the promoter gives you 75 min – then do the best 75 min you’ve got and leave out the power ballad – unless “Mink Farm” is your power ballad… play to your audience. And last but not least, don’t do covers of modern songs the way you might in a Colorado set – play your original tunes – that is what your fans want and in Europe they are kind of put-off by the cover – unless it is obscure and you do a killer job – (see Anne Lenox doing “I Put A Spell On You.”) Survival, mental and physical: Jetlag is real. Google it. Deal with it. Drink lots of water because that helps. Don’t drink a butt-load of Jägermeister because that doesn’t help. Figure out what you need to travel with to keep yourself healthy in body and in mind. If that is audio books and motion sickness pills – prepare yourself. If that is movies on your iPhone or tablet, get those too. Get the things that make you feel safe and comfortable in any circumstance and you will do well. Make a copy of your passport – every gig will need a copy of that document – ﬁgure on getting lost because there are six-million letters in the Danish name for the town you are playing and none of them is a vowel, leave extra time, stay focused. You are there for a reason – performing great music – and if you are physically sick and pissed off, chances are you are not going to make anybody happy. Take your vitamins and any medication you need plus prescriptions in case you lose or leave things in hotels.

International touring is wonderful. You meet amazing people, friends for life, you exchange ideas, music, food, wine and much more. You get to see your own country through completely different eyes. And if you are smart and healthy, you can have a blast, memories for life. And if you are stupid and stoned all the time and a pain in the ass, you won’t remember any of it – but they will remember you – and not in the way you want to be remembered. Oh, and for god’s sake learn some words in the language of countries you are going to visit.

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Take your health records if it’s relevant. If you have

with these. Anytime you cross a border into a new country, whether it is controlled (like going from Germany into Switzerland or Switzerland into Italy, or even if it is not controlled like going from Denmark to Germany. Know what the rules are. For example, the Germans take the autobahn very seriously with cameras and motorcycle cops and some cars that will do almost 200 mph. And if you are dumb enough to put your 100 kilometer bus in the left lane trying to pass the Saab convertible to check out the beautiful Swedish blonde, you may cause a serious accident when a supercharged Porsche climbs into your smoking room in the back of the bus - or you might get a 250 Euro ticket from the “green police.” Similarly, The Netherlands controls all their highways with cameras so if you are speeding you will get a very nice expensive ticket in the mail… they know where you live!

Speaking of all that – now it’s time for your survival guide. You have three main responsibilities (1) putting on the most killer show you can for your new overseas fans (2) surviving and thriving both mentally and physically (3) ﬁgure out what the hell is going on around you and support the effort – don’t bring a “it’s not my problem” attitude on the road, especially overseas – contribute or get off the fucking bus.

COLORADO ARTISTS

The Manger’s Corner

June 2015 | ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

National Feature: Faith No More- Sol Invictus

by David Elliott

Faith No More have always been an interesting band. Hard to categorize with any real accuracy, challenging the audience (while undoubtedly frustrating record label execs) with its refusal to stick to any type of formula, the band has done things its own way since its inception in 1985. After toiling away in semi-obscurity with its first two albums, We Care a Lot and Introduce Yourself, success was realized with addition of vocalist Mike Patton and the 1989 release of The Real Thing. Suddenly armed with both critical and commercial success, the band followed it up with albums of bizarre anti-hits, their popularity waned as the mid-‘90s gave way to the onslaught of my-dick-is-bigger-thanyours nu-metal and uninspired post-grunge forced itself into the ears of everyone. Too metal for the alternative-types and too weird for the metalheads, after a few years of rotating guitarists and the members’ increased interest in side projects, they officially called it quits in 1998. Then, in the second decade of the 21st century, the guys got together and started goofing around a bit. Some live shows here and there, reliving the glory days, playing the hits, all the while ultra-wary of being labeled another old band reuniting for some easy cash. Sensing the pleasure of playing together again, they quietly entered founding member and bassist Billy Gould’s home studio and began assembling an album while actually refusing to use the Aword. Why jinx it? Why bring that weight back? Suddenly, the first new Faith No More album in just a shade under 18 years was born. The album opens with Patton channeling his inner Leonard Cohen on the title track and then launches into the frantic rocker, “Superhero”, which would have sounded perfectly at home on their 1995 release King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime. After that, a series of catchy and unquestionably Faith No More tracks follow. Keyboardist Roddy Bottum makes his presence known mostly with jaunty piano riffs, eschewing the spacy sounds he reveled in back in the early days of the band (“Chinese Arithmetic” from Introduce Yourself being one of my favorite examples). Guitarist Jon Hudson bounces around through power chords, almost-funk, and acoustic-y, newwave-y riffs, sounding happy to be along for the ride. Gould and drummer Mike Bordin round out the familiar sound, with their bass and drum tones hearkening back to the thick, almost muddy tones of their debut album. “Motherfucker,” the first single released from the album last fall, is a refreshing blast, the title and the fact that Patton is relegated mostly to background vocals making it as Faith No More a song as you’re ever likely to get. By the time the album closes out with the upbeat classic-pop-rock number “From the Dead”, I found myself a bit torn: while completely thrilled at having just listened to a brand new Faith No More album in 2015, 27 years after the first hearing them, it felt very much like I had just listened to a Faith No More album that should have been released in, say, 1999. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; let’s face it, a notespecially-inspired Faith No More album is still more refreshing than most rock albums out there, but I couldn’t help wanting something a little more…epic, you know? Online: fnm.com

Flood Of Souls- Kill It Again

by Thom Jackson

Metal heavy-hitters Flood Of Souls dropped their new record Kill It Again at the Marquis Theatre May 16, and look to take the songs well beyond the confines of the Mile High City. Presenting a style of melodic metal that actually lets the (actually understandable) lyrics drive the songs with well-arranged melodies and catchy hooks. The album opens with the hard-hitting track “Blown Away,” a riff-heavy song that sets the pace for nine more consistent, hard, fun songs. Nothing out of the ordinary for Flood Of Souls, who since 2012 have been progressing their style and with this record are able to demonstrate raw, unhinged musical talent- much more than the screeching guitar leads and unabashed screaming that so many modern metal bands can’t seem to move beyond. Online: floodofsouls. Motion TrapPALEBLUEDOT

by Tim Wenger

Psych-rock is a fastgrowing genre here in Denver, and Motion Trap is one of the bands leading the charge. Stepping away from the heavy indie-rock influence that many of these bands draw from, Motion Trap incorporates strong elements of both hip-hop and electronica that make their debut record PALEBLUEDOT one of the year’s most intriguing releases.

Judge RoughneckPick It Up

by Tim Wenger

What a breath of fresh air! There is still solid rocksteady ska coming out of the Mile High City. The th 4 album album from Judge Roughneck, titled Pick You Up, combines the band’s traditional elements of ska and reggae tied together with magnificent production. Featuring an excellent cover of The English Beat’s “Mirror In The Bathroom” featuring Fishbone’s Angelo Moore, the record is a non-stomp dancer. Tight horn lines sit between pocketed vocals on a full twelve songs of upstroke guitar that hooked longtime Roughneck fans on their first two records. Very reminiscent of the British wave, Judge Roughneck certainly has still not caved in to the ‘ska-punk’ movement, focusing instead on the original style that popularized the originally Jamaican genre worldwide beginning in the sixties. Lyrically, the record focuses heavily on the good-time dancing and unity themes that ska music is known for. The title track “Pick You Up” lives up to its name, showcasing the fastest tempo on the record, but the tracks are danceable throughout. Time to get out the skankin’ shoes for the cd release party June 5 at Cervantes and Skaloradofest 2015 June 14 at Casseleman’s! Online: judgeroughneck.com

Trippy, danceable undertones stand out in each track, although in different ways. Tracks like “DIA” and “Like A Dream” use electronica to paint an emotional picture while “Less Is More” and “Fresh Start” feature guest emcees and are more lyrically focused. The album is held together through strong beats and an overall upbeat feel that will appeal to fans of everything from mainstream rock to dubstep. Online: soundcloud.com/motiontrap Some Train Yard

by Thom Jackson

Some Train Yard is kickin’ it old schooltheir eleven song selftitled debut album is as traditional as bluegrass gets here on the front range. As they put it, their band seeks to pay tribute to pre-amplified American music and they do a solid job. The second track “If I Killed Her” has a heavy Johnny Cash-esque influence, with elements of country and a strong storyline. “Kicking Back On The Meramec” on the other hand is more traditional, using harmonica as the dominant lead instrument. The album is, on the whole, perfect summertime mountain music for fishing, camping, or grilling. Online: reverbnation.com/sometrainyard

June 2015 | ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

Vermillion Palaces

Road-

by Tim Wenger There is nothing quite like turning on a new band, not sure what you’re getting in to, and being pleasantly surprised to hear a very solid brand of alt-rock full of punk rock and indie influence. Such was the case with the opening track on the new Vermillion Road album Palaces. Power chords and strong, picturesque lyrics dominate the ten-track album. Locally, the band is reminiscent of fellow modern rockers Dimmer Switch. Produced by the infamous Jonathan Lee, this album is easy to get lost in. The title track “Palaces” shows the band’s emotional side- a rocking, chest-clearing ballad full of oohs that definitely has radio potential. Let’s hope these guys gig the hell out of this record- the rock scene here on the front range needs to continue stepping away from the thin-waist/tight-pant indie rock that has been defining our city. Online: vermillionroad.com

Higher Ground’s Headlining Act Is Smoking Their Way To The Top by Tim Wenger

The Unlikely Candidates will be headlining this year’s Higher Ground Music Festival, August 21-22 in the RiNo district, along with a plethora of top indie acts from Denver and around the country. You know these guys, among other things such as a performance at KTCL’s Keggs and Eggs, from their single “Follow My Feet.” CMB caught up with the band to get a feel on where their heads are at heading into this summer that will see them tour and prepare for a major radio promo launch in September. Here is what they have to say to the people of Denver. CMB: How was the process of coming up and growing out of Fort Worth? Is the scene pretty supportive there? TUC: The process was efficient. We ate, drank, slept, and grew strong. We came up in a relatively conservative area. It often seemed like a feeder community to the corporate world, and we had seen that track go south for our parents, so we decided to do something different with our lives. When we started out a lot of people in our town were more interested in football games, country concerts, and field parties than going to the local shows we were playing. We were bored, angsty, and desperate to be apart of something bigger than ourselves, so that stoked the fire in the early days. We ended up building a scene around our little shanty ShangriLa of a house and all the too drunk

friends that often littered our floor. Thankfully we had a tight group of fans and friends around us then, because we were doing something different than the other Fort Worth bands and were on the perimeter of that scene. We relied upon ourselves and them for any kind of validation. In the past few years, we have won the loyalty of a lot of people here and the city has been a lot more nurturing place for our roots to grow deeper. CMB: What is your take on the status of rock music? Can we get it to make a triumphant takeover and rid the world forever of dubstep? TUC: Rock will never die. It’s music for your soul, cathartic and vital. That being said, nothing stays stagnant in this world and rock is evolving. We are seeing the genres blend now more than ever before and creatively you can get away with a lot more. I think it’s a good thing for the most part. Let the purists scream from their pulpits strumming four chords and the truth, and let the doctors Frankenstein something new and alive from the pieces of the past. You won’t rid the world of dubstep, but a truly game changing artist can pull out the feet from underneath the human psyche more than a good drop ever will. CMB: Which markets seem to provide the best shows for you? College crowds, festivals, clubs, etc. TUC: Denver, Colorado Springs, and Philadelphia. The venue doesn’t matter as much as the crowd. I can be in front of five thousand people and it feel more intimate that a club setting. I

can be in a club setting and it feel even more grand and surreal than a five thousand person festival. It’s all about the people.

TUC: Yeah, all of that actually. Pity us not, we have chosen this life, and music will always be sword by which we live and die. Also, showers.

CMB: Any crazy experiences in Denver? How does it compare with some other markets you guys play?

CMB: As a band, what have you found is the hardest part of staying relevant? How do you keep the buzz going after a single has cooled down?

TUC: I would say that Denver is crazier than most places we have been. Everyone seems to be friendly and generally down for a little bit of chaos. It’s hip, but not really pretentious about it. The rough charming vibe about it reminds me a little bit for Fort Worth. I always end up getting pulled up with some girl onto the stripper pole at The Shag and at Keggs and Eggs I was blacked out by eleven in the morning. I ended up in some strange places by one that afternoon. CMB: What is life on the road like? How do you pass the time? TUC: Life on the road is great. You get to meet new people, see new cites, and get forty minutes of glory each night. You also get to have a rolling hangover, fast food for every meal, and sleep on a variety of different floors. It’s a give and take, but I love it. Pretty much how everyone else passes the time, on our phones. Other activities include writing songs, reading books, watching movies, and annoying each other. CMB: Ever feel like you’re missing out on anything awesome at home or separated any part of a ‘normal’ lifestyle? Wives/girlfriends, friends, jobs, traffic on the way to work, etc.?

June 2015 | ColoradoMusicBuzz.com

TUC: You stay relevant by trying to write songs that matter and by writing a lot of them. We listen to new music as much as we listen to old music to stay inspired and we are constantly trying to write stuff no one has heard before. All of that helps. If the buzz is dying, we write another single. CMB: What else is happening for TUC this summer? TUC: We are getting everything ready for our September radio launch. We are smoking a lot and writing down all the bizarre ideas we have for imagery and videos.We will be shooting the video in June, and continuing to write songs and rehearse. CMB: Best place to check out your tunes and keep on news? TUC: We proudly present Youtube.com/unlikelycandidates facebook.com/tucband instagram.com/tucband and The Unlikely Candidates Spotify Cheers everyone We will see you the Higher Ground Festival!