March 2023 :: Gayborhood

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to the

Gayborhood

If there’s one thing our queer family has learned in the past couple of years, it’s that community is more important than ever. Whether that’s your local community found down the street at the queer bar or sober center, or folks across the world whom you game or chat with virtually, we as humans need community. When the pandemic forced us all apart, even introvert scrooges like me realized how important human contact is.

In this issue, we explore community in all its many forms. From local DJs to a fun photo shoot in Meow Wolf’s C-street to advice from the community of coaches on Ingomu, there are so many things just in these pages that highlight Denver, Colorado, and the queer community at large.

So, whether you’re reading this digitally or in a mailed issue across the country or the world from our little queer haven in Denver, or just down the street, planning your next awesome local outing, we’re all family, and we’re all community. Welcome to the gayborhood.

-Addison Herron-Wheeler

by Ray Manzari

Denver’s Largest Mayoral Race in 40 years

The list of candidates who made the ballot for Denver’s mayoral race have been finalized and the order in which they’ll appear set. A total of 17 candidates will appear on voter’s ballots with four write-in candidates confirming they are running, making this the largest race for the city’s mayor office in 40 years.

Ballots will go out by mail on March 13, and voters will have until April 4 to vote. If no candidate receives 50% of the vote, a likely outcome considering the size of the candidate pool, a runoff election will be held on June 6.

(Not the official ballot order)

Leslie Herod

Reelected as State Representative this past fall, Herod has fought successfully for criminal justice reform, Black Lives Matter, and reproductive rights. She is the first LGBTQ Black woman to serve in the Colorado Capitol. She has a long track record as a community organizer and legislator, and recently got a state penalty for not filing required personal financial disclosures required of state legislators

Kelly Brough

Brough’s resume includes a year as the Chief Strategy Officer at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, a decade as CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. Her time in the Chamber, and the exhaustive list of conservative positions it took on matters such as public health care and paid family leave, will be her biggest hurdle for her campaign in a progressive city.

Debbie Ortega

City Councilmember Debbie Ortega is currently serving her second time as council member, her first from 1987 to 2003. Ortega has fought for environmental cleanup throughout the state, as well as affordable housing. From 2003 to 2011, during her time away from city council, she served as the first head of the Denver Homeless Commission, and voted against Mayor Hancock’s urban camping ban.

Lisa Calderón

Calderón is a professor at both Regis University and the University of Colorado Boulder and has said that she became more involved in politics following an incident of police brutality involving her son. She rose to prominence, in part, as an antagonist of Hancock after the city canceled her jail reentry program contract, resulting in her filing a federal lawsuit against the city.

Andy Rougeot

Rougeot decided to run for mayor after an incident where he and his 2-year-old daughter discovered a man using their local park as a restroom. He is running as a “law and order” candidate and is the rare republican-registered candidate in an otherwise nonpartisan race. “I just want to highlight (that) I’m the only person in favor of enforcing the camping ban in this race, which to me is mind-blowing,” Rougeot tells the Denverite.

Ean Thomas Tafoya

Tafoya is the current co-chair of the Colorado Environmental Justice Action task force and the founder of Headwater Protectors, which provides trash and water services to houseless people. The grassroots candidate has led several ballot successful initiatives, including the recently passed “Waste No More,” which mandated recycling in apartments and businesses, and the Green Roofs Initiative.

Thomas Wolf

Wolf is an accredited investment banker who has worked at JP Morgan in New York and Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley in London. He last ran for mayor’s office in 2011 with a “free” campaign, meaning he wouldn’t accept campaign contributions. Wolf’s main priority is ending street houselessness. As mayor, Wolf promises to remove encampments from Denver’s streets and “shelter, identify” and diagnose” unhoused Denverites.

Trinidad Rodriguez

Rodriguez is the son of former Denver City Council and school board member Rosemary Rodriguez and describes himself as a city builder who grew up in public housing. As mayor, Rodriguez promises to declare a “state of emergency” over houselessness and push for involuntary holds for addiction and mental health treatment.

Mike Johnston

Former State Senator Mike Johnston has been a high school teacher, a published author, a CEO of the foundation of Gary Community Ventures, and an architect of affordable housing policies. Johnston promises to end houselessness in Denver in just one term in office. His plan includes the construction of 20 micro-communities to replace urban encampments.

Kwame Spearman

Tattered Cover CEO Spearman comes to the mayoral race with a background in corporate America. He led and consulted at several successful corporations and headed an expansion at real-estate company Knotel, which filed for bankruptcy in 2021. He says he wants to be Denver’s “neighborhood mayor,” in the footsteps of former mayor Wellington Webb.

Terrance Roberts

Former gang member turned activist, Roberts is most known for his anti-gang organization in the Five Points neighborhood. In 2013, Roberts shot and paralyzed a suspected gang member after a group of men attempted to assault the mayoral candidate at a rally he was holding for his organization. A jury found that he was acting in self-defense, though he remains a polarizing figure after getting into a confrontation which almost turned physical, with members of the public during a 9News segment in 2021.

Aurelio Martinez

Former boxer and CEO of Inside Boxing Aurelio Martinez grew up in the Cole and Five Points neighborhoods. He has worked as a neighborhood organizer, advocating for more input from registered neighborhood organizations, and wants to see more housing for minimum and low-wage workers, as well as more community youth programs

Chris Hansen

State Senator Hansen has been a democratic leader in both the House and the Senate. He advocated for cutting property taxes, ending ties with businesses operating in Russia, and banning gas-powered lawn equipment. As mayor, Hansen has promised to keep the urban camping ban in place and focus on building affordable housing more quickly.

Al Gardner

Gardner has spent several years as an IT professional at Salud Family Health, as well as a member of boards and commissions throughout Denver, including the Denver African American Commission and the Citizen Oversight Board. He is in support of improving recruiting efforts for the Denver Police Department, which has been experiencing high turnover and vacancies.

James Walsh

James Walsh is an academic from CU Denver who studies immigration and labor movements. The grassroots candidate who’s staff includes a dozen students promises to make Denver the most “worker-friendly city in the country.” Walsh has proposed giving city workers access to collective bargaining, the creation of safe-use sites to address the city’s substance abuse issues, and the utilization of preexisting city resources to shelter unhoused people

Robert Treta

Treta has worked as a city contractor for over 20 years. He wants to see faster, more affordable permitting, as well as other incentives for developers to build affordable housing. Treta has also set his focus on infrastructure for electric vehicles and has promised to cut street sweeping tickets to $25 on day one of being in office.

Renate Behrens

Little is known about Behrens, who has minimal online presence. According to online voter records, she is registered as having no party affiliation.

Write-ins

Four candidates are voting as write-ins, which means they failed to get enough signatures to appear on the ballot, but you can write their name in on election day. Social justice activist Jesse Parris, Ballet dancer and singer songwriter Paul Fiorino, and cybersecurity company owner Abass Yaya Bamba are all running as write-ins, as well as one Matt Brady, who has yet to make public comment.

by Denny Patterson

Void Phlux & Marionette Clown Toy

are Opening Doors for Disabled Drag Artists

Denver drag artists Void Phlux (they/them) and Marionette Clown Toy (it/its) may seem like your average, eclectic Mile High performers, but there is something vastly different about the duo–They both suffer from several disabilities and chronic illnesses. Yes, they may struggle more than the average performer, but don’t you dare feel sorry for them. The last thing they want is your pity, and their ailments are not going to hold them back.

OFM caught up with the pair to talk more about their disorders, artistry, and how they are bringing visibility to the disabled community while also making it pretty damn sexy.

Can you begin by telling us how you two met?

Marionette: I was in a cage (laughs).

Void: We were doing a performance, but it doesn’t even remember me that night because things were so chaotic. Then we met again at X Bar. We both had shows at different venues that night, but then we saw each other at X Bar. That was about a year and a half ago, and we just really loved each other’s vibe and energy.

How did drag become a part of your lives?

Void: I am disabled, so I’m home a lot, and I also can’t have a job because I’m on disability. So, I really wanted to find an outlet for artistic things. I started asking around, "How can I get into this community? How can I start doing performance art and stuff like that?" I had to put myself out there a lot, which is very hard when you’re disabled because people are already looking at you, but you have to be like, "Look beyond that part! I want you to see that I can do art as well."

Marionette: For me, I failed school. I failed all higher education, but I was doing drag. Then I came to do drag in Denver because I was adopted into the House of Killz by Heroine Killz and Awkward Clown Boy. I have a performance history, so I was like, “I might do this.” I think this is what we’re going to do now, because I can’t work either for the same reason. I like to make art, and at the time, Gladys was open, and I basically lived there four days a week.

How would you describe your drag style and aesthetic?

Void: I call myself a drag creature. I don't like to use king, queen, or anything like that because depending on the performance that I'm putting out there, I'm either one or the other. I feel like my art can be a little bit darker, but I feel like it’s reflective of the lives that disabled people lead. I sometimes do hyper pop things as well. I don’t make all my art as dark as some of it can be, but I do want to show the community and be like, “This is what’s happening. This is how we feel,” things like that.

Marionette: I kind of took my entire family’s existence and shoved it into my eyes. As to my look, some may think I’m a weird Victorian baby doll child. I usually say a drunken toddler on a string because I fall over a lot, naturally, in my everyday life. I worked that into the brand. I fall over; it’s fun, and I love it. I’m on the ground, and I’m like, I guess this is where I am now. I guess I’ll just roll over and put my legs around my head or do something. I am not a king or queen, either. I am just a thing. I am an object, and most times, it’s my favorite thing to be.

Would you mind talking a bit more in-depth about your disabilities?

Void: I have a couple chronic illnesses, and a few rare ones as well. I have something that’s called CADASIL, which stands for cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy), and it’s a rare genetic disorder. That means that the vessels in my brain are too small, and I had my first stroke when I was 13 because of it. I’ve had a couple other strokes, and now I’ll get a few mini strokes a year at this point. I also have mobility issues because of it, and cognitively I think (I'm) much slower than I used to be. What I have results in Alzheimer's and dementia. I've seen a lot of people in my family get it and go through all the stages of it.

Marionette: A terminal disability that we both have is called myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as ME. There’s a pretty good documentary about it called Unrest by a woman called Jennifer Brea. She was a Harvard graduate, and she actually didn't end up having it, but she had all the symptoms and definitely had a whole lot of things going on. They call it chronic fatigue, but it's not even that.

Void: It’s an autoimmune disease. We both got it fairly young, but I was diagnosed in Arkansas, so I didn’t know for a long time. They pretty much told me I was just lazy. They said I had chronic fatigue syndrome, but that would mean I’d be sleepy. They didn’t tell me that it would hurt, and I would have seizures, and stuff like that.

Marionette: I’m narcoleptic, so that means I’m sleepy! I’m Denver’s premier narcoleptic drag being, so I am Denver’s Jinkx Monsoon (laughs). I joke often at myself because there are times I’ll be yelling something funny, then the next thing you know, I’ll be passed the fuck out somewhere on a couch in a basement.

Void: We also both have EDS (Ehlers–Danlos syndrome).

Marionette: Thanks, Yvie!

Void: Yeah, it’s the same thing Yvie Oddly has. Our cartilage is all weird, and it makes our joints dislocate frequently. Because of my hip dislocating and relocating, I now have what’s called avascular necrosis in my hip. It just means the bone of my hip is dying because the vessels pinched.

As performers, how has drag helped you overcome your disabilities?

Void: Doing performances and being on stage is therapy for me because I get to put art out there that I feel, and I’m also connecting with my community and expressing myself. I think it has helped my depression a lot; even my therapist and psychiatrist have noticed a change since I started doing this. I’ve only been doing drag for about a year and a half now, but I feel like my emotions are more stable.

Marionette: I feel similar to Void in that way, but I’m also a Tinkerbell performer, so the attention helps me feel like I’m not so alone. Also, I love being able to professionally submit to people for a living. Kink is a huge part of my life, and with drag, I guess I feel more qualified to do something or be smart in my thought process, whereas I feel entirely different when out of drag.

You both are showing that having a disability can, in ways, be sexy.

Void: Yes, and kink is majorly involved in both of our lives. We’re also polyamorous, and it’s very often that we don’t get seen as sexual beings. People are like, “Oh, you have to move a special way, or you have to have a rollator or wheelchair,” and that seems like an automatic turnoff for some. Of course, we don’t want those people in our lives, but it still hurts. We’ve had some people thank us for making our disabilities visible and sexy. Someone was actually doing a class project, and after our performance, they came up to me and were like, that was very inspiring. They didn’t realize there were such biased thoughts about it.

Marionette: I always find myself unpacking other people’s feelings about it.

Do you perform with your equipment and such?

Marionette: Oh, yes. There were a couple performances where I didn’t, and I was on the floor every single time.

Void: We both have a rollator, and there is not a bar that I can think of besides HQ that is accessible for us to bring rollators. We’ve had such bad experiences with it. One venue, I’m not going to name drop, but one venue took away Marionette’s chair because they thought it was a prop.

Marionette: I was like, um, I need that!

Void: People are always like, I love your prop, and stuff like that.

Marionette: Almost every single time at the end of the show, people go, “Wait, that’s not a prop?”

Void: Even when they see us walking around the bar with it, they just think we’re in character.

Where do you primarily perform at?

Marionette: I have a monthly at HQ because two of my drag nephews perform there. Since I help with their shows, they provide me a space to perform as well.

Void: I would also like to mention that we also do draglesque, and both of our burlesque parents, Allie Soreass and Eliza Rex, run a disabled burlesque group called The Broken Babes. They give us spots a lot, and it’s a very inclusive group. They’re really starting to grow and evolve.

What are some future goals you hope to accomplish with your drag careers and platforms?

Void: Personally, I want to do more online stuff and build a platform for homebound people. With my hip bone dying, I’m probably going to have to have hip replacement surgery, so I’m going to need to step back from live performances for a little bit because it’s very fragile right now. If I fell or anything, I could break my whole hip. So, I plan on doing a lot more online things, possibly a Twitch show. I eventually want to do a pageant with Marionette and call it Piss Poor Pageantry (laughs).

Marionette: My goals, I want to advocate for more accessibility in these venues and places. You can almost get inside of Tracks, but you can’t get into the dressing room. And Blush & Blu is a goddamn joke. When I stage manage there, I stage manage the danger zone. That involves me going up the back stairs, down the back stairs, up the front stairs, down the front stairs, and I can't really do stairs that well. So, it would be nice to have more ramps and things like that. I want to do more things on the internet as well because I also can’t go out as much. But when I do, I want to be able to go there!

Stay up-to-date and connect with Void Phlux and Marionette Clown Toy by following them both on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok.

Photos by Mike Bomberger

OFM's Ask a Coach with Ingomu

Welcome to Ask a Coach, where Ingomu coaches answer your questions about life, work, wellness, or matters of the soul. Share your question with us at coaches@ingomu.com, and we’ll answer them here.

I've been single for quite some time. I want to get back out there. Are dating apps acceptable and safe?

-Theo S.

Dating apps are generally acceptable and safe, but it's important to use caution and practice safe online dating habits.

Here are some tips to help you stay safe and connect with people you may want to meet:

1. Research the app: Make sure the dating app you're using is reputable and has great reviews. Does the dating app feature the types of people you want to meet?

2. Decide if you like the more superficial swiping left/right type apps, or apps that encourage more detailed profiles so you get to know the person better.

3. Write a compelling profile sharing what is important to you in a relationship and what you are seeking in a partner. Be authentic!

4. Keep your personal information private: Don't share personal information such as your full name, address, or financial information with anyone you don't know well.

5. Be cautious about meeting in person: Take your time getting to know someone before meeting them in person, and be sure to meet in a public place for the first few dates. Rather than chatting through an app, have a call, Facetime, or Zoom prior to meeting in person.

6. To avoid awkwardness when first meeting (if you haven’t had a face to face call) ask the person you are chatting with which profile picture most closely matches their real-life appearance.

7. Trust your instincts: If something feels off, or you're uncomfortable, don't hesitate to end the conversation or block the person

8. Report any suspicious behavior: If someone on a dating app is harassing you, sending you unsolicited messages, or asking for personal information, report them to the app's moderators.

Remember, it's always better to be cautious and safe than to put yourself in a potentially dangerous situation. However, I did

meet my husband through a dating app, and we couldn’t be happier.

- Coach Werner Godefroid

I am out with my family and friends, and have been married for about three years. I have a new job in a somewhat conservative environment. My colleagues know I am married but assume it's to a man. I tend to keep my work and personal life separate, but I don’t want to be inauthentic. How do I navigate this?

-Anna J.

Navigating the intersection of your personal and professional lives can be challenging, especially when you're in an environment where your colleagues may not be aware of or accepting of your sexual orientation. Here are some steps you can take to help you navigate this situation:

Consider your safety first. It's important to prioritize your own safety and wellbeing in any situation. If you feel that being open about your sexual orientation could put you in danger, it may be best to keep that aspect of your personal life private.

Get a sense of the workplace culture and any existing policies related to diversity and inclusion. This can help you gauge how open and accepting your colleagues may be, and inform your decision about whether or not to come out.

Coming out at work can have positive and negative effects on your career. On one hand, it can lead to greater authenticity and increased support from colleagues who may become allies. On the other hand, it may also lead to discrimination or bias. Weigh the potential outcomes before making a decision.

Ultimately, the decision about whether or not to come out at work is a personal one and should be based on what feels right for you. If you feel comfortable and confident in your decision to come out, you can approach your colleagues in a way that feels authentic to you. Some of your colleagues may be accepting and supportive, while others may not be. Be prepared for a range of reactions and be ready to handle any negative responses in a way that feels safe and comfortable for you.

It's important to remember that you have the right to keep your personal life private, and to only share information that you feel comfortable sharing. By taking the time to assess the situation and consider your own needs and feelings, you can make a decision that feels right for you.

- Al Wynant, Ingomu CEO

Here at Ingomu, we uplift humankind by making a positive difference in the lives of many. Via the Ingomu app, we provide holistic and equitable coaching in the areas of life, soul, wellness, and work. Coaching for everyone because everyone matters.

Learn more at OFM.ingomu.com.

Gayborhood Welcome

Here in Denver, the Gayborhood converges at Meow Wolf, where we skip and trip through the alternative cityscape of C Street inside the iconic, distorted reality that took over our city a few years ago.

Photographer: Jay Diers

Models: Ladycat LaVera De'Ore, Simon Paul, Samora Kash, and Victoria Paige Matthews

Location: Meow Wolf

Convergence Station

It’s a Beautiful Day in the Gayborhood

A beautiful day for a smokey treat, that is! We love learning more about local brands and cannabis. Here are a few who have been standing out to us!

Hemper Boxes

If you’re a stoner who loves gear and goodies, you need a Hemper Box subscription! Some cannabis boxes are super basic, offering a runof-the-mill piece and some easy-to-source accessories. What makes the Hemper Box unique is their fun themes and on-brand pieces. For Christmas, I got a holiday wreath bong, and their tea party set allows you to spill the tea with a rig that looks like Mrs. Pots from Beauty and the Beast.

And the smaller offerings aren’t too shabby either, ranging from flavored blunt wraps to pipe cleaners to funky dab tools. Once you get a subscription and see what’s inside, you’ll want to keep it active to collect them all.

California Corner

PHASES Flower Products

The sunshine state is notorious for its tasty flower, and PHASES live up to that with their unique strain offerings. Not only does their flower pack the punk you deserve and expect, the aesthetic of the packaging—which we all know is just as important—is also cute and memorable. More of this, please!

Kiva Edibles

Whether you’re looking for low-dose THC edibles with CBN for sleep and relaxation or standard, 10mg pieces in tasty flavors, Kiva has it all. They also have quite a unique range of product types, from low-dose mints to more standard gummies and chewables. If your preferred method of cannabis consumption is edibles, you can’t go wrong with Kiva.

Energy Bar Café

A New Hot Spot for Healthy, Great-Tasting Food & Beverages

by Denny Patterson

For the first time since March 2020, Energy Bar Café inside the Colorado Athletic Club is open to the public.

Located on the third floor of the Tabor Center at 1201 16th Street, Energy Bar Café serves coffee, smoothies, freshly pressed juices, and healthy breakfast and lunch options to both club members and the larger downtown community. It is now owned and operated by Thach and Dustin Tran, who share over 30 years of experience in hospitality and restaurant management.

“We have both worked in hospitality and restaurants for a long time, and we’ve been wanting to go down a slightly different, healthier route,” says Thach, who also serves as the operating chef for Denver’s Ace Eat Serve. “As a chef, it was always hard for me to get myself to the gym, be healthy, and have a good work-life balance. We would always work nights, so I wouldn’t be leaving work until around midnight. Dusty works on the bar side, so he wouldn’t leave until 1 or 2 a.m. So, we have been wanting to shift gears, and we always dreamed of owning a little coffee shop.”

For the pair, Energy Bar Café was somewhat of an unexpected opportunity.

“I started a new membership with the Colorado Athletic Club in October of last year, and the manager who signed me up took notice of my email,” Thach explains. “I used my Ace Eat Serve email, and he asked if I knew anyone who would be interested in operating the vacant coffee shop they already had set up. Since the pandemic, they haven’t found a tenant to take it over. So, I was curious, and when he showed me around, I saw an opportunity. Like, this is perfect. It’s a small enough opportunity where Dusty and I could put less than $10,000 into this and get it up and running. We took every ounce of savings that we had and went for it.”

Officially opening in December 2022, Energy Bar Café is bringing new life to downtown Denver, since it is not as vibrant as it once was. With several office and restaurant closures, there aren’t many choices for healthy, great-tasting food and beverages.

According to Thach, the establishment has been received very well by the public so far.

“We appreciate the love and support we have been getting,” Thach exclaims. “Things are starting to pick up, and it’s trending in the right direction. Dusty and I feel very confident that we can make Energy Bar Café a success.”

Currently, there are four parts to Energy Bar Café’s beverage program: smoothies, grab-and-go bottled beverages, fresh juices, and coffee drinks.

Smoothies have been the most popular item in terms of units

and revenue, and four different kinds are offered to appeal to a variety of tastes: Purple Magic (blueberries, bananas, hemp hearts, cacao nibs, chia seeds, acai juice, oat milk), Elvis Moves (bananas, dates, peanut butter powder, almond powder, almond milk, honey), Tropical Thunder (pineapple, mango, banana, coconut milk, lime juice, orange juice, mint, honey), and Kale-Rizian (kale, spinach, avocado, apple, pistachio, almond milk, coconut water).

“Our Elvis Moves is one of our top sellers,” Thach says. “We do not use dairy milk or ice in any of our smoothies, preferring to find texture in frozen ingredients and non-dairy beverages.”

Energy Bar Café also offers a wide variety of health boosters that can be added to any smoothie, its fresh juice program uses raw ingredients that are never pasteurized or heated in any way, and its coffee program features a variety of tea, espresso, and coffee beverages

“We use locally roasted coffee and imported Vietnamese coffee to make our drip and Vietnamese coffees, respectively,” Thach says. “We also offer matcha lattes made with non-dairy milk and all the classic beverages one would expect to find at a neighborhood coffee shop.”

In terms of food, Energy Bar Café sells a combination of grab-and-go snacks and homemade food items. The menu is continuing to evolve.

“We've had a lot of guests asking about diet-friendly food options; keto, dairy-free, and gluten-free are the most popular requests,” Thach says. “We have had a lot of success with a chicken pesto flatbread sandwich as well as kale and apple and Waldorf chicken salads, with homemade sauces, dressings, and proteins that are typically lower in sugar, sodium, and hydrogenated fat than restaurant preparations. We also serve hot breakfast sandwiches and soups, which are popular on the numerous cold days Denver has experienced so far this winter.”

Plain and simple, Energy Bar Café is vastly different from a local Starbucks.

As for the future and long-term goals, Thach and Dustin hope to open other Energy Bar Café locations around the city.

“We believe that quality comes first, and we want to keep providing the community with healthy food and drinks,” Thach says. “We would love to expand and open more locations.”

For more information and to check out the full menu, visit energybarcafe.com. Also follow Energy Bar Café on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Photo courtesy of Energy Bar Cafe

by Rachel Galstad

Turning Dreams into Reality with Yoko Music

In the gayborhood, the record Beneath the High Sea remains on repeat! Denver bass producer Yoko Music caught up with OFM and shared how she turned her dreams into reality. We took a deep dive into the origins of her DJ career, the emotional background behind her debut album, her words of wisdom for LGBTQ musicians just starting out and how she strives to support other marginalized artists within the industry.

When did you start producing music? Tell me a little about your journey.

I started producing, a little over five years ago now. And I was DJing before that, so that's what really got me into it. Back at CU, we had this club there called Club 156, and it’s where a bunch of pretty prominent people now have started their passions.

I realized, Oh, I just want to be able to play my own stuff. Like, that's the ultimate goal, right? So I started producing. I was still in college at the time, and I did not really have the time to go take lessons. I just YouTube tutorials my way until I, you know, figured it out.

Who or what do you feel helped influence you musically along the way?

There are a few points of inspiration for sure. The main reason I dropped everything when it came to DJing and learning how to produce was, somebody had sent me Rezz’s Ultra set back in 2016 or 2017. I was sitting there like, “Are you kidding me? She's playing mostly her stuff. I could totally do that.: And I just, like, clicked in my mind, “Oh, there's a female who's doing it, and you can easily see yourself in that spot” That was the main catalyst to everything.

My main inspiration for the past three years is Skinny Limbs. He's, like, my best friend. He started producing way before I did. I think when I met him in college, I had only been producing for, like, a year and a half or something like that. He wasn't really making bass music, so we just kind of put our brains together and started learning deep bass music together. I cannot thank a human more for being by my side.

How would you describe your sound or genre?

I never stick to one. I do make a lot of certain styles, but anytime I log in, it's just kind of like how I'm feeling during the day. I like to focus on a vintage science fiction vibe when it comes to writing music. Each song definitely has a story behind it. So I try to stick to certain themes, sort of vintage scape; I use a lot of classical instrumentations like muted trumpets, violins, cellos, saxophones. So that's what I'm trying to focus on, just heavy, heavy, deep, you know, chest-thumping bass.

How accomplished do you feel self-releasing your debut album Beneath The High Sea?

I was just talking to my girlfriend the other day about this. There's always this imposter syndrome that hits, and I’ve always struggled with it. But I released my album, and there was just this full-circle moment I experienced. This is a goal people strive for. Musicians strive for their whole lives to put a full project together, and especially by themselves. It was a lot to look in the mirror and realize, like, “Hey, you actually did that. Take a second to breathe and congratulate yourself.” So it was very heartwarming, very validating for myself; I finally was able to accept the fact that I'm where I have strived to be for a very long time.

What were some of your inspirations behind the Beneath The High Sea album?

Long story short, my deepest fear is the ocean. I grew up on the ocean all the time, though, so I'm still infatuated by it. My best friend now, about three and a half years ago, passed away from terminal brain cancer. His favorite place was the water. He liked to sail and to scuba dive. He was just always telling me all these crazy stories of him being out on the ocean, deep in the ocean, this and that and the other.

He was my number-one project supporter, always in the front row of every show, no matter what, you know, getting crowd riled. So this mainly was my dedication to him and his favorite journeys. It was definitely an emotional project. That's why there are a few songs that are pretty emotional. You know, there's some that are just heavy 140 (BPM) hitters, but overall I spent a lot of time just trying to capture the emotions behind that in my relationship with him.

What song off the Beneath The High Sea album do you feel resonates with you the most and why?

There's two. I would say the one that resonated with me the most while I was making it was definitely “Dead Weight.” It's all my own vocals. It's just this sort of spoken word, threeminute-long poem. It spoke to me at the time because I was just really, really sad when I wrote it. I had broken up with my ex, and I was just like, “Alright, it's time for me to make an album.” That was my main focus for about nine months. At the deepest point of that is when I wrote all the lyrics to it and was recording it myself. By the time I had gotten the whole album together, and I was able to listen to it all the way through, it was like, I don't know who that is anymore. I had moved past that hurt, and it was such a very heartwarming thing for me to see my growth.

Now the main song that I resonate with is "Shiho’s Seahorse," which is my favorite one for sure, just because it's so different. The bass sound is so much more high and pretty. It’s almost like a chorus. It's so free and creates its own atmosphere.

Photo by Lashan Tennakoon

Why do you believe it's important to highlight marginalized artists like yourself?

When it comes to specific marginalized artists like people of color or queer artists, we’re underrepresented. The scene has been conquered by this white, male presence. You can't negate that that's just how it is, no matter if it's the DJ on stage or the person running the show, you know, behind the stage, or the promoters, or people at the venue. It's time for this new shift in new energy. I will strive to the end of my days to be able to highlight those fellow artists that are coming up with me that are just frustrated with the continual negative energy that just cycles and cycles and cycles. I think that it's very important to be able to keep that fire lit.

What do you envision for your future, what are some professional goals you’d like to achieve?

I would love to keep putting my friends on; I think that's a huge thing. And down the road, I definitely do see myself owning some sort of collective or label or just community that can reciprocate the same energy that this project really speaks about.

I really do love highlighting other female artists, nonbinary folk, and anybody truly who's part of that marginalized community in any way, shape, or form. I think the best way to be able to give them pedestals is to start my own, and I hope to one day, like maybe in five years, to have some strong base for that. Heavy Wave is definitely the home base right now, but it's not my baby, you know, I have to create my own, and I think that's really the goal.

Do you have any advice or words of encouragement for other LGBTQ artists in the EDM Industry?

I would definitely say especially people that are just starting that feel they don't have any real fan base, being able to drill in your head just keep pushing no matter what words are being thrown from left to right. Just keep pushing; keep your head focused on your projects. The most important thing is to take time to actually sit down and set goals first because being able to focus on those types of aspirations is what drives you at the end of the day

There will be a point in time where you start to be able to connect with other like-minded people who are literally on the same level of you, who have experienced some of the same hate and or love that you have received. And once you get to that point and you find these collaborators, these friends, these wholesome communities of producers, other artists waiting for you. You just set those goals push, push, keep driving, and don't let any words stop you because it's sitting there. I promise. It's waiting for you.

Keep up with Yoko Music on IG @itsyokomusic, and catch her headlining for Subciety Presents in Austin Texas at the SXSW Music Festival the week of March 15.

March 2023

Horoscopes

by Alanna L.P.

Welcome to Alanna L.P.’s Uplifting Horoscopes. These are very general readings that will resonate with many but not all of you. That’s OK! Take away what makes sense, and leave what doesn’t behind. If you want a deeper understanding of what to expect this month, read your sun sign, your rising sign, and your moon sign. You can find what those are by going to cafeastrology.com to get a free birth chart reading.

Aries

Happy Birthday, March Aries! We love your bright, fiery passion. All eyes are on you this month. Be brave, bright, and unstoppable! You’re off to a good start as big shifting energies set the stage for the next two decades.

Mantra: The Master–Time to make my move.

Taurus

Being independent will help you gain ground in your financial goals. Your vision is attainable. Tiny adjustments will pay off in the end.

Mantra:8 of Pentacles–Keep up the good work!

Gemini

Anything is possible, dear Gemini. Believe it or not, your friends may have someone exciting to introduce you to. Be open to new experiences in relationships, and it may be love time around. This is especially true for relationships between two who identify as male.

Mantra: Ace of Wands–I’m attracting my perfect match.

Cancer

This month, dear Cancer, you can turn the world on with your smile. Using your charm will make your talents stand out at work. If you’re looking to advance, now is the time.

Mantra: Death–Endings lead to new beginnings.

Leo

Exposing yourself to new people, places, and ideas brings new insight. Stepping outside of your comfort zone will help you have difficult conversations that need to happen, but the resulting healing will be a reason to celebrate.

Mantra: 3 of Cups–Love is a celebration.

Virgo

I know, dear Virgo. Daily tasks can be such a drag when you’re feeling so creative. But developing good time management will help you maintain your energy while you accomplish what you’re after

Mantra: 9 of Pentacles–Yas queen!

Libra

Show yourself compassion, dear Libra. Learning to let go of expectations will deepen relationships. If you feel compelled to explore a new interest, you may meet someone who shares the same passion you do

Mantra: Queen of Cups–I let love unfold.

Scorpio

Delays are a good thing this month, dear Scorpio. Slow your roll, and listen to your soul. Focusing on what brings you joy will reveal hidden truths.

Mantra: Page of Pentacles–Life imitates art.

Sagittarius

Connecting your inner and outer world creates opportunities for patching things up with a loved one. This is a sink-orswim moment, so if the status quo makes you nervous, it may be time to set your own boundaries.

Mantra: The Star–I shine on.

Capricorn

You’re one of the most reliant signs of the zodiac, dear Capricorn, so call on your rock-solid foundation. How you feel about your own self-worth will reflect where you are in life and where you are going.

Mantra: Ace of Cups–I am worthy.

Aquarius

Look at you, Aquarius! Aren’t you just a beautiful butterfly? You’re moving into a long period of exciting self-becoming. Friendly competition will be a wonderful way to spread your newly sprouted wings and take flight.

Mantra: 4 of Cups–Just look up!

Pisces

Happy birthday, March Pisces! We love how you float through life. Where you pour your energy is where abundance flows this month. For inspiration, look to your dreams.

OFM

BAR TAB | Colorado Nightlife

BLUSH & BLU

1526 E. Colfax Ave. Denver (303) 484-8548

blushbludenver.com

BOYZTOWN

117 Broadway St. Denver (303) 722-7373

boyztowndenver.com

ClUB Q

3430 N Academy Blvd. Colorado Springs (719) 570-1429

clubqonline.com

CHARLIE DWELLINGTON’S

1103 N. 1st St. Grand Junction (970) 241-4010 charliedwellingtons.com

CHARLIE’S NIGHTCLUB

900 E. Colfax Ave. Denver (303) 839-8890

charliesdenver.com

DENVER EAGLE

5110 W. Colfax Ave. Denver (303) 534-0500

Facebook- @denvereaglebar

DENVER SWEET

776 N. Lincoln St. Denver (720) 598-5648

denversweet.com

TUE: Solve That Puzzle 7p-9p w/$5 House Margs

WED: Music Bingo 7p-9p w/$4 U Call It At The Bar

THU: Karaoke 9p-1a w/BOGO well & drafts to 7p

SUN: Beer Bust 4p-8p & Showbears 7p-10p

EL POTRERO

4501 E. Virginia Ave. Glendale (303) 388-8889

Facebook- @elpotreroclub

HAMBURGER MARY’S

1336 E. 17th Ave. Denver (303) 993-5812

hamburgermarys.com/denver

ICONS

3 E. Bijou St. Colorado Springs (719) 300-7863

Instagram- @icons_colorado

LI’L DEVILS

255 S. Broadway St. Denver (303) 733-1156

Facebook- @lildevilslounge

LIPSTICK DISCOTEQUE

5660 W. Colfax Ave. Denver (720) 669-3470

Facebook- @lipstickdiscoteque

R&R LOUNGE

4958 E. Colfax Ave. Denver (303) 320-9337

Facebook- @randrdenver

TIGHT END BAR

1501 E. Colfax Ave. (303) 861-9103

tightendbar.com

TRACKS

3500 Walnut St. Denver (303) 836-7326

tracksdenver.com

TRADE

475 Santa Fe Dr. Denver (720) 627-5905

Facebook- @tradedenver

THE TRIANGLE BAR

2036 N. Broadway St. Denver (303) 658-0913

triangledenver.com

WILD CORGI PUB

1223 E. 13th Ave. Denver (303) 832-7636

wildcorgipub.com

X BAR

829 E. Colfax Ave. Denver (303) 832-2687

xbardenver.com

#VYBE

1027 N. Broadway St. Denver (720) 573-8886

303vybe.com