Denver has always been a hotbed for EDM, but that’s even more true these days. With that in mind, Walt White, owner and founder of Global DJ Academy (formerly Colorado DJ Academy), saw an opportunity to engage the eager fans who want to move from spectators to participants and actually…
One of the first true superstar DJs, Paul Oakenfold has done more to popularize electronic dance music in the United States and in his native Britain than any constituent of the current EDM explosion. Long before Skrillex and Deadmau5 brought styles like dubstep and electro into the mainstream consciousness, Oakenfold…
We’re not going to lie here: The fact that the Baltimore Ravens are heading for the Big Easy next weekend instead of our beloved Broncos stings more than the time we faceplanted on the playground in third grade and mom had to pluck shards of gravel from our mangled paw…
Rooke5 (aka Luke Whitrock) grew up in Loveland and Greeley, but he moved to El Paso, Texas, in the middle of high school. Though he has a self-described “southern twinge” to his personality and cites Kanye West as an influence (who isn’t influenced by the omnipotent Yeezy), lyrically, he is…
I really thought I was going to be a songwriter,” says Rachel James, the pianist, vocalist and namesake of Rachel & the Kings. “I was writing for other artists, and I was co-writing with a lot of other songwriters. I mean, a year ago, this is not where I thought…
Anyone who saw Dances With Wolves probably recognizes that tatanka is the Lakota word for “bison.” The like-named Denver-based band adopted that imagery for the cover of its latest release, Cloudless Thunder. You might expect a band that named itself after the largest animal to roam the plains since the…
Putatively named after Dan O’Bannon’s character in John Carpenter’s shlocky 1974 science-fiction film Dark Star, this band was started in San Diego in 1998 by Three Mile Pilot’s Armistead Burwell Smith IV and Rob Crow, who had been involved in various experimental bands of the time, including Heavy Vegetable. While…
Down got together in 1991, when Pantera’s Phil Anselmo teamed up with Corrosion of Conformity’s Pepper Keenan, Crowbar’s Kirk Windstein and Todd Strange and Jimmy Bower of Eyehategod. United by a mutual love of doom and sludge metal, Down has to be considered one of the early pioneers of the…
Fresh off their Mayan Holidaze run in Mexico, the Disco Biscuits bring their Winter Inferno to Colorado for three nights of laserific goodness (they’ll be at the Boulder Theater on Thursday, January 24, and at the Ogden Theatre on Friday, January 25). Nearing its second decade of existence, the Philadelphia-based…
Amid instances of erratic behavior, substance abuse, mental breakdowns and health problems, the singer known as Cat Power has been making matchless records and equally searing gossip-column fodder since the early ’90s. But as is often the case, the most tumultuous rock-and-roll stories can lead to the best catalogues —…
Nearly four years after local Americana act Ten Cent Redemption called it quits, bassist Tony Burke and guitarist Johnny Waggoner rounded up singer and guitarist John T. Nething (formerly of Panhandler Down) and drummer Jason McGinnis of L.I.E. to form Carmelita’s Lovers. While some dusty Ten Cent echoes can be…
On Joshua Novak’s latest release, the talented songwriter appears to have gotten a bit too comfortable within his own sound. Ephemeron has its moments of tranquil beauty, and as an introduction to Novak’s work, it stands up as an intriguing record. But the emotional tone of this album is consistent…
Each member of electronic-music collective/label Dirty//Clean contributes a tune to its newest sampler comp, Visions, showcasing the individuality of each as well as the sonic tendencies that bind the crew together. A celebration of bass-music iconoclasm ensues. Amor, Est.’s “Amnesia Wreck” is intense, morphing from total cacophony into a listener-friendly…
On songs like “Honey Wine,” from If by Fire, Eye & the Arrow’s latest effort, Paul Dehaven’s vocal cadence and the synthesis of sounds created by the band evoke the country-blues rock of the Grateful Dead on albums like Workingman’s Dead. But as Fire progresses, the music more closely resembles…
Formed in 2008, Anchorage initially cultivated the metalcore sound heard on its first album, 2010’s I Have Seen Further, and a follow-up EP, 2011’s Truth in Adversity. But the limitations of the style didn’t fully suit singer and founding member Kevin Gentry as he developed musically. So last year, Gentry…
If you caught Rrose at the 2012 Great American Techno Festival, then you’ve got some idea of what to expect when the artist returns for an intimate, boundary-pushing DJ set this weekend (and have no doubt already bought your tickets). If not, then perhaps the Sandwell District imprint will ring a…
The Colorado hip-hop scene is starting off strong in the new year. Here we are less than a month in, and already we’ve been treated to a number of choice cuts. This week, we’ve got a fresh batch of local hip-hop, including a new track from Mr. Midas, featuring L.A.M.A…
So this Win a Date With Marnie Stern contest everybody is working themselves into a lather about this morning is ingenious. Seriously. Worked like a charm, Kill Rock Stars. Way to go! Problem is, the label, which is financing this enviable excursion to promote Stern’s forthcoming Chronicles of Marnia, has…
As people who think about, talk about, write about, listen to and make music, it’s not surprising that the most common (and favorite) topic of conversation among us is the same: “What are you listening to right now?” Stick a quarter in us, and, boy, wouldn’t you know it, off…
It’s a common saying around the Beltway: Politics is just show-business for ugly people. The parallels between politician and pop star are too numerous to list here, yet by simply looking at the quotes dolled out by rockers and legislators over the years — and trying to figure out which…
Okay, hands up if you knew the Zac Brown Band was so popular. He’s wildly popular in case you’re wondering. Dude just added another show at Red Rocks thanks to the fact that the first two have already sold out. Oh, and speaking of the Rocks, Sting has announced a…
The Summit Music Hall officially opened its main room in July 2010. A couple of months prior to that, however, the folks over at Soda Jerk began hosting smaller local shows in the front part of the venue. Since then, while there have been some shows in that front room,…
