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Volume 2, Issue 22
October 12 - October 25, 2000 |
Judy B.
I asked 15 random people what they thought about the local music scene here in Denver. Eight of them, yes, EIGHT, said something to the effect of, "What local music scene?" Now, they all looked like intelligent people who went out of the house often enough, and I'm sure they have nice families and hobbies and the stuff of life just as we all do. But to say that Denver has no music scene implies that an entire chunk of our culture has simply been ignored or dismissed. And that is a huge, huge misconception.
"It is 100% better here today than it was ten years ago, that's for sure." This view expressed by Dolly Zander, President of the Colorado Music Association (COMA), is held by many veterans of the Denver music scene. The influx of people moving into Colorado during the '90's increased our population by almost one million. The music industry feels both the positive and the negative effects. We see more competition for music jobs, more diversity within styles and sounds and a deep pool of great talent and ambition. What makes for good music?
"There seems to be a very misguided perception that Denver's music scene is really not that big or important or worthwhile," explains Paul Epstein, owner of Twist and Shout Records. "There has been a diminished selfimage among Denver fans of this scene for some reason. In the past five years, Denver music has exploded with new venues, more gigs, more recordings and more diversity."
The entertainment industry has finally picked up the ball and started sprinting to catch up with the economy. More music venues than ever before are available to local players and patrons. Over 1,000 bands are listed on a roster available through COMA. Independent record labels, production houses and promoters are scattered plentifully around the state. Services are available to educate musicians on the business side of the industry. Our local union, the Denver Musicians Association, is thriving and music makers are making a living. How can anyone say that Denver doesn't have a music scene?
"I encourage all the bands I work with to market themselves with everything they've got." --Sharon Rawles, The Soiled Dove
PLACES TO GO
Herman's Hideaway, The Gothic Theater, The Bluebird, The Soiled Dove, El Chapultapec, Vartan's, Brendan's Pub, Synergy, Quixote's, The Mercury Café, Sports Field Roxxx ... the list goes on and on, and that's the good part. Enough places exist so that bands and artists ready to step into the limelight can get a chance to perform. Musicians are getting paid to play. Venues like Herman's and the Soiled Dove, among others, have developed a hierarchy of nights for new bands with the intent of developing their staying power and performing experiences.
Sharon Rawles worked for Herman's Hideaway for 12 years and recently signed on at the Soiled Dove. Her experience with band booking and scheduling is proving valuable as the musical environment expands. The Soiled Dove books national acts as well as local, and Rawles sees this as an important opportunity for local artists.
"As touring acts come through here, we can get relationships started that could get bands more exposure and experience," says Rawles. "I encourage all the bands I work with to market themselves with everything they've got, whether it's posters, flyers, press, mailers, email, whatever." Bands should not saturate the market but try to plan shows strategically, fully utilizing the variety of communities and markets in Colorado.
"Basically, the more people know about a band, the more support the band will get," says Rawles. But support comes in many forms. One of the biggest complaints heard these days is the lack of unity between musicians and bands working in the local scene. Cooperation and networking within the industry prevails in other cities that have nursed and developed their local musicians. Even Rawles cites this past year as a lowpoint in terms of musicians coming together to improve their own conditions.
Is the image crisis real or imagined? Why is the perception of the music scene's nonexistence lingering, ironically, among the musicians themselves? Do we need national attention so we can "become" an Austin or Seattle or Athens or New York or L. A.? Do we need to stop whining and simply plug in?
"Now we have a market for original music, and that's the key to success." --Dolly Zander, Colorado Music Association
PEOPLE TO SEE
Yes, we have made improvements. We have more bands and more opportunities to see bands. But, so what? Sheer volume isn't enough if the quality is missing. Fortunately, we're improving that too.
"Ten years ago, you had a handful of bands doing their own stuff, but you were damn lucky to see it. Most of the bands were cover bands in bars. Now we have a market for original music, and that's the key to success." Dolly Zander has worked in the Denver music industry for over 20 years. She is outspoken about the musical progress our city has made and is adamant that if you think it sucks now, you should have seen it before.
"Take a look at how many different kinds of music we have here. From Slim Cessna to Brethren Fast to Judge Roughneck to Yo Flaco to String Cheese. You name it, we've got it." The majority of past bands that carved the path of our recent successes have morphed or dissolved into other projects. The Psychedelic Zombies, 40th Day, The Jonez, Thumpasaurus Wrecks and Lord of Word led the way for the next wave, who, during the past few years, have gained notoriety either regionally or nationally.
The current list is large and growing steadily: The Subdudes, The Samples, Big Head Todd, 16 Horsepower, Apples in Stereo, Dressy Bessy, Slim Cessna, String Cheese Incident, Leftover Salmon, Nina Storey and Hazel Miller. We have bands on the verge of breaking into larger markets right now, and pockets of musical styles that could explode any day.
"The dance and rave scene here is really getting big and permeating the cultural market, as far as clothes, music, and lifestyle," notes Epstein. Live DJs in this city have their work cut out for them but are steadily gaining support and opportunities to spin live. "The success of [independent label] Elephant 6 has brought our punk scene on par with other cities a lot larger than Denver. And take a look at the jam band scene!"
While the trends in Denver continue to coattail the national charts and tours, our recent frenetic pace of development has definitely allowed us to level the playing field. But we still have work to do.
WHAT'S THAT SOUND?
The insistence that some people have in defining or creating a "Denver sound" seems silly, futile and even undesirable at this point. We should be reveling in our diversity, not seeking to sabotage it by looking toward the national scene as our guide. With few exceptions, the national scene usually works to drain a region of its resources, no matter how good the bands are at the getgo, and turn all of the subsequent bands into clones of each other.
Perhaps the national eye tends to view the Rocky Mountain region with tie-dyed colored glasses, picturing small mountain towns, grassroots coops, coffeeshops and lots of patchouli oil. The success of Leftover Salmon, String Cheese and the fruitful influx of young life in the city of Boulder each year certainly perpetuate that to a degree. Maybe Denver needs to add more to its resume than the Broncos and the Rocky Mountains.
"The roots of Denver have sort of a 'citifiedcountry' flavor, like hard dirt," muses Kyle Jones, founder of the Sleeping Brotherhood Studio in Five Points. "Anyone who grew up here remembers when LoDo was dirty and scary, and there was nothing going on but farming and football." The '90's started changing that. Jones saw that any kind of musical sound that strayed from the norm had few outlets here. So he turned his house into a recording studio and hoped to create an environment where anyone could be heard.
"The Brotherhood has had success in many ways. The independent music industry here used to be incapable of facilitating local talent. No one was watching, and after Big Head Todd, no one expected anything different," explains Jones. "Now we've done recordings for Bliss, Judge Roughneck, the Kalamath Brothers, Kingdom, Super Bees and other people who just want to make their own record."
Keyboardist Chad Aman thinks the scene's diversity is important, but more can be done. "It used to be tough, tough, tough to make a living playing music in this town," remembers Aman. "Now it's easy to see and play a lot of different stuff all the time. With all of these people playing music now, we can really start doing some great things and trying new sounds and lineups." Aman's recent project, The New Majestics, brings together members of the Fabulous Boogienauts, Judge Roughneck and Slack to create a dance funky pop sound. "Five years ago, this project wouldn't have worked as well as it has."
This independence and quest to keep things fresh is what characterizes the Denver sound. It's an amalgam of jam bands, Americana, pop, rock, blues, metal, salsa, hip hop, funk, rockabilly and punk. But the doityourself, grassroots nature of life in this landlocked state, 500 miles from anywhere, may be our strongest asset. The next step should be to push the limits and go a step farther to uncover and support new artists and ideas.
"The future of music and Denver is all wrapped together in the future of technology." --Paul Epstein, Twist & Shout Records
THE FUTURE'S SO BRIGHT?
Nothing can be perfect. The problems within the local music scene stand as giant hurdles in our path. The next five years are a crucial period for our region and for our musicians and music lovers. We have ambition, talent and opportunity. What's missing?
"The Colorado music industry needs to work handinhand with the rest of the booming industries here," suggests Jeff Campbell, hip hop artist and founder of the Colorado Hip Hop Coalition. "With all the money and industry flowing around this region, we should be working with local businesses to tie into that network." By doing this, says Campbell, both musicians and consumers could create their own markets, make their own decisions about what music they want to play and hear and increase the overall quality of the entertainment industry. The music would ultimately reflect the Denver region because it would be created here and supported independently.
"The future of art and culture and music and economics and Denver is all wrapped together in the future of technology," states Paul Epstein. Bands who can learn their way around software, the Internet, communications and advertising avenues by utilizing the boom in local technology will stay in step with the rest of the community. Epstein, Campbell and Zander all agree that information systems need to be well maintained to survive and thrive.
The Colorado Music Association seeks to provide an umbrella of support for the musical community. It cannot endorse or promote individual acts, but it offers a place to network, consolidate and strengthen resources. The music world has just as many cliques, detractors and troublemakers as any other environment, and COMA is trying to coalesce and unify the scene. Efforts are made to publicize and inform members of events, and COMA is hoping to address another big problem-- the local media.
The large newspapers, television and radio stations clearly are the quickest and most accessible disseminators of local information. The lack of music coverage by these outlets is disturbing and detrimental to the scene. Our radio stations do a pitiful job of representing the local market. Local music player/manager/promoter/ advocate Bill Terrell has worked with KBPI to access some local music airtime and promotion during Uncle Nasty's show. Radio AM 1190 is always great but is one small transmitter in the distance.
Bands are successful here, and there is an evergrowing market for good entertainment. The model for Denver right now, and maybe even the rest of the country, is Austin, Texas, where music is nurtured, valued, supported and loved by the community. We have a great base to grow from in Colorado, and more variety and opportunities than ever before. We also have some growing pains to address and a lot to learn. No matter what the opinions are about particular bands or the other problems present right now, as Paul Epstein puts it, "People who like music and live in this city should be excited and out there supporting it."
