Three Questions with
PINKY PATTERSON

Recent changes in ownership of the Landmark Theatres beget still more changes: the old owners (discount theatre chain Silver Cinemas) are out, the original owners are back in, and the Mayan's longtime house manager, Keith Garcia, is off to L. A. Stepping into the vacancy is four-year Mayan vet, Misti Dawn "Pinky" Patterson. Here Pinky discusses some of her plans for Denver's unique movie house.

Do you have any special plans for the midnight movies?

We're of course going to keep the midnights going on Fridays and Saturdays. We're trying to get more people to come, because they are a fun thing to do. We're going to do a lot of interaction with the audience, a lot more giveaways, and just fun stuff. When I go out to do the announcements (before the picture) I'm dressing up in theme with the movie every time. For Airplane, my manager-in-training and I dressed up as stewardesses and one of my staff members, Nate, was a captain. Don't be surprised if you see one of us coming down to interact with the movie every once and a while.

What other things do you have planned for the theater?

With every [midnight] series bringing in something new that hasn't been released yet maybe [something] that would premiere as a midnight. We Sold Our Souls for Rock and Roll was supposed to be a premiere, but unfortunately it was canceled, so we're still trying to find what we're going to replace that with. I'm just trying to make it a lot of fun, because it's something fun other than hanging out at a bar or a club on Friday and Saturday at midnight, because that gets boring. And a lot of people want to see old cult classics and things like that.

So has the new/old management afforded you guys any new opportunities?

Very much so. Two of the people that came back to the company were founding fathers of Landmark. They were with Landmark in the beginning, that's Paul Richardson and Bert Manzari. They're just really shaping things up. Same product art, foreign, independent, midnight movies, fun, you know. I love this theater. I love the Mayan because I feel when our patrons come here they have a unique experience. Our staff members are outgoing and they work well with everybody. The people that work in Landmark Theatres, you can tell they love their job.

--Josh Tyson

photo by sean hartgrove

Local Music

Legendary live-concert promoter Barry Fey announced his return to the biz, bringing both his old-school charm and rock-n-roll charisma back into the mainstream. He will head the House of Blues Colorado Concerts which is being renamed Barry Fey/ House of Blues Presents. Citing a business that seemed to have "lost its heart and soul" along with high ticket prices and the decline of Denver as a major-market for many bands, Fey clearly has an agenda ready to go. Some initial promises include better cash-ticket seating, the restoration of Denver as a "must-play city" for touring bands, and some much-needed renovations at Fiddler's Green, one of the House of Blues venues. I bet ticket prices could come down a bit if local bands got a listing on the bill as opening acts.

Kenny James's project The Witching Hour will release its new record Angels in Shadowed Blue in August. The locally famed (and nationally acclaimed) drummer's highly anticipated project can be pre-ordered and previewed at www.the-witchinghour.net. You can even download a THW screensaver and other goodies. James also supplied a track to the compilation CD Education in Infestation released on Deprogrammed Productions. This double CD includes creations from GWAR, Jello Biafra, Johnette Napolitano, Clive Barker, and Professor Griff. Eighty percent of proceeds from that album will be given to selected AIDS organizations. Watch Go-Go concert listings in early fall for The Witching Hour live shows.

Colorado Lawyers for the Arts (COLA) Brown Bag Lecture Series will feature an often neglected but vital segment of local band organization a how-to program called "Tour Booking for Musicians." Topics will include how to book venues outside Colorado, performance contracts, tour prep, tour publicity, tour benefits and cautionary tales. This one-hour talk by attorney/agent/manager Zach Cook is July 10 from noon to 1 pm. Contact COLA at 303-722-7994.

Cleopatra Records has contracted Pure Drama to cover a song by Marilyn Manson for an upcoming tribute CD. Pure Drama, a Denver-based trip hop/ambient group has responded quickly and efficiently, and is hard at work on the track which will debut live July 27 at Rock Island. The track, "Mechanical Animals," was the title track of Marilyn Manson's 1998 CD. This comes at a peak in the ongoing saga of Colorado Conservatives vs. Marilyn Manson as demonstrated by protests and fervor of some church and governmental officials over Manson's Ozzfest appearance June 21. Could Pure Drama be any better of a band name to cover a Manson tune? I wish I thought of that one.

--Judy B.

Local Arts

Photographer Mark Sink is participating in his first show at Deitch Projects in New York, "Downtown 81," which he describes as his first "blue chip." The show opens July 13, and will be up until the end of the month. Deitch Projects can be reached at 212-343-7300. In the meantime, Mark hosted an event at the nightclub Funky Buddha, complete with photographs of '70s celebrities, and he's now planning the next opening at Gallery Sink, "Summertime," opening July 27. The man is nothing if not versatile.

Local artist Jane Rabadi has been awarded a fellowship by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. VCCA is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Jane will join approximately 20 other fellows at this working retreat. Jane is also a graduate of nearby Sweet Briar College and invited students of the school to her studio. But, she's not really interested in demonstrating techniques. "I want to talk to them about what it takes to be an artist. I want to let them in on the countless skills besides artistic ability they will need to make it. I want to empower them." Well, make that another reason she deserves this fellowship. Look for some great work when she returns to town later this summer.

I called artist and gallery owner Jeanie King the other day, and she was frazzled, fried, crazy. Had to get a piece out the door and overnighted by 6:45 pm and of course, I was calling at, like, 5:45 pm. We hooked up the next day and she sounded off the Commissioned Work Blues. "You pour your heart into making a piece you think they'll love. Then you get the call: it's somehow not at all what they expected. How can you get people to have realistic expectations of what a commissioned piece will be?" How indeed. I recently heard a doozy of a commission horror story from landscape painter Mark Nelson, who had agreed to recreate a client's living room view of Sloan's Lake. Having painted the piece while looking out the man's window, Mark thought all was well. But bliss was brief. Soon began a series of periodic calls from the client, wanting Mark to "fix" the shape of the clouds, the branch of a tree, etc. He still bears scars. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Jeanie.

Quote of the week: "Artists are the most courageous people in this society. Forget the military; artists are the ones who are toughing it out every day. They work the hardest to satisfy their thirst." Ranko Ruzic, AIA, Design Principal at AR7 Architects. --Kimberly Graham