Flobots, The Fray, Devotchka... There has never been a more visible time for Denver music that I recall.
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US: West Colorado Club
- Thread starter JSK5String
- Start date
We do have some bands being signed, 3oh3, Singlefile, Meese to name a couple more. But I'm asking for new bands trying to get their feet wet. Where are some good places to gig that don't have the horror stories that have been told?
Obviously it depends on style of music, but Larimer Lounge is pretty much ground zero for many styles.
Not sure if this is kosher in here, but my band (below) is playing the Lion's Lair this Friday and if any of you could make it, that would be super cool! It's a night full of punk rock & metal... Us, Denver County Death March, and Split Resistance! If it's not cool to post gigspam in here I'll delete the post.
Yup, Larimer Lounge, Herman's Hideaway, 3 Kings, Skylark, Lion's Lair, 12 Volt Tavern, Hi-Dive, Bender's Tavern, Inferno Room, Toad Tavern, Eck's Saloon, Iliff Park Saloon... Probably a handful of other places I'm probably forgetting. If you look at the 1190 calendar you'll see a lot of venues & most of them are smallish.
Not that we're still talking about other CO members, but I'm one! Denver based, working musician. There's tons of places to play in town. Not all will accept every kind of music, but there's no shortage of places to gig. Just realized that I haven't posted in over a year!
I attended a GTG years ago. Not sure if any of those people still post or not.
I attended a GTG years ago. Not sure if any of those people still post or not.
i guess this isn't totally odd, but i switched between this window and my facebook and the event invite from lion's lair for your show was right there waiting for me. maybe it's a sign.
Have you ever noticed that the bands who get signed seem to come out of nowhere, and the great bands playing the scene for years never seem to quite get out of it. In other words, how many people do you know who were out seeing the Fray play in Boulder clubs back in the day?
In my opinion, Denver has a surprising number of good players in the scene and more places to play than I would have guessed before I arrived. If you happen to be a jazz guy, there are actually more places to play in Denver than in Austin, where I played in college.
But - people don't seem to want to go out and see live music in Denver as much as they do in the big music culture towns. Maybe it's because we've got an athletic and outdoorsy culture more than an artistic one.
Or, maybe more accurately, live music is a destination in Denver, not so much of a default hang option. The touring acts that hit the big venues do draw well - especially Red Rocks - but in my experience, unsigned original bands in Denver are COMPLETELY dependent on their own draw to fill up venues, as the inquisitive foot traffic is almost non-existant. I do not remember that to be the case in Austin.
Or maybe my band just sucks.
In my opinion, Denver has a surprising number of good players in the scene and more places to play than I would have guessed before I arrived. If you happen to be a jazz guy, there are actually more places to play in Denver than in Austin, where I played in college.
But - people don't seem to want to go out and see live music in Denver as much as they do in the big music culture towns. Maybe it's because we've got an athletic and outdoorsy culture more than an artistic one.
Or, maybe more accurately, live music is a destination in Denver, not so much of a default hang option. The touring acts that hit the big venues do draw well - especially Red Rocks - but in my experience, unsigned original bands in Denver are COMPLETELY dependent on their own draw to fill up venues, as the inquisitive foot traffic is almost non-existant. I do not remember that to be the case in Austin.
Or maybe my band just sucks.
But - people don't seem to want to go out and see live music in Denver as much as they do in the big music culture towns. Maybe it's because we've got an athletic and outdoorsy culture more than an artistic one.
Or, maybe more accurately, live music is a destination in Denver, not so much of a default hang option. The touring acts that hit the big venues do draw well - especially Red Rocks - but in my experience, unsigned original bands in Denver are COMPLETELY dependent on their own draw to fill up venues, as the inquisitive foot traffic is almost non-existant. I do not remember that to be the case in Austin.
Or maybe my band just sucks.
I'd say you are right about it being a destination thing in Denver. I haven't seen your band, so I can't pass judgement on whether you suck or not.
that is the truest thing i have ever read. among the small niche circles, a new band can gain notoriety fairly quickly and to a limited extent, but on the larger scale it's just a giant wall of apathy.
i'd like to think that we're making headway with the successful local festivals like the ums and westword showcase, as well as more and more national attention being turned toward denver, especially our more "indie" offerings (candy claws and tennis both got nods from stereogum as being among the 40 best new bands this year). but then, i'd also like to think that musicians should make our own scene rather than depending on outside validation.
Have you ever noticed that the bands who get signed seem to come out of nowhere, and the great bands playing the scene for years never seem to quite get out of it. In other words, how many people do you know who were out seeing the Fray play in Boulder clubs back in the day?
In my opinion, Denver has a surprising number of good players in the scene and more places to play than I would have guessed before I arrived. If you happen to be a jazz guy, there are actually more places to play in Denver than in Austin, where I played in college.
But - people don't seem to want to go out and see live music in Denver as much as they do in the big music culture towns. Maybe it's because we've got an athletic and outdoorsy culture more than an artistic one.
Or, maybe more accurately, live music is a destination in Denver, not so much of a default hang option. The touring acts that hit the big venues do draw well - especially Red Rocks - but in my experience, unsigned original bands in Denver are COMPLETELY dependent on their own draw to fill up venues, as the inquisitive foot traffic is almost non-existant. I do not remember that to be the case in Austin.
Or maybe my band just sucks.
Having lived here and playing music here going on 40 years, the only conclusion I can come to is that Colorado lifestyles revolve around the outdoors and healthy, fit life choices. Music thrives in environments with more Waffle Houses and Dunkin Donuts than Starbucks and Whole Foods, more bowling allies than ski slopes and bike trails.
But all that being said, now is a golden time for Colorado front range with a number of varied venues to play so long as you don't expect a rabid following.
Or much for pay.
True dat. But I gave up the "for pay" concept long ago. Falls into that "you can't have it all" category. Choose lifestyle or choose profession. In this case, the two don't coincide. Same can be said for professional actors, etc. living in Colorado. Yet many choose to "retire" here. Retire meaning giving up monetary pursuit, not the opportunity to pursue, enjoy, and hone your expression.
I finally found people to play with after being bandless for almost 2 years. It seems like the circle of musicians was already established and it was so hard to find anyone that wanted to play anything. I ran into a lot of flakes before finding this group of friends who needed a bass player. I consider myself real lucky.
I'd agree with this as well. The culture in Colorado is just a bit different. I also think that a lot of the bands that got big made a super drastic switch from local to national. There was never this in between area of going to see the fray or one republic for $8 at the bluebird. It was like night and day, all of the sudden they were massive.
Anyway, I've talked about my band before and we just booked our first official gig. If you are free that night, we'd love to have you there. We are opening for Jesse Malin (super talented new singer/songwriter). It's either at the marquis or summit music hall, they are only 2 blocks from each other and I will confirm once I know for sure.
http://www.theparlorpickers.com/
Jesse Malin: Link Removed
Tickets available at the door or online: http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=3002905
facebook event: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
I agree and also made this point. Actually, I've seen this pattern a lot, in a lot of markets. I think that the activities that result in good national coverage for a band and those that result in a solid local gigging schedule are entirely different, and success in one area doesn't result in success in the other - at all.
I moved to Denver from Austin in the early 90s - there was a band called Fastball out of Austin at that time that had a couple national radio hits. I was fairly deep in the scene down there before I came to Denver and had literally never heard of them before. I had never heard of the Fray here before they went national either.
Meanwhile, every market has great, very musical original bands - think Opie Gone Bad in Denver and Extreme Heat in Austin - who dominate the local scene for years and never get signed. Opie just had something like 15,000 people attend their CD release at Red Rocks.
Fair point. Even Opie's website says "close to 10,000 people", though.Which is amazing considering Red Rocks holds 9,450 people!
I always thought red rocks held more people, weird!
Just an fyi, my show tonight is for sure at the Marquis, not the Summit Music Hall.
Thanks!
Just an fyi, my show tonight is for sure at the Marquis, not the Summit Music Hall.
Thanks!
