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For those who have gigged in Denver

Altitude

Altitude

An ounce of perception, a pound of obscure.
Supporting Member
Mar 9, 2005
11,203
14,100
55
Denver, nee Austin
#1
Disappointing news about one of our notorious venue impresarios.

Denver Deadhead Jay Bianchi Arrested on Sexual Assault Charges | Westword

My story about this guy has nothing to do with sexual assault but is worth a brief tell.

We were playing at one of his venues that had an indoor and an outdoor stage. The band I was in had been playing a lot at the time and we were very tight. We were outside.

The inside band was the headliner. I won't say who it was but the band name rhymed with "Schmotet". We were apparently pulling too much of the crowd from their room. They complained to Bianchi, and he came out and literally pulled the plug on us in the middle of a song. Like, he actually cut power to our stage. Classy.
 
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#4
Altitude said:
Disappointing news about one of our notorious venue impresarios.

Denver Deadhead Jay Bianchi Arrested on Sexual Assault Charges | Westword

My story about this guy has nothing to do with sexual assault but is worth a brief tell.

We were playing at one of his venues that had an indoor and an outdoor stage. The band I was in had been playing a lot at the time and we were very tight. We were outside.

The inside band was the headliner. I won't say who it was but the band name rhymed with "Schmotet". We were apparently pulling too much of the crowd from their room. They complained to Bianchi, and he came out and literally pulled the plug on us in the middle of a song. Like, he actually cut power to our stage. Classy dude.
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I'm curious, what was your band?

This is pretty terrible news. I've played all of his clubs and never had a bad experience, but I know that is not the experience of others. There were always some kind of logistical issue (and not great sound systems with less than experienced people running them, especially in the last few years), but in general, we had fun and got paid.

I like to go by the philosophy of innocent until proven guilty, but this seems like a deep hole to get out of.
 
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#9
edwinhurwitz said:
I'm curious, what was your band?

This is pretty terrible news. I've played all of his clubs and never had a bad experience, but I know that is not the experience of others. There were always some kind of logistical issue (and not great sound systems with less than experienced people running them, especially in the last few years), but in general, we had fun and got paid.

I like to go by the philosophy of innocent until proven guilty, but this seems like a deep hole to get out of.
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Our band was Fina Dupa. Your iAmp head played a Fina Dupa gig when you loaned it to me once. Long ago though. I think that gig might have been at Redfish in Boulder.

I have no opinion about the story, really. Apart from the one weird unplugging experience we played quite a few nights at other of his clubs, mostly Other Side, without any problems. If the story is true then it's awful. But Denver bands haven't enjoyed the same quality of stage time since he got out of the scene.
 
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#11
That dude is a slime ball. I'm from Denver but all this fake hippy junk with alternative motives is getting old around here. That dude was still running Sauncho's during the Covid shut down and was acting like he was the victim… The amount of trash Denver has attracted since weed has become legal is insane. This used to be a cool small city to live in… ah, now I'm complaining the same broken record complaints. It's just sad what has become of out here. Whatever happened to just being cool and not taking advantage of people?
 
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#12
JohnnyChatter said:
That dude is a slime ball. I'm from Denver but all this fake hippy junk with alternative motives is getting old around here. That dude was still running Sauncho's during the Covid shut down and was acting like he was the victim… The amount of trash Denver has attracted since weed has become legal is insane. This used to be a cool small city to live in… ah, now I'm complaining the same broken record complaints. It's just sad what has become of out here. Whatever happened to just being cool and not taking advantage of people?
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It's not just here. The whole country is the same. Too many rats in the cage and too much failed trickle that puts people on the street. At least we have a music scene. My hometown of Boston was always a tough town but it has gotten really, really hard for musicians to make a living without travel. But yeah, I feel you. Boulder, where I live now, is unrecognizable. It used to be pretty cool.
 
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#13
Altitude said:
Our band was Fina Dupa. Your iAmp head played a Fina Dupa gig when you loaned it to me once. Long ago though. I think that gig might have been at Redfish in Boulder.

I have no opinion about the story, really. Apart from the one weird unplugging experience we played quite a few nights at other of his clubs, mostly Other Side, without any problems. If the story is true then it's awful. But Denver bands haven't enjoyed the same quality of stage time since he got out of the scene.
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That's a great sounding band. I listened to some sides.
 
#14
I have lived in Denver most of my life. I've done shows with him. That part of town especially on Colfax is a colorful area. When I worked at the Ogden Theater a sound engineer for a national act was involved in a police prostitution sting and was arrested. I took over for him and sound checked and started the show. He got out of jail and made it about 30 minutes in. Claimed he was setup. I would want to hear Jay's side of the story before casting judgement.
 
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#16
Altitude said:
Disappointing news about one of our notorious venue impresarios.

Denver Deadhead Jay Bianchi Arrested on Sexual Assault Charges | Westword

My story about this guy has nothing to do with sexual assault but is worth a brief tell.

We were playing at one of his venues that had an indoor and an outdoor stage. The band I was in had been playing a lot at the time and we were very tight. We were outside.

The inside band was the headliner. I won't say who it was but the band name rhymed with "Schmotet". We were apparently pulling too much of the crowd from their room. They complained to Bianchi, and he came out and literally pulled the plug on us in the middle of a song. Like, he actually cut power to our stage. Classy.
Click to expand...

from the article you cited:
One case allegedly occurred in October 2020 in the 700 block of East Colfax Avenue, where Sancho's was located before it was shut down in a settlement with the city in 2022 over liquor-license violations and a public-nuisance complaint related to illegal cocaine dealing by bartenders.
Click to expand...

In my experience, I've seen otherwise decent people become predatory due to overuse of cocaine and meth.
 
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