Westword Music Showcase 2004

How do you pay the bills? What are your day jobs?
Sean: Dish Network; CJ: Planet Honda; Cody works with his dad; and Adam is a waiter.

Favorite places to play?
Fox Theatre, Boulder.

Why music?
Extremely friendly and professional staff. Best group ever worked with.

If not music, what else?
Cars!!

What band names were left on the cutting-room floor in favor of your current one?
Last Ride

Funniest/strangest gig story -- local?
At our show at the Ogden with Ion, Misunderstood and the Commodes, the crowd was off the hook. They were stage-diving, getting in fights, crowd-surfing and more. Definitely a sight to see. Play it safe, kids!

Worst gig?
May 29 at the Gothic Theatre. NIPP's new security for that place sucked. Totally disrespectful.

What do you love about the local scene?
The scene is getting huge! It's awesome to watch all the bands blow up in Denver and even at national levels.

What bugs you about the local scene?
Too much trash-talking. If a performer or artist is getting recognized, there is always someone that has to bang them for it.

What's the biggest misconception about your band/act?
Some people say that the bandmembers are extremely full of themselves. In fact, we are not at all. Hence the name: antiksucks.com. If you meet each one of us, you will see we are very friendly, caring guys.

Any random facts we should know?
Vote for us on Lollapalooza!!

Avalanche or Broncos?
Broncos.

Parting shot/final comments?
Cement Mixer...ahhh, love the taste.

APOSTLE
NOMINATED IN HIP-HOP
10 P.M., OPAL

And you are . . .?
Jeff Campbell, aka Apostle.

Website?
www.coloradohiphop.org

How long has your act been together?
I am a solo artist. I've been spittin' rhymes since I was fourteen years old, in 1984. I was first published in 1994, so I guess you can say a decade.

What are some of your noteworthy recent feats?
I attended the National Hip-Hop Convention in Newark, New Jersey, as the state chair for Colorado.

Recent recordings of note?
New album coming soon, entitled Intelligent Movement.

How do you pay the bills? What is your day job?
I'm the executive director of the Colorado Hip-Hop Coalition.

What's the biggest crowd you've ever played for?
6,000 in 1999 at Reggae on the Rocks. (In 1984, as a breakdancer at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, I performed in front of 15,000.)

Favorite places to play?
Club Triology in Boulder; Soiled Dove in LoDo; Cervantes'; and Red Sea in Portland.

Why music?
It inspired me so much in my life. Stevie Wonder helped me learn to read. It was what moved me at a very early age.

If not music, what else?
Community organizing.

What band names were left on the cutting-room floor in favor of your current one?
Mos Jef, Short Man's Complex, JRS-One and One Pac.

Funniest/strangest gig story -- local?
In 2000, at Southwest Plaza Mall, Borders Books Coffee and Music: I had some little sixteen-year-old girl dance with me, and I pissed off her parents.

Funniest/weirdest gig story -- on tour?
I met a Vietnam Vet who was only 5'10" -- but had size 13 1/2 shoes.

Worst gig?
At the Chief Theater in Pueblo in 1995. The host of the event introduced me as the "Ass Pistol."

What do you love about the local scene?
The incredible talent.

What bugs you about the local scene?
No sense of community.

What's the biggest misconception about your band/act?
That I've retired. Don't call it a comeback -- the new joint is on fire!

Any random facts we should know?
The new album, featuring KRS-One and Stero Lion and produced by Heavyweight Dub Champion, is some of my best work.

Avalanche or Broncos?
Favorite Colorado athlete: Amy Van Dyken.

Parting shot/final comments?
Hip-hop in Colorado keeps getting better. Suckas trying to X me out, but they can't circumvent the real deal. I'm proud of my age, my accomplishments and the mistakes I've learned from. Stop talking shit. You know who you are. Let's build a community with this hip-hop. It ain't about a hot record; fuck a hot record. Live this. Peace.

BACKBONE VELVET
NOMINATED IN FUNK/SOUL

And you are...?
Marri Jo, Backbone Velvet.

Website?
www.backbonevelvet.com (Our site is currently being updated and improved and will be current soon!)

How long has your act been together?
Three to three and a half years. Our first show was at the Cricket, on January 16, 2001.

What are some of your noteworthy recent feats?
Nominated for the Westword Music Showcase -- second year in a row now. We just played our third People's Fair, and our new live CD was just released.

Recent recordings of note?
New Backbone Velvet live CD.

How do you pay the bills? What are your day jobs?
Marri Jo, lead vocalist: Watsu Practitioner (a form of aquatic body work, working primarily with the disabled community); Johnny, guitarist: CAD tech; Chip, bassist: a hair designer working for Head West in Evergreen; and Laura, drums: accountant.

What's the biggest crowd you've ever played for?
Packed house at Herman's.

Favorite places to play?
It's different for all of us: Johnny likes the Soiled Dove; Laura likes the Cricket. And Chip and I love playing up in Bailey at Chip's house, which we call the "Fairgrounds," after Chip's last name, which is Fair -- just up close and personal for our circle of friends.

Why music?
Johnny: "'Cause I got to!!" Laura: "It's my passion!" Chip: "Why not? It's always been there!" And me: As a gift to my family and friends.

If not music, what else?
Johnny: "Living on the beach!" Chip: "Gardening." Laura: "Therapy." And me: Watsu!

What band names were left on the cutting-room floor in favor of your current one?
Backbone Velvet was brought to us by Chip, and that was it! NEVER anything else; it just fit perfect.

Funniest/strangest gig story -- local?
We played a great show at Herman's one night. After we were done, of course, the shots were flowing! A bit later, we were all frantically looking for Johnny. He was nowhere to be found. It later came to our attention that he was quite comfortable, passed out in the back of his own truck, right in front of the bar!

Funniest/weirdest gig story -- on tour?
We have only played one gig outside of Denver. It was a wedding for our good friends outside of Cody, Wyoming. We rented a big RV, loaded it up with all of us, pulled in to their family gathering and proceeded to scare the hell out of his family. He had a lot of explaining to do to his parents, and we rocked out all night long, echoing throughout the canyon. Yes, we are all still friends.

Worst gig?
We haven't had any really bad gigs! Johnny had a night where he wasn't expecting an encore and forgot all his riffs -- and, well, basically the song. Laura had "tech" problems with her cymbals one night, and it was obvious throughout the show and recording. And Chip and I can't say we've really had any bad gigs. We get something out of all of them.

What do you love about the local scene?
Johnny likes just being a part of it. Chip likes the diversity of all the original music in Denver. And we all love the great support we receive from all the other musicians in town. We are truly blessed with great and very talented friends -- and so many other local bands!!

What bugs you about the local scene?
Johnny wishes there were more diverse clubs to play. Laura wishes there was a bigger focus on women in music.

What's the biggest misconception about your band/act?
Our name getting messed up. We are not BLackbone Velvet -- that would be used for a porno soundtrack or something! And we are not just a blues band or a classic-rock band.

Any random facts we should know?
We were great friends and in each other's lives for years before we ever decided to play together. This is a deep well we are all in here.

Avalanche or Broncos?
BOTH.

Parting shot/final comments?
Johnny: "Tequila -- thanks for thinking of us." Chip: "Scotch -- keep on rockin' in the free world!" Laura: "A slippery nipple -- heellllooo, Wisconsin!" And me: "A tequila body shot -- man, I love you guys! YOU ROCK!"

BLACK BLACK OCEAN
NOMINATED IN PUNK

And you are...?
Ryan Eason, Black Black Ocean.

Website?
www.blackblackocean.com

How long has your act been together?
Two years.

What are some of your noteworthy recent feats?
Action Driver Records is putting out our new full-length, Eaglemaniac; CD-release show and mega raging party on July 9 at Rock Island.

Recent recordings of note?
Eaglemaniac.

What's the biggest crowd you've ever played for?
Sold-out show at the Ogden, opening for someone -- however many people that was.

Favorite places to play?
Lemp Arts in St. Louis; Modified in Phoenix.

Why music?
Well, we can't all be bodybuilders.

If not music, what else?
Bodybuilding.

What band names were left on the cutting-room floor in favor of your current one?
Lucifist, Seawolf!, Endangered Feces, Blood Face Knife Wound and Kitty Hearts.

Funniest/strangest gig story -- local?
I had just returned from an interpretive-dance pilgrimage to Rio on a chilly Friday last November. Stephen had just returned from running smack to Berlin. We were both pretty wrecked. We had a show booked at a very secret warehouse that night. Jared and Quintin showed up very obviously on a higher plane of awareness, and when we all arrived at said warehouse, it was empty except for a very old man. He told us that we were the chosen, and then he felt our clothes and told us that they were odd. We then played some songs for him, and he laughed loudly and smoked copious amounts of high-grade opium.

Funniest/weirdest gig story -- on tour?
Toledo, early 2003. Jared and myself had far too many vodka gimlets, and we decided it was high time to get buck naked. Apparently, so I learned later, Ohio has laws against standing on top of parked cars with your unspeakables on display. As soon as we saw the police coming, we both bolted naked through the streets. The bartender from the venue saved Jared, letting him slip into the back room. I ended up taking shelter in the car of a stranger. I borrowed her phone and got picked up thirty minutes later, during which time we made out. You: red Cavalier, Journey T-shirt, Young MC tape. Me: naked, drunk, confused. Maybe we could click?

Worst gig?
Are there bad gigs, or just bad words?

What do you love about the local scene?
Hot girls!

What bugs you about the local scene?
Hot girls.

What's the biggest misconception about your band/act?
The biggest misconception about us would be that we write our own songs. Most people think that we do, but it's simply not true. We have a writer, a bigwig, some dude in L.A. named T that speaks nine languages, all dead. I've never met him.