The Beatdown

Rutherford is more than up to the task of representing Denver's scene -- at least on the indie side of things. "I think I can serve as well as anyone else in this market could," he says. "The indie-rock scene is definitely a vital part of it, but there are a lot of different scenes in the whole Colorado music community via people that play -- if you have to break it down from venue to venue -- the Soiled Dove and Herman's Hideaway, versus people that play the hi-dive and Larimer Lounge, versus jam bands or whatever.

"We obviously don't encompass everything," he adds of the indie scene. "But I think that's a big part of it. Maybe I'm only representing a small segment, but I think it's a segment that, for a lot of years, was overlooked by a lot of people and is definitely one of the hottest things going right now. We're definitely trying to branch out and show people that there are things that are going on in Denver. And I feel really privileged being asked to speak, and I've got to jump at the opportunity."

Rutherford is always ready to seize an opening. Along with Ben DeSoto, who books the hi-dive and runs Public Service Records, and hi-dive owner Matt LaBarge, he put together a shrewd, Denver-based showcase at South by Southwest, and Rutherford also plans to co-host a party with Warner Bros. at CMJ. And he's not stopping there. Rutherford's already working on the next phase of Morning After's evolution, the debut disc from his latest act, Atlas -- yet another jaw-dropping local band that's likely to keep plenty of people up at night.

Upbeats and beatdowns: This Friday, August 19, Peter Black (formerly of the Funeral), Yer Momm and Wigdan Giddy host "Rock Stars Are Dead!," an end-of-summer bash at the Walnut Room featuring a performance by the Vanity, with special guests White Girl Lust taking turns on the ones and twos.