Already one of the busier musicians in town, Fez Garcia, who drums for a number of bands, including Night of Joy, Tjutjuna and Fingers of the Sun, has now got another gig to add to his resume: co-manager of the Sidewinder, the bar in Globeville at 44th and Logan that his folks recently bought, with his Tjutjuna bandmate, Rob Ballantyne. Goldrush Festival co-founder and occasional Backbeat contributor Crawford Philleo will be handling the booking for adjoined music venue, which Garcia hopes to have up and running within the next few months. Mark Shusterman, meanwhile, who used to play in Constellations and Widowers and is now in Blue Rider, will be heading up the kitchen. The bar is having its soft opening tonight. Keep reading for more details.
Garcia says that people have been mentioning that Sidewinder has a Gabor's feel to it, and they're hoping to recapture the vibe that Gabor's had -- laid back, not pretentious and just really cozy. They also plan to put in a small lounge area with a couch and a coffee table to give it somewhat of a cafe feel in addition to the bar.There's an event hall joined to the bar that has been used for wedding receptions, concerts, birthday parties that will now be using for a music venue. Garcia says it's similar to how Sputnik and hi-dive are set up. While the Garcias plan to start slow with the live music and focus mostly on weekend nights, they'd eventually like to bring in national acts and make the spot a legitimate music venue.
In the meantime, the Sidewinder's got a jukebox with a hundred slots that they've opened up for folks to bring in mix CDs. Be prepared, though: They're subject to the approval of some serious music geeks, and you can bet there will be a lot of local music on there.
The soft opening kicks off at 5 p.m. tonight, and the Sidewinder will be open at 5 p.m. tomorrow and all day on Sunday, and from then on, Garcia says they'll start having regular bar hours, opening in the afternoon and closing as last call.
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