71Grind Is Colorado Springs's Underground Metal Music Festival

The inaugural edition of 71Grind (a play on nearby area code 719), a kind of celebration of heavy music of various styles, is in Colorado Springs on Friday, June 3, and Saturday, June 4, at Black Sheep and Flux Capacitor.

Organized in part by Sean and Bryan Ostrow, brothers who run community/volunteer-run DIY space Flux Capacitor and play in sludge-/doom metal-band Blighter, 71 Grind will include national acts of note as well as several local acts from Colorado's heavy-music scene.

The Ostrows grew up exposed to the underground-music world of Colorado Springs in the 2000s and spent time both playing and attending shows at DIY spaces like the High Life House and Everyday House.

In 2010, Bryan Ostrow started the What's Left zine with some friends at a time when it looked like the Colorado Springs underground-music world was at something of a nadir. Now the zine is considered by many as an important document of goings-on in the city.

The Ostrows and some What's Left contributors decided to branch out and organize a festival to reflect the music and the ethos behind the publication and pay homage to the music they love.

“We wanted to make an extreme metal, hardcore, grind festival in a place that does not have a lot of that," Bryan says. "We all know everyone thinks the Springs is all evangelical mega-churches, military and shootings. But there is a culture here that is the complete opposite, and that is what we are trying to showcase." 
Anyone who has been to Flux and experienced the hospitality of the Ostrows can attest to the brothers being some of the friendliest and most welcoming people in music in Colorado, which is part of their ethos.

“People [can be] so negative," Bryan says. "While there are things to be negative about, that only feeds the problem. Think positively and move forward with people. We wanted to make a place that we would want to play. People are hopping in a van and driving hours to play, so we want the bands to know that we appreciate their effort and want them to be happy and comfortable. Same thing with people that come to shows. We want people to know they aren't alone and there is something great and positive happening.

“I find that being in a smaller town that doesn't have shows constantly, we look forward to shows of all kinds and get excited and grateful when shows come here,” continues Bryan. “With the amount of people active in our music scene down here, there's not room to be too cool. We need to work together in all genres and be a team, and excellent things can happen."

71Grind Schedule (all times p.m. unless otherwise indicated)

Friday | June 3

At Flux Capacitor
3:30-4 Kiel Grove
4-4:20 Saus
4:30-4:50 Chemically Crippled
5-5:20 Reproacher
5:30-5:50 Deterioration
6-6:20 Agitate
6:30-6:50 Test
7-7:30 Cloud Rat
7:40-8:10 Thou

At Black Sheep

Burrowing Owl Stage
8:20-8:40 Helleborus
9-9:20 Worry
9:40-10 In the Company of Serpents
10:20-10:50 UN
11:10-11:40 Velnias
12-1 Bell Witch

Trve Stage
8:40-9 Piojos
9:20-9:40 Ferals
10-10:20 Euth
10:50-11:10 East Sherman
11:40-12 A God or An Other

Saturday | June 4

At Flux Capacitor

1-1:20 1862
1:30-1:50 Line Brawl
2-2:20 908
2:30-2:50 Ronoso
3-3:20 Waarface
3:30-3:50 Greedy Mouth
4-4:20 No Thought
4:30-4:50 Endorphins Lost
5-5:20 Transient
5:30-5:50 Cryptic Void
6-6:30 Wartorn
6:40-7:10 Laughing Dog
7:20-7:50 Full of Hell
8-8:20 Of Feather & Bone


At Black Sheep

Burrowing Owl Stage
8-8:20 Sonic Vomit
8:40-9:10 Immortal Bird
9:30-10 Gravehill
10:20-10:50 Theories
11:10-11:40 The Nobodys
12-12:45 Death by Stereo

Trve stage
8:20-8:40 Skuz
9:10-9:30 Modok
10-10:20 Muscle Beach
10:50-11:10 Snakes
11:40-12 Rotstrotter

Single-day festival tickets cost $25 or $40 for a two-day pass. For information or to purchase tickets, please visit Soda Jerk Presents, the Ticketfly site and/or the Facebook event page.