They say that there are only three sure things in life: death, taxes and Iggy Pop. The former Stooge simply doesn’t know how to do bad shows – he won’t allow himself the luxury of an off-night. While his age is showing quite vividly on his face and even moreso…
When Pete Townshend, lead guitarist and songwriter of the Who, said earlier this year that the band won’t be touring again after this “Hits 50” jaunt — was anybody really surprised? The writing has been on the wall for some time and the fact that Townshend and singer Roger Daltrey…
Gordon Koch, drummer with the local, intensely heavy grind-metal band Call of the Void, says that it’s not easy living, working and rehearsing in the metal-wasteland that is Boulder, a condition that’s made all the more difficult by the fact that it wasn’t always that way. “I grew up there…
The thing with Madrid quartet Hinds is that they’ll lull you into a false sense of security again and again, especially if you’re not massively familiar with them going in. Like the Pixies (there are other reference points but Frank Black’s band works perfectly here), they’ll start a song with…
In 2001, the University of Northern Colorado was on the brink of selling public radio station KUNC to KCFR, the Denver station owned and operated by Colorado Public Radio. The amount on the table was $1.3 million but upon hearing the news, general manager Neil Best approached the Board of Trustees with the idea…
It’s easy, if all you’re familiar with is the shtick, to form a negative opinion of Violent J, one half of the Insane Clown Posse. Rarely seen in public without his trademark makeup, the man plays up to the role in which he’s cast himself like the most committed of method actors. There are…
The music business is a cruel mistress. There’s rarely rhyme or reason as to who gets the few-and-far-between big-money deals — even among worthy artists who are more than ready for a bigger spotlight. If there were justice, then the following eight talented local bands would be as adored nationally…
There’s an old adage that is often attributed to Frank Zappa but, according to QuoteInvestigator.com, actually originated with actor and musician Martin Mull. It goes, “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” Despite the fact that it’s meant as a slight, we’ve always liked the line because, when you…
Though she was born in Seattle, Judy Collins will forever be seen as a Coloradan after basing herself here, forging a career and making a name for herself. She certainly sees it that way; Collins still speaks excitedly about the mountains, Denver, Boulder, and everything in-between. At 76, she’s also very young at heart…
It’s a stretch – to celebrate March 3 as Colorado Pride Day because 303 is the dialing code in parts of the state, but what the hell. We don’t need much of an excuse to party around here while displaying your inner, or outer, C with pride. If you happen to wander…
We firmly believe that Denver is a match for anybody when it comes to quality music in any genre, and the dark world of Goth is no different, even when it’s branching out into industrial and horror-punk. With Captain Blood opening for the Other at the 3 Kings Tavern on…
Since 1988, Pittsburgh’s outspoken punk band Anti-Flag has made it its business to draw awareness to the issues it feels are important, whether that be income inequality, or bigotry in the form of racism, sexism and homophobia, human rights or animal welfare. Anti-Flag have beaten those drums loud and proud for over twenty years,…
South by Southwest is coming up fast, March 11-20, in Austin, Texas, and as ever there are hundreds of bands on the bill for industry peeps to sink their teeth into. Representing Colorado, we have the wonderful Judy Collins (look out for an interview with her soon), and these eight…
When did people stop dancing at electronic music shows? Because surely if there’s a pairing that warrants some major league writhing, pulling out all the moves — it’s Com Truise and STRFKR. But no; with a few notable exceptions, Thursday’s crowd just swayed a little and nodded their heads, and that was all. They…
By the time Megadeth got to the end of a super-tight and extremely well-received set, the band took a bow to the sound of Sid Vicious’ cover of Sinatra’s “My Way.” Hearing snotty Sid wail, “Regrets, I’ve had a few, but then again, too few to mention” seemed on-the-nose appropriate. This is, after all,…
While metal has often been a male-dominated world and, at its worst, infected with misogyny, things have been changing for some time now. The average music lover won’t stand for that shit anymore and it’s no secret that women rock hard. The Joan Jetts of this world are no longer…
Rock and roll has never experienced a shortage of polarizing characters, those individuals whose music we might adore but, when you hear them talk, they just sound like assholes. Maybe they deliberately pull an Axl Rose and delay going on stage for two hours, leaving the fans waiting around like cattle. Or maybe…
At this point in its long and ragged career, going to an AC/DC show is much like watching It’s a Wonderful Life at Christmas. It’s warm, familiar, and you can recite line after line, possibly to the annoyance of the person sitting next to you. To its fans, an AC/DC show is like…
It seems amazing, but it’s been eighteen years since metal band Bullet For My Valentine formed in the nice-but-unspectacular Welsh town of Bridgend. The first few years were spent finding their feet and learning their trade but by 2005 the band released debut album The Poison album and in Britain the boys were a…
Nine years of your life doesn’t sound a lot when you’re into your thirties, but a lot of living and growing goes on between the ages of sixteen and 25. Now imagine doing it in the public eye. We cringe at the idea of our late teens being recorded for posterity…
We knew where we stood with hardcore: It was punk rock, but a “harder” version. Hard — easy to understand. It did exactly what it said it would do. Then came post-hardcore, then grindcore, then metalcore. And do you know what? That was okay too. It was easy to follow. Post-hardcore, by definition, was…
Thanks to the recent news about Guns N’ Roses, the word “reunion” seems to be buzzing all over social media right now. In the hair metal world, Florida-turned-Colorado band Tryxx reuniting and making a movie about the whole thing. In Frebruary, a re-formed Ween will perform a highly-anticipated reunion stand in…
