With his alias “The White Shadow,” DJ Bedz could be Denver hip-hop’s superhero, on a mission to proliferate the somewhat misundastood genre. With residencies at four area clubs, the Occidental College-educated mixmaster proves that white men can rap without straying too far toward either Eminem or Vanilla Ice territory. The…
Storm the Unpredictable is giving hip-hop a bad reputation: The thirty-something rapper enjoys talking about his family, hanging out at church and working a day job at Montgomery College. The Washington, D.C., native’s current hit, “Get Your Weight Up,” can be heard on East Coast radio stations, and his name…
As audiogenic as she is photogenic, Marcy Baruch makes the best of country and blues influences while following her own introspective muse. Sultry, powerful and resilient, her voice shifts seamlessly from soothing and simplistic to bawdy and brash. With her 2001 release, Clearly, Baruch entered Denver’s already crowded singer-songwriter pool;…
Landing smack in the middle of the week, Soma’s Swell Wednesdays series makes hump day easier to get over. Jimmy Van M, who’s often linked with Sasha and John Digweed, shows up to help out on February 19. Inspired by Florida DJ legend Dave Cannalte, Van M dug the acid-house…
Denver’s Alliance Plastique claims its goal is to connect “artists, producers and the proletariat” — which means you. The group’s humble Web site, www.apnow.net, sums up its stance against trendy dress-up games and “a bunch of sceney retards.” Not a haven for the nouveau anything, AP’s Panopticon, Sundays at the…
Vitamin D and Sean Biddle of Floorfillerz have been so busy lately, it’s difficult to actually pin them down: D’s cut “That Latin Track” was the Muzik label’s song of the year, while Biddle’s “Malfunktion” scored spins on MTV; the two have also joined to form the Colorecordings label. But…
You don’t need a translator to enjoy the work of DJ Kahlil, but to fully appreciate his performances, you might want to brush up on your Spanish. Calling Los Angeles his home, the Latin spinmaster works as a DJ on two of that city’s Spanish-language radio stations during the week…
Those who wrote Das EFX off at the end of the ’90s had better prepare to eat crow: Krazy Drazyz and Skoob (that’s “books” backwards) got stuck with a lot of labels during the past decade, but “quitters” wasn’t one of them. Now the two-man crew is once again in…
Every year, MTV holds a contest where an average Joe gets to be “VJ for a Day” and enjoy being thrust into the teen consciousness. Some wannabe-VJ winners fade quickly into obscurity, whereas others manage to find their place in pop culture. Ray Munns hopes to remain in the latter…
Denver’s hip-hop scene has been kicked around for years, barely getting a foot in the door before being tossed out on the street to try again. Hopefully the cycle will be broken with the December 29 debut of Purple Martini’s Sunday-night residency by the Break Mechanics, the brainchild of Future…
The clouds have parted for Against Tomorrow’s Sky. Already a darling of music fans in Colorado Springs, the band recently wowed indie label Universal Warning into releasing its first CD, Jump the Hedges, and backing a Midwestern tour. Alternating the skills of Jeff Fuller and Mike Stevens on guitar and…
As the leader of the Manchester-born Brit-pop band the Charlatans, Tim Burgess has released seven albums and won awards and audiences in both his native Britain and the United States. But too often, those feats take a back seat to his role as poster boy and object of teen fantasy…
Christian Smith’s discography reads like an international party list, on which all of the best names from around the electronic-music universe have been checked off at one point or another. It’s no surprise that his music should have a global flair: Though he lived in both New York and Washington,…
Blister 66 has attained a musical fluidity that allows it to change with the tides — as well as trends in mainstream commercial rock. Today the band’s lineup is almost completely different from the one that unleashed a rap-metal mélange on Denver in the late ’90s. Yet the big prize…
If you think “Deep Chicago House” means pizza, you’d better scoot on down to Enigma and Club Purple on Saturday, December 14, when Terry Mullan performs two sets to double your pleasure. A harbinger of Chi-Town’s next generation and a veteran of old-school warehouse rhythms, Mullan masters the mixes without…
Among Denver dance fiends, local DJs can get neglected in the rush to see Moby’s latest car commercial. So while local spinner Forest Sindurr’s name may yet not be imprinted on every eardrum, he’s working on it. Sindurr’s prior CD, Das Uber Their, contained cuts from such recognizable artists as…
There’s no end in sight to the acoustic revival, which is a lucky break for local-but-touring band Newcomers Home. Traditional, gently trickling guitar melodies and well-worn influences permeate the band’s second CD, In the Hour, which places the trio within the general sanctuary of Americana-style folk. More safely bland than…
So much for the good old-fashioned jamboree. Its reputation as a hoedown-like haven for the coverall-clad is shot to hell now that Hype Productions is hosting the second Jamboree 303, an event forged with sweat, sex and bodies working the dance floor. Serving up top talent from the electronic-music underground,…
Forget Snap and Crackle, because Pop has gone Sonic, thanks to the hip folks at Denver’s Museum of Contemporary Art. The monthly avant-garde series continues this Thursday, November 21, with electronic-music innovator devslashnull performing among the Warhols and Murakamis on display as part of POPJack, the MCA’s current exhibition. A…
As cold weather sets in, a little naughtiness raises the body’s temperature. So sensation-savvy Club Onyx developed the perfect solution with Fetish Night every week. Saturday, November 16, brings a “Sexy ’70s” theme, as the 13th Street club invites you to bring not just your best toys, but your neglected…
Let’s get ready to rumble. The best new local MCs and DJs duke it out this Friday, November 8, at Boulder’s Root of the Hill, as part of the fifth-annual Kombat. While most of the spinners hail from the jungle realm, drum and bass and breakdown will also be represented,…
While Xiren’s two previous CDs were globetrotting adventures, whisking the listener away for a whirlwind tour de force of cultural influences, Polite Conversation gets right down to his essential pop roots. Most of the songs spin and soar, relying mainly on lush keyboards and breathy, sensuous vocals that land on…
