Jena Ardell Fact: Any band who uses Times New Roman on their album cover isn’t going to make it in the music industry. (Feel free to prove us wrong, though). Smart typography selection is as important to a band’s image as having a memorable logo. In 1937, industrial designer and…
At some point last year a drummer with arm sleeve tattoos wandered into Coda Brewery in Aurora. He struck a conversation with the owner, Luke Smith, a pharmacologist turned brewer and lifelong musician, and the local band Dragondeer came up. Blank quickly went to the back of the brewery to…
There are more reasons than ever to celebrate Denver’s music scene: more venues, more bands, more people finding ways to make this city a great one for fans. We’ve been documenting the state of that scene in the Best of Denver since 1984. Some of that year’s winners — like…
Nearly 200 artists recorded recorded at Caribou Ranch, just outside of Nederland, throughout the ’70s and early ’80s. Starting with Joe Walsh’s 1972 debut solo album, Barnstorm, the ranch’s recording studio hosted some huge names in music, including Michael Jackson, the Beach Boys, Chicago, Frank Zappa, Billy Joel, Elton John…
It’s a busy weekend in Colorado — local favorite Railroad Earth is in town, the Toasters’ tour heads south and there’s plenty more. Our picks for the best shows over the next few days are below. See also: 50 Photos That Prove Red Rocks Is the Most Beautiful Venue on…
Bruce Pavitt is best known as a founder of Sub Pop Records — the label that is credited with bringing Nirvana, grunge and the entire “Seattle sound” to the masses more than twenty years ago. Pavitt’s devotion, skill and connections fed the early days of this regional music movement that…
“I’m stunned,” guitarist Bill Frisell said to a crowd of over 900 people. He was standing on the stage in the auditorium of East High School, from which he graduated in 1969. “I can’t believe this is happening. I used to have dreams like this. Really weird dreams too. I…
Thirty-eight governors around the country celebrated their inauguration this year. Most of them held events marking the occasion, ranging from elaborate galas to tours of the state’s barbecue restaurants (Arkansas). Here in Colorado, John Hickenlooper marked his reelection with a formal ceremony at the State Capitol followed by a dinner…
Two major things inspired the Wiredogs’ newest album, Kill the Artist Hype the Trash: trauma and Iggy Pop. The personal trauma the band experienced in their daily lives is responsible for the album’s deep, personal lyrics and frustrated, aggressive tone. The title? That was all Iggy. At Riot Fest in…
James Iha will DJ Lipgloss this Friday, January 23, at Beauty Bar. Iha is best known for his time as a guitarist for alternative rock band Smashing Pumpkins. He left that band in 2000 and went on to join A Perfect Circle, and he has contributed to numerous recordings by…
Stevie Wonder brings his Song of Life Performance tour to the Pepsi Center on Tuesday, March 17. Tickets ($39.50-$149.50) for the show, which is a live adaptation of his Songs in the Key of Life album, go on sale on Friday, January 23 at 10 a.m. The Disco Biscuits return…
Belly Up Aspen, an intimate venue hidden in the mountains, turns ten this week. The space has hosted some unforgettable shows in that time (including sets by the Jane’s Addiction, home state hero Pretty Lights, the Wu-Tang Clan, B.B. King and more), and the owners have plans to keep the…
“I think the first time music as a whole clicked for me was when I saw the Offspring’s ‘The Kids Aren’t Alright’ video,” says David McGhee. “I was like, ‘Wow, this is heavy like Slayer, but it’s poppy like Disney. They’re like a heavy Disney band!’ “I started writing songs…
During last night’s showcase of black metal, Revenge put in a solid set of deathgrind-inflected black metal and Watain had a skeleton and goat head altar with lit candles. The band’s actual performance was entertaining enough but straddled the divide between black metal and more commercial metal, to the point…
Michael David Quattlebaum Jr. is a poet, actor, performance artist and rapper — but he is best known as Mykki Blanco, a musical project that melds all of his experience and expertise together. Defying categorization, Blanco works to push the rigid confines of sex and sexuality presented in popular music…
Caribou Ranch belongs on a very short list of Colorado’s musical treasures. Artists ranging from Michael Jackson to Frank Zappa to the Beach Boys worked at the recording studio north of Nederland. It hasn’t been in use since 1985, and the family of former owner James Guercio is auctioning a…
Old Curtis St. Bar has given way to The Curtis Club. Before shutting its doors in 2012, Old Curtis St. Bar was a host to an eclectic schedule of shows starting around 2003, when Kosta Razatos brought live music regularly into the long-running family business. An anecdote that serves as…
The chill winter night seemed almost too perfect a climate for going to see experimental music at La Cour. The bar/restaurant, with its Parisian flair, had a modern take on Japanese classical art hanging on the inside walls. Outside, there was a glass-walled fire in the center of a stone…
In music, duets are supposed to be simple: take a composition, divvy it up between two performers and prepare to be wowed. Recently, though, the duet has been put through the ringer by washed-up pop stars hacking it up alongside other celebrity singers, searching for a hit. With apologies to…
[jump] Editor’s note: Each week, illustrator Noah Van Sciver shares his ongoing story of an ’80s rocker on a road trip through his past with the readers of Backbeat. You can see more of Van Sciver’s work in his new book YOUTH IS WASTED. Last Week’s Episode • BACKBEAT’S GREATEST…
We hope you’re enjoying Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We’ll be back to our full slate of commentary, news and concert coverage tomorrow — for now, we’ve got a few shows to recommend. This is a great week in Colorado, with bands ranging from notorious metal outfit Mayhem to the…
The final word on 2014 music, the Village Voice’s annual Pazz + Jop poll, is out. As has been the case for the last forty-plus years, hundreds of critics across the country submitted their favorite albums and singles of the year, and the picks are compiled into the most comprehensive…
