Casey James Prestwood works to keep country classic

In local circles, Casey James Prestwood might be best known for his stint in the punk-inflected rock band Hot Rod Circuit or for his time as a pedal-steel player in Drag the River. But a few years ago, Casey started working on solo material and released his debut album, The…

Heyoka at Beta

How to explain Heyoka? Well, it’s like you jumped in your time-traveling Delorean for a trip to the future, only to discover that alien overlords rule the Earth. But you don’t despair, because they are totally cool and chilled-out overlords who brought lots of great, trippy alien drugs that make…

Flier of the Week: Tauntaun at Larimer Lounge

It’s a bat! It’s a beast! It’s our flier of the week! And as to what “it” is, we’ve determined it’s a dog (we’re no dog experts, but it looks like a boxer, right?) hanging upside down. Presumably the upside-downing was done via Photoshop, because we know every time we…

Lost Lake Lounge moves into former Bulldog Bar space

For now, the sign next to the Bulldog Bar’s door reads, “Bar Closed. Remember the Alamo!” While the sign’s a nod to the bar’s earlier incarnation, Mr. Von’s Alamo, the bar at 3602 East Colfax Avenue is slated to re-open next Friday, March 5 as the Lost Lake Lounge. Matt…

Another headliner announced for Westword Music Showcase 2010

All right, so yesterday, we revealed some of the headliners for this year’s Westword Music Showcase. And now today, we’re revealing another, ahem, super duper headliner that we’re sure is going to make you jump for absolute joy and start counting the days down to June. You know how in…

Cyborg drummer will rule the drum circles of tomorrow

Of all the things that could be replaced by robots, did you ever think patchouli-scented, dreadlock-sporting drum circlers would ever be one of them? Well, thanks to the pioneering work of Patrick Flanagan and the magic of the Nintendo Wiimote (see, it’s not just for getting old people to play…

The top five music podcasts

Music podcasts are a difficult breed. With the current outdated copyright law, most podcasts can’t utilize full songs in their recordings, making anyone but the best sound like boring music nerds. Of course, we love boring music nerds, but being able to speak eloquently or interestingly about music is a…

Westword Music Showcase 2010 headliners announced

Mark our words: This year’s Westword Music Showcase is going to be absolutely SICK! — SICK, we tell you! Yesterday on KTCL, as you might have heard, we revealed part of the lineup. The best local acts spread out over ten stages across the Golden Triangle? Of course — that’s…

Over the Weekend: Artopia 2010

See more of Aaron Thackery’s photos on the slideshow page. As I weaved my way from Bar Standard to Mo’s on Saturday, nearly being trampled by some sort of circus act, it hit me: This Artopia thing never stops. Broadway — at least the section north of 10th and south…

Cassette scratching is weird … and awesome

Never let it be said that a lack of funds, a lack of instruments or a callous disregard for what most people consider to be appealing sounds will stop someone from doing some insanely creative music. As a matter of fact, it’s arguable that the best ideas happen when all…

OK Go’s Damian Kulash weighs in on viral marketing

There was an interesting op-ed in the New York Times this weekend by OK Go’s lead vocalist Damian Kulash that dealt with his label’s inability to update their business model to incorporate YouTube. It’s worth a read for his insiders perspective, even if it’s a problem most of the Internet…

Over the weekend: Extra Kool at Leela’s European Cafe

Extra Kool, with Joshie Juronimoe, Damon JeVon and Doctype Saturday, February 20, 2010 Leela’s European Café Despite the nasty weather and biting cold of the evening, a good number of people made it out to Extra Kool CD release show. Leela’s is a little odder place than most venues in…

Over the weekend: Huun Huur Tu at Swallow Hill

Huun Huur Tu Friday, February 19th, 2010 Swallow Hill, Denver Physicist Richard Feynman and his friend Ralph Leighton spent a great deal of time trying to visit Tuva, a remote land that inspired some unusual postage stamps and gave us a unique style of vocal performance called xöömei. Unfortunately, Feynman…

Over the weekend: Put Yo Money Where Ya Mouth Is Finals

Put Yo’ Money Where Ya’ Mouth Is battle Finals Saturday, February 20, 2010 The Walnut Room A.V.I.U.S. from 3 the Hardway and some other cats getting their cipher on on the back patio before the finals. They came, they rapped and somebody won — that’s pretty much the gist of…

Over the Weekend: Mehko & Ocean Birds at the Larimer Lounge

Mehko & Ocean Birds, Petals of Spain, Chella Negro, Sour Boy, Bitter Girl, Marcus Church, Dustin Reid, Bokonon Saturday, February 20, 2010 Larimer Lounge Sundays at the Larimer Lounge are pretty much guaranteed to be a mulligan, with the decidedly un-rock ‘n’ roll start time of 4pm. This is not…

Last Night: Artopia

Westword’s Artopia, our annual celebration of art, fashion, music and drunkenness, went down last night at more or less every bar on Broadway — Moe’s, Bar Standard, Vinyl, City Hall and the Living Room. See more of Aaron Thackeray’s photos at westword.com/slideshow…

Joe Satriani stops by Musician’s Superstore next month

Not only is Joe Satriani a hell of a shredder on the guitar, early in his career he taught a bunch of guitarists like Steve Vai, Metallica’s Kirk Hammett and Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello. Now Satriani’s giving away free half-hour lessons. Well, the only catch is that you…

The Weekend Showdown: We Are the Dot

We would hate for you to miss out on all the awesome that happens every weekend in our fair city, so we’ve decided to run down five of the best shows in one easy-to-swallow post, with video and audio. Tell us — and the rest of the world — what…

Dikeou something different this weekend

Just in case you’re not already planning on being at Artopia tomorrow night (you are planning on being at Artopia, right?), here’s another sweet way to spend your Saturday night. How about listening to sweet tunes and literary works while sipping wine beneath two inflatable bunnies? Sound like a bad…