Wiz Khalifa to Release Cannabis Line With Colorado-Based RiverRock

Wiz Khalifa announced today that he will partner with Denver-based RiverRock Cannabis on an exclusive line of cannabis products. This is the first collaboration of its kind that the multi-platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist has done, though Khalifa has long been associated with marijuana culture, titling his 2011 debut Rolling Papers. …

Why Was Glenn Frey Always Wearing CU T-Shirts?

Glenn Frey, guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and founding member of the Eagles, died on Monday. Frey and the Eagles are deeply associated with the culture of the American West Coast of the 1970s due to their centrality to the country-rock scene that emerged from Los Angeles at that time, as well…

David Bowie Was the Greatest Gateway Drug

David Bowie always paid tribute to his older brother, most famously in “All the Young Dudes,” for changing his life as a teenager by turning him on to rock music and the Beat Generation. So it makes sense that Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars…

Remembering David Bowie’s Risks and Restlessness

Genre-defying pioneer David Bowie succumbed to an eighteen-month battle with cancer on Sunday evening, and left a massive hole in the world’s musical landscape. A statement issued on his social media accounts said that he “died peacefully surrounded by family.” Bowie was an artist in the truest sense of the word, never afraid…

Nirvana Was a Cover Band: The Ten Best Unexpected Cover Songs

When Radiohead demanded public access to Prince’s fantabulous cover of “Creep” recently, I couldn’t help but recall falling in love with creative covers as a teenage drummer and finishing all my own shows in the clubs, bars and garages of Pittsburgh with the punk trio Falling Short by blazing through…

Hardcore Tears: TRVE Brewing Pours One Out for Lemmy

Last Saturday, the mood at TRVE Brewery was somber yet jovial as patrons watched the live stream of Lemmy Kilmister’s funeral on a TV in the corner above the bar. There were drinks, laughter and pizzas, but overall the affair had an air of subdued reverence. Kilmister, beloved singer of…

Lemmy Memorial at TRVE Brewing This Saturday

This Saturday, rock fans around the world will raise a glass of Jack Daniels to the memory of Lemmy. On Motörhead’s official Facebook page, the band issued this invitation to its audience to livestream the funeral service for frontman Lemmy Kilmister, who died at age 70 on December 28: “Wherever…

Review: David Bowie Gets Jazzy on New Album Blackstar

Nearly a year ago, David Bowie made an unannounced trip to the intimate 55 Bar in New York City’s West Village to hear an innovative jazz group led by saxophonist Donny McCaslin and featuring keyboardist Jason Lindner, bassist Tim Lefebvre and drummer Mark Guiliana. Bowie dug what he heard and…

Favorite Jazz Albums of 2015

Editor’s Note: Westword’s resident jazz expert, Clubs Editor Jon Solomon, picks his favorite jazz albums of the year. ADVENTURES IN JAZZ While there were a number of great straight-ahead jazz albums released this year, some of my favorites (the top ten are listed below) were more on the adventurous side,…

Lemmy Isn’t God: R.I.P.

Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister, bassist and singer with Motörhead, died on December 28, 2015, after a short battle with an aggressive form of cancer that sources say he had only learned about on December 26, though fans and observers had begun to worry earlier. He had just turned 70, and he will be…

YouTuber Parodies “Hotline Bling” on Streets of Denver

Subscriber-based geek-culture box-senders Loot Crate are no strangers to a gimmicky Youtube video. Damn, over 150,000 people regularly tune in just to watch somebody open one of their boxes and reveal a pair of Star Wars socks or a Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. pin. Meanwhile, Arizona-based Cody Strong (Youtube handle AngryPicnic) loves a musical…