Amanda Menard Is the "Mama Bear" and Manager Behind Denver's Best Metal Bands

When Amanda Menard began attending hardcore and punk shows as a Denver teenager, she had to fight to create space for herself in the often male-dominated scene. But even though the subculture has become more inclusive, she wouldn’t want to have gotten her start any other way.

“There are plenty of shows where I would get in fights with guys for grabbing me the wrong way and giving me a shove. I’m not going to stand for it,” she says, adding that having a “hockey brain” helps. (For the record, she’s a die-hard Chicago Blackhawks fan, thanks to her family’s Midwest ties.)

At one particular Madball concert, which she attended with Devin Rombough, currently a member of local metal band Suicide Cages, Menard immediately confronted a dude in the pit who'd acted recklessly toward her.

“For me, it was like a full-on sucker punch, like, ‘No.’ Some guy pushed me the wrong way, and I just started whaling on him,” she recalls.“Devin pulled him off and was like, ‘You should go away.’ It was a whole thing. It was funny, but....”

But that’s who Menard is, and her attitude has allowed the 35-year-old to serve as a “mama bear” and mentor to bands as well as other women who are now fighting to be part of the subculture.

Longtime guitarist Mhyk Monroe is another friend, and when he and Rombaugh started talking about forming Suicide Cages about two years ago, they joked about how Menard should be their manager, since she often offered advice on navigating the local music landscape. That jest between buddies ultimately resulted in Menard creating 4130 Management last year. Naturally, Suicide Cages became her first official client.

“Devin and Mhyk were talking to me about starting a band. I was like, ‘Oh, I’m going to be your manager.’ They were like, ‘If you say it one more time, you’re going to have to do it.’ And I did, so here we are,” she says.

The name of her company comes from a type of steel used for BMX bike frames. “When I was younger, I got way into BMX, and 4130 is a type of chromoly metal that bikes are made out of. A lot of these bands rode BMX or still do, and since it’s metal music, it just kind of fits,” she explains.

From its start with Suicide Cages, the 4130 Management roster has grown to twenty local bands, including the recent addition of Denver punk legends King Rat. While she’s not a musician herself, Menard has handled street team and marketing work for AEG and other promoters in the past; she currently books shows, pretty much anything alternative, for HQ and Lost Lake Lounge, as well.

Peter Ore of Anchors Aweigh owns and operates both HQ and the Oriental Theater. He says he's pumped, as well as thankful, that Menard is doing so much for local underground music. "It's been really cool watching Amanda grow in the scene she is so passionate about,” he says. “From street-teaming to booking shows and now managing some of the coolest local bands in Denver, it seems like there's no limit to what she could accomplish. The Denver scene is lucky to have her.”

Overseeing so many musicians is definitely a balancing act, especially since Menard also has a full-time job in chat-based tech support. She wouldn’t want it any other way, though.

“I’m very OCD. I feel like if I’m not the one doing something, it’s not going to get done,” she says. “You definitely do get burned out, so you have to remember to take time for yourself, but I don’t feel complete unless I’m constantly doing something or going somewhere.”

And even if she’s out just enjoying a show, she can always network, so “it works out,” she adds.

It’s worked out for her 4130 groups, too.

“She has been a huge piece of helping market our band, and books about 25 percent of our shows,” Rombough says. “She’s not afraid to ask anyone for anything, and she hustles just as hard as we do. In many ways, she’s the fifth member of the band, and has been a huge help with elevating and helping grow the band.”

For example, one time when Suicide Cages played in Fort Collins and didn’t receive a respectable cut afterward, Menard went to work. “The porta-potty actually made more money than they did, so I had to yell at them,” she recalls. “They finally got their money, but I’m like a mama bear to all my cubs, and I’ll fight for you if I want you to be successful and not get screwed over by money.”

She’s given similar advice to budding local hardcore punk band American Overdose.

“If you’re going to play a show, you need to ask for what you’re worth,” she says, adding that she wants all of her bands “to be successful, and I have connections. I want to see them take what I’m giving them and do something with it rather than sitting around or not trying to book their own shows.”

By design, she only handles hardcore, punk and metal bands. “I’m specifically doing heavier bands. I can’t stand jam bands at all or EDM. It’s got to be punk, ska, metal — things along those lines,” she says. Even with those restrictions, she's so busy that she isn't actively looking for more bands to take on. She’s proud of the local collection of talent she's already put together, including several acts with women members.

“There are more girls showing up now than there used to be,” she says. “Even at metal shows, I’m seeing girls actually wanting to go to shows with their boyfriends.”

Menard has enjoyed watching the scene grow since those early, fist-filled years, and she now pours her energy into her company, making 4130 Management a success in a short amount of time. But she keeps pushing, looking for creative ways to get her bands in front of as many fans as possible.

“I’ve grown up seeing shows at warehouses, houses, skate parks, so there’s all kinds of different stuff that you can do,” she says. “I actually just emailed a roller-skating rink to see if they would let me book a punk show there. I think that would be great.”

She’s organized benefit shows for local organizations like Planned Parenthood and Foothills Animal Shelter, too, and is regularly out and about putting up fliers for upcoming gigs. That’s how she initially connected with Josh Lent, lead singer of Denver crossover act Clusterfux and co-owner of Chain Reaction Records. Soon Menard started managing Clusterfux under the 4130 umbrella, too.

“I've often said there are two types of people — those who take control and make things happen, and those who sit around wondering why shit happens to them," Lent says. "Amanda has been making shit happen for the last ten years or so I've known her. Her hard work and perseverance is paying off. She's taken it to another level and is now getting the respect that she deserves. She's not holding anyone's coat. She's in the pit, and she booked the show. Deal with it.”

Lent’s coat line refers to Nancy Barile’s 2021 book I’m Not Holding Your Coat: My Bruises-and-All Memoir of Punk Rock Rebellion.

Barile says she's proud to know Menard and is excited to see her “female-owned management company” supporting Colorado musicians. “Amanda’s energy, enthusiasm, and work ethic help her to bring the music to the people,” Barile writes on social media. “It’s exactly what we need right now. If you need representation, or you want to make a show happen in Colorado, Amanda is the one to call.”

And Menard appreciates the support of a woman who fought her own battles decades ago.

“She used to do the exact same thing in the ’80s in Boston and Philadelphia, managing bands and booking shows. She even told me that ‘I’m really happy that you’re doing this and in a way carrying on the torch,’” she says. “It was just nice to see one of my elders be like, ‘Good for you. Girl power!’”