Melissa Lycan: “Nothing compares to cliff-jumping in Falls City, Oregon. A day before playing Portland, we found the waterfall after hearing laughing kids playing in the water. As we neared the edge of the forty-foot cliff, a child came running and jumped over the edge of the unknown crevasse. Then another and another. Peeking over, we saw the falls emptying into a narrow canyon after the plunging water made its journey ferociously over the edge and into the lower river.

“I didn’t want to jump. It terrified me letting myself go enough to allow only water to catch me below, but younger bandmates convinced me to challenge myself. Removing clothing, then standing almost naked at the edge of a cliff, I looked down and moved to a lower platform only twenty feet from the water. My heart raced, and I began my countdown. Then I jumped. I was flying for a moment before my toes pierced the water. These small moments are why we suffer the grind of the road. I was elated that I had overcome my fear.”

Nordic Daughter plays Herman’s Hideaway on Friday, October 4.

Editor's Note: The Denver Bootleg is a series chronicling the stories of local bands by longtime Denver cartoonist Karl Christian Krumpholz. Visit Krumpholz's website to see more of his work.