“We were getting our first album mixed with Chad Saxton, the owner of Dryer Plug Studios. It’s a DIY venue/recording studio in the Bruce Randolph ’hood with murals spray-painted on the walls and a bunch of old cars and random junk on the back patio. Gregg Ziemba from Rubedo agreed to sell drinks, and our homie Tim was the doorman asking for a $5 suggested donation.
“We grew up with the punk band Sin Vida, which used to throw these banging parties called Cholofest. We decided to throw the show with them and called it Punk v. Hip-Hop. The venue was small and packed. There was a thirty-rack of beer, which wasn’t near enough for the crowd. Back then, Fed Rez was satirically dressing like bankers in business suits, so we threw out handfuls of cash throughout our set, while our DJ had a money suit on. By the time Sin Vida went on, there was beer on the floor, and there was a slippery mosh-pit throwdown to close out the night.”
Fed Rez plays the Larimer Lounge on Sunday, February 4, and Summit Music Hall on Sunday, February 25.
Editor's Note: The Denver Bootleg is a series chronicling the history of local music venues by longtime Denver cartoonist Karl Christian Krumpholz. Visit Krumpholz's website to see more of his work.