If you’re not familiar with the local music scene, the results of The Denver Post’s seventh annual Underground Music Poll (denverpost.com/music) will be eye-opening to say the least.
Not only is there some remarkable music being performed, much of it will be on display at The Post’s Underground Music Showcase, a festival featuring 80-plus bands, DJs and comics taking over South Broadway rock clubs, stores and bars on Saturday.
From 2007’s No. 1 band, Born in the Flood, to all of those that follow, these are all deserving performers practicing singular styles of music. But while the music is all their own, the players and producers and shakers are often the same, making for an impossible-to- trace family tree that resembles a Jackson Pollock painting.
Denver is home to multiple music scenes, but the one that centers on rock clubs such as the Hi-Dive, Larimer Lounge and 3 Kings Tavern is particularly collaborative. It’s natural for artists to work together, but these working relationships are becoming more intense, productive and fruitful.
“When I was in my early 20s, all the bands struggled to be at the top of the scene, because there was only room for one or two bands, and everyone else was just jealous and wouldn’t go to their shows,” said Matt Labarge, co- owner of the Hi-Dive. “Right now is the exact opposite of that. All these bands support each other, not only by going to their shows but also by jumping on stage with them and playing.”
It’s more collective than clique. And it could be this year’s Denver rock club catchphrase: “Hey, isn’t she in that other band too?” The answer, in most cases, is yes.
“Every year you see more and more people working together,” said Jeff Davenport, a longtime local musician, fan and the former host of the all-locals program “The Local Shakedown” on Radio 1190. “People in bands are suddenly in three other bands, and maybe they’re also starting a collective label. It’s helping the scene evolve, because everybody’s listening to each other, and that’s the most important part: being aware of and influenced by those around you.”
For example, Born in the Flood alone has roots that stretch out to other groups such as Bela Karoli; Porlolo; Dust on the Breakers; A Dog, Paloma; Bad Weather California; and others. Flood frontman Nathaniel Rateliff has a solo project, the Wheel, that ranked No.15 this year in a poll that included more than 300 bands. Hot IQs ranked No.2 this year, and their bass player, Bryan Feuchtinger, has recorded many of Denver’s top acts at his own Uneven Studio.
“There’s a lot more collaborating now than in the past,” agrees Jonathan Till, a local musician and visual artist who is taking part in four sets at Saturday’s UMS. “I think part of the reason they’re doing it is because they’re more comfortable working with each other, but I also think that there’s an easy pool of people living the same neighborhood with the same passions.”
Till – who plays with the giant pop collective Nathan & Stephen, rock act D. Biddle and nu-folk group Porlolo in addition to his graphics work that connects him to 25 or 30 other local bands – references a backyard birthday party as the genesis of collaboration with some of these artists. Joe Sampson (A Dog, Paloma) was celebrating his birthday with friends in the Rateliffs’ backyard when people just started playing.
“Someone brought out an acoustic guitar, Julie (Davis) had a bass, Carrie (Beeder) had a cello, Erin (Roberts) brought her guitar out and Nathaniel had some other instruments he’d brought out from his house, and
everyone started playing songs and improvising,” said Till.
“Roger Green was there, and it was totally off the cuff, with six or seven of the best songwriters in Denver busting out their songs with other people backing them. After everyone realized how much fun they had, there was a conscious effort to get certain people together playing in different incarnations.”
As if to drive home the point, on Aug. 25 the Hi-Dive hosts the fundraiser Stand by Your Band. Individual musicians’ names are drawn from a hat to create new bands that will perform that night to raise money for musical instruments in Denver Public Schools. One of the bands playing will consist of Davenport (D. Biddle), Mike Hall (Flood), Feuchtinger (Hot IQs) and James Barone (who plays in both Moccasin and Mothership).
“It’s forced collaboration,” notes the busy Davenport, “but still, nothing like that would have happened five years ago because nobody knew each other. The scene is a lot friendlier now.”
Pop music critic Ricardo Baca can be reached at 303-954-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com.
Underground Music Showcase
ROCK AND MORE|Born in the Flood headlines the seventh annual Denver Post Underground Music Showcase, a single-day music festival that features more than 80 Denver bands, DJs and comedians in a dozen venues, all within walking distance of one another on South Broadway; the music starts at 1 p.m. Saturday and it will go until close|$12 AT SPUTNIK, 7 S. BROADWAY, OR DPUMS.COM
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HARRY AND THE POTTERS This Boston band plays songs about books. (You can hear songs such as “This Book Is So Awesome” and “Save Ginny Weasley” on their MySpace page, thepotters.) And they play those songs at, of all places, libraries. They play today at the Denver Public Library, central branch.
RHETT AKINS This young country crooner from Nashville – known to write songs about “People Like Me” and “Old Bird Dog” – plays tonight at the Grizzly Rose.
SOCIAL DISTORTION This is one of those bands that tours so much that we never have the chance to actually miss it. But the live show is enough of a thrill that we can’t let it go by. The band plays Coors Amphitheatre on Saturday.
LADYBUG TRANSISTOR This smart indie rock troupe from Brooklyn is known and celebrated for its literate music that has you listening intently to the lyrics. The band is touring behind the new release “Can’t Wait Another Day,” and it plays Tuesday at the Hi-Dive with a group that has the greatest band name in recent memory, the Papercuts.
– Ricardo Baca
