A city’s underground music scene needs only one or two big breaks to get attention. Those opportunities often happen when a group of performers strikes awe in other towns or a critically lauded artist draws national attention and brings new faces out to concerts.
Denver artist Travis Egedy, also known as his musical alter ego Pictureplane, knows that well. His reputation has benefited because of the influence of national music-reviewing websites like Pitchfork Media.
“Press can totally blow something up like that,” said Egedy. “Like if Pitchfork comes around and says your band is awesome, you suddenly do become awesome.”
For the past two years Egedy has been living in a space dubbed Rhinoceropolis — a converted warehouse near Denver’s Globeville neighborhood where he and his housemates hold concerts and art shows.
The building opens up into a not-particularly large space for bands to play (Egedy and his housemates have a kitchen and small bedrooms in the back).
At night all of the nearby businesses — mostly repair shops — close and the workers head home. With nobody around, the musicians can play as loud as they want without fear of noise complaints.
Several different noise and experimental bands have used Rhinoceropolis as a place to let their creativity show. The location is also one of Denver’s rare all- ages venues and has become a staple for younger members of Denver’s indie rock contingent.
“My favorite shows are definitely at Rhinoceropolis. There is a real cool following that I have here of kids who go totally crazy whenever I play here,” said Edegy. “Real sweaty dance parties.”
The art shows are a bit more difficult to predict, but many contain the work of alumni and students from the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, where Edegy went to school. He has curated drawing shows each year he’s lived at the warehouse.
“(It’s mostly) progressive art made by up-and-coming talent,” he said.
Egedy’s friendship with members of the Los Angeles noise band HEALTH has helped his band and his venue step into a bit of the spotlight.
“HEALTH was cool enough to name- drop myself and Rhinoceropolis on Pitchfork. They did an interview and said this was their favorite place to play, and that I was their favorite person to play with. We definitely saw a difference just after them saying that.”
Building a reputation
While he’s optimistic about the growth of his warehouse home, Egedy knows that securing a reputation as a band is a challenge.
“Denver itself has this weird sort of lack of national attention. We’re sort of unknown. I feel like we’re our own little creative island that is breeding its own sound or style. Everyone has always said about Denver, ‘It’s gonna blow up! It’s gonna blow up!’ It never does.”
The sound and style of Pictureplane certainly didn’t come from standard traditions of rock music or even the more poppy electronic bands. Pictureplane sounds like an art-school dance party — a clever mashing of catchy synth-pop melodies with banging avant-house beats inspired by U.K. grime and the music known as dubstep.
Egedy’s music writing process isn’t too complex.
“The recording aspect of it is this strange ghetto-rigged creative process that I have. I have this really old computer program that I’ve had for seven years now. I used to make beats in it when I was in high school for my hip-hop group. It’s really simplistic and minimal. I bought it at Best Buy for $45 or something.
“My room is a mess of wires and cables. It’s a weird creative process of me tinkering around on my keyboards and synthesizer and stuff and seeing what happens and making this impromptu song.”
Backing track on an iPod
And Pictureplane’s live performances are even more unpredictable.
“Since I can’t play everything live I have to play a backing track on an iPod and then I play over top of that. But even then it’s this in-the-moment kind of thing. I don’t even rehearse that much. I play (the songs) differently every time live.”
At last year’s Denver Post Underground Music Showcase, “I brought a drum set and wrapped it all in Saran Wrap,” he said. “(I) had this big poster and I wore this blanket over my head and beat these drums in this steady rhythm for like 15 minutes. (When) I stopped nobody knew what to do.”
Egedy’s career as a performance artist and a visual artist influence his music shows. The Denver performer predicts big things are ahead. In the fall, he will embark on his first East Coast tour — continuing his quest to put Denver and Rhinoceropolis on the map.
“Denver to me is a really special community. I think there are a lot of really creative and positive things going on here that are definitely unique to our city that can’t really be found elsewhere.”
With the music scene, in particular, he said, “There’s a really cool underground of true, creative passion happening that seems totally untouched from an outside point of view.”
Marlon Frisby: mfrisby@denverpost.com or 303-954-1785
