BAR: 3 KINGS TAVERN
3 Kings Tavern, at 60 S. Broadway, is run by three guys: Jim Norris, Martin Killorin and Jeff Campbell. It’s 5 years old, open 365 days a year, 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Motto: “Serving good times, booze and rock ‘n’ roll.” Located in the middle of one of Denver’s funkiest ‘hoods, it’s surrounded by used-book stores, vintage-clothing shops, dive bars, trendy restaurants and all kinds of people. 3 Kings can squeeze in 450 people and has three pool tables, four pinball machines, art gallery downstairs and a trophy case that has everything from a roller skate to an old bong. Norris says it’s a welcoming joint, where LoDo girls come to hit on guys and Cherry Creek Chads hit on tattooed rockers in skinny jeans.
GRILLED: SHANNON BOYLES
Shannon Boyles, 36, is the daughter of KHOW radio talker Peter Boyles. She was born the day he was hired for his first on-air radio job, on 7/ 7/74, so he always called her “Lucky,” and her handle is “Lucky 7” when she skates with the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls, a roller-derby team based in Denver. She was schooled at St. Mary’s Academy and then Fort Lewis College in Durango. Her work since college has always been in marketing and media, and she’s now helping friends install a haunted house for the spooky season. And she recently performed her first stand-up set at a charity event. Today, she has to drink water (water!) because she’s on heavy doses of antibiotics to help her heal from a roller-skating crash, one that will probably end her career as Lucky 7.
BH: What happened to you skating?
Boyles: At the end of June, I was scrimmaging, and I went down hard and heard something pop. I had pulled my entire hamstring off the bone; just ripped off the bone. I had surgery. They went in there and drilled holes in the bone and put hooks in, and then they pulled all my tendons up my leg and sewed it down on the hooks and put me on crutches for six weeks.
BH: Can you skate again?
Boyles: The doctor says six to nine months, and that really means you’re done. I’ve been announcing derby lately, like the Terry Bradshaw of roller derby. But I’m 36, and there are girls who are 18 who are faster and hit harder. I’ve been playing for five years, and I am blessed to have that experience. It changed my life.
BH: I grew up watching roller derby on TV. Lots of girl fights, hair pulling.
Boyles: That was more like choreographed wrestling. What we do today is full-contact sports. It’s hockey and football on wheels. You’re body-checking the snot out of this person next to you and trying to get your point scorer through. But you can’t pull on their hair or poke them in the eyes. And when I say football and hockey on wheels, there’s no ball. One girl’s body is the ball.
BH: Can you make a living doing this?
Boyles: Are you kidding? We pay to do it. You have to pay dues; you need special skating insurance. You need pads and helmets, mouth guards, elbow and knee pads. And skates are expensive.
BH: This doesn’t sound like such a great deal.
Boyles: Oh, it is. It saved my life. It is the most wonderful thing that could have happened to me. I didn’t have a passion when I started this. I fell in love with this sport and anything that had to do with it. I just ate it up. And I lost 70 pounds.
BH: I never saw you 70 pounds heavier.
Boyles: You probably did but didn’t realize it was me. I was a lot of dough. Derby taught me that even if you don’t like someone, you have to respect them because they are out there working as hard as you are. The sport brings all sorts of women together: Different shapes and sizes, makes and models from different backgrounds come together for one common reason.
BH: What was it like growing up the daughter of Peter Boyles?
Boyles: There were some scary years, like before and after (Denver talk-show host) Alan Berg was murdered. You just grow up and don’t realize that your dad has a special job compared to the dad across the street who sells insurance. It’s been a real blessing. I’m really proud of my dad.
BH: Do people get on your case about him?
Boyles: All the time. People come up to me and say, “You go tell your dad . . .” And I say, “You know, you can call him on the show — or change the station.”
BH: Do you listen to his show?
Boyles: I listen to music. It’s not that I don’t like talk radio, I just like music better.
BH: You’re not old enough. Which stations?
Boyles: I love KS107.5, urban hip-hop; KBPI is my rock station, KTCL for alternative. But I usually have a CD playing, or at work I stream music. And I have about 3 terabytes of music on two hard drives, which is huge.
BH: What kind of music do you like?
Boyles: Everything except yodeling.
BH: What would you do if you weren’t doing what you’re doing?
Boyles: I wish I had gotten more into science and studied astronomy more. That’s something I geek out over.
BH: You think it’s too late to become an astronomer?
Boyles: Oh yeah. But how cool would that be? To be a rocket scientist.
BH: Do you read the paper?
Boyles: Online. Does that count?
BH: If you’re telling the truth, it counts.
Boyles: I read the entertainment section every day.
BH: Would you like to be 21 again?
Boyles: I would love to get into a hot-tub time machine and go back to 21 and be fresh out of college. Not that I would do things totally differently, but I would change up a few things.
BH: Like what?
Boyles: People you date. Jobs you leave. Financial decisions you make. But you can’t go back, and that’s why the present is a gift, or something cheesy like that.
BH: What’s your idea of happiness?
Boyles: Being inside the Fillmore and it’s sold out and the announcer is saying my name and the crowd is going wild and I’m skating out.
BH: What’s your greatest fear?
Boyles: Spiders and flying.
BH: What don’t you like about yourself?
Boyles: I care too much about what other people think.
BH: What do you hate?
Boyles: People who smoke cigarettes and flick the butts out of the car when they’re done. Who do they think is going to pick that up? Mother Nature?
BH: What living person do you most admire?
Boyles: Stephen Hawking.
BH: What’s your biggest extravagance?
Boyles: Besides my mortgage? My Vespa.
BH: What do you consider an overrated virtue?
Boyles: Frugality.
BH: What do you dislike about your appearance?
Boyles: I don’t tan. I just burn. That’s why I have all these tattoos.
BH: What tattoos?
Boyles: They’re all covered up. No one sees them if I’m wearing a dress. I have big pieces on my shoulders and back and stuff. I can hide them or I can derby it up.
BH: Do you have cable?
Boyles: I do. I watch the news in the morning and “60 Minutes,” and I really dig “Entourage.”
BH: What do you like in a man?
Boyles: Unconditional love.
BH: So you’ve had some bad boyfriends?
Boyles: Let’s just say I’ve had some interesting experiences.
BH: Have you tried online dating?
Boyles: It’s awful. It’s creepy and expensive. I think I’d rather be at the grocery store and meet somebody in the produce section. In my stand-up, I made a joke that I’ve dated some major losers in my life, and now I’m paying $60 a month to meet a new one. People tell me that it’s when you’re not looking that you meet someone, so I’m pretending not to look. But I’m looking.
BH: What do you like in a woman?
Boyles: Loyalty. Women can be like crabs in a barrel.
BH: What a word do you overuse?
Boyles: Awesome!
BH: What’s the lowest depths of misery?
Boyles: Not skating.
BH: But you’re not skating now and you’re not miserable.
Boyles: Well, I try not to be, but I miss it. It bums me out. When I am at a bout and not skating, there is a part of me that dies.
BH: What’s your most marked characteristic?
Boyles: My laugh and my voice. It’s pretty husky.
BH: Who are your favorite writers?
Boyles: Stephen King, Armistead Maupin. I’m reading (Justin Cronin’s) “The Passage.” A lot of it takes place in Colorado, and it’s about people getting sick and turning into human-sized vampire bats.
BH: Favorite restaurants? Boyles: Sushi Sasa, Potager, Eco-Burger. I always go to Zaidy’s with my dad. But every day, I eat the same thing at work: hard boiled egg, a little chicken, tuna, veggies and an apple. Every day. It just works for me.
BH: How do you want to die?
Boyles: Not in an airplane and not in an elevator.
Interview conducted, condensed and edited by Bill Husted: 303- 954-1486 or bhusted@denverpost.com.
