The summer of Film on the Rocks kicks off tonight with the classic, “Caddyshack,” starring the unforgettable Rodney Dangerfield and Chevy Chase paired with the musical styling of Denver band, Ark Life. The act is celebrating a forthcoming album, “The Dream of You & Me,” to be released Aug. 19 with a supporting tour this summer. Reverb caught up with vocalist, Jesse Elliott, to get the scoop on life with the new band. Head over in case you missed the Film on the Rocks lineup.
See photos of Ark Life performing with Futurebirds and Dragondeer below:
Talk to us about the recording process for the new album.
We recorded half the album at Hideaway Studios in Pike National Forest with a great guy named Marc Benning, and the other half up in Portland with a good old friend of mine, Eric from the band Fruit Bats. It was fun splitting the process up, giving it a couple different feels that we think work pretty well together, but still doing it all relatively quickly, like 10 days total.
Did you get to choose the movie for the Red Rocks film series?
We didn’t get to choose, but we did nod our heads in deep and knowing agreement when they told us it was Caddyshack. We actually tried to get Bill Murray to join our band very early on, so that was a weird coincidence.
Summer looks pretty busy for you guys. How are you gearing up for tour?
Yeah, it’ll be a blast. Next couple months all around Colorado for festivals and 4th of July and long weekends in the mountains, then we start the serious national touring again in August when the album comes out, and that’ll go through November. We’re gearing up by watching a 24-hour loop of Caddyshack on repeat. It’s grueling but informative.
What does Fall have in store for you guys? Opening up for anybody or a proper tour?
That tour I mentioned, coast to coast basically. I’m sure we’ll open up for all kinds of fun bands – there’s a lot of great music out there. We’re hoping by December we’ll be in a strong enough position to pitch ourselves as direct support for Steve Zissou.
Ark Life | Have To Leave You Now | Live at UI Sound
Ark Life summer tour dates:
June 3 — Morrison, CO — Red Rocks Amphitheatre
June 5 — Los Angeles, CA — Highland Park Film Fest (Jesse Elliott solo)
June 6 — Yorkville, IL — Music Under the Stars
June 7 — Chicago, IL — Val’s List Summer Kick-off
June 8 — Dixon, IL — House Concert (email for details)
June 27 — Avon, CO — Beaver Creek Music Experience
June 28 — Crestone, CO — The Cloud Station
July 1 — Denver, CO — Levitt Pavilion (Ruby Hill Park)
July 2 — Everywhere, EV — LIVE FROM LEON Webcast
July 4 — Green Mountain Falls, CO — Green Box Arts Festival
July 24-27 — Denver, CO — The UMS
Aug 7 — Boise, ID — The Crux
Aug 8 — Hood River, OR — Cebu
Aug 12 — Seattle, WA — Tractor Tavern**
Aug 13 — Portland, OR — Doug Fir Lounge**
Aug 15 — Oakland, CA — We Are Scandinavia**
Aug 17 — Ventura, CA — Iron & Resin**
Aug 19 — Everywhere, EV – The Dream of You & Me release
Aug 19 — Las Vegas, NV — Downtown Container Park
Aug 20 — Flagstaff, AZ — Firecreek
Aug 21 — El Prado, NM — Taos Mesa Brewing
Aug 22 — Colorado Springs, CO — Ivywild**
Sept 13 — San Diego, CA — San Diego Music Thing
Oct 10-12 — Joshua Tree, CA — Joshua Tree Music Festival
** w/ Quiet Life
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Julio Enriquez is a Denver writer and photographer, editor of the blog and a regular contributor to Reverb
