Right up front I want to thank Oskar Blues Brewery for becoming a major sponsor of this show. Oskar Blues has been part of my family for a decade and I’m ecstatic that they believe enough in the show to support it.
OB is celebrating 20 years in Lyons this coming weekend with a killer lineup that includes Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, Gasoline Lollipops, Halden Wofford & the Hi*Beams and many others. Of special note – Sunday will be a legends of Colorado blues artist showcase I intend to be present for.
It’s been a very very long time since I stayed up until 4AM. I managed to land a room to mix for the FoCOMX weekend, and we landed a prime 9:15PM Friday night slot for the band at the Mainline Ale House – one of the nicer restaurants and music venues in Old Town Fort Collins. What was planned to be outside on the rooftop, fortunately was moved indoors into a room that was more than adequate for live music.
Stationed for sound duties at East Coast on Linden St, for both nights, I enjoyed the juxtaposition of singer-songwriters and folk singers, and DJs creating often unique mixes of various styles of appropriate music made for dancing.
I spent 16 years mixing music in dance clubs in the 70s and 80s. Several of those years were here in Northern Colorado, in Fort Collins and Greeley. I was thrust back to those years as I watched the lineup of local mix masters employ their craft.
I marveled at how other than technology, nothing much has changed in the art of mixing music for a dance crowd – and how the “hit” still matters most when you want to get people on the floor. One dj did not employ that knowledge, and paid the price of a near empty room that lacked energy.
Festivals like FoCOMX are motivated by allowing space for a diversity of people who make music – from neophyte stage performers to unequivocally well rehearsed, polished, and professional legends of music along the Front Range.
Two acoustic acts I thought showed a lot of promise were the Michelle Petrie Trio and PoorBoy, who will undoubtedly be changing their name. PoorBoy is recording their second EP with Justin Roth in Fort Collins.
String Theory on Friday was one of the most creative acts of the weekend – featuring electric bass with harp (not harmonica – a real harp; a small laptop version).
Jinx Jones – In Colorado Music History
Support for the Colorado Playlist comes courtesy of The Historic Mishawaka Amphitheatre — Celebrating over 100 yrs of music and dancing in the Poudre Canyon.
Pickin’ on the Poudre with Head For The Hills and Paper Bird – Buy Tickets Saturday, May 13 Show at 8 PM (Doors at 6 PM)
VIDEO PICK OF THE WEEK
David Starr lives in Cedaridge CO, where he owns a guitar store and hangs out with the likes of John Oates, who produced David’s new album. One of Colorado’s best country-folk / Americana songwriters.
MONDAY MORNING MUSIC MEETING
What you’ll find below are new songs on the show this week … listen and let me know which ones you think I should keep in the Colorado Playlist, and which I should delete.
NOTE: In order to be included in the MMMM poll, the band/artist must have an embeddable file available on SoundCloud, BandCamp, Reverbnation or YouTube.
PLAYLIST S11 EP16
(D) = debut of lp, ep or single
(N) = new cut from previously debuted lp or ep
HOUR 1
Poco “Heart of the Night” from The Essential Poco (2005)
(D) Kyle Emerson “Wise Blood” from Worth It EP (2017)
Leftover Salmon “Western Sky” from High Country (2015)
Big Head Todd & The Monsters “Happiness Is” from Rocksteady (2010)
(D) Avifauna “Olive Ridley” from The Gyre (2017)
The Blue Rider “Rattlesnake” from Year Of The Horse (2016)
Young Ancients “Cheap Guitar” from Fishstory (2015)
Kerry Pastine & the Crime Scene “The Other Side” from The Other Side (2014)
(D) Tyller Gummersall “Rocky Mountain Man” from Long Ride Home (2016)
Pandas & People “Watch it Burn” from SpokesBUZZ Vol VI: Band Together (2015)
Slim Cessna’s Auto Club “This Is How We Do Things in the Country” from Blovdy Tenent Trvth Peace (2004)
(D) SVC DVK “Jazz” from Aubrey (2017)
HOUR 2
Dan Fogelberg “As the Raven Flies” from Souvenirs (1974)
(D) The Coteries “Reason in the Road” from Reason In The Road (2017)
Todd Adelman “Cold Mississippi Blues” from Highways & Lowways (2015)
Tennis “Needle and a Knife” from Ritual In Repeat (2014)
(N) The String Cheese Incident “Sweet Spot” from Believe (2017)
(N) OneRepublic “Future Looks Good” from Oh My My (2016)
Chris Daniels & the Kings “Nobody Knows” from Funky To the Bone (2015)
Jeff Finlin “Sugar Blue” from Alive and Retrospective Volume 1 (2006)
(D) Bison Bone “Anymore” from History of Falling (2017)
iZCALLI “A New Lie” from SpokesBUZZ Vol VI: Band Together (2015)
Lionel Young Band “Knock These Blues Around” from On Our Way to Memphis (2011)
Jim Stranahan “Blues and a Half” from Migration to a Higher Ground (2014)
Chris K's Colorado Playlist 