I spent yesterday (Sunday) collecting some new music. Well, actually I did a lot of spring cleaning. Before the rain set in I managed to get my lawnmower serviced .. then the rain came and I devoted myself to sifting through the over 6000 tracks of Colorado music I had stored. I managed to get it filtered down to over 600 albums and over 1200 song titles before adding more.
Of the things I found to add, I came across the latest from Michal Minert of Pretty Lights fame by way of Listen, the high school/college hip-hop group that featured Michal with Derek Smith (Pretty Lights) and Cory Eberhardt (DubSkin) … I’m not normally a big EDM fan, mostly because for me it usually lacks song structure – a big issue for my ears. However, in this case, Michal displays an uncanny ear for fusing EDM with jazz, hip hop, and electronica styles to produce Space Jazz. Of course being slightly stoned on some good sativa coupled with listening under a set of Audio Technica ATHM45 studio earphones helped immensely. Next step is to turn it up to 11 in the living room lol…. check it out – it’s a pretty cool listen.
June 6 – For Locals x Locals Presented by The Colorado Sound and Scene Magazine featuring Cracker, Post Paradise, Branded Bandits, Red Fox Run, Shaley Scott Band and Winchester Holiday. A music festival to celebrate and honor local musicians and local music industry vendors. The goal of this festival is to create a space for our musical community to thrive. If you are a local musician, we would like to offer you free admission and a beer. If you’re a fan, please be honest and support your local music scene with your ticket purchase. Treat this as an opportunity to meet new musicians, find out about local music industry and catch up with old friends.
June 12 & 13The Greeley Blues Jam in Greeley with Austin Young– featuring Michaela Rae and friends + Maynard Mills Blues Band + George Whitesell and His All Stars featuring Jill Watkins+ The Frails – all female review featuring Erica Brown, MJ, G’Jai, Michaela Rae, Miss Audrey, Susan Phelan & national headliners Delbert McClinton, Elvin Bishop and more.
August 1 – 8th Annual Carbon Valley Music & Spirits Festival in Dacono. Lineup TBA. The region’s first Spirits Competition event, started four years ago now. Previous headliners have included Richie Furay, Lionel Young, Drew Emmitt (Leftover Salmon) and others.
Earth, Wind & Fire “That’s the Way of the World” from That’s the Way of the World (1975) Rose Quartz “Medicine” from Axis of Love (2015) Snake Rattle Rattle Snake “Evil Eye” from Totem (2015) Whiskey Blanket “Rule the Roose (feat. Macklemore)” from No Object (2010) (D) Cracker “I’m Sorry Baby” from Berkeley To Bakersfield (2014) Fox St. “Something About You” from Something About You (2015) Tennis “Never Work for Free” from Ritual In Repeat (2014) The Apples in Stereo “Same Old Drag” from New Magnetic Wonder (2007) (N) Trout Steak Revival “Union Pacific” from Brighter Every Day (2015) Dan Treanor’s Afrosippi Band featuring Erica Brown “You’re Going to Miss Me” from Tangled Road Again (2013) Leftover Salmon “Walkin Shoes” from Aquatic Hitchhiker (2012) Jim Stranahan Little BIG BAND “Straight from the Source” from MIGRATION TO HIGHER GROUND (2014)
HOUR 2
Acoustic Junction “Book Before It’s Gone” from Surrounded by Change (1995) (N) Otis Taylor “Red Meat” from Hey Joe Opus Red Meat (2015) Toad In the Hole “Drifting” from Wallflower (2015) Richie Furay “We Were the Dreamers” from Hand In Hand (2015) The Samples “Feel Us Shaking” from Samples (1990) The Fray “Love Don’t Die” from Helios (2014) Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore “I’m Shakin’” from Saints & Sinners (2010) (N) Analog Son “What It Is?!” from Stomp and Shout (2015) Chris Daniels & the Kings feat. Freddi Gowdy “Funky To the Bone” from Funky To the Bone (2015) Dana Landry Trio “To Wane” from Memphis Skyline (2014)
I’m approached daily by musicians seeking answers to the mysteries of our industry. I’m proud to say we live in a state where information and resources are bountiful.
I attended four events in the past month that served no other purpose than to educate, develop, and promote all that is Colorado music, those who make it, and those who work on advancing it; the Denver Music Summit, FOCOMX, the Colorado Blues Society IBC finals, and the induction of six new bands into Spokesbuzz. Of course they’re not the only organizations or events designed for these purposes, but I was fortunate to attend events put on by all four.
Ultimately it is the fan, the audience, the listener, who is the deciding factor when it comes to how well we in the “business” are doing our jobs – and therefore it is important to have that perspective at the table when we’re talking about making music and getting it “out there.” Audience participation is appreciated. Please go visit those organizations online and find out what we have going on regionally.
Check out the current #6 Colorado album title SpokesBuzz Vol 5
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Congratulations to Randall Dubis & Dan Treanor who will represent Colorado at the IBC in Memphis next winter in the solo/duo category and to Rex People’s and X-Factor who will represent in the band category. Good luck in Memphis next winter to all.
Cracker has been added and identified as (CC) for the purposes of tracking Colorado music. Band co-founder Johnny Hickman is a local guy and has been for many years now. In a conversation with his wife recently I learned that she used to listen to me on the air at 96.1 K-SKY in the late 80s when she was in high school. I totally cracked up.
Also, I’ve added and tracked other artists who I’ve identified with a (CC) tag, namely Sara Cahoone, John Oates, Bill Frissel, Tia Fuller and others so I have no idea why it’s taken me so long to put Cracker in the mix. Cracker’s latest Berkeley To Bakersfield came out last fall. The band itself seems to be picking up some love among other local music supporters around the state … Cracker is making a few appearances locally this summer for you to keep your eyes open for.
I suspect that we’ll see Wendy Woo, the Railsplitters, and Ragged Union stick around on the charts the longest. Wendy is broadly known around the state, and does a great job of getting her work to interested djs. The Railsplitters and Ragged Union are bluegrass bands of note in the state, and there is no shortage of independent djs who do favor Colorado bluegrass and Americana releases.
11 videos wound up in the video playlist for May … from Dearling, Esme Patterson, Strange Americans, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Nightsweats, Leftover Salmon, Ivory Circle, Instant Empire, Sound of Ceres, Tennis, Megan Burtt, Todd Adelman
June 6 – For Locals x Locals Presented by The Colorado Sound and Scene Magazine featuring Cracker, Post Paradise, Branded Bandits, Red Fox Run, Shaley Scott Band and Winchester Holiday. A music festival to celebrate and honor local musicians and local music industry vendors. The goal of this festival is to create a space for our musical community to thrive. If you are a local musician, we would like to offer you free admission and a beer. If you’re a fan, please be honest and support your local music scene with your ticket purchase. Treat this as an opportunity to meet new musicians, find out about local music industry and catch up with old friends.
June 12 & 13 The Greeley Blues Jam in Greeley with Austin Young– featuring Michaela Rae and friends + Maynard Mills Blues Band + George Whitesell and His All Stars featuring Jill Watkins + The Frails – all female review featuring Erica Brown, MJ, G’Jai, Michaela Rae, Miss Audrey, Susan Phelan & national headliners Delbert McClinton, Elvin Bishop and more.
August 1 – 8th Annual Carbon Valley Music & Spirits Festival in Dacono. Lineup TBA. The region’s first Spirits Competition event, started four years ago now. Previous headliners have included Richie Furay, Lionel Young, Drew Emmitt (Leftover Salmon) and others.
August 9 – The Colorado Sound PresentsHazel Miller, Chris Daniels & the Kings, Goatz!, and William’s Reserve on Aug 9 at the Mishawaka
185 titles tracked
Titles tracked = released between Nov 1 2013 and April 27 2015
105 (57%) titles identified as played at least once in the reporting period
Stations/shows surveyed: 15
(CC) = Colorado Connection
(D) = album/ep/single debut on chart
(R) = re-enter
[date] = Date added to reporting list
(4) 1. Hot Rize – When I’m Free (Thirty Tigers) Bluegrass [Sept 15, 2014]
(2) 2. Chris Daniels & the Kings – Funky To the Bone (Moon Voyage) Blues/funk [Jan 15, 2015]
(3) 3. Jeff Austin– The Simple Truth (Yep Roc) Rock/AAA, bluegrass [Jan 2, 2015]
(8) 4. Ark Life– The Dream of You & Me (Greater Than Collective) Rock/AAA [June 28, 2014]
(R) 5. Reed Foehl – Lost In the West (NeverFoehl Records) Pop/singer-songwriter [Sept 13, 2014]
(7) 6. Various– SpokesBUZZ Compilation V (SpokesBUZZ) Various [Dec 20, 2014]
(28) 7. Big Head Todd & the Monsters –Black Beehive (Shout! Factory) Rock/blues-rock [Jan 25, 2014]
(R) 8. Plum – Behind Your Man [single] (self) Rock [Feb 1, 2015]
(D) 9. John Common – The River Is Moving [single] (Immersive) Rock [April 1, 2015]
(D) 9. Wendy Woo Band – Tipping Point (Woo Music) Pop/Adult Contemporary [April 13, 2015]
(D) 10. Esme Patterson – What Do You Call A Woman EP (Greater Than Collective) Indie/New Alternative [April
1, 2015]
(18) 10. Todd Adelman – Highways & Lowways (Porch Lantern Music) Americana/alt-country-rock [Jan 8, 2015]
(D) 11. The Railsplitters – The Faster It Goes (self) Bluegrass (April 20, 2015)
(1) 12. Bill Frisell–Guitar In the Space Age (Okeh Records) Jazz/Instrumental [Nov 18, 2014] (CC)
(6) 13. Richie Furay – Hand In Hand (ENT ONE Music) Americana/country-rock [March 1, 2015]
(R) 14.You Me & Apollo – Sweet Honey (self) Indie/New Alternative [April 26, 2014]
(30) 15. Trout Steak Revival – Brighter Every Day (self) Bluegrass [March 20. 2015]
(16) 16. The String Cheese Incident – Song in My Head (SCI Fidelity) Rock/AAA [April 14, 2014]
(D) 17. Natalie Walker – Strange Bird (Dorado Records) Pop/Adult Contemporary (April 1, 2015)
(15) 18. Tennis – Ritual in Repeat (Communion Records) Indie/New Alternative [Aug 14, 2014]
(R) 19. Musketeer Gripweed – Floods and Fires (self) Rock/jamband [March 29, 2014]
(R) 20. Calder’s Revovlers – Sunday Morning (self) Rock/rhythm & blues [June 13, 2014]
(R) 21. Euforquestra – Fire (self) Funk/reggae [Feb 22, 2014]
(22) 21. Taarka – Making Tracks Home (self) Folk [March 9, 2015]
(12) 22. Snake Rattle Rattle Snake –Totem (self) Indie/New Alternative [Nov 8, 2014]
(D) 23. Cracker – Berkeley To Bakersfield (SLG) Rock [Nov 8, 2014] (CC)
(R) 24. The River Arkansas – The River Arkansas (Blank Tape Records) Alt-country-rock [Feb 1, 2015]
(R) 25. Montropo – Follow Me (self) Pop/singer-songwriter (Nov 14, 2014]
(9) 26. Leftover Salmon–High Country (LoS) Rock/bluegrass [Nov 8, 2014]
(D) 27. The Raven and the Writing Desk – Some Get Started EP (self) Indie/new alternative [April 1, 2015]
(R) 28. The Motet – The Motet (self) Funk [Jan 4, 2014]
(D) 29. Michael Kirkpatrick – Honey Rider (self) Country/Folk [March 1, 2015]
(28) 30. Rob Drabkin – Little Steps EP (self) Rock/AAA [Jan 1, 2014]
(29) 31. Safe Boating Is No Accident –Bonus Features (self) Indie/New Alternative [Feb 20, 2014]
(R) 31. Strange Americans – That Kind of Luster (self) Rock [Aug 23, 2014]
(27) 32. Young Ancients– Y/A (self) Americana [Feb 11, 2014]
(D) 33. Ragged Union– Hard Row to Hoe (Shining Castle Music) Bluegrass [March 21, 2015]
(19) 34. Blake Brown & American Dust Choir –“3” (self) Rock/AAA [Aug 13, 2014]
(13) 35. John Statz – Tulsa (self) Americana/country-folk [March 1, 2015]
(D) 36. Clouds & Mountains– Slumber (self) Folk [Feb 1, 2015]
DROPPED OUT OF TOP 40 IN APRIL
5. The Railsplitters – The Railsplitters
10. Brothers Keeper – Todd Meadows
14. Rose Quartz – Axis of Love [EP]
17. John Oates – Good Road to Follow
20. Cary Morin – Tiny Town
21. Jayme Stone – Jayme Stone’s Lomax Project
23. Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore – Love Runner
24. Dana Landry Quartet – Standard Elevation
25. Moors and McCumber – Pandemonium
26. Esme Patterson – Woman to Woman
29. Danielle Ate the Sandwich – The Drawing Back of Curtains
31. Analog Son – Stomp and Shout!
32. Richard Dean – Accidental Human
33. SHEL – The Lab Sessions
33. Toad In the Hole – Wallflower
34. Land Lines – The Natural World
35. Grant Farm – Plowin’ Time
35. In The Whale – Nate & Eric
36. H2 Big Band – It Could Happen
ADDED TO TRACKING APRIL 2015
Chuck Pyle – Cover Stories Cracker – Berkeley To Bakersfield
Dearling – Landslide [single]
Elin Palmer – Elin and Friends
Elise Wunder – In the Darkness of My Light
Esme Patterson – What Do You Call A Woman EP
Fox St. – Ain’t Easy [single]
Inner Oceans – 8 Cousins / Everything’s Alright [single]
Instant Empire – Lamplight Lost
Ivory Circle – Isoceles
John Common – The River Is Moving [single]
Kenny Knight – Crossroads
The Knew – Schmew
Medic – If I Could Stay [single]
Motion Trap – Palebluedot
Natalie Walker – Strange Bird
The Navigators – All About the Ride
Racing On the Sun – Self Destruct [single]
The Railsplitters – The Faster It Goes
The Raven and the Writing Desk – Some Get Started EP
Steve Kovalcheck Trio – Stomping Ground
Tim Ostdiek – Temporary Home EP
Wendy Woo Band – Tipping Point
STATION BY STATION
[XX] = number of reported current year (Nov 2013-April 2015) titles
Stations monitored for spins = KAFM, KBUT, KDUR, KGNU, KOTO, KRCC, KRFC, KRZA, KSJD, KSUT, KUNC, KVNF, OPENAIR 1340, Radio 94.9 Colorado, The Colorado Sound radio show and The Colorado Sound LIVE365. Stations with minimum 10 “currents” featured in breakout.
KAFM (Grand Junction) [13]
1. Richie Furay – Hand In Hand
2. Bill Frisell – Guitar In the Space Age
2. Dana Landry Quartet – Standard Elevation
3. Hot Rize – When I’m Free
3. Slopeside – One Lane Town
KDUR (Durango) [12]
1. Chain Station – Dancin With the Law
1. Hot Rize – When I’m Free
1. Leftover Salmon – High Country
2. Montropo – Follow Me
3. Chris Daniels & the Kings – Funky to the Bone
KGNU (Boulder) [10]
1. Hot Rize – When I’m Free
2. Chris Daniels & the Kings – Funky to the Bone
3. Snake Rattle Rattle Snake – Totem
4. Taarka – Making Tracks Home
5. Ark Life – The Dream of You and Me
KRFC (Fort Collins) [75]
1. Michael Kirkpatrick – Honey Rider
2. Cary Morin – Tiny Town
3. Trout Steak Revival – Brighter Every Day
4. Taarka – Making Tracks Home
5. Deadwood Saints – 6th Street and Trinity
KUNC (Greeley) [15]
1. Jeff Austin – The Simple Truth
2. Chris Daniels & the Kings – Funky to the Bone
3. Hot Rize – When I’m Free
4. Reed Foehl – Lost In the West
4. Various – SpokesBUZZ Compilation V
OPEN AIR 102.3 (Denver) [25]
1. Plum – Behind Your Man [single]
2. Snake Rattle Rattle Snake – Totem
3. Inner Oceans – 8 Cousins / Everything’s Alright [single]
4. John Common – The River Is Moving [single]
5. Land Lines – The Natural World
The Colorado Sound [38]
1. Natalie Walker – Strange Bird
2. Esme Patterson – What Do You Call A Woman EP
2. John Common – The River Is Moving [single]
2. Plum – Behind Your Man [single]
2. The Railsplitters – The Faster It Goes
Day 2 Denver Music Summit. The Future of the Music Business + an industry round table with about 20 or so local, regional, and out of state musicians and industry personnel. I think the big takeaway for me was realizing we’re sitting in a pretty good place here in Colorado.
UCD Professor Storm Gloor covered the current trends and fast changing technologies that are shaping the near future, without prognosticating on what may or may not happen years from now. And the round table discussion I took part in more or less reinforced what I already felt, that despite the nearly horrific rise in the price of housing our creative community continues to set a standard looked at and talked about coast to coast – and that the only thing missing are jobs in publishing, licensing, and management and booking agencies, which for now at least are still safely settled on either coast.
Another pretty big takeaway from the weekend was verification that 18-24 and 45-64 audiences exist for both music discovery and live music attendance, and it’s the 25-44 crowd that’s largely absent at live music events, but still the most desired radio audience for advertisers. This has been true for a few decades now.
The question was brought up, when the last of the baby boomers (now 50) pass on through, what happens? After all, how many acts can still fill stadiums? Jagger et.al. are now in their mid-seventies .. the youngest members left of the WWII generation … and the average age of the average touring musician today is 52, at the youngest end of the boomer generation. One of the most likely outcomes is the demise of the full on stadium show and a rise in smaller venues (in the 1500+ seat range) and festival events. Who is the next act or acts capable of doing stadium shows?
Video Pick of the Week
I had my camera with me, but as usual it was the spontaneous “oh crap I’d better shoot some stuff” moment that compelled me to take it out the holster and actually push record. Here’s just a taste of what I saw on Saturday night. I did a full audio recording of the DMS, but haven’t had time to review and edit.
PLAYLIST S9|EP17
HOUR 1
Mollie O’Brien “When I’m Gone” from Things I Gave Away (2000) Yo, Flaco! “Skeptamistic” from Skeptamistic (2001) John Common “The River Is Moving” from The River Is Moving (2015) Tennis “Bad Girls” from Ritual In Repeat (2014) Fierce Bad Rabbit “Time Machine” from Maestro & the Elephant (2013) Plum “Behind Your Man” from Behind Your Man (2015) Devotchka “Transliterator” from A Mad & Faithful Telling (2008) John Statz “One Way Opens” from Tulsa (2015) Montropo “Something to See” from Follow Me (2015) Danielle Ate the Sandwich “Like A King” from Like A King (2012) Railsplitters “Met That Day” from The Faster It Goes (2015) Rich Lamb “Deja Blues” from Music Along the Way (2008)
HOUR 2
Leftover Salmon & Cracker “Low” from Oh Cracker, Where Art Thou? (2003) (D) Raven and the Writing Desk “On A Wire” from some get started (2015) (N) Natalie Walker “Nothing Lasts Forever” from Strange Bird (2015) OneRepublic “Feel Again” from Native (2012) Calder’s Revolvers “Leave Ya Be” from Sunday Morning (2014) Bill Frisell “Messin’ with the Kid” from Guitar In the Space Age (2014) Hazel Miller Band “I’m Still Looking” from I’m Still Looking (2001) Drag the River “Not That Kind” from Drag The River (2013) (N) Todd Adelman “Cold Mississippi Blues” from Highways & Lowways (2015) Head for The Hills “Take Me Back” from Blue Ruin (2013) Brad Goode “St. Louis Blues” from Chicago Red (2013)
Of the things I found to add, I came across the latest from Michal Minert of Pretty Lights fame by way of Listen, the high school/college hip-hop group that featured Michal with Derek Smith (Pretty Lights) and Cory Eberhardt (DubSkin) … I’m not normally a big EDM fan, mostly because for me it usually lacks song structure – a big issue for my ears. However, in this case, Michal displays an uncanny ear for fusing EDM with jazz, hip hop, and electronica styles to produce Space Jazz. Of course being slightly stoned on some good sativa coupled with listening under a set of Audio Technica ATHM45 studio earphones helped immensely. Next step is to turn it up to 11 in the living room lol…. check it out – it’s a pretty cool listen. 
June 6 – For Locals x Locals Presented by The Colorado Sound and Scene Magazine featuring Cracker, Post Paradise, Branded Bandits, Red Fox Run, Shaley Scott Band and Winchester Holiday. A music festival to celebrate and honor local musicians and local music industry vendors. The goal of this festival is to create a space for our musical community to thrive. If you are a local musician, we would like to offer you free admission and a beer. If you’re a fan, please be honest and support your local music scene with your ticket purchase. Treat this as an opportunity to meet new musicians, find out about local music industry and catch up with old friends.
June 12 & 13 The Greeley Blues Jam in Greeley with Austin Young– featuring Michaela Rae and friends + Maynard Mills Blues Band + George Whitesell and His All Stars featuring Jill Watkins+ The Frails – all female review featuring Erica Brown, MJ, G’Jai, Michaela Rae, Miss Audrey, Susan Phelan & national headliners Delbert McClinton, Elvin Bishop and more.
August 9 – The Colorado Sound Presents Hazel Miller, Chris Daniels & the Kings, Goatz!, and William’s Reserve on Aug 9 at the Mishawaka
I’m approached daily by musicians seeking answers to the mysteries of our industry. I’m proud to say we live in a state where information and resources are bountiful.
Congratulations to Randall Dubis & Dan Treanor who will represent Colorado at the IBC in Memphis next winter in the solo/duo category and to Rex People’s and X-Factor who will represent in the band category. Good luck in Memphis next winter to all.
(4) 1. 
KAFM 
KDUR
KRFC
KUNC
OPEN AIR 102.3
The Colorado Sound
