The Colorado Sound S9 | EP15 April 2015

I love Monday mornings.  That is all.  Here’s what was played this week on the show.  There was more new music this weekend than I’ve seen in several weeks at least – the early spring blitz of new releases as bands and artists get ready for the outdoor concert season that gets under way at the end of April.

FOCOMX is the official unofficial start of the festival season, and if you’ve never been now is a good time to start. It’s pretty magnificent in scope and scale, this year hosting 300 acts from around the region over two nights and a full day.

Dearling’s rendition of the Fleetwood Mac classic “Landslide” was a refreshing reminder that there’s still plenty of room in the songs of others for local artists to explore and redefine in their own voices.  In the meantime, their last single, “Do You Love Me,” is my video pick of the week offering.

Fox St continues to lend credence to their ever growing popularity as a classic sounding band in the tradition of those from the early 70s that could have been or were comprised of the likes of Leon Russell, Eric Clapton, Bobby Whitlock and perhaps Joe Cocker or Delaney Bramlett – needless to say they’ve been among my favorites for a few years now.

Instant Empire can lay legitimate claim to being at the top of the list of contemporary indie/alternative (new alternative) bands in the region replacing the likes of Photo Atlas or Hot I.Q.s with their new single “Dead Air.” Their new album due out this June.

And I’m not really sure what I can say about John Common that I haven’t written about in years past – he is simply one of the region’s most deeply intellectual lyrical craftsmen.   The new single is paired with a spoken word piece from John that I think is his first, and is marvelously produced by Immersive Studios in Boulder.

Truthfully, it was a hell of a week for new music, leading me to the new single from Natalie Walker, who the last I heard from was more ingrained into the CCM (contemporary Christian music) market segment than the secular world the new record reaches out to.  Natalie has had a brilliant career to this point with songs embedded in numerous high profile television shows.  The move from Denver to Crested Butte seems to maybe being a catalyst of change in her view of the mysteries of life for her.  I look forward to exploring the rest of the new album with you.

Don’t forget – COMING MAY 7 to KSUT (Ignacio/Durango) 10PM-12AM.

VIDEO PICK OF THE WEEK

OFFSTAGE BEYOND THE MUSIC

Coming in May – Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore.  In the meantime we still have two more weeks with the incomparable Hazel Miller.

S9 EP15 PLAYLIST

(D) = debut: first time an LP, EP, or single has been aired on show
(N) = new cut from previously debuted LP or EP

HOUR 1

Firefall “Cinderella” from Firefall (1976)
Acoustic Junction “Where Is She Now” from Surrounded by Change (1995)
(D) Dearling “Landslide” [single] (2015)
(D) Fox St. “Ain’t Easy” [single] (2015) String Cheese Incident “Tinder Box” from Untying the Not (2003)
(D) Instant Empire “Dead Air” from Lamplight Lost (2015)
Big Gigantic “The Night Is Young” from The Night Is Young (2014)
(D) Ragged Union “Worry My Life Away” from Hard Row to Hoe (2015)
(D) Michael Kirkpatrick “I’m Your Man” from Honey Rider (2015) Jeff Brinkman “Ordinary Day” from Strange (2012)
Snake Rattle Rattle Snake “Evil Eye” from Totem (2015)
Devotchka “100 Other Lovers” from 100 Lovers (2011)
Andrew Vogt “On The Run” from Cats Afoot (2010)

HOUR 2

Tim Goodman “New Romeo” from New Romeo (1981)
Dan Fogelberg “Part of the Plan” from Souvenirs (1974)
(D) The Railsplitters “Met That Day” from The Faster It Goes (2015)
Pandas & People “Out to Sea” from SpokesBUZZ Vol V: Band Together (2015)
(D) Natalie Walker “Trust” from Strange Bird (2015)

Chris Daniels & the Kings “Stealin’ Candy” from Live Wired! (1995)
Hazel Miller & the Caucasians “Home of the Blues” from Live at the Fox (1995)
(D) John Common “The River Is Moving” [single] (2015)
(D) Esme Patterson “What Do You Call A Woman” [single] (2015)
GogoLab “Tumbleweeds” from Border Patrol (2013)

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JOIN ME THIS SUMMER AT:

Locals x Locals at the Mishawaka Amphitheatre on June 6 featuring Cracker, Post Paradise, and more.

The Greeley Blues Jam in Greeley on June 13.

The Colorado Sound Presents Hazel Miller, Chris Daniels & the Kings, Goatz!, and William’s Reserve on Aug 9 at the Mishawaka

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what a day! new station coming on-air

Yesterday morning (Wed) I started this post about how The Colorado Sound Live365 works … I did not have time to finish.  Had to take the dog to vet for her checkup .. then had to take car to mechanic to have something fixed in order to sell it.  At 11:30 I met one of the nicest human beings … just been in Denver a week, stationed with the Navy at Buckley.  Drives a bad-ass Camero SS.  He needed a second car.  We hung out nearly all day as we were doing the deal, and talking about the world.

I came home to find that beginning May 7 folks in SW Colorado will be able to hear The Colorado Sound on the following frequencies thanks to KSUT (Durango).  The show will initially air on Thursday nights from 10-midnight with the possibility of moving it to a “more prominent time” later in the summer according to the email I received.

90.1 FM – Durango & La Plata County
89.3 FM – Central Durango
88.1 FM – Farmington & northwest New Mexico
88.1 FM – Pagosa Springs
100.1 FM – Cortez, Mancos & Montezuma County
91.9 FM – Dolores
91.1 FM – Silverton

Online at www.ksut.org and on iTunes Radio.

So beginning MAY 7 these are the FM frequencies that folks can dial into where they can hear The Colorado Sound.  Some carry both hours, some carry only Hour 2, bringing the total frequency-hours broadcast to 56 per week.  Now THAT’s some coverage.

  1. Aspen 88.3
  2. Basalt / Redstone 88.5
  3. Boulder 102.7
  4. Breckenridge 90.7
  5. Buena Vista 89.9
  6. Carbondale / Glenwood 88.1
  7. Central Durango 89.3
  8. Cortez, Mancos & Montezuma County 100.1
  9. Denver/Golden 91.7
  10. Dillon 88.1
  11. Dolores – 91.9
  12. Down Valley 5
  13. Durango & La Plata County – 90.1
  14. Eagle Valley 99.7
  15. Estes Park 90.7
  16. Farmington & northwest New Mexico 88.1
  17. Front Range (Denver, Fort Collins, Greeley, Longmont) 91.5
  18. Grand County 91.9
  19. Haxtun/Holyoke 90.5
  20. Julesburg/Ovid 89.1
  21. Leadville 91.7
  22. Leadville 93.5
  23. Morgan County 96.7
  24. North Park 90.7
  25. Northern Colorado (Fort Collins, Greeley, Loveland) 88.9
  26. Northern Colorado (Fort Collins, Greeley, Loveland) 94.9
  27. Norwood 89.5
  28. Pagosa Springs 88.1
  29. Salida 89.9
  30. Silverton 91.1
  31. Steamboat Springs 88.5
  32. Sterling 90.3
  33. Telluride/Orphir 89.3/91.7
  34. Thomasville 94.9
  35. Vail 90.9
  36. Westcliffe/Wet Mountain Valley 95.9
  37. Wray 93.5
  38. Yuma 88.3

Oh yeah, these are the top 15 songs heard in the past month on The Colorado Sound Live365 … in case you’ve been missing it lately.  List is alpha.

Acoustic Junction – Every Heart – Strange Days
Calder’s Revolvers – I Gotta Know – Sunday Morning
Drew Schofield – Break It Down – 150 Million (-1) – EP
Fierce Bad Rabbit – Crystal Ball – Living Asleep
Gregory Alan Isakov – Saint Valentine – The Weatherman
Lionel Young Band – Somethin’ ‘Bout A Rumba – On Our Way To Memphis
Motet – 123 – Motet
Nathaniel Rateliff – Nothing to Show For – Falling Faster Than You Can Run
Pandas & People – Out To Sea – SpokesBUZZ Volume V: Band Together
P-Nuckle – The System – The System
Richie Furay – We Were the Dreamers – Hand in Hand
The Apples In Stereo – Nobody But You – Travellers In Space And Time
The Informants – Salvation – Crime Scene Queen
The Samples – Close To The Fires – The Samples
Yo, Flaco! – Nice Guys – The Skinny
Yonder Mountain String Band – Criminal – The Show

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HELP NEEDED

I cannot think of very many people in my life who have not complained about the money they earn.  Sure, I know some very wealthy people, and many who earn $90,000+ a year who seemingly have no complaints about cash flow, but for the rest of us – yeah, no.

Musicians are independent contractors – or, in other words, independent sole proprietorship based businesses.   They are not wage earners, and are therefore not subject to minimum wage laws.  As wage earners we very often do not think of the cost of running a business.  We really are only concerned about how much is in our paycheck, grousing if the “boss” makes a-whole-lot-more than we do, especially in very large companies where the disparity between the bottom and top are as great as we know it can be.

VERY VERY VERY few musicians have ever made a full time living at it.  My father and my maternal grandfather were both “professional” musicians, going back to the 1920’s trad-jazz era.  My father owned a jazz club in the 60s.  Neither of them ever made a full time living out of playing music.

There is really only room at the top for a very few – a very lucky few, because luck has a lot to do with it. Local musicians have also almost never made any money from recordings.  Most are fortunate to be able to recoup the cost of making the record – and instead rely on personal appearances to pay for the recordings and other necessary tools; profitability be damned.

We all like to go see our favorite band from high school and college.  Many of us like to see bands from other states and countries.  However, many people over the age of about 32 rarely go out to see a live local band unless they are personally connected somehow.

And yet in my personal experience most of the musicians playing those small rooms are over 35 .. and often over 40 years old. Many are still bemoaning the loss of the fans they remember seeing when they were 21-34 years old, who are now married with kids and full time jobs. – the very people who rarely go out to see live music, preferring a nice dinner out once a month and maybe a movie.  The 1.5 shows they see every year are those national and international acts they grew up with.

Wanna talk money?  That $5 we bitch about to see that local band in a local restaurant/bar = $500 if 100 people show up.  In the 15 yrs I’ve done sound and booked local rooms in this region that is a very BIG “IF.”  Not every band can draw 100 people – in fact, very few can, regardless of the room they play.

I cannot count the innumerable times I’ve stood and watched people walk away at a $5 cover charge.

Bar sales?  Assume $5.50 a beer.  Assume the average person in the room buys 2.25 beers (enough to earn you a DUI). That’s $12.37.  Multiple that by the BIG IF 100 people … = $1237.00 in bar sales.  If the band plays for 15% that’s $185.00  Let’s say there is no cover; will that change the scenario?  Not in my experience.  That average person in the room will still only drink 2.25 beers x $5.50.

The solution to earning more is to either get more people in the door, or increase the price of entry.  After all, movie theaters now get $10 – why can’t we?  Aren’t we worth it?