(Sunday Jan 11) WOW … what a great week in Colorado music and radio. On Monday Jan 5, Colorado Public Radio announced that they had purchased 102.3FM in Denver, and that Open Air 1340 would move to the new frequency. Friday night, Jan 9, Manassas, Firefall, Poco, and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band were inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame class of 2014.
Denver has never had a metro grade signal attached to a format that is as dedicated to local music as what we’re about to hear, beginning Jan 27. And that’s taking nothing away from the efforts made in this region to support local music on the radio going back to the 60s. 950 KIMN is in the Colorado Music Hall of Fame partly for the support they gave to local bands like Boenzee Cryque and others. KLZ FM, KFML, KAZY, KBPI, KBCO and KTCL have all supported bands from our area going back through our Colorado music and radio history. None, however, have featured it as prominently as Open Air 1340 does.
What this does for SOME Colorado music regionally is nothing short of amazing. All formats are limited in scope – so no, not all styles of Colorado music will be represented. Based on what Open Air has done to date, I wouldn’t expect any major changes in what they play. However, if people won’t support it financially – by way of sponsorship or membership dollars – others will be reluctant to follow CPR’s lead. #fingerscrossed Stations like KRFC and Radio 94.9 in Northern Colorado and Open Air 1340 in Denver are really setting standards for a level of support of local music that we’ve quite frankly never seen before.
Friday night was incredibly special. A sold out house at the Paramount was on hand for a performance by some of Colorado’s music legends, and relative newcomer and potential future hall of fame member Nathaniel Rateliff who did the opening tribute set to Stephen Stills/Manassas with Jeff Hanna (NGDB), Jock Bartley (Firefall), and Richie Furay (Poco).
Firefall’s impassioned set included original members Jock Bartley and Mark Andes, with fellow original members Larry Burnett and Rick Roberts joining the “newer” lineup for the last couple of songs. Poco’s set was electrifying – but I’m pretty biased. Supported by the Richie Furay Band, original members Rusty Young, Richie Furay, Paul Cotton, and Timothy B Schmidt turned it up to a level that literally left the sold out room roaring for more, song after song, in a set that included classics Call It Love, Bad Weather, Keep On Trying, Rose of Cimarron, and Good Feeling to Know. The only person missing was original drummer/vocalist George Grantham, who fell and did some rib damage a few days before the show.
Among those into folk and country music in Colorado the names Jimmy Ibbotson and John McEuen are staples in the scene, going back to 1970 when the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band moved here from Los Angeles. Jimmy has remained as the sole original member still living in Colorado to this day, and although he left the band in 2004, seeing him on stage made the last 11 years disappear, if only for a couple of songs. Of all the great things that came out of “the Dirt Band” moving here originally, it was their album “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” and the title track that has remained as the lasting legacy of their time spent here.
And before we get to the finale, CMHOF executive director G Brown announced that the next induction, coming later this year, will include Dan Fogelberg and Barnstorm (Joe Walsh, Kenny Passarelli, Joe Vitale).
OFFSTAGE BEYOND THE MUSIC
In the current episode running now at the Offstage Beyond the Music page CMHOF executive director G Brown talks about his vision for the hall of fame over the years. COMING IN FEB – Wendy Woo and her husband Charles and I sit at their dining room table and talk shop.
PLAYLIST S9 EP2 2015
(D) = debut of lp/ep/single
(N) = new cut from previously debuted lp/ep
HOUR 1
Freddi / Henchi and the Soulsetters “Funky to the Bone” from Crown Princes of Funk: The Last Set (2010)
Sugarloaf “Colorado Jones” from Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You (1975)
(N) Longest Day Of The Year “Ride on the Carapace” from Carapace (2014)
Instant Empire “Without Wires” from Instant Empire (2011)
Bad Weather California “Keep It Together” from Back Seats (2013)
Safe Boating is No Accident “Lover/Undercover” from Bonus Features (2014)
The Sound and Color “Tug of War” from The Sound and Color (2015)
Paper Bird “Lonely Too Long” from When the River Took Flight (2010)
Finnders & Youngberg “Lonely Too Long” from I Don’t Want Love You Won’t Give Until I Cry (2013)
(D) Cary Morin “Obstacles to Negotiate” from Tiny Town (2014)
Ben Markley ~ Clint Ashlock Quintet “Chasing Light” from The Return (2014)
HOUR 2
Bob Lind “Elusive Butterfly” from Elusive Butterfly (1966)
Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids “Good Times, Rock & Roll” from Best of Flash Cadillac and The Continental Kids (2010)
(N) Bill Frisell “Pipeline” from Guitar In the Space Age (2014)
Devotchka “100 Other Lovers” from 100 Lovers (2011)
The Apples in Stereo “Same Old Drag” from New Magnetic Wonder (2007)
Dressy Bessy “New Song (From Me to You)” from Dressy Bessy (2003)
Leftover Salmon “Get Up and Go” from High Country (2015)
Slim Cessna’s Auto Club “Viceroy Filter King” from Always Say Please and Thank You (2000)
String Cheese Incident “So Far From Home” from Song In My Head (2014)
Jon Wirtz “Country” from Tourist (2013)
Chris K's Colorado Playlist 