Happy New Year. It was a hellova year in 2015, personally for sure, but also in our scene. It’s Monday morning. Besides Colorado music and radio, I’m also a homer when it comes to the Broncos who I had the pleasure of witnessing live as they won against San Diego and tied up the #1 seed going into the playoffs.
Please don’t ask me about the Avs or the Nuggets … I don’t watch either – just as I don’t listen to or promote certain styles of music, such as metal/punk or rap. So I’ll accept the criticism that the show is not inclusive of these styles, just as my preference for sports locally is solely Broncos and nothing else.
Over the years I’ve published a best of that detailed, more or less, what Colorado titles were aired at over a dozen stations statewide — including KAFM (Grand Junction), KBUT (Crested Butte), KRFC (Fort Collins), KSUT (Ignacio/Durango), KDUR (Durango), KRCC (Colorado Springs), KUNC (Greeley), KOTO (Telluride), KRZA (Alamosa), KVNF (Paonia), and a few others.
However, last April, I lost all of my spin data (no, I didn’t backup) so I suspended my tracking for the year. That plus the fact that’s it is incredibly time consuming to keep track of over 300 titles played at stations across the state. What we got in this year’s BEST OF 2015 represents what I saw played without counting spins, what I personally liked, and what fans liked.
The fan favorite list for 2015 is interesting. Some of the bands definitely got their fanbase riled up to vote for them – hence we have some titles in the list that really never got much in the way of radio support from me, or from stations around the state. Such is the nature of fan polls – it’s totally about getting your base out to vote for you.
FAN FAVORITE TOP 20
1. Michal Menert – Space Jazz
2. Longest Day Of The Year – Carapace
3. Michal Menert – Michal Menert & the Pretty Fantastics 1
4. Grim & Darling – Beauty Through Pain
5. Michael Kirkpatrick – Honey Rider
6. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats – Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats
7. Megan Burtt – The Bargain
8. Matt Skellenger – New Radio
9. Nathaniel Rateliff – Closer
10. Grandpa’s Gun – Back Into Town
11. Richie Furay – Hand In Hand
12. Andy Hackbarth – Panorama Motel
12. The Yawpers – American Man
13. Mojomama – Mojomama
13. Natalie Walker – Strange Bird
14. Cary Morin – Tiny Town
14. Elephant Revival – Sands of Now
14. Yonder Mountain String Band – Black Sheep
15. Montropo – Follow Me
TOP NEWS & NOTES 2015
Some of the biggest NEWS & NOTES of 2015 involved some of the most loved and well known venues in the Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins area, and a few guys who are or have been involved with music in our scene over the years.
Former Swallow Hill booking manager David Weingarden and his partner Chris Peck, as Z2 Entertainment inked a deal last summer to book the historic Mishawaka Amphitheatre. Z2 also books the Fox Theater and the Boulder Theater. David was instrumental in booking the Botanic Gardens while with Swallow Hill, and Chris came from AC Entertainment in TN, where he was instrumental in booking Bonoroo among other events.
Swallow Hill Music appointed Paul M. Lhevine as Chief Executive Officer of the 36-year-old Colorado home for roots, folk and acoustic music. Paul came to Swallow Hill Music from the Aurora Public Schools Foundation (APSF), where he served as Executive Director while also performing duties as Director of External Affairs for the school district. Former Swallow Hill executive director Tom Sharf landed the gig as Music Programs Director for the Bohemian Foundation.
Among the biggest stories regionally, Scoo Leary sold the Aggie Theater in Fort Collins to Scott Morrill and his partners, who also own Cervantes in Denver. Scott and Scoo worked together at Hodi’s Half Note in Fort Collins from 2007-2009. Scott purchased Cervantes from Jay Bianchi, who also owns Quixotes in Denver. Jay opened Owsley’s Golden Road on “the Hill” in Boulder this past year.
NEW BEGINNINGS 2016
April marks the 10th anniversary of The Colorado Sound. 2016 marks the 100th birthday of the Mishawaka Amphitheatre. Expect a combined Anniversary / Birthday Party event this spring. Date TBA.
The Colorado Sound Live365 may be going away at the end of January. I got the news over the past week that
“Recently, the Copyright Royalty Board, the governing entity for establishing the sound recording royalty rates that are paid to copyright holders, published the new rates for 2016-20. The previous provisions for small webcasters to opt for a percentage of revenue model were not renewed. The absence of this license will make legally streaming copyrighted musical content prohibitively expensive for many small to mid-sized Internet broadcasters.
Live365 faced an additional blow, losing the support of its investors who have helped the company with its mission for over a decade.”
According to the email, they’ll keep going until the end of January while they look for and negotiate with potential investors. Fingers crossed that we’ll get to keep the platform, although I’m sure it will mean increased costs in the least.
The BIGGEST NEW BEGINNING is I’ll be looking for a new name for the show over the next 6 weeks. I can’t why exactly, except that I sold the name. The BIG news on that will be forthcoming soon, I’m sure.
A PERSONAL NOTE FROM MR & MRS GOAT
Deadly disease, we’ve learned, is a family affair. The impending too-early life transition from earth to wherever may only directly affect the breath of one, but also the heart and ongoing lives of those closest to them, be they family or friends.
Mrs Goat has stage IV metastatic melanoma. It’s a nasty deadly disease that has extremely limited options for treatment, and now none of which she’s qualified for according to the doctors we’ve seen. The available treatments are now considered too toxic for Miss Pattie.
The curse is that it got into Miss Pattie’s brain and other organs. She had a massive brain seizure on December 23 at approx 8:40AM as she and I and our daughter were having coffee.
Pattie spent several days being cared for at Good Samaritan hospital in Lafayette. I cannot say enough good about the experience, as painful as it was. She is now in hospice care at home.
We don’t know what the next year holds for us. No one can say for sure whether Mrs Goat will be here in six weeks, six months, or a year .. no one has yet suggested more than a year. As such, we’re living the best days of our lives as a family – extended as it is throughout our music and radio community.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your love and support. We deeply appreciate the additional financial support you’ve been providing via our gofundme page, set up by a member of the family.
Goatz! will continue. Miss Pattie will be on stage as she’s able. We have shows set up for Feb 12 (Tasty Weasel, Longmont), March 3 (Oskar Blues, Lyons), and March 26 (Avogadro’s Number, Fort Collins with Kerry Pastine & the Crime Scene).
Folks have been asking what we need. Right now the most pressing need is more business. I have advertising space available on the show, and time for consulting and servicing Colorado music to media and municipal agencies statewide. Please email thecoloradosound@gmail.com for more information.
Have a safe, happy and loving 2016. We love you very much.
Mr & Mrs Goat aka Chris K & Miss Pattie aka Chris and Pattie Kresge
PLAYLIST S10 BEST OF 2015
HOUR 1
Michael Kirkpatrick “I’m Your Man” from Honey Rider (2015)
Leftover Salmon “High Country” from High Country (2015)
Grandpa’s Gun “Trucker Mouth” from Back Into Town (2015)
The Longest Day Of The Year “Last Gray Day” from Carapace (2015)
Montropo “Follow Me” from Follow Me (2015)
Trout Steak Revival “Colorado River” from Brighter Every Day (2015)
The Railsplitters “Tilt-a-whirl” from The Faster It Goes (2015)
Finnders & Youngberg “She Wants to Eat the Moon” from Eat The Moon (2015)
Otis Taylor “Red Meat” from Hey Joe Opus Red Meat (2015)
Ian Cooke “Epilogue” from Antiquasauria
Land Lines “Plans” from Natural World (2014)
In The Whale “Mail” from Full Nelson (2015)
Analog Son “Shady Nights” from Stomp and Shout (2015)
HOUR 2
Andy Hackbarth “Panorama Motel” from Panorama Motel (2015)
Grim & Darling “Quicksand” from Beauty Through Pain (2015)
Young Ancients “Going Back to Tulsa (Tulsa)” from Fishstory (2015)
Cary Morin “Yellow Bird” from Tiny Town (2015)
The Yawpers “Burdens” from American Man (2015)
Richie Furay “Hand in Hand” from Hand In Hand (2015)
Chris Daniels & the Kings “Funky to the Bone” from Funky To the Bone (2015)
Michal Menert “Lightyears Apart” from Space Jazz (2015)
Michal Menert “High Noon” from Michal Menert & the Pretty Fantastics 1 (2015)
Megan Burtt “Fast as I Go” from The Bargain (2015)
Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats “S.O.B” from Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats (2015)
Matt Skellenger “The Curve” from New Radio (2014)
The Colorado Sound is supported by my incredible friends at the 
The Colorado Sound SUPPORTS SpokesBUZZ … a Colorado 501C3 non-profit dedicated to supporting the global visibility of Colorado sound and culture and to developing the professionalism of our local artists. More info at 
Chris K's Colorado Playlist 