KZYR The Zephyr – Page 12 – Chris K's Colorado Playlist

CP S13 EP25 2019

MONDAY JUNE 24, 2019 – Rumors swirled over the weekend concerning former Yonder Mountain String Band founding member Jeff Austin. Despite numerous social media posts alluding to a possible suicide, official reports emerged that he suffered a undisclosed medical emergency and was is Seattle with family being attended to. What little information is available, and crowdfunding has been set up at Sweet Relief Musicians Fund.

In this week’s show I highlighted some of the best of 2013 in HOUR 1 and some of the best of 2014 in HOUR 2. Over the next many weeks I will continue to highlight some of the best of each year as we approach the BEST OF THE DECADE. With that, I’ve put up two polls already for Best of 2010 and 2011, so you can vote for your favorites from those years.

MMMM this week = Gun Street Ghost, Heavy Diamond Ring, Bobby Messano, Swerve, The Threadbarons, and Brian Bourgault – KEEP or DELETE?

Did you miss this week’s or LAST week’s show? You can now stream them on demand! 105.5 The Colorado Sound archives two weeks worth that you can stream at your leisure. They typically update their archives every Monday afternoon. You can also stream the show in real time wherever the show is aired around the state. See the stations and times page for that info.

105.5 The Colorado Sound & the Colorado Playlist Present:
Brent Cowles – Bluebird Theater, Denver – Oct 12

FOR MORE SHOWS SEE COLORADOSOUND.ORG

At Bohemian Foundation, our focus is on building community …by coming together to create and enjoy music.

VIDEO PICK OF THE WEEK

Not to be confused with the now seemingly defunct Denver hard rock and country cover band called Swerve, this Greeley based original project with the same name, featuring former UNC music grads, is poised to be the Best Emerging New Band of 2019.

MONDAY MORNING MUSIC MEETING (MMMM)

Let me know if there’s something you think I should play. Email coloradoplaylist@gmail.com

(D) = debut LP/EP or single
(N) = new track from previously debuted LP/EP
(P) = Colorado Playlist exclusive premier

HOUR 1

Hazel Miller – Better Off With The Blues –Westword ’96 Music Awards Showcase(1996)
(D) Gun Street Ghost – Into the Dark – Battles (2019)

Covenhoven – Ghost Of Kerouac – A Kind Of Revelation (2018)
Andy Palmer – Good Son – Hazard of the Die (2013)
(N) Heavy Diamond Ring – Stuck In Motion – S/T (2019)

Float Like a Buffalo – The Day – Back From Nowhere (2019)
Five Iron Frenzy – It Was a Dark & Stormy Night – Engine of a Million Plots (2013)
Churchill – The War Within – The War Within EP (2013)
Foxfeather – Not Coming Back (2019)
(N) Bobby Messano – I Don’t Want to Miss You Anymore – Lemonade (2019)

Kyle Hollingsworth – All Falls Apart – 50 (2018)
Patti Fiasco – Oil – Small Town Lights (2013)
Keith Oxman – Reverend Lou Founded the Record Store – Caught Between the Lion and the Twins (2008)

HOUR 2

Opie Gone Bad – Little House – 1 (1998)
(D) Swerve – Green – Swerve (2019)

Eldren – Still Want More – Miss Information Aged (2018)
The Fray – Love Don’t Die – Helios (2014)
(N) The Threadbarons – Going Out – Songbook for the Weary (2019)

Shannon Ogden – In the Car – Live at Swallow Hill (2019)
Big Head Todd & The Monsters – I Get Smooth – Black Beehive (2014)
Leftover Salmon – Better Day – High Country (2014)
Leslie Tom – Honky Tonkin’ – Ain’t It Something, Hank Williams (2018)
(D) Brian Bourgault – Die Alone – Without You (2019)

The Burroughs – Solution – Got To Feel (2018)
Tennis – Needle and a Knife – Ritual in Repeat (2014)
Peter Sommer – The Fruit – Crossroads (2008)

CP BEST OF 2011

JUNE 20, 2019 … I’m a little behind in my goal of getting these annual reviews out, for you to vote on.

Sometime right after the first of the year, I’ll be doing a BEST OF THE DECADE Retrospective ranging from 2010 thru 2019. Your VOTE will count in determining which of the outstanding records of the past decade have endured as among the best of the decade.

At Bohemian Foundation, our focus is on building community …by coming together to create and enjoy music.

TOP 10 BEST OF THE CP FOR 2011

These are the TOP 10 albums from 2011 — which were your favorites?

1. ALBUM of the YEAR – Devotchka – 100 Lovers (Epitaph)Genre/style: Adult alternative
Added: December 2010
Sampled tracks: 100 Other Loves, The Common Good, Contrabanda
Notes: no one should be surprised at the tremendous of this record in 2011, here in Colorado or nationally. Devotchka has emerged since 2000 as one of the most inspired bands to ever come out of the Rocky Mountain west, and while the critics may not have liked their sixth album as much as the previous one, it garnered nearly 2x the airplay of any other album on this list.

2. Elephant Revival – Break in the Clouds (Ruff Shod Records)Genre/Style: Folk
Added: November 2010
Sampled tracks: Feathers Rise, Barefoot Friend, Rhythm of the Road
Notes: this title clocked in at #14 in the Best of 2010 based solely on taste, because it came out too late in the year to garner much in the way of spins. … making it the #1 recurrent title, as well as the #2 all around title in spins and taste for the year.

3. Finnders & Youngberg – FY5 (self)Genre/Style: Bluegrass, country-folk
Added: April 2011
Sampled tracks: Driftwood, Nebraska, Sold On You
Notes: “Finnders” is more appropriately spelled Finders, but Mike Finders got understandably tired of folks calling the band F-eye-nders and Youngberg, so they adjusted the spelling so us djs could get it right LOL. With the addition of 2 new members and the loss of 1, the band now rightly identifies with the five member FY5 moniker and an impressive set of bluegrass and country. High on the taste factor and in spins.

4. John Common and Blinding Flashes of Light – Beautiful Empty (Free School) Genre/Style: Alternative adult contemporary rock/pop
Added: *re-entered charts April 2011
Sampled tracks: Same Scar, In My Neighborhood, Love Is A Shark
Notes: originally a December 2009 release locally, the album was rereleased nationally in April 2011. Clocking #16 for 2010, Beautiful Empty comes in #2 in recurrent titles, as well as climbing to #4 for the whole year in spins and taste.

5. Big Head Todd and the Monsters – Big Head Blues Club: 100 Years of Robert Johnson (Ryko)Genre/Style: Blues
Added: January 2011
Sampled tracks: Ramblin’ On My Mind, When You Gotta Good Friend, Preachin’ Blues
Notes: we got our first taste of what this album might sound like with the band’s interpretation of Smokestack Lightning off of their Rocksteady album. The featured guests on this album reads like a who’s who, with the late Hubert Sumlin, Charlie Musslewhite, Ruthie Foster, BB King and others making appearances.

6. John-Alex Mason – Jook Joint Thunderclap (Naked Jaybird)Genre/Style: Blues
Added: January 2011
Sampled tracks: Gone So Long, Ridin’ On, Rolled and Tumbled
Notes: RIP John-Alex (1976-2011). The release of Juke Joint Thunderclap marked a revolution of sorts in the fusion of rap and blues, with Cody Burnside laying down some very cool rap on top of John-Alex’s blistering blues grooves.

7. Tennis – Cape Dory (Fat Possum)Genre/Style: Pop/inde
Added: January 2011
Sampled tracks: Marathon, Pigeon, Seafarer
Notes: Getting nostalgic and bringing back a sound embodying at least part of the 60s feel good sun and surf propelled this album into the top 10 – with nearly all reporting stations reporting high spins and taste.

8. Spring Creek – Hold On Me (self)Genre/Style: Bluegrass
Added: July 2011
Sampled tracks: Way Back in the Mountains, With Body and Soul, Hold On Me
Notes: Hold onto this release – Spring Creek has reportedly decided to move onto new projects beginning some time in 2012. Following their success on Rebel Records, the fellas got a new bass player, and decided to record an album that matched their own ideas of how they wanted to sound on record. Produced by the band with Sally Van Meter, recorded at Notably Fine Audio (now Mighty Fine Productions) with Colin Bricker and Mario Castillo at the helm. Masterd by Dave Glasser at Airshow.

9. Carmen Sandim Sextet – Brand New (Dazzle Recordings)Genre/Style: Jazz
Added: February 2011
Sampled tracks: Zoloft Bounce, Brand New, Feliz
Notes: *serviced to radio/press by Rocky Mountain Music Network* – There were no jazz records in our TOP 20 in 2010, so this is an excellent surprise. “The songs also work as vehicles for some fine soloing from trumpeter Ron Miles, guitarist Matt Fuller and saxophonist Danny Meyer.” (Westword)

10. Whiskey Blanket – No Object (self)Genre/Style: Hip-hop
Added: December 2010
Sampled tracks: Up Up Away, Rule the Roost, Joie De Vie
Notes: *serviced to radio/press by Rocky Mountain Music Network* — one of the most unique hip-hop records to emerge from Colorado in recent memory, all three core members of the band are incredibly educated and skilled classical and bluegrass musicians who expand anyone’s most conservatively held position of what hiphop should sound like. Very high taste factor among the voters. Special guests include Bonnie Paine (Elephant Revival)

CP S13 EP24 2019

Monday June 17, 2019 – One of the most consistent issues I hear both musicians and patrons talk about are “empty rooms.” As a former venue operator, and a life-long performing musician, I get it. I play in rooms with only a handful of people present. I’ve booked shows that only a handful of people have attended. There is no one single answer that will solve this issue.

I’ve performed in support of world renown musicians to empty rooms …as in only ten people, and five of them were associated with the show. This actually happened to me not long ago, where I played as the opener for an nationally recognized award winning singer-songwriter in front of ten people. I’ve also seen and performed in support of platinum selling bands that drew only a couple hundred people to the show.

Some venues are “concert” rooms – meaning the band is totally responsible for how many people attend – it’s essentially a popularity contest. If you’re a new band, or an up and coming local band, chances are likely you won’t have many people in “your” audience, and you hope to draw from those who show up to see the headliner – which supposedly does have a local draw.

Some venues are established restaurant / bar / music rooms. Some have a regular clientele. We all want to play those rooms. Some do not and therefore rely on the popularity of the band -the band draw. I’ve managed rooms like that, and performed at more than I can remember. Sometimes there is a crowd to play to, and in some cases the draw is minimal or not there at all.

My father, who owned a jazz venue in the early 60s, also complained about this issue – both as the owner of a venue and as a professional working musician. The issue is not new. However, today the issue is exacerbated by there being many hundreds of places to play in our region, and several thousands of bands and solo acts wishing to perform publicly – both from our own region as well as those out touring.

SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC – It’s the lifeblood of our industry.

At Bohemian Foundation, our focus is on building community …by coming together to create and enjoy music.