Hip-hop and it don’t stop. Surely you’ve heard this expression. For those immersed in the culture, this is more than just mere words or even a category on the Backbeat blog — it’s a way of life. And this Friday, August at the Savoy Ballroom on 27th and Arapahoe, there’s…
With the exception of players like Thelonious Monk or Art Tatum, piano players don’t quite have the name recognition of their horn playing counterparts. All the same, these ivory ticklers play an equally integral role in jazz. As such, just like our lists of the ten best sax players and…
Patrick Lee has taken a Jekyll and Hyde approach to music. He leads several musical lives that rarely intersect — so much so that you could see him in one context and not recognize him in the next. There’s Patrick Lee, the virtuoso piano/organ/keyboard player, who views live music as…
Mark your calendar — naw, scratch that — don’t mark it, clear it: On Saturday, September 7, Colorado Crush is going down once again. And from the sounds of it, the fourth edition of this annual hip-hop block party is going to be a block buster. Seriously. If you’re an…
Welcome back to another edition of That’s a Rap, the regular feature in which we spotlight some solid tracks from the Colorado hip-hop scene. This week, we’ve got another a fresh batch of homegrown hip-hop for you, including new cuts from Young Doe, DC Smiles of the Cash Addicts, Foo…
Using a greater palette of digital and physical controllers, modern electronic musicians are making music that is quite different from the current wave of EDM. Watt? Amplified and Supercharged Music Expression is a collaborative performance between Darren Kramer, Victoria Lundy and Mark Mosher that will effectively demonstrate some of the…
Before grunge scrubbed the smeared makeup off of the face of hair metal and trimmed its flowing locks, an endless parade of longhaired dudes did their level best to destroy the ozone layer, fueled by a steady diet of sex, drugs and rock and roll. Oh, and, well, depending on…
By Jason Roche One year ago, Baroness was touring Europe in support of its critically acclaimed record Yellow & Green. The ambitious double album was generating a strong buzz for the Georgia-based band. The momentum came to a screeching halt, though, on a rainy morning in August, 2012, when the…
Izm White (aka Hayden Laybourn) has been immersed in the local hip-hop scene since the mid-’90s, when he first started heading down from the Western Slope to Denver to compete in MC battles and attend shows. During that time, he’s had some ups and downs, including releasing multiple albums, taking…
Metal can’t get any more cold blooded than in Sweden, where you’ll find brain-freezing, below zero temperatures and snow drifts taller than concert halls. Despite having the most frostbitten, blackened and disfigured hands in the metal world, the Swedes rip apart metal like nobody else. As brutal as a ceaseless…
G-Eazy is an up and coming rapper born in Oakland but based in New Orleans. The MC, who stands out thanks to his Dapper Dan appearance, gravely voice and self-made production, broke out somewhat thanks to his Endless Summer mixtape, which featured a remix of Dion’s “Runaround Sue.” His independently…
Nate “Igor” Smith For five magical days in August, Cave-In-Rock, Illinois hosted one of our favorite events, The Gathering of the Juggalos. Our photographer, Nate “Igor” Smith, took thousands of pictures at the Gathering, but some of the folks he captured stood out more than others. There was the naked…
Clearview Films has come a long way since filming its first video in 2009. Shooting over 150 videos since its inception, Clearview has been working hard to make a name for itself in the video game. We tapped Antonio Valenzuela, who’s worked with Clearview on various projects, to catch up…
My Bloody Valentine (due this Monday, August 19, at the Ogden Theatre) started as a post-punk band in the early ’80s, but by 1987, the group embarked on journey of sonic experimentation that resulted in some of the most influential music of the 1990s and beyond. The outfit’s genre-defining 1991…
One of the more highly charged bands of the last decade or so, Gogol Bordello (sharing a bill at Red Rocks this Thursday, August 15, with Queens of the Stone Age) has become legendary for its vigorous live sets. The outfit, which injects punk into gypsy music, was started in…
Bad Weather California has reached its natural conclusion. Although the outfit still has a string of dates left to play, including a tour kickoff show is this Thursday, August 15, at the hi-dive, celebrating its brand new EP, Back Seats — due out this week on Fire Talk — Chris…
Daniel Hill and Drew Ailes are covering the annual Gathering of the Juggalos in Cave-in-Rock, Illinois for our sister publication, The Riverfront Times. Nate “Igor” SmithCody Morin, juggalo and Make-A-Wish recipient. We first heard about seventeen-year old Cody Morin on our way in to Cave-In-Rock, Illinois, site of the fourteenth-annual…
Daniel Hill and Drew Ailes are covering the annual Gathering of the Juggalos in Cave-in-Rock, Illinois for our sister publication, The Riverfront Times. One of the true hardships that we face as a nation is the omnipresent problem of being surrounded by booze and stimulating foods. In the comforts of…
When somebody bathes in blood and guts, swings from hanging bodies or sews together dismembered parts — that’s horror. And so naturally when rappers embody this realm, it’s called horrorcore. But true horror is more than blood and guts; it is bewilderment in happenings that occur beyond an ordinary level…
Like sax players, any discussion of the best trumpeters is likely to involve some of the same names. And that’s not happenstance. It’s because the playing of those greats is so distinctive, prodigious and influential that it truly stands out among countless other horn players. Keep reading for a rundown…
Nate “Igor” Smith During the Gathering of the Juggalos, Cave-In Rock, Illinois becomes a sonic disaster zone. Even if you’re a rap lover, it’s hard to keep your mind sharp with all of the noise. But within the cacophony of sounds, a few incredible Juggalo statements were somehow deciphered and…
Daniel Hill and Drew Ailes are covering the annual Gathering of the Juggalos in Cave-in-Rock, Illinois for our sister publication, The Riverfront Times. Update, 1 p.m., 8/10/13: Reached by phone on Sunday afternoon, Hardin County coroner Jessica Cullum released the name of the man who died as Cory Collins, 24,…
