Putting the Rad back in Colorado
Radness Parade is a website about documenting the interesting things happening in Colorado. You’ve always wanted a place to see what neat things are going on right? It seems like New York and San Francisco have a voice, but what about Denver? Well, that’s what Radness Parade is. A voice. By Colorado, for Colorado. We’ve just begun, but we’re ramping up the radness.
P.S. If you’re a photographer or writer and think you’d like to be a contributor, let us know. We’re looking for anyone who’d like to help us create a snapshot of colorado culture. Learn more on what we’re about and what we’re looking for, then email us!
Vacant Venue: Ben Nylen
I recently shot this at my friend Dennis Conrad’s home. Ben had been working on a t-shirt design for
local band Sea Horse. Nylen is known for his political-imaginative style of art work around the twin cities.
I hope to see more of his work in the future.
DaggerMouth Spectacular
I was fortunate enough to jam with these guys a couple years ago.
This is some rough material that I hope to see more of in the future.
Very talented young musicians.
HAHA music Video: Sikenski
We don’t normally show video work on the site, but as I was in Chicago the first of the month I
was very intrigue by this what what seen. Some new friends of mine showed me a some stuff they had been working on. I hope to
collaborate with this crew in the near future. enjoy.
Sure Dude
Junior John
I had a chance to shoot some photos for a dj in st. paul, MN.
His name is Junior john and is looking to release a fall album.
Also, he had some time to display his casual fashion sense.
When Worlds Collide: Local Genre Mash Up
My constant quest for great new tunes combined with my over excitability leaves me finding a new favorite band or musician almost daily. This aside, there are a few musicians who stick with me through all my musical mistresses due to their unique style or eye opening appeal. The Black Keys have always held one of those special places in my heart, and when I was shown “Blakroc,” a Black Keys hip hop side project, my hips went to shakin’, my feet to groovin’, and my heart to leaping. Blakroc features 11 incredibly talented hip hop artists such as Mos Def, Ol Dirty Bastard of the Wu Tang Clan, and Q-tip of Tribe Called Quest. If thats not a Hip Hop power group, I dont know what is.
The combination of the sexy bluesy style I love from the Black Keys with the beats and flows of my favorite Hip Hop artists left me wishing Blakroc was far more than a side project. After obsessively YouTube’-ing the band,my mind began to wander; Why has this not hit Denver yet? I’ve heard so many genre mash-ups with hip hop and few have let me down…why haven’t I heard of anyone local testing it out? In fact, where is the hip hop scene in Denver? I don’t mean the re-makes trying to out rap the overplayed radio songs and holding booty shaking contests; I mean real, raw, hip hop. Music from the soul derived from experience, passion and hope. I was on a mission to find it.
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Collin Kilty: Canaries in the Mineshaft
Words by Mark Edwards
Lead singer and guitarist for North!To Nowhere has embarked on a solo journey through the folk genre in his current CD Canaries in the Mineshaft. The CD can be hear at http://www.reverbnation.com/collinkilty where he’s already gotten over nine-thousand fans.
As I sit in my tiny unlit room the smoke from my incense swirls around my head dancing to the soulful and beautiful guitar playing through my speakers. I listen to track after track of Kilty’s new CD and time seems to stop. Each song has a different feel and brings new emotions and thoughts into my listening experience. He utilizes guitar, piano, xylophone, and harmonies. Some of the songs seem to have a Jose Gonzalez spanish guitar influence to them, but where most artists just sound like a replica of Gonzalez’s music, Kilty creates his own style making his music unique and new. His fourth song, Excelling in Necromancy pt 1 A Breath Before Beginning, is very cinematic and as I close my eyes I look through a window into the past; visions of the golden-yellow plains come in to my head, the tops of the long grass swaying and dancing with the help of the wind and as the song ends you get a feeling of a storm gently rolling in.
Although his music is something new and different it does instill a feeling of the past. Not a past with classic cars and ten cent hamburgers, not a past with flappers and prohibition, but a past where the U.S. is a mysterious frontier. The title song, Canaries in the Mineshaft, really accentuates the gritty feeling you get from the title. The song has fast accurate guitar work with a time signature rarely heard in this genre. The song molds and changes as it progresses, it gets deeper and touches the soul, again implementing a cinematic feeling. It’s rare that you hear a whole album where nearly all of the songs seem to have a story arc of its own.
When I first put Collin Kilty’s new CD in my car it played at least five times before I realized I was listening to the same thirteen songs over and over. This new take on old folk is a total hit in my book; expressing emotion with every pluck of a string and every melodic change. Each time I listen to Canaries I hear something new and I understand more and more why Kilty has over nine-thousand fans. Make sure to tune your radios in to Metro Radio 91.7 on February 13th at 4 p.m. to hear the chill AND dance worthy tunes by Collin Kilty.
Bar Standard Raises Bar
Words and Photos by Audrey Schauer
Bar Standard, at 1037 Broadway, hosted a fashion show Friday night with help from two outstanding charities, Krochet Kids and Falling Whistles. All of the models were volunteers who rocked the runway outfitted by Violet, Stacy McElhany’s Larimer Square boutique. The models also donned hats made by Krochet Kids and wore whistles around their necks provided by Falling Whistles, which were all available for purchase. One-hundred percent of the proceeds from these sales, and the five dollar suggested door donations, will be used to rehabilitate and speak for the war-stricken Congolese children and to aid in the empowerment of Ugandans to emerge from poverty.
Oh Colorado
Words by Eli Berg
As I pack my bags to leave Colorado yet again, I look back on my trip. It was not just another random holiday spent home with my family and friends. Well, now that I think of it, it never is. Sure, we did the staples: Played some pool in a dive bar, why? Because there are NO other options in Arvada at 12:15 on a Wednesday night. Denny’s at four in the morning; My eyes filled with tears as they brought out their smal loffering of milk in a tiny silver carafe, nothing like what I remember from the years frequenting that very Denny’s. Gone are the days of the individual cream packets. I feel somewhat responsible, having never left a single container either unused or unopened. Under my feet the carpet still stained from these milk soaked war zones of yesteryear. The food, still bad, but who cares, the people in the faux diner make up for it. The wayward travelers staying at the seedy motel next-door, the drugged out bikers pacing in the doorway, never sure if they should come in or go back out onto the road, back into the wind swept freedom of the highway. Breakfast the next day, washing away the pre-packaged plastic taste from Denny’s with the sweet thick large portioned pancakes of Snooze in downtown Denver. I cannot say enough about the new era of the restaurant in Denver. Since I moved away it seems like restaurants have just gone crazy, multiplying and dividing, but never (at least in most cases) watering down. There are a few favorites now when I come back home that need to be mentioned, Snooze, obviously one of my top places to frequent. The service is great, the line is manageable, and the food is simple yet perfect. I had their Sweet Potato Pancakes and I just about passed out from the caramel, pecans and especially the ginger butter…Fruition, my personal favorite restaurant in Denver. Chef Seidel never fails to impress. Their constantly changing menu has everything one could wish for on every occasion, well, minus the “dysfunctional grandmother’s birthday occasion,” and even then their wait staff completely succeeded in their services. The Kitchen, in Boulder has always been my main stop north of Arvada, minus the Downer (for much different reasons not to be discussed now). Their community tables create a fun warm atmosphere that you don’t get in a lot of places. Their food is just as inviting with their Line Caught Golden Tilefish really hitting the spot before a long night of catching up with friends drinking their seemingly endless list of well paired wines. The interesting thing is this, as I pack my bags to head back to what people call one of the cultural meccas of the western world, I find myself craving a bit more time to explore what Colorado now has to offer. I mean, the drivers in Colorado do NOT understand the concept of the left lane being the fast lane, but they sure do know how to have a good meal, and a great time. I look forward to my next trip home, and who knows, maybe I’ll find myself living here again at some point.
The links:
dennys.com
snoozeeatery.com
fruitionrestaurant.com
thekitchencafe.com
The National
Words by Mark Edwards
When to wear a suit is a decision best left to the classy. Do you wear one to a first date? That depends on the date and the location of the date. Do you wear a suit when hitting the town? Not if you’re going to bar hop Colfax. Do you wear one when you’re going to see The National in concert? ALWAYS! Even at the Fillmore Auditorium on the infamous Colfax? YES, ALWAYS!
The night didn’t start like any ordinary concert night. We didn’t drink PBR tall cans or take shots of cheap whiskey out of a flask sized bottle. I didn’t wear an old dirty t-shirt and my hand knit beanie. Instead, I put on my best slacks, an expensive blue collared shirt with matching tie, and a grey suit jacket. I ran a comb through my hair for the first time in months and bought a nice bottle of red wine. Tonight was a classy night. I met up with my close friend TJ who had also “suited up” and we headed downtown for a show that would blow our minds.
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