Colorado Springs Compilation and Festival?

My latest scheme comes off of an argument with a friend of mine. We were discussing my place here in town and how i was working hard on building something worthwhile here. She argued that I was building NOTHING and wasting my time in Colorado and that i could do better work elsewhere in the same field.

Well I feel like me and my fellow friends in the music works of Colorado Springs ARE actually doing well for this town and we are building a better foundation for a better music scene. Mostly to prove her wrong and the rest of the naysayers, I want to start a new project.

Last summer I put out a free music sampler of the upcoming touring bands coming through the Triple Nickel. I have been told by a few people it was a "great idea" and a "huge success," but I am quiet unsure it had the desired effect of bringing attention to the music we were bringing last summer. I'd like to do another this year with a larger scale in mind, and not just me sitting at the computer copying 100+ cds by my lonesome.

Then the wheels started turning. A lot of local bands wanted onto this compilation, which was designed to mostly promote the touring bands. The idea of a just local compilation wouldn't be a bad idea and over the last few weeks and months, this is the basis for what i want to do.

I want to do a local music compilation of bands who regularly play in Colorado Springs.

To Qualify for the compilation, each band must submit a track and a small nominal fee. I'm thinking around $20 - $30 bucks.

The money collected from the application fee goes into a fund to press the cds. I'm not thinking anything fancy, but a simple CD and cardboard slipcase.

I want to form a committee of 8-10 people.

These people would come from all walks of the art community in town. Their purpose would be to help judge the merit and fit of the songs on the compilation to make sure it fits and give a good impression to people who do NOT normally frequent local live music.

Not all tracks will make it to the final cut. I'm thinking about 20 tracks. If your track was not picked, you will not get your money back, but it will instead go into the fund for the CD pressing. Much like a film festival you do not get your application fee back if you are not chosen, this will work in the same manner.

The Cds would be given away FREE around town, with the main purpose of exposing people to different music they are not already aware of. It would also be used to attract people who do not frequent live music events in Colorado Springs. This would be the target audience for this project.

The tracks would also be available for free online so those who can not find the CDs may still enjoy it and be enriched by the music.

I'd like to do a huge release weekend EVENT, where several spaces around town have FREE showcases with local musicians. I'd like to do this in a similar way as Fort Collin's FoCoMx (http://www.focomx.org/) Which is a localized music festival where different bands who normally do not perform together share the same stage at venues they do not frequent often. IE Stab Crew plays with Edith Makes a Paperchain. (which is an extreme example, but you get the idea.) Only musicians featured on the compilation would make the cut, But i envision a week long event at several, several local bars, art galleries, ect.

How musicians would gain from this is the added exposure. The free Cd with their name and track circulating around the town would only help their exposure and find a new and different audience and help grow their fan base and show turnouts, resulting from bigger paycheck from the shows they do play.

The venues hosting the free shows would of course benefit from the added exposure to their spaces, and of course would still make profit off the bar, drinks, food, ect.

Bands who are not chosen, would also benefit from the added exposure to the music scene and concerts around town. They would also benefit from playing with other bands whose tracks made it to the final cut, and could grow off of their exposure.

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This is just a hair brain idea that's been rattling around in my brain for a few months now and has finally come to a head with the help of my negative friend and too much time on my hand.

This is not something I wish to do alone and on my own. We have A fabulous collective of people who wish to help and further the arts scene here in Colorado, and I wish to involve them every step of the way. Plus, with a committee of sorts to help decide the tracks, it makes it more fair for other bands who i might not necessarily enjoy to make it on the compilation rather than if i had just done it on my own.

Its a chance for all of us to come together and really work to unify the various art and musician cliques and bring us together and have some damned good parties because of it.

These are just ideas. I value your input and am eagerly awaiting it.

Let me know what you think.

and I'm a fool

As a young man I watched too many John cusak movies. I learned to believe their honesty, but in real life things don't work out like in the movies. So as i have spent my whole adolescent life I've spent trying to live up to my heroes as a John Cusak archetype, my brethren passed me by.....

I sit here confused. I am a 28 year old boy with the dating skills of a 15 year old boy. I've sat here trying to become the man i thought women wanted me to be only to learn the movies were wrong. Now I'm alone..... and no clue who or what to do....

John Cusak taught me wrong. Lloyd is not what women want. They don't want. Lane Meyer is not what they want. I am not what they want and I wonder. Have I wasted it all. Will I ever find that one who really and truly wants her lane Meyer? the one who will be loyal till the end? I doubt it. I honestly think i will be alone till the end....

But I am intoxicated. I am heartbroken over women. The ones who sucked me in, and the ones who sucked me out.... Friends. loves. looses.

Photos

I sit and stare out the window trying to soak up all the imagery. I search the landscapes for meaning and look to find hope for a better tomorrow. I sleep and dream of the colors of Seas I'll never know and times all but forgotten. We see so much and comprehend so little of this short journey. We seek answers when questions are not even made known. Perhaps there is no meaning. Perhaps this is all happenstance and nothing will become of any of this. Perhaps, just as I dream of lands I'll never see, this is all someone else's dream. Pawns to the stars. Pawns to the winds. We fight, but the sea always takes control, it always has its way. Helpless, we let go and let the adventure take us away.

At work this morning a coworker asked me if i was hungover. I simply replied "Its Saturday." That seemed to be explanation enough.

The Road...

I'm already failing at my attempt to post one blog a week for the entire year. I have not even begun to start my work for the lubricated zine. Alas, but i will not quit and i will strive to be better in my goals.

I'm sitting here thinking about this past 2 weeks. I've been back in colorado springs now for a few days and i cringe when i say the word "HOME." I live here. I work here. I play here, but i don't feel as though this town is my home.

I feel more alive and natural and more of MYSELF when on the road, traveling. In a strange town full of strange people I feel without my shell of insecurity and it is there that i can truly be free and truly be myself. I don't care about the embarrassment of being me, and my mistakes and misgivings. Who knows if the people i meet on the road, if i shall ever see them again. To them i can be anyone or anything. Its a truly freeing experience.

I know so many people so desperate and so sure that life will be better when they leave their hometowns and hit the road for brighter lights and bigger cities, but the majority of them are just running from themselves and who they are. They can restart and recreate themselves in the way that they see fit. That's what i did when I moved to Colorado 8.5 years ago. Its not always been easy, but I'm a changed man from that insecure little boy who packed up all his belongings and hit the road.

I sat in the seat of the van and as I saw America flash before my eyes, I just sat and watched. I sat and soaked it all in, the sights, sounds and smells. I rarely sleep for fear of missing something.

In the strange towns I sometimes wandered. So full of excitment and anticipation. I was at home. I was free. Its the gypsy blood in me flowing free. No longer confined to the mountain town I live in.

I love it in Colorado and i do good work and have good friends, but its not my home. My home is a two lane highway in the middle of nowhere and it calls my name ever so softly, always yearning for me to return to it.

I will return and I'll return not soon enough..... But for now, I'll live and die in Colorado... But the road will always be my home.

New Belgium's Ranger IPA. Good for Begginers.

I've written for zines and random websites and other projects for years. I always find myself writing reviews. Oh reviews, what a pain in my ass. I'm a pretentious fuck on any given day. I'm overtly opinionated and I despise most pop culture, making me the near perfect realization of The Simpson's Comic Book Guy.

The sad revelation of this all is however, that I am a terrible reviewer. I can almost always tell you what and why I despise a movie, book, comic, whatever.... But the problem I so often run into is that i can never quite elaborate what i LIKE in the item to be reviewed. I just LIKE it, or in a rare case, LOVE in an item.

I'm sitting here drinking the highly anticipated RANGER IPA from the almighty "craft" brewery New Belgium, and I'm debating how to describe this mostly satisfactory beer. I like it. It is an ok beer, and believe me, I'm a beer FAN. I love beer. I love the good hoppy flavor of an IPA, but as i sip on this newly released item, I find the best word to describe my feelings towards it as, "Eh."

The very first thing that jumped out at me about this beer was not even the beer itself, but rather the packaging. As a "pretend" graphic designer, I have become a sucker for great design. Luckily for me, the craft brewery world is a haven for us Graphic Design fans. Almost every craft brew out there has very, very incredible graphic design. Its what ultimately sells the beer. You can not judge a beer by its bottle, but it sure doesn't hurt when the beer bottle looks so damned.... DELICIOUS.



With the New Belgium's Ranger, the graphic design is a departure from the standard fare of Fat Tire and 1554, which the RANGER also signifies the direction of this said beer. Its simple. Its elegant and GREEN, green being the company's main objective of saving the environment through its wind turbine technology and brewing standards. The Bright green sets us up for the statement that the Helvetica font DRIVES HOME. This isn't a fancy beer, but yet it is a sophisticated departure. It is something elegant and made with care, but simple care.

Unfortunately, that is the only thing i Love about this beer. Don't get me wrong. Its not an awful beer and I kind of like it in the same way i feel about Sandra Bullock films. If I found myself in a liquor mart, this would be far from my first choice. For me, It is just too damned easy and simple. Its the Transformers of the IPA world. Dumbed down and brought to the masses without the excellence it deserves. Its not a great beer, and its rather disappointing.

I am a fan of hops and the hoppier the beer the better. I rarely find an IPA to be particularly "bitter," but that is my simple taste buds. I love the way the hops hit the taste buds JUST RIGHT and excite them in a way that only encourages me to ingest more.

With the Ranger, it has a calm, cool, mild Hoppy flavor that is easy to drink, but it does not scream out to my senses beckoning for more of that great flavor. What i really want is a hops explosion. I want more, more, more!!


I'm not the reviewer who is going to tout colors and explain the intricacies of the flavors and what makes it so great. I can't explain the nuances of each little bite and taste. I just know its not enough for little ole me. I just want more flavor and more punch. I want something more like a Dale's Pale Ale, that while isn't an IPA is a hops explosion. The Ranger is an unfortunate Hops dud.

I have found that New Belgium is the beginner's craft beer. Its the dominant force in the market place, and some no longer regard it as a craft beer, and regard it as more of a new force on the same lines as Coors and Budweiser.

When i first came upon NB's flagship beer, Fat Tire, I was a newbie beer drinker. Back then, I absolutely HATED beer. A far cry from the fan i am today, but then, one taste of a beer and i could feel the acid backfiring through my esophagus. It was around these times, that i was gently turned away from Bud light and Coors and slowly turned towards and much better style of beer, and since i was living in Colorado at the time, I was turned on to New Belgium. My introduction to New Belgium and Fat Tire opened to me a world of smaller, better tasting, micro and craft breweries.

With that in mind i often think of New Belgium as a beer fan's gateway beer to excellence. In the same regard as The Offspring and Green Day opened the gates of the punk rock world to millions of rebellious little skate board kids, New Belgium did for beer.

As i sit here drinking this brand new RANGER IPA, sipping away, I still think to myself, "Eh, I've had better," but i can't help but think that perhaps this simple, elegant brew will change the face of the IPA market forever. Opening it up to new and different people and markets and imaginations.

For those of you who have yet to make the jump into the world of IPA's, I highly recommend this beer. Its worth a try, but for those of you who are more seasoned beer drinkers like myself, I would instead recommend the Breckinridge's small batch Double IPA. Delicious. And personally, I am a great fan of Oskar Blue's and their non-IPA, but uber-hoppy, Dale's Pale Ale.



No beers were harmed during the writing of this blog.

Boycotting Red Lobster

I just recently heard from my friend Kevin Healey (Proprietor of THE LIVING ROOM in Pueblo, Colorado) that his sister, Korryn Healey, had been terminated from her job at Red Lobster just a few days after announcing to her coworkers that she was pregnant. The company's reasoning? She had a "visible" tattoo. The tattoo in question was on the back of her neck, and from what I understand, was covered by the collar of her shirt, or her hair. The company would not waiver once they discovered she had this tattoo and although it was hidden the majority of the time, terminated her employment anyways.

It sounds incredibly fishy to me, and everyone who has heard this story. I took it upon myself to email Red Lobster's customer service department and let them know about this unjustly termination of their employee. Also, as a tattooed individual, I hate to hear that they terminated this poor girl because of a simple little tattoo.

So I wrote the company a short email, which i have attatched bellow. If you think this sounds as fishy and unjust as I do, I encourage you to do the same thing. Go to the following address:
http://www.redlobster.com/contact_us/default.asp

And let them know what you think. The Red Lobster location is:
3306 N ELIZABETH STREET
PUEBLO, CO 81008
Phone: (719) 544-1000
Fax: (719) 543-6592

You may find Kevin on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/KevinTheHealey
AND Korryn on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/korryn.healey

Thanks for your help.
-Damian

Here is my email:
I am the friend of a now former employee, Korryn Healey. Just days after Korryn discovered she was PREGNANT, She was terminated for employment for having a Tattoo! (GASP!)

Tattoos are a growing art form amongst many young Americans. As a tattooed individual, I take GREAT offense to this behavior of your company. I have decided that as a Tattooed American, it would be irresponsible for me to continue to eat at your restaurant and because of this horrendous behavior, I will no longer be a customer.

I also know many, many other tattooed individuals and I will use my social networking outlets to further let people know of your company's policies regarding Tattoos, and work on a boycott of your company.

I also feel that the real reason for Korryn's termination was due to her impending pregnancy and the reasoning of her Tattoo was to hide this fact.

I hope that you and your company's top officials can side with us on this matter and to repair this unjustly firing. This is a horrendous matter. I hope you can solve this fairly and justly. Until then, I shall not be a customer of your establishment.
-Damian Burford