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Old 04-17-2007, 02:25 PM
 
Location: Hollywood, CA
1 posts, read 3,677 times
Reputation: 10

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Currently I live in Hollywood, CA for school, however I absolutely hate it here (well except for the surfing)... I am really interested in moving to the Golden, CO area. I am a musician (drummer) finishing my degree and was wondering what the music scene in the greater Denver area is like as well as employment possibilities as a studio musician... any general information on the area would be great as well as the music info. Thanks!
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Old 04-17-2007, 03:25 PM
 
48 posts, read 262,297 times
Reputation: 29
Not a whole lot, but lodo (down town) offers alot to music scene....You would enjoy the area...Check out Jazz@Jacks! I love that place..
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Old 04-18-2007, 03:56 AM
 
Location: in the southwest
13,395 posts, read 45,045,254 times
Reputation: 13599
The Fray are homegrown Colorado boys, ditto Big Head Todd and the Monsters.
There's The String Cheese Incident, Opie Gone Bad, lots of alt-country bands...
(And if you go way back, there's Judy Collins.)
Denver is definitely capable of sustaining musical talent. Maybe you should check out Craigslist or better yet, Denver's alternative weekly, Westword, which always has a sharp eye (ear!) on the pulse of Denver's musical scene.
Good luck to you.

Westword

The Fray

Big Head Todd

Colorado music scene, recording studios etc (broken link)
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Old 04-18-2007, 08:49 AM
 
8,317 posts, read 29,489,825 times
Reputation: 9307
Depends on what kind of music you're in to. Denver has probably the most jazz musicians between Chicago and the West Coast, including some pretty big names.

A small list of prominent jazz musicians living in Colorado the last I knew:

Nelson Rangell - Sax - Denver
Ernie Watts - Sax - Carbondale
Ralph Sharon - Tony Bennett's pianist - Boulder

Jazz musicians either from Colorado or who lived there for extended periods:
Ginger Baker - Drums (of Cream fame, but now a jazz drummer) - Evergreen
Glenn Miller
Jimmie Lunceford
Paul Whiteman
Dave and Don Grusin
Diane Reeves

Denver also has one of the best jazz stations in the country, KUVO (kuvo.org). There are at least a couple of recording studios in Denver. As you can tell by my moniker that jazz is my music of choice, so I'm not expert on other genres. Hope this helps.
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Old 04-18-2007, 09:56 AM
 
Location: Old Forge, NY
585 posts, read 2,224,691 times
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Denver has a unique thing going on called the "Denver Sound" which is basically dark Americana. It includes bands like DeVotchKa (wrote the score to "Little Miss Sunshine"), Slim Cessna's Auto Club, Munly and the Lee Lewis Harlots, Wovenhand, and others. Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedy's, a Boulder native, is a frequent attendee to some of the shows and signed on some of these bands to his label.

Good stuff and extremely UNIQUE, which is something lacking in much of today's music.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_4100041source=rss
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Old 07-20-2011, 10:48 AM
 
Location: NJ Shore
2 posts, read 4,042 times
Reputation: 10
I too am a drummer & I'm torn between the move to Denver or to New Orleans? Anybody got some feedback? I have definitely heard great things about the music scene in Denver. I'm looking for sustainability, not weekend warrior stuff! I play kit, congas, sing, live & recording artist...
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Old 07-20-2011, 10:50 AM
 
Location: NJ Shore
2 posts, read 4,042 times
Reputation: 10
What instrument do you play? Perhaps we can get somethin' goin' when I arrive? Lookin' to play as much with as many people as I can....
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Old 07-20-2011, 02:08 PM
 
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
6,288 posts, read 11,789,708 times
Reputation: 3369
So the above makes it sounds like Denver is a musician's paradise. Which it isn't. yeah, it's the only city around, so of course there's going to be venues and such, the problem is that there is a lot of favoritism involved in these places. The venue owner happens to be the musician and so his band is the one that gets to play there, not yours. Street musicians, playing in cafes, and things like that are not encouraged in Denver. There's little choice for new musicians who aren't buddies with the club owner.

The OP is in the performer's capital of the world right now (L.A.) If he wants to do session work the people at his school are going to know for sure whether this type of thing exists in Denver.

Last edited by 80skeys; 07-20-2011 at 02:16 PM..
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Old 07-20-2011, 02:11 PM
 
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
6,288 posts, read 11,789,708 times
Reputation: 3369
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlueWillowPlate View Post
The Fray are homegrown Colorado boys, ditto Big Head Todd and the Monsters.
There's The String Cheese Incident, Opie Gone Bad, lots of alt-country bands...
Successful or famous musicians can come from anywhere, even little towns in the middle of nowhere, but it doesn't answer the question of whether a place offers a living for an average working musician.

There are certainly many better choices than Denver for a "working musician" to make a living.
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Old 07-20-2011, 02:19 PM
 
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
6,288 posts, read 11,789,708 times
Reputation: 3369
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheFunkyDrummer71 View Post
I too am a drummer & I'm torn between the move to Denver or to New Orleans? Anybody got some feedback? I have definitely heard great things about the music scene in Denver. I'm looking for sustainability, not weekend warrior stuff! I play kit, congas, sing, live & recording artist...
I would think New Orleans is the better choice.

The best place I ever heard of for working musicians is Syracuse, NY.
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