by Valley Gadfly | Mar 18, 2022 | Valley Gadfly
’Tis the month that begins with practical jokes, public humiliation, and nonstop fun. So, April 1st is just like any other day. Woefully, it’s often best to believe nothing, and trust no one.
It is true, nonetheless, that this is the month of sun and shadows following April showers. Yes, April weather includes both rain and sunshine and, very often in the Valley, both together.
To help you blossom and enjoy springtime bliss, here are our choices for shopping, dining, and entertainment so you’ll enjoy the season as the days grow longer and warmer:
3 Make this your laugh-fest month by enjoying the hilarious rock-and-roll romantic comedy about good guy Josh Cohen — played by two actors — at DCPA’s Garner Galleria Theatre April 1 to May 1, 7:30 p.m. Information: 303-839-4100.
3 You’ll stay in stitches by going to the JFS Executive Luncheon at the Convention Center with comedian Amy Schumer, April 5, noon. Information: 720-248-4633.
3 Catch the Sun Mart Trio with East High grads A.J. Nowell, Eli Acosta, and Jakob Rose playing at Dazzle@Baur’s April 9, 6:30 p.m. Information: 303-839-1500.
3 Don’t miss this year’s Children’s Diabetes Lunch-Fashion Show fundraiser at the Hilton City Center April 12 beginning at 10 a.m. Information; 303-863-1200.
3 Treat the family to Four Mile Historic Park’s Egg Hunt April 16. Search for thousands of eggs in the 12-acre park; plus hop on hayride, get photo with Easter Bunny. Hunts are 9 a.m.-noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Information: 720-865-0800.
3 Are you plumb sure there’s not lead in your water? Lead can get into the water as it moves through lead-containing fixtures, plumbing, and service lines. Let Denver Water’s Lead Reduction Program check. Information: DenverWater.org/Lead.
3 The Colorado Symphony Chorus hails Easter with a performance of Maher’s Resurrection at Boettcher April 16, 7:30 p.m. Information: 303-893-4100.
3 Enjoy the mellow, gentle ukulele ballads of Indie pop singer Robin Skinner playing Fillmore Auditorium April 19, 6:30 p.m. Information: 303-837-0360.
3 For blockbuster entertainment — an evening filled with music, dancing, food, and drinks (included in ticket) — make plans to attend One Epic Night April 23, 6 p.m. The Swallow Hill fundraising event at its Yale location will have live performances on three stages, with 12 local bands. You’ll hear blues, bluegrass, jazz, rock & roll, folk, and more. Night’s proceeds support Swallow Hill’s numerous community outreach programs. Information: 303-777-1003.
April is a favorable month for vacations, weddings, and countless outdoor adventures. In fact, April is so trendy and popular that parents have named their daughters after the month.
Musicians often use the name in lyrics when writing songs. Moreover, religious traditions honor some form of April hallelujah, for this is the season of amazing redemption.
Pitter patter, listen to the rain! A gush of bird-song, a patter of precipitation, a cloud, and a rainbow, it’s suddenly sunshine and perfect blue. As the trees say, what a re-leaf!
The Valley Gadfly can be reached at newspaper@glendalecherrycreek.com.
by Peter Boyles | Mar 18, 2022 | Blasting with Boyles
He’s Going To Meet The Devil At 4 O’Clock
On Thursday, March 10, about 12 minutes after the hour of eight o’ clock, while I was hosting my award-winning radio show on 710 KNUS, I got a mouth full of marbles, brain full of mush, and I began speaking in tongues. Now normally none of you would have guessed. But I was experiencing what the medical profession calls a TIA, (a mini stroke).
I was awake through the whole thing, it lasted about 10 minutes, and I could read but the words that came out of my mouth came out backwards. I really never realized I could speak Arabic.
Thanks to Steffan Tubbs who was listening in his car, Ellen Graham and, of course, my show producer and friend Billy Thorpe. The train had gone off the tracks. I had just finished a segment with Brother Jeff who was blaming Donald Trump for Tina Peters, and about to talk to Jimmy Sengenberger about Tina Peters. Now I ask you, is it possible that Tina Peters cast a spell on me with eye of the newt, whisper of the cat, and the banshee cry of the Republican Party?
So, I took an ambulance ride, sitting backwards in the snowstorm, with a young paramedic saying, “Sir, we think you’ve had a stroke.”
I immediately said I don’t have strokes, I give them. I was taken to Aurora Medical Center. I can’t tell you how great my medical treatment was, the team that was led by neurologist Dr. Spencer, and Kaitlynn (first name only) that I promised ski lessons to.
I came through with flying colors. They told me after my trip through the MRI using the Michael Jackson drug because of my claustrophobia, and any number of heart stress tests, there seems to be zero sign of me having a stroke. But I had one.
So, they kept me overnight for observation and kicked me loose Friday afternoon. And I realized from the conversations with the doctors these things are caused by stress, stress, stress, blood pressure, and more blood pressure, and not really controlling my diabetes as I should.
And so, I’ve decided to step away from the 710 KNUS golden microphone and, you knew I’d say it, spend more time with my family. I will still be involved with the radio station at a very personal level. The men and women I work with, from Brian, Kelly, and Mel, I can’t thank all of you enough. It’s been a hell of a run.
One of my favorite fighters in boxing was Rocky Marciano. Rocky was 49-0 and took the gloves off and walked away. He died later in a plane crash but had no trauma to his head and body. On the other hand, Mohammed Ali, Joe Frazier, Sugar Ray Robinson, my childhood heroes stayed too long at the dance and paid for it. Even now with Tom Brady trotting back out on the field my fear is he’ll be hurt.
And so, I don’t know what more we all have to prove. I’ll be 79 in the fall. I played my first record at KAAT Radio and I think it was an Engelbert Humperdinck hit, and now I get to say take care of yourselves. The column will continue here at the Chronicle thanks to Chuck and Julie. I’ve got a great career at 710 KNUS that I can be behind-the-scenes, and for the first time in quite a while I feel relieved.
P.S.: I’ll do a gofundme for Tina Peters if she’ll release me from her evil grasp.
— Peter Boyles
by Jessica Hughes | Mar 4, 2022 | General Featured
by Jessica Hughes
Fireplace: A fireplace is the centerpiece to the lounge where guests can mingle and enjoy social hour. Photo provided by Hotel Clio
The JW Marriott in Cherry Creek North embarked on a multi-million-dollar renovation and will make its transformation into the Hotel Clio, a Luxury Collection Hotel, on March 15, 2022.
Hotel Clio showcases a newly reimagined lobby, gathering spaces, and guest rooms and suites. The inspired urban oasis features the work of design-duo Mark Wilson and Yoko Ishihara of the California-based Wilson Ishihara, who drew on inspiration from the history of the hotel’s location.
“Hotels listed in Marriott’s luxury collection are typically rooted in the history of the area,” says Sean McNamara, the property’s director of sales and marketing. “So, while this isn’t a historical building itself, it is the first hotel in Cherry Creek and we sought to tell the story of the destination through its design.”
One such design element includes the lobby floor that is meant to resemble a riverbed glistening with flecks of gold and a marbled tile with tributary-like details. These and other unique design features combine the precise physical attributes of the confluence of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek nearby, along with the area’s history of the Gold Rush.
Rooms: Rooms with mountain views at Hotel Clio. Photo provided by Hotel Clio
The hotel features 193 luxurious rooms and six spacious suites, plus 10,000 square feet of event and meeting space. Rooms and suites feature five-piece marble bathrooms, spacious closets, pillow-top mattresses, and large picture windows for unobstructed views of the Front Range.
Inspired and connected through food and beverage, the hotel’s in-house restaurant, Toro Latin Kitchen & Lounge, replaces the long-standing Second Home restaurant. While not much of the set-up has changed the food has. In partnership with celebrity chef, Richard Sandoval, Toro is a culinary experience to be celebrated.
With menu items such as their Sweet Corn Empanadas, fresh ceviche, Bison Tiradito, and Blackened Tuna Tacos, there’s a little something for everyone. The restaurant also features a drink named the Casual Encounter, served in a stand-alone glass case complete with Laws four-grain bourbon and dry ice.
The restaurant is open for breakfast and dinner, or their Bottomless Weekend Brunch. The lobby bar allows guests to pull from their own personal stash by renting a Tequila locker where personal collections of high-end tequilas can be stored.
New Restaurant: The Toro dining room has replaced the long-standing Second Home restaurant in Denver’s Cherry Creek North. Photo provided by Hotel Clio
Clio will offer a concierge service, plus curated epicurean moments and experiences. Such experiences include happy hour mixology, guacamole demonstration, and a ceviche class at their ceviche bar (open to the public and guests for $25).
“As we transition into this new luxury hotel concept, we like to think of Hotel Clio as the Muse of Cherry Creek,” McNamara notes. “We want our guests to experience the same sense of inspiration that we all feel being connected to this incredible neighborhood.”
For more information, visit www.hotelcliocherrycreek.com.
by Regan Bervar | Mar 4, 2022 | Feature Story Bottom Left
“So, bye-bye, Miss American Pie / Drove my Chevy to the levee,but the levee was dry / And them good ol’ boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye / Singin’, This’ll be the day that I die”— Don McLean
by Luke Schmaltz
March 25, 2020, was the day the music died in Denver, Colorado. Governor Jared Polis ordered the closure of all nonessential businesses — which included music venues of all shapes and sizes, from the tiny Tooey’s, off Colfax, to Red Rocks Amphitheater.
The circumstances were devastating, not only for venues but for musicians as well — as the vast majority make their living on live performances and on-site merchandise sales.
As the long-term implications of lockdown life settled in, some Denver musicians vowed to forge forth with online performances while others relinquished themselves to spend the downtime writing new material. A slew of lifelong musicians found a way to persevere, and now that the music scene is back in full swing, they are seeing their circumstances with newfound determination.
Meanwhile, the city itself has lost a number of beloved venues. Those that found a way to hang on during the pandemic are back to hosting shows as Denver is quickly reclaiming its reputation as a thriving hub for live music.
The Legend
Erica Brown has been dubbed, “Denver’s Queen of the Blues” and deserves the title, hands down (or up). Image: Marilyn Stringer
Erica Brown is Denver Blues royalty and an internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter, and recording artist. Every local publication that covers music has praised her award-winning work and she has been featured internationally in Smithsonian Magazine, Blues Matters (UK), and Rootstime (Belgium). “When the pandemic hit,” she begins, “I was putting together a dream project of mine, called the Cast Iron Queens. We had just played our first sold-out show in December at Dazzle, then in January, I had gone to Memphis and emceed the National Women in Blues Event. We were the entertainment for the Womxn’s March, we did a live in-studio for KGNU Radio in early March, then everything went ‘poof!’”
Brown is thankful that she was able to work through the pandemic, explaining, “Nearly every musician has either a regular day job or a couple side hustles (smile) and since [my job] was in a sector deemed ‘essential’ I never quit going to work.”
Brown reflects on the unfortunate Covid-related loss of Denver music institution El Chapultepec along with resident musical legend Freddy Rodriguez Sr. — a dear friend. Yet, she is thankful that longtime venues such as the Rusty Bucket, Mercury Cafe, and Lincoln’s Roadhouse are still alive and kicking.
Moving forward, Brown’s future is looking bright, “In November 2021, I’m was thrilled to be singing America the Beautiful at Boettcher Concert Hall on Veterans Day. It was the World Premiere of a documentary by professional skier and filmmaker Chris Anthony, called “Mission Mt. Mangart” which tells the story of the 10th Mountain Division’s great ski race in 1945,” she explains. In 2022, Brown will be immersed in theater productions, tribute projects, and much more — stay tuned at erica brownentertainment.com.
The Hardworking Bard
Sputnik Slovenia didn’t miss a beat when the pandemic hit, and continues on Facebook Live every Friday. Image: Sputnik Slovenia
Sputnik Slovenia has been a fixture of the Denver music scene for well over 20 years. He currently sings in a Clash cover band called The Nuns of Brixton, fronts an original, punk rock band called The Pitch Invasion, and plays regularly as a solo acoustic act. The latter served as his sole outlet during the first several waves of the pandemic. “I started streaming live shows basically the week the pandemic started,” he begins. “I had been doing a Friday happy hour at the Larimer Lounge for the past few years, so I jumped online the very first week and continued with my happy hour via Facebook Live. The response has been great. I post the shows and they get hits all during the week. I can interact with my friends from across the country and across the world every Friday, and it lets other people connect via the web as well, so check in on Facebook live on Fridays at 6 p.m. Mountain standard time.”
Slovenia contends that among the best live venues in town is the fairly new EastFax Tap and the legendary Lions Lair — which he hails as “One of the best dive bars in the country.” While he laments the loss of staple venues such as Tooey’s and 3 Kings Tavern due to the pandemic, he credits the down time for kicking him into high gear to work on his record label, Rum Dummy Records, whose Bandcamp page offers recordings from most of Slovenia’s projects. “The pandemic really was one of my most prolific times,” he explains. “I even wrote a rap song called Covid was my chrysalis.”
The Virtuoso
Juaquina “Roqui” Lluma teaches music, hosts a radio show, and awaits her next post-pandemic, high-profile bass playing gig. Image: R2Shotz
Juaquina “Roqui” Lluma is a recently naturalized U.S. citizen — originally from Argentina — who came to Denver by way of Los Angeles. She is a lifelong, classically trained musician who, for years, ground it out in the City of Angels playing in club-circuit level bands. Yet, the “L.A. Bullshit Attitude” — as she and many other musicians refer to it — drove her to seek the more genuine climes of the Denver music scene back in the mid-2000s.
Just before the pandemic hit, Lluma was seemingly headed for the big time — juggling bass duties between blues rock powerhouse Hot Apostles and the country rock outfit Tracksuit Wedding. By late March of 2020, both acts were immobilized and a year later when things began to finally loosen up — both projects were no more.
Regardless, Lluma forges onward with music, currently teaching online lessons and co-hosting an Internet radio show dubbed El Crawlspace hosted by nucleorock.com. “I am doing this with a friend from Puerto Rico,” she begins, “The idea is to be a link between all the underground scenes. We focus on rock and underground music — anything that all the other Latin radio stations aren’t already doing. Our listeners are from all over the world: Europe, Mexico, Colombia, and more.” Lluma aspires to make this enterprise an international link between the underground scenes. “The show could be a contact point between bands overseas and bands over here,” she says.
Moving forward, Lluma keeps a keen ear to the grapevine in anticipation for the next high profile bass playing gig. She also pays particular respects to the folks at the Oriental Theater for “keeping shit real” by putting on their “Safe and Sound” music series during the waning months of the pandemic.
The Career Man
Jim Dalton (bottom left) plays solo, with The Railbenders and with Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers. Image: Jim Dalton
As the front man, guitarist, songwriter, and founding member of The Railbenders, Jim Dalton has done more than his share to bolster the Denver music scene by building a fiercely loyal following and inspiring hordes of other musicians. Dalton also holds down lead guitar duties for Arizona-based national touring sensation Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers. His position in the latter act took up the majority of his time until all tours were canceled in early spring of 2020.
Dalton decided to use his pandemic down time to flesh out and record a solo album titled “In My Head.” The 11-song opus includes an eclectic array of original tunes he’d been working on over the last couple of years. “The song, ‘In My Head,’ was the first tune I wrote after my father passed away from cancer in 2015,” he explains, “It has been around quite a while and I have always included it in my live solo shows. Same with the other songs on the record,” he continues, “the pandemic gave me the time to finish recording since all of our tours were canceled for over a year.” Of all the venues the pandemic claimed, Dalton laments the loss of 3 Kings Tavern. “Lotta good memories and emotional ones,” he says. “We held an Irish-style wake there for both my Uncle Terry and my father.
Moving onward, Dalton is set to soon get back out on the road with Roger Clyne. He is also looking forward to an upcoming two-night Railbenders run at Denver’s Globe Hall. He also cherishes the fact that some of his favorite long-standing Mile High venues are still in business. “Some of my favorites are Lincoln’s Roadhouse, Soiled Dove, Bluebird Theatre, and Herman’s Hideaway. But if I had to choose one,” he explains, “I’d say everyone needs to see a show at Red Rocks once in their life.”
The Wunderkind
Red Stinger are prolific in the creativity department, having released five studio albums in their 10-year tenure before the pandemic. Yet, 2020 shifted their productivity into overdrive. During the second, third and fourth quarters of 2020, the band’s singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter — Tim Merz aka Timmy Flips — conceived of a nine-part series of content releases and proceeded to embark on the most creative period of his life.
Merz, a ballroom dance instructor by day, explains, “During covid I wrote a full-length album titled Punk Rock Ballroom — a hip hop rock album available on Bandcamp. Then, I wrote The Stinger Scriptures — a nine-part rock album rewrite of the Bible. After that,” he continues, “I wrote Crooked Town — a ballroom ballet dance interpretation of the Battle of Armageddon.”
Merz’s Covid accomplishments also include a ballroom dance love story, a stage play about intergalactic alien enslavement, and much more. The singer cites his personal philosophy as the driving force behind his creative arc. “The current state of the world and the direction humanity has chosen is broken,” he says. “Humanity is constrained by our enslavement by money, religion, and weapons. Our political system has failed us, our religious leaders have failed us, our financial institutions have failed us. The only hope is a return to what is our truth and that requires a serious reshaping of what it means to exist — which is the true punk rock mentality. Punk is the refusal to accept that anyone has power over anyone else. A return to the physical human body and the realization that we are all the same and all equal in the eyes of death.”
Moving forward, Merz and his Red Stinger bandmates look forward to more recording work including a greatest hits album and a live album while keeping alive the hopes that, “Denver doesn’t become completely overrun by corporate music joints who only book bands with the appropriate amount of Facebook Likes.”
