Colorado changing music fest tune

2-day event aims to break records

July 17, 2008 - 11:42PM

BY RINA PALTA

THE GAZETTE

Colorado's king of live music, Chuck Morris, has spent nearly 40 years drawing the biggest names to the Denver area.

As a small-club manager in Boulder in the 1970s, he booked The Eagles and ZZ Top, managed Lyle Lovett and Leftover Salmon in the 1980s, and more recently opened up venues like the Fillmore and City Lights Pavilion in Denver.

And now he's managed to pull off what he calls one of his "crowning achievements" - this weekend's Mile High Music Festival in Commerce City.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the Dave Matthews Band and John Mayer headline the two-day festival, which features 44 bands on five stages at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, a collection of soccer fields about 10 miles northeast of downtown Denver.

"It's the largest event in the history of Colorado music," with 50,000 tickets available per day, said Morris, currently president and chief executive of AEG Live Rocky Mountain Region.

Summer music festivals, longtime staples in Europe, started cropping up stateside in the 1960s, and lately, have been multiplying like bunnies. Lollapalooza in Chicago, Coachella in Southern California, Bonnaroo in Tennessee, South by Southwest in Austin, among others, have become huge economic boons for their host towns, drawing high school- and college-age local crowds as well as hoards of the country's migrating scenester population, which roves the country tirelessly from coast to coast in search of the next great up-and-comer.

Colorado, home of Red Rocks Amphitheater and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, got its own indie festival, Monolith, last year, thus propelling the state, with Denver leading the charge, further into the national music consciousness.

The decision to launch the Mile High, a more broad-appeal festival, "was a no-brainer," Morris said. "This is the last remaining piece of the puzzle for Colorado to become one of the finest music destinations in the country."

About 15 percent of the Mile High's ticket presales were to out-of-staters, Morris said, but the lineup caters to the local crowd.

"This festival is about two things, the superstars and the local bands," he said. The superstars, which in addition to the headliners include the Black Crowes, the Roots, Mike Gordon and Spoon, have proven themselves favorites of Colorado radio listeners. Morris and his staff hand-picked big names that are strong in the Colorado market, as well as a list of homegrown bands of varying genres.

The Railbenders, a hard rock-country band from Denver, join local alt-rockers Meese in Saturday's lineup. On Sunday, the bluesy Boulder-based Rose Hill Drive plays, as do the Flobots, currently one of Denver's best-known bands.

"I'm really excited," Flobots drummer Kenny Ortiz said of playing a major festival in his home town. "Over the years, there've been incredible bands in Denver; there always have been" he said. "There's a perception of this being a sports town, or a cow town. People don't look to Denver as a music mecca. That's changing now. There's a growing reputation of being a great music town."

The Flobots grew out of a collection of Denver natives in 1996 and slowly evolved into the eclectic hip-hop band with violin, viola and trumpet instrumentals. In 2007, they won KTCL's (93.3 FM) Hometown for the Holidays contest and started getting heavy rotation for their self-released album "Fight With Tools" on that station and nationwide.

"After that, sales went through the roof," said Ortiz, who joined the band in 2006.

Earlier this year, the band signed with Universal Republic and hit the road for a six-week summer tour.

"You just have to be patient enough," Ortiz said of making music in Colorado, which he's been doing for 20 years.

"Never have I wanted to move to different market to make it big - I never thought I had to leave town."

The Mile High will benefit local bands by drawing attention to Denver, and, ideally, bringing in fans from other states, Ortiz said.

Rose Hill Drive's lead singer and bass player, Jake Sproul, agreed.

"This festival is launching a big era in Denver music," Sproul said.

The Boulder-based band, which released its latest album, "Moon Is the New Earth," in June, has toured nationwide and played festivals like Seattle's Bumbershoot and Austin City Limits.

"I feel like it's getting big, but I have no idea what shape it'll take," he said of Colorado's music scene. "There's definitely a vibration from the foothills that you don't see anywhere else. In Denver, you've got a gamut of great bands, but no one scene."

Because of that, in the future, as Denver becomes a music destination, it won't be like other cities, he said. "Maybe it'll be a melting pot," he said. "Regardless, this festival is going to be huge."

Morris said that there's no way the Mile High festival won't become an annual affair. "There's too much prep for this to just be a one-time thing," he said. "Expect this for a long time to come.

"It's the first of many."

Billy Bob's in town tonight

Starring in films just a day job for musician

July 17, 2008 - 11:47PM

BY RINA PALTA

THE GAZETTE

BILLY BOB THORNTON AND THE BOXMASTERS

When: 6-8 p.m. today
Where: The Thirsty Parrot, 32 S. Tejon St.
Tickets: $20 in advance/$25 at door Information: 884-1094

Billy Bob Thornton might be the only man in the world for whom a career as a movie star, director and Oscar-winning screenwriter was a backup job. "Music has always been my thing," he said during a recent phone interview. Having picked up drumsticks first at age 9, Thornton has been playing ever since - in the ZZ Top tribute band Tres Hombres, and doing solo albums, including the critically acclaimed "Private Radio" and "Beautiful Door."

Now on tour with his new band, The Boxmasters, Thornton arrives at The Thirsty Parrot tonight to sing old favorites as well as hits from the group's two-disc, self-titled debut album.

Branded as psychedelic hillbilly rock, the first disc consists of songs Thornton wrote himself and with others - raw, narrative tunes with a honky-tonk twang and subtly retro instrumentals.

On the second disk, the band covers such country classics as "Knoxville Girl" and "She's Looking Better by the Minute," and country-fies pop-rock classics including "The Kids Are Alright" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand."

In their live shows, The Boxmasters start out the show in their trademark black retro suits for their original tunes, and then change clothes and sounds for the second set. Thornton lets loose with solo work and an eclectic list of covers, including stuff from the Allman Brothers, as well as "a little more jamming," Thornton said.

"That's usually when I take a break at the side of the stage and have a smoke," he said.

For the Arkansas boy who has always wanted to have a rock band, making the album and touring with his band-mates, J.D. Andrew and Mike Butler, is a dream come true. Which begs the question: "Is it easier to make it as a movie star than a rock star?"

Recently, Thornton phoned The Gazette to solve this and other mysteries.

Gazette: Tell me a little bit about why you went from a solo career to singing with The Boxmasters.

Thornton: I wanted to do some covers. I like the way the 1960s Britishinvasion stuff sounded, and I love hillbilly music. I'd already been playing with J.D. Andrew and Mike Butler, and so we sat down and created this thing called The Boxmasters. It's just a bunch of guys who love The Beatles and love Buck Owens, too. With the record, the original side is about the working class. The covers side is a tribute to cowboy music of the late 1960s and early 1970s, like the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, that sort of thing. I grew up in Arkansas and east Texas. Then I was in rock 'n' roll bands growing up. I loved Jerry Lee Lewis. Now, this is a marriage of the two.

G: Did you record the album in your home studio?

T: We recorded the whole album there. It's a really great studio; a lot of people use it. I bought it from Slash. They recorded the Snakepit there. He called the studio "the snake pit"; we call it "the cave."

G: Your solo stuff was so personal, and it seems like with The Boxmasters, your songs are more in the third person. Is that right?

T: Well, being part of a band, you don't do as much personal stuff.

G: I guess I thought the move might be a reflection of your increasing fame, and the burst of paparazzi culture in the past few years.

T: In a way, that's probably true. It wasn't conscious, but somewhere underneath, I did it for that reason. Not that I'm that big of a paparazzi guy. They're mostly obsessed with celebrity relationships, and I'm not in one of those. I still talk to Angie (Angelina Jolie, his ex-wife), and we're good friends. If we went out to lunch together, I'm sure they'd be all over the place. It really affects your life. But you really can't blame it all on the media. If people weren't into those stories, they wouldn't go after them. It's a business.

G: Your songs are very story-driven, characterdriven. Where do the subjects for your songs come from?

T: Well, I don't always know exactly. Observation, personal experience. I've led a pretty eclectic life. The songs that end up on the records are generally the ones that come quickly. The ones I get stuck on usually don't make the record; they never get finished. My house is full of little pieces of paper with unfinished songs. I'm a stream-of-consciousness writer. And that's true of my films and my music.

G: Some of your themes are really dark. Like in "Bit Grifter," which is a venomous rant against a woman, and "The Work of Art," about a friend who's cheating on his wife. Is that your concept of small town culture?

T: Not small town culture, so much as lower middle class. That's where I come from. In fact, I don't think we have anyone in the band that was raised in an affluent way. It's about that; it's about people who live without means and the problems that come out of that. Relationships, addictions. I guess in a way, the record is personal, some of the songs, even if they're not directly about me.

G: How does the hillbilly stuff go over in Los Angeles?

T: Well, I'm kind of a native son in L.A. Or an adopted son. I've been in California for 30 years. L.A. is pretty good to us. A lot of bands won't play the city because they figure people are jaded. But we do good here.

G: As an actor, do you find it's hard to get taken seriously as a musician?

T: Not anymore. Maybe in the beginning. This time around, we were No. 1 on the Amazon charts for a while. And we've got a lot of endorsements from music writers, musicians. We're getting pretty well respected.

G: Do you care much whether you're loved or not?

T: Well, everyone wants to be well respected. And my songs, they come straight out of my heart and soul. I don't write pop songs, or else the songs would be much different than they are. So it feels good to be respected.

G: What do you see as your musical project? What mark are you trying to make or what gap are you trying to fill?

T: Personally, I think the importance of The Boxmasters is bringing back the hillbilly music of the 1960s. We try to keep it sounding like the old records; we try to keep that old music alive. It's really just pop music. Anyone who tries to keep pop and American rock alive, that's important. We're filling that space.

G: Who else do you think is doing good work?

T: I respect Jack White (of the White Stripes) a lot because he respects the history of music. The fact that he knows where it comes from - that's one of the most important things. He's listening to Billie Holiday. A lot of kids - 20, 19 - they think a classic rock band is Cinderella. They don't go back in history enough, and their music is not coming from a place of knowledge. Mostly, though, I'm still listening to the Allman Brothers. The music I listen to is 1975 and back, or even 1974 and back.

G: What's next? Are you doing any films or are you sticking to music for a while?

T: I'm kind of always sticking to music. But I keep making the movies to pay for the house. I've got another movie coming up in the fall. And I've got two coming out. There's "Eagle Eye," which is a big DreamWorks thing. That's what's paying for the house. And I just did one called "Manure" about a fertilizer salesman. I'm not sure when that one will be coming out - maybe not this winter; it's not exactly a Christmas movie. I'll be touring for a while now, though, and we've got another album coming out this year.

G: I can't believe filmmaking is your backup job. Is it that much easier to make it as a movie star than a rock star?

T: It wasn't easy, but it happened. It came about first. Don't get me wrong, I love acting. Directing is a pain in the ass. When you're an actor, you work on something for two or three months and then you're done. As a director, you're on it for a year and a half.

G: Will we see you combining your loves of acting and music? Perhaps "Bad Santa, the Musical"?

T: (Laughs.) That would be pretty funny. That's not actually a bad idea. I haven't really thought about it. I would like to score a movie sometime. Whether it'll be my own film or someone else's, I'm not sure.

G: You gave a concert at Fort Carson not too long ago. How did that go?

T: That was amazing. Pretty heavy. A lot of those guys and girls were heading to Iraq and Afghanistan, and the base was kind of a stopover for them. They couldn't have been a better audience. A lot stayed behind and lined up for autographs. They couldn't have been kinder. We've played Denver and Telluride since, but we're looking forward to getting back to Colorado Springs. We're anxious to come and see everybody again. I hope people from the base will come out. We like it up there. We don't always get clean air. It makes us dizzy for the first couple of hours, and then it's great.

Peterson wing helps fight California wildfires Over 1 million gallons of fire retardant have been dropped

July 16, 2008 - 11:52PM

BY RINA PALTA

THE GAZETTE

Amy Horton had one thing left to do before she boarded the C-130 Hercules transport plane at McClellan Airfield in Sacramento, over a thousand miles from home base.

"Did you get one of these yet, Patterson?" she asked, and when the young man in fatigues said he hadn't, she placed a silver coin in his hand.

"It's a tradition, since Vietnam," she explained. Back then, soldiers would carry lucky bullets, she said, then they started melting them down and engraving symbols. Everyone in a unit would carry one, and if someone called "coin check," whoever didn't have one on them would have to pick up the drink tab. But, she said, the item symbolizes camaraderie more than anything. The coin she was distributing to her colleagues on the maintenance crew had an insignia including a snowcapped peak, a commemoration for their time spent helping fight California's forest fires.

"Alright! I gotta go!" she said, running toward the tarmac. "If you go too long without seeing me, call me."

Horton, along with 17 of her compatriots in the Air Force Reserve's 302nd Airlift Wing returned to their home at Peterson Air Force Base on Tuesday night in a crew-swap operation that replaced them with an Air National Guard team from Cheyenne. In what's being called one of the worst California wildfire seasons in decades, somewhere between 35 and 50 of the Colorado Springs unit have been stationed at McClellan at any give time since their commander, Col. James Muscatell Jr., received the call for help at 3 a.m. on June 22 and sent out the first C-130 on June 25. Within three days, he'd sent out three of the planes, which are fitted with a Modular Airborne FireFighting System that can drop 3,000 gallons of red, goopy fire retardant in as little as five seconds through tubes sticking out the back of the aircraft.

This year, the planes from Colorado and elsewhere have dropped more than 1 million gallons so far, over five times last year's total. California houses its own C-130s, but a newer model of the plane which they haven't yet been able to make compatible with MAFFS, Muscatell said.

Thomas Porter, staff chief of resource management at California's Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said the men and women of the 302nd have made a vital contribution, both actual and psychological.

"In times like this, you're out on the line as a firefighter and you know you need an aircraft, but none is coming," Porter said. "They you see something coming over the ridge and it's very comforting."

Flying, at times, at an altitude of 150 feet, Air Force Reserve pilots follow a lead plane around the smoky perimeter of a wildfire, dropping the mixture, which consists mainly of water, dye and fertilizer. Later, firefighters can enter the now-contained blaze and more effectively combat it.

Tech. Sgt. Lamont Wood said the experience is "hot, it's very intense." A Colorado Springs native studying professional aeronautics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Wood said he takes every chance he can to join his Peterson-based unit.

"I just love planes," he said, which means that he even enjoys the infamous "suicide seat" on the C-130s. Squatting between the two pipes that discharge fire retardant, a load master like Wood can get "the best view in the house," he said. It also means that when the plane discharges its 28,000-pound load and the low-flying aircraft's nose dips from the weight change, there's nothing between the man or woman and the ground.

"Some people think it's terrifying, " Wood said. "I love it."

His duties have also taken him on three deployments to Qatar, where he flew on daily missions to Iraq, where the C-130, which can "land anywhere" often transports soldiers and supplies as an alternative to risky ground convoys.

"Both types of missions are rewarding," he said of serving overseas and at home. But there's something special about doing service in one's own country, he said.

"You hear about the military overseas, but most people don't see that the military here has a presence, that we do things that affect Americans at home" Wood said.

"But when people see that mighty Hercules flying low and fast across a ridge, that makes them sit up."

On the way home, with many donned in "Cal Fire" caps and shirts, members of Peterson's 302nd Airlift Wing listened to music, joked with each other and slept in the netted seats of their famed C-130.

While Wood said he was glad to be going home to Colorado Springs and "to sleep in my own bed," he may very well be back in Sacramento before long. Though only 96 of California's 2,010 peak fires remain uncontained, the 302nd expects to continue operations well into the summer at McClellan, and possibly into the fall, when Southern California's wildfire season begins to rage.

Mining past and present

Local museum lets visitors delve into industry’s role in Colorado

July 10, 2008 - 6:33PM

BY RINA PALTA

THE GAZETTE

If you ever ask yourself questions like "Where does gold come from?" "What is a stamp mill?" or "Why do we have child labor laws?" visit the Western Museum of Mining and Industry.

The museum, celebrating the 26th anniversary of its main facility Monday with discounted admission, houses a permanent exhibit of mining history in southern Colorado as well as hosting a regular stream of talks and displays devoted to the societal impacts of past and present excursions into the Earth's bounty.

At the Western Museum, situated on an old, 27-acre farm, visitors get a firsthand sense of the Industrial Revolution - the scrappy ingenuity and primordial brutality of the era's machinery, and consequently, its lifestyle. A massive, 17-ton 1895 steam engine fills the building's main room. Originally the power source for a paper mill, the engine was installed in 1979, just before the roof and walls of the museum were erected, trapping it inside.

During tours of the site, which run daily at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., the guide disappears below the machine and it rumbles to life, powered not by steam ("fire danger," said marketing coordinator Loretta Howden) but compressed air.

In the stamp mill building, down a dirt path, the museum maintains a machine used to pound and chemically fry the gold out of rocks. During demonstrations, like the one the museum has planned for its anniversary, museum workers toss chunks of rock between cast iron fists that smash the fragments to bits, emptying the pieces into baths that in the old days, would have been full of mercury.

"Also planned for the anniversary, the museum will give a gold-panning demonstration, activate some infrequently used machinery, such as the steam shovel and hoist house, and deliver a brief oral history accompanied by cake and lemonade.

"And the burros will be out," Howden said.

The museum has two rescued donkeys, named Oro and Nugget, likely descendants of mine workers. Every August, the museum hosts a birthday celebration for the burros with cake and a bluegrass band.

On Monday, they'll be in their pen nearest the main building, where visitors can browse the museum's permanent collection: A 20-minute video delves into the history of local mining, kids can dress in spelunking gear and enter a darkened mock mine or sift through sandy water for flakes of gold, a temporary exhibit examines the process of boring tunnels through mountains, and displays ask visitors to consider everyday products - such as pencils and Pepto Bismol - that include mined ingredients.

"People think they don't like mining," Howden said. "But if something doesn't grow like a crop, or isn't raised like chickens, that means it's mined."

Kate Woods, the museum's gift shop manager and historical interpreter, said Colorado owes its statehood to the rush on minerals.

"Before gold was discovered in Clear Creek, Denver didn't exist," she said.

That said, the museum avoids turning nostalgia for mining, and an acknowledgement of its continued importance, into a tourist-trap-like industry shrine. The staff is quick to point to the dark side, or at least the human toll of the industry.

Last year the museum hosted a lecture on contemporary uranium mining in Colorado.

"Land mining affects us in the 21st century. Do we need uranium mills in Colorado? I don't know, but we need to understand why we mined, why we still mine in Colorado," said executive director David Carroll.

The Industrial Revolution left a lot of questions in the aftermath of technology, he said, and discussions that came out of that resulted in things like child labor laws and restrictions on the use of mercury.

"This is a place where we can have that debate, where we can explore the past, and ask questions about the future," he said.

"We don't take a position, good or bad, on mining," Carroll said. "But in the West, this is how we live out lives, and we need to understand our lifestyle. That's what we're trying to do here."

Evening parade is a hit

| Recommend 2

Some who couldn’t attend usual morning affair appreciate change

July 9, 2008 - 12:07AM

BY RINA PALTA

THE GAZETTE

A smattering of lawn chairs, blankets and thousands of people, many in cowboy hats and Western shirts, lined both sides of Tejon Street on Tuesday night - all of them there for one purpose.

"To see the first rodeo parade at night," P.J. LeBaron of Colorado Springs said as two sheepdogs pulling a miniature homestead wagon skipped by.

The 68th annual Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo Parade, usually a Saturday-morning affair, kicked off this year's rodeo at 7 p.m., and if residents vote with their feet, it seems they prefer the evening.

"It's a larger turnout than the Saturday parade," said Sgt. Philip Lebeau of the Colorado Springs Police Department. "And that's based on 28 years experience."

While his wife, Gloria, attends the parade every year, Clint Leeper, who arrived an hour and a half early to set up lawn chairs by the curb, said he usually misses out. "I couldn't get away from work during the day, these 20 years," he said. "I'm glad the parade was at night." Meanwhile, downtown bars and cafes were crowded with paradegoers sipping beers and munching pizzas.

"People are starting to leer with jealousy," said Alberta, Canada, resident Barbara King, seated with family in front of Jimmy John's.

Stephan King, who lives in the Springs, said he had no concept of rodeos and cowboys when he arrived a few years ago. "You get into western culture living here," he said, "I love it."

"Personally, I think it's a sense of community and small, hometown atmosphere" that keeps people turning out year after year for the rodeo parade, said Jeanne Galbin, leaning in the doorway of her store, Mt. Tejon. She filled the window display with Western styles for the occasion.

Extraordinary mix of film, dance

| Recommend 1

June 28, 2008 - 12:35AM

BY RINA PALTA

THE GAZETTE

The Colorado College Extraordinary Dance Festival just can't stand still.

Last year, then-new director of the festival Patrizia Herminjard expanded the number of performances from one to five. This year, the festival's fifth anniversary, she's added another dimension: film screenings.

"It's something that you can't see anywhere else in Colorado Springs," Herminjard said of dance films, which have been gaining worldwide popularity in recent years.

"Bringing together the arts of film and dance is relatively new," she said.

On July 5, she'll screen 90 minutes of 2- to 45-minute shorts, including "Horizon of Exile," directed by the UK-based filmmaker and choreographer Isabel Rocamora. The 22-minute piece evokes the experiences of Iraqi exiles through choreography set in a desert landscape, performed by burqa-clad women, over a soundtrack that includes testimonials of real-life refugees.

"Some of the films are more difficult to watch," Herminjard said. "The Cost of Living," for instance, features a dancer with no legs.

But the Swiss "Inearthia" is "really fun, clever, and simple," Herminjard said.

For those moved by dance but a little mystified when asked to interpret what they've seen, Herminjard offers the "Informance" series she initiated last year. A combination dance performance and informational session, the series kicks offi Wednesday with a belly dancing demonstration.

The second show will feature circus performers and dancers Tanya Scully and Helen Von Der Waydbrink, and the third, Jan Erkert, who explores connections between identity and movement.

"We're contextualizing dance," Herminjard said.

The pinnacle of the festival, the annual gala, will feature a variety of dance styles, including aerial (performers strung from the ceiling by ropes), frame (performers dancing in a giant, suspended rectangle), Chinese pole (acrobatic style) and modern, and a solo hip-hop dancer from New York.

Old favorites, such as acrobalance performers Sara Joel and Kevin Gibbs, will join acts new to the festival, such as hip-hop dancer Brian Green.

Between the sets, while stage hands swap out various dance contraptions, Herminjard promises entertaining banter from Birgitta De Pree (alter ego "Babette") and clown Jim Jackson of Manitou Art Theater.

Students who attend the three weeks of workshops offered during the festival will present their own projects July 17 at the Young Artists Concert. Students come from as close as Colorado Springs and as far as Taiwan.

"That's what's so wonderful about the festival; it's people who come together from all corners of the world to share their message," Herminjard said.

PIKES PEAK RANGE RIDERS CELEBRATE 60 YEARS OF SADDLIN’ UP

June 23, 2008 - 9:47PM

BY RINA PALTA

THE GAZETTE

On any given afternoon, you're not likely to walk by City Hall and spy two horses munching on a wellcoifed front lawn. At least not since the city was a hamlet of a few thousand people and the mayor rode to work in a buggy.

But when June comes around, so do the Pikes Peak Range Riders, and life turns a bit old school.

The hungry horses that appeared recently were just a taste of what's to come. The Range Riders had woven their steeds through downtown traffic to officially invite the mayor to their upcoming annual street breakfast. Early Wednesday morning, about 170 men on horseback - after throwing back pancakes, eggs and coffee with local residents - will gallop down Pikes Peak Avenue, embarking on a fiveday jaunt around Pikes Peak - the 60th anniversary of the Range Riders' first such ride.

As the Range Riders geared up for their diamond anniversary, a few took the time to reflect on their long-standing institution.

"It's about outdoors, horses, companionship," said Terry Theken, a 14-year member and this year's ride director. "It's a way of life that we'd like to preserve, that makes us different from people back East."

For some, there's a sense that the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo, with the Range Riders as its protector, is one of the last bastions of living Western culture in the town.

"If you went down the roster of the Range Riders, they are truly the business leaders, civic leaders in the Pikes Peak region," said Mayor Lionel Rivera, who will join the breakfast but not the ride. "As they did 60 years ago, they maintain the Western heritage of the city. Without them, there would be no rodeo."

Indeed, the idea of riding clubs belongs to the West, starting with the Rancheros Visitadores in Santa Barbara, Calif., in 1930. The club is said to have come out of a cowboy tradition: After branding cattle, cowboys would join up for a party to celebrate a job well done. Imitating this spirit, the Rancheros Visitadores gained widespread fame in the 1930s and '40s, and soon other clubs such as the Roundup Riders of the Rockies in the Denver area popped up. In 1949, two Colorado Springs men, Everett Conover and Kenneth Brookhart, were discussing a friend who had recently returned from a trip with the Rancheros Vistadores, when it occurred to them:

"Why not us?" Conover wrote in his 1982 book "Pikes Peak Range Riders." "Why shouldn't we put together a ride ... a ride around Pikes Peak ... to promote the rodeo?"

The idea was to visit outlying towns in the Pikes Peak region, spreading enthusiasm for the then-fledgling Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo. Since its inception, the rodeo has donated its proceeds to military charities for Fort Carson soldiers.

One hundred people showed up to send off the 40 men who made the first ride. The next year the riders drew up a group charter and an exclusive institution was born - a men's riding group consisting of the city's most elite politicians, businessmen and ranchers. The rest is a history of steep, rocky trails, campfires, favorite horses, sore bottoms, and of course, pranks.

"Well, there was this one time when a couple of guys got a bunch of alarm clocks," said Range Riders President Verne Bixler. The man set the alarm clocks for predawn and threw them on top of a tent some men were sleeping in. When the alarms went off in the early hours, "you couldn't get them off the top!" Bixler said. "They had to take down the tent in the middle of the night."

Other riders speak to the equalizing nature of the ride.

"We're all in Western gear," said Range Rider Dick Janitell, a member since 1978. "The guy riding next to you could be a plumber or a neurosurgeon, doesn't matter. We're all cowboys."

And for many, it's the charity. The Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo, now in its 68th year, benefits local military charities, and the Pikes Peak Range Riders Foundation runs the Pikes Peak Therapeutic Riding Center for people with disabilities, and the Latigo Trails Heritage Center.

But the Range Riders have encountered some bumps along the trail. The Range Riders style of living history celebrates a time before women joined board rooms. The tradition of inviting mayors to join the ride took a skip in 1997, which also happened to be the year when the city had its first and only female mayor: Mary Lou Makepeace. Controversy ensued.

That same year, the riders refused to have water delivered from Fort Carson when they learned female soldiers would make up part of the delivery unit.

The Range Riders insist that their men-only policy is a logistical matter.

"The biggest issue is we don't have bathrooms; our facilities are a big tent with plywood bleachers," Dick Janitell said. "Plus, there's a reason you see our wives lined up on Wednesday morning, smiling and waving. They're glad to get rid of us deadbeats for a few days."

Since 1997, the controversy has largely died down.

"They are certainly a force to be reckoned with," said Stephannie Finley, president of the Governmental Affairs and Public Policy Division of the Chamber of Commerce. "They're very influential and a lot of friendships come out of that group. A lot comes from that."

But, said Finely, exclusion "doesn't bother me personally. Boys will be boys and I don't really want to be there." A better question, she said, would be "how could women do the same thing? How can we have the same effectiveness?"

Makepeace, who's now executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Fund of Colorado, said she thinks there's more to gender exclusion than simply "boys will be boys."

"It's a reflection of our community in many ways," she said. "Women still have not been fully recognized for our leadership roles in Colorado Springs. ... It's probably not critical that women be a part of the (Range Riders) organization, but I know that women appreciate the rodeo, too."

The Range Riders have begun inviting some women to their VIP dinner, and this year, the Range Riders' wives will join in the full Friday camp day activities for the first time.

The group has seen other changes as well.

"It's getting old; we're having trouble recruiting young people," Janitell said of the Range Riders. A third-generation Colorado resident and son of a liquor-store owner who supplied libations for the rides, Janitell grew up around the Range Riders and looked up to the group.

"It used to be quite the deal. Now we're a blip on the scale," he said of the ride.

Back when the city was home to a few thousand residents, "the rodeo was the biggest event of the year, everyone was involved," Janitell said. He said the town would virtually shut down.

"I'm not anti-growth. I even used to make money through development," he said. "But when you get a big, diverse population, you lose local flavor and local culture, the traditions the town had. That's just the ebb and flow of things."

But the annual street breakfast provides Janitell with some hope for the future of Western heritage in the town.

"It's fun to see little kids come around, looking at the horses, call them over, put them up on the horse," he said. "You can't beat the smile on their faces."

Grammy-winning singer will paint the town blue

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See Taylor, other acts under bridge

June 19, 2008 - 9:49PM

BY RINA PALTA

THE GAZETTE

Last year, the first Blues Under the Bridge wasn't so much a festival as an idea that worked, said promoter Amy Whitesell. Maybe it worked too well.

About 800 people showed up, four times as many as organizers expected.

"When people were dancing, you couldn't see the musicians, the sound wasn't good enough, we ran out of food," she said.

This year, Whitesell and her cadre of colleagues and volunteers have ironed out the details, constructing a 5-foot-high stage for bands, hooking up a professional-quality sound system, enlisting a spectrum of food and drink vendors, and capping attendance at 1,000.

"We're a full-blown festival this time around," she said.

Actually, it's more like two minifestivals, as the events will be spaced out over two days more than a month apart.

The first, on Saturday, features the Grammy-winning Chicago blues great Koko Taylor. The legendary, brassy-voiced "Queen of the Blues," has reportedly been in declining health since undergoing emergency surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding in 2003, but she nevertheless earned a Grammy nomination for her album "Old School" last year and has continued to perform live, albeit less often.

Whitesell said she received a promising report from a friend who attended Taylor's performance at the Chicago Blues Festival earlier this month.

"They said her voice was outstanding, she was standing up by herself, and she is getting a little frail," Whitesell said.

Local band Tribe kicks off the Saturday lineup at 12:30 p.m., followed by the gritty and poetic The Jack Trades. Boulder's Felonius Smith picks up his metal guitar at 3 p.m., and Denver's boogieing The Informants follow.

Colorado Springs' Jim Adam Blues Band, featuring Jim Adam's powerful baritone, and Ohio's indie bluesman Patrick Sweany play before Taylor takes the stage.

The second date, July 26, leans more toward the rock side of blues, when a differently spelled Coco headlines: Los Angeles blues-rock guitarist Coco Montoya. Tijerina, from Albuquerque, gentle-toned, Boulder-based The Jack Hadley Band, local George Whitesell and His All Stars featuring Jill Watkins, Ken Saydak Band from Trinidad, Southern California's The Wheel and the sultry-voiced, Philadelphia-based Gina Sicilia all perform.

Whitesell said that when the call went out for audition tapes, 40 bands responded. KRCC (91.5 FM), which hosts the event, whittled down the list to 14 - seven for each day.

"The selection process was difficult," Whitesell said.

But the level of interest is certainly heartening for blues fans. Part of Blues Under the Bridge is an effort to strengthen Colorado's blues community. Representatives from Winter Park Blues Society, which hosts Blues from the Top, Trinidaddio Blues Fest, and Belvedere Blues Festival, will all host booths at the event.

The Downtown Redevelopment Authority offered KRCC a $10,000 challenge grant to keep the festival going, and part of the revenue from concessions goes toward securing those matching funds.

"All I can say is, it's about time Colorado Springs has another blues festival," Whitesell said.

Looks like she's got one.

Rodeo parade breaks from tradition to a new date and time

Organizers hope to lasso more downtown visitors this year

June 4, 2008 - 6:23PM

BY RINA PALTA

THE GAZETTE

For years, Colorado Springs residents have gathered on a midsummer Saturday morning for the annual Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo Parade.

Not this year.

The parade will be a worknight affair, starting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 8.

"The new date and time are huge changes," parade organizer Brenda Carender said. "But we think it's going to work out great."

Typically, the parade falls on the Saturday before the rodeo starts, which in this case is July 5.

"Independence Day is parade day in this country," said Bill Miller, vice president and general manager of the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo. "Who wants to see another parade July 5?"

Parade organizers and city officials wanted to keep the parade as the rodeo's traditional kickoff, while maximizing attendance and the involvement of downtown businesses. The midweek solution is "a win-win for downtown businesses and the rodeo," Carender said.

For one, parades cause street closures, and on weekends, that can prevent visitors and shoppers from getting to downtown, said Beth Kosley, executive director of the Downtown Partnership, an organization that promotes and helps plan the downtown business district.

The time change should also help restaurants, she said.

"When events like this occur in the evening, people often grab a bite waiting for the parade or afterwards," she said.

For downtown bars and clubs, the parade could present an opportunity to rope in rodeo revelers.

"We're going for the whole country spirit," said Johnny Nolan, owner of SouthSide Johnny's on South Tejon Street. Nolan said he'll replace his typical Tuesday night DJ slot with a live country band and offer food and drink specials.

"Anything they do downtown, we get a runoff," he said.

As for retail stores, Carender said they're being encouraged to decorate for the parade.

Regina Romrell, owner of Regina's Unique Boutique, said that she has a display of contemporary Western clothing planned, as she did last year, and that she will likely keep the shop open an extra hour or so.

"We get traffic from the parade for sure," she said. "But we can't stay open too late, of course."

Carender said businesses that stay open should expect serious crowds. She said she expects an attendance of 30,000, up significantly from the 5,000 paradegoers The Gazette estimated last year.

A combination of drawing the post-workday downtown crowd, plans to bus in senior citizens and this year's grand marshal, Gen. Gene Renuart, account for the high expectations. Renuart is commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the U.S. Northern Command.

And then, there's the allure of a mild Colorado Springs night.

"Summer evenings here are beautiful," Carender said. "I think it'll help attendance. In summer, kids are out, parents are looking for something free for them to do."

If they stick around and spend some money, she said, all the better.

The 68th annual Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo Parade will start at the intersection of St. Vrain and Tejon streets, cut over at Colorado Avenue, and loop back to the starting point via Cascade Avenue.

The hourlong parade is expected to feature 10 to 12 floats by businesses and military bases, and raise about $37,000 for a scholarship fund for the children and spouses of fallen and wounded soldiers.

The theme is "Break from the Herd."

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