I remember as a kid when we went to pick up my dad from business trips and we'd drive under the runway bridge that planes landed and took off from. I'll have you know I still have their purple glitter band sticker on my bass amp. I would get fashion inspiration there as I would quietly sip my vanilla latte at the corner table at all those coffee sanctuaries playing with any of the board games scattered around. Serious coffee for the most diverse java lovers ever. My college roommate and best friend worked there for years. I discovered the world of Bettie Page from that shop since they were the only place I could track down copies of the fanzine The Betty Pages. I got my first tattoo there.Ī great little comic book store on Pearl Street in Boulder that had an amazing array of comics including a lot of alternative stuff that didn't have a single superhero in it. A bunch of biker guys ran the place, and it was kind of endearing to get a navel piercing from an old timer who looked like he could give ZZ Top a run for their money.
Navel rings and other below the belt piercings were done there, as well as the usual tattoos.
In fact, I think we shot the next Halloween special at Central City's massive cemertary.Īt the time in the '80s and early '90s it was the only place you could get a non-traditional piercing in Denver.
When I hosted Teletunes I had us shoot on location there for a Halloween episode. That was the ONLY place to get the latest Creepers, spider tights and Morticia dresses. I remember going to the murder site in the parking lot nearby and leaving flowers with all the other endless flowers and gifts left at the makeshift shrine. What happened to the owners of this skate shop was indeed a tragic story about how street violence can affect and bring together an entire community. Not every station can boast having live interviews with Ogre from Skinny Puppy, Poison Ivy from the Cramps, Marcia Brady, and the band Butt Trumpet! As a DJ and the Music Director there for a few years, I have to say that was one of the funnest and most educational music experiences of my life. It was the "coolest college radio station you couldn't get legally off-campus" at CU Boulder. That little club in Boulder seemed to go through a different name change each year. LOVED Rock Island! I was also a regular for sure at Pogo's. She also ran a performance group of dancers and club kids as well. Mari ran it and she and he partner made their own rubber corsets to cater to strippers, Goth kids and club kids. The only fetish fashion store in Denver for a long, LONG time. It was usually the only place you could spot a drag queen before it became trendy. It was where us ravers and go-go dancers went late at night for a decent slice of pie. I distinctly remember when the uber-conservative men's group The Promise Keepers had their conference in Boulder, and one of them came in looking for Christian music I sold him a Ministry CD. We were sort of expected to be rude to customers who made crappy music choices. It was the closest thing to the High Fidelity record story experience as you could get. I worked at the Wax Trax in Boulder for awhile too when I was in college in the '90s. I have years worth of Teletunes episodes on VHS that I should put up on Youtube. I remember being in skits involving a time traveling bath tub, killer squirrels stalking me at haunted Cheesman Park and me stuck on the railroad tracks. Shonen Knife was my first interview and I don't think they knew much English at the time so we talked about their shoes and candy. I interviewed Budgie from Siouxsie and the Banshees in the foyer of a ladies bathroom at their venue, Primus in the basement, and ska bands in dark alleys. I was a VJ for them for a few years! As hosts we really had fun putting on skits, interviewing bands on location and basically being on-camera music geeks. Here's my Flickr set of photos of me being a Death Rocker Goth kid, flyers of concerts I went to, Teletunes playlists from when I was a VJ, KUCB Radio stuff and fun memories from being a teen/college kid in Colorado.ġ960s and 1970s Denver pop culture open threadīelow are some of my favorite Colorado memories. Collins Old Town, Fort Ram, Front Range Records, Imi Jimi's and the haunted Cheeseman Park? I do. Mark's Cafe, Northern Hotel, Fashion Disaster, the Ogden, the Gothic, Warlock Pinchers, The Fluid, Emporium Of Design, Time Warp comics, Boulder Mall Crawl, Ft. Remember Wax Trax, Teletunes, White Spot, Muddy's, Paris on the Platte, St.