From their origins as a high school garage band, emerging pop-rock quartet One Flew West will be aiming to kick off 2018 in a big way with the release of their new EP; ‘Trial & Error’. Its tongue-in-cheek, punk-fuelled title track is an infectious, stomping introduction to what OFW have to offer, and sees them be compared to names such as Say Anything and You, Me & Everyone We Know.
While they started out in the city of Longmont, One Flew West feel more at home in the capital city of Denver, Colorado. Nicknamed “The Mile High City”, its short history has links to the Wild, Wild West leading to several museums and old gold mining villages in the area. It’s also a city that loves sports, being home to seven teams from basketball to football to soccer to baseball. Denver also hosts the ‘Great American Beer Festival’ yearly.
So we know folk from Denver like to have a drink or two while taking in a game, but what about its music scene? Thankfully, One Flew West were on hand to share their knowledge as they told about the city’s influence, its heroes, and which bands to be on the look out for.
The City:
One Flew West: We’re proud to be from Denver, Colorado. It’s crazy because even though there are no major music markets within a 3 state radius, the music scene has continued to grow and produce some amazing acts. The last few years have been crazy here and we’re proud to be a part of it.
Its People and Culture:
OFW: Denver is known as the “Mile High City”. Not because of the legal weed, but because the city itself sits a mile above sea level and right next to some of the best mountains along the Rockies. With the mountains so close by, people here are always out hiking, camping, and skiing so most Coloradans are pretty fit and outdoorsy. There is also an immense amount of state pride here and people like to show it in creative ways like Colorado flag tattoos, Colorado-themed microbrews, and street art like murals and graffiti.
The Music It Inspires:
OFW: Denver has a large mix of people from all different backgrounds. So it really has made a great platform for creative and unique music to be made as a product of all the different people that call it home.
The Local Music Scene:
OFW: With the diversity of people here, the bands that come out of Denver are also diverse in their sound and styles. There is everything from rock to Bluegrass to EDM artists that break from Colorado.
Its Most Famous Musical Sons and Daughters:
OFW: We grew up hearing a lot of the most well-known acts from our city thanks to KTCL Channel 93.3 playing Denver music. We loved the first Flobots record when it came out and Nathaniel Ratliff is an artist we always knew would do great things even during his earlier folk stuff. We’d probably say he’s currently the most well-known artist to break from Denver after his song ’S.O.B.’ blew up.
Its Unsung Heroes:
OFW: Hands down, the heroes of the Denver scene are the promoters and talent buyers at places like the Bluebird Theater, Larimer Lounge, and Summit Music Hall. They are some of the most supportive and passionate guys in the business and they truly believe in the local talent. They’re always looking out for opportunities to help grow local acts and fuel the Denver music community.
The Bands To Watch Out For:
OFW: We have way too many to list them all off, but a few include Ivory Circle, Slow Caves, Pandas & People, Silver & Gold, VYNYL, Shatterproof, Postcards, Compass & Cavern, Valienta, Poets & Wolves, Overslept, My Body Sings Electric, Wildermiss and so many more. We’re super lucky to be in such a thriving scene right now.
The Venues We Visited:
OFW: We all actually grew up in Longmont, a ways North of Denver, so the primary venue we went to see live music was down the road in Boulder at the Fox Theatre. It’s an institution in our hometown region and has been hosting incredible live music since it opened in the 1990’s. In Denver proper, the places to catch the best up-and-coming talent are Larimer Lounge and the Marquis Theater. Being able to go to either of those places on literally any night of the week and see people out supporting local bands helped inspire us to do what we do.
The Venues We Played:
OFW: Many venues have supported us since we came to Denver in 2014. We owe a lot to the Bluebird Theater, Marquis Theater, Larimer Lounge, Lost Lake, Gothic Theatre, and the Summit Music Hall. Like we mentioned before, the promoters that book these venues are amazingly supportive and have given us some incredible opportunities.
If We Wrote A Song About My Hometown:
OFW: We have never written a song about Denver, but the lyrics would probably end up making fun of all the transplants moving here. In a loving way, of course, but it’s kind of a right of passage as a native to poke fun at all the people moving here.
‘Trial & Error’ EP by One Flew West is released on 26th January.
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