Kevin Mazur

Slide show: Prince fans at the Ogden last week

So last week, as all of the gear was being broken down and loaded out after his unprecedented two-day, four-show run, Prince had a super-duper, triple secret after party at Lannie's Clocktower Cabaret. It was so secret, in fact, that Becky Toma, who handles promotions and marketing at the club, didn't even know about it. Hell, the only reason Lannie herself is even speaking to me about it now is because the cat has officially been let out of the bag.

See also:
- Review: Prince at the Ogden Theatre, 5/12/13
- Review: Prince at the Ogden Theatre, 5/13/13
- Donna Grantis of 3rd Eye Girl tells what it's like to play with Prince

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If you're not a streaming devotee and you're the type that simply has to own all of your music, here's a quick tip: For the next week, Beatport is having a summer sale in which you can pick up select EDM titles and hot new releases like Overgrown, James Blake's new album, Anything In Return, Toro Y Moi's latest, and Major Lazer's new one, Free the Universe, for a mere seven bucks. Now's the time to score, as the sale runs from today through next Wednesday, May 22.

See also:
- Review: James Blake at the Ogden Theatre, 4/28/13
- Slideshow: Major Lazer at Cervantes
- Chaz Bundick of Toro y Moi on J Dilla and reserving his side project for experimentation

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Eric Gruneisen

Ethan Converse of FLASH/LIGHTS at 1STBANK Center.

Flashlights is now FLASH/LIGHTS. Last week, the outfit, which has made significant strides locally under its original moniker, including garnering a highly enviable slot opening for New Order at 1STBANK Center, received a cease-and-desist letter from a like-named Florida-based punk band.

See also:
- Ten ways to come up with a kickass band name
- Flashlights at 1STBANK Center, 10/10/12
- Flashlights shine brightly

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Ah, yes, this should be dope. If you're a hip-hop head, clear your calendar: Spoke In Wordz is set to battle J-Money on Saturday, June 1, at McDonough's Irish Pub, 10395 East Iliff in Aurora.

J-Money, who's from Aurora, of course, is a seasoned battle rapper, whereas this MC match-up will mark Spoke's first official battle.

King FOE of BLKHRTS is set to host the battle, which will comprise three two-minute rounds, and the winner will be named by a panel of five judges.

It's more than a mere war of words, though. Up for grabs: a thousand bucks cash, winner takes all. Continue on to see J Money's battling skills in action as he takes on Isaac Knox.

See also:
- Dizaster on his controversial battle with Arcane
- The Body Bag Battles League takes MC Battles in a whole new direction
- Dent on battling being a fundamental aspect to emceeing

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Alert your darling niece, the one whose mom just insists she's the next Christina Aguilera, that stardom awaits. X Factor auditions are being held at the Denver Coliseum; wristbands will be issued on Sunday, May 12, at 8 a.m. and auditions are slated for Tuesday, May 14. Unlike the first season, when the show set up a kiosk at the mall, producers will actually be on hand looking for season three's X Factor. Overnight camping for wristbands is not permitted. Those who get wristbands on Sunday will be auditioned started at 7 a.m. on Tuesday.

See also:
- Photos: X Factor auditions at Colorado Mills
- Video: American Idol takes over Invesco
- Slideshow: American Idol Auditions in Denver, 7/29/11

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In its short life span, HOT 107.1 managed to build a decent following with its EDM format -- decent, but not quite big enough, as the station ended up flipping formats. At first the frequency was unveiled as Pot 107.1, which turned out to be a stunt (what a brilliant format that would've been, though, eh?) before later being branded as JackFM. Max Media LLC, parent company of the former HOT 107.1, has reintroduced the format as Beatgasm, an all-EDM signal on the Internet.

See also:
- Pot 107.1, Denver's Dope Hits, gets extinguished to make room for the return of Jack FM
- Only in Denver: Behold Pot 107.1, first marijuana-themed (terrestrial) radio station
- HOT 107.1 flips formats, teams with Global Dance Music for EDM-focused radio station

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Battles of the bands are typically a chance for unknown acts to get in front of larger crowds. That description hardly fits Bop Skizzum. The band has been around for long enough to amass a sizable fan base, and they're not exactly at the level where picking up a handful of new fans and the dubious honor of winning some contrived contest are much use. So what is the outfit doing in Hard Rock Rising, the Hard Rock Cafe sponsored battle of the bands? Great question.

See also:
- Bop Skizzum's new album is all sorts of Coloradical
- New Bop Skizzum singer Julie Almeria making her debut
- Andy Guerrero on hugging the First Lady and the Dalai Lama blessing his fauxhawk

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When guitarists Nick Didkovsky and Chuck O'Meara bought a $100 guitar, they came up with the idea for their $100 Guitar Project: They hit up a dozens of their guitar-playing friends and asked them to write and record a short piece of a song. They each had a week to come up with their part, and then they'd send it on to the next player. Over the course of two years, the guitar traveled over 30,000 miles across the United States and Europe into the hands of 65 guitarists, including, among other players, Wilco's Nels Cline, Testament's Alex Skolnick, Fred Frith and Colorado's own Janet Feder and Bill Sharp.

See also:
- Janet Feder on her new album, Songs with Words
- Nels Cline speaks his mind about music
- Professor Fred Frith is as much pupil as teacher

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Andrew Segreti

Mike Marchant, the subject of this week's profile, is a beloved figure in the Denver music scene, and as you might recall, he was recently diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and is in the process of undergoing chemotherapy. Numerous fundraisers have been organized on his behalf to help ease the stress of his steadily accumulating medical bills, including this weekend's Mike Fest at 3 Kings Tavern and the hi-dive, which will feature a slew of fellow local acts donating their time to help the cause. Can't find a babysitter but still want to pitch in? There's another benefit being held next week that you don't even have to leave your house to experience.

See also:
- The scene rallies around Mike Marchant
- Friday & Saturday: Mike Fest at hi-dive, 4/12-4/13
- Friday & Saturday: Mike Fest at 3 Kings Tavern, 4/12-4/13

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Once upon a time, about two decades ago, long before the world heard Denver music on the radio, there was a burgeoning band of boys striving to make a name for themselves, playing a brand of music they imported from across the pond. The group was called Carolyn's Mother, and it was birthed on Valentine's Day 1992 -- a literal lifetime ago for some people.

See also:
- Carolyn's Mother profile: Mother Knows Best, 1/3/96
- Ten Cent Redemption finds joy in making music without expectations
- Time's Rupp: Denver's legendary skinsman heads off into the sunrise

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