Another Fond Farewell

I was honored with another tribute at the end of my high school career, this one for The Villager, where I've written a weekly column for three years.

Villager columnist Mike [Michael] Mazenko is moving on. “The time just seems right,” he told us.

Julie and Mike Mazenko came to Colorado in 2003 for an opportunity to teach at a high school he was told would be a great fit. Former Cherry Creek High School Principal Kathleen Smith agreed. That began a 21-year career that included shaping the academic future of over 2,000 young people, including several whose last name is Miklin, as a teacher and administrator in a school he wrote about in his last regular column for The Villager that appeared on page three on March 28. He called it, “The Creek Mystique.” It included some great success stories of Creek alumni.

In addition to the attraction of teaching in a high school where kids were eager to learn and had families who supported that goal, the Mazenkos fell in love with Greenwood Village as a place to raise a family. Now that Austin and Chloe, Julie and Mike’s offspring, are attending college in New York and Washington DC, that mission has been accomplished. Chloe is still in her undergraduate years at American University and Austin will be pursuing a Ph.D. in math at New York University. Neither is likely to be back in Colorado soon. Like all parents, the Mazenkos want to be near their children.

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New Music Venue Lot 46 Opens in Old Edgewater Inn

A new spot for live music is opening in Edgewater. I did a sneak peak preview for Westword:

What's old is new again in Edgewater with the arrival of Lot 46 Music Bar at the Edgewater Inn.Lot 46 comes to the neighborhood courtesy of longtime Denver entrepreneurs and music venue owners Niya and Grant Gingerich. The couple established the popular Local 46 music venue and beer garden in 2012 after taking over the Music Bar, which had been an anchor at 46th and Tennyson for decades. Niya and Grant seem destined to provide live local music to a close-knit community in the spirit of the classic public house. As Niya always tells friends and neighbors, “I want this to be the locals' spot, the home away from home.”

The Berkeley neighborhood was reeling two years ago when real estate development closed Local 46, a beloved music venue and watering hole. Niya and Grant quickly found a new location, buying the historic Edgewater Inn, a 75-year-old pizza institution founded by Denver legend Ben DiPietro. “I grew up going there for pizza,” Niya reflects. After purchasing the Edgewater, it wasn’t long before she was itching to expand and provide local music again.

Conventional business wisdom is to find a niche and not try to be everything. But that never really sat well with Niya. “I want to be the place where there’s something for everyone,” she says. That idea reflects a sociological concept known as a community’s third place: After home and work, there’s the gathering place, often the pub or local watering hole, and any place Niya runs will inevitably showcase live local music.

... Read the rest of the story in Westword ...

FoCoMX 2024 - Day 1

From Michael Kirkpatrick on the patio at Equinox Brewing to the indie rock of Menyuska at Moe’s BBQ to the Dave Beegle Duo at the Visit Fort Collins sitting room to 10 Cent Stranger and Alex Dunn at Equinox to Soy Celeste at The Art Lab to Pep Squad and Bleak Mystique on the rooftop bar of Illegal Pete’s to the groovy sound of Slow Caves at Wolverine Farm Publick House to the incredible sounds of Violet Pilot on the Old Town Square to a raucous set from Horsebitch at The Aggie …, our minds have been properly blown on the first day of FoCoMX 2024 in the heart of downtown Fort Collins.

Looking back on 21 years

I was so honored to be featured in Cherry Creek's award-winning student newspaper, The Union Street Journal. As I bid farewell to a place I've called home for twenty-one years, one student asked if I would be open to story on my career there. Of course, what a wonderful send-off.

When Michael Mazenko started teaching English 31 years ago, the top charting song was “Whoomp (There It Is)” by Tag Team. The NBA champion was the Chicago Bulls led by Michael Jordan. The NFL champion was the Dallas Cowboys led by quarterback Troy Aikman. Now, after a career of classroom teaching, admin work, guest writing, and mentoring students, he plans to retire at the end of this school year.

“It’s definitely melancholy, but I also know it’s time to move on. It’s time for me to go to the next place on my journey,” Mazenko said.

Mazenko has filled many roles in his time at Creek, and his impact has spread far beyond his English classes. As an administrator for eight years, he helped with planning events like speaker assemblies and hosting the talent show.

“Working with Dr. Keogh on graduation for eight years was just one of the true joys of my experience here because our graduation is so special. I loved working with the performers,” Mazenko said.

Read the rest of the story at The Union Street Journal

FoCoMX: The Biggest Little Music Festival in America

Loved writing about this event for Westword, and I can't wait to embrace the indie music scene in Fort Collins at FoCoMX:

Every year in downtown Fort Collins on a weekend in late April, “the streets are alive with the sounds of local music.” That charming assessment comes from Greta Cornett of the Fort Collins Musicians Association (FoCoMA) as she excitedly discusses FoCoMX.

Started “for musicians by musicians,” according to Cornett, FoCoMX is a locally organized event from the Fort Collins Musicians Association (FoCoMA); this weekend will mark its sixteenth iteration, on Friday, April 19, and Saturday, April 20. Growing out of the nonprofit’s FoCoMA Peer Awards, the event began in 2009 as a DIY showcase for local talent, complete with handmade tickets. The first year included four locations with four bands in each spot, but it's now expanded to nearly 350 acts across 35 to 40 venues.

The festival is a well-oiled machine that keeps its small-town vibe by being volunteer-driven, and is, Cornett notes, “intentionally inclusive of all genres and musicians." While the festival originally focused on Fort Collins artists, planners later opened lineups to all of Colorado. "The best way to build our scene is to share our scene," Cornett says. "We want to showcase Colorado music.”

Read the rest of the story at Westword.com

Thinking About What Comes Next

Even though I’ve been teaching English for three decades, I still tell people that when I grow up, I want to be David Brooks of the New York Times, or an essayist like Chuck Klosterman or Dave Hickey, or perhaps an author like Geoff Dyer or even Michael Lewis. In reality, I am first and foremost a writer with a talent for sharing information, ideas, and insights via the written word. Now, as I wrap up a cherished career in public education, I am pondering the life of a writer.

I’ve been freelance writing for many years, serving as a Colorado Voices columnist for the Denver Post, and for three years I've written an education-focused column called “Unpacking the Backpack” for The Villager, a small suburban newspaper. As a commentary writer, my beat has been "education, parenting, politics, pop culture, and contemporary American life." A common theme of my writing is issues in public education, such as advocating for reforms on career and technical education. Additionally, I've been an enthusiastic advocate for gifted education, and I've spoken on numerous panels at state and national gifted education conferences. I am an education policy geek who has testified several times before the Colorado Senate Education Committee, and I’ve presented to both district and state boards of education. As a lifelong educator and writer whose mom was an editor and feature writer, the worlds of education and journalism are embedded in my DNA. I am a writer with vast experience in public education, and I am an experienced educator who can write insightful, informative articles about schools.

For several years I have also been writing about music, arts, and culture in the Denver area, specifically arts pieces for 303 Magazine and music writing for Westword. That interest and focus grew out of my writing on the people and culture of schools. My articles have sung the praises of high school mathletes, praised the brilliance of speech and debate competitions, reviewed high school productions such as musicals and jazz concerts, and profiled cultural events like our school’s Ethnic Fest and the district poetry slam. Creative non-fiction, including personal narrative, social commentary, and pop culture criticism, is my jam. My writing and research style has developed over the years as a sort of Robert Fulghum-esque, David Brooks-ian, Malcolm Gladwell-like stew of intellectual pondering with an accessible bit of pop culture philosophizing.

Cheap Perfume Takes Colorado Fem-Core on the Road

Cheap Perfume, a Denver riot grrrl punk band, blew me away the first time I saw their live show. Now, they're heading out on tour, and I got the chance to talk to them about the trip:

As anyone in Denver’s punk scene knows, a Cheap Perfume show is a sonic blast of guitar chords, big drums, quick and heavy bass, and scathingly sharp yet sardonically poetic messages of social justice and empowerment. It’s also a helluva lot of fun. That’s the appeal of a band that is, as it calls itself, “fun, foul-mouthed and unapologetic.” 

Now fans outside of Colorado will get the chance to experience Cheap Perfume’s sound and attitude as the band embarks on its first-ever tour this month. The self-described "fem-core punk" group will join the Atlanta-based rockers of Sarah and the Safe Word (SASW) for a West Coast run starting on April 24 at the Nile Underground in Mesa, Arizona. Then Cheap Perfume will be back to its Denver stamping grounds on Sunday, May 5, for a victory lap at the hi-dive.

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Denver Band Broken Record Takes Its "Stadium Emo" Sound to the East Coast

A new piece on the Denver indie scene for Westword:

If you don’t yet know what “Denver Stadium Emo” is, then you need to check out Denver’s own Broken Record, a mainstay on the Denver scene since late 2017 that just won a 2024 Best of Denver award.
“Our good friend Jay came up with that description,” laughs Lauren Beecher, lead singer and guitarist for the band. “We’re obviously an emo band, but we’re also not afraid to make our songs sound big, or to add a grander rock element.”

That approach has built a trusted fan base in Denver, and, despite the band mostly playing clubs, the term came to fruition in December when Broken Record’s “See It Through” filled Ball Arena during an Avs game.

Broken Record's sound is distinct, but its ’90s threads are clear with the deep post-punk, indie-rock and emo vibe that marked the decade. While Jimmy Eat World is “obviously a huge influence,” Beecher’s soulful lyrics and crisp melodies amid post-punk power-pop guitar chords hint at Gin Blossoms, too. “I basically learned to read off the lyrics book of New Miserable Experience while riding in the car with my mom,” Beecher adds. The jangly guitar and lyrical storytelling defined that pivotal Gin Blossoms album, which Rolling Stone described as “marrying world-weary lyrics with ebullient melodies.” Similar emotion comes through on Broken Record’s second LP, Nothing Moves Me, released last August on Really Rad Records and listed in UPROXX’s best emo albums of 2023.

.... Read the rest of the article and watch the band's new video