First Listen: "Heat Dish" Motion Trap x Reed Fox ft. Megan Crooks

We have music for you courtesy of Motion Trap and Treed Fox ft. Megan Crooks. I know you are saying to yourself “i’ve seen these names before”, chances are you have they all dabble in several projects here in Denver. These individuals got together for this track and wanted to share a bit of the background on how it came to be.

Reed Fox:

Jeremy Averitt, Kevin Netz, Megan Crooks & I are in a band called Moon Hammer. I became obsessed with House music two years ago and started writing my first House track that developed into Heat Dish when Kevin, Jeremy, and I were hanging out. Megan and I have collaborated on a few dozen tracks and we scheduled a time for her to write lyrics and record vocals over it. She's one of my favorite people to collaborate with and she wrote and recorded the vocals in a couple of hours. It was the dead of winter and all we had to keep warm was a heat dish in Moon Magnet Studios at the time so we named the song after it.

Moon Hammer reimagines and performs Heat Dish live at shows. We're playing it on PBS Sounds on 29th this Saturday as well as the UMS and MCA later this summer.

The original is out on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/track/7vTMO4USo7ficLsSfFMmg1?si=MP2iBIhdRkOGZVmn3vRbgw

Megan Crooks:

Sometimes beautiful things come together in the chaos of this world. I truly believe that the musical bond we share is cosmic! 

When asked how the idea for this specific track came about Kyle of Motion Trap explained:

I’m pretty sure the idea first came up at Fort Greene in Denver during a Nothing Matters event. I remember running into Reed and we started talking about some new Decollage songs he was planning to release. He mentioned he was thinking about remixes on a couple of the tracks. Motion Trap has always loved their music so I jump at a chance to give my spin to it. I think I texted him the next morning asking for the files.

One trend we have noticed recently in the Denver music scene is the amount of collaborations that have recently popped up. Kyle mentions that collaborations are “definitely complimentary! It’s a lot of fun for me to work with other artists’ songs. It’s always fun to see how other people create and what their process is like. Reed is a fun dude to be around too!”

Crooks added, “I've noticed that trend as well! I think it is something that is happening naturally. We are experiencing so much change both in the music community, and in personal lives that things are shifting. But we're musicians, we can't just stop creating! I think as a whole people are banding together in new ways to embrace the shock of inevitable change- politically, in community, and personally! “

Tell us what you think of the new jam?

March 2018 | Denver's Most Highly Anticipated Shows

compiled by Meesh Deyden for the masses

Lorde photographed in 2014 by Ultra5280 Editor in Chief, Robert Castro 

Mon 3/5 Lorde at Pepsi Center with Run the Jewels

Following her Grammy snub and a string of heartfelt and righteous comebacks, Lorde's North American leg of her Melodrama tour finds an equally fierce (if not more so) ally in openers, Run the Jewels. You may recall Killer Mike's moving speech at a music venue in St Louis, Missouri just a half hour after the Ferguson grand jury decided to not indict officers involved in the killing of Mike Brown. Unsurprising to fans, both acts are heralded for making emotionally and politically astute music that makes you wanna dance h a r d. To sweeten the deal, the seemingly disparate pair just released a remix of Lorde's "Supercut" featuring verses by Killer Mike.

Tix: At the time of publication, tickets are still available! // Pro-Tip: The Pepsi Center powers that be have ordered bartenders to stop serving about 3/4 through the show, so plan ahead for optimal buzz. 

Sat 3/10 Lucius at Boulder Theater

When you move to Brooklyn to embark on your music career and move into a house that turns out to have been a music school and a recording studio, it seems destiny may be working an angle. Since the release of their 2012 EP, Lucius-- led by Berklee School alums Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig-- have toured with Jack White, had their song "Two of Us on the Run" streamed 30+ million times, garnered top nods from NPR & NY Times for their 2014 album, Wildewoman, and snagged a gig singing back up for the legendary Roger Waters. Instead of amping up the production after all this, Lucius is returning to the basics, releasing Nudes, an album of acoustic tracks coming this spring. 

Tix: SOLD OUT // Pro-Tip: Take the bus from Union Station aka don't be a drunk idiot. But if you are drunk and have a case of the drunchies, the Taco Bell next to the theatre will be your best friend.

Sun 3/11 George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic at Ogden 

George Clinton and P. Funk recently released a track (see video above) that is the 1st song under the Parliament name since the 80s. That's decades w/o an official new P Funk groove! "I'm Gon Make U Sick O'Me" is part of Medicaid Fraud Dog, an album that Clinton says will feature "P-Funk horn players Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis, Greg Thomas, and Benny Cowan." So if you missed their private show for Outdoor Retailer at Broadway's Temple in February, you can still grab tickets to their Ogden show. 

Tix: $32 // Pro-Tip: Get funky before the show at the funkiest joint on the block-- Sancho's of course. 

Fri 3/16 Portugal the Man at MCA

Turns out that Portugal the Man is pretty tight with current MCA exhibited artist, Cleon Peterson. The recent Grammy winners will be playing a private show at the museum for some lucky fans, and all ya gotta do to get a ticket (really, the only way to get a ticket) is give 'em the ole razzle dazzle, social media style. For full entry rules click here. 

Tix: see rules for entry here // Pro-Tip: If you have time before or after the set, check out the exhibit in the basement-- it's a video collage matched up to Kanye's "Ultralight Beam" by renowned artist Arthur Jafa!

Tu 3/20 Kinky Fingers at Lion's Lair with Acid Tongue, Ancient Elk

Yo! Surf rock babes, Kinky Fingers, are ridin the wave these days with their latest release, Garbage Plate, hittin the streets and an upcoming Treefort Fest slot! They've been playing a bunch of shows around town, but we're particularly excited for their March gig at our beloved Lion's Lair! Doors are at 8:30 and we suggest getting there in time to check out some stellar opening acts! 

Tix: $8 // Pro-Tip: Lion's Lair is one of our fave classic Colfax dives, so treat it with respect, damnit! And by respect we mean: bring cash, tip your bartender, cheer on the bands, and if you wanna talk during a set, don't do it right by the stage, ya twerp.