A love letter to The Epilogues.
Chris, Jeff, Jason, and Nate where do we begin? Let's start off with the first time I got a chance to see you guys play, If my memory serves me right it would have been December 9, 2008 when you guys opened for the Swedish band The Sounds. At that time I was writing for a magazine out of Los Angeles called Filter Magazine. I was familiar with the name as I may have heard a song or two on the radio. Right away I was intrigued by your sound and soon began to pop up at random shows here and there. In fact i'm pretty sure I have seen you guys more than any local band here in Denver.
March 30, 2011 at The Bluebird Theater. It was billed as a video release for "The Fallout". I can still remember the amazing lineup, in fact the only reason I showed up was to photograph my buddy's band Mr. Right that night. Turns out some of Denver's finest filled the lineup that night including Input, Mr. Right, My Body Sings Electric, and Monroe Monroe. The video was amazing and the song instantly became my favorite from you guys. I remember standing outside with my limited edition print you guys were handing out hoping to get it autographed by you guys, it was the first time I got to meet you guys and you were all very gracious. The beginning of a beautiful friendship to say the least.
Fast forward to UMS 2012 (maybe 2011), probably one of our favorite performances was on the main stage that year. For some reason the band was playing harder, faster, and stronger than I had ever seen them. I'm talking full on rage mode, so much so that Chris Heckman smashed his guitar into pieces that day and we were fortunate enough to somehow keep the head of the guitar which you guys later signed for us (we later pawned it to fund our trip to SXSW that year....just kidding).
From album releases to Halloween shows to the now defunct Inca House launch we have been through thick and thin with you gentlemen, it has been an honor seeing you guys play more importantly seeing you guys grow. You will sorely be missed. Who knows maybe we will see you at a UMS reunion show in 2020.
-Robert Castro (Editor in Chief)
Denver indie-rockers The Epilogues announced today via their Facebook page that this summer will be their last. Lead singer Chris Heckman outlined the details of the split in an open letter (below). The band will be playing a string of shows in their home state of Colorado this summer, culminating with a farewell show/album release at Summit Music Hall on August 19th. The band's final album titled OK OK will be their fourth and final release. "There are far too many people to thank who have supported us over the years and we would like to use this last run of shows to do so" the band stated via Facebook. Included below are The Epilogues final shows...
June 25, 2016- Westword Music Showcase; The Church 4:35pm; Denver, CO
July 28-31, 2016- The Underground Music Showcase; date & time TBD; Denver, CO
August 6, 2016- Moxi Theatre; Greeley, CO
August 14, 2016- Bohemian Nights; Linden St. Stage 5:20pm; Fort Collins, CO
August 19, 2016- Summit Music Hall; album release/ farewell show; Denver, CO
For over a decade now I have had the immense pleasure of playing in the Epilogues with my best friends, Nate Hammond, Jason Hoke, and Jeff Swoboda. I can honestly say that being in a band is hard work; we probably spent just as much time washing dishes and cleaning bathrooms as we did playing music. We lived in a house with nine people so we could afford to tour, and we sold everything we owned to pay for studio time. We slept in a cramped van and ate imaginary sandwiches on our way to play shows in empty bars. But through all the scraping and struggling (and sharing a bunk bed with Jason), we couldn't have been happier. We got to make music and eventually, people actually started listening to it. We toured every inch of the United States, playing everything from basement parties to sold-out arenas. We heard songs we wrote on the radio and read our names on billboards all over the country. Looking back, I realize that we had achieved a level of success, and experienced a life that only a handful of people get to experience. And for that, I will be forever grateful.
This fall, I will be leaving The Epilogues to attend the Berklee College of Music in Valencia, Spain. I will be learning to score for film, and video games, which is something that I have wanted to do my entire life. Leaving the Epilogues will be one of the hardest things I will ever have to do, but I believe it is necessary for us to continue growing. I am so proud of my bandmates and I realize that we are so fortunate to be leaving on positive terms. Jason, Nate, and Jeff have been my family for over a decade and I am so excited to see what the future holds for them. I don't believe for a single second that this is the end of us as a group; I love these guys and we will always find ways to work together.
Our final show will be Friday, August 19th at The Summit Music Hall in Denver, Colorado with South of France, Flaural, and Eros and the Eschaton. We will also be releasing our last album; OK OK, at this show, a project that we have been working on for over a year. This will be the only show we will ever play to support this new material, and we couldn't think of a better way to say goodbye.
There are so many people who are responsible for our success and we will never be able to truly show our gratitude for their support. Thank you so much to our families, our friends, our label, and to the hundreds of people that helped push our music further. Thank you to everyone at Greater Than, 93.3, Sodajerk, and the thousands of fans who supported this dream of ours for twelve years. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Nothing can ever replace the experiences that we have had, and we know that we wouldn't have been able to do it without you. We hope to see you all one last time at the Summit Music Hall on August 19th.
-Chris Heckman (The Epilogues)
The Epilogues through the eyes of Ultra5280.
