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The Show(case) Must Go On!

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DRESSY BESSY
NOMINATED IN POP
10 P.M., DAZZLE
There's an art to pop music: Melodies have to be sharp and compact, familiar hooks should be given just the right twist, and there must be a delicate balance between elation and pensiveness. Dressy Bessy's got the formula down. Drawing mostly from the chirpy sounds of the '60s, the group long ago climbed out from under the shadow of the Apples in Stereo; Apples guitarist John Hill formed Dressy Bessy in 1997 with singer/guitarist Tammy Ealom, drummer Darren Albert and bassist Rob Greene. While both Bessy and the Apples look backward to the era of classic pop, the members of the former seem less like archaeologists of the period than they do kids on a beach digging up seashells.

Little Music is the band's third and latest disc, a collection of singles and compilation tracks, and it's the perfect overview of Dressy Bessy's nearly seven years of crafting raw, gorgeous pop. Though often stuck with lazy comparisons to candy bars and jump ropes and such, the group's sound has much more depth and dimension. Songs like "Gloria Days" and "2 My Question" come across like a roughed-up Beach Boys or Association, making ache and isolation sound oddly hummable. "Live to Tell All" and "Lipstick" are straight out of the garage, but the ragged abrasion of the Troggs is softened with a knack for singsong melody worthy of the Ohio Express. Throughout the album, doe-eyed innocence is tempered with winks of mischief -- and even an occasional downcast glance of regret and melancholy.

The band has toured numerous times across the U.S. and Europe and contributed to the surprisingly great indie-rock soundtrack to The Powerpuff Girls Movie. With stuff like Avril Lavigne's music and American Idol making "pop" a bad word all over again, thank Dressy Bessy for keeping the art form vital, true and pure. -- Heller

FLOORFILLERZ: DJ VITAMIN D AND SEAN BIDDLE
NOMINATED IN DJ/DANCE/ELECTRONIC
10 P.M., THE CHURCH
DJs Derrick Daisey (aka DJ Vitamin D) and Sean Biddle have been staples of the Denver house scene for years. Both moved here in 1995 and came together two years later to form the DJ duo Floorfillerz. "We got the name because these kids wanted us to do a remix for them," recalls Daisey; the group, called Floorfillers, never paid the pair for their efforts. Later, Daisey and Biddle accidentally adopted the deadbeat group's name. "It wasn't until later that I was like, 'That's where that name came from,'" Daisey says, laughing. Adds Biddle, "They didn't think it was very funny."

Both Daisey and Biddle spin solo as well as under the moniker Floorfillerz. They describe their collective sound, in fugue, as "Chicago-inspired, disco-jazz-funk house," which translates as a mixture of Biddle's Chicago-rooted soul and Southern California native Daisey's "L.A. dirty kind of sound." Though Biddle and Daisey love living in Denver, they say it's getting harder to find work lately.

"There are a lot of people like us who are fed up, burnt out on the same old shit," says Biddle. "People who want to go out, but there's nowhere to go." The duo plans to begin hosting its own parties (called GO') to supplement regular gigs at clubs like Alley Cat. "I have pretty much given up around here. I'm going to start doing my own thing," says Daisey. And GO' isn't the only thing that's starting up. Colorecordings, the pair's new record label, had its first release in December, of local DJs Pound Boys, with a Floorfillerz remix on the B-side. The tracks will be pressed on colored vinyl as a signature of the Colorecordings label. The two DJs plan to release music of their own along with that of local artists such as Sensei, Hipp-e, Miss Audry and DJ Nick. Both Biddle and Daisey have been touring out of town -- and out of the country -- to offset the lull in the local scene, but they have no plans for a permanent move anytime soon. "We love playing in Denver for people who like us," says Biddle. "It's a great place to live -- it's Denver." -- Carpenter

FOMOFUIAB
NOMINATED IN HARD ROCK
Upon moving to Denver in the final days of the second millennium, Ty Fury would loiter at the Guitar Center on Colorado Boulevard and "play all day long." But this guitarist had no interest in becoming the next Satriani or Malmsteen; he took out ads that read "Lead Guitarist Looking for Band" and soon hooked up with bassist Mike Krening, vocalist Chad Armstrong and drummer Mike "Fred" Schneider.

Nearly four years later, Fury has his own guitar shop in Arvada, where he can play all day -- and all night, if he's so inclined. And thanks to chops honed by non-stop gigging, FOMOFUIAB -- pronounced "fo-mo-foo-yab," it's a tongue-twisting acronym for "Four Motherfuckers in a Band" -- has grown into one of the tightest and heaviest acts in Colorado. "When we started, we played every show we could get our hands on," says Fury. "We played Tuesday nights. We played Wednesday nights. We played Sunday nights" -- to the tune of 150 dates a year. Released earlier this year, FOMOFUIAB's eponymous debut full-length is dark, unsettling and explosive, an arsenal of unyielding metal underpinned by a dollop of elastic groove.

But for these mofos, it's not all about the Benjamins. "We don't want to be rich rock stars," Fury says. "To play live shows and get people interested in our music -- that's our goal. When people are moving and everybody's moshing, you're doing that to people - it's an incredible feeling."

"We're just four guys who love jamming together," he adds. "We're no different than anyone in the crowd. We're just four motherfuckers in a band." -- Peterson

FUTURE JAZZ PROJECT
NOMINATED IN JAZZ/SWING
A rich pastiche of hip-hop, jazz and diverse rhythms, the Future Jazz Project grew out of a 2000 merger between two Front Range fusion jazz acts: Koru and Soul Picnic. Now a collective with guitar, bass, keyboards, horns, drums, MCs and a vocalist, it's become "a group without a leader," says saxophonist Ben Hadwen.

Soon after forming, the Future Jazz Project began playing a weekly gig at Blue 67 in downtown Denver; last year, it moved into a Thursday gig at Dazzle for "more musical freedom."

While its first true album is slated for a mid-summer release, last year the Project put out Kids Are Funky, Too!, which could be the grooviest-ever renditions of children's songs like "The Wheels on the Bus," "Old MacDonald" and "Three Blind Mice." The forthcoming disc, recorded at Boulder's Immersive Studios by Grammy-winning producer Matt Sandowsky, will be more adult-oriented, says Hadwen.

Bassist Casey Sidwell relates "the tale of a fallen MC" that drives the Project: Koru MC Jahson Soberanis was fatally wounded by an accidental gunshot in June 2000. "The rest of us in Koru had this aching need to continue playing," says Sidwell. "That light, that fire, is something that will always be with me." -- Peterson

CLARK GIBSON QUARTET
NOMINATED IN JAZZ/SWING
Stroll by Blue Ice on South Broadway some Tuesday night, and you'll hear the snap and stammer of drums, the gulp of a bass, the cool sizzle of flicked ivories. Hovering over it all is the haunting flash of a saxophone, shooting through the spectral echoes like a hoot owl through the fog. That's the Clark Gibson Quartet.

"I think our strength is in the energy we produce," says sax man and bandleader Gibson. "Unfortunately, jazz has a bit of a stigma attached to it as being a sleepy form of music that only the elderly can enjoy. With this group, we've stayed in the realm of playing straightahead but really focused on producing music that swings hard and catches the attention of all listeners at any age."

The quartet, rounded out by pianist Holly Holverson, bassist Dwight Thompson and drummer Kevin Smith, formed in 2001 when Gibson returned to town after a touring stint with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. "It was a great experience for me," says Gibson, who was only 21 at the time. "The orchestra played a huge role in my development as a player. There are very few bands that swing that hard anymore." Like much of the jazz that followed in the wake of the bebop revolution, the Clark Gibson Quartet is a tight, almost telepathic unit that modulates from themes and standards to passages of solo improvisation. The faint Latin tinge of the post-bop era is also evident in its sound, but the emphasis is on the sultry, unadulterated swing of vintage pop and blues.

Besides gigging almost every other night of the month at places like Dazzle, Shakespeare's and Sambuca, Gibson and company have just finished producing their debut disc, titled The Offering. With guest trumpeter Greg Gizbert, Gibson's occasional turn at the flute and Thompson's shuddering bowed bass, the album's sound is lush and rich without being cluttered or slick. The soul leaks out like a lover's sigh. "As a band, we realize that we don't have to play a backbeat or play modern to get the attention of the younger generation," Gibson says. "We just have to be ourselves and play what we love." -- Heller

GROUND ZERO MOVEMENT
NOMINATED IN HIP-HOP
4 P.M., OUTDOOR STAGE
"We're action-packed. It's like watching Shaft," says MC Dow Jones of the Ground Zero Movement's live performances. When the four rappers (Ase One, Dow Jones, D.O. the Fabulous Drifter and Sid Fly) throw down with newcomer DJ See Why, the energy is as infectious as a Blaxploitation soundtrack. People don't stand still at the crew's shows; they bounce.

Through dirt-hustling diligence, the Ground Zero fellas have made their presence known. Whether strolling down the 16th Street Mall pushing their product or opening for national acts like Eightball & MJG, the group has been a ubiquitous force in Denver. The past year has seen the release of No Radio Play and a recently issued full-length, Tangerine V.I.P. er (pronounced "vipper"); according to Dow Jones, the discs "bring back the roots of real hip-hop." They're also bringing hip-hop to a wider audience: The State of Colorado recently selected Ground Zero's single "The Weakest Link" for its Get Real anti-smoking campaign this summer. The group is slated to perform at the state's Youth Summit this summer.

While the Ground Zero Movement hopes to become the first rap act to blow up outside of Denver, its members are content to provide an outlet for local artists looking to get their shine on. "We're just trying to knock down the doors for everybody. Everybody thinks hip-hop is dead, and we're trying to resurrect it," says Ase One. -- James Mayo

HEAVYWEIGHT DUB CHAMPION
NOMINATED IN HIP-HOP
9 P.M., THE CHURCH
Heavyweight Dub Champion is in a state of expansion. Core members Patch and Resurrector have recently traveled the globe scouting for sounds and video footage that they can use to complement their illbient mix of hip-hop dubtronica and multimedia stage presentation.

"We've been expanding the empire in terms of visuals and video, and in terms of gathering resources," says Resurrector. "Patch was in Borneo taking vocal samples from villagers, which we are appropriating into the music. I went on a trip around the world. I went to Egypt, Myanmar, India, Bali and Cambodia. It's basically spiritual footage. I filmed inside the great pyramids and in the temples of southern India. We're taking that video footage and turning it into our live show."

The show, "The Liberation Process" -- which hits the Ogden Theatre on June 27 -- reflects the collective's belief that the meditative qualities of its music can help audiences achieve a liberated state of being. The Champs are also busy working on a followup to their acclaimed Survival Guide for the End of Time. The as-yet-untitled CD will be issued with an accompanying DVD.

"We're hoping to find a middle ground between what it is we do in our live performances -- the meditative, mantra-like qualities -- and what we tend to do in the studio," says Resurrector. "The discs will explore similar themes as on Survival Guide, and it will reflect our travels."

The crew expects to have the discs out by November; by then, half the group -- Patch, Resurrector and Totter -- will have moved to San Francisco. "We've been trying to expand to Asia, and this will bring us closer to that, but the main thing is, we're trying to network with other artists while keeping our foundation in Colorado," Resurrector says. "Half the band [Apostle, Stero Lion, DJ Illnaughty] will go back and forth when we tour." Hopefully, the Champions will visit often: Losing them completely would be a heavy blow. -- Mayo

HEMI CUDA
NOMINATED IN PUNK
When God was handing out rock, Hemi Cuda must have been pretty far up in the line. Guitarist Anika Zappe and bassist Karen Exley formed the band in 1998 and, after a succession of drummers, conscripted Scott Padawer to man the skins. "I don't think we had any big, contrived notions of what we wanted to do when we started," says Zappe. "I was coming from more of a garage-rock background at that time, and I think Karen was more of a fan of metal. We have a lot of similar interests, too, but the things that are different are the things that make the music more interesting."

On Hemi Cuda's debut CD, Classics for Lovers, garage rock runs a red light and plows headlong into heavy metal. The sound is like scorched rubber and shattered glass, with guitars so heavy and jagged they crunch bone. Although siphoning sips of riffs and lyrics from the Stooges and the Clash, Classics owes more to the high-octane sludge of L7 and Denver rock legends the Fluid. The album was released on disc in the U.S. by the Olympia, Washington, imprint Pop Sweatshop, and a vinyl version was pressed by the German label Thunderbaby, which led to a recent tour of Europe for the band.

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