Friday the 24th at Scruffy Murphy’s, Denver, CO — We’ll be playing between solo sets by Reno Divorce frontman, Brent Loveday, and Chad Price of ALL and Drag the River

MARCH

Friday and Saturday the 23rd & 24th at Hahn’s Peak Roadhouse, Clark, CO

Thursday the 29th at Dillon Dam Brewery, Dillon, CO

The 4HR band has undergone several changes since the release of last year’s COLOSSALALIA — most saliently, our addition of drummer Rob Buehler and guitarist Jamie Mitchell. Our bassist, Andrew Porter, nearly lost his head in a motorcycle accident, I got an official job, not to mention the tsunamis of meth-induced verbal abuse we’ve endured from a couple residents of the hi-rise apartment across the street from our rehearsal pad.

Will any of this affect the lyrical content of the songs we’ll record? No way. However, 4HR fans can expect to be immersed in strange new territories not limited to Denver’s infamous 15L bus line, a horseshoe tournament gone awry, a wrecking yard for retired spaceships, and a water tower observation deck.

We’ll attempt to keep this blog updated throughout the recording process, but that sounds like more-appropriate work for an intern, so we’ll just have to see about that.

In the meantime, enjoy this photo taken by R. Saxton somewhere in Eastern CO.

Thanks,
ZB

The BIG FEED is an annual event and action held by M12. It is a celebration of the regional landscape, experimental art and architecture, food, music, culture and community. It is a forum to connect community members and artists in a casual atmosphere, as well as an opportunity for the larger public to learn more about the groundbreaking work presented by the attending community members, artists, musicians, critics, and curators. Landing somewhere between a family reunion, potluck dinner, symposium, and festival, The BIG FEED is held every second weekend in October. The event is open to the public and free with a $5 donation and one food item to share. For more information on the event and the organization please visit the M12 website.

SCHEDULE
Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011

2:30PM—DJ Rockcrusher, Maiden Rock, WI (DJ, Country & Western 78’s)
DJ Rockcrusher returns to the BIG FEED this year to spin Country and Western 78’s. Come and enjoy the sounds of Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, Slim Whitman, Roy Acuff, The Carter Family, and many others – remind yourself of the joys of authentic country music!

3PM—Vic Anderson, Estes Park, CO (Music, Country & Western, Yodeling)
Vic Anderson, “The Yodeling Cowboy,” has been crowned the Western Music Association International Yodeling Champion multiple times, most recently in 2010. Raised in a musical family, his maternal Scottish ancestors have been troubadours for generations. Vic has worked with well-known entertainers such as Tex Williams, Barbara Fairchild, and Patsy Montana, and has multiple projects released under his own direction. Singer, whistler, yodeler, writer and photographer, Vic Anderson will entertain the crowd this year, and in his words, encourage us to “ride easy pard!”

4PM—CU Art Students, Boulder, CO (Presentation, Visual Art)
A group of graduate students from the University of Colorado at Boulder will join in again this year to share their work, present fresh ideas, and challenge the audience to get up to speed on what’s in store for the regional contemporary art community in Colorado.

4:30PM—Yuma County Rodeo Queens, Yuma, CO (Presentation, Regional Culture)
We are honored to present the 2011-12 Yuma County Rodeo Queens, Sara Brandner and Taylor Miller along with 2007 Rodeo Queen Kaci Porter, Sara’s sister. Appearing in full glitz with their trusty registered quarter horse “Dusty,” hear them talk about their experiences representing and promoting Yuma County and the Fair.

5PM—Gregory Hill, Joes, CO, native (Music and Reading)
Greg Hill is an author and musician originally from Joes, Colorado. Mixing pathos and humor in equal measure, Gregory Hill’s new book East of Denver is an unflinching novel about rural America, a poignant, darkly funny tale about a father and son finding their way together as their home and livelihood inexorably disappears. Join us as Greg reads from East of Denver and plays a few tunes with his band The Babysitters.

5:30PM—Matthew Fluharty, St. Louis, MO (Presentation, Arts & Rural Culture)
Matthew Fluharty is the editor of Art of the Rural an organization and website that works to gather a variety of perspectives on the state of rural arts and culture in American life, humbly seeking to bring a variety of arts organizations, artists and media outlets into conversation. Art of the Rural is also concerned with how the arts can help us understand rural America in the new century: how we figure urban-rural connections and how we talk about the rural diaspora and rural youth. Matthew will present on The Best of Art of The Rural.

6:15—Eric Steen & Ro Guenzel, Colorado Springs & Longmont, CO (Presentation, Regional Culture)
Eric Steen is a visual artist from Colorado Springs, CO who works with beer as his medium. Ro Guenzel is the head brewmaster at Left Hand Brewery in Longmont. Together this pair will share their knowledge of beer, creativity, and culture along with some tasty suds that they have prepared from ingredients from the Rutledge Family Farm in Yuma, Colorado.

6:45PM—THE BIG FEED with music by 4H Royalty (Food & Beverages, Music)
The M12 bison is on the spit again this year! Come on over and have the best roasted bison in Colorado. Tried and tested by M12 over the years, our bison truly makes The BIG FEED the best Art and Food event in the West! 4H Royalty, a “twang rock” band from Denver will provide entertainment during this year’s FEED.

7:30PM—Mimi Zeiger, Los Angeles, CA (Presentation, Visual Art & Architecture)
Mimi Zeiger is editor and publisher of loud paper, a zine and blog dedicated to increasing the volume of architectural discourse. As a writer and critic, she covers art, architecture, and design for a number of publications including The New York Times, Domus, Dwell, and Architect, where she is a contributing editor. Zeiger is author of Tiny Houses and her latest book, Micro Green: Tiny Houses in Nature was released March 2011. Mimi will speak about her current project The Interventionist’s Toolkit, a look at design-build practice, temporary and provisional projects, and work often produced by emerging architects, artists, and urbanists that operate outside of professional boundaries, but whom are questioning the built environment and architecture culture.

8:15PM—4H Royalty, Denver, CO (Music, Twang Rock)
Denver, Colorado’s premier purveyors of “twang rock” and recipients of the Westword Readers’ Poll “Best New Band 2010,” 4H Royalty has quickly built a reputation as being one of the most versatile and original quartets on the High Plains. While their sound pays authentic homage to the greats of classic country, blues, and rock & roll, 4H Royalty is neither “revivalist” nor “purist” in their approach. They’re songs work and they’re fun. They’re catchy, honest, intelligent, and they don’t suffer fools gladly.

9:00PM—Blue Mountain, Oxford, MS (Music, Americana)
Blue Mountain was formed in 1991 in Los Angeles by Cary Hudson (guitar and vocals) and Laurie Stirratt (bass and harmony vocals), and were part of the flourishing roots-rock movement in the 90’s that included similar bands such as Uncle Tupelo, The Jayhawks, Son Volt and Wilco. The duo were formerly of The Hilltops, an Oxford, Mississippi band formed by John Stirratt (Wilco) and Cary Hudson. After a yearlong stint in Los Angeles, Hudson and Stirratt moved back to Oxford and were joined by drummer Matt Brennan. Blue Mountain released their first self-titled album on their own 4-Barrel Records in 1993. The band was signed by the independent Roadrunner Records label and released Dog Days, with new drummer Frank Coutch in 1995, Home Grown in 1997, and Tales of a Traveler in 1999. In 2001, Blue Mountain released the album Roots, followed by Tonight It’s Now or Never in 2002. After a 5-year hiatus, Blue Mountain reunited in the summer of 2007 and released Midnight in Mississippi, as well as Omnibus in 2008. The band is currently based in South Mississippi and New Orleans. Please join M12 in welcoming Blue Mountain to Colorado for a rare High Plains performance!
Click here to listen to and purchase Midnight in Mississippi

Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011

9:30AM—PANCAKE FEED (Food & Beverage), $5 donation

10AM—Jami Lunde, Lyons, CO (Music)
A musician from Lyons, CO, Jami Lunde will be playing a set of material from her new album Big Black Birds. Big Black Birds, her second album, features Chris Funk of The Decemberists, Eben Grace, Jack Leahy, and others. The album was released in 2011 on Awnry Girl records and is built on her experience as an alt-country troubadour, weaving tales of travel, self-realization and death.

Additional Information on the 2011 BIG FEED:

zzzzzzz’s
Hotel accommodations are available at the Nelson Inn in Yuma. Mention “M12″ for the $60 per night rate. Camping is also available at the Yuma County Fairgrounds at no charge, click here to email us if you decide to stay on-site. Campers are responsible for their own tents and equipment.

The Nelson Inn
815 East 8th Avenue
Yuma, Colorado
Toll Free (866) 329-7695
Phone (970) 848-2774

Ride-share
There are a limited number of seats available in the M12 ride-share van. This vehicle will be departing from the Broomfield and US 36 Park-n-Ride at 10AM Saturday morning and will return Sunday by 4PM. Please RSVP, click here.

Generously supporting M12′s mission on the Colorado High-plains: The Colorado Creative Industries, The Anschutz Family Foundation, The Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado, The University of Colorado at Boulder, VC Farms, The Otis Telegraph, Rutledge Family Farms, The Nelson Inn, and the Left Hand Brewing Co.

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Visit M12 on the world wide web: m12studio.org.

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4H played the Lair a couple months ago, and amongst the attendees was artist Richard Saxton of CU-Boulder’s art department. We’d never met before, but within a few hundred words we were able to get to the crux of things: we’d both spent a good deal of time at the Main Event, a bar way out east in Yuma, Colorado, where no Rocky Mountains can be seen under any circumstances.*

It turns out that Saxton’s M12 organization is working on a base in Yuma. M12 is 501c3 not-for-profit and NGO operated by a collective of artists, designers, and creative professionals. Have a look at the M12 website for their ongoing roster of projects.

I spent many, many intermittent weeks between 1990-2006 working in the Yuma area with my father and brother. We always stayed at the same hotel, directly across the street from the Main Event. I wrote the skeleton of “You Didn’t Have to Do That” hunkered down on a cracked, pleather Main Event barstool in ’06. I was probably listening to a lot of Leatherface and Husker Du at the time, so those lyrics got sacked for a few years, but we finally worked it up.

Saxton and I have met several times since, and he’s accepted an appointment as 4H Royalty’s Minister of Art Direction. We have several exciting, unorthodox collaborative projects in the works, which will be formally announced as soon as it’s too late to turn back.

In the meantime, M12s annual event, THE BIG FEED 2010, will be happening on October 9th and 10th. The schedule of events can be found HERE.

There will be a prominent UFO lecturer, a racing of “The Black Hornet” (the M12-sponsored race car), a Bison cook-off, Bloodshot Records recording artist Paul Burch, collective gravel travel, and a host of other events.

ZB

* the Rocky Mountains can occasionally be seen from the Akron hill, roughly 28 miles west of Yuma.