Community Calendar

Parker Mcollum

Date:	June 9, 7:30 pm-10:00pm
Continues Until:
Location:	925 STRUTHERS AVENUE
Details:	Parker McCollum wants it both ways. Restless soul who can slam dunk a major venue. Texas spirit who can exist on mainstream country radio. Songwriter with a sense of turpentine and truth singing for people whose life isn’t quite the truckbed/field party revel much of country music would have you believe. Coming up in Texas, selling out Stubbs, Billy Bobs and Nutty Browns, the brash young man with a taste for Rodney Crowell, Todd Snider and James McMurtry had just enough Houston gangster rap in the water to develop a swagger that’s miles from the good ole boy patina so many of his peers embody. But don’t let that bravado fool you, his passion for songwriting runs deep. “I want to have Luke Bryan success, singing Chris Knight-caliber songs,” he declares. “To have longevity, you can’t sacrifice integrity to get on the radio. People know the difference, look at Willie, look at Strait. I knew I could do Texas and never leave, or come to Nashville and do the pop-country thing. My goal is to ride the middle.” He exhales as he says this, takes in the landscape. He’s already notched a platinum-certified #1 with the banged-up declaration of love and betrayal “Pretty Heart.” He’s gone against the grain enlisting songwriter/musician/vocalist/producer Jon Randall; he’s known for his work as part of Emmylou Harris’ Grammy-winning Nash Ramblers, producer of Dierks Bentley’s Up To The Ridge and co-writer of the 2005 CMA Song of the Year “Whiskey Lullabye” and 2018 ACM Song of the Year “The Tin Man.” “I was super burned out from co-writes,” he says of their initial meeting. “He saw it, took one look, and said, ‘Hey, let’s hang out.’ He’s not just done it all, he’s won awards for it… When the label didn’t want him to be my producer, I thought he was a perfect fit. They let us go in and cut some demos; ‘Pretty Heart’ was one of those.” I been drinking like a drunkard in these Austin neon lights Burning smokes and wondering if there’s anything I’ve done right… Gold Chain Cowboy expands on that outcast drifter ethos with a collection of songs that are riddled with fuck-ups, disappointments, lost nights, real life snarls and the hunger that drives people on. Reckless, willing to reckon with the wreckage and shattered pieces of what was, McCollum’s major label debut isn’t a dead-end road, but more a cul-de-sac that too many people go ‘round and ‘round on. “I was pretty lonely,” he offers, certifying his songs’ angst. “I was pretty young when I started selling out these places, you know? I was a rock star. But I wasn’t a rock star when I woke up, that was last night. “There was no shortage of women. There were plenty around, random girls, but people you don’t care about – and they don’t care about you. It was a lot of whiskey and smoking cigarettes to fill up the space. But I started thinking, ‘What am I gonna do when I get a little further along?’” Figure McCollum, who admits a taste for flashy things, was raised a car dealer’s son. His mother’s family – “they’re a little rougher, they come from the land” – were dealing with cattle, ranching, the rodeo world. In many ways a classic Texas upbringing, even his music obsession started with his brother giving him The Traveling Wilburys, Volume 1 for his 11th birthday. Working his Grandfather’s ranch with his older brother and a couple cousins one summer, he heard Ryan Bingham’s “Southside of Heaven” for the first time. It changed everything. “It was so simple – and stayed so simple. My sophomore and junior years, he put out two of the best records I’ve ever heard. It showed me what standards are, and that it could be done.” Still, unhindered and young – wild living ensued. But that lust for life never got in the way of him writing songs, seeking to make the music better. Around Texas, he turned into a veritable Justin Bieber scream-inducing proposition. He didn’t care. “I look back and think, ‘How did I go onstage like that?’” he marvels. “It makes me sick to think about it. I can’t believe I lived like that; but I liked all those things way too much. I didn’t want anything to step on my songwriting. It pays to be as real as it gets, so all that just goes into the bank for writing, I guess.” There’s a picture frame hanging a little to the side Some drugs on the counter in the kitchen by the wine And I’m shaking like winter, but I just can’t eat Four studios. Thirty musicians. Countless songs. Lots of ruminating. “I finally had my first big record deal, and the country closed down. I had to think about how did I want this record to go, trying to figure out who I am and where I am again. Just as I thought I’d done it, I had another chance to think about it.” From the George Strait pluck of “Never Loved You At All” to the plaintive lonesome “Dallas,” the surging dumped by phone “Why Indiana” to the guitars forward tumbling pledge of always “Wait Outside,” McCollum changes gaits and gears through working class heartbreak and country. Gold Chain Cowboy offers a different take on being a good ole boy: dignity instead of pain, aching instead of numb. It hurts a lot more than you know It hurts a lot more than I show… “Slow, sad country country love songs,” says McCollum, defining his sweet spot, “…about things going terribly wrong. “I’m a hopeless romantic. Take all those heartbreak moments, they come from real places. Not always mine, but I’ve witnessed every one. Boil’em down, put’em in a song. That’s my deal.” Straddling Texas and Nashville, not only has McCollum written on his own – the staggering Green Day-evoking “Rest of My Life” – he’s shared songwriting credits with Randall, Wade Bowen, Randy Rogers, Randy Montana, Rhett Atkins, Miranda Lambert and Songwriters Hall of Famer Tony Lane. Scraping the truth from sun-baked bones isn’t for the faint of heart, so McCollum proceeded with caution. “With ‘Heart Like Mine,’ I’d had that first verse for four years. I’d been saving it, because I always knew it was special. I’d almost pulled it out a couple times in co-writes that weren’t working. But I knew not to. “When I sat down with Tony, I knew he was the one. I told him those lines, and he went, ‘That’s fucking bad ass.’ We finished it in an hour… It was unbelievable. He had that line, ‘I’m good at getting lost, but I’m bad at getting found…’ He so got it.” It’s easier to miss ya than it is to let you down I knew from the start, I was from the wrong side of town You told me I was different, we were two of a kind Cause you got the only heart like mine… Fluid, Gold Chain Cowboy moves effortlessly from the .38 Special surge and gaited drums of “Falling Apart” to the Tim McGraw-esque questioning on the gleaming “To Be Loved By You” into the loping steel guitar-soaked tavern country lament “Drinkin’” or the old school stroll “Heart Like Mine.” For the rush of energy, the raw voice, room left between the parts to let the loss and yearning permeate the tracks, Randall created a soundscape that echoes with the emotions most people would rather not look at. “If you can make people feel sorry for you in the songs, or not sorry but feel that pain, it’s gold,” he confesses. “Sometimes it’s not me, but I know where it comes from, and I mean it. I mean it a lot.” For McCollum, who cites “old school McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Gary Allen” as artists who own an emotional vista and a place on country radio, this project moves him closer to his larger dreams. “I love songs too much, though I don’t think you can love songs too much. Just you have to really make all of this about the songs. Everything is a melody or a hook to me, and then it’s how do you finish what there is in a way you can be proud of? “George Strait was ‘the Man’ in my house, the artist of my childhood. No higher, no better! His voice, the way he understands and sings a song. He isn’t a writer, but ‘Baby’s Gotten Good At Good-Bye’? ‘Amarillo by Morning’ was the first song I remember turning up in my Grandpa’s truck. When music does that to you, you’re gonna hold songs in pretty high regard. “When I’m writing, I tell people, ‘Put your map away… Put your handbook down. Close your eyes. Tell me what do you see?’ That’s where the best songs come from, the ones that are pure and inspired. I’ve lived every one of these songs… on every album… so I can’t lose ‘that guy.’ If I never did anything else, I’d have plenty to write about – and I don’t think that’s gonna happen. Hell, maybe I’m right, maybe I’m wrong Finding out why shouldn’t take this long Easier said than done I guess I’m a little bit harder to love than the rest Click here for the event website

Upcoming Events

Thursday, Jun 9

LITERARY

MUSIC

SPORTS

THEATRE

PARKER MCOLLUM

7:30pm-10:00pm, 925 STRUTHERS AVENUE

Parker McCollum wants it both ways. Restless soul who can slam dunk a major venue. Texas spirit who can exist on mainstream country radio. Songwriter more...0 with a sense of turpentine and truth singing for people whose life isn’t quite the truckbed/field party revel much of country music would have you believe. Coming up in Texas, selling out Stubbs, Billy Bobs and Nutty Browns, the brash young man with a taste for Rodney Crowell, Todd Snider and James McMurtry had just enough Houston gangster rap in the water to develop a swagger that’s miles from the good ole boy patina so many of his peers embody. But don’t let that bravado fool you, his passion for songwriting runs deep. “I want to have Luke Bryan success, singing Chris Knight-caliber songs,” he declares. “To have longevity, you can’t sacrifice integrity to get on the radio. People know the difference, look at Willie, look at Strait. I knew I could do Texas and never leave, or come to Nashville and do the pop-country thing. My goal is to ride the middle.” He exhales as he says this, takes in the landscape. He’s already notched a platinum-certified #1 with the banged-up declaration of love and betrayal “Pretty Heart.” He’s gone against the grain enlisting songwriter/musician/vocalist/producer Jon Randall; he’s known for his work as part of Emmylou Harris’ Grammy-winning Nash Ramblers, producer of Dierks Bentley’s Up To The Ridge and co-writer of the 2005 CMA Song of the Year “Whiskey Lullabye” and 2018 ACM Song of the Year “The Tin Man.” “I was super burned out from co-writes,” he says of their initial meeting. “He saw it, took one look, and said, ‘Hey, let’s hang out.’ He’s not just done it all, he’s won awards for it… When the label didn’t want him to be my producer, I thought he was a perfect fit. They let us go in and cut some demos; ‘Pretty Heart’ was one of those.” I been drinking like a drunkard in these Austin neon lights Burning smokes and wondering if there’s anything I’ve done right… Gold Chain Cowboy expands on that outcast drifter ethos with a collection of songs that are riddled with fuck-ups, disappointments, lost nights, real life snarls and the hunger that drives people on. Reckless, willing to reckon with the wreckage and shattered pieces of what was, McCollum’s major label debut isn’t a dead-end road, but more a cul-de-sac that too many people go ‘round and ‘round on. “I was pretty lonely,” he offers, certifying his songs’ angst. “I was pretty young when I started selling out these places, you know? I was a rock star. But I wasn’t a rock star when I woke up, that was last night. “There was no shortage of women. There were plenty around, random girls, but people you don’t care about – and they don’t care about you. It was a lot of whiskey and smoking cigarettes to fill up the space. But I started thinking, ‘What am I gonna do when I get a little further along?’” Figure McCollum, who admits a taste for flashy things, was raised a car dealer’s son. His mother’s family – “they’re a little rougher, they come from the land” – were dealing with cattle, ranching, the rodeo world. In many ways a classic Texas upbringing, even his music obsession started with his brother giving him The Traveling Wilburys, Volume 1 for his 11th birthday. Working his Grandfather’s ranch with his older brother and a couple cousins one summer, he heard Ryan Bingham’s “Southside of Heaven” for the first time. It changed everything. “It was so simple – and stayed so simple. My sophomore and junior years, he put out two of the best records I’ve ever heard. It showed me what standards are, and that it could be done.” Still, unhindered and young – wild living ensued. But that lust for life never got in the way of him writing songs, seeking to make the music better. Around Texas, he turned into a veritable Justin Bieber scream-inducing proposition. He didn’t care. “I look back and think, ‘How did I go onstage like that?’” he marvels. “It makes me sick to think about it. I can’t believe I lived like that; but I liked all those things way too much. I didn’t want anything to step on my songwriting. It pays to be as real as it gets, so all that just goes into the bank for writing, I guess.” There’s a picture frame hanging a little to the side Some drugs on the counter in the kitchen by the wine And I’m shaking like winter, but I just can’t eat Four studios. Thirty musicians. Countless songs. Lots of ruminating. “I finally had my first big record deal, and the country closed down. I had to think about how did I want this record to go, trying to figure out who I am and where I am again. Just as I thought I’d done it, I had another chance to think about it.” From the George Strait pluck of “Never Loved You At All” to the plaintive lonesome “Dallas,” the surging dumped by phone “Why Indiana” to the guitars forward tumbling pledge of always “Wait Outside,” McCollum changes gaits and gears through working class heartbreak and country. Gold Chain Cowboy offers a different take on being a good ole boy: dignity instead of pain, aching instead of numb. It hurts a lot more than you know It hurts a lot more than I show… “Slow, sad country country love songs,” says McCollum, defining his sweet spot, “…about things going terribly wrong. “I’m a hopeless romantic. Take all those heartbreak moments, they come from real places. Not always mine, but I’ve witnessed every one. Boil’em down, put’em in a song. That’s my deal.” Straddling Texas and Nashville, not only has McCollum written on his own – the staggering Green Day-evoking “Rest of My Life” – he’s shared songwriting credits with Randall, Wade Bowen, Randy Rogers, Randy Montana, Rhett Atkins, Miranda Lambert and Songwriters Hall of Famer Tony Lane. Scraping the truth from sun-baked bones isn’t for the faint of heart, so McCollum proceeded with caution. “With ‘Heart Like Mine,’ I’d had that first verse for four years. I’d been saving it, because I always knew it was special. I’d almost pulled it out a couple times in co-writes that weren’t working. But I knew not to. “When I sat down with Tony, I knew he was the one. I told him those lines, and he went, ‘That’s fucking bad ass.’ We finished it in an hour… It was unbelievable. He had that line, ‘I’m good at getting lost, but I’m bad at getting found…’ He so got it.” It’s easier to miss ya than it is to let you down I knew from the start, I was from the wrong side of town You told me I was different, we were two of a kind Cause you got the only heart like mine… Fluid, Gold Chain Cowboy moves effortlessly from the .38 Special surge and gaited drums of “Falling Apart” to the Tim McGraw-esque questioning on the gleaming “To Be Loved By You” into the loping steel guitar-soaked tavern country lament “Drinkin’” or the old school stroll “Heart Like Mine.” For the rush of energy, the raw voice, room left between the parts to let the loss and yearning permeate the tracks, Randall created a soundscape that echoes with the emotions most people would rather not look at. “If you can make people feel sorry for you in the songs, or not sorry but feel that pain, it’s gold,” he confesses. “Sometimes it’s not me, but I know where it comes from, and I mean it. I mean it a lot.” For McCollum, who cites “old school McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Gary Allen” as artists who own an emotional vista and a place on country radio, this project moves him closer to his larger dreams. “I love songs too much, though I don’t think you can love songs too much. Just you have to really make all of this about the songs. Everything is a melody or a hook to me, and then it’s how do you finish what there is in a way you can be proud of? “George Strait was ‘the Man’ in my house, the artist of my childhood. No higher, no better! His voice, the way he understands and sings a song. He isn’t a writer, but ‘Baby’s Gotten Good At Good-Bye’? ‘Amarillo by Morning’ was the first song I remember turning up in my Grandpa’s truck. When music does that to you, you’re gonna hold songs in pretty high regard. “When I’m writing, I tell people, ‘Put your map away… Put your handbook down. Close your eyes. Tell me what do you see?’ That’s where the best songs come from, the ones that are pure and inspired. I’ve lived every one of these songs… on every album… so I can’t lose ‘that guy.’ If I never did anything else, I’d have plenty to write about – and I don’t think that’s gonna happen. Hell, maybe I’m right, maybe I’m wrong Finding out why shouldn’t take this long Easier said than done I guess I’m a little bit harder to love than the rest

MUSIC

TONY FURTADO ACOUSTIC BAND

feat. Matt Flinner, Ross Martin, and Eric Thorin

8:00pm-10:00pm, Ute Theater, 132 E 4th St Rifle,CO 81650

Tony Furtado, renowned slide-guitarist, award-winning banjo player, and singer/songwriter, returns to his old stomping grounds of Colorado, this time more...0

Friday, Jun 10

MUSIC

EVERCLEAR

Mesa County Partners

7:00pm-10:00pm, 925 STRUTHERS AVENUE

Everclear put a firm stamp on modern rock in the 1990s, when they dominated alternative radio with their infectious mix of angsty grunge riffs and more...0 bright pop hooks. While the musical landscape has drastically changed since then, the band has continued to embrace their hard-rock roots well into the 21st century. Everclear's story starts with Los Angeles-born frontman Art Alexakis. After a difficult childhood in Southern California, he moved to San Francisco, where his career in music started to take shape. There, he formed a few country-punk bands — including The Easy Hoes and Colorfinger — and founded his own Shindig Records in the late ‘80s. But it was his eventual move to Portland, Oregon, that sealed his rock-star fate. After placing an ad in a local Portland paper, Alexakis met bassist Craig Montoya and drummer Scott Cuthbert, and Everclear was officially established in 1992 when the trio began performing at local gigs. The next year, they recorded their debut EP, Nervous & Weird. It was then expanded and turned into their first full-length, World of Noise, released on indie label Tim/Kerr. With an album to their name, the group hit the road, performing in cities around the U.S. as they sought a major-label deal. In 1994, they signed to Capitol Records, all while going through a slight lineup shift with Cuthbert being replaced by new drummer Greg Eklund. Their second album and first for Capitol, Sparkle and Fade, appeared in 1995 and caught on quickly with catchy singles like "Santa Monica." That momentum continued to grow with their next release, 1997's So Much for the Afterglow, which went double platinum thanks to modern-rock hits "Everything to Everyone," "Father of Mine," and "I Will Buy You a New Life." Everclear rolled into 2000 with just as much ambition, releasing Songs from an American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How to Smile and its second volume, Good Time for a Bad Attitude. But by the band's 10th anniversary in 2004, Alexakis remained the only founding member, so he invited three new musicians into the lineup. The next decade saw the band back on indie labels, releasing a few more albums of original material, while hitting up popular festivals like the Vans Warped Tour and the now-annual Summerland Tour — founded by Alexakis in 2012 — featuring Everclear alongside other ‘90s rock vets.

Saturday, Jun 11

GENERAL

DINOSAUR DAY

9:00am-4:00pm, 550 Jurassic Ct. Fruita, CO 81521

Join us for a fun day to celebrate Dinosaurs! This beloved yearly event is finally back in person, and we are as excited as ever to share all things more...0

SPORTS

STATION EVENT

ROCKESTRA

6:30pm-9:00pm, 925 STRUTHERS AVENUE

Gates at 5:45 PM Tickets: $20 GA Lawn/$35 GA + Seat/$45 Reserved The Grand Junction Rockestra is a one of a kind music experience that showcases the more...0

FILM

JCC PRESENTS: CINEMA SUMMER 2022

An Indie Outdoor Film Screening Series!

7:00pm-9:00pm, GJ Shift Space (702 Main St, Grand Junction, CO 81501)

From June 11th to August 6th, 2022, join us outdoors every Saturday at 7pm in the GJ Shift space (702 Main Street) to experience a diverse program of more...0

Sunday, Jun 12

RADIO ROOM

DAWN & HAWKES IN THE RADIO ROOM

Radio Room Concerts

7:00pm-9:30pm, 1310 Ute Avenue Grand Junction, CO 81501

KAFM welcomes Dawn & Hawkes back to the Radio Room on Sunday June 12th at 7pm. Miranda Dawn and Chris Hawkes first met when he crossed an more...0

Tuesday, Jun 14

DANCE

MUSIC

ZZ TOP

8:00pm-10:00pm, 925 STRUTHERS AVENUE

Gates at 7 PM Tickets: $52 GA Lawn/$72 Reserved/$92 Reserved +fees Known to the world as "That Lil' Ol' Band from Texas," ZZ Top more...0

Wednesday, Jun 15

MUSIC

SPIRITUAL

BOZ SCAGGS: OUT OF THE BLUES TOUR

7:30pm-10:00pm, Posting public events

Doors Open: 6:30 PM Ticket Prices: $35, $45, $55, $75 +fees VIP Tickets: $225, $175 It's appropriate that Boz Scaggs' new album is Out of the more...0

Thursday, Jun 16

RADIO ROOM

MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

The Summer Shakespeare Series

6:00pm-9:00pm, The Radio Room 1310 Ute Avenue Grand Junction, CO 81501

The Shakespeare Summer Series by The Geek Parties is back! Come enjoy a night of comedy Theatre in The Radio Room at KAFM Tickets more...0

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