Let’s be honest, all you hopeless hipsters out there need some serious advice. And who to better advise than Denver’s own Matty Clark — rock club owner, Zebroid, daredevil, and pretty smart guy. We’ll kick off Ask Matty with some advice on how to get a show at a rock club.

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Dear Matty,

When’s a good time to talk to you about booking a show at your bar/venue?

On a super-busy night when we are three-deep is the perfect time to ask me if your band Noone and the Whothefucks can play here sometime.

Sorry that was mean. Hey I’m fucking tired! Jeez. But I will tell you right now, talking to me or any other of our other bar staff about getting your band booked at the bar is useless. While I may own my place I, as many venues do, employ a booking agent. This is a guy whose job is managing the calendar and putting shows together. Shoot him an e-mail, he will get back to you about available dates, etc. And remember that pestering and perseverance are two different things entirely. Don’t give up, but don’t sour people by nagging constantly. If it’s a good fit I’m sure we will have a date for you somewhere. Normally if you are a new band and haven’t played out very often, you have to look at your show as a kind of proving ground. Promote in advance, crush it on show night and you’ll probably get booked again. You can’t just book a show  do nothing on your end and then expect people to come. You have to work at it. My band Zebroids has to trick people into coming to our shows with false promises of free drugs and pizza. Feel free to use that approach.

This reminds me of something I find very funny. One time a guy came up to me and asked if my band wanted to play a house party show at his place. I asked him when the show was and he just said “oh, I don’t know. We were thinking of having shows at our house sometime”. It made me laugh so hard. It was the most useless conversation. Hey do you like pasta? Yeah I love pasta! Wanna eat pasta with me? Hell yes I do! Well I’m thinking about making pasta sometime. Not right now, in the future. Just in general. NOW I’M HUNGRY FOR PASTA. Good thing it’s Tuesday and the baked pasta special is going down at Famous Pizza. Arrivederci!

Audiovore: How did The Narrators get started?

Andrew:  I originally created The Narrators out of a frustration with not being able to tell longer stories in my stand-up performance. I created it in Los Angeles and called it ‘Storytime’, but when I moved back to Denver I discovered there was already a jam band here called Storytime, so I changed it to The Narrators.

AV: Who were your first storytellers and what was the theme?

Andrew:  In its incarnation as The Narrators, the first theme was ‘Poverty’, and some of the storytellers were: Dan Landes, Ravi Zupa, Adam Cayton-Holland, Sam Tallent, Chuck Roy, and Roger Green, to name a few.

AV: There seem to be storytelling nights popping up across the country, with some podcasts like the Moth Podcast becoming extremely popular. What’s the big deal with storytelling?

Andrew:  Without intending to sound pretentious, I think storytelling is part of this oral tradition that goes back through human history. I bet cavemen huddled around a fire loved a good yarn as much as I love hearing them every third Thursday. Real stories from real lives are fascinating because there’s an emotional resonance behind them, they’re coming up and out of a person who experienced them, not just created from an imagination.

Robert: One of the best things anyone has said about The Narrators (and I think this applies to storytelling shows in general) is that everyone goes home feeling less alone. There is something about the removal of performative artifice through telling a true story that helps people to connect on a very basic level, and listening to others articulate their everyday struggles and triumphs somehow validates your own.

AV: What makes a good story?

Andrew:  I’d say the greatest component to the stories I enjoy is truth, both truth in the telling (as in not embellishing to falsely inflate the tale), but also truth in yourself and your emotions. Sometimes telling a hard story is a very vulnerable experience, and it’s weird to stand on stage and be outwardly and truly sad, but if that’s what’s real in the story, then that’s what the story deserves.

Robert: I agree with Andrew. I think the best stories are the ones that ring with authenticity. It’s a singular quality of all of the best stories we’ve heard on the show. It has nothing to do with whether the story is funny or sad or difficult for the storyteller to dig through, the audience knows when they are hearing something real and honest and that is what they respond to the most favorably.

AV: Who have been a couple audience favorites so far, and why were they so effective?

Andrew:  One of my all-time favorite stories was from Timmi Lasley. She told a story about a gift her mother made her, and brought it along and passed it around. And the story sort of began on this lighthearted note, and everyone was laughing at the homemade gift, but by the end, there was so much emotional resonance in the story, the gift was like a sacred object to all of us. It was so fascinating to see context change in just ten short minutes. Another recent favorite was a story by Mara Wiles, and in it she talked about her nightmares since going on dialysis, and Mara is this super funny person, but the story was very sad and terrifying and moving. You could definitely feel her emotions through the story.

Robert: We’ve been fortunate to have so many storytellers give so freely of themselves.  The Narrators is a free event in a community space. The people who come to tell stories and the audiences that come to hear them come together because they all believe in that singular power of truth-telling, and we’ve heard a lot of that during the show’s run. I’m always blown away by the wit, honesty, and bravery that the storytellers bring every month.  Having said that, I’m a huge fan of playwright Ellen K. Graham, who is a regular guest.  Her writing is dense and unflinchingly intelligent and her storytelling style is direct and nervous and subtle. I turn her stories over in my mind for weeks after she tells them.  Kent Shelton is another favorite.  He is gifted with a classic knack for naturally spinning a good yarn.  Every time he takes the stage he just pulls people in and takes his time, and people love being along for the ride.

AV: Do you tell stories each week?

Andrew:  The show is monthly, and both Robert and I tell a story each month. We alternate hosting and choosing themes.

AV: Since starting The Narrators, do you live or act any differently so that you develop compelling story material?

Andrew:  I do not. I think it would ruin an experience to go into it ‘looking’ for a story.

Robert: Me neither. I have faith that I’ll always be capable of making poor decisions, strong comebacks, and fantastic failures just like everybody else.  I’ll be fucked if I get to a point where all I can talk about is what I did at the gym or how my high school years were a golden age.

AV: What do you have planned for The Narrators in 2013?

Andrew:  The Narrators has definitely settled into its new home at Deer Pile, and the podcast is kicking butt. We’ve also received a number of offers to bring The Narrators to other events, which is cool. I love the storytelling scene in Denver and it’s getting stronger and stronger.

Robert: I want to keep growing our cache of storytellers and turn more people on to the amazing storytellers who make our show what it is.

AV: Tell Audiovore a story around the theme “Instinct” in 100 words or less:

Andrew: Instinctually I’d have to say a good story probably can’t be squeezed into 100 words.

Robert: I can do it with 15 words: I failed to heed my instincts when I paid for that Winnie the Pooh tattoo.

Concerts run every Sunday from 5-7pm on the MCA Denver rooftop. The view from the roof is amazing – mountains, cityscape, roller coasters and more. Plus, you’ll be able to drink coffee or beer or whatever else while feasting your eyes on some good looking and talented musicians playing really, really good music. We promise.

Audiovore will be posting photos on our blog, as well as a video performance of each band from somewhere inside MCA Denver. Check in regularly for new content!

See you next Sunday…

Kisses,

AUDIOVORE

AudioVore: So let’s get real basic; what year of the UMS is this one?

Kendall Smith: This is our 12^th year

AV: And when did you take over?

KS: Last year was my first year as the director of the event but I volunteered for a couple of years before that.

AV: Was your first year a trial by fire?

KS: (laughs) Yeah, somewhat. I am kind of new to this business so I’ve been in full on learning mode the entire time, which is a good thing.

AV: How many people attended last year?

KS: Last year we estimated 11,000, but that’s over the four days and it’s a little difficult when you’re dealing with a four-day wrist band, multiple days, and multiple venues. You have to try to estimate a little bit on how many people are coming every day but I was as scientific as I could be as a former finance guy.

AV: 11,000, wow, that’s a ton of people.

KS: Yeah over the four days it is. It’s a good crowd. And we’ve seen steady growth over the last four years or so.

AV: How many bands played last year?

KS: We broke 350 performances and so right now for this year we’re sitting at 300 and we’re still adding some people. We’ve still got a few more things up our sleeves.

AV: You guys have a super secret guest right?

KS: Yeah, there are some people we can’t really talk about yet. Some might be announced the last week of June, others we might sit on a bit longer. To keep it interesting, you know?

AV: So why did you choose for the UMS to be a non-profit organization and what exactly does that entail?

KS: Well when we brought the event into the Denver Post last year…it had been operated and associated with the Denver Post prior but wasn’t really a function of the Denver Post per se, it was a lot of really good hearted people moonlighting and building this thing up into the well loved institution that it is. But last year when the management of the Post decided to bring it in house, we looked at the look and feel of the event, and the whole vibe you have when you’re down there in the Baker district of South Broadway and Jerry Grilly, the CEO of the paper at the time, thought it was a great idea to add this to the Denver Post Community Foundation. We have a number of signature events that they put on throughout the year that benefit the actual foundation and he thought this was a good candidate to add to the portfolio. So all net proceeds of the event do go into the Foundation and every year we pick a couple direct beneficiaries that we’ll do grants to. Last year it was Flobots.org and this year we’ll do Flobots.org and we’ve added another, which is VH1’s Save The Music foundation. Two really great organizations that work with youth and are music based.

AV: So Flobots.org is local based, we’re guessing that VH1’s Save The Music a national organization, is that right?

KS: I believe they’re international but the grant that we will give them will be used locally. They already operate in some schools here and it’s a really cool program that I learned about. They go in and provide a grant to a school to buy the whole portfolio of musical instruments so that they can run a music program. So they help come in and create a music program in a school that otherwise wouldn’t have one. And when they buy that equipment, they buy it locally so that the funds are actually spent in the community that they’re putting the music program into.

AV: So what is the goal of the UMS and has it changed over the past 12 years?

KS: I can only speak for the last couple of years, but I think our goal for the event is to continue to provide the preeminent local music survey. If you come down for four days you’re going to get a really good cross section of what’s going on locally in our music scene. Ultimately I think the goal for this event is to build into a destination event. An event where people want to come to Denver in July, check out the entire event, check out what we have to offer musically, where artists in town and out of town want to come here and play and get the exposure, and where industry people want to come here and check it out. I mean, how often can you go somewhere and really check out the number of bands you can see.

AV: Definitely, there are very few festivals that provide that kind of opportunity to bands in their own community.

KS: Yeah, and again, we’re working to grow the audience for the event. It’s a good event, the vibe you get when you’re down there – the crowds, the bands, the fact that so many local bands actually get to hang out together for the weekend when their normally so far flung playing their own gigs and it’s almost a coming together or gathering of the tribes for them that weekend as well. I think that’s one of the main reasons it has such a great feel to it.

AV: What is the future plan for the UMS? Are you going to grow and have more bands? Are you thinking of moving it to another part of town? Are there any ideas for changing the festival inherently?

KS: Changing it inherently? (laughs) No. I think we’ll continue to evolve and it’s important to grow the event in a stable manner to ensure it’s longevity and we have a little bit of structure and stability being associated with the Denver Post and it being a charity event. I would like to grow it and allow more and more artists to participate, to have more and more people to enjoy the event. But it’s a challenge when you say that because people try to make that leap to commercialization or selling out or watering down and that’s not what we’re looking at doing at all. Again, we’re looking at providing the best survey of the local music scene and providing a good, safe event for people.

AV: Yeah, definitely.

KS: To address your question about moving, I don’t see any reason to move from South Broadway. That neighborhood has been so good to us and I think that if you had a snapshot of that neighborhood four or five years ago compared to now, it’s an evolving neighborhood as well.

AV: Is there a point in the near future where you see this event being too big for South Broadway?

KS: We’ll have to cross that bridge when we get to it and there are always solutions. To me, that neighborhood is a good piece of the event itself.

AV: As a huge event in the Denver music scene and with a mostly local lineup, how does it foster the scene itself? With more national artists this year than in past years, is that to try and bill it as a destination and give people a reason to travel here other than the local artists?

KS: It’s funny because I don’t think there are more national artists this year than in previous years. I think we’ve picked up a few that are a bit more ready than in the past. We’re proud of the lineups we’ve had in the past and there are always big bands that you instantly recognize but I’m not sure where a lot of that is coming from. If I look at the ratio of the performances and compare it to last year, the amount of out of town bands we booked compared to the number of local performances, I think it’s going to come in at about the same. Would I like to continue to book a few higher profile bands? Yes. Would I like them even more to be from Denver? Yes. But often times it doesn’t work that way and when you look at local bands, when they’re taking off they’re out of town during the summer or they’re preserving their local plays.

AV: What kind of contracts do you make with bands playing the UMS?

KS: We request that they try not to play a couple weeks before and a couple weeks after. Obviously with some of the bigger bands we like to have a radius clause but we certainly understand the music scene in Denver and that it’s difficult to try and close down the scene for an entire month.

AV: What opportunities or direct benefits do you think local bands have when they play the UMS?

KS: Obviously there is exposure. You’re down there playing an event that’s drawing fans of other acts and instead of your direct circle of followers you have, when you come down and play this event there are a lot of people that stumble upon new favorite bands. That’s the beauty of events like this, you end up in a place you weren’t expecting and suddenly you’re blown away by a performance. We’re also trying to encourage industry folks to come check it out and see what they can of the scene. I know people have picked up labels based on their UMS performances.

AV: In inviting industry people to come down, is there a specific effort or outreach to people in New York, L.A., Nashville or in some of these other big music cities?

KS: We’re still building that piece of it and obviously we’re not rolling in cash, as a non-profit we’re being conservative with the budget and trying to ensure the stability of the event. We do invite contacts that we have and try to create a few panel discussions here and there that might be intriguing. Last year we had some people come in that spoke at those panels and were actually from out of town.

AV: Oh! We didn’t know there were going to be panels this year, where are they going to be held?

KS: This year we’ll have a couple of different venues and we’ll be unveiling those probably here in the next few weeks.

AV: So let’s talk about the challenges of running the festival. Obviously you guys take over a whole neighborhood but what roadblocks have you overcome in the past years and do you have any this year?

KS: I don’t really see roadblocks. I guess when you think of challenges you think about how easy it is to have eyes bigger than your stomach. You just have to stay disciplined, set your plan and stick to it. Again, my biggest challenge in the past two years has just been the learning curve. I come from a business background and a pretty solid analytical background but there are nuances to this business that I, well luckily I have a team that’s helping me understand those things and guiding us through.

AV: What other festivals do you look up to or take inspiration from?

KS: I like them all! I know that’s a cop out answer but every event has it’s own mission, it’s own guide you know? The past couple of years, the things I’ve been to like CMJ and SXSW are fun and interesting and even just the general festivals like Lollapalooza, those are great but they all had their own mission and we’re just trying to carve our niche. We’re trying to stay true to the founder’s original vision and build the stability into the organization.

AV: So then you guys don’t look at other regional festivals near as much as you look at the national festivals?

KS: I’ve just spoken in terms of the ones I’ve been to. How could I really talk about something I haven’t seen?

AV: Do you get to see a lot of shows at the UMS or are you too busy running the whole thing?

KS: That’s kind of funny because as the booking team is putting it together I get so excited and so proud of the work they’ve done. I always like to think in the back of my mind that I’m going to carve out that thirty minutes to go see a band and every time I say that to myself, push comes to shove and I just have to go with it. If I find myself in a great place, it’s just a happy accident.

AV: So are you scared? Excited? Freaking out? How is your mental state right now?

KS:  (laughs) I’m probably at any point in time, one of those. Some points in time I’m all of those. More than anything though, I’m excited. I’m so excited about the work the team has done and this is something still new for me. In my past professional life there were a lot more returns on your work more often through the course of a year but this just builds and builds and then in that weekend you take time to enjoy it and when it’s over it’s just such a feeling of satisfaction.