Interview w/The UMS 2009

The Underground Music Showcase is upon us (as of tomorrow) and I caught up with one of the festival’s organizers, Denver Post Music critic, and all-around good guy, Ricardo Baca (follow his live music habit over at Gigbot and you can follow him on Twitter).  Today is the last day you can pick up your tickets to the UMS at the low price of $20, as of tomorrow it goes up to $25. You can also follow the UMS via Twitter, here.

QUICK HITS: The UMS in 2009 According to Ricardo Baca

C=T: Why the change in not using so many venues this time around?
RB: We’re actually using around the same number of venues as last year. We’re hovering between 18 and 20 venues in 2009.

C=T: What is the interest in bringing bands from out of town for a festival that has prided itself in local bands only?
RB: We love local bands, but we saw room for growth. That growth meant incorporating more local artists than ever before – this year we have somewhere between 150 and 180 local musicians/bands/DJs/comedians. Maybe there’s more. (We haven’t taken the time to count. Yet.) On top of that are 20 or 30 national artists, all of whom we brought in because their music is going to bring something special to this year’s UMS. Multiple media outlets have called us “the South by Southwest of Denver” – or something to that extent – and we’re honored, because that’s the angle we’re working. We think Denver can support a SXSW-style music festival – a multi-day showcase based in bars and restaurants and stores and galleries and outdoor spaces. And while we look forward to bringing in more national bands in 2010 (for the 10th annual UMS, mind you), we plan on always remaining a music festival with a Colorado emphasis. We’d be crazy to not build on what we created in the first eight years of the UMS.

C=T: How much of a factor did the economy play a role in the way the festival was put together this year?
RB: We wanted to keep the ticket prices low, but that almost sounds like a cliché at this point. Last year was two days of music for $20. This year is four days of music for $20 ($25 on the day-of). We think that’s pretty great, especially given the costs of throwing a music festival of this size and still paying bands as much as we can. In the first eight years of The UMS, the organizers (John Moore and I) never made a dime from the festival. We’ve always wanted it to be a pro-artist outing, and it continues to be that in the ninth year – even though a few things have changed along the way.

C=T: The city of Denver has been a hotbed for talent as of late; can you name some of your favorite acts that will be performing at this year’s festival?
RB: I’ve been very public about my adoration for Monofog, and while they’re not playing this year, we’re thrilled to have a couple Monofog side projects, Snake Rattle Rattle Snake and Sweet Tooth Meat Tooth. They’re both great. Molly Cherington is an amazingly talented songwriter, and she’s also on Team UMS – the organizational group from this year. The UMS will be Rabbit is a Sphere’s last ever show, and we’re honored they’re spending that time with us, as we’ve adored them since the early days – back when they called themselves The Clap. This year’s UMS also has us saying goodbye to Everything Absent or Distorted, a great, eight-piece band that will soon be disbanding. Who else do I love out of the locals? Damn, that’s a long list. A very, very truncated version would include Blue Million Miles, Widowers, Hello Kavita, Kissing Party, Ian Cooke, the Wheel, the Orangu-Tones, the Omens, Matt Morris, Pictureplane, Kingdom of Magic – and all of the comedians playing Sobo 151 on Friday and Saturday. (See the full schedule at www.theums.com.)

C=T: Can you give any newbies any tips of how to tackle such a monstrous schedule?
RB: Our friends at Gigbot have made a gorgeous – and easy – customizable schedule for the UMS. Go to theums.com and click on that Gigbot link and pick away. Listen to the acts you’ve never heard of – in fact focus on them, as you’ve already seen The XXX fifteen times, right? Festivals are for discovery, and with 200-plus bands, you have a lot of work ahead of you!