Things to do in Denver when you're gay: Colorado Rush Rugby's February Fling

Bid on hot items and even hotter rugby players - all accompanied by the hottest music from DJ Brent - at this Saturday's February Fling presented by Colorado Rush RFC!

Things to do in Denver when you're gay: PORNSTAR 2nd Fridays!

DJ Tatiana and Manhunt have pulled out all the stops for the next PORNSTAR Party with sexy additions of The Pornstar Next Door Tour's James Huntsman and Rod Daily along with Denver's own DJ Brent to the lineup for the February 10 event. Don't miss it!

Things to do in Denver when you're gay: Black Eye Ball: 3rd Annual Ski Maskerade

The Black Eye Ball returns this weekend with the 3rd Annual Ski Maskerade.

Like it says on their Facebook page, "some of us can't make Aspen Gay Ski Week, so we're doing it up Black Eye Ball style! And lets just say, Aspen ain't got no party like this one!

Wear your best Ski Mask. Bedazzle it, emblazon it, modify it to make your own statement! And from the neck down, show us what you got! Remember, we like very little (within legal decency standards, of course! *wink*)."

Resident DJ Jens Irish (above) and special guest DJ Brent (left) return to rock the dance floor. 

Says DJ Brent, "The last one was a blast and this one will be, too! I can't wait to engage the crowd again and help make this one even better!"

And be sure to check out DJ Brent's latest podcast by clicking here.

The Black Eye Ball: DJ Brent interviews DJ Jens Irish

Resident DJ Jens Irish brings Black Eye Ball - The Naughty List to The Compound for the first time this Saturday, December 17. It's got everything you want. Spankings from Santa. Free shots (if you have a black eye), sexy go-go dancers (with black eyes), and $4 Svedka Vodka drink specials. And joining the fun will be special guest, DJ Brent. 

DJ Brent - Ho, ho, ho?

DJ Brent: For people who have never been to a Black Eye Ball, what can they expect on Saturday night?

DJ Jens: Our basic goal is to make the Black Eye Ball a different experience from what you would typically encounter at a gay club in Denver on your average Saturday night. Jerrod Wilkins - the other promoter - and I are both slightly off-kilter, so we tend to get into things like somewhat ridiculous, tongue-(firmly planted)-in-cheek themes, coordinating costumes with the Ball patrons (a lot of our attendees come with pre-party make-upped black eyes, for example, which is pretty fantastic) … stuff like that. We also try to cater towards a more diversified crowd with the parties. A lot of events in the gay scene end up being primarily bears, or twinks, or some other sub-culture. At the Black Eye Ball we get a pretty diversified crowd … bears, twinks, leather/gear enthusiasts, club kids, etc., and definitely encourage anybody and everybody to attend. It makes the party itself more interesting.

DJ Jens Irish - Naughty never looked so nice

On the music side, I tend to steer clear of tracks that you’d typically hear at a gay club. I don’t have any qualms with mainstream/circuit music or what other gay DJs are playing by any means, but I do want people to hear music at the Black Eye Ball that they won’t hear at other gay events in Denver. From the beginning we’ve built the Black Eye Ball to be a space where the homos can go to a gay party - as opposed to a straight club, for example - and not necessarily have to hear the same music that’s pretty much ubiquitous in gay clubs. That said, when we have guest DJs, we don’t impose any sort of genre constraints on what they play …t he “different music” spiel is just a personal preference. But we do encourage them to stretch their usual boundaries a bit.

So yeah, I guess newcomers on Saturday can (hopefully) expect a different experience from the norm (read: naughty).

This is the first time the Black Eye Ball is being held at The Compound, what do you think the new space will bring to the party?

I’m really psyched about moving the party to the Compound. They’re definitely more amenable to what we’re trying to accomplish with the Black Eye Ball, being an actual club with a solid, dedicated sound system, as opposed to primarily a bar that occasionally throws music-oriented parties. And they’re excited to work with us, which is pretty damn nice. If these initial parties go well, there are definitely plans in the works to expand the BEB in a big way (*wink*), with their support.

The Eagle was (is) a fantastic, unique space, and I’ll miss having them host the parties, but there were issues that just – after almost 2 ½ years, a solid run – ended up killing the possibility of continuing there.

DJ Booth at The Compound

You have a regular Wednesday night at the Compound - Altered Wednesday Social - do you take a different approach when spinning for The Black Eye Ball? If so, what is it?

Well, Altered Wednesday Social is definitely more low key than The Black Eye Ball. The way I view it, it’s a Wednesday, middle of the week, and people aren’t looking to go crazy, or hear peak-hour dance music while they’re getting a casual drink with friends – which is what most people are doing when they come to the night. I try and make the music interesting, funk-tastic, danceable if you want, but also the kind where you can just bob your head along and enjoy it without feeling the need to throw your shirt in the corner and find the nearest sub-woofer. It gets more energetic as the night progresses and people start dancing, but it’s usually dependent on whether the latter is happening or not.

With the BEB – especially at The Compound – the party is (going to be) fundamentally geared towards dancing, and being more energetic. But there’s overlap between what I play at the two shows. I’d say along a spectrum of the evening, what I’d play the first hour or two at the BEB is about as energetic as I tend to go at AWS. I would say I play darker at the BEB, as well, but I’ve actually taken a different route over the past year or two. The BEB used to be all darker techno stuff, but I’m not really playing that anymore. Kinda grew out of it.

The most famous reindeer of all

What and who in the music scene have been grabbing your attention lately?

I’m in love with the whole Disco/90’s Miami House revival sound that’s taken over the last 1 ½ years or so. Like I said earlier, I used to be all about 126-128 BPM, dark, after hours techno, no vocals whatsoever. Something you’d only hear after 3am in a basement somewhere (and I’ll still play that when it’s appropriate). But all of a sudden, some of my favorite techno producers and record labels started putting out these 110-118 BPM tracks saturated with diva-esque vocal snippets and warm piano stabs, with a lot of classic electro/breakbeat rhythm structures on top of the typical 4/4 throbbing House beats, and it was a total sea change. I think Seth Troxler – who’s an amazing producer – said it best when he called the whole movement “underground pop,” which is totally contradictory, but suitable in a vague sense.

In terms of individual producers and record labels, there are so many of ‘em producing great music right now. I usually track labels over individual artists, since most labels tend to focus on a specific sound, then gather like-minded artists around it, so if you find a label with a specific style/sound you like, you’ll discover a bunch of artists along that vein you might have otherwise overlooked. Right now labels like Hot Creations/Hot Waves, Crosstown Rebels, Pets Recordings, This is Music – More Music, Visionquest, The Exquisite Pain, Needwant, Leftroom Records, etc., can do no wrong.

Who is your favorite musical guilty pleasure?

I don’t know! I don’t really feel guilty about too much of anything I listen to. I guess I used to be a raging hippie, and still listen to things like Grateful Dead, Phish, Jefferson Airplane, etc, quite a bit, which shouldn’t be mentioned in certain circles. And Antony & The Johnsons makes me cry (heavily) and wish I had butterfly wings. Does that count?

If you had to pick a character from The Venture Bros. who's most like you, who would it be?

Best question ever! I’d have to go for early Henchman 21, before his muscle-daddy transformation. He’s a total dork, randomly obsessive, develops crushes then never acts on them – or acts stupidly – out of general social incompetence, constantly needs other, more competent people to bail him out of jams brought about by his own devices. He’s also loyal, good-hearted, and hilarious. And I’m hilar-balls.

So, this is my second gig and I'm very excited but also very nervous. Any great wisdom you can give me?

Play the music that gets you excited, and especially in the moment! The hardest thing I learned about DJing live, is if you fret too much about playing a set that absolutely everyone will like, or strictly adhering to some pre-defined notion of how the set should proceed, you’re not only going to fail (people are fickle, and every set throws a curve-ball), you’re going to end up stressing yourself out, play poorly, and won’t have a good time. And having a good time, getting happily engrossed in what you’re doing, is the key to playing a great set. If the DJ is having a good time, it shows in the music, and the crowd will have a good time. Well, maybe not the entire crowd, but you can’t win ‘em all over, so don’t expend too much energy trying to. And you should be having more fun than the fussers n’ trainspotters, anyway.

Also: slip-ups, beats drifting during transitions, cool ideas not working out the way you had planned them, etc, things that seem like a mortifyingly big deal to you when you’re DJing, it’s mostly in your head, and nine times out of 10 the audience doesn’t even notice – or realize something went wrong – and when they do notice they usually don’t care. So don’t fret about making mistakes, or mistakes made.

Learn to forgive yourself when things don’t go exactly as planned, and just focus on having a good time!

The Black Eye Ball - DJ Jens Irish interviews DJ Brent

Resident DJ Jens Irish brings Black Eye Ball - The Naughty List to The Compound for the first time this Saturday, December 17. It's got everything you want. Spankings from Santa. Free shots (if you have a black eye), sexy go-go dancers (with black eyes), and $4 Svedka Vodka drink specials. And joining the fun will be special guest, DJ Brent. 

DJ Jens Irish - looks lost but isn't

DJ Jens Irish: You've been DJing for a few years now, at least, and have been making some pretty top-notch podcasts for a while. What prompted your decision to start DJing live?

DJ Brent: There was a part of me that was completely happy with continuing spinning, on the dl, in my basement and just putting out podcasts. There was another part of me that wanted to get out there and spin live ...  get the instant feedback from the crowd ... to be able to dance with the crowd to the music I was enjoying. Craig C gave me the shove I needed to get out there. I'm thankful that he did.

You played at the Wrangler's Sweet party a few weeks back - your first official live show, I believe. What are your impressions from the experience? Did it measure up to any pre-expectations you might have had? Any surprises?

The night could not have gone better. It far surpassed any expectation that I had.  The crowd was extremely welcoming and supportive and it was a blast! Any surprises? I was kind of surprised by how exhausted I was afterward!

DJ Brent - Santa's naughtiest reindeer

From a DJs perspective, what would your ideal show be (crowd, music, venue, etc.)?

Great question! From a crowd perspective, a crowd that is there to have fun and that will allow me to lead them through different types or styles of music. To be accepting of something new. As for venue? Hmm, I think it would cool to spin at a huge club, but to be honest I think I enjoy smaller venues where you are close and connected to the crowd. I'm looking forward to Compound. The space allows for a great crowd and you can watch the night happen from the DJ booth.

What kind of musical styles/genres get you the most excited to play, and why?

I'm a House boy at heart. House, Progressive House and Tech House is where I like to be. For me, it's all about the groove and the energy. 

You're originally from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, which rolls off the tongue like butter, and is so far North that most of the roads start curving south again pretty shortly thereafter (I might be exaggerating a bit). How's the clubbing scene/nightlife for the gays up there? Any chance of you DJing there in the future?

Surprisingly, the scene in Saskatoon is pretty good. There's a big alternative crowd there and people LOVE to dance. There may be an opportunity or two for me up there. Now that I've come out of the DJjing closet my friends back home are excited to get me a gig up there.

Everywhere I go,  I see the same ho

You've recently started to play rugby, what motivated you to get involved in the sport? Is it as hot as everyone fantasizes it to be? 

I've always loved the sport - and the men - so when the Colorado Rush formed, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to jump in and play. And yes, it is damn hot!

If you had to pick a character from 'Modern Family' that's most like you, who would it be?

I would love to say that I am Gloria, the sexy bombshell from a strange foreign land. But, to be honest I'm probably a good mix of Mitchell and Claire.

Where do you see yourself as a DJ - or as being involved with music in general - in five years?

Music has always been a huge part of my life. It has always been a creative outlet for me. I see that continuing. I would love to be part of a regular party. I would also like to get into the production side fo things too. I have already tried my hand at a few re-edits and have liked how they've turned out. So, I guess I'll just continue doing what I'm doing and enjoy the ride.
 

Things to do in Denver when you're gay: Black Eye Ball - The Naughty List

The Black Eye Ball is back and it's now at Compound. Naughty Santa will spank your butt and nice DJ Brent and DJ Jens Irish will have you shaking it on the dancefloor.

How to get a party started

- from DJ Brent via Ze Frank

God Hates Figs

Funny stuff from Froboy on Flickr via DJ Brent.