Stayin’ Alive: Unconventional Venues Save The Scene

March 4, 2021

When Ben Mozer was 14, he took a trip to Spain with his family. Across from their hotel, a theater was playing the newly released hit Pulp Fiction, which he and his brother had been unable to see in the U.S. due to its R rating. But what stuck with him after the movie was over wasn’t Samuel L. Jackson’s iconic monologue. What stuck with him was the theater. 

Earlier this winter, Mozer’s Fort Collins movie theater the Lyric was one of the only venues in Northern Colorado that was still producing live music.

And Mozer isn’t the only one finding a creative way to amplify local sounds. This winter, Dan Mladenik has tapped local talent for the Mishawaka-produced Live on the Lanes series at Chipper’s Lanes, converting a bowling alley into a cosmic live music experience.

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Fort Collins Is a Thriving Music Hub

August 1, 2017

Fort Collins, Colorado is a collaborative, non-competitive, startup music city without a big ego. This is a city built for musicians by musicians. For over ten years, musicians laid the groundwork for the next golden era of “musicprenuers“ by constructing an ecosystem built on encouragement, support, and empowerment. This shifts the paradigm and disrupts the music industry systems of the past.

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Greeley-based Company Paves the Way for Commercial Use

January 14, 2015

Drone technology has become a hot button issue in American society and by and large represents the coming age of the robotics industry. As the technology becomes more affordable, its commercial uses begin to look more and more practical. Now, many companies find themselves fighting through red tape for a chance to bring their services to the public.

In the basement of the Macy Jones Collective in Greeley, Colorado is Cloudgate Aerial Cinematography, is one such company. Cloudgate Aerial Cinematography specializes in video production using Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAVs) more commonly known as drones. Blayne Chastain, 39, and Phil Van Drunen, 31, started the company around April 2013 and have worked on their own film projects along with a commercial for the “Greeley Unexpected” campaign. But, due to issues within the Federal Aviation Administration, the two now find themselves waiting for a solution to legal problems that have grounded other aerial photography companies in the United States.

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