Art
March 18, 2021
Garageband Music Series: Retrofette
Tomorrow, our new series Garageband kicks off with performances by Sundaycandy & Retrofette. The music series takes place on the 5th floor of the parking garage across the street from the museum. The future's looking brighter knowing that we can safely offer in-person performances and, give you something to groove to online in the comfort of your home! It’s time to reclaim Friday nights!
Who is Retrofette? Have you ever played in a garage before? What about a parking garage?
Retrofette is Sean Culliton, Xavier Provencher, Ben Weirich, and Dylan Johnson. That's three synth players and a drummer. Just a handful of human beings that like to make people dance. And synthesizers. I'm pretty sure there's been at least one rehearsal in a garage, but it definitely wasn't a parking garage. Once I think we took pictures on top of a parking garage.
Where did the name, Retrofette, come from?
Fette comes from the French 'fete' meaning 'party'. Sooo It just means retro party and we changed the spelling so people wouldn't pronounce it 'retro feet'. Which I guess would've been pretty fun too.
How long have you been part of the Denver music scene?
We played our first show in Denver over 6 years ago at the Walnut Room, and we called ourselves LZRWLF. So things are better now. But all of us have been in Denver-based bands for over 10 years.
What’s your sound like? Describe in terms of if Retrofette was an ice cream flavor.
We like to play anything that will make people move. There are definitely some 80s vibes there, but we like to think we have a modern take on retro dance music. Maybe mint chocolate chip? It's sort of a crowd pleaser but if you look closer there are some real nice nuances. And it can be neon-colored.
What’s your experience been with Denver’s music scene?
We love the scene here in Denver. The community is very passionate about what they do and very accepting. The type of music we make isn't necessarily Denver's first choice as far as a genre but fans are super open and just love to listen to music. I can't wait to see everyone out in the world again.
How have you found ways to stay creative in your music during COVID?
I really find that restriction is the best medicine for creativity. We just finished mixing our first full-length album and I'm so excited for all the new sounds that are on it. And a lot of those sounds came from having to record things remotely and patch everything together, I kind of think of it as collage music and I love it. Our last music video and photoshoot had to be done one at a time to be socially distant and I really loved the way it looks when you have to patch together images from separate photos.
If you're permitting yourself at this point to get/feel excited about anything for the year ahead, what is it and why?
Just so pumped about releasing this album. There are songs on here that go back 5 years or more but everything takes our sound in a new direction. Also, once it's out I get to focus on recording new music instead of working on old music, and that's so exciting to me.
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