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Put Some Altitude in Your Glass
26: and...we're back! with Christopher C. Romero
May 21, 2019
26: and...we're back! with Christopher C. Romero
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FULL TRANSCRIPT
0:00
[upbeat music] You're listening to Denver Wine Radio It's a DJ and a winemaker yakking about music and wine Presented by Bona Quisti Wine Company And now here's Cha and Paulie.
0:12
[upbeat music] Hey, it's a new edition- [laughs]... of Denver Wine Radio. Can you believe it? I can't believe it, Paulie. This is like- It's been a minute... this, we're gonna call it season two. Okay. Or, I don't know.
0:21
[laughs] I like that, season two. Yeah. Maybe we'll be on, like, 12 seasons like The Big Bang Theory or something. What do you say? Whoa. Yeah, I, I think that's great. [laughs] As long as I don't bump the table over.
0:31
But, um, hey, we're, um, we're i- we're inside the winery- Yeah... here at Bona Quisti Wine Company. It's a Friday night. We're getting ready for Friday's Uncorked, and our special guest is Christopher Romero. Right on.
0:44
Yeah. [laughs] How are you guys? Hey, Chris. The man, the myth, the rock legend. That's right. I'll take it. The movie star now. I'll take it. Ah, s- maybe someday. Yeah. Hey, welcome, man.
0:52
I'm working towards that, right? Well, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. You got a lot going on. You always do anyway. I always do. Yeah, yeah.
0:58
I was talking off the air with, uh, Cha Cha here, and, um, you know, I got my hands in a few different things. Obviously the music, the film, my artwork. That's my ar- artwork sitting here, right here.
1:09
We're about to hang that up on the walls- Yeah... here at, uh- It looks kickass... Bona Quisti. Yeah. Um, yeah, j- uh, doing touring, uh, quite a bit for the past year, everywhere from...
1:19
I played Nashville for the first time, which was, like, a big goal of mine. I told you that, like, a year ago. Yeah. That was big thing that I wanted to do to get into that music scene. Yeah.
1:26
And it was successful and they, and I've been invited back. Oh, that's awesome. So looking forward to doing that. So, uh, I've, I've been playing in, uh, s- uh, San Antonio, Austin, Texas, Dallas.
1:35
Uh, just back from Tulsa. Uh, oh gosh, Pennsylvania. I played in, uh, Philadelphia. Uh, Los Angeles, I've been there a few times this year. Mm-hmm. Uh, Salt Lake City.
1:45
Um, I'm just trying to get my record and my music out everywhere, and most of the shows that I've been doing as of late have been as a solo acoustic artist.
1:54
But when I get the opportunity to play with bigger bands, I'll hire a group of musicians who will go and learn the record. They'll back me up, and we do a lot- Oh, okay. Nice... of big rock shows.
2:02
So we just did, we did, uh, I did some stuff with Daughtry. Okay. Did a couple dates with him. Uh, the Paramount in Denver. Nice. Uh, Pikes Peak Center in Colorado Springs.
2:10
We've done three shows with Tesla, with my full band, which is really cool. We just did that in April at the Paramount Theatre. And, uh, I'm just e- everywhere. Uh, playing in Loveland, uh- Awesome dude...
2:21
Cheyenne, Colorado Springs, Denver, Brighton, wherever. [laughs] Wherever, man. I'll play wherever. I see. That's awesome. And that's what- Yeah... that's what we love about you, man. Yeah.
2:29
So that's the music side of things, and in between that stuff, um, I had the opportunity to work on a film, uh, last spring, and that is coming out here in June.
2:38
So June 7th is the, the premiere, uh, the red carpet premiere, and that's gonna be in Rhode Island. They shot the movie there. The name of the film is called Vault. Okay.
2:46
I have a very, very, very, very small role with a bunch of really big, big actors. So who's in it- It's, uh-... and what's it about? So the, the story of Vault, it's a true story.
2:57
In 1975, uh, some low-level thieves ripped off the mafia in Rhode Island and Boston. Raro. And, yeah, so [laughs] definitely. [laughs] And, uh, go- google the story if you can. Okay.
3:09
Um, and so these thieves that ripped off the mafia stole over $30 million, and the money has never been recovered- Wow... to this day. Really? So, yeah.
3:16
So the writer and the director of this, Tom DeNucci, a great, great filmmaker out there, took the story and, uh, he c- he got a cast together, and it is amazing. So Theo Rossi has the lead role.
3:28
Theo was in Sons of Anarchy. Okay. He was in Luke Cage on Netflix for Marvel. Um, the, the film stars Don Johnson. Wow. Ch- Chazz Palminteri, William Forsythe, Vinnie, Vinnie Pastore from, uh...
3:42
Oh, God, what was the show on HBO? Oh. The Sopranos. The Sopranos. Yeah. The Sopranos. Um- Big pussy. Yeah. [laughs] Yep. S- uh, Samira Wiley from Orange Is the New Black. Okay. She's, she's the other- Right...
3:52
lead role. Oh, gosh. Who else was in it? I just remember just, I, recognizing, like, every actor on set. You'd- Okay... you'd see that guy, "I remember this guy from that movie," whatever. Right.
4:01
But, um, just a great cast and it, and it's just a really cool story, so excited about that. So again, the premiere for that is June 7th in Rhode Island, then it hits theaters June 14th. Okay. And so...
4:12
And then I'm h- headed out next week back to Rhode Island to shoot another movie.
4:17
I'm do- like, like, a I, I don't know if it's a d- a kids movie t- or a d- a TV movie of the week or whatever, but it stars Dean Cain, and I play a bad guy. [laughs] Yeah.
4:25
And that's, that's usually, I, you know, my- Is that your kind of your-... type to see. Yeah, yeah That's your thing... yeah. Your kind of role is the bad guy? Yeah. I mean, I was telling you earlier- Yeah...
4:31
Cha Cha, is it's like, uh, Danny Trejo's been doing that for over 30 years, and I, and it seems to work. So I don't mind.
4:38
I mean, obviously with the tattoos and whatever, it's usually bad guy number one or the biker or prisoner number one- Right... or whatever, which is cool, but I, I just love the process of filmmaking, so. Right.
4:48
I'm a writer myself. I just finished up a script that I'm trying to get the movie made myself. So I like all aspects, and I, you know, I've done film soundtracks.
4:56
I've done written music for t- for t- television and film. So I love every aspect of what goes into making a film, not just being in front of the camera. If the opportunity presents itself, I'm gonna jump on it. Right.
5:06
But I really love sitting back and just watching how things come together, watching directors, watching producers- Right... watching the, the, the special effects.
5:14
Whatever it is, it, the, the whole process of filmmaking to me is just amazing. And it's, it's awesome that you can take, you know...
5:21
You're a musician and you, you know, play a lot of gigs, and that's, you love to do that, you can take that into the movie, you know- Definitely... the movie, uh, role as well. I mean, who knows?
5:30
You could write a, you know, a, a, a winning, uh, song for a movie someday. That, that would be cool. That would be awesome. Yeah.
5:37
I mean, a, a couple of my songs are, have been in some movies, but, you know, I'm, I'm waiting for that moment, like you said, to- Yeah...
5:42
where, uh, maybe a director or a film company comes to me and says, "We need you to write something- "We need you to write this song."... for this- Exactly... and this is what the movie's about." Exactly.
5:49
To be able to do that would be challenging- Yeah... but, uh, it would be a, a great opportunity. But it, but being an actor gives you an insight. Yeah, for sure. Don't you think?
5:54
I, I think so because- Does it give you more of an insight to write a music? Yeah. Like, a song for a movie? Would it? I, I, I think so- Okay... in a sense, because when you're-...
6:02
performing and you're into the song, whether you're doing someone else's song or your own music, it's sort of- You have to make it your own... you're trying- Yeah, you wanna make it your own- Yeah...
6:09
and can kinda- Right... put your personality into that- Exactly... and then, but still draw from what, maybe what the lyrics are saying. Exactly. So yeah, for sure. That's awesome. Yeah. Very cool. Yeah.
6:17
What was the first film you ever did? Can you- Well, the first, like, real movie was Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead- It was? Yeah. [laughs] It was. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
6:23
Which is, like, that's your favorite movie, right? Yeah, it is. [laughs] Yeah. [laughs] It's definitely one of yours, and of course we're, we're biased because it was shot in Denver. Right.
6:30
Again, with that cast that I got to work with was m- it blew my mind. I, I got the role by accident. I, I didn't go o- um, I didn't meet up with the producers to be in the movie.
6:40
I actually ha- went there to drop off music. I was in a, in a, a different band at the time, a heavy metal band actually, kind of more on the alternative hard rock side of things.
6:49
I, we'd written some music and I had dropped off a demo to the producer, and in the, in the press kit was a picture of the band.
6:55
The next day they called me back and I was like, "Oh, they left a voicemail," and they were, it was Miramax Pic- Miramax Pictures. And I got all excited. I was like, "Oh my God, they called me back.
7:03
They're probably gonna use the song," you know? Yeah. They, they said if I'd come in and have a meeting. When I got there they, they said to me, uh, "We have a role that you think we, you'd, you'd be great for.
7:12
Would you be interested?" And I said, "Sure." So I di- I didn't, I didn't think anything about... I was thinking music the whole time. Yeah. And they just said, "Would you cut your hair?"
7:20
I had really long hair and I said, "For sure." And so I didn't know what it was gonna be. I didn't know what the role, I just said yes immediately. They gave us the production dates.
7:28
I showed up, went to wardrobe, and they had me and two other guys, we played the Monterrez brothers, characters in the movie that we, we were from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Okay. And we were hired to, here's a spoiler.
7:40
I'm- Yeah... I'm sure you've seen the movie by now, but if you haven't- Jeez, if you haven't, it's al- Yeah, if you haven't, here's a spoiler... it's coming up on 25 years, right? [laughs] Yeah.
7:45
[laughs] Yeah, yeah, it's, it's, like, on Sh- Showtime and Starz, like, every month. But, um, so we played the g- the, the hit men that were hired to take out Andy Garcia's character- Okay... which was Jimmy the Saint.
7:55
Yeah. So going back to that cast, I'm sitting there having lunch and dinner with Andy Garcia, Treat Williams, William Forsythe, um, gosh. Uh, Christopher Lloyd from Back to the Future. Oh, wow. Yeah. Yeah.
8:07
Um, God, who was the other guy? Jack, Jack Warden? Is that his name? Remember him- Oh, yeah... from The White? Yeah. Yeah. He played the football coach. Yeah. Yeah. Great character actor.
8:15
One of the sweetest guys I've ever met. What about Christopher Walken? Did you- Walken was- Yeah... the main bad guy. Yeah- Yeah... of course, I can't forget him. That's crazy.
8:22
So yeah, so the two movies, here they are 25 years apart, and I'm in the midst of working with like this amazing cast, and that's just luck. You, you know, you couldn't plan for something like that to happen.
8:34
But that was, like, the first real movie, but when I was about 19 or 20 I, I think I did a, I played a gang member in a Perry Mason television movie of the week. I must- Really? Yeah, I must've been about 19 years old.
8:45
Mark, get the door. Yeah, yeah. So- [laughs]... that, it was one of those things. Um- And you know what, uh- [laughs]...
8:52
uh, if you knew this, you may remember Dom Testa, uh, has a, he had a, a extra part in Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead. Oh, he did? Yeah, he's in, he's, like, in the soda shop in one of the scenes- Okay...
9:04
w- with a, you know, with talking to a girl, like, just as a customer sitting down at a table. I did not know that. That's awesome. Yeah. And he's got his mullet and everything.
9:10
[laughs] That, that movie, that movie- [laughs] Mullet... that movie still holds up. I love watching it. I feel like it's become- I have to go see it again. I- It's, it's- It's been such a long time...
9:17
I think it's kind of a c- it, it's definitely a, a cult- Yeah... classic now. Yeah. It's got that, you know, at the time it was very much in that same tradition of, of a Tarantino thing. Exactly.
9:26
Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. Exactly. I mean, and, and those movies hold a, I mean, they're, they're classics still. Yeah. So I love watching. I never get bored of it and- Yeah... you know?
9:34
And now it's cool, like- There's so many people come in, dude, w- and they see that, that poster hanging up that, that you brought me and, and they just, "Oh, yeah." I mean, they just start- Yeah... gushing about it.
9:43
They love it. And when it, and when it comes on I'm, I'm, I'll, I'll w- I'll catch, I'll be flipping channels. [laughs] And then I'll, I'll get on Twitter. I was like, "Put it on Showtime right now."
9:51
[laughs] Now I'm gonna- You know? I'm gonna go try to find it, 'cause now I wanna see it again. So, and in between- Totally... that I, I did a... Well, 2010 we did a production.
10:01
There was an independent film that was filmed in Brighton. It was a horror film called Killer Ink. I actually had the lead role.
10:07
That's the first time I ever had a lead role in a movie, and I also did the, the, the music. I scored the film as well. Oh, wow.
10:13
But that had, um, a bunch of unknown actors, a couple people from LA that had done a few things, but it was all local cast and crew.
10:20
And, but we were able to get Peter Mayhew, who was the original Chewbacca in all the Star Wars movies, was a friend of a friend. We flew him out and he stayed on set and worked for, like, three days.
10:32
And as a big Star Wars geek and nerd that I am, that was- Yeah... a lot of fun. But- Yeah...
10:37
so he actually played my uncle in the film, which was a lot of fun, but on one of the days, uh, after production had wrapped, my mom had cu- co- my mom had cooked a huge dinner for the cast and crew and we had everybody at the house.
10:49
So I actually got to sit down for a few hours with Chewbacca- Yeah... and just talk Star Wars. Wow. That's awesome. And that was really cool. That's pretty cool. And so may he rest in peace. He passed away- Absolutely.
10:58
Yeah... for sure, a couple weeks ago... a couple weeks ago. Yeah. That was kind of a cool thing. So- Yeah... you know. Oh, d- It was definitely like stunt casting-... way cool thing. Come on...
11:04
so, you know, as a Star Wars fan- That's beyond cool... you know, as a Star Wars fan- Yeah... it was a bigger deal than it would be- Oh... for most.
11:09
But, so we did that movie and that, that movie's out on DVD, which you can get it on Amazon or Best Buy or Target, whatever. It was, it was, I, I say this, um,
11:19
with an, a, a term of endearment, it was a cheesy horror film. Like, a lot of fun. Yeah. Like an old school grind house, cheesy popcorn movie. Like, you know, it, it, it wasn't gonna, it wasn't about winning an Oscar.
11:30
Right. It was just- No, that's cool... it was a throwback to those- We're, I gotta find it... '80s slasher movies- Yeah... and stuff like that, so. But it was a lot of fun. I had, I was able to get my dad in the movie.
11:36
He played a detective. Uh, Greg Stone played a, a cop in the movie as well. If, if you know Greg, Uncle Nasty. Yeah. Yeah. A big radio guy here- Sure... in Denver forever. They, they were really good friends. Yeah.
11:46
I didn't know he was in that movie. Yeah, so him and my dad play the lead- What?... detectives. So my dad was an actor and a comic. What? Yeah. I had known Uncle Nasty for years and I've never knew that.
11:55
Ask him about Killer Ink. He played a cop. I just, he just- Yeah... texted me yesterday. We're supposed to get for, uh, together for breakfast next week. Text, next time he texts you just- At the Breakfast King...
12:01
hey, just say, "Hey, where can I pick up a copy of Killer Ink?" Ask him that. Oh- That'd be great... my God. I am going to.
12:06
Excuse me And then my son, who at the time was a, a senior at Brighton High School, he played me as a t- my character as a teenager, 'cause it flashes back 25 years earlier. Oh, wow. So there were some flashbacks. Yeah.
12:18
And Jennifer Wilde played- His mom. What? Yeah. She was in- I didn't know Jennifer Wilde was in a movie... she was in- Yeah, that's right... she was in the movie as well. That's right. I remember.
12:26
So she played my mom in the flashback scenes. My son played me as a, as a teenager, and she played the mom. So there's a lot of cool stuff- That's-... it cuts back to the '80s... nuts... to, to that.
12:35
So what is it, Killer Ink? Killer Ink. Okay. I'm, I'm texting him right now. Yeah, Killer Ink, man. And I'll give you this, a quick synopsis of the movie. It was, it was basically- No spoilers, though. No spoilers.
12:43
I haven't seen that one. It's just about a tattoo artist who's a serial killer. It's kinda like, kinda like, um, God, what, like Dexter. Oh, yeah. If you took Dexter and put him in a tattoo shop- Yeah...
12:55
with some, with- Oh, that's cool... you know, so it, it had that kind of vibe. Is there some, uh, as a fellow Brighton guy, is there some scenes that I would recognize- Yes... if Brighton- For sure... oh, right on.
13:02
I'm in. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Then I'm in. Yeah. We shot most of it, took place on a farmhouse just off of, like, Highway 7 and 168th, like, bridge by Veterans Park. What? [laughs] Sits on a corner there. That's great.
13:14
[laughs] We, we rented out this, it was so fun. And we shot some of it in downtown Denver, used a couple tattoo shops. Yeah. Uh, Fallen Out Tattoo let, let us use their shop.
13:23
And, uh- Wow, they should've put the chicken coop in, you know, those old... Are they even out there still? I don't remember. I, I don't know, but- Dale, those used to scare-... this, this farmhouse-...
13:29
the hell out of me [laughs]... the house was creepy. [laughs] We actually, it was nerve-wracking. There was some- Oh, my God... weird energy in the house that we shot at. I felt very uncomfortable at night. Wow.
13:39
It was weird. You'd get kinda like the hair on your neck would stand up. Oh, see, that's never- I didn't like, and it was weird, and I was like, "There's something going on in this place."
13:45
[laughs] But anyway, it was an old abandoned farmhouse there in Brighton, so it was a lot of fun. And, um, obviously, that movie went, like, straight to DVD.
13:53
We did do a screening at the Brighton Movie Theater for the cast and crew and family. Yeah. But it, it was one of those ones that just went straight, straight, straight to DVD.
14:01
Man, we're gonna, we're gonna, we're gonna need a double feature here one of these nights. Oh, yeah? We gotta get Killer Ink and Things To Do in Denver When You're Dead. Yeah, yeah. Dead. But yeah.
14:06
That'd be kinda cool, yeah. So, but like I s- as I mentioned before, you know, doing music and, and writing for film and TV is, is, is a big passion of mine and, and like I said, as just a, an artist- Yeah... I guess.
14:20
That's awesome, man. I get to- Yeah, 'cause you-... ex- express myself in many different ways. Right, 'cause you're, in your, uh, your, your album, CD you put out, uh, what about- Rocknrolla...
14:28
a year and a half, Rocknrolla. Yeah. It's gon- It's, it's approaching two years officially- Okay... as a release, but what we're gonna relaunch it here in August, 'cause we're doing a- Okay... vinyl release- Oh, nice...
14:39
which is really cool. Yeah. So like a retro thing. Oh. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I just told Paul, it took a while- I, I've been waiting for this for a long time... we've been, we've been talking about it for, like, a year.
14:45
It's like- Yeah... every month I'd see Paul, "Okay, I think I'll get it. Okay, in a couple weeks, in a couple weeks." Finally, we got the project going and the album is, is, is being, uh, replicated as we speak.
14:56
Oh, nice. So I'm super excited, but it, it usually takes about 10 to 12 weeks from the time, uh, it goes into production to it's in your hands. Yeah. So we're gonna do something really cool here. Yeah.
15:05
We're gonna have a, a se- a, a vinyl album release party. Yeah, release party? Yeah, that's cool. And, um- What's that cover gonna look like, the album cover?
15:12
So the, the it, it's just like the CD, which is, it's got an old, old Chevy or kind of a lowrider car on it. Mm-hmm. Very vintage looking. Mm-hmm. Like a throwback. It, it's a cool, it's a cool, uh, uh, design. Yeah.
15:24
But the name of the record is Rocknrolla. Okay. And some interesting things with this, and, and Paul and I have talked about this, but I didn't get a chance to tell you about it.
15:31
So the record was definitely influenced by the music that I grew up on, and that being everything from, like, Neil Young and, and Bad Company and Lynyrd Skynyrd to Aerosmith, Kiss, Van Halen, you know, Guns N' Roses, uh, artists like that, and even newer artists like Chris Stapleton and Butch Walker.
15:49
I kinda took elements of all of that music and sort of just wrote something that I... There's the album cover right there. Oh, okay. So- Oh, yeah. Nice... so this record
16:00
was definitely like a labor of love for me, and it, it took a while to, to come together. I was in some bands before that had toured.
16:07
We had put out a few different records over the last, uh, two decades, and I went through kind of a, a thing where I definitely had writer's block some. F- from 2005 to, like, 2017, there was not much
16:20
as far as writing original music. I was still active, uh, uh, as a musician, working and playing, but nothing that I was passionate about. I just couldn't get any things going.
16:30
I finally kinda h- something just came over me and songs just started coming out, and this record came out, and Paul and I had talked about this before.
16:38
It's, it's one of those things where the way the industry is today, there's no way that a record company would've necessarily been all about what's going on with this record, because a record company, usually when you're an established artist at least, or a signed artist on a national label, they have an idea of how they want you to look, how they want you to sound- Mm-hmm...
16:56
how, with the kind of music you're gonna write. And if you're not writing it, they'll get someone to write it for you. Right. It's a whole package. Yeah. It's, it's just become, like, a product, and it's- Right...
17:04
and it, it, it ends up becoming, to me, not real, and it becomes stale.
17:08
And you go back to them artists like the Eagles and, and those guys that, guys that wrote their own music, Aerosmith, Kiss, guys that actually sat down in a room, got together and wrote the music and wrote the lyrics, and that influences what, what drove me to make this kind of record.
17:23
So this record has everything from a acoustic singer-songwriter to even a little bit of country, Southern rock, and then hard rock. So it's, like, everything that I love. Mm-hmm.
17:33
And I made the record with the hopes that we would put it on vinyl, not knowing that we would, but in my mind, even the sequence and the order of the songs are sort of like a story- Right...
17:42
and it takes the listener, like, on a journey. Yeah. And I, I envision myself, like, you're sitting in your room with your headphones- Sure... and you're, you're, you, it's not a thing where you're skipping over. Yeah.
17:50
I don't wanna hear that one. No. You wanna- It's old school- Yeah, yeah... you're tracking the whole album. The whole album- Yeah. Mm-hmm... uh, it, it, it makes sense- Mm-hmm... and it, it, it has a story. Mm-hmm.
17:59
And the, there's, you know, there's some, some moments of, of, there's, like, uh, songs of hope and love and, and desperation.
18:05
There's even songs that are dark and things that are challenging that, that I went through personally, but it, I'm j- I'm super proud of the record.
18:12
Like, it's just something that, you know, that's why even though here we are two years later, you know, technically I should be working on my second record, but I'm, I, I still feel like- This hasn't been heard yet.
18:23
Right. And so I really wanna get it out there to the masses. Yeah.
18:26
And, and I've had a little bit of luck getting some airplay in a few different markets, and the, the craziest thing was getting one of the songs crossed over to country radio.
18:34
So, a station in northern Colorado picked it up on iHeartRadio, Big 9, Big 97.9, which is commercial country radio. One of the DJs heard it and loved it and put it into rotation, which is unheard of without a label.
18:46
Mm-hmm. Right. So we have one song, country radio. Couple of the tracks went to active rock, and a couple of them have been spun on classic rock, and that's- That's awesome... that's a, a big deal in this day and age.
18:57
Ex- absolutely. Especially an artist that's my age with no label, no... You know what I mean? Yeah. And just because,
19:06
uh, for the most part, you know, for better or for worse, no matter what you grew up on or what kind of music you like, radio stations, at least corporate, they're gonna play the same thing over and over because, and, uh, uh, people, unfortunately, don't...
19:18
Even when a new artist has new music, they're just gonna keep playing the old stuff. Like when- Yeah... Van Halen put out a record a few years ago, it was a great album. Yeah, we've been there, done that.
19:27
But people still want... [laughs] You know, right? [laughs] They wanna just keep playing the same stuff that came out 40 years ago- Yeah... when they're still writing things that are viable today.
19:33
Why are you playing this song, Shaw? Huh? Why are you playing this song? [laughs] Dun. Dun. Right? Yeah. It, it, it, it, it, it was. It's hard to get- It was... new music and, and new artists. Absolutely. So. Absolutely.
19:43
And it has to be frustrating for a group because, as artists, you are creative and you wanna do new stuff and you wanna try new styles and you want to, but it's, it was difficult.
19:53
It, it still is with labels- It's very... because they pigeonhole you in this is what sells, this is what we want you, we want you to sound like. And how many times did we...
20:01
We did, we played the same stuff over and over- Over and over... and over. And even, like, on a gold station, like a, like a Jam'n, for example, you know. I mean, there's so...
20:11
I mean, there's three decades to pick from, four decades, and that's what pe- listeners would tell us all the time. But they wanted to hear Casey and the Sunshine Band. Casey and the Sunshine Band.
20:18
[laughs] It was like, oh my goodness. It was like, it was crazy. I was listening, um, to a station out of LA, KLOS- Mm-hmm... which is a great classic rock station. Love KLOS, yeah.
20:28
And, and based out of Southern California, and they do a new music Friday. And so they'll, they'll come in and give you a snippet of all the b- artists that are putting music out.
20:36
Perfect example is Whitesnake has a brand-new record. Here's a band that's been around for, like, 40- Yeah... plus years, and it is as good as anything they put out in the '80s, but, uh, no one will pick it up. Yeah.
20:46
No active rock's gonna pick it up. Yeah. Nope. Classic rock won't play it- Nope... because they've already got their playlist. Sure. They'll play Here I Go Again, which just came out 30- Yeah... three years ago.
20:53
Years ago. That's it. But they won't play anything off this new record, and it's so frustrating to know that because they made a solid, solid rock album and, and, you know, that's the frustrating part about- Mm-hmm...
21:03
that part of being a musician. And, you know, um- And even stations like KBCO back in the day, KBCO was, like, one of those stations that would take album tracks, that would take, you know, that would play stuff.
21:13
A deep cut, something that you don't really get- Deep cuts, absolutely, and that was their whole brand is that they didn't play the same stuff all the time- Right...
21:18
like top 40 radio stations or any other commercial radio station. But they started doing the same thing. You listen to BCO now, and it's like you don't hear anything out of the box. Right.
21:30
Where back in the day, that was the place where they played so many genres. They would break artists. You could... Yeah. And they would break artists- Yeah, yeah, yeah... all the time. Yeah.
21:39
And that doesn't happen anymore. You tune, tune into to BCO, a- and it sounds like they're playing the same song from a, from a group 20 years ago that's- Yeah... you know, it's the same stuff.
21:51
It's, it's definitely frustrating. It's, it's, I could see how it could be frustrating for you.
21:53
But, you know, the, I think what you guys are doing with a, with a podcast or internet radio, that's another outlet for independent artists. Mm-hmm.
22:01
And a lot of my stuff has been on, on internet radio, which is cool because, you know, the, the, the format is, is almost freeform. They'll play whatever they want. Mm-hmm. So it, it's cool.
22:10
There's this, the KNAC, which was a huge station in the '80s in, in, in LA, went away, but now they've re-surfaced as an internet radio station.
22:20
But I'm in regular rotation with them, so literally to have your music played, so you've got Metallica, Korn, AC/DC, Van Halen, and Kiss, and then my song, and then- And then Romero. And then... You know?
22:31
Yeah, that's awesome, dude. That is cool, so. That's very cool. I'm, you know, I'm definitely keeping track of the stations that have- Yeah... that have given the record some love, so that's kinda cool. Yeah.
22:38
That's awesome, dude. Yeah. So, you know, that, always grateful for those opportunities- Oh, absolutely... because- We love-... it's, it's a, such a brutal business. Yeah.
22:45
You know, when you look at that, that side of it. You know, you ma- it, you make, uh, reminds me of a s- a, a quick story. When I was at Alice, I was the music director at Alice. We were at Alice.
22:53
And, um, Fleetwood Mac had come out with Silver Springs. Okay, here's Fleetwood Mac, one of the biggest groups on the planet, right? Mm-hmm. You know how long it took us to get that record on?
23:04
Because it was like the, they hadn't had a hit in a long time, so to speak. Yeah. Right? And so that is what the programmers, you know, that's what they gauge things on.
23:15
You know, Fleetwood Mac, uh, nobody wants to hear Fleetwood Mac anymore, you know? We were the first station in the country to play that record. We broke that record at Alice. Wow. Silver Springs. That's awesome.
23:24
As, we were the first ones to break that record, and then they started playing it across the country. But it was like pulling teeth. Right. You know? It's- But, but we were like, it was, it was, it was a great record.
23:36
It was a great song. Yeah. So they haven't had a hit in 20 years. It's still Stevie Nicks going on. Right? [laughs] You know? That's, yeah, that, that's, that's- It's crazy...
23:43
I, I won- That's just the way that it goes... de- to make, I wonder what, what artists like that, you know, the, of that generation, but I guess everything for them now is touring.
23:52
I mean, uh, you think about it- It is touring... they, they still draw. They all are doing well, whether it's the, you know, Stones or Fleetwood Mac or- Yeah... Aerosmith. They're still,
24:01
you know, viable, and they're still, people still love it. Uh, you, you, yeah, because they're still like you. They're true musicians. You know? It's not, uh, they're, they're not downloading the beats- Right...
24:13
you know, and making a, a record. They're true actual musicians, and I think that will just... We were just talking about Gladys Knight. He heard a Gladys Knight record the other day that he hadn't heard in a long time.
24:23
I mean, and he goes, "I listened to it three times." Really? Okay, so that to me is just, that's just- Yeah, it- It just defines, you know- You talk about, we were talking about technology, like what you can do
24:36
in your house. You know, having your own studio- Mm-hmm... per se. But it, it's, it's lose...
24:42
That, that art form is slowly slipping away with the younger generation because they don't even have to learn how to play an instrument. You don't even have to know how to sing at, at all in any way. Yeah.
24:51
You don't have to know how to play anything, and you can crank out a record, and it will chart, which is mind-boggling to me.
24:57
And I've seen kids that don't know how to play an instrument, and they're selling out big venues- Mm-hmm... locally, theaters, and you're just like- Right. Yep. And if you know- And it's all on a track.
25:05
The- And they're just sitting there pressing a button. Yeah, it's an artist. You just have to- Artist, like- You have to know how to Instagram, and you know how to s- Right... you know, snapchat. Yeah.
25:12
So, you know, I- And you gotta market it. Yeah. Yeah. You know, for, you know, regardless of how old I am, I'm glad I grew up in the era that I did where, with, you know, that music- Absolutely... it still holds up.
25:23
Yeah. You know? And- It's timeless. It really is. It's not like we're old reminiscing like, "Oh, I miss the good old day." That music is still- It is...
25:30
it still holds up today, and that's why those bands are still doing what they do- Exactly... in my opinion. And Paul and I talk about this too because it's kinda the same thing in our industry.
25:38
We talk about how radio has changed. Like, when we were doing it, 'cause I told him a little while ago, "Hey, do you have a cart?"
25:43
'Cause he's got this little thing that you can see, you know, that he's just pushing buttons. And it's, it's, it's a whole radio station [laughs] in one little thing.
25:50
Where we used to have, like, three different things around us. Right. Push this button, this button. It's, it, it's, it's amazing, but at the same time, it's, it has lost its art form. Oh. Like- Yeah...
26:02
the art form, like the personality part of it. You know, the, uh, the personality of radio. Well, it's sad because everything's voice-tracked. You can't even call in and talk to your favorite DJ.
26:10
You can't call and request a song because they're not even there. Yeah. Right. That, to me, is like- They're not, probably not even-... not, that's the worst. Like, I miss- They're not even in the same city...
26:20
uh, that, right. You know, they're not in the same city. You've got DJs... I was, yeah. Yeah. I was driving through, uh, Kansas on a road trip- Mm-hmm...
26:27
headed to Rhode Island, and I heard a DJ from Denver doing the afternoons at a- Yeah... at a rock station- Yeah... in Kansas City, Missouri. I was just like, "This is crazy." Yeah.
26:38
So, you know, knowing that the, you know, that's a bummer. Yeah. Like that, that, like you said, I remember as a kid calling, you know, Steve Cooper at- Yeah... at 105.9 when KBPI was still on, uh, uh, 105.9. Yeah.
26:51
KZY was 106.7. Yeah. Yeah. I remember, like, being able to call, uh, requesting a song, and they would play it. This goes out to, you know, whatever so and so- Yeah... in Brighton. You're like, "This- Yeah...
26:59
they said our name," or they, you know, they play the song you wanted. Yeah, exactly. There was a little bit- They were a part of your life. Yeah, it was- You know? It was a different- Part of your day. Yeah, yeah.
27:06
Part of your routine. Yeah. Part of your life, you know? My nephew, I was just meeting, uh, before I came here, I met my nephew who's in from San Diego for a business trip.
27:13
But anyways, he was bummed because his favorite two sports guys in California and San Diego got blown out. And he's like, "One day I turned it on, and it was Mexican music, Auntie." [laughs] And I'm like...
27:24
[laughs] And he goes, "And don't get me wrong. I like my cumbias like everybody else." [laughs] He goes, "But where's my sports talk, talk guys?" And he said, "They were part of my day every day.
27:32
I'd get up, and I'd drive..." And he was so upset, you know, that these guys are gone. Yeah, it's, it's just not the same. And he, and I said, "Because they're a part of your day every day." Yeah.
27:41
And, like, music, it's a part of our lives every day. Right. Yeah. So when, you know, a group like an old group like the Eagles or the Fleetwood Mac or whomever, I mean, it's, it, it brings back the memories. Yeah.
27:54
It's pa- it's part of our, you know- Definitely... growing up and, you know, stuff like that.
27:58
And the reason I was asking about the album cover is because, you know, I'm dating myself here, but I remember, you know, getting the album covers and li- wi- l- you know, looking at it and- And reading all the credits.
28:08
Yeah, yeah... going through all the credits and- That's why I picked up- Who played on it and- Exactly... what drummer was playing on it, who produced it. Exactly. You know, and what freebie you got.
28:17
[laughs] We did that, we, we did that w- with the CD. A poster, yay. I know that most people download their music. I mean, that's a majority of everything is, is that, that is, you know, iTunes and Spotify, whatever.
28:30
People are downloading music, and they're not going into the stores and buying it. Although, like, as we mentioned earlier, vinyl's having a resurgence. It is. Vinyl sales are up, which is cool. Yeah.
28:39
But I remember prior to me finishing my record, I ran into a guy, and although this doesn't really hold any weight with me per se, 'cause he, the guy plays in a cover band so he's not even writing his own music.
28:51
But he told me, "Why are you making CDs? No one's gonna buy it." And I'm just like, "This is coming from a guy who's in a cover band who's not even doing his own music."
28:58
And it was just frustrating to hear that that's the mentality of some people, like they're not gonna buy it. Mm-hmm. But I, I, I knew it would. I mean, I've gone through three pressings since my record's been out.
29:07
It sells, every time we do a show with a national, I, I'm, I run out of merch. Mm-hmm. And that's, and I'm not bragging about it. I'm grateful- Exactly... that people still wanna buy a T-shirt. They wanna buy a poster.
29:18
They want the CD. They, yeah. And when you open it, there's all of that. There's pictures and- Mm-hmm... a little, uh, whether it's a thank, the thank yous or the credits. But yeah, where did I record this?
29:27
Who played on what? Who did this? Who did that? And so I made it, that CD to be like an album, so when you open it, there was something.
29:33
And just to go old school, if you actually pull the disc out of my CD, it looks like an, an album, vinyl. Oh, see, that's cool. Yeah, yeah. So even the artwork. So everything was a throwback- Yeah...
29:43
to what I liked as a kid, and it was like sitting in my room with a, with a Van Halen record or a Kiss record. And over and over, I must have read it a million times. It, it never got old.
29:52
You know, just looking at the pictures and going, "Oh, my God." It doesn't get old, dude. Yeah, right. I got, I mean, I got all the s- the stacks of wax downstairs. Oh, right. Yeah, yeah. And it, and it- It doesn't...
29:58
it doesn't get old. Yeah. You pull that out, and it blows people, it blows young people away. They go, "Wow, what's..." I had somebody open up a double album and say, "Now what?" 'Cause I was telling them, I...
30:08
[laughs] [laughs] So. That's awesome. Anyway. Look at, look at Garth Brooks just released his box vinyl set, okay? That, that's cool. And it, he did it, what? Uh, uh, like two months ago.
30:19
And on the first day of release, he sold almost a million copies worldwide. That's amazing. Records. Records. That's awesome. Records. Because, yeah. So there is people flocking to pawn shops to buy turntables. Right.
30:32
All right. [laughs] We gotta wrap this up- Okay... 'cause you, you got people- Yep. We're gonna do some more- All right... licking their chops right now. Well, I appreciate you guys- So, hey...
30:37
having me and- Continued success... catching up and yeah, yeah... and, you know, we'll, we'll definitely be here for the, uh, the unveiling of the album party and- Yeah, I can't wait. It's gonna be awesome.
30:44
Album release party. Yeah. Album release party. We're s- we're gonna set a date tonight, but sometime in September- And the movie... we'll have you out here. Sure. Yeah. We'll be looking out for you- And The Fault...
30:50
for the movie. The Fault. Yeah, it's, uh, from Lionsgate Pictures. Okay. In theaters June 14th. You got it. Awesome. Yeah. Christopher Romero, thank you. Awesome. Thanks. Thanks, dude.
30:56
Thanks for being on Denver Wine Radio. Appreciate it. Right on. Right on, chump. That's awesome. That's a great season one. Exactly. All right, what are we, season two, episode one? Season two, episode one.
31:05
[laughs] That's what we're calling it? We're, we're back to it. We're back to the grind. Season two, episode one. All right. Hey, Judy. [laughs] Okay, now we're really wrapping it up.
31:16
[laughs] Hey, uh, thanks for listening to Denver Wine Radio, and, uh- Right. Thank you, Paul... we will, next time we'll talk wine. We'll probably taste some wine. Okay.
31:23
But, but still, hey, put some altitude in your glass. That's it.
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