Jan 13 Feature – Music Scene, The Movie

The Mile High City has, from so many different angles, one of the liveliest, freshest, and most tight-knit music scenes in the country. Bands such as the Epilogues and Air Dubai are but a couple of the groups that have worked and sacrificed their way to top, securing their place on the front-burner of Denver music. Cranking the heat up to 11, these bands have slowly but surely reached the boiling point, and are beginning to spill over into the cosmos. Diego Ramos, a Denver film maker, is capturing not only the stories of bands at their level, but also the acts still stuck in the shadows in his upcoming film “Music Scene, The Documentary Film Part 1- Colorado.”

“Music has always been a passion of mine,” says Ramos. “My mother was a music teacher. She was also an elementary teacher, and she taught first and second graders how to learn through music.”
Filmmaking came along in high school for Ramos, filming a friend, Marc Frank Montoya (to snowboarders, he is a household name), snowboarding. He studied in Seattle during the nineties, when the local music scene was on fire. He also worked on the Real World: Seattle doing various types of work from filming to set building. “It was documentary-style filming, and I studied that with a passion,” says Ramos. “I also worked on the [Real World] here in Denver a little bit.” Ramos also worked as Director of Photography for the Discovery Channel’s “Disappeared.”
Ramos found his way back to Colorado and started his own business, doing contract production work, including a good number of Spanish commercials, under the name of Imatage Pictures. How did he get the name? “I basically took ‘image’ and ‘montage’ and put it together,” says Ramos.
He began filming an online documentary back in 2006 but the state of, not only the music scene, but also the Internet was not where it needed to be for the project. He shelved it and focused on other efforts. “Revisiting the project now, I was like, ‘Let’s do it,’” says Ramos. “The equipment I have is better, the HD capability is better. So I started putting the movie together, and really focusing on the movie. I’ve been to L.A. twice to pitch the movie. I’ve gotten a lot of attention from Japan, a lot of attention from Sony. The one thing they didn’t like was that it was too low budget. They thought ‘$150,000 for a movie isn’t what we’re looking for. We’re looking for like a $1,000,000 budget.’”
Although the making of the film has been underway, it is still in the fundraising process. Ramos’ goal for the film is $150,000, significantly lower than what major players like Sony are willing to take seriously, but more than enough to make a well-rounded documentary film. “To me, [$150,000] is a lot of money,” says Ramos. “So I thought, what if we franchise this, did a part 1, part 2, part 3, etc., that would [eventually] make it into a $1,000,000 budget.” So he rethought his approach, and decided he wanted to kick the series off here in the Mile High City. “Colorado is my home, and I believe that Colorado has enormous talent,” Ramos says. “It’s bigger than anyone really knows or understands. Why don’t we do an entire movie here, and then make another movie in another state, and eventually make another movie in another country!?”
While the idea of dividing his ultimate dream into several films is a way to decrease the funding needed at one time, it also will serve to help Ramos uncover an in-depth perspective on the musicians he is showcasing. He can also take what he has done here and use it as the backbone for the future installments. “Being a teacher [myself], I understood that once you put it all together you can redo it over and over again,” he says. “I’m putting the movie together, I’ve written it out, and I did a timeline. When the movie’s finished, said, and done, I have the format. I can do the same thing in a different state, but re-stylize it in that state.”

Making a documentary requires a great deal of research in addition to filming, and because of his background, Ramos is no stranger to cracking open some books (or in this day and age, getting online and seeing what you can find). “I did a lot of research on the history of the music scene in Colorado,” says Ramos. “I even went back to the eighteenth century. What I’ve found is that Colorado has a pivotal movement in the industry. Winger, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, the Flobots, the Fray, all these bands have made a huge mark in the music industry. Philip Bailey from Earth, Wind, and Fire went to East High School. There’s a huge punk scene that came out of here. Colorado has this history, and I’m trying to put that in the movie. I’m kind of starting the movie out with that history, and explaining how that’s made a mark all around the world.”
Those involved in the local music scene already understand the feeling that we have here, but outside of the core insiders, what is going on in our city isn’t always so blatantly apparent. “You’re seeing Colorado in a whole different light,” says Ramos. “I could literally do a documentary on just Wheelchair Sports Camp, a documentary on just the Epilogues. But it’s combining it all that makes it more of a story and puts it in a bigger picture. Hopefully when this documentary comes out, the music scene in Colorado will get a little more attention.”
Partying is a big part of show business for many musicians, and Ramos isn’t shy about filming what goes down backstage. He also does his best to capture the conversations, including the drama, that takes place. Part of his interviewing process with the bands involves getting their thoughts on reasons why a band fails, whether it’s drinking, drugs, girls, or anything else.
“It’s everybody’s story,” says Ramos. “The heart of the movie is the stories of the bands that aren’t making it, that ARE struggling. I think people are more interested in that than the bands that have already made it, but we’re still going to tell their story.” The film hopes to point out not only the differences between the bands that have made it and the ones that are still underground, but also the similarities. “At one point I filmed a local artist. She had to drive to the place, do the promos, take the gear out, and she wasn’t making any money. And then you look at that on a grander scale, like you look at the Fray, it’s the same thing, they are just doing it on a grander scale. There are a lot of similarities there.”
The film strives to show how the musicians react when everything goes wrong, sometimes to the point where they don’t want it on record. He noticed that the more time he spent with a group, the more comfortable they became with a camera in their presence, but there were times that they would rather forget than show to the world. “There was an event, I don’t want to say which band, where I was filming the record release party, and it didn’t quite turn out the way they planned,” Ramos says. “They didn’t get as many people as they wanted, microphones were dropping out in the middle of their songs, the sound system was horrible–and this is a popular venue. Everything you could think of went wrong that night, and this was their big debut record release party. I witnessed this huge fight between the lead singer and the manager and they were like ‘YOU CAN’T FILM THIS!”
He is also going to present the points of view of people other than musicians, such as Uncle Nasty, who have been a part of the Denver scene for a long time.
“A documentary film is a different entity,” Ramos explains. “It takes you on a journey, and you’ve just got to go with what’s happening. I’ve scripted out as much as I can, but it goes in different turns and twists. I’m letting it take its course right now, and eventually that will be the movie!” He plans to have the film out in late 2013.
Find up-to-the-minute news, sponsorship info, and watch the trailer online at www.musicscenethemovie.com.
Look for the Epilogues, Erin Jo Harris, Melissa Ivey, Eldren, Della, CacheFlowe, Wheelchair Sports Camp, the Foodchain, DJ Cavem, Qbala, In the Whale, Bianca Mikhan, Turner Jackson, Fresh Breath Committee, the High-Tops, Take to the Oars, Sammy T, Bonnie and the Beard, Kyle Simmons, the Hate, and many more.
Author: Tim Wenger