Local Lists: Bollywood Life

Denver. Dust off your Converse or Vans or whatever kicks you’ve got because this weekend is the Goldrush Music Festival at the Savoy at Curtis Park. It’s one last hurrah to summer and a big ole welcome to fall.

In its 5th year, the Goldrush Music Festival features the best in shoegaze, avant-garde, and DIY-noise music from Denver, Brisbane, Brooklyn, and Berlin (to name a few). And as a bonus this year, Goldrush is teaming up with the Denver Small Press Fest to celebrate the print side of DIY culture as well. This FREE inaugural event, which is also held at the Savoy (on Saturday, September 19th from 10am – 3pm), will feature a giant print fair, live screen printing, typewriter installation, build-your-own zines, record fair, coffee cart, DJs, dranks, and more.

The Goldrush Music Festival itself kicks off on Friday, September 18th and invites all the weirdos to attend, including you (yes, you). Snag that rare cassette tape you’ve been trying to find at the Record & Tape Fair, watch some mind-bendy film installations, listen to some panel talks, and/or gaze at the local art while enjoying acts such as Yoni Wolf from Why?, Guardian Alien, Benoît Pioulard, and a number of local bands, including Bollywood Life.

Who is this Bollywood Life you ask? The 19-year-old Louisville, CO native has been part of the Denver music scene for years but not until semi-recently did he start his solo endeavor. His electrifying and hypnotic beats make one’s body fall into a complete trance and dance as if no one (or everyone) is watching. Peep the interview below to learn more about this lad (who recently released his Manya EP on Shoeboxx Recordings) and about which other Denver locals you should be queueing up in your SoundCloud playlist.

Name: Anton Krueger aka Bollywood Life

Occupation: Traveling the U.S. doing visual work for Slow Magic and street performing.

A little about yourself: Oh wow, I feel like I’m on a dating show. Grew up in Louisville, Colorado. I like to go for runs every morning, eat a bowl of oatmeal, kale and kombucha during the day, then go street perform, drive to places to do shows, spend time at Rhinoceropolis…travel when I can.

How did you get the name Bollywood Life? Three years ago, my sister was living in Denmark and my family and I met her in Iceland for a trip. It was a name of a TV show or a program there and it was always on the TV guide channel. I thought it was colorful and rad and I put it in my brain to remember. It embodies what I do.

What influenced your sound? A lot of friends were huge influences to me…noise bands. Traveling a bit and meeting people are also big influences for me. Hanging out around different crowds, being a part of the sound and how it changes.

Describe your new EP, Manya, in five words or less: Oh man, I can try. Colorful. Clear. Straightforward.

Favorite shows you’ve played this year so far: I had a great time in Boise with the bands Crystal Ghost and Street Fever. My most favorite was Mykki Blanco at the Larimer Lounge in January. It was a really special night.

Favorite moment from a show: It was last year at the Dead Leaf, which was a short-lived warehouse space in North Boulder. I played a Halloween show with my friend Eamonn. We wore chrome outfits with silver masks and were being really stupid and crowd surfing. By the end, our costumes were torn off and we were half-naked in just boxers and socks.

Fondest Denver memory: Watching my best friend Luke perform as French Kettle Station open up for Lightning Bolt. The whole place was packed. This is going to sound cheesy, but it was one of those moments when you feel like you can think of anything you want to happen and it can happen. Luke and I used to sit in the basement listening to [Lightning Bolt’s] records and there he was opening for them.

What’s missing in Denver: More venues like Rhinoceropolis. It fills a void for people in Denver and now that Denver is becoming so gentrified, old buildings, innovative places, and DIYs are getting lost and displaced. It’s all really sad. If anything is going away, it’s true DIY culture.

Favorite city to play in other than Denver: Probably either New York or Boise. New York because my sister lives there and it’s really good to see her and Boise because it has an unlocked, close-knit scene that hasn’t really been touched yet.

Additional comments/plugins: You should listen to Killd By, French Kettle Station, and Sugarsplat. Just a shout-out to my homies. Another thing that’s good, funny, and going to be huge one day is a cartoon called Tha Mayoreo Show. It’s animated by people in Denver – check it out.

The Goldrush Music Festival runs September 18 & 19, 2015 at the Savoy in Curtis Park. Bollywood Life is performing on Saturday, September 19th (full schedule can be viewed here.). Tickets start at $20 and are still available. (Info on the after party is here.)

Fans and aspiring fans alike can double their pleasure by also catching Bollywood Life this Sunday, September 20th at the Hi-Dive, in support of the Rose Quartz kick-off tour. Sur Ellz and lzrwlf will round out what should be a night of epic dance moves.

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Written by Monica Arevalo, Dear Denver guest contributor. Monica is a Phoenix native but has called Denver home for the past four years. When Monica isn’t at home watching Netflix or reading a book, she’s at a concert losing her voice and dodging elbows to get to the front of the stage.