Moxie + Music + Outdoor Life = Moxie Lyons
When I was 18 I moved to Boulder. After a couple of hard left turns took me from graduating high school in Massachusetts to bailing out on college in Santa Barbara to riding a Greyhound bus from California to Boulder to conjure up a life plan while sponging off my best friends college investment and sleeping on his dorm room floor for almost 2 months at CU Boulder eating stolen burgers from his trips to the cafeteria.
For all of you East coasters who also found their way to Boulder, and who continue to find their way to Boulder...you know that feeling when you pull into town for the first time...looking up at Chautauqua and the Flatirons, Indian Peaks in the distance...grabbing a coffee at Pennylane, or perhaps now Beliza and heading out on your first front range hike. Climbing the Bastille Crack in Eldo after reading guide books from Royal Robins...riding Picture Rock Trail...
One of the first weekends in town I heard that Charles Sawtelle was playing a Grange Hall in Niwot, and showing up there felt like a dream come true. A few months later I ended up at what was then called Swiss Chalet in Nederland and somehow snuck in underaged to see what appeared to be Leftover Salmon. Whatever my friends were smoking that night rendered my recollection of the evening a bit foggy...
That summer I managed to score tickets to Telluride Bluegrass care of the good folks at Bart's Record Store. I think Greg Mudd had somehow got a donation from KGNU that included a cooler, 2 lawn chairs, a poster and 2 tickets to the festival. He said he was gonna keep the swag but offered me the tickets. Growing up in a musical family and reading about Telluride in my father's music magazines as a kid had painted that festival as something along the lines of The Louvre in my mind. So I went that June for my first trip to T-Ride. I packed my sandles, shorts and a few t-shirts. I wished I'd thought to pack my winter boots, snow jacket and wool hat in addition to sunblock, water and a sun hat. I came back so beat up and sun burnt and hypothermic... a good first lesson Colorado mountain high altitude summers....but I felt liked I'd finally seen the Mona Lisa up close.
Next up was Lyons. Rockygrass came first then Folks Fest. I saw Peter Rowan at both, not to mention Ani DiFranco, Michelle Shocked, Hot Rice, Del and a slew of folks I'd never heard yet, but soon afterward went running to Bart's to buy their album. From 1994 on, I've hit at least one day of almost every Rockygrass and Folk's Fest. Every time I go to Lyons I wished I didn't have to leave.
A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine from Lyons who's been urging us to bring the Moxie family to town invited me out to take a look around. Somehow the timing just felt right and after a few visits at a few different locations we've decided to set up camp in Lyons. We've found a sweet spot on Main Street that we are planning to move into sometime in the Spring. We are still working out our master plan, but I know one thing we'll focus on there and that is music. Of course there will be the odd loaf of bread, a croissant or two and some coffee as well. With so many amazing legacies in Lyons from The Stone Cup & Saint Vrain Market, to James and Noriko's legendary Gateway Cafe of yesteryear, we are giddy with excitement to be able to be a part of the community.
Ok- Billy the Kid Strings is steamrolling across the landscape and taking no prisoners. He 'aint afraid. Last week he threw down a 6 night show at The Capitol Theater paying homage to The Grateful Dead's legendary run 50 years ago. Check out this Help>Slip>Frank>Brokedown and get back to me! Holy smokes....
Billy Strings - Help on the Way /Slipknot /Franklin's Tower /Brokedown Palace