Meet Grant Blakeslee of Alphabeat Soup / MYTHirst in East Denver

Today we’d like to introduce you to Grant Blakeslee.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Grant. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started playing punk music when I was in Junior High. I was taking drum lessons and played in band before going on my own in High School and played with friends in our own band. We would book shows at coffee shops and play open mics all over Denver. At this time I was playing drums still but was also teaching myself ukulele and guitar (with the help of some friends of course). I ended up leaving this band when I left for College. I started messing around with music production software around this time. After I was done with school, I started making beats and playing ukulele with them. This lead to me playing shows and in order to play more shows, I decided I needed to set them up myself. I wanted to create a showcase where everyone would feel free to experiment with their music in an open environment. I called these shows Alphabeat Soup, with the tagline, “A diverse selection of beats ranging from A-Z”. We used to do a monthly at the Deerpile when it was still going, but now we put them on at places like thought//forms gallery and sometimes work with venues like Lion’s Lair and Your Mom’s House. I have aspirations and ideas to work with other venues as well, so I can give other artists the opportunity to grace the stage.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
When we moved to a monthly model, it was tiring. I think keeping the shows varied was difficult. We were very lucky to have the Deerpile in the past, and once we lost that, I had to find somewhere else to host us. Luckily the people at thought//forms have been great to work with, and I have a lot of respect for other venues and have some other ideas. The good thing about this challenge of losing the Deerpile is we had to branch out of our comfort zone, so now we are looking for other places to put the show on.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Alphabeat Soup / MYTHirst – what should we know?
I think of us more as a music collective. We are known for the open and experimental platform we give to artists. I’m proud of the great talent we get to work with, and the fact that friends are kind enough to let others know about us. We are weird, a lot of the artists we work with are able to try sounds on stage they don’t get to in a more mainstream setting.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
We couldn’t do what we do without the help of others. I might forget some people, which is bad on my part, but here are some inspiring people who have been invaluable:
Johnny Moorehouse, Lennord Mullins and James Hattaway with the Deerpile. I’ve always looked up to them and they are insanely talented filmmakers, painters, musicians and roller skaters.
Felix Ayodele (Felix Fast4Ward). Couldn’t think of someone more bright.
Dan Coleman at thought//forms. Not only an incredibly talented electronic musician, but a great guy to work with on shows.
Vahco Before-Horses of Glasss Records. Hardest working guy in the music scene right now, who makes me always want to keep pushing and keep bringing new artists in with Alphabeat Soup.
Chris Reano (Furbie Cakes) and Andy Moran. Chris is always a big help with making sure our shows run smoothly and is a constant positive influence. Andy is very much the same way and brightens up the environment around our shows with his art.

Contact Info:

• Address: Denver, CO 80220
• Phone: 7203418306
• Email: silhouettesounds79@gmail.com
• Instagram: mythirst_ukebeat
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Community/Alphabeat-Soup-208481809916712/
• Other: https://soundcloud.com/mythirst-ukulelebeats-1

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