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Meet Kristofer Artz

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristofer Artz.

Kristofer, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born and raised in the mountains of Colorado; I was lucky enough to land a job in high school working for Caribou Ranch as a ranch hand. Caribou Ranch was a famous recording studio and ranch in Nederland Colorado that gained its fame back in the ’70s with huge names coming out to record and visit the ranch, names like Elton John, Chicago, and Michael Jackson. Unfortunately, there was a fire in the studio that ended that chapter for Caribou Ranch in the music industry. When I was growing up and working there, I saw how cool the place was and getting to know the people who owned the place really left a lasting impact on me. I wanted in a way to re-create this place and this is truly where my story begins.

Seeing platinum records and walking in a warmup room in a legendary studio that had not been touched since the day of the fire will change any sixteen-year-old who loves music for good. I knew the second I saw these things that I wanted to be in the music industry. I had been playing around with music with my friend for a few years before leading up to this and after seeing those things decided to take it much more seriously.

I went off to play college baseball for a couple years after graduating high school and these years spent out on the field in the middle of nowhere was when I found myself, I continued to make music while playing baseball, but when the time had come for playing baseball to end, and just be a college kid music decided to consume my life. My friend who I had been making music with for a long time and I decided to take things seriously. We decided to start playing parties and start getting our name out there. We went under Common Interests. We played a couple of parties but we’re not seeing eye to eye on the vision with music, so we decided to go our separate ways as musicians. This was when Kommon Interests was born, and the next 4-5 years of my life were bonkers. I had no idea what was headed my way.

Kommon Interests was my first solo act, and arguably my most successful so far. When I decided to go down this path alone, it was a scary first step, but then things started to work out in my favor. I was writing, making good music and had received a five-year record deal from a label out in London. I was only 19 at the time so was not too sure which direction my life was going so I decided to turn it down and not move to London. My father, who had not been around much growing up, wanted to build a better relationship. He told me when I turned that down that he would help me in any way he could with my music because it seemed like I had a “special gift” is what he told me. I told him lets start a record label and that’s when 2Kobras Records was born, my first record label.

I signed my first contract with 2Kobras Records under Kommon Interests on May 31st, 2012. Over the next two years, I was searching for and trying to find my sound. I had finally come up with what I thought was worthy material. We reached out to distribution, asking how to properly promote music and get it on charts. They sent me a bunch of leads and in June of 2014, we had put music on charts. We put together a 3-track ep of an original track by me as Kommon Interests and two remixes of it, one from Kevin Crash and one from Tom Frankel, this little music package landed an upfront club top 40 for five weeks. Starting at #40 jumping to #19, then to #12 and peaking at #5, then dropping back to #43 in its 5th week. It was a very surreal moment of my life and I will never forget the feeling of finding out we had hit a #5.

It truly was amazing. While the music kept flowing, I met my first manager and agent in the summer of 2013 I had met him at a party at CU (Sko Buffs!) and was his first client to ever sign with him. He and I would work together for the next six years and play countless shows we had multiple sellouts and played with huge names in the game here is a list of who I played with as Kommon Interests: Dada Life, Bingo Players, Savoy, Slushii, DVBBS, The M Machine, Kill Paris(2X), HeRobust, Sound Remedy (2X), Revolvr, Reid Speed, Minnesota, G-Jones, Kap Slap, Mord Fustang, Late Night Radio, K Theory, Singularity, TYR, Bones, Seth Abrumz, AViVA. These were some of the best times of my life. With people, I will never forget. I might not talk to some of them now, but they touched my heart and soul and I will always remember who was there with me through these times. They were the “Glory” days one might call them.

As time progressed, it was time to get 2Kobras Records out of Texas where we had originally started it. When I discovered how hard it was to move a company from Texas to Colorado, I decided that I needed another option so decided to go into business with a longtime best friend from high school and start a whole new record label. This is when Colorado Records was born. We built a studio in Boulder Colorado, where we would stay for the next two years. In the meantime, big things were happening with me as Kommon Interests. My agent at the time told me that he wanted me to re-brand to try and launch us further into success. This is where things started to get remarkably interesting for me as a professional musician. It basically all fell apart but comes back together in a beautiful way that I never really saw coming.

I decided to re-brand under a name called Lethal + Feather and it was an interesting blip in my career that brought a veil of darkness with sadness that I had to dig back out of. We played one show under that name and opened for Mt. Eden at the black box. I dropped one EP and then just could not connect with the music. I started to lose my sense of artistry and who I was as a person, ultimately affecting my personal life. I decided to bail on that and enrolled in an audio engineering school. When I bailed on that, I needed a new name, so I decided to go under just my name as Kris Artz. I was able to write one full album and played a couple shows under this new stage name. but… It still was not sitting right in my life. I just kept rolling with it and making music. Throughout all this, I graduated top of my class and ended up landing a job with the studio I had gone to school at. I was now an audio engineer for them and a music teacher for electronic music working with an Ableton certified trainer as my boss. I did this for a few months before I realized it was a conflict of interests in owning my own studio and record label.

My business partner and I moved Colorado Records down to Arvada in 2018 and have been there since. We built out a new studio and are currently waiting for COVID to settle down until we start having artists in there again. When I left the studio to pursue my own art again and my own studio. I landed a job growing weed and this is where I discovered Halfway To Mars, the current project that I am on right now and plan to take to the top of my career.

Halfway To Mars was born while growing weed and came to life while pruning plants. The idea behind it is that we are “Halfway to Mars” or (Nirvana) by being on earth. We are well on our way to getting to “Mars…” but first, we must complete our objectives here on earth that life throws at us with life. It is a psychedelic experience and is meant for exploration in yourself through the assistance of sound (how I found myself). I have written and released one full album and currently have another one ready to go just waiting for the right time to release it. After I found this new name and brand for my new music, it was also time to find new management and agents to help with this project I needed to branch away from the people that were no longer helping me and I found my new home in the warm and welcoming arms of Potent Productions. This last year has been a blast getting to know their artists and working with their stellar team. Potent Productions has been nothing but love since the day I signed with them and they continue to have my back and book me solid and fun shows while progressing my career. I plan on working with them for a long time.

Obviously, with any career, there are many uncertainties but one thing that is always constant in this is change, and that what we must adapt to. I plan on continuing to pursue my career with Halfway To Mars and Colorado Records and even Kommon Interests will come back and make some appearances and features on tracks. When I decided to go into music back when I was sixteen, I had no idea it would be a lifelong journey but now I am thankful that I have realized it and that it is. My goals are to play Red Rocks and go on tours and have more music charts. We will be buying a ranch and building a studio on it for Colorado Records and create a safe place for artists to come out and be themselves and create the best art they can. I will be writing my own chapter in music and the funny thing is that I am already in the middle of my story just by living. Excited to see where the future takes us all. More music coming soon and more movement with the label! See you in the stars!

Has it been a smooth road?
It has and it hasn’t… Biggest struggle is trusting your gut instinct (which you have to or you’re screwed). When to leave a manager or agent. When to fight for not getting paid. Keeping your head above water with all the pressure of trying to get famous. Not letting others criticism get to you personally. Getting over stage fright. Re-branding is the hardest thing any musician will do. Constantly changing with the industry (roll with it or get steamrolled). Sitting with yourself and realizing you aren’t always right. Staying motivated and creative. Staying healthy physically. Experiencing the highest highs and the lowest lows and finding inspiration in them both to make music about both.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
Colorado Records is an artist-owned, artist-driven record label. I am the Head Engineer, CEO and the founder of the company, I was able to start this company because of my own success in the music industry with Kommon Interests and Halfway To Mars. We started a campaign that gives back to the people its called “Music Feeds People.” Our message for MFP. Music feeds the soul, but food feeds the people. With this idea in mind, these shirts are our promise to make a difference in every community we have the pleasure of serving. For each shirt sold, we donate 50% ($10) to the highest-rated local food bank for that show. Please help us help others through music and feeding our brothers and sisters. We are proud to be independent and be so closely connected with the underground industry that we engage with.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
COVID is going to change everything. New venues will open while old ones close. New names you have never heard of will become big. Labels will make a comeback. Vinyl Records are on the rise again. Underground shows will come back. More rave-like shows will happen (Warehouse game).

Pricing:

  • 1 Hour Studio Time $40
  • 4 Hour Studio Time $135
  • 10 Hour Studio Time $325

Contact Info:


Image Credit:
Carmen Adams – Carmen Housecat arts and photography

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