The Velveteers win for Outstanding Stage Presence - Colorado Sound Music Awards

velveteers lisa siciliano dog daze — The Velveteers at the Fox Theatre in Boulder, Colo. Photo courtesy Lisa Siciliano/Dog Daze Photo

Congrats to the Velveteers, the band you voted as possessing Outstanding Stage Presence in this year’s Colorado Sound Music Awards!

By Adam Perry

Boulder native Demi Demitro has been rocking nearly her entire life, as have her brother and sister (John and Lulu) of the local hard-rock band Pink Fuzz. Fronting the Velveteers, which also features Baby Pottersmith and Jonny Fig on a combined drumset, has taken Demitro from local dive bars to clubs around the world, and even a recent set at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park opening for Guns ‘n’ Roses. That one young woman with one very loud guitar in her hands can bring such a huge sound and such a huge energy to so many stages and so many enthused fans is an impressive revelation, and Demitro is a key reason Colorado Sound listeners handed the Velveteers the Colorado Sound Music Award for Outstanding Stage Presence.

Asked how such a small band bowls audiences over with such a massive sound, Demitro said, “It’s hard to describe. Once we all get on stage it’s sort of like we become possessed. There’s just a crazy energy that begins to run through us all. The audience’s energy is just as important as ours, so we love to see our crowd go crazy and perform, too.”

The Velveteers are not just a great live band, either – Nightmare Daydream, the group’s debut album, was produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys and finds the primal rock trio aptly capturing its big, energetic sound on wax. According to Pottersmith, coming of age as a band in the Northern Colorado music scene played a big part in the Velveteers crafting the roar that was recorded on Nightmare Daydream and is now making waves on tour.

“The underground D.I.Y. music scene in Colorado really instilled a lot in us,” Pottersmith says. “Demi and I would go see a D.I.Y. show together when we first met and there’d be only five people there sometimes, but most all the bands would still play like it was the last show they were ever gonna get to play and give it everything they had. It wasn’t a performance for them; everything we were seeing was real and genuine. I think being in that environment made it clear to us that whatever we were going to do on stage, it couldn’t be fake. Everyone can tell when it is.”

velveteers live boulder fox dog daze lisa siciliano — The Velveteers at the Fox Theatre in Boulder. Photo courtesy Lisa Siciliano/Dog Daze Photo

Being part of such a great music scene and then being voted its most exciting live band is an honor that’s not lost on the Velveteers, whose heavy music also proves Colorado isn’t all jam bands and bluegrass.

“We are very flattered to receive this award and to be in a category with so many other amazing bands,” Demitro told the Colorado Sound. “I think we have a lot of passion and love what we do, and I think that’s something people recognize.”