Past Meetings starting 2006:
(please note that this list is not complete, we have been holding regular monhtly meetings since Jan. 1999)

MAY COMBO MEETINGWhen: Sunday, May 17th, 2009
Time:   6:00-8:00 p.m.
Where: THE ORIENTAL THEATER, 44th & Tennyson, Northwest Denver (NOTE LOCATION CHANGE AS OF 5/08/09)
Program: Guest Speaker - Leland Rucker - showing his & Don Chapman’s documentary “Sweet Lunacy”

Mr. Rucker, along with Mr. Chapman, have put together a documentary of the music scene in Boulder in the 1970's. The film features bands like Firefall, Poco, Sugarloaf, and many others. The clips were filmed in such venues as Tulagi, the Boulder and Fox theaters, and the Caribou Ranch recording studios – home to bands like The Eagles and too many to mention here. Come find out what was different about the Colorado music scene then – and what hasn’t changed one iota!

Note that the venue is again The Oriental Theater! Lots of seating with a real movie screen and a GREAT sound system -- And you can have dinner there, too!

When: Sunday, April 19th, 2009
Time:   6:00-8:00 p.m.
Where: Moe’s Bar-B-Que, 3295 South Broadway, Englewood (corrected location)
Program: Guest Speaker - Paul Epstein - www.twistandshoutrecords.com
Paul Epstein, the owner of Twist & Shout Records on East Colfax Avenue in Denver, will be speaking about how the music industry has changed for retailers in the last few years. He’ll be giving you suggestions on how to sell your CDs, what needs to be on them, and what seems to be selling overall from his perspective.

FEBRUARY COMBO MEETING - PLEASE NOTE VENUE CHANGE!!
When: Sunday, February 15th, 2009
Time:   6:00-8:00 p.m.
Where: The Irish Snug, 1201 East Colfax Avenue (near the corner of Marion & Colfax), in their meeting room downstairs.
Program: Guest Speaker - Michael St. James - www.stjamesmedia.com
Our speaker will be Michael St. James of St. James Media who will be speaking on publishing and its importance to the business of music.
Specializing in:
* Boutique Music Publishing - developing writers and representation worldwide
* Pre-cleared Master/Sync and Mechanicals for Film/TV, Advertising and Song Cuts
* Full Music Supervision - Scouting, Clearing, Editing and Delivery
* Songwriting and Vocal Services - Jingle production, voice over production
* Content Development and Production - Ad Copy, Video Production and branding
* Professional Writing services - Copy, Marketing, Story/Script development
* Marketing/Consulting - focusing your brand, developing strategy and partnerships
SJM's Creative Director, Michael St. James, will be giving a crash course on Music Publishing 101 and answering questions at the February meeting of COMBO.

When: Sunday, January 25th, 2009
Time:   6:00-8:00 p.m.
Where: Moe’s Bar-b-que (f/k/a The Falcon), 3295 South Broadway, Englewood
(2 doors south of the Gothic Theater)
Program: The Crash of the Music Industry featuring Steve Knopper

Steve Knopper covers the music business for Rolling Stone magazine. His next book, on the record industry in the digital age, is due from Free Press/Simon & Schuster in January 2009. He is a Denver-based journalist who has written for Spin, Details, Esquire, Entertainment Weekly, National Geographic Traveler, Wired, New York, Chicago, Backpacker, as well as the Chicago Tribune, Newsday, The Washington Post, the Toronto Globe and Mail, the Denver Rocky Mountain News, the Miami Herald, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and many books and websites.

COMBO HOLIDAY PARTY!

When: Sunday, December 14th
Time:   6:00-9:00 p.m.
Where: PS1515 (across the street from the PS Lounge), 3615 East Colfax
Cost: FREE if you’re a COMBO member!

We’ll be holding our annual Holiday Party at a private club, PS1515. The building, f/k/a The Normandie Restaurant, is now open for private parties only and we were lucky enough to secure it for our holiday party. For ease of reference in finding PS1515, it is one block east of the Bluebird Theater, north side of the street. There is a parking lot available as well as on-street parking. Dinner will be free for COMBO members – bring your membership card, and only $5 for non-members. Entertainment will be provided (of course!) You’ll LOVE this venue... Check it out for events of your own. Cash bar provided!

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23rd, 2008  - COMBO GENERAL MEETING

“Battles of the Bands: Should you enter them?” with special guest speakers from local bands Rightfully Accused, L.I.E., HAVOK and David Barber providing the Venue perspective.

Ever wanted to enter one of these contests? Now’s your chance to get the inside scoop on what goes on and how you can take advantage of the

Location: The Falcon Bowl (www.falconbowl.com) (Moe’s Original Bar B Que), 3295 South Broadway, Englewood (two doors south of the Gothic Theater) - 6:00-8:00 p.m. (Correct time). Lots of FREE parking on the streets right outside the Falcon’s door! The Falcon has a kitchen (you can watch your food being prepared fresh) and a bar. We’ll meet near the stage area (house sound system, too) in the southwest side of the building.

Sunday October 19, 2008
"The Reality of Reality TV Shows" Featuring guests: Matt Buckstein - American Idol and Christy Wessler - Nashville Star
Location: The Falcon Bowl (www.falconbowl.com), 3295 South Broadway, Englewood (two doors south of the Gothic Theater) - 6:00-8:00 p.m. (Correct time). Lots of FREE parking on the streets right outside the Falcon’s door! The Falcon has a kitchen (you can watch your food being prepared fresh) and a bar. We’ll meet near the stage area (house sound system, too) in the southwest part of the building.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21st - COMBO GENERAL MEETING
Topic of discussion will be “HOW TO GET YOUR BAND ON TELEVISION”. The guest panel will feature speakers from Denver Open Media, Altitude Television, Colorado Rock, and the Cone Zone.

Location: The Falcon Bowl, 3295 South Broadway, Englewood (two doors south of the Gothic Theater) Lots of FREE parking on the streets right outside the Falcon’s door! The Falcon has a kitchen (you can watch your food being prepared fresh) and a bar. We’ll meet near the stage area (house sound system, too) in the southwest part of the building.
Time: 7-9pm
Cost: FREE! And open to everyone!

SUNDAY, June 22 - GENERAL MEETING
"How to Get Your Music Into Film, TV & Video Games" featuring guest speaker Ben Long. Mr. Long’s songs have been featured in the aforementioned media – He’ll help shorten the process for you so you don’t have to go in circles forever!

Sunday, June 22nd - 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. (Note time change for the summer!)
Picnic on the Patio!!! COMBO Office, 1490 Lafayette Street, Denver. Bring your dinner or pick up something from Silver Mine Subs (around the corner). We’ll provide the chips, dips and drinks!!

SUNDAY, MAY 18th - GENERAL MEETING
Location: Rockbar, 3015 East Colfax, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Two blocks west of the Bluebird Theater on the ground floor of the All In Motel. Parking available in the motel’s parking lot. Entrance to the Rockbar is on Colfax.

Storm Gloor, Assistant Professor, Music and Entertainment Industry Studies, UCD, will be the guest speaker on Sunday, May 18th, at the Colorado Music Association General Meeting. His topic will be: "Free and Easy: Keeping up with the Music Industry News Without Even Trying". In the session he'll cover some of the many handy resources for staying educated on the music business and managing the news efficiently. He’ll give you some guidelines for getting your own band “in the news” to help with your promotion.http://thunder1.cudenver.edu/CAM/faculty/meis/gloor/index.htm

Sunday, April 20, 2008 at the Irish Snug’s Party Room (downstairs), 1201 East Colfax, Denver. 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Lots of FREE PARKING available. ALL AGES! Come early and have a really good dinner while you’re there.

The tentative program will feature the documentary SWEET LUNACY, a history of the music scene in Boulder in the late 1970's with bands such as Firefall, Sugarloaf, Poco, and others and information on the Caribou Recording Studio as well. The documentary was produced by Don Chapman and Leland Rucker. Mr. Rucker will be there to discuss and to answer your questions.

You’re probably asking yourself: “What has a documentary about bands in the ‘70's got to do with my band?” You’ll be surprised at the similarities between the music scene then and the music scene now. You’ll get some great ideas about what to do next with your band. Come check it out! Mark April 20th on your calendar immediately!

There will be NO general Colorado Music Association meeting in March due to the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs Networking Event on March 8th; the Radio Airplay Workshop on March 22nd, and the UMX (CHUN - People’s Fair) auditions on March 29th & 30th. See below for more information on these events. We encourage you all to attend these very important music scene gatherings.

Sunday, February 24, 2008, at the Irish Snug’s Party Room (downstairs), 1201 East Colfax, Denver. 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Lots of FREE PARKING available. ALL AGES! Come early and have a really good dinner while you’re there.
Program is a REALITY CHECK – “BUYER BEWARE”. Before you or your band invest in some type of promotion – be it local or on-line, let’s see if it’s really worth your money!

Sunday, January 27, 2008, 6:00 p.m. at The Irish Snug Underground – Party Room; 1201 East Colfax, Denver, CO (between Lafayette & Marion on the north side of Colfax). Lots of free parking around (no charge for parking meters on Sundays). All ages. Let’s work on getting everyone out again. Program on some of the various conventions, workshops, and seminars available to musicians and businesses, and what they offer that is so valuable to your musical career. Guest speakers will be Marcy Baruch (on motivating yourself and/or your band) (www.marcybaruch.com), Neil Zimmerman of Pairadeux (on TAXI) (www.pairadeux.com), and Gary Lennox - Dog House Studios (on the NAMM Convention) (www.doghousestudios.com) . Mark it on your calendar now!

Sunday, December 9, 2007 - The Irish Snug - 7:00 p.m.
COMA Holiday Party!!
The Irish Snug, 1201 East Colfax Avenue (between Marion & Lafayette on the north side of the street) from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. The meeting will be held downstairs in the meeting room.
Dinner will be FREE for COMA members! Dig up your card now so you can present it at the door. For non-members the fee will be $10 but it will be a dinner well worth the price!
After dinner entertainment will be provided by Pairadeux (Elizabeth & Neil) and promises to be a really fun time. During dinner we will play the compilation holiday music CD made up for COMA’s use by Carmen Allgood from music submitted to her by local artists for her radio show, The Colorado Wave. This music is AWESOME and was enjoyed by all at last year’s party and the music is timeless so it will be thrilling to hear all songs again.

Sunday, November 18, 2007 - The Irish Snug - 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Topic of panel discussion will be: “Promotion & Display of Your Merchandise to Increase Sales”
The Irish Snug, 1201 East Colfax Avenue (between Marion & Lafayette on the north side of the street) from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. The meeting will be held downstairs in the meeting room.
Panel topic will be on “Promotion & Display” – How to get more promotion for your band and how to display your merchandise so that it will sell and keep you in the “black” on your income statement! Guest speakers will be Steve Werges who started the Metropolitan College newspaper; Barb Dye, President of COMA; and Laura McGaughey, management and publicity director of U.S. Pipe and the Balls Johnson Dance Machine (courtesy of Charley Brand, vocalist extraordinaire and COMA Board member). Each speaker will take approximately 15 minutes to present their topic and a Q&A session will be held afterwards.