Denver's Most Popular Swing Band Returns for 20-Year Reunion Show
By: A.A. Cristi
Made from members of Denver's underground cocktail set in 1996, Money Plays 8 emerged from The Kit Kat Club at Herb's Hideout to provide the Mile High City its first taste of the driving backbeat, punchy horns, and bourbon-soaked stage show that signaled the beginning of a Swing Renaissance. Igniting audiences filled with fedoras, saddle shoes and upended skirts, Money Plays 8burned brightly if too briefly alongside fellow scene-makers Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Royal Crown Revue, and Cherry Poppin' Daddies; sharing the stages of Denver's Bluebird and Ogden Theatres, The Boulder Theater, 9th Avenue West, and The Derby in Hollywood (as seen in the 1996 movie Swingers).
Now, Money Plays 8 returns to the scene of the crime, spats, suits and Enablerin tow, two decades after their first gig on Kentucky Derby day. The fellas are all here: Jimmy Image and Bushmills on the mics, Donnie Martini (bass), Mikey Dinero (guitar), Sammy Keys (piano), Whitesox (drums), Mr. French(trombone), The Downing St. Bird (saxophone), and Bus Stop Steve on the trumpet. They may be a little older, a little tougher, and a little wiser, but they're swingin' like it's 1997 all over again! Drink up and swing somebody! Where: The Bar Car, 819 Colorado Blvd., Denver (benefitting the Rocky Mountain chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society)Date: May 6, 2017
Time: The moment the race ends, approximately 4:20 p.m.
Tickets: Available for purchase at www.denverbarcar.com Money Plays 8 Accolades
- Best Neo-Swing Band, 1999
- Music Awards Showcase compilation, 1998
- Featured band, New Millennium Swing compilation (1999, DM Records)
- Featured band, Hipsters Of Swing compilation (1999, DM Records)
- Featured band, Swingin' with Arbor Mist compilation (1999, Back in the Day)
- Featured band on A Night at The Derby compilation, 2000 (Not Released)
- Song "Va Va Voom" featured on The Tick TV show (Columbia Tri Star Pictures, 2001)
- Featured band Starz! Free Preview Weekends, 2000
- Unrepentant record holder for most booze sold and/or consumed by a band on a given night at several different clubs that may or may not still be in existence.
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