FORT COLLINS, CO – It was January of 2022 when I packed up my things and moved two hours north to attend Colorado State University. I remember I was nervous. It had been a long time since I had gone through so much change, and I was worried it was going to be difficult for me to make friends and settle into my new home. That, and I was now even further from the city I loved – Denver – the city that fosters art and music culture better than any other place I’ve been to in Colorado. I was excited, at least, to learn that there were tons of local skate parks I could go to.

 

I love skateboarding, and for most of my first few weeks here in Northern Colorado, I found myself doing just that. It was at my favorite skate park – the one at Northside Aztlan Community Center – that I would often run into a boy adorning long brown hair, baggy jeans, and some of the cooler hoodies and tops I’ve seen in my life. What I didn’t expect to happen, though, was to see him in Denver attending one of the many underground concerts I found myself at during the weekends, let alone, as one of the several music acts of the night. That night, I was introduced to Gavin Nance, otherwise known as DJ Footwork.

 

Even though Nance has just turned eighteen years old, he’s already been actively creating music for several years. “My best friend Sam and I always had the same music taste,” Nance said. “We listened to so much that we got inspired to make music of our own. We eventually got FL Studio on our computers, and that’s when we really started making our true sound.” From then on, Gavin and Sam joined online collectives with people around the world making similar music, curating their sound and contributing to several collective mixtapes. However, the two wanted something more than just virtual – they wanted to start playing concerts. It was then that Gavin and his family were inspired to have one of their own. “In June of 2020 we had a little show outside our house. After that we started going to more underground shows, and it inspired us to do more. One day, (my family and I) were sitting in our barn, and we thought, ‘we could totally do a show here.’”

 

And so, Gavin, his family, and a few of his friends got to work, tearing down walls, putting up decorations and lights, and building a stage to create what would soon become an up-and-coming staple in Colorado’s local music scene – dubbed the “House of Dead.” “We started upgrading everything – the music, the gear, the concerts, everything we were doing,” Nance said. “On the way, we were able to gather a collective’s worth of people.” Since then, the once old and empty barn has many times been packed full of dancing crowds, hardcore bands, and electronic artists both local and not. The word of the venue’s existence even spread to bigger artists such as Purity Filter and Vertigoaway, who ended up deciding to book a show there themselves.

 

As time went on, not only did the venue grow and change, but the group of people helping to make this dream into a reality grew as well. Gavin was able to teach his friends how to make their own music, and soon, the House of Dead became associated with not just a space, but a group of people and a distinct variation of sounds. The different artists within are now playing more venues than just the House of Dead, sharing their sound with different audiences in Northern Colorado.

 

I was able to speak with Nance and his girlfriend, Aviela Cordova, who goes by the DJ name Hyasynth mere days before they were scheduled to play a show in Denver, one dubbed the “House of Dead Takeover.” The different artists within House of Dead’s collective were to travel together to a warehouse venue named Complex 24 to showcase their sound together to a Denver audience for the first time. “I’ve always wanted to do a tour as a whole collective,” Nance said. “I’m super thankful that Complex 24 has been chill enough to not just place us in a lineup but make our own lineup. People have been telling me that they’ve wanted to come to House of Dead but can’t make it all the way to Fort Collins. That’s what pushed me to contact Complex 24.”

 

Looking forward, Nance and Cordova are excited to show people the new sound coming out of Fort Collins, as well as the power music has to bring people together and show people new experiences. “Music has been a part of all of our lives in some way,” Nance said. “We’re putting this on so we can have fun, but we’re also doing it for those who haven’t experienced it, and to push people out of their comfort zones. In my opinion, music is the most powerful thing that hasn’t been stopped."