Aaron Noble Brown is a singer-songwriter based in Colorado Springs. “Everybody is somebody,” Aaron Brown says. I pause. By this point we’re halfway through the interview, and I’m pleased to realize I’ve just found my hook. I’ve just been shown the “heart” of the interview, the fundamental nugget of truth that ties the conversation together. But let’s rewind a bit. The interview begins with a question about being a musician in Colorado Springs. Brown says it’s hard to be a complete individualist in Colorado Springs. “You as one person can do so much,” Brown says, “but it’s... Read More

Langdon Foss is a graphic novel illustrator who works from his studio in Old Colorado City, CO. Langdon Foss is a guy with ideas. He’s a conversationalist. He makes me an espresso and I settle into the sofa. Our “interview,” which I’ve cut down quite a bit, creeps over the hour mark. It doesn’t drag. We just enjoy letting the conversation go where it leads. Independent. Individual. These describe both Foss and the ideas we toss back and forth. Foss claims that he’s never worked for a company that’s required him to attend a staff retreat. In fact, he’s spent much of his artistic... Read More

Chris Alvarez is a painter and art instructor based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Chris Alvarez meets me at the door to Second Floor Studios in Old Colorado City. He greets me warmly before leading me upstairs to his studio. The studio is full of… everything. There’s a guitar on the wall. Books. Easels and coffee cups. A spider skeleton hangs from a makeshift chandelier. Not to mention the five-foot canvas that dominates the space. A jazz record plays over the stereo, but, surprisingly, I feel right at home. I start by asking Alvarez about a quotation from an interview he did awhile back.... Read More

Luis Gonzales is a dancer, break dancer, and martial arts tricker in Colorado Springs. He performs and teaches classes. Note: Martial arts tricking is a relatively new sport that combines acrobatics and martial arts moves into a solo performance routine. How do you define an artist? I like to say that the best artists are the ones who draw inspiration from the past in order to innovate for the future. And Luis Gonzalez Jr. does exactly that through his athletic performance arts. Latin dancing. Breakdancing. Martial arts tricking. These are, as Gonzalez describes, the three pillars of his art. “What... Read More

Matt Mead is a visual storyteller and filmmaker in Colorado Springs What are the similarities between the LA film industry and a small, Christian college tucked away in rural Pennsylvania? “Very little,” you might say. But Matt Mead has experienced both settings. And now he lives in Colorado Springs, which is home to a melting pot of cultural perspectives. The city supports a large military presence. It’s known for its conservative, evangelical population. And as a city in Colorado, it also hosts a large, liberal contingent. Because Colorado Springs is growing in terms of both population... Read More

Sam Suksiri is the creator of the hilarious “Traffic Therapy” sketch podcast I want a guy like Sam Suksiri to write my jokes. When I meet Suksiri, he’s sitting at a table in a smart, gray blazer, sipping a cold brew coffee. In an artist’s way, his hair’s not exactly combed. He’s sociable, and we soon get to talking. He studied television writing in grad school. That was until a professor pulled him aside and said something along the lines of, “It seems like you’re here to write comedy. This is a TV screenwriting program, and you might end up a little disappointed.” So Suksiri... Read More

Laurel Justice is a Colorado Springs artist who paints abstracts and landscapes through the medium of soft pastels. She holds an MA in counseling and often pairs therapy with artistic expression to create spaces of healing for her clients. In 1996, just months before the US Summer Olympics, Laurel Justice moved from Atlanta, GA to Colorado Springs. At the time, the local arts scene was in a slump and Justice found it difficult to connect and identify with the city as an artist. “It was a wasteland,” Justice tells me before laughing to herself. “Ok, maybe that’s a little harsh, but I would... Read More