Denver’s Toxic Authority and Flagler, Colorado, outfit Radiofry will perform Saturday at The Hyde Out, 425 N. Hydraulic, with Jesters in Bronze and Cheese Man. The all-ages event starts at 7 p.m.
The two groups don’t mine exactly the same sonic terrain. Toxic Authority, comprised of Ike Sanchez (guitar, vocals), Luca Aparicio (bass), and Trentin Martinez (drums) works in the sphere of high-energy punk, while Radiofry (featuring the mononymous Ray and Vern with Martinez filling out the lineup) mines the still fertile grounds of classic grunge. Still, the bandmembers say, the diversity is an asset on their current tour.
Both bands recently checked in from a tour stop in Omaha, Nebraska, to discuss the current tour and their friendships.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How did the two bands decide to tour together?
Trentin Martinez: We’ve both been playing in the Denver scene for two years each now. Radiofry are from Flagler, which is in eastern Colorado, way east, far from Denver, small town. When they started gigging in Denver we got pretty close with them. Last fall, we said, “We’ve got to go out there and do this.” We became really good friends in the scene.
We went on one tour back in the spring and did eight dates, and this one will have 12. We’ve done a number of shows back home together. We’ve probably played together upward of 30 times.
It’s great when bands meet and get along and join forces.
TM: I don’t know what I would be doing if I didn’t have a second vehicle or another group of people to rely on. We all take care of each other out here, that’s for sure.
Both bands complement each other, but you’re not exactly the same, and then there will be other bands on the bills wherever you play, so listeners get a good mix of sounds and styles over the course of the night.
TM: We try to do that in all the cities that we’re going to, always booking locals. We’re not going to go into a market that we’re not familiar with without having a helping hand. There’s always local bands on the bills, at least two of them. It’s almost impossible to ever find two that are going to be the perfect mixture of us and fit in between us. So I just try to go for whatever sounds good. Often, that will be a big variation.
Ike Sanchez: We really don’t sound the same, but we don’t totally clash, but the bands we’ve been playing with still match the same vibe that we’re bringing. Genres that don’t clash. Every show is such a unique experience. It’s awesome.
Right now it’s difficult for bands at any level to be on the road. It’s expensive. How are you getting by?
TM: We have come out on the southwest and this tour fully aware that there’s a possibility that we’ll be losing money if we’re not careful. It’s hard to make money in general but, despite that, we’re not deterred, and I think that’s why we’re finding our lane very nicely.
Across the two bands, is there a designated mechanic?
IS: [Laughs.] Not a mechanic mechanic.
TM: Probably Ray. Ray’s better at cars than any of us, but we’d all be his assistant.
IS: We’d probably be able to figure out the problem. I don’t know how good we’d be at fixing it.
Vern: We could probably figure it out enough to vaguely describe it to a mechanic.
Ray: I could explain it to a mechanic enough to say, “Yeah, it’s pretty messed up.”
TM: Probably doesn’t have any gas.
Ray: All the tires are gone? What do we do about that?
