Colorado's best April Fools' gags this year
Colorado brought its A-game to April Fools' Day.
Zoom in: Here are some of the pranks we found funniest.
Reality check: None of them are true.
🖼️ Gov. Jared Polis unveiled his "new official gubernatorial portrait" in the state Capitol (pictured above) that would make "South Park" proud.
🎸 Red Rocks rebranded as Blue Rocks, claiming it had been coated in an eco-friendly dye to match Denver's blue public art obsession.
🐴 Denver International Airport said it was hiring a handler for Blucifer to manage his "extremely busy tour and photography schedule" and keep him looking sharp.
👟 Colorado Springs announced plans to install an escalator next to the 2,744-step Manitou Incline — complete with a straight-faced quote about accessibility that fooled a certain Axios Denver reporter who shall remain nameless (... OK, it was me).
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Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Ab-Soul Dishes Out Key Ingredients To ‘Soul Burger'
For Ab-Soul, rapping is not only his musical gift but a tool to honor his past, present, and future, while depicting life's highs and lows through metaphors, hyperbole, and personification. With each album release, the 38-year-old finds himself drawing inspiration from pockets of hope, lived experiences, pits of despair, and pursuits of solace, and that's all apparent in his most recent release. On his latest album, Soul Burger, he fuses his talents with the spirit of his close friend and collaborator, the late Armon 'Doe Burger' Stringer, who was killed in December 2021. Through 15 tracks, Ab-Soul ensures his brother's creative legacy lives on. While sitting backstage before his performance at Red Bull's BC One tournament in Denver, VIBE sat with him and explored the inspirations behind some of the album's stand-out tracks. The Carson native's smile was just as sharp as the fresh braids neatly fashioned on either side of a deep center part. Despite his dark sunglasses, worn due to legal blindness caused by Stevens-Johnson syndrome, suggesting a sense of mystique, one thing became clear: Ab-Soul is an open book for those willing not to judge its cover. For nearly half an hour, the father of two engaged in conversation. We laughed, reflected, hugged, and connected on the unique ingredients that went into Soul Burger, how he prepared for the Good Vibes Only Tour: Smoker's Edition with Wiz Khalifa, Dom Kennedy, Earl Sweatshirt, and others, and much more. VIBE: Congrats on the tour. How excited are you for that, and what cities are you most excited to hit? Ab-Soul: I'm always always excited. I'm always appreciative and always looking forward to going out and touching the people, and actually feeling a response from the projects because it's literally kinetic. It's a really strange energy, and it's so important to me versus just releasing me when I should be chillin. I actually be feeling the energy, so that was very important. I don't have any particular cities that I'm looking forward to, but of course I love New York. I lived in the Bronx for a couple of years. That's where they say Hip-Hop started…That's what I heard. But, yeah, definitely looking forward to it, man. It's a blessing. With this being The World Famous Soul Burger Tour, can fans expect the album top to bottom? Are you gonna bring some old stuff or new stuff? I'm planning to come to see you in Atlanta. What am I looking forward to when I pull up to this show? Expect the best, man. Prepare for the worst. The worst meaning I said the craziest. It became crazier and crazier and crazier. You said Atlanta, right? Yeah, you see it? You'll get it later. But you know, I got collabs all over the place. I've got a tour coming with Wiz Khalifa. We just hit Red Rocks for 4-20. Wiz is really cool, man. Real cool dude. This is personal because you were gone for a minute, and life was life-ing. But with your last couple of projects, that momentum is coming back. You're outside more. What does the last few years feel like compared to prior years? To be perfectly honest with you, at this point in my life, it's kinda like second nature. Like I said, man, I'm just grateful to still be alive, man. As you know, I done been through some sh*t. I've lost some important people to me. Like you said, life, lifing and all that. But Hip-Hop definitely keeps me going. It gives me purpose. To get up and keep trying and keep doing it and trying to be of service. Because no matter what I'm going through, I know somebody else is going through that. Going through something similar or worse. And if I can get up and keep going, then so can they. So I think that's the best way I could put that. I want to talk a little bit about some of the songs on Can you talk about some of the collaborations on the album and how some of these tracks came to be? The first one that comes to mind is '9 Mile.' That was very therapeutic for me. I wanted the album to come off sounding like Belly. The beat switch with the Eight Mile aesthetic was magical. It just happened. And that's how I like to let it happen organically. Come to find out, it's a Soul II Soul sample. Didn't think about that. And the song was about a near-death experience, and the album actually dropped on the same day as Eight Mile. [everyone laughs] That was planned. Absolutely not. I'm just a vessel. I'm like, it's not my fault. It was written… That's one of those that's one of those joints that just give me confidence or even faith in knowing that everything is as it should be. So it leads to 'California Dream.' Ninth Wonder, one of my favorite producers of all time. For sure. Shout out to the big homie. Hearing Vince [Staples] over Ninth Wonder was just crazy to me. Not that you haven't heard him over soul samples or anything like that, but that was just like a dope aesthetic for me personally. And he delivered as he does. And that was dope. The story behind 'Crazier' is that it was actually JID's record first. He asked me to get on it. Now what happened was, and shout out to the homie, Kal Banx. What happened was, Kal, I guess, just over time, I guess there was some kind of miscommunication, and he sold the beat to someone else. So JID's like, 'What's up with your man ?' [Ab-Soul impersonates JID]. So some time had passed, and then JID sent me another record to get on. JID, he goes so crazy, man. Shout out to the homie. The song he sent me didn't even need a feature on it. It was like, 'Yo, you sure you want me to rap on this as well?' He's like 'Yeah man, trust me.' So, I'm like, 'All right. Well, listen. If I do this, man, you gotta let me have Crazier.' He's like, 'Alright, say nothing.' And then sure enough, I link up with Kal later on down the line, and he played me this 'Crazier' beat. We recreated it, extended it, and just made it Crazier. So that's the story there. The beat was called 'Pakistan.' I be paying attention. You gotta pay attention to the producers too. You gotta pay attention to how they label their stuff too. Sometimes they'd be spot on. That's a crazy story. Funny thing. Are we getting a music video for it? We thought about it. It could still happen. You know what I'm saying? And I believe I'm on his upcoming album as well. So look out for that. Anything could happen. My favorite song from the album at the moment is 'Saudi Sweats.' What was your creative inspiration or your motivations behind that one? It's actually very simple. 'Saudi Sweats' is actually… Because Soul Burger is not me. It's a fusion of me and my brother, Doe Burger. And one of our favorite artists is this kid Asaad. One of his nicknames is Saudi. He's into fashion, he's a designer. And he has these dope sweats. I still ain't even got me none. I need to get me some. They're like a stack a pair, man. Get your money out [laughs]. So he's just amazing. I really encourage everyone to check him out. And he's a real hidden gem, I think, by choice. He likes to be a rarity. The last album we listened to was his album New Black History Month. That was the last album that we listened to together before he passed. And so it was important for me to channel Saudi. You 'stealing Saudi Money's whole flow.' That wasn't even me. Shoutout to Saudi. You know the movie The Pursuit of Happyness? I like how he pointed out the fact… He was talking about how it's life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Because happiness is not tangible. It's not something that you can hold in your hand. It's fleeting. And so you have to just have to enjoy your moments of happiness or peace with these things because they're momentous. You can't appreciate happiness without the journey. So anyway. I think I heard my auntie say, 'I ain't got time to be happy.' I think I actually got that from my auntie. 'I ain't got time to be happy right now. I gotta make you happy.' And it stuck with me. It stuck with me, too. See what I'm saying? You just got to… You can't chase it. You gotta appreciate it when it happens. Can you tell me a little bit about that 'All That' With JasonMartin and Thirsty P? It was very organic. I was in the studio. Lately, because I've been known to be so cerebral. I'm like Jackson Pollock right now, man. I just throw paint, and let it fall where it may, versus trying to be so meticulous, so specific, so calculated. I just really try to express myself in the most organic way. I don't even pick beats no more. I let the homies pick them for me. I tell all my guys, 'Yo, just send me three or four beats you need to hear me on.' Don't overwhelm me and send me 30 beats. I'm gonna get an aneurysm. Send me three or four joints that you need to hear me on. No. I don't have a vibe. No, I'm not on anything. I'm trying to find it. Help me.' And that was one of the joints my man Rascal sent me. I think he collaborated with Tae Beast on that one. I just went in there, just did my two-step on it, and it just sounded crazy. I think [my tour manager] Matt [Miller] walked in like, 'See, this is what I'm talking about. We need more beats like this. This is the sh*t that's gonna work, man if you're trynna win.' I think it is more so just about not thinking. It tends to happen when I stop thinking. I think even Jason said that when you start thinking, that's when you're forcing music. You're not even supposed to think. It's supposed to just happen. Quincy Jones said, 'Melody is the voice of God.' Find the melody, find the flavor, find that. And let the words or the poetry or the bars fall where they may. And I think that's the most important thing to me right now. More from DJ Akademiks Clowns Ab-Soul For Being Legally Blind In Response To Diss Track Ab-Soul Adds To Joey Bada$$ Vs. West Coast Feud On Untitled Track Ab-Soul Speaks On Joey Bada$$ And West Coast Rap Feud: "It's A Sport" Best of 10 Rap Albums Snubbed Of The Grammys' Album Of The Year Award 21 Black Entertainers Who Are Almost EGOT Winners 11 Black-Owned Games To Play At The Next Function Or Kick Back
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Boston Globe
These twins led their high school class. Good luck telling them apart at Brown.
Until now. Josh and John Maynard are heading to Brown in the fall, but first they'll graduate next week as the top two students in their class at Toll Gate High School in Warwick. Josh is the valedictorian and class vice president, and John is the salutatorian and class president. They've each been named all-state cross country runners, and they also played on the tennis team. And of course, they were co-captains of each team. Advertisement At home, they share a room together. They volunteer together. They're even trying to find the same summer job. Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up Even their failures are the same. They were cut from the baseball team in middle school, so they became umpires. From what I could tell, the only difference between these two brothers is that Josh got a slightly better grade in AP biology their junior year – which is what helped him clinch the No. 1 spot in the graduating class. Talk about sibling rivalry. The boys said they have always competed in everything, from the classroom to playing Mario Kart, Risk, and backyard Olympics where they created various games as kids. Advertisement 'There are times when we are best friends, and there times where we are best enemies,' John quipped when we spoke on Monday night. At least I think it was John. They admitted to me that every April Fools' Day dating back to middle school, they've pranked their teachers by pretending to be the other brother. Turns out that when you're equally brilliant, no one seems to mind. Thankfully John wore a blue shirt and Josh wore red during our conversation, or else I'd never know the difference. They're both handsome, 5-foot-11 guys with curly brown hair and baby faces that I swear one day will be governor or senator (or both). And they're so proud to have attended public school. They joke that their parents wanted them to apply to attend Bishop Hendricken, the elite all-boys private school in town, but they knew what they wanted from an early age, watching their siblings play sports. 'I have a lot of public school pride,' Josh said. 'I love Toll Gate.' Josh said his favorite teacher was Michele Dagesse, who he had for English last year: 'She had such a welcoming environment,' he said. 'She made learning fun.' John adored Brendan Friel, whose AP European History class was interactive, fun, and helped students prepare for their AP exams. 'He just made history real,' John said. The boys credited all of the teachers at Toll Gate with helping them catch up and mature after the COVID-19 pandemic essentially wiped out their final two years in middle school. The learning loss, the isolation, the endless screentime. 'We at least had each other to offset it a little bit,' Josh said. Advertisement As they prepare for Brown in the fall, they're both undecided about what they want in the future. Josh seems destined for a life in politics – he's already thinking about law school or interning in Washington, D.C. – and John wants to explore everything the university has to offer. They won't be roommates for much longer, since Brown assigns dorm rooms randomly. But before college calls, they still have one final high school assignment: They'll both deliver speeches at Toll Gate's graduation ceremony on June 11. The goal is to avoid being too similar. 'I like to think I'm a little more funny,' John said. 'And Josh is a little more serious.' Dan McGowan can be reached at
Chicago Tribune
5 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Caamp frontman Taylor Meier says he's ‘C-list folk singer famous,' but he sold out the Salt Shed
Caamp frontman Taylor Meier isn't fazed by writer's block. 'I'm never like, 'Oh, I wonder if I have the songs,'' he admits over the phone from home in Columbus, Ohio, during that liminal space between intense rehearsals and the kickoff of a 32-date tour that brings the banjo-infused folk rockers to the Salt Shed Fairgrounds for two sold-out shows on Thursday and Friday to promote this week's release of a long-awaited fifth album, 'Copper Changes Color.' 'They're coming to me at such a rate right now and such a sincerity,' he says. And, yes, he understands how infuriating that sounds. 'I'm friends with enough musicians and enough creatives at this point to be super aware of what the inverse looks like, and to see people struggle and go dry and doubt themselves,' he says. 'I'm sure that a slower era is on my horizon at some point.' The deceptively simple secret to this prolific output that keeps Caamp (in addition to Sumbuck, his solo side project) awash in deeply personal, bittersweet vignettes? 'I don't shy away from writing. If it comes, I write the song,' he says bluntly. He fears probing deeper into the mystery of his craft. 'If I knew, I don't think I'd really be able to do what I do,' he attests. 'Yes, it's from me in a way, but it's also very much for me. I do this stuff because it truly makes my soul happy. What I do makes me smile. I'm lucky to still be in love with it all.' That rose-colored sheen dipped in 2023 after eight years of grinding it out on the road and in the studio, first as a duo with Caamp co-founder and childhood friend Evan Westfall (banjo) and then with an expanded, permanent lineup including Matt Vinson (bass), Joseph Kavalec (keyboards) and Nicholas Falk (drums). Despite incremental successes (late-night TV appearances, conquering Colorado's iconic Red Rocks, major festival slots, a spot on former president Barack Obama's summer playlist and strong chart showings culminating with 2022's 'Lavender Days' reaching the No. 5 spot on Billboard's Americana/Folk Albums chart), Meier abruptly pulled the plug on all the band's remaining appearances for the year citing 'untimely knocks to my health' in an Instagram post and offered refunds to bewildered ticket holders. Speculation percolated online, some of it wild and a lot of it invasive, like most internet chatter is, which didn't upset Meier as much as it stunned him. 'I'm not even famous!' he exclaims. 'I am C-list folk singer famous. I can't even imagine what the actual tops of my industry go through.' Apart from scattered one-off dates, Caamp flew under the radar until the 'Somewhere' EP broke through the winter doldrums in February with Meier tenderly pointing out in his sandy squall of a voice on the first single 'Let Things Go' that maintaining a death grip on the entanglements and duties battling for our attention is a recipe for disaster. He doesn't mince words in the lyrics: 'You can let it roar / You can let it out / You can let things go / And anything your heart needs to make you feel better.' 'That song is the anecdote. It's not an answer by any means, but it's just kind of me trying to sing a lesson to myself,' he reveals. 'I chose to keep the details of my struggle private and will continue to do so, but that's the sentiment that got me through it and that's what I want to sing to my fans every night.' Gearing up to leave the comforts of home behind takes some grit, especially for a bunch of self-described 'homebodies.' 'We love our houses, routine, community,' Vinson admits in a separate phone call, stressing that he's not complaining about the road, it's just 'you caught us at the exact perfect time when we're leaving in one week and it kind of seems like the world is ending.' Pre-tour jitters aside, Vinson says the band is 'fully, fully rested' and 'morale is good.' Meier emphasizes the interpersonal work everyone put in during the break to come back together stronger. 'Heal the heart and fix the head,' he intones like a mantra. And just like Dorothy and her ruby slippers, the path to this place of ease always lurked inside him. 'You have all the tools the whole time, but it's just what you choose to pay attention to. Maybe I was paying attention to the wrong things — whatever it was. But I feel as if I'm dialed into the right things now,' he explains. In between the expected campfire harmonies and a left turn into Strokes-era nostalgia, the gorgeous 'Copper Changes Color' lays bare Meier's evolving mental state. In the jostling 'Mistakes,' he sings, 'Feels like I'm just trying to keep my plants alive / And trying to drink water,' while in the plaintive, piano-driven 'Living & Dying & In Between,' he reveals 'I wanna live/I don't want to die/They can feel so much alike.' Madi Diaz guests on the gauzy 'One True Way,' which contemplates if we're really meant for one thing. And 'Drive' cinematically rides off into the sunset, unsure of the destination, but certain of how to get there. The album's 11 tracks don't strive to be confessional, just open. 'It's kind of been this crazy process of, as I've gotten older, of getting a little bit more transparent,' Meier explains. 'Before, it could have been maybe construed on life stuff that I was wanting to feel. But there's bits of me in there now and I don't really hide from it or hide behind it.' Recorded in bursts between Oregon, Texas and New York, the sessions for 'Copper Changes Color' adhered to the same process in place since the band's self-titled debut in 2016. Meier brings in almost fully-fleshed out songs, which the band learns on the spot and then it's go-time. 'It's not as do or die as it sounds,' Vinson reassures. Minor things can be added or edited out months later, but importantly, 'there's an element of something live in everything Caamp has truly ever done.' That ability of the five members to lock-in on stage or in the studio without going 'through the grinder' to achieve it keeps the band from straying too far. 'Our chemistry playing is something that will never not amaze me. Just being in a room together and the telepathy of our musicianship, which is fueled by our friendship — that will never get old,' Vinson says. Meier shares the sentiment. 'There's always gonna be other music and other projects and other collaborators in my life,' he admits. But, 'I always come back home.'
