About
Started on June 25th, 2001 by Tyler Jacobson, Michael Trundle & Tim Cook as a once-a-month Monday night party, Lipgloss is now an internationally renowned and recognized weekly Friday club-night based in Denver, CO at La Rumba (99 W. 9th Avenue). Lipgloss has received mentions in magazines such as Spin, Under the Radar and Magnet - as well as numerous local awards from television, magazine and newspapers - and has a loyal following that rivals in numbers those of indie club-nights in much larger cities like Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.
Lipgloss resident DJs boyhollow aka Michael Trundle and Tyler "Danger" Jacobson eschewed the typical genre-based club-night in favor of a more lasting and dynamic concept: if music is both good enough to dance to and typically shunned by run-of-the-mill clubs, it’s fair game for their dance-floor; on any given night one can expect indie-rock, brit-pop, soul, sixties, seventies and eighties, dance-rock and electro, and just plain rock. This concept not only proved to be successful, but helped redefine for Denver the popular notion upon which a club-night could be based, prompting the launches of several other nights that have used similar formats.Lipgloss first called home a small, run-down but cozy dive-bar club called 60 South. The bar itself went through many changes over the next almost 3 years, as did Lipgloss. The bar went through a name change and a change in ownership. Lipgloss lost one of its founding members, Tim Cook, to NYC, garnered its first of many “Best Club-Night in Denver” awards, and hosted its first legendary guest DJs, Mike Joyce & Andy Rourke of the Smiths.
After a successful 2 ½ year run of filling the small bar to over-capacity on a regular basis, the remaining Lipgloss duo Michael Trundle and Tyler Jacobson decided to take a risk and move the club-night to La Rumba, a much larger and more upscale venue. Having built Lipgloss from the ground up with little in the way of media advertising and in a club lacking decent sound and light, La Rumba was a breath of fresh air. Its higher capacity, better sound and light system, and ability to help with advertising proved to make the risk worthwhile for both Lipgloss and La Rumba. Lipgloss has taken 8 “Best Club-Night” awards – among several others, including “Best Place to Hook-Up” – and once again resumed filling its venue to capacity on a regular basis for the following 4 years.
While neither Tyler or Michael started as or planned on becoming the traditional beat-matching DJ - hence the avoidance of DJ monikers in their early career – both have progressed in skill with years of practice and have garnered recognition from many sources, including nominations for Best DJ in Denver for the Westword Music Showcase in multiple recent years. Michael and Tyler have both individually and together opened for major headlining acts, including Devo, Keane, MSTRKRFT, She Wants Revenge, Kings of Leon, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Midnight Juggernauts, Electric Six, The Klaxons, and Blaqk Audio among others.
Lipgloss itself has hosted a veritable “Who’s Who” of notable and legendary guest DJs: Peter Hook of New Order, Carlos D. of Interpol, Marky Ramone, Andy Rourke & Mike Joyce of the Smiths, Mani of The Stone Roses & Primal Scream, Tim Burgess of The Charlatans, Boz Boorer of The Polecats & Morrissey, Todd Fink and Jacob Thiele of The Faint, Spencer Moody of The Murder City Devils, Gina Schock and Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go's, The Bravery, Cut Copy, Stellastar*, Frankie Chan of IHeartComix and others. The Trash Can Sinatras, We Are Wolves, Oxford Collapse and The Hourly Radio are just a few of the bands who have performed at Lipgloss.
When national and international acts don’t DJ or perform at Lipgloss, they often drop in after their shows, knowing that the best party to be found in Denver on a Friday night is with us. Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Interpol, The Editors, Pretty Girls Make Graves, The Soundtrack of Our Lives and Beulah have all partied with the Lipgloss crew. Come see why Lipgloss has been voted by the people of Denver as “Best Club-Night in Denver” consistently since 2002!
Lipgloss is every Friday night at La Rumba (99 W. 9th Ave.). Lipgloss is a 21+ only party. There is no cover before 10pm, and cover after 10pm is only $6. Lipgloss always has $2 PBRs and $2 Gin & Tonics.