Denver Bierman is known for his band “Denver & the Mile High Orchestra.” They were featured on “The Next Great American Band.” They are featured on the new Christmas compilation album, A Thrill of Hope.
Natasha Barbieri: Tell us about your first gig together. Is it true the band may have been paid in cheesecake?
Denver Bierman: If you’ve ever heard the old adage, “Musician: Will work for food”, the only way to more adequately describe the very first DMHO gig back in January of 1999 would be “DMHO: Will work for dessert…and coffee”. We were playing for a college “coffee shop” social gathering at my church. So just like so many other bands’ stories throughout the decades, quite a few of our very first gigs were booked in exchange for food, and an opportunity to let people hear our music.
Natasha Barbieri: How did the idea of bringing together the band come about?
Denver Bierman: I have loved playing the trumpet since I started sixth-grade band in Indiana. Growing up, I was your classic band geek. I was drum major of the band in high school and absolutely loved playing in my middle school and high school jazz bands.
When I got to college, I met a whole bunch of other band geeks that had so much in common with me and we became good friends. I was taking a class my senior year of college to learn how to write and arrange music for Big Band.
When I was invited to host and perform at a bi-monthly coffee shop that my church was hosting, I invited all of my buddies from college to come and experiment playing the arrangements I was writing for my class assignments at college. So every couple of weeks I would have a couple more new songs to try out. They were usually only 20 or 30 people at our shows, and there were probably 14 or 15 of us on stage. But the more we kept playing I realized how much people enjoyed the energy and the style of music. We decided to continue playing together and that is how our journey began 21 years ago.
Natasha Barbieri: Who are some of your favorite bands from days gone by?
Denver Bierman: Obviously, Glenn Miller is a legendary classic, and when I was in high school some of that music was my absolute favorite. I’ve also loved Harry James and his band, as well as Louis Armstrong.
But I would say some of my most heavy influences have come from crooners that came later in the 50s and 60s and even more recently. Frank Sinatra is my all-time favorite, Harry Connick Junior has been my hero since I was 14 years old. Nat King Cole, and I really enjoyed Michael Bublé and even the rockabilly styles of Louis Prima and Brian Setzer. Each one of those artists and their bands have been massive influences on the sound of our band.
Natasha Barbieri: Is there any type of music you wouldn’t cover or is anything fair game to be given a Denver Bierman & The Mile High Orchestra treatment?
Denver Bierman: One of the things I love about Music is that as you’re beginning to write a song or an arrangement, it is a completely blank canvas. I absolutely love taking songs that people have heard one specific way, and painting an entirely different picture of that music. I would say most things are definitely fair game, I don’t think you’re ever going to hear me rap, but beyond that, I would definitely say if it’s got a catchy melody, it’s definitely fair game.
Natasha Barbieri: Tell us a little bit about your experience on “The Next Great American Band.” What are some of the ways you’ve grown since then?
Denver Bierman: I think that experience on “The Next Great American Band did so much for how our band has evolved. It made us a much more versatile band. It forced us to think outside the box and to be a lot more creative and some of the music that we would write snd arrange. It also provided so many new opportunities, giving us the chance to reach brand new groups of people with our music.
But I think what has influenced us the most from that experience, was just how much fun we had together. It personally reminded me of the whole reason I got involved in music in the first place. Music moves people. Music is supposed to be an uplifting and joyful experience. We had so much fun together on that show, that it reinvigorated me and inspired me to keep doing what I do because I absolutely love it. I love getting to make great music with some of my best friends in the world. And that’s exactly what that show gave us the chance to do.
Natasha Barbieri: You’ve mentioned wanting to be a band to be enjoyed by the whole family. How do you craft a show to exchange such varied age groups and tastes?
Denver Bierman: Living in an age where entertainment has become more fragmented and much more age and demographic specific, there are very few entertainment entities out there that do transcend generational gaps.
I think naturally it just started happening for us in the beginning. We would have grandparents that grew up on big band music that loved being at the shows, we would have adults who would come, because it was the style of music that they grew up hearing in their homes when they were children. The one group I never ever expected to resonate with our music, we’re little children. We would have parents bring their little kids to our shows and they would be running up and down the isles, they would come over to the side of the auditorium and just dance the night away. I was so shocked to see two and sometimes three generations in the same family coming to our concerts together. They may have each enjoyed different songs specifically, but when I realize that families were naturally coming to our shows I tried to develop a show that would be for the whole family. That there would be a little bit of everything for everyone.
I have always wanted to use Music as a vehicle to encourage people. Life is hard, 2020 has been a year that is all true reminded us of this very simple fact. And life is hard on families as well. I’ve always wanted our music to be something that could be an encouragement to families. That in a world that is sometimes so difficult and complex and hard, I want our music to be one of the few things that a family can come together and enjoy a couple of hours being renewed, inspired, and encouraged together as a family unit.
Natasha Barbieri: Are there any musicians or singers you’d like to work with in the future?
Denver Bierman: The list would be too long to count of all the incredible singers and musicians that I would love the opportunity to collaborate, perform, and write music with. If I had to say just one person though, It would be Harry Connick Jr. He has been my musical hero since I was 14 or 15 years old and I heard his “Red Light, Blue Light” album with his big band. I’ve had multiple dreams in my sleep throughout the last 20 years of performing on stage with him. I even got to meet him during a meet and greet after a Christmas concert he performed at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville when DMHO and Harry Connick Jr were both being booked by CAA.
I have performed and worked with many celebrities, and I never get starstruck. But I was so crazy nervous to meet him! The few moments we had together, I did not even tell him that I was a musician, I did not even tell him that I had had my own Big Band for a decade and a half, I just told him how much his music inspired me and admit to me. So if there’s one person that I hope and dream to work with someday it would definitely be him.
Natasha Barbieri: What are some of your musical goals in 2021?
Denver Bierman: My goals for 2021 are to release our new recording project called “One Hope” which we have been writing and recording this year in 2020. My other goal is to get back out on the road and begin performing again. Just like so many other artists and friends of mine, we miss being out there doing what we know we love and are called to do. To Connect with people at our concerts and encourage people with our music.
Natasha Barbieri: What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?
Denver Bierman: I absolutely love listening to the Andy Williams Christmas album, I love going and looking at Christmas lights in different neighborhoods around town. I love going to my church’s Christmas Eve service. Since I was a little kid, every year we would take cinnamon rolls and put birthday candles in them and like them and sing happy birthday to Jesus. I love getting together with family and friends, and I love watching all the nostalgic and also funny Christmas movies. And I really really really really really love holiday Christmas food! Ha ha
Natasha Barbieri: Tell us about the piece you were featured on in “A Thrill of Hope” and what this particular track means to you.
Denver Bierman: I had the opportunity to play my trumpet on “Away in a Manger”. This has always been one of my favorite Christmas songs because it is such a simple song and so very tender. So often I think about Jesus and I think about his sacrifice on the cross. I think about how He is the Holy Son of Almighty God…..part of the Blessed Trinity. But also one of the beautiful facets of Christ is in the midst of righteousness and glory, he is also human. And this song reminds me of this tender sweet baby….the most precious gift ever given to mankind came to us in a barn with animals. That he was not born in a palace amongst royalty, but that he was born in a manger, as a human can relate to my life, to my humanity. This tender little song reminds me of how God himself knows me understands me… that Christ for me. Jesus Christ came as a man for all of mankind. What a simple and yet powerful reminder of the real meaning of Christmas…. this tiny sweet baby away in a manger, is literally God with us.
“A Thrill of Hope” is now available on Spotify and Apple Music
Hope he can get on the road soon. I like his mix of patriotic and Christian music.
It is exciting to watch and he plays the type of music you want to listen to over and over again.