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Electronic trio Robotic Pirate Monkey makes Steamboat appearance

Nicole Inglis
Robotic Pirate Monkey, a trio of electronic music producers from Boulder, will play their first show in Steamboat on Wednesday at the Tap House Sports Grill. The cover is $5, and music starts at 10 p.m. with DJ Theory.
Courtesy Photo

— Robotic Pirate Monkey sounds like one of those nonsensical band names made up on a whim.

It’s not. Matt Flesher, one-third of the electronic trio out of Boulder, has a distinct explanation for the odd name.

“It ties three things into one personality,” Flesher said. “It kind of describes the music as ‘robotic,’ kind of technical. ‘Pirate’ is because it’s sort of hip-hop inspired and sample-based. And ‘monkey’ is just kind of the attitude of electronic shows, like ‘monkeying’ around.”



Flesher, Matt Berryhill and Andrew Hathaway will travel to Steamboat today for their first local appearance as Robotic Pirate Monkey.

As part of the Womp Wednesdays series, RPM, as they’re known, will perform starting at 10 p.m. at The Tap House Sports Grill.



The cover is $5 at the door, and DJ Theory opens.

Together for almost two years, the avid skiers and electronic music producers timed their ascent to regional notoriety perfectly with the rising tide of electronic and bass music.

But Flesher said the music they produce, record and remix live isn’t the dubstep that is dominating the electronic scene these days.

“We try to stay away from the noise porn, the loud repetitive noises,” he said. “We like that kind of music, too, but it’s a different vibe.”

Flesher is no stranger to Steamboat as he once was a competitive freestyle skier.

He grew up in Ohio with Hathaway, who showed promise in the world of freeskiing. The two met Berryhill through the tight-knit network of freeskiers in Boulder.

Somewhere along the way, the three University of Colorado students began to experiment with creating music at about the same time, and they fell into a rhythm together.

“I was kind of on my way out of skiing by the end of my college days just because of injury,” Flesher said. “The music thing was clicking by then. It came natural.”

The group members have toured all across the West and played Global Dance Festival at Red Rocks Amphitheater in the summer. They just played the SnowGlobe Music Festival in Lake Tahoe and released their fourth album, “Colors In Disguise,” in the fall. All of their music is available for free at http://www.roboticpiratemonkey.com.

Flesher said he doesn’t know exactly what to expect from their first trip to Steamboat.

“But if it’s anything like any other mountain town, it’s going to be a real good time,” he said.

Womp Wednesdays is a new electronic series that was launched by the Tap House about a month ago, catering to the midweek bass-loving crowd. The rest of the month already has been booked, and electronic fans can look forward to the return of Denver’s DJ Ishe on Jan. 18 and Samples, who is on tour with Conspirator, on Jan. 25.

DJ Theory opens for each of those shows.

Tap House owner Brian Alpart said Tuesday that the venue also plans to update its sound system as early as next week.

To reach Nicole Inglis, call 970-871-4204 or email ninglis@SteamboatToday.com


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