How is it that local hip-hop duo 3 Oh! 3 started filling venues only months into performing around Boulder and is already nominated as Best Hip Hop in the Westword Showcase? How is it that The Life There Is, in about a year, has already shared the stage with bands such as TV on the Radio, Broken Social Scene, My Morning Jacket and Sparta and is already nominated as Best Electronic/Ambient band in Westword? And how did East Coast label Eyeball Records seek out local indie band Signal to Noise, making them the farthest band west on a label shared by My Chemical Romance and Thursday?

One might think that these boys started with big money in their pockets, plenty of spare time, easy connections and a plan to knock down all other bands. Not the case at all.

"We didn't become known because of connections, but from word of mouth. We started everything from ground zero and worked our way up," says Sean Foreman of 3 Oh! 3, who claims their music is all about giving people the chance to put their inhibitions to the side and have fun.

Foreman and Nathaniel Motte, the duo that make up 3 Oh! 3, are on the same page with many of the other bands they work with in Boulder -- Signal to Noise, Grace Gale, The Life There Is, Sleeper Horse -- they're always pushing for strength in numbers.

"It's not about competition. We're all very community-oriented. It's really just a bunch of bands trying to push each other further. That's the point of music; it's about community," says Foreman.

"In this scene, if you help a band out in your town, they'll take care of you in theirs," says Spencer Foreman, who plays in local band Grace Gale, which has been touring for the past three years or so and have two records done and out.

Grace Gale book their own shows as well. "After failed stints and jackassery runarounds from booking agents, we book ourselves using primarily myspace and past contacts. But from everything from merchandise -- printed all by local friends or relatives or us -- to booking tours and making sure our friends' bands get exposure, we have all been trying to get more of a strength in numbers thing going, like Saddle Creek in Nebraska or Anticon in Oakland," Foreman says.

3 Oh! 3 has built a solid following through their myspace page, their high-energy shows and their willingness to work as a team with other local bands. A quick glance at their message board proves that these boys have fans across the country and even up in Canada, already willing to help them book shows.

Their first official tour will be in June along the West Coast. They plan to hit Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and more. Although they've built a solid connection in Boulder and Denver thus far, 3 Oh! 3 has been approached by The Booking Agency in LA. They also hope to have a CD out in the next month or so -- they have enough material -- but may have to put out an EP first to get the funding they need.

These boys have a lot of options right now, but they're hesitant about losing the tight bond with the people who have made their success possible.

"As soon as you alienate yourself from your friends and your fans, then it's not worth doing anymore," Foreman claims.

"For a local band to sell out the Fox Theatre and The Gothic so consistently is huge. It's just crazy. I think 3 Oh! 3 is the biggest Colorado band out there right now that's not ... The Fray. And Signal to Noise is the sexiest band in Colorado," laughs Aaron Robertson, friend of 3 Oh! 3, who went on tour with Signal to Noise last fall, helping them sell merchandise, drive the van and make it happen. "You have to be in it to win it. It's not about just playing shows either. It's about being willing to hit the road with no money and drive into the unknowing, having the van break down three times and never knowing where you're going to sleep."

Signal returned a few weeks ago from a tour they booked entirely on their own. They hit Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, New York, Cleveland and Chicago. Their former lead singer, Timothy Thomas Cleary, left the band to pursue a solo career, but this change hasn't stopped them.

The Life There Is (TLTI) has recently put out their first EP, which is available at Albums on the Hill and Bart's CD Cellar for $6. They too have been booking their own shows, reaping the benefits of myspace and doing everything on a tight budget. Jim Cleveland, who commands the bass, three keyboards and an MPC-2000 synthesizer, does most of the booking for the band.

(Speaking of bands collaborating, check out the 3 Oh! 3/The Life There Is remix at myspace.com/thelifethereis.)

"Playing with the Junior Boys at the Hi Dive in Denver and 3 Oh! 3 at the Black Sheep in Colorado Springs were our biggest shows recently. We got a great response from the crowds at both shows, signing autographs and taking pictures," says Travis Rosenberg, who brings the Southern twang to TLTI with his smooth pedal steel guitar and electric guitar.

Not only is it tough to pull off what these boys do with a tight budget, full-time jobs, being full-time students and most of them playing in two or three other local bands, but if you're not a jam or funk band, it's even harder to make it in Boulder, according to Rosenberg. However, obstacles are nothing to these bands.

Signal to Noise's full-length CD comes out nationwide June 5 on Eyeball Records. 3 Oh! 3 will be opening for The Faint at The Fox on June 4,so be sure to catch them before they go on the road. The Life There Is plan to conquer the West Coast with a tour in late July or early August. Grace Gale leaves June 1 for an extensive tour and to record a new record for the fall.

Local bands' upcoming shows:
Signal to Noise, Grace Gale, Timothy Thomas Cleary, Sleeper Horse and New Rome - 9 p.m. May 26, Catacombs, 2115 13th St., Boulder, Tickets: $1. For more information, call 303-443-0486.

Jumbo Special's CD Release Party - 9 p.m. May 26, The Trilogy Lounge, 2017 13th Street Boulder, Tickets: $5. For more information, call 303-473-9463.

3 Oh! 3 opens for The Faint - 8:30 p.m. June 4, Fox Theatre, 1135 13th St., Boulder, Tickets: $18. For more information, call 303-443-3399.

Wide Mouth Grin -Time TBA, June 7 at Dulcinea's 717 E. Colfax Ave., Denver, Tickets: TBA. For more information, call 303-832-3601.

3 Oh! 3 - 7:30 p.m., June 22, The Marquis, 2009 Larimer St.,Denver, Tickets: $10. For more information, call 303-298-0900.

3 Oh! 3 and The Life There Is - 7:30 p.m., June 23, The Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St., Denver, Tickets: $10. For more information, call 303-298-0900.

Wide Mouth Grin - June 23 at The Dark Horse Saloon, 2922 Baseline Road, Boulder.For more information, call 303 442-8162.

More info on:

3 Oh! 3

The Life There Is

Signal to Noise

Grace Gale

To read Brandee Castle's bit on Radio 1190 and the local music community, click here.

To read Sean Choi's advice on making it in the Boulder scene, click here.