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Lucas Chatfield and Justin Foster started Side Project back in '96 as an acoustic duo, playing a lot of the alternative rock of the era: Counting Crows, Pearl Jam, Soul Asylum, Alice In Chains, etc. The coffee and sandwich shop Kolache Alley at 406 Main in Canon was their homeground. They began writing a lot of their own stuff and started developing a local following.
Around the year 2000, Brent Gall joined as bassist (and took on promotional duties), and Justin's cousin Sean Brady joined as drummer. This allowed Side Project to stretch out creatively, plus they started playing electric shows full time. Almost every weekend, Side Project could be found somewhere in Colorado. Kolache Alley had since closed and been turned into the bar Rumor's, and it was once again the most frequent location for a Side Project show. However they did get two opportunities to play in the big leagues by headlining the Hard Rock Cafe in Denver.
When Brady had to head off for college, drum duties were handled by one of three different guys, depending on who was available: Jimmy Houston, Rich Bosisio, and Tim Harper. Eventually, with his ties to ABATE and other biker communities, Harper wound up becoming Side Project's official drummer for the better part of three or four years. Playing biker rallies all over the state, Side Project's following grew and grew. Local oldies band Tommy & The Cruisers became our opening act for many of these gigs, and the two groups traveling on the road together lead to many nights of... well, you get the picture.
For a whole slew of different reasons, things sort of drifted apart for Side Project during the years 2006 and 2007. Lucas spent some time living in both Salida and Denver, and Tim Harper returned to playing with his former band, Forever Wild. It was in late '07 that Lucas finally returned full time to Canon City, and drumming duties we resumed by Rich Bosisio.
All was going great for the guys. Lots of local gigs with huge turnouts, and several prospects for out of town and even out of state gigs, plus a CD in the works. 406 Main Street had once again changed hands and was now a biker bar called Snozzarelli's--with Side Project playing at least once a month to an elbow-to-elbow crowd.
Everything came to a sudden stop however. In June of 2008, bassist Brent Gall was killed. Everyone in and close to the band was thrown into shock. It didn't take long, though, to make two decisions. First off, Brent would not have wanted the band to quit. Second, the only consideration for filling the spot of bassist was Tommy & The Cruisers' Rob Gutormson. After a few weeks, the adjustment was made, and no time was spared.
Rehearsing new material and once again preparing to make their first official album, Side Project are back and rocking harder than ever before.
