The drug called 'Opie'

Windall of Opie Gone Bad assured us the funk will never leave Colorado

By Erica Boniface

Metromix

Denver has the funk. You probably think it's due in part by our Lance Armstrong lookalikes who wear spandex in the summer heat while biking up a mountain. They bring an entirely different funk than what I am talking about. Denver has funk music with a twist of rock’n’roll created by our own superstars, Opie Gone Bad.

Good ol’ Opie have been bringing us their energetic shows and music for over 10 years now. It is a rare occasion when you ask someone if they like Opie and they give you a blank stare as if you’re talking about a drug. But, dangit, Opie is a drug. They are as addictive as they come. You buy one Opie album, you want another. You go to one Opie show, you gotta go again. The cycle is brutal, and yet, after each hit, we love them that much more.

The band is built up of Jake Schroeder leading the vocals, Randy Chavez on the guitar while also adding a tint of vocals, Windall Armour on bass and a splash of vocals, and last but not least, Terrell Martin on the drums.

Windall gave us the dish on their upcoming album, his dream car and what his favorite restaurant is in Denver.

What’s going on?
That’s a pretty broad question…

Smart ass.

Yes, it is. What are you doing today? We want to get to know more about Windell from Opie Gone Bad….
As far as band stuff goes, as far as Opie goes, we have been working on a CD that we’re coming out with hopefully this summer. We record over at the guitar players house, Randy Chavez, he has a studio at home.

What kind of things have inspired you guys from past singles and tracks to produce another record?
The inspiration comes from what other artists would say—it is sometime situations that you see, things that you are curious about, things that you notice in day to day life, things that you go through in day to day life and you just kind of put certain things into songs.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Northeast Denver.

Do you guys have any plans on moving away from Denver?
No. Everyone in the band is at the point where we’re married and we all have homes here. We’re going to be Denver natives forever. Unless something major happens to somebody.

So born and raised in Denver. You guys have become, we have got to say, part of the A-List band crowd. How does it feel to be local celebrities?
It feels great. And that is one thing I can really say. I know it sounds kind of cliché, how you see all the bigger stars go on TV, “I want to thank the fans, I want to thank the fans.” But it is true, because you never go anywhere without people that don’t support you. They buy your music, they come to your shows, and we have been extremely blessed as far as that goes to do what we have been doing and to do it locally. To have the degree of success that we have just by playing around Denver has been incredible. And you can never thank people enough for coming out and supporting that. You know, they are making your living. We bow down to them actually, because we wouldn’t be where we’re at if they didn’t support us.

So do you get spotted at Safeway when you go to buy your eggs or something like that?
[Laughs] Every now and then. I would say that probably happens more to Jake, the lead singer. I think it happens to all of us.

Well that is such a great feeling.
Yeah it is.

Would you ever go and sing the National Anthem at a sporting event?
Jake does that all the time to the Avalanche games. If I went, they would probably put the flag down.

What else do you guys do, you record albums, you play all over…what do you do on your days off? What are you guys like off stage?
Everybody has a different job off-stage. Jake works for the police athletic league, he has his own coffee company. Randy is an electrician so he does burglar alarm systems. Terrell Martin, the drummer, he is actually his own ministry and he goes out and does a music ministry as well and play with a lot of smooth jazz artists. And myself, I am an auto broker. So I go out and do brokerings of automobile customers. If someone wants a new or used car, I go out and find one for them. So we all do other things outside of Opie.

Where do you like to go and eat? Favorite restaurant in Denver?
Oooh that’s a tough one. I would honestly have to say, whenever I want to have a nice dinner, I would have to say Elway’s.

Oh yeah. The one in Cherry Creek?
Yeah.

What do you usually get?
A New York strip.

Are you a horseradish guy?
A little bit.

What’s your drink of choice? Are you a beer guy? Gin?
Probably my drink of choice would be a Dr. Pepper.

What? Really?
 I am not a drinker.

So no vodka and Dr. Pepper?
Nope.

Are you a big reader? What kind of books do you like to read?
I am not a big reader unfortunately. I have always said that is something I want to delve more into, but it is just like sometimes I have a hard time to find the time to just sit down and read. Um, I read a lot of publications, I am into bodybuilding magazines and I like automobiles, so I will read those.

What is your dream car out there?
Corvette.

Have you gotten it yet?
I have got an older one, but I aspire to get a newer one.

Is the gas mileage good on Corvettes?
It is not great. So you have to drive them sparingly.

Now would Windall of Opie Gone Bad, would you go out and get a Corvette hat to go with your Corvette?
No.

Because you see a lot of Corvette drivers out there with the full-blown Corvette getup...
No, that is not me. I wouldn’t do it.