We had the good fortune of connecting with Ethan Lee McCarthy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ethan Lee, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I was born and raised in Denver, Colorado and have been interested in music for as long as I can remember. After being a musician from about 4th grade all the way up until my middle twenties I took the leap and began booking tours for other people aside from myself and now work for a booking agency that I am a founder of. I also tour the world playing music with the groups Primitive Man and Vermin Womb and will play the occasional solo show as Many Blessings/Spiritual Poison. I make visual art under the moniker of Hell Simulation.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am proud of what I have built with music, art and the agency but I have had a lot of help along the way from too many people to mention here. I think what I learned is that sticking with someone and being accepting of the fact that it isn’t going to happen “anytime soon” is what has been the most beneficial lesson I have learned. Also-it is important to put things down when they aren’t working. This is so you can make a move in a different direction sooner than staying stagnant in the same ideas.

Even today I am not exactly where I want to be but I have outlast a lot of people who have tried to do this same game from music, to booking to art. So sticking with it, staying focused, not comparing yourself to others, making honest art and keeping a “day job” only for as long as you have to before you think you are ready to make the jump. I worked for DPS as a paraprofessional for 13.5 years before I moved into the world of working in show business.

I am not sure what sets my art apart. Aside from going into things like perspective within identity politics-which I won’t because I want my art to stand on its own, but I think what might separate my art from others is that I mean what I say and say what I mean at all times without fear of the repercussions. Which in the age of social media and the app-panopticon is not as common as one might think. I have noticed a lot of younger artists create art for likes and shares-without having much of a desire to bring their art outside of the app which is very troublesome to me. I do not want to say that I am a part of some “dying breed” or anything like that because there are a lot of cool and younger creatives making things but I was born in 1984 and have watched things transition from analog to digital and I think we need to pull further into the realm of physical media and give less attention to what the algorithm is feeding us. Art to appeal to people/brands/whatever that are more well known than you, art for likes, clicks and shares is not what I want to be in this for. Those are all enemies of art. Art for expression and Art for Art sake only.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Chubbies, 5280 armory, linger, rocky mountain arsenal, Hi-dive, Mutiny Info cafe, Thai Monkey Club, Krystaleaves, Santiago’s, El noa noa, Los Carboncitos, Lair of the Bear, The meadowlark, Red Rocks, Garden of the Gods, El Rancherito, Kind Love, The Crypt.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Hi dive folks, Jim Norris, Danny Sax, folks at DIY warehouses I will not mention in press, El Brian Castillo and Maggie Moody from kill you club, and my brother Keith who showed me the way towards music and was always an encouraging force.

Website: http://ethanleemccarthy.com

Instagram: @hell_simulation

Twitter: @hell_simulation

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hellsimulation

Other: http://hellsimulation.com http://primitivemandoom.com

Image Credits
Cain Cox did the “red” photo Corey Davenport did all photos aside from the one where I am eating the guitar (Matt Darcy) and the one wearing glasses which was Posted by Roadburn festival.

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.