Three bands that defined Denver's underground rock scene in the 1990s are joining forces for one night to help keep a longtime friend in her own home. King Rat, Nasty's Nightmare and Hippie Werewolves will share the stage at the Oriental Theater on November 6 for Stand Together Denver, a benefit concert raising funds for Kathy Taylor, who is facing rising property taxes that threaten to push her out of the house she has lived in for years.
Taylor has long been known around Denver's music circles as a den mother of sorts, a selfless and enduring supporter of the community who has backed the city's misfit musicians for decades, according to a statement issued by the bands and reported by Westword on Monday. Tickets for the show are on sale online now, ranging from $27.27 to $177.44, per the same report.
The lineup reads like a reunion of Denver's underground rock heyday. King Rat is led by Luke Schmaltz, who moved to Denver from Albuquerque in 1993 and formed the punk band a year later, building a three-decade legacy that includes ten studio LPs and a 30th-anniversary show at EastFax Tap in July 2024, according to an earlier Westword report. King Rat has remained active in the Denver music scene ever since, having outlasted, as the bands' statement puts it, every trend and countless venues over three decades.
A Comeback Album and a Radio Legend's Return
Schmaltz is also marking the release of a new edition of his book Belcher: Overserved Underdog, which features art by John Mazzuco, the station's report notes. Joining him onstage will be Nasty's Nightmare, fronted by Greg Stone, a Denver radio voice for 30 years known on-air as Uncle Nasty during stints at KBPI and 103.5 The Fox. Stone also led the band Horse.
Rounding out the bill is Hippie Werewolves, described in the bands' statement as a hybrid rap-rock act that fuses metal and rap. The group has deep roots in Denver's alternative scene, having appeared at the Rocky Mountain Music Association's Rock Fest '94 showcase under the slogan “Peaceful Messages From Pissed-Off People,” according to a 1995 Billboard report. Formed in the late 1980s as early rap-rock pioneers, the band released their debut cassette EP, Peacemachine, in 1992 before pausing performances around 2008. Hippie Werewolves returned this year with their first new album in over three decades, Lotus Ferocious, released in June, per Westword's earlier coverage — making Stand Together Denver a comeback showcase as much as a benefit.
Why a Benefit Concert, and Why Now
Emceeing the night will be Chris Chamberlayne, who currently leads Grind Cat Grind and formerly fronted Dogs of Pleasure, a Denver hard-rock group he helped form in 1991 before the band relocated to Los Angeles the following year, according to the Sacramento Music Archive. Chamberlayne has also fronted Dead Heaven Cowboys.
The benefit arrives as Taylor faces rising property taxes.
Colorado also changed its property-tax deferral rules in 2025. Since July 1, 2025, the state program has been limited to homeowners age 65 or older and people called into active military service; it no longer includes the broader tax-growth eligibility previously available to other homeowners. Deferral postpones payment rather than erasing the bill, with repayment tied to the property’s sale or transfer. The law’s summary and effective date describe the change.
Denver’s separate Property Tax Relief Program offered qualifying residents a partial refund for 2024 property taxes, but the application window closed April 30, 2026. Homeowners had to meet an income limit and be at least 65, disabled or living with a dependent minor; the program’s deadline means it is not an open route to relief for Taylor now. Denver’s eligibility rules and application dates spell out who could apply.
A Wider Wave of '90s Denver Reunions
Stand Together Denver isn't the only blast from the city's rock past hitting stages this fall. Colorado heavy metal band Angellic Rage is reconvening for two shows at At Cheers in Northglenn on October 2 and 3, following a 34-year hiatus, to honor late frontman Paul Vee. The band will perform alongside Rock Machine, Bone Circus and Rhoar, according to Eventbrite listings, with tickets priced at $20 in advance and $25 at the door.
For a scene built on mutual support through countless lineup changes, closed clubs and hard years, Stand Together Denver is shaping up as a full-circle moment: the same musicians who built their careers with Kathy Taylor's help are now returning the favor on the Oriental Theater stage.
