John Gross and Other Comets

by Zach Kopp

John Gross was standing outside Little Anita’s as I walked up. Formerly short-cut and clean- shaven, he’d grown out his graying locks and had a bushy gray-black beard after decades pioneering and curating Denver’s noise scene with his band Page 27 and his bygone storied venue on Denver’s north side. Rhinoceropolis was the first salvo in a wave of shutdowns for Denver’s independent spaces, due to new safety compliance issues following a fire at Oakland, California’s Ghost Ship gallery in 2016. Attributed to faulty wiring, the consequences of the tragedy were seen by many at the time as an attempt by profiteers to shutter underground creativity and maximize profits.

“Been a long time. How you doin’?”

We met in the 90s, a time when Denver’s creative types mingled freely and went to extremes at their nightly open mics. John has matured with grace. He’s been in the same relationship for the last 18 years and is stepfather to a teenage son. He’s never stopped playing noise with his friends an…