VINNY CHEAP
Words: Joseph Findeiss
Vinny Cheap cut his artist teeth amid mosh
pits of the Colorado punk scene as a teenage
photographer. Fort Collins doesn’t immediately
come to mind when considering the
burgeoning punk scene of the early ‘90s (think
agricultural hub cum agricultural college town)
but Cheap was there, photographing punk
bands in situ back in the day. Burning the punk
candle at all ends, Cheap was simultaneously
attending small farm town art school, playing
in a band and snapping photographs in sweaty
venues. Eventually earning Cheap a position
as a Staff Photographer for both Heckland
Magazine and Suburban Home Magazine.
Humble beginnings.
Cheap came to Denver in the ‘80s during the
post oil financial boom (a la the television
drama Dynasty). Now unrecognizable by
comparison, The Queen City of the Plains
was in a state of decay. In the ‘70s Colfax
earned the tongue-in-cheek moniker, “the
longest, wickedest street in America” by
Playboy Magazine. The Bluebird Theater,
currently a popular and opulent music venue,
projected porn on the silver screen, the
Fillmore Theater was the Mammoth Theater
and hosted punk, ska and rockabilly. Those
who knew satisfied vices at Zero and 15
(Broadway & Colfax). Capitol Hill was Ground
Zero for the alternative, punk, goth and
indolent. Shopping for quintessential fashion:
records, cassettes, leather, Doc Martins at
Wax Trax, FashioNation, and Imi Jimi, - 13th
& Washington was couture central. As a kid,
Cheap would thumb through vinyl, punk 7
inches at Wax Trax. He became enamored
with the music, lifestyle and DIY aesthetics
that was prevalent in the underground and was
ultimately formative to the young artist.
During Cheap’s tenure in Fort Collins,
members of Descendants, ALL, and Black
Flag established a recording space, Blasting
Room Studios, which provided a steady
influx of bands for Cheap to befriend and
photograph. These connections eventually
80
InkSpiredMagazine.com