Article by: Lily Kinx
Photos by: Amy Asche and Lily Kinx
On Thursday morning November 2nd I climbed into an SUV with the boys from Human Paint to travel, from our hometown of Denver, Colorado, up and over the mountains for their first show in Grand Junction at The Mesa Theater, Opening for Skeletal Remains. It was the first time for me to not only travel with a band but also to Grand Junction. I was excited and happy to go along and help the guys out for their first show at the Mesa! The trip there was a lot of fun with beautiful scenery, lots of laughs and conversations about music. Casually in conversation while listening to bands such as Dying Fetus, Mortician, and Cannibal Corpse while on the road, the front man and lead singer of Human Paint, David Assari stated “I don’t want to sound like anyone else, I want to sound like me and be good at it’, Referring to his vocals, and that really stuck with me throughout the trip. 
After our three-to-four-hour scenic trip through the mountains we arrived at the Mesa Theater in Grand Junction, where the staff were immediately extremely helpful. As soon as we pulled up behind the building to unload at least four or five staff members came out to help unload the SUV, instruments and merch. The staff at The Mesa Theater were absolutely wonderful and accommodating, the guys of Human Paint were extremely appreciative of all the helpful hands from the staff. After unloading, we all walked around the downtown Grand Junction area and enjoyed the lovely fall weather and stopped for some food. After getting some of probably the lamest tacos I’ve ever had (sorry not sorry, they were awful and overpriced, so I won't mention where we got them) we headed back to the venue to set up merch, grabbed some drinks from the raddest bartenders Ben and Sarah, you guys were great, and the draft beer selection was just too good! We all went to watch the opening band Hillbilly Riot. Hillbilly Riot can only be described as a hard-hitting band that utilizes various styles such as rock, outlaw country, punk, and metal. They were a rad group of folks that really entertained the crowd. 
During the break after Hillbilly Riot, we took turns working merch and getting to know the staff some more. We honestly can't gush about the staff at Mesa Theater enough. Everyone was just so friendly. According to one of the staff members most of them have been coming to Mesa Theater since they were kids and see it as their home and take a lot of pride in their positions at Mesa Theater and just want to do whatever they can to help bands out as much as they can when they come through. It was a refreshing attitude from some industry professionals.
Next up was Tighten, a three-piece band out of Grand Junction who’s music draws inspiration from 80’s and 90’s metal, thrash, punk, and hardcore. These were a great group of guys from small towns that had great energy and I enjoyed jamming out to their set. 
Human Paint was up next, and the guys were thrilled to be just before Skeletal Remains. Human Paint is a Denver local Death metal band that is sure to be the next big thing to come out of the Denver metal scene. Everywhere these guys go they pick up new fans along the way. Besides just being a great group of dudes, David Assari’s stage presence and insanely impressive stature and vocals have earned him the honorable nick name of Baby Corpse Grinder, just has a natural knack for getting the crowd not only going but involved in the show. When David says, “I want to see a circle pit’! You make a fucking circle pit and Assari will be right in the middle of it with his wireless microphone still performing while he moshes along with the audience! The guys of Human Paint have a natural flow on stage where all members are completely in tune with each other, it’s apparent most of them have been playing together for many years. The guitar players Aaron Martinez and David White (aka little David) also put on a perfectly in sync and aggressive performance that dominated the stage with sick riffs and chunky power chords that encouraged fans to bang their fucking heads with their masterful guitar playing skills. With Joey Veca on drums and the shirtless Charlie Sujeta on the bass these guys put on the ultimate powerhouse of a show! I always walk away after a Human Paint show with admiration of their insane talent! Human Paint has many shows coming up so make sure to check out their website and sign up to their mailing list at www.humanpaintband.com to see their upcoming shows! 
Capping off the night the headliners Skeletal Remains came on stage with an aggressive attitude and brutal vocals you'd expect from this epic band out of LA. Skeletal Remains is an old school death metal band with jarring double bass and a savage and vicious sound that has stood the test of time. Chris Monroy the vocalist of Skeletal Remains was ominous in his approach to the stage and kept his face covered with his long curly hair during the set, which brought more focus to his deep brutal gutturals, with a storm of blast beats and smothering riffs circling around him. Skeletal Remains was the perfect ending to a night of good times, new friends, and metal. Thanks to the staff at Mesa Theater, Human Paint was able to score the vinyl banner with the names of the bands playing that night, to which they had all the helpful staff from the Mesa and bands sign. To Thor of The Mesa Theater, David Assari says “Thank you for cracking his back!’ A huge thank you to our friends at Ded Records for putting Human Paint on this show and getting us all out of Denver for a night! We can’t wait to do it again. Good Times were had by us all! Go vote for Human Paint for the DED Records Awards https://dedrecordsco.com/ded-records-2023-showcase-awards they are nominated for multiple categories alongside many of their amazing piers in the Metal community.
