by Erin Fuller

When it comes to the local music scene, Fort Collins is bustling with artists, venues, and organizations looking to help further the growth of art in the community. One organization in particular has been helping youth break into the theater, music, and art world.

This is Blast N Scrap. 

Michael Gormley, aka Blasti, is the founder and executive director of this nonprofit. He describes it as a “mutual aid meets music showcase”, the major component of Blast N Scrap being donation-suggested concerts and fundraising events. Gormley is also in the band GB & the G Jeez, playing country bluegrass renditions of punk songs. 

“Mutual aid meets music showcase”

Michael Gormley

Before Blast N Scrap came to be, Gormley created Cape Pals, a charity where kids make capes and create awareness for good causes. Cape Pals organized an event for children with leukemia and solicited multiple businesses to donate from their earnings, including Who Gives A Scrap, a nonprofit arts and crafts store. His band, GB & the G Jeez, were asked to play kids music at Who Gives A Scrap, and thus, Blast N Scrap was born.

Blast N Scrap is made up of multiple programs and efforts to bring arts into the community of Fort Collins. Scrapyard Garb takes gently used clothing and uses it for screen-printing, making cheap and accessible merch to make for local bands or organizations. 

Scrappy Tracking teaches people how to record, edit, and produce their own music single with a real producer. 

Grrrls Scrap Back welcomes femme, trans, and non-binary identities to participate in workshops of all art mediums and holds monthly showcases. 

New Galaxy Audio Productions teaches new sound engineers sound design and allows them to get their hands on a soundboard for actual live events. 

Crafty Community Theatre shows children how to write, cast, direct, and act in a play using repurposed materials for the sets and costumes. 

Band Blast Off  helps students launch their music career. Even more projects are underway.

Gormley’s endeavors add passion, charity, and empathy to the Fort Collins area. As part of the sober community, he strives to implement safe spaces into Blast N Scrap’s events. One of his major missions is to have harm reduction supplies at all major music venues, making concerts a lower-risk place to be. 

“People use drugs, regardless of whether they go to a concert or not, but they use them at a higher percentage when they do go to concerts,” Gormley said. “This is our way of keeping the community safe. Narcan saved my life, so it’s the least I can do to push it further.”

“Narcan saved my life, so it’s the least I can do to push it further.”

Michael Gormley

But what does it mean to be in a leadership position? Gormley has had years of experience being involved in clubs and music scenes along the upper East Coast. During that time he was actively drinking, so he says these experiences were thrown away. 

“Nothing stops me from my problematic behaviors with alcohol,” Gormley said. “About a year after I plugged the jug, I wanted to do something with the skill set I had. I entered the music industry on my own terms, building my own project as I [saw] fit.” 

Back on his feet, he asked Mishawaka Amphitheatre for a job, admiring the hospitality of the staff. 

“I didn’t go in [the industry] to be a leader,” Gormely said. “I thought, I need to fill my time or I’m gonna drink, and I’m gonna treat everyone else fairly because I don’t care about the money. And then it started working.”

Fort Collins has a lot of potential for upcoming artists, and Gormley decided to stick around to get more involved. 

“Having a university is certainly essential because there’s an influx of 18-year-olds that move here every semester that need access to all-ages music,” Gormley said. “We are all ages under all circumstances.” 

He understands that arts exposure doesn’t have to have an age limit and emphasizes that it shouldn’t be limited by economic standing either. “I put a suggested donation [at our events], but people weren’t showing up,” Gormley said. “It’s just donations. You don’t have to pay for it. That’s how I came up with the sentence ‘no one turned away’.” 

By keeping the doors open for events, workshops, and concerts, Gormley was able to create a space to celebrate music and art and found a way to pay for the artists and bands along the way. 

Blast N Scrap aims to teach kids how to enter the music business and become successful, building a structure for them to step into. 

“When I talk to young artists, I often share the terrible experiences that were my own fault, and how I stepped into the business world,” Gormley said. “A lot of Blast N Scrap is what I think would’ve helped me as a kid. So if I have a hand in helping somebody take their project to a different level, then we’ve done our job.”
For more information on Blast N Scrap and how you can get involved, you can visit blastnscrap.org