# WTRFT S2E34 - Joe Lessard & Matt Loewen - Head For The Hills

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-s-the-reason-for-this-podcast-6976114/wtrft-s2e34-joe-lessard-matt-loewen-head-for-the-hills
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-s-the-reason-for-this-podcast-6976114/wtrft-s2e34-joe-lessard-matt-loewen-head-for-the-hills.md
Podcast: [What's The Reason For This Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-s-the-reason-for-this-podcast-6976114)
Published: 2026-05-05T02:52:01+00:00
Episode link: https://rss.com/podcasts/whatsthereasonforthis/2794629
Audio file: https://content.rss.com/episodes/281717/2794629/whatsthereasonforthis/2026_05_05_02_51_46_340a432f-4efa-4160-9a95-4e563fed6691.mp3
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Duration seconds: 2994

## Resource

🎧 This week on What’s the Reason for This? , Kodi goes solo in the dungeon with two absolute pillars of the Colorado scene — Joe and Matt from Head for the Hills — for a full-circle conversation that hits nostalgia, growth, and everything in between. 🪕🔥 What starts as a trip down memory lane quickly turns into something bigger… a story about how a college dorm jam session turned into a 20+ year band that helped shape the Fort Collins and Front Range music scene. 🎶✨ This one kicks off at the roots… 🏫 Meeting in the CSU dorms and turning late-night picking into a real band 🍻 House parties, 30 racks for payment, and the early days of building a following 🌀 The Fort Collins scene in the early 2000s raw, wild, and full of possibility But then things start to take off… 🔥 First shows, first crowds, and realizing “this might actually be something” 🎪 The early days of Picking on the Poudre and stepping onto the Mishawaka stage 🎶 Blending bluegrass with punk, rock, and improvisation to create their own sound And then comes the evolution… 💿 Recording their first album in a pre-streaming world when CDs and word of mouth were everything 🎧 Getting pushed (hard) in the studio to refine their sound and cut the fat 🚐 Touring the old-school way, MapQuest directions, burned CDs, and figuring it out as they went But this episode doesn’t shy away from the real stuff… ⚖️ Navigating lineup changes, burnout, and the constant evolution of a band 🥁 Reinventing their sound by adding drums and reworking their entire catalog 🦠 Surviving COVID, learning to record themselves, and adapting to a new music landscape And through it all… one thing stays constant. 🤝 Prioritizing friendship over fame 🎶 Creating music because they love it not just for ticket sales 🌄 Staying rooted in the community that help…

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## Transcript

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