The cognoscenti were in the room.

They spoke with the lilt of privilege, walked with the lean of those who'd never worked a day in their lives. They talked of parties, of music that you haven't heard of, happenings that you simply wouldn't know about, much less be invited to attend. Nattily attired in a manner one might have expected from Clare Booth Luce's dinner guests, they made haughty fun of the plebes who sat hunched outside their sphere of plenty . . . laughing.

Because said plebes were tuned into KVDU, the University of Denver's Internet radio station - and when the Donnybrook Writing Academy decamps from their imaginary mansion to one of the many events they host about town, their audiences don't just expect a heaping helping of mock upper-crust disdain. They demand it.

Donnybrook is a writing collective, a traveling party, a venue for the hip and talented to hone their satirical knives in public and dress in tennis whites. It's a Web site, a series of blogs, a radio show here, a CD release party there. But more: It's the corporeal expression of what occurs when like-minded folks who, not finding a venue ready-made for their abilities, band together and do it themselves. They aren't alone.

Up and down the Front Range, underground clubs and unofficial organizations have sprung up like morels after a spring rain. Girls who support metal bands, kids who dig bikes, folks who drive antique hearses - the people in these groups all have something in common: They wanted to do something, to create something and to find other people who wanted the same.

Those somethings range from following the double-bass path of the area's heaviest musical acts as a kind of unofficial street team, a la the Metal Maidens, to shining up (and occasionally arming) funeral cars in preparation for a big annual meet-up as the fiends in the Denver Hearse Association do.

Their numbers vary from the few in the loose and unofficial confederation of the Cycle Jerks to the burgeoning swell of LUPEC members, ladies who meet under assumed names to quaff forgotten cocktails and sponsor benefits for worthy causes.

It's that independent spirit that led Erin Barnes, a young writer with a love of Denver's indie music scene and a talent for recognizing talent, to gather some of her friends together and found the Donnybrook Writing Academy.

"It's a blog," said Barnes, "but it's different than a blog, I think, because you have 20, maybe up to 25 writers who can contribute whenever they want. There are no deadlines. Some people have contributed a couple of lines, some people write every single day. Because I just know that people aren't going to do it at all unless they are doing it for their own reasons."

They offer music criticism, food writing, cultural commentary, political analysis and sex advice, among other things. Segments on their Web site include the "Snobcast," wherein Academy staffer Guido Sarducci IV offers mixes of underground rock and hip-hop; a poet's corner of sorts titled "Prosody"; and "Gilding the Silvertoad's Lily," featuring one Irving J. Silvertoad vehemently decrying nearly every aspect of modern culture, including, but not limited to, Donnybrook itself, poor people, women, Jews and a creature called "robbiebowman" (aka Silvertoad's real-life alter ego, a perfectly tolerant young Jewish man named Rob Bowman).

Barnes herself writes a column titled The Problem of Leisure, under the pseudonym Angora Holly Polo, which serves as a sort of editor's note, site map and mission statement.

The affair began as an online venue titled Elitist Hipster Snob but morphed into Donnybrook following a brief creative tussle between Barnes and a co-founder - and a spirited evening at the Capitol Hill watering hole Charlie Brown's, which, as Barnes points out, "is very writerly. We drank a lot, and came up with the name and the concept."

A fair amount of what came out of that initial meeting is still part and parcel of the Donnybrook conceit: the notion of the whole enterprise being the work of a group of elitist jerks who lived together in a big mansion, for instance, as well as several of the columns.

As time went on, more writers were added to the fold, more fake names were created and the Academy itself moved out of cyberspace and into the community.

The Donnybrookers at DU who took over the radio station - among them Barnes, aka Angora Holly Polo, Silvertoad and music/culture/booze blogger The Bartender - dove into their bit of theatre like Jackie Gleason spying a chew-worthy scene. Bowman-as-Silvertoad was particularly comfortable behind the microphone, musing upon the best way to discipline one's servants in front of guests, ranting against the scourge of gratuitous physical exercise and declaring, at one point, "Pleasing women? You may as well say, 'I'll fly to the moon one day.' Can't be done!"

Most impressive, though, was the fact that they managed to remain in character while promoting the Academy's upcoming events in an altogether FM-worthy fashion.

Of course, this was exactly such an event itself. Not only did they bring their real and fictional selves, but two local bands. Everything Absent or Distorted and Rabbit is a Sphere played live sets and did on-air interviews.

Behind the jokes, the fake accents, the indie rock and the occasional beer smuggled behind the mixing board, the whole affair had the unmistakable air of shared purpose - the crazily simple idea that this one blog, its bare beginnings at the bottom of one of Charlie Brown's notoriously strong cocktails, had evolved into a viable creative force in Denver's underground arts scene by offering a forum for friends to write a little bit and have fun with it.

Or maybe not. The Bartender had a different notion.

"We're a collection of like-minded geniuses," he said, "with a shared hatred of poor people."

The hoi polloi's chance

Commoners can meet and greet the Donnybrookers and see if they have what it takes to look down their noses at the great unwashed masses.

* When: Saturday happy hour, 5-8 p.m.

* Where: Larimer Lounge, 2721 Larimer St,

* What: The Donnybrook Writing Academy's Father Guido is DJing, Angora Holly Polo is the arm candy and the Bartender is serving drinks.

* Quote: "We haven't really been organized enough yet to publicize it, so the first two have basically been a few of us drinking whiskey and talking about conspiracy theories in a practically empty bar," says Erin Barnes (aka Angora Holly Polo). "Which is so much fun!"

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The Denver Hearse Association

Chances are, you've noticed members of the Denver Hearse Association tooling around town in their slick black rides. They are tough to miss, especially when you mount a flamethrower on one, as club co-founder Zachary Byron Helm has. That's the kind of can-do spirit that this group of hearse enthusiasts embodies; check them out online at hearseclub.com and look for them this summer when they take over downtown Denver for their annual Hearse-Con.

Helm gives a little info on his group below:

* What are the "ties that bind" the hearse club together? There are no real ties that bind, only a series of mechanical failures, Bondo and, in some cases, duct tape.

* Where will Denver find the hearse club? Frozen Dead Guy Days (March in Nederland), HearseCon (May in Sheridan) and Crawford Casket Races (October in Manitou Springs).

* What's the secret handshake? We gladly accept outsiders; we're always in need of something to eat! Seriously though, we accept anyone who has a hearse and is not annoying.

* What's coming up? We usually get together once a month for private cruises or members-only get-togethers but our next public appearance will be Frozen Dead Guy Days.

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Metal Maidens

This all-female, volunteer "street team" promotes local rock music (no matter your locality) any way they can. You'll likely find them at metal shows up and down the Front Range, but these girls don't discriminate. If it rocks, they support it. The Fray should take note. Metal Maiden Amy Hutcheson gives us the what and why below.

* What are the "ties that bind" your group together? The thing that ties us together is a passion for metal music, and all music in general! Not only that, but helping the rock stars of tomorrow while they are the local bands of today and supporting them until - and after - they make it in the music business. . . . We hope to help form and guide a sort of underground railroad of musicians and provide them with quality and low-cost promotions as well as other services.

* Where will the public find you? At any local metal shows and on the streets promoting our favorite musicians. We promote mainly in northern Colorado, but you can find us all over the country. Each girl promotes in her own way in her own area. And they promote the bands they love from the Web site. Also, you can find us on the Web at residentrockstar.org/ metalmaidens.

* What's the secret handshake? If you want to join, you simply need to be 18 or more years of age and be a confident, intelligent and friendly female. Anyone can join as long as you live and love music and especially metal music! To apply you must go to residentrockstar.org/metalmaidens and click the link to sign up. Fill out the form and e-mail a copy of your ID to metalmaidens@residentrockstar.org and someone will review it and get back to you. All girls must have photo sets and attend local area events fairly regularly. Applications taken from all corners of the globe.

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LUPEC

The women of the Denver chapter of LUPEC (Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails) do more than merely gather together and sip Sidecars; they also host charity events in the community, like their annual "Breakfast for Boobs" benefit to raise money for breast cancer research (pictured at right with LUPEC members Barb Dittert and Jess Klein) or last year's "Crush Party" at the Hi-Dive to help out Planned Parenthood. We caught up with the presidents of LUPEC's two Denver chapters, Gail Bransteitter and Michelle Baldwin, to learn about the organization.

* What are the "ties that bind" your group together? Gail Bransteitter, aka "Gin Daisy," president of LUPEC Denver: We all share an appreciation for classic cocktails, cocktail history, women's history, a nice get-together on Sunday afternoons and organizations doing great work in the Denver community. All of our members are involved with a variety of organizations and activities that contribute to the uniqueness of Denver.

Michelle Baldwin, aka "The Vamp," president of LUPEC Denver #2: It's the greatest excuse invented to get together with our favorite girlfriends once a month and sip interesting booze and gossip. And do good, of course.

* Where will Denver find you?

Bransteitter: We host a couple of large events each year - but you can find us at happy hours, charity events, guest bartending gigs and at any brunch place that serves bottomless mimosas!

* What's the secret handshake? Bransteitter: We keep our chapters small so we can get more done. Plus, who wants to buy booze for more than 12 people at a time? When space allows in each chapter, we accept new members, and we always have a variety of other ways that a person can get involved with LUPEC Denver, including being a BarBelle (e-mail lupecdenver@gmail.com for more info).

Baldwin: Even though our chapters are kind of full up now, we would like to help other folks create their own LUPEC chapter with their gal pals, so if they want to sit in on a meeting, we're definitely an open book. We'd love to see chapters start up across the metro area!

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Cycle Jerks

The Cycle Jerks aren't actually a club, really, or an organization. More of a state of mind and a blog that occasionally manifests itself in the form of big parties and group bike rides (like the one they're hosting today that leaves from 3 Kings Tavern, 60 S. Broadway). If you ride a bike, like bikes, think about bikes or do stuff on your bike, you're something of a Cycle Jerk already and welcome to hang at their events. Be warned, though: Members of the bike subculture are renowned for their capacity to drink beer and still pop wheelies. Visit them online at cyclejerks.com for updates. We asked Jen Nordhem, as official a Cycle Jerk as it is possible to be, to give us the two-wheeled scoop.

* What are the ties that bind your group together?

Bicycles. And, in most cases, beer as well.

* Where will Denver find you? You can find a lot of us loitering at The Track Shack (1338 Tremont Place, TrackShackDenver.com). Track Shack is a great place to pick up an FM Magazine, drink some $1 coffee and watch cheesy '80s movies (oh, and buy bike parts). Also, the third Friday of every month is the event Track Attack (myspace.com/track attackdenver), which draws a lot of people. Every once in a while Justin and I will throw a big, silly event.

* What's the secret handshake? There is no secret handshake and no members. The blog is a tool to unify the greater cycling community of Denver: a place I'll advertise an art show or bike ride (let me know about yours!), to share an environmental video found online or just post photos of people on bicycles. It isn't exclusive or political, just useful or entertaining to some, I hope.

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