Month: March 2011
I Want to Live at SXSW
Every March, musicians, journalists, photographers and industry types descend upon the city of Austin for nearly a week of non-stop music. When music oozes out of everywhere, it’s hard to find something that you don’t like. Mediocre performances are forgotten in the sea of awesome. … read more
Vinyl Collecting: A Beginner’s Guide
I honestly can’t remember a time when I wasn’t surrounded by vinyl records. As soon as I had enough money to hit a proper record store, I was there, standing on a box in order to reach the back of the used record bin. Almost a quarter century later, it’s still an obsession of mine. Since record collecting is not an exact science, there are no concrete rules. But there are some things to consider before you jump into it. … read more
Welcome to the Vinyl Cult: Buying a Half-Decent Record Player
After spending an afternoon in the back room of Randy’s Records, a family run establishment that exists because, as founding owner Randy Stinson charitably says, “It’s fun to get vinyl into the hands of people who like it,” I learned just how bad my turntable was. Father and son team Randy and Tom Stinson took one look at my setup and chuckled. I knew my system wasn’t anything special, but a chuckle from these two means bad news. … read more
Graywhale: The 25-Year-Old Local Music Mammal
Graywhale is one of the most successful music stores to ever open in Utah—with seven locations ranging from Ogden to Orem. Currently headed by Jon Tueller, Dustin Hansen and Daryl Shieving, the company has been selling new and used CDs and records since 1986. They, like other small music stores, continue to invest in the media that most big-box chains like Walmart and Best Buy are phasing out. … read more
Utah Record Store Day Event Listing
April 16 marks the fourth annual Record Store Day—a day when independent record stores come together to celebrate good music with exclusive releases from artists and live performances. To help you plan your record store day festivities, SLUG Magazine has organized an itinerary for every independent store in our area. To see a full list of exclusive releases visit recordstoreday.com. … read more
Valen: Burzum’s Varg Vikernes talks Focus, Frustration and Fallen
Few names in metal music—or music as a whole—generate as much vitriol as Burzum or its sole member, Varg Vikernes. The Norwegian recording artist has been referred to as the most hated and most dangerous man in metal music. What follows is an e-mail conversation with Vikernes on the eve of the North American release of his latest effort, Fallen. … read more
Teutonic Titans of Terror An Interview With Accept Guitarist Wolf...
If you don’t know this one, you shouldn’t call yourself a metalhead: “And then you’ll get your balls to the wall, man! Balls to the wall!” It just got heavy metal in here, because we’re talking about the mighty German wrecking crew, Accept, who crashed out a nice gleaming slab of metal last year with their album Blood of the Nations. SLUG had the chance to talk to principle member Wolf Hoffmann, creator of some serious metal guitar riffage, about all things Accept. … read more
Killa Cam
I met Cameron Starke two years ago on April 20, or 420 if you’re into that stoner kind of thing. Thanks to all the stoners in the world, it makes it easy to remember our Bro-Anniversary. The most memorable part of the day was watching a young couple on fixed gear bicycles run into each other while riding and crash in the middle of the road near Trolley Square. Basically, if you spend the whole time laughing the first time you meet someone, you know you’re going to be great friends. … read more
Age of Everlast
With how quickly today’s acceleration of digital camera technology is growing, it makes it almost a financial impossibility to keep up. In less than ten years, digital cameras have almost completely replaced film. I remember when buying a new camera, I had no doubts about its functionality. I never took into consideration how old it was or how many shots it had fired. The cameras were built to last, made of metals not plastics. … read more
Photo Feature: Bjorn Leines
I’ve known Bjorn Leines so long that I think when I first met him, Bush’s dad was president and I was sporting a ponytail that ran halfway down my back. This guy’s been around, and somehow he stays on top of the game year in and year out. When Ogden got all the snow last year, Leines was game to throw his veteran knees and back into the mix of flat landings. He even gave the rookies a demonstration on how to match your sponsor’s name on your base to your kit. … read more