Music
▼ Interview
Just An Oklahoma Boy: An Interview with JD McPherson
“People like Wanda Jackson, Chet Baker, Charlie Christian and even Eddie Cochran was originally an Oklahoma cat. When Eric Clapton quit Cream, his whole band was recruited out of Tulsa. So I was surrounded by music growing up, by pickers out in the sticks, and my parents were really into music as well. People ask me all the time and seem to expect me to pick [up] and move to some place like Chicago or L.A., but I’m happy to stay here in Oklahoma.” … read more
“Female DJs” Shouldn’t be a Weird Term: an Interview with...
Clayton’s work in producing began purely out of a passion for creativity, not a desire to be liked. We talked with her about everything from her recent EP release to how she feels about being a working woman in the electronic world. Clayton’s interview will be the first in a mini series dedicated to highlighting women who produce music or DJ professionally. … read more
Blue Skate
If you’ve ever eaten at the locally famous Blue Plate Diner, you may have noticed that more than one employee is zipping around the restaurant in shoes with blown-out toes. And if you’ve any reckoning of the talent that graces our streets and skateparks on four wheels and a narrow mass of plywood, then you know that some of Salt Lake’s finest shred-sledders are also employees of one of Salt Lake’s finest diners … read more
Pissing My Jeans on RSD
More than 10 years after the band’s inception, Pissed Jeans have gone from punk stardom to Sub Pop’s best-kept secret. A combination of hardcore punk and noise rock, with a smattering of dudeist cynicism, Pissed Jeans were a total gamble—a divergence from typical Sub Pop artists of the last decade like Fleet Foxes and The Shins. … read more
Death Waltz Recording Company: An Interview with Spencer Hickman
Opening any release from Death Waltz Recording Company is like opening a fantastic gift—soundtracks to films both cult and lost, with bespoke tip-on jackets, detailed liner notes, unique artwork, lithographs and colorful variants, all combined to form an immensely rewarding multisensory experience. These records aren’t like many others: They’re special, rather than a reissue cash grab—and obviously the work of someone who loves what he’s doing. I spoke with Spencer Hickman, owner of Death Waltz, via Skype at 3 a.m. here, to make up for the time difference between the Mountain West and the UK. The conversation moved quickly, comfortably, and focused on one of my favorite topics—records. … read more
¡Vinyl Vive! Sacred Bones’ Caleb Braaten on Record Stores, Reissues...
Founded in 2007, Sacred Bones Records has grown from a small, independent label based in Brooklyn into a diverse community of international artists—with a range that includes the avant-pop star Zola Jesus, the psych-kraut of Psychic Ills, the dismantled post-punk of Pop. 1280 and The Men, coldwave outfits VÅR and Lust for Youth, and industrial noise fright Pharmakon. Though difficult to categorize, Sacred Bones releases are hooked through with fervent, often unsettling dedication to the craft and communal life of music. … read more
Sounds From Out There: Records, Record Store Day And Singing...
Last September, the Voyager 1 left our solar system. That cold little coffin containing all of what mankind thought was important in 1977 is now careening through uncharted interstellar space. Onboard that space craft is a gold-plated phonographic record containing images and sounds that represent a fairly decent cross-section of human and animal life, as well as a record of some of our best scientific achievements up to that point. … read more
Cult Leader: God’s Lonely Children Emerge From the Shadows
Discussing the moment the group was faced with an uncertain future for their past project, Gaza, Mason says, simply: “It can’t end like that.” So, from ashes, Cult Leader was born in Salt Lake City. Within less than a year, Mason, Hansen and Lucero faced the end of a successful band, the creation of a new one, and became part of the Deathwish Inc. record-label family: a redemptive myth in the music world, if ever there was one. … read more
Marching To Their Own Beat: An Interview with Temples
Audiences long for something fresh and wonderful. They long for the goosebumps of a genuine song and the thrill of not knowing what’s next. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce Temples. This brave English foursome has created one of the most entertaining and unique albums to cross the pond in some time … read more
Cult Leader – Nothing For Us Here
Salt Lake City’s own Cult Leader have been signed to Deathwish Inc. Nothing For Us Here is their debut EP, and it’s streaming from SLUGMag.com exclusively, until Friday, April 4! Tell all your friends that if they want Cult Leader, SLUG Mag is the place to look, and check out our April cover story on Cult Leader. Physical copies of the magazine can by found anyplace cool in Utah on Friday, April 4, and be sure to catch Cult Leader’s EP-release show at The Shred Shed on the same day. … read more