Music
▼ Interview
Reading Through the Refraction: Black Lips Talk Touring and New...
Raising hell since the late ’90s, the foursome of the Black Lips has always made music-making look effortless. They’ve pushed the boundaries of production and sound with their seventh studio album release, Underneath the Rainbow—a melodic mixture of gritty rock n’ roll, tangy lyrical wit and a dash of sticky-sweet Southern soul that drips off the tongue like molasses. SLUG was able to hash things out with bassist Jared Swilley to discuss life on the road, battle plans and bucket lists. … read more
Just Jonny: An Interview with Social Distortion’s Jonny “Two Bags”...
“So many different things about me manifest themselves on the record, whether it be through lyrics or whatever.” Jonny “Two Bags” Wickersham has put together an eclectic record that plays like a musical autobiography of a guy that has made music his entire life. … read more
Rising Above the Weirdo Radar with Old Wounds
“As of recently we’ve been getting support and respect in that aspect, but New Jersey is a pretty tough scene to really get it going, because everyone’s either older and kind of burnt out on hardcore or younger and have their own clique and they stick with it. They want to listen to what’s cool and not really go outside their bubble a little bit. So it’s definitely hard, but that goes for any New Jersey band.” … read more
Riding the nuWave: Ballyhoo! On Crossing Through Genres and Decades
Slinging soulful reggae punk jams since the nineties, Ballyhoo! have become pioneers in the alt rock scene. With their upbeat ‘tudes and tunes, the guys of Ballyhoo! make their jobs seem easy and fun when in reality, they deal with tough shit from fans and the music industry on a daily basis. … read more
Leave The World Behind: An Interview with SXSW Filmmaker Christian...
True passion for collaboration and subject matter is demonstrated in director Christian Larson’s new documentary, Leave It All Behind, a film following Swedish House Mafia on their farewell tour around the world. … read more
The Chords are Crushing, a Relapse to Nothing
On March 4, a band called Nothing released Guilty of Everything on Relapse Records. In passing, mention of the label renders associations with brutal extreme metal, but by and large, Nothing are a shoegaze band whose sole sonic metal credentials are, arguably, the sludgy characteristics of some of their riffs on Guilty of Everything. Other than that, frontman Dominic “Nicky” Palermo’s soft, whispery vocals float like clouds over celestially intoned guitar chord progressions and even-keeled beats. “I don’t think it fits at all,” says Palermo. He maintains, however, that, “it doesn’t matter these days.” … read more
The Coathangers: Suck My Shirt!
“Sometimes I wish I could play drums way more technically better from a drummer’s standpoint, but I don’t think that would help me in The Coathangers. We have our own styles because we kind of just winged it—we just made it up,” says Rusty Coathanger (Stephanie Luke), drummer and vocalist for The Coathangers. “I think that’s what rock n’ roll is all about: It’s not necessarily conforming to this idea of rock n’ roll—it’s actually just who you are, presented in a musical fashion.” … read more
The Demonstrably Modest Isaiah Rashad
I was gushing to Isaiah Rashad about his excellent new album, Cilvia Demo. A gauche, fanboy move I admit, but I couldn’t help myself. I went on about how there’s no filler, how it’s a “fully realized artistic statement” and so on. With all of that in mind, I wondered why he decided to call it an EP? … read more
The Asylum Door Opens: Ringworm Return to SLC
I’ve been chatting with James “The Human Furnace” Bulloch for just a few minutes. We’ve touched on Cleveland, the ’90s hardcore scene and his band Ringworm’s place within it. “I really had nothing in common with my peers at the time,” says Bulloch, reflecting on the band’s genesis and the hardcore scene of the time. “I never felt like singing about ‘the scene’ or ‘my friend stabbed me in the back.’” That’s always been Ringworm’s deal, though. A little bit o’ hardcore and a whole heaping of metal, it’s a style that came from Bulloch’s upbringing as the youngest of four music-obsessed kids. … read more
Pack the Van: Utah Hits SXSW
The SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas is the largest of its kind in the world—and one of the best opportunities for up-and-coming bands to promote their music, expose themselves to potential labels and maybe even get a little press. Though it sounds like a good time—and it is—it takes a motivated, hardworking band to make the trip and play a week of shows against thousands of other bands. Utah has a handful of talented acts making the trek this year under the Texas sun for a piece of the action. Follow them on the web to find out where and when they’ll be rockin’ in Austin. … read more