Music
▼ Interview
Wandering into the Wild West: Spindrift Returns to Salt Lake...
It’s a rare treat to find a band who so easily transports listeners to another place. It’s even better when the experience is enhanced during their live sets. On multiple occasions while watching LA’s Spindrift perform, I’ve felt the transformative and utterly delightful power of their mostly instrumental and moody spaghetti western songs. The music is driven by its imagery, and surprisingly, it is done without the use of many lyrics. … read more
SLUG Readers Interview Social Distortion
For over 30 years, Social Distortion has built a loyal following wherever their music has reached, Salt Lake being no exception. Mike Ness and the boys have never had any trouble selling out shows in our fair city, which is why SLUG reached out to you, our readers, via Facebook and Twitter, to submit the questions you’ve always wanted Ness to answer. Never ones to let us down, you came up with some terrific inquiries that evoked some interesting responses from Mr. Ness. … read more
More Than Just A Party: 128 Beats Per Minute
For photographer Shane McCauley, 128 Beats Per Minute is a book based on what he describes as his three-year vacation—a time where he toured across the world with DJ and music producer Diplo, and his only responsibility was doing what he loved: taking photos. “I wanted to make this book about dance culture. I didn’t just want it to be a book about Diplo; I wanted it be about this music culture and this music movement,” he says. … read more
Demigods: Alas, Behemoth is Upon Me
Calling it his “most precious child,” Behemoth’s guitarist and vocalist Nergal doesn’t feel like reducing his music to a simple catchphrase. “I just grab my guitar, and pour all my emotions into new riffs and new songs, and the last thing I care about is whether it’s in the ‘blackened death metal’ box,” he says. “Behemoth is Behemoth.” Though recent years have posed a slew of trials for the band—especially Nergal’s leukemia diagnosis in 2010— he emphasizes that Behemoth is a “tight, solid unit again.” … read more
A Therapy Session with Eligh
A few days before the show on March 24 at Urban Lounge, I got a chance to sit down with Eligh over the phone to chat about the album, his first solo headlining tour with Amp Live and his long standing relationship with hip hop. … read more
Napalm Flesh: Nevertanezra, Burn Your World, Merlins Beard
This week, Napalm Flesh offers up a trio of local talent spotlights covering just about all metal fans’ discernable palates, with interviews from Nevertanezra, Burn Your World and Merlins Beard. Also on tap are reviews of Fester, Seas Will Rise and Xerxes … read more
White Rabbits lead singer Stephen Patterson interview 03.09
Chances are you have heard the Brooklyn-based band, White Rabbits, before, and you just didn’t realize it. The band’s hit song, “Percussion Gun,” from their 2009 sophomore album, It’s Frightening, was everywhere on the Internet, as well as TV. Earlier this month, the band released their third album, Milk Famous, and made an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman. In a recent interview with SLUG, the band’s lead singer, Stephen Patterson, talked about the new album, touring and South by Southwest. … read more
Chompin’ Candy Coated Vicodin with Xray Eyeballs
I first encountered Brooklyn’s Xray Eyeballs last October during CMJ. Moments before they took the stage, I met lead singer and guitarist O.J. San Felipe as he was trying to sort out the bar tab for his band. I asked what band he was in and he enthusiastically responded “Xray Eyeball!” with a noticeable accent. Five minutes later, he and his three stunningly beautiful band mates (San Felipe is currently the only male member of the band) took the stage. … read more
New Label, New Sound: Ceremony Gets a Clean Cage
Zoo, twelve cuts of tuneful despondency, finds the band stretching beyond their “razor-to-the-throat” approach, listlessy incoporating strains of surf, post-punk and goth into their acrid blend of melody and bleakness. While the approach can whip Internet hardcore kids into a snotty-nosed, finger-pointing frenzy, guitarist Anthony Anzaldo says it’s just part of the biz. “We don’t go into the songwriting process and say, ‘Hey, let’s not write fast parts.’ It’s really not a conscious thing.” … read more
Xiu Xiu: Noise Pop, Sex Cams and Water Play
Xiu Xiu has been a facet of the indie music scene for nearly a decade, and has never ceased to be interesting. With work that ranges from morose and purposefully uncomfortable, to noise pop masterwork, Xiu Xiu continues to build a following. With their newest album, Always, coming out March 6, singer/songwriter Jamie Stewart set aside some time to discuss the album, piracy and water play. … read more