Music
▼ Interview
Farewell Transmission: RIP Jason Molina
It’s an all-too-familiar story: A brilliant rock musician succumbs to addiction, the urge to pick up a bottle or a needle, and not put it down. Those are some of the oft-romanticized rock creation/destruction myths. Rock music history is a stockpile, a wrecking yard littered with them. One of the latest casualties, March 16 of this year, was Jason Molina of the bands Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co, from organ failure due to alcoholism. … read more
Oddescee: Utah’s Fearless Freestyle Aficionado
Upon meeting Brandi Madrid, aka Oddescee, for the first time, you wouldn’t think you’re talking to Salt Lake’s one and only female battle emcee. In fact, the incredibly humble and down-to-earth mother of two is a self-proclaimed introvert and nerd—she proves it to me by proudly displaying the “NERD” tattoo on her back and telling me about her passion for books and the show Ancient Aliens. Her necklace, however, speaks of the woman that lies beneath: “Fearless,” it says. … read more
Localized: The Circulars
On Friday, Dec. 13, come to Urban Lounge for the warm, emotionally sophisticated dark pop of The Circulars, and get wrecked by Fossil Arms’ articulation of what tape hiss sounds like choking on glass—during shock treatment. Alexander Ortega, of Filth Lords and Editorial Assistant at SLUG, is the opener. Localized is hosted by Ischa B., tickets are $5 and the show is 21+. It begins at 9 p.m. and is brought to you by Bohemian Brewery. If you are unable to attend, are underage or on house arrest, catch the show on gigviz.com. … read more
Ableton Push: A Worshop with Erin Barra @ Spy Hop...
Ableton, the Berlin–based music software company responsible for some of the most widely used production software in the world recently teamed up with New York–based singer/songwriter and remix artist Erin Barra to promote the latest in production technology⎯Push. … read more
Blondes Have More Fun: Lissie Sets The Bar High with...
Lissie took a different approach and recorded this album with her band, rather than as a solo artist. Lissie originally played with studio musicians, but she says, “I have really honed a sound together through touring the last few years, so it was important to me and just natural that they be on Back to Forever.” It’s not always easy to bring the same attitude to an album that exists during a live performance, but “… the attitude and rock we bring live is present on this album” she says. … read more
How To Become a Blue Man: An Interview with Brian...
“The character I play is very innocent, but also very heroic and powerful, and teaches people how to get outside of themselves a little bit and look at the world in a different light—to challenge them to see the world with a little bit more beauty and reverence, but definitely, the drumming drew me to the show.” … read more
Good Enough: Less Than Jake See the Light in 2013
“For me, it’s like you’re damned if you do, you’re damned if you don’t—you can only write from the heart. There are people that heard our records when they were 16 years old and they heard it a certain way, and no matter what we record now it’s not going to hit them in the same way. All you can do is what comes naturally, and I think that that’s what we achieved with this new record.” … read more
Exceptional Shoegaze: Juval Haring of Israel’s Vaadat Charigim
“The idea for the album’s name and glue that sticks the songs together came from stargazing. I thought a lot back then about how there really is no present time. About the paradox of perception that happens when you look up at stars and are actually looking into an image of the past. The album deals with displacements like that one, with the feeling that there is no now.” … read more
EDM Pillow Talk: An Interview with Borgore
“I think what makes a good artist is not classifying yourself under one genre. I’ve made a lot of house records and I’m kind of trying to be able to do everything. I think that’s the future. Being a true musician is having no boundaries in art,” says Borgore. … read more
Southern Charm: An Interview with Royal Teeth in Voodooville
Throughout their set, more and more people wander into their performance in search for something a little more refreshing than the press-play-and-go antics provided by Calvin Harris across the park. By the time the band played their closing song, “Wild,” from their debut album Glow, they definitely had quite a few new fans, including myself. I sat down with Royal Teeth for an interview where they gave SLUG the low-down on their current careers, future plans and what it took to get where they are now. … read more