Localized – February 2013

Filth Lords

To genre elitists, discovering a punk band such as Filth Lords, which includes a hip hop drummer and a bluegrass bassist, may boggle their tiny, little minds. The truth is that, by including members with a multitude of different influences and skills, Filth Lords have established themselves as one of the more talented, interesting and powerful bands in the valley—even if they have had to, on occasion, put the project on hold due to world-traveling members and differences in opinions and vision. Following what was an almost album-less release party for their insanely strong debut, Keep On Snarlin’, Filth Lords have thrown their, dare I say, filthy hat into the ring of Salt Lake punk and metal, and have done so in such a way as to keep listeners interested and energized—which is exactly the way they are as a band.

After pouring themselves a round of beers and sharing in a “Filth Cheer,” guitarist/vocalist Alexander Ortega and drummer Rio Connelly divulge that, after becoming acquainted through work (both are on SLUG’s copy editing team), they initially started jamming in March 2011, briefly accrued another member—Owen Carroll, who is no longer with the band—and by the end of the summer, played their first show. Since then, injuries to Connelly’s hand and bassist Nick Harris’ travels have limited the number of shows the band has been able to play. “We were a band for almost a year, and only played two shows,” says Connelly. “Finally, this past summer, Nick had returned from traveling and my hand had healed, so we were able to start playing more regularly.” This included an opening slot for the legendary hardcore band Ceremony at the Shred Shed this past November. “I was kind of nervous. There were a lot of people there and it had been a long time since I had opened up for a big band,” says Ortega of the experience. In addition to injuries and globe-hopping, all three members have also been a part of or are currently pursuing other musical endeavors. Ortega played with the recently dissolved local punk band Vena Cava, Harris is launching a bluegrass project and has played in what he describes as a “bar-blues band,” and Connelly played drums for an eight-piece hip hop group in college. Needless to say, the lads keep themselves extremely busy.

Filth Lords recorded their aforementioned debut release, Keep On Snarlin’, in September 2012, and released it in digital format in December 2012. What was an interesting idea for a release—physical album artwork with a digital download code attached—ended up becoming a bit of a nightmare. The band had it available at their release show on Dec. 20, if only by the skin of their collective, filthy teeth. They enlisted the last-minute services of local artist Vort, and, due to a misunderstanding with the digital release company, the band received their download codes the day of the release show. Murphy’s Law was in effect in abundance, but this seems to be almost expected when it comes to Filth Lords.

Being composed of members with totally different influences, backgrounds and playing abilities has become somewhat of a blessing for Filth Lords. Neither Harris nor Connelly had ever played in punk or metal bands prior to joining Filth Lords, and Ortega recruited them not only for that reason, but because the three coalesced socially, and ending up gelling musically. “Alex will tell me, ‘Try this beat,’” says Connelly, “and when I do, he gets so stoked, and he’s got really good sense, musically.” Ortega further elaborates, using a prior band as an example: “I never want to hear ‘Because we’re a punk band, we can’t play this beat or this riff,’ like I have heard in previous projects,” he says. The band members unanimously express their pleasure with being able to take their respective influences and combine them in a way that they are, to a point, wholly unfamiliar with. The result is a band that is too poppy to be considered “street punk,” too street to be considered “pop-punk,” and, in some cases, too metal to be considered “punk” at all. “It’s incredibly encouraging and creative at the same time, because I’m new to the genre,” says Connelly.

Filth Lords is an aggressive band, but they don’t consider themselves strictly for followers of aggressive music. They are able to flow between upbeat, almost poppy music and down-tempo, nearly sludgy riffs with ease, and that appeals to fans of all types of music. “It goes to show that a lot of the people that come to see us aren’t really into punk or metal music,” says Ortega, “but we are able to show them that they don’t have to be into those types of music to be able to enjoy what we’re doing.”