SLUG Contributor Limelight
July 28, 2010
Contributor Limelight: JP
JP (or John Paxton if you are being proper) joined the SLUG Mag team approximately two years ago after interviewing Angela Brown as part of this then-internship at KUER. When his "offiicial" business with Brown had ended, he was quick to ask how he might get involved with such a fine enterprise. Almost a year later he joined the ad sales team. JP single-handedly holds the record for number of hairstyle changes during his time working with the magazine. When JP isn't hustling money for the Mag, he's probably spending time penning up feature articles, covering local art collectives like Copper Palate Press, Beer Mix Master Mark Alston or at the Bayou and the Coachella Arts and Music festival in the last three months alone.
Articles by contributor
Local Reviews: The Bad Apples
Salt Lake locals, The Bad Apples are back by popular demand from fans. Penalty Box Records founder, MC/ producer Mike Booth, and MC Sir Louis Wildamiss bring some cognizant vocals to this LP with many local artists popping up in guest spots too. … read more
Local Reviews: The Up Collars
This disc got me interested in what’s going on in northern Utah, which I can’t say anything else has done in recent memory. Saxophone is mixed with shredderific guitar, thoughtful melodies and some interesting vocals form this release. … read more
Local Reviews: The Smash Brothas
Hip Hop is not dead in Utah. Reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated. The crews around here should start paying attention, or at least start buying beats from the laundry list of producers and DJs that The Smash Brothas utilize on their latest release. … read more
Local Reviews: Kill Everyone Now
I enjoy the occasional garage recording as much as the next SLUG staffer, and listening to Kill Everyone Now’s tracks remind me of just why I appreciate most start-out rock bands and their growth that occurs early on. … read more
Local Reviews: Auto-Pirates
A local band making the decision to utilize what sounds like Russian lyrics on an opening track= balls. Some members of the Utah community would be miffed if an intro track didn’t have some entirely English reference to how much they love God and/or how much they love their country. … read more
Local Reviews: Danger Hailstorm
I wish I could say that all local bands suck and that Utah doesn’t have any talent (you know, for national “street cred”), but when bands like Danger Hailstorm drop in my lap I can’t pretend anymore. This three-piece can gnash its teeth. … read more
Local Reviews: Gripp
Gripp does his own production. If he had some quality producers and an actual DJ backing him, his future rhymes could find a place in my album rotation. If I were a big fan of computer-produced rap, then this album would already be there. … read more
Local Reviews: Pariah Poetic
Pariah Poetic Of Nature Self Released Street: 09.23 Pariah Poetic= Strata + Lostprophets Pariah Poetic is not your Mom’s band. Nor are they your brother’s—they could be your kid sister’s, though. The guitarist has some really, really good things going on—the guit-fiddle is intricately woven throughout (listen to “Deviate Demonic” for confirmation). This is some
Local Reviews: Feel Good Patrol
There’s something going on with Feel Good Patrol, but I’m not sure what. Well, that’s not true, it sounds like what a scene mainstay named Ryan Workman once described as “White-Boy-Frat-Funk-Rock,” with some rappin’ and scratchin’ thrown in. … read more
Local Reviews: Fox Van Cleef
“Don’t laugh at me if I make a really crazy face,” is heard as you put Fox Van Cleef’s latest EP on for a spin––and we won’t––these cats are cool. Some pyschedelic guitars start in at that point and make for a very interesting intro track called “Torpedo.” … read more
Local Reviews: Trouble on the Prairie
Minimalist percussion and plaintively delivered vocals make this release one of the most haunting local pieces I’ve heard in a while. Band members Big Red and Little Fran create a lot of atmosphere with only some sparse acoustic guitar, a shaker, a tambourine on some songs and a small drum kit on others. … read more
Local Reviews: Lexi Sayok
This music is engineered to hit right on the money for all people born in the 90s. The fact that the songs longer than three minutes were shoved to the end of the album makes me think that the average Lexi Sayok fan has a gnat’s attention span (what’s new with music written for those under 21 these days though?). … read more
Local Reviews: Cub Country
Thankfully, a local band who had deep roots in the alt-country scene is changing it up. The twang on every song was getting a little tiresome ‘round these parts. Fortunately, Stretch That Skull Cover and Smile is really gutsy rock for most of the disc. … read more
Local Reviews: Lindsay +INFLUENZI+ Heath
Lindsay Heath is an artist entirely in her own right, comparisons to other female pianists aside. When not busy adding her unique talents drumming and playing to the arsenal of others, she unlocks her own powers on personal projects like this. … read more
Local Reviews: Standing Solo
I immediately gravitated towards this album when I first played it. It had all the hallmarks of the music I liked in the late 90s: melodic “punk” with a bit of piss ‘n vinegar. I’ve changed and so has music and the demands I put on what makes an album truly great. … read more
Local Reviews: The Sweater Friends
Your enjoyment of TSF depends on how much you like pop-acoustic duos, or enjoy feeling the pull on your heart strings this type of music elicits. I should say this is good for what it is, which is acoustic rock (such a thing still exists), and an improvement over the majority of bands like this in the region. … read more
Local Reviews: Various Artists
Spy Hop, the local non-profit enterprise known for mentoring youth in a wide swath of media disciplines, is back at it with a sampler of their latest artists. The quality is shockingly good and diverse. … read more
Local Reviews: Skud Missile Smugglaz
This EP surprised me, as most great local hip hop/rap does. The beats are interesting, the production utilizes samples well and the emcees are on point with some really well-versed rhymes. It is VERY nice to see a local group bringing up political ideas that challenge the mainstream with questions about the quality of westernized lifestyles and the wars fought in the name of the American people in the guise of “freedom.” … read more
Local Reviews: Blue Sunshine Soul
Diversity within the local scene isn’t always celebrated and is usually even harder to come across within the environs of a six-piece entity like Blue Sunshine Soul. Perhaps the fact that the majority of the members of this collective are professional musicians helps to keep egos in check and let the individual voices present come to the fore. … read more
Local Reviews: The Naked Eyes
Using their first release, Free and Easy, as a solid point to base jump off makes this local three-piece’s latest efforts a great follow-up to their previous grounded approach. As they continue to refine their signature style it seems they have no hinderance in the creative flow they’ve coddled––and are now unleashing it on The West. … read more
Local Reviews: Muscle Hawk
This band is fucking hot to trot. Two guys on synths/computers plus one lady on the drums formulates the perfect combination for a dance party. There is a reason one of their songs is called “Cocaine,” because MH is audio base. … read more
Local Reviews: The Black Arrows
My immediate thoughts on listening to this were, “Why?” and then the follow up, “Why does the world need more chick pop?” I believe the answer is money. At least we got to see the lead singer of Paramore’s boobs Tweeted, but I don’t think local broad Ashley Rae will be doing that anytime soon to make her music more exciting. … read more
Local Reviews: Righteous Audio Werks
Vocal-free reggae is amazing. It elevates the standard genre above just something to get stoned to and takes it to a level similar to jazz. That may be a bold statement, but bold bands like Righteous Audio Werks (RAW) are happy to do it. … read more
Local Reviews: Means Nothing
1) Music production software has become too easily accessable by regular Joes. 2) Utah will never emerge from the lesser-known Western states as a music powerhouse with music like this. 3) The bands in the above equation are not meant as praise. … read more
Local Reviews: Oliver Lemmon
Barring the fact that perplexion is not a real word, the rest of the title of this release bodes well for Lemmon, because I’m sure he thought this shit was solid gold when he made it—and sometimes confidence is key. I tried some fragrant local kush strains and thought, “Hey, maybe this guy is on to something.” Maybe he really is. … read more
Local Reviews: J.P.Whipple
I popped this bad boy in on the way to/through southern Utah recently. It’s sometimes folk-country music made for great road trip music, mixing with the increasingly redder rocks—and the “Mexican” elements of the music manifested what it might be like taking the same trail down to Las Vegas a-carousing back when honky settlers were exploring the southern deserts of this country. … read more
Local Reviews: Wren Kennedy
Kennedy (often seen slinging joe with Joe at nobrow coffee, or in his band Bluebird Radio) lays down some of the tightest vocal harmonies I’ve heard from a Salt Lake project. The lyrics are also of note and the recording itself, done by Kennedy, turned out great in a lo-fi way. … read more
Local Reviews: The Saintanne
The Saintanne is an interesting hodgepodge of styles and a rarity in the Utah scene. Their performance at a recent Localized at Urban Lounge was more thematic than musically engaging, which isn’t a bad thing. … read more
The Road to Fallujah – Review
Dir: Mark Manning Director Manning dives deep into the maelstrom of controversy over one of the most famous of the Iraq War’s battles in his informative documentary, the Road to Fallujah. Manning, a former underwater construction worker on off shore oil rigs, states at the beginning of the doc that he couldn’t support the
Immersion
ImmersionDir: Richard Levien A young boy struggling to learn English in an elementary classroom as a recent immigrant to the U.S. may not seem like much of a concept but it works in this short. The young character of Moises was apparently based on the experience Director Levien’s wife had as a teacher at a
Drones – Review
One of the biggest crowd-pleasers of Slamdance 2010, this film uses actors and location to craft something unique in American cinema. … read more
Down Terrace – Review
British director Ben Wheatley (Modern Toss, IDEAL) shreds the preconceptions surrounding modern UK gangster fare (no Guy Richie-isms here) in this great drama. … read more
And Everything is Going Fine – Review
Stephen Soderbergh’s first documentary premiered at Slamdance with aplomb and a bit of heartstring strumming. Spalding Gray, the subject of this documentary, left a family behind after his disappearance/assumed suicide in 2004. … read more
The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu – Review
Director Henry Saine’s film explores the reality of a world crawling with convincing monsters of H.P.Lovecraft’s design.
… read more
The Scenesters – Review
This movie is loosely based around a script filled with murdered blondes in L.A. It’s tongue-in-cheek take on Los Angeles. … read more
HorseFingers 2: But I am the Tiger – Review
Kirsten Kearse directed and starred in this interesting fable about the “modern woman” and the trials she encounters on a daily basis—literally. … read more
I Sell the Dead – Review
I Sell the Dead Director: Glenn McQuaid Ron Perlman (Hellboy) and Dominic Monaghan (Lost, Lord of the Rings) star in this nicely orchestrated little indie comedic thriller. The concept is deceptively simple, perhaps one of the reasons why it is so fun and easily enjoyed: two grave robbers are in prison for murders they claim
Unwanted Witness – Review
Unwanted Witness Director: Juan Jose Lozano Hollman Morris is a tragic figure as we can see in this well-crafted and informative piece. The man constantly endures death threats as a journalist in the embattled Latin American country of Colombia. The tension and strain on his personal life and family are starkly portrayed as he goes
Gallery Shorts Block 3
That Go music video Golden Prize, Joey and Jerome’s Artistic Meaningful Independent Film, Ha’agam (The Lake) … read more
Gallery Shorts Block 4
Head In the Sand & Sandhill Boys … read more
Santa: The Fascist Years
Santa seeks to gain world domination through an army of toys … read more
GirlLikeMe – Review
This short follows a day-in-the-life account of a young teenager named Lucy who tests the waters of pedophilia with an older man. … read more
Poinciana Sunrise – Review
The Highwaymen is an organization of landscape artists from South Florida formerly classified as “motel-art artists.” The recently redeemed artists now command thousands of dollars per piece. … read more
urFRENZ
This film lives somewhere between Lifetime movie and genuine, earnest film. The story involves a social networking site, urFrenz, and the lives ruined by seemingly good intentions. … read more
YellowBrickRoad – Review
This is a film about dying, going crazy, and the damage that one man’s unchecked ambition can do to others. … read more
American Jihadist
American Jihadist is so painfully acute in its portrayal of hate and violence, both at home and abroad, that I had to take a break halfway. … read more
Del tha Funky Homosapien
Somewhere directly under a highway overpass next to a soup kitchen there sits a new venue you’d expect to find in a bit more metropolitan city. My first trip to The Paladium was not disappointing. It was a Latin disco last time I checked. Now it’s a live music venue with a great summer hip-hop line-up on the books. … read more
Ra Ra Riot
I missed the opening act at this show. Usually I would say something along the lines of, “I got a flat tire on the way and got to the venue late,” but I cannot tell a lie. Anyway, I missed local openers Lord Mandrake because my grandmother died…again. … read more
Warped Tour ’08: Binging and Purging at the Fairgrounds One...
The Van’s Warped Tour used to rank up there with epic summer events like the X96 Big Ass Show and mercury busting digits in my little brain. And surprisingly it still ranks that high with hordes of sunburnt teenagers. … read more
Sigur Ros @ Saltair
Sigur Ros 09.30.08 Saltair On Denver Street in Salt Lake City, Utah, there sits a fine cigar shop by the name of Knuckleheads. If you are planning on going to a music show 30 minutes west of civilization on a road through an unlivable stretch of dry lake bed, you may need to go to
The Duke Spirit @ The Urban Lounge
The Duke Spirit 11.05.08 The Urban Lounge With Eagles of Death Metal Leila Moss is a rock goddess. If you learn one thing about the live experience of The Duke Spirit, that should be it. I haven’t been rocked this hard by a female vocalist at The Urban Lounge since Theo and The Skyscrapers knocked
.jpeg)
Gang Gang Dance @ The Urban Lounge
Gang Gang Dance 11.08.08 Kilby Court BR>Gang Gang DanceGang Gang Dance (courtesy of legupmanagement.com) Certain bands can take you places, metaphysical places. Gang Gang Dance is one of those bands. I noticed myself zoning in and out as three percussionists, at points, tweaked their sound to the limit of my sonic understanding and to “the
Goblin Cock @ The Urban Lounge
Goblin Cock 02.21.09 The Urban Lounge with These Arms Are Snakes and Darker My Love I have been hungering for some Cock for a while. And I’ve been lusting after some Snakes, as well. I’ve also been passionately awaiting some Dark Love. All my metaphoric~interracial~quasi~homosexual needs were fulfilled last Saturday at the Urban Lounge when
JP’s Record Story Day Extravaganza
National Record Store Day has made a bold move standing up against the huge music store chains with performances and sales throughout the American community of retailers two years in a row now. It was a day meant to re-affirm the local emphasis in communities that need reminders of why supporting local shops is important.
Through Broken Glass and Crushed Throats: The Derby Girls Go...
The first battle between the Derby Girls of Salt Lake (Salt City Shakers) and the Ogden’s Junction City Roller Dolls (Junction City Trainwrecks) went off with almost no hitches––if you exclude a deadly fishbowl and a near miss on a throat crushing. WTF? … read more
JP’s Blog: Sea Wolf & Ladyhawke
Weekends like this last one come along only once every September and they should be celebrated. Club Sound hosted Sea Wolf on Friday and Perez Hilton Presents on Saturday. … read more
Swollen Members @ Urban Lounge
Swollen Members coming to town is always a big event: big crowds, big bass, blunts and blow. Emcee Prevail’s birthday coincided with the day of the show, so plenty of people were showing their appreciation in fragrant ways. These Canadian rappers, several time over winners of the Juno award (Canadian Grammys) for best rap group, did it up right.
Swedes Attack: Liitle Dragon & Miike Snow
Mythically, Sweden makes two things exceptionally well: hot skirts and great pop/dance music (ABBA, The Knife, Jose Gonzalez, Miike Snow). Two of those exports, Little Dragon and Miike Snow, played at the Urban Lounge last week. … read more
What I Learned About the World: Coachella 2010
I learned that a large group of young, mostly American, people can congregate and enjoy life on a basal line for three-four days and forget about the world. … read more
Hooray For Earth @ Kilby Court
New York City’s Hooray For Earth popped into town last Thursday at Kilby Court and blew the spot up, as the hip hoppers would say. Hooray for Earth is a new brand of old ideas based on synth sounds from the 80s that incorporate modern song phrasings, lyrical styling and attitude. The result is an infectious beat machine combined with great vocal choruses and genuine joy-inducing structure. … read more
Lyrics Born @ The State Room
Though he’s venturing even further into the realms of power funk, Lyrics Born still remains important for conscious hip hop heads (yes, we still exist). After the show I approached him, told him what a great time I had and he was very cordial back. The venue was literally shaking during the performance from excitement and the bass funk his band was pumping out. … read more
Scrapper
Southern California’s Chocolate Mountains are home to practice ranges open to the military 365, 24/7 and they drop bombs, fire rounds, and blow shit up from above. Tanks, APVs, the ground—all targets of their clusterbombs and high-calibers. What to do with the scrap bomb parts, though… … read more
Drama
When a 90-minute movie feels like 180, when cocaine use gets comical and a lead actress suddenly kills herself for no reason (spoiler alert!), blame Chile. … read more
Shunka
Documentary film can be one of the most powerful of the cinematic genres. Its most useful tools being: story, advocacy, information, and realistic cinematography. “Shunka” seems to lack all but the latter. … read more
Gandu
Gandu is a verboten Hindi term for “ass”, “asshole” or “loser” but this film is none of those. Quixotic Calcutta filmmaker Q (Qaushiq Mukherjee) takes the audience diverse places through a mélange of documentary film, music videos, sex and drug induced hallucinations in this black and white cinema masterpiece. Thank god for Slamdance—Sundance is too sanitized these days—give me blowjobs, heroin, and punk rock music I say, à la “Gandu”. … read more
Road Dogs
Documentaries about bands on the road can be overwhelmingly disgusting given their ultra lavish lifestyles but this documentary is completely disgusting for different reasons. That isn’t to say it’s bad—but watching a man screw his genitals together and face-painted “freaks” do entirely too much coke makes for a disgusting display, indeed. Don’t get me wrong a little blow on the road is a good thing, right? … read more
Bhopali
Bhopal, India is home to one of the worst industrial accidents in the history of the world, the worst in the history of India, and one still happening to this day. After the original thousands of deaths occurred the death toll has mounted and isn’t stopping, this is where “Bhopali” picks up, condemning original polluters Union Carbide and subsequent liability owner Dow. … read more
Superheroes
“Superheroes” adds to Slamdance’s expanding archive of some of the best non-fiction films we’ve seen at festivals. The cogent work follows the travails and (mis)adventures of real-life superheroes (RLSH) in major cities throughout the US—including the SLC. Characters as silly sounding as Master Legend and Mr. Extreme fight for justice alongside the more seriously dubbed likes of Omen, Conundrum, and a nice Jewish boy named Chaim (life in Hebrew). … read more
Beneath Contempt
One mistake behind a wheel while driving can end more than your own life as this feature portrays within the moral obstacle course of blame and death post-manslaughter. Three dead teens and one teen left to blame make for compelling storytelling in this engaging work. … read more
Fred & Vinnie
“Fred & Vinnie” is the true story of a bit actor’s life in LA as his shut-in, baseball card-loving friend moves in to crash on the couch. The unmatched pair of neurotics get on each others’ nerves as only disturbed individuals can—fighting for the bathroom, snore-less sleep, and space of mind. … read more
Little Dragon @ Urban Lounge
I’ve caught the smallest Dragon three times now, and every time I’m reminded how Sweden has not only one of the best reputations in the world but also some of the best music. Lead singer and percussionist Yukimi Nagano is as precious as ever, still donning her alluring veil and dancing about in a bizarre music-fog of awesome. She even busted out some crystal gongs this time that defy description. … read more
DATAROCK(d)
DATAROCK brought us The Most Extravagant Single in History. … read more
3.18.11 @ SXSW Live Team Coverage
Beats Antique’s Street Party Inspiration. Twin Shadows. The Republic Tigers. Kosha Dillz, SLC’s MC PigPen & Street Jesus. … read more
Super Moon Rising: SLUG’s SXSW 2011
To say I was excited for a festival that occurs in a place where shirts stick to backs with humidity would be a great understatement. I made my schedule anyway, boarded the plane with much air-phobia, and arrived with no limo waiting. A shuttle ride later and downtown beckoned outside the hotel window with an amazing buzzing from the SXSW. … read more
Beats Antique @ The Depot
Oakland, California’s Beats Antique take world and modern dance music to a different plane. This is a somewhat trite thing to say when it’s been said so many times before, but this time it’s real. I’ve written about Beats Antique before, but seeing them do a full set in the proper environ was not something I was thinking would ever happen in SLC. Thankfully, they made it to The Depot and knocked it up and out. … read more
Thievery Corporation @ Red Butte Garden 09.01
The influential dub and electronic producing duo,Thievery Corporation, have never been to Utah before, but their group finally landed in Red Butte Garden to a huge swirl of smoke and approval. … read more
-crop.jpg)
Mary Poppins @ Capitol Theatre 09.02
I was a big fan of Disney as a child and have great recall of the film as an adult, and even have fond memories of the message it conveys. … read more
Comedy: Marc Maron @ Wiseguys 01.14
To say that I’ve been waiting to have comedian Marc Maron tell me he loves me for ten years would be an understatement. It’s closer to fifteen—ever since I first saw him on TV. … read more
C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters @ Kingsbury Hall 01.28
If you’re familiar with the work of C.S. Lewis, then you’ve heard of The Screwtape Letters. It’s a classic tome based on a figurative book written by two demons. … read more
Mike Doughty: Book of Drugs Tour @ State Room 04.02
Mike Doughty was a mainstay of the pop rock scene in the ‘90s through his band Soul Coughing, but he doesn’t want to talk about that … but he kind of will on his latest tour as he plays his music and reads from his new book. … read more
Strung Out @ Bar Deluxe 08.17
It always seems like a bit of a publicity stunt to see a band rehash old material for a special run—It can come off as exploitative. However, I wholeheartedly embraced when Strung Out came back by with their mid-to-late-’90s albums, Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues and Twisted by Design. So did all my friends from the same era. Almost every song elicited a huge applause, and the good ol-fashioned mosh pit was full of slam dancers practicing the ancient art of controlled collisions. … read more
School of Seven Bells @ Urban Lounge 09.01
Unlike most shows at this venue, the crowd was not speaking in the wings, but corralled into “The Holding Pen,” as I like to call the rail-lined dance floor in front of the stage, and hanging on every extended vocal harmony that Deheza began and finished. She is as good as she ever was. … read more
What a Splendid Morning for Zombie Stroll
What Sunday street spectacle would creep out a Salt LakeCity resident�more than any other? If you said “a gaypride parade” then you probably think that a gun rack isan essential car accessory and you’re voting for McCain.Speaking of pasty-faced people who speak incoherentlyand walk stiffly, want to know what would really freak meout? … read more
Localized: Knoitalls, The Bad Apples and Kinnetik – October 2008
In a small space (close to 9th and 9th) in Salt Lake City sits Bad Apples headquarters and home of Penalty Box Records. … read more
Music Is Not A Commodity, It’s an Art. Pseudo Recordings...
Maintaining anything in the local music scene can be tough for most people. … read more
Fashion Renegade: The Fabulous Life of Jared Gold
Perhaps you’ve heard about his jeweled cockroaches and about the Black Chandelier boutique. Or maybe you’ve heard talk about that one runway show that floored the fashionistas in the old Grand Hall Train Station for his Caspian runway Collection. Regardless, you’ve definitely heard about him: fashion designer Jared Gold. … read more
Screwed and Tattooed, Six Ways ’til Sunday: The 6th Annual...
The telltale whir of many tattoo machines, a New York accent echoing on a PA and mariachi music (if you’re lucky) greet you upon entering Salt Lake City’s tattoo show. … read more
Localized: The Tiney Lights, Blue Sunshine Soul, The Naked Eyes
Locals The Tiney Lights, Blue Sunshine Soul and The Naked Eyes have been recording and writing (respectively) in their basements for the last few years.
Come see what we’ve unearthed for April’s Localized at the Urban Lounge. … read more
The Re-Emergence of the Funkiest Thing Since P-Funk: The Funkman...
Del, Deltron, The Funky (or Funkee) Homosapien. Maybe too many names for one man, but he wears them all with panache … “You can just call me Del, man.” … read more
Black Boxes: Transmitting From the Bottom of the Sole with...
When they aren’t busy wrapping shoes to please their customers, the gentlemen behind local shoe company Zuriick are doing what they do best. “We basically hang out, drink a lot, and come up with designs,” says co-partner Chad Tovey. … read more
The Used: Fuck You Cakes and French Movies
Say what you will about Orem’s The Used, but I have a small place in my heart for the first local band I ever interviewed on air and the first rock band to really “make it big” outside this small bubble. The last time we spoke, it was to reminisce about Asian massage parlors on Pico and Bundy (no shit). This time it was a bit more professional. … read more
Spinnerette: Changing in a Big Way
Spinnerette’s first album opens with erraticly grunged-up guitar and the unmistakable voice of frontwoman Brody Dalle letting you know she’s just a “girl out looking for love.” Before you react with your preconceived notions about what that might mean, she’s a lot more settled down than her lyrics and image might suggest. … read more
Andy Patterson
After drumming around the world with the likes of Shelter and Inside Out, Andy Patterson started recording and using some of the same mantras he learned while on the road back in the studio. His near-constant work and resume that reads hundreds of projects long has led to Patterson garnering respect not only in Utah, but all over the world. … read more
Gaza: Shouting from Soapbox Tops
Gaza is not an “anti-“ band. Anti-religion or anti-Mormon, anti-meat or anti-you, Gaza is more about things than against them. … read more
National CD Reviews – November 2009
National music reviews from Brother Ali, Devendra Banhardt, Fuck Buttons, The Gossip, Immortal, Jookabox, Lewd Acts, The Raveonettes, Sea Wolf, Strike Anyhwere, White Denim and many more. … read more
Grudge City Activities
The Summer of 2008 was difficult on the hardcore community in Utah. There wasn’t much left of a scene that was once packed with fans, musicians, and genuine veterans of the movement. Trevor Hale (Cherem, Tamerlane), Dan Fletcher (Skeiff d’ Bargg, City to City, First Blood), and Sias Parsons all agreed on that point. The
Rhett Barney: Man With Balls will March in March
Total paralysis, deaths of lovers and painful memories have thwarted Utahn Rhett Barney’s step before, but he’s still here, feet tapping with impatience. When Barney leans over a coffee table to stare me dead in the eye and say that he’s going to Washington to “change this fucking law,” well, I believe him. Barney, a well-known Salt Lake City retail fixture for 40 years, is angry, and he wants us to know about it. … read more
Bayou Brewology
It is widely understood that Utah would be a dimmer place for beer drinkers if the Bayou’s 30 drafts and 239 bottled beers were unavailable. Lately, they’ve been making things much brighter, with a new mixed-beer menu that expands on ideas like the classic Black and Tan (Guinness and lager). Contemporary beer blends, with names like “Chocolate Covered Cherry” and “Hummingbird Water,” have been sharing menu space with mixed brews like “Dirty Hoe” since January of this year. … read more
A Tale of Two Textiles: Copper Palate Press Prints on...
Create a design, apply photo emulsifier onto a screen, attach the design, shoot super-powered light at it, rinse the screen off and start applying paint through the holes the photo emulsifier made: that’s the most basic story of screen printing. But there’s more to the tale for a local woodcut and screenprint artists’ studio: “The goal of art, with all of us, is to communicate with an audience and to make an impression on people,” Cameron Bentley says. … read more
Localized – The Daniel Day Trio, Night Sweats and John-Ross...
If there’s a better way to end a year than with a killer show, SLUG knows it not. We’re fucking slaying it with three amazing local groups for December’s Localized. The talent ranges from the acoustic to the dark neo-new-wave and to the eclectically electric jazz. On December 10, John-Ross Boyce & His Troubles will open the show with Night Sweats and The Daniel Day Trio headlining an end-of-decade show unlike any other. … read more
Top 5: Beats Antique
Music sometimes described as “belly dance” can be immediately off-putting to listeners bred on a steady diet of rock or dance. Fortunately for fans of the unique, San Fransisco’s Beats Antique carry everything you need in their packs: touches of North African Raï, Bedouin melodies and healthy doses of dubstep. Blind Threshold lends itself to breakdance moves more than any other form of old school technique. … read more
Local Reviews: The Archer’s Apple
Many a local band in Salt Lake City is starting to sound like they’re from Oklahoma. For the record: I once lived in the Midwest and it’s a shitty part of the country. … read more
Localized: DJ Knucklz
SLUG Magazine celebrates 22 years at this month’s Localized music showcase! It’s not unusual to find DJ Knucklz behind the tables on any given night of the week. The Salt Lake City based DJ holds residencies in Salt Lake City and in Park City and often plays snowboarding competition after-parties. When he’s not rocking crowds of skiers and snowboarders, he’s often teaching kids in afterschool skateboard and music producing programs. … read more
Blue Boutique
Blue Boutique is one of the oldest and best lingerie/adult novelty shops in Utah. Walking into any of their four locations is like stepping into a casino in Vegas minus the drunk smokers, and with some extra sexy thrown in the mix. Longtime buyer Dionn Nielsen has been working with the shop since 1989, as long as SLUG has been around, and she still loves her job.Despite a move that hurt the business, and the initial protests over their new location, Blue Boutique has continued to thrive. … read more
State Room
Darin Piccoli and Chris Mautz moved to Utah in the late ‘90s and both quickly fell into the roles of local concert promoters, booking for events like the Red Butte and Snowbird concert series as well as the Utah Arts Festival. Both were “avid concert-goers” when they moved to Utah and turned their growing expertise into a physical reality with The State Room’s grand opening on April 1, 2009. … read more
I Want to Live at SXSW
Every March, musicians, journalists, photographers and industry types descend upon the city of Austin for nearly a week of non-stop music. When music oozes out of everywhere, it’s hard to find something that you don’t like. Mediocre performances are forgotten in the sea of awesome. … read more
Graywhale: The 25-Year-Old Local Music Mammal
Graywhale is one of the most successful music stores to ever open in Utah—with seven locations ranging from Ogden to Orem. Currently headed by Jon Tueller, Dustin Hansen and Daryl Shieving, the company has been selling new and used CDs and records since 1986. They, like other small music stores, continue to invest in the media that most big-box chains like Walmart and Best Buy are phasing out. … read more
High Octane Meets High Point: Wasatch’s Devastator Race Car
Jon Lee is an adrenaline junkie and self-described former “snow bum” who cut his teeth boarding fast in the Wasatch Range and the Rockies. As head brewer at the Utah Brewers Cooperative (which combines the talents of Wasatch and Squatters under one roof), Lee splits his time crafting award-winning beers and driving number 93—The Devastator—named after the popular Wasatch label brew. … read more
Cupcake Social Code with Frosty Darling
Cupcakes, kids and cuteness—the holy trinity of a good time is happening once again at Frosty Darling on Friday, July 29, for their fifth annual Frosty Darling Cupcake Social (177 East Broadway). This event will provide everything you’ve had in years past at the super-cute boutique, like the cupcake walk and cupcake decorating, but owner Gentry Blackburn is giving the format a shot in the arm with a new coloring book challenge and live music from Heber’s Holy Water Buffalo. … read more
CLC Artist: Reclaimed Wreckage
Store-bought bags could not withstand Captain Chaos, the son of Reclaimed Wreckage’s Chris and Lisa Brown. Lisa started looking to discarded byproducts as a cost-effective, durable material and solution for her own bags. Made from abandoned tractor tire tubes, their bags sport rivets, satin-lined interiors and zippers. Lisa has expanded even more into upcycled vinyl product creation, including earrings and other accessories. … read more
Pago: Sustainability, In-Field Dining & The Future of Farming for...
Behind an average yet well kept house near the suburban Sugarhouse district of Salt Lake City sits a micro-farm, or “hobby farm,” as owner Scott Evans puts it. Since May 2009, Evans has been enacting what is increasingly more commonplace in other, more food-forward cities like San Francisco and Portland—an almost entirely locally sustained restaurant where in the summertime, “85 percent to 95 percent of the food is sourced locally,” says Evans. … read more
Godina
If it’s nighttime in Salt Lake City, Justin Godina is working hard on some Technics—either DJing as he does at residencies, six nights out of the week, or in his basement fixing the broken mechanisms that make the workhorse tables of the industry tick. His instrument is the 1200s, and he’s known as the “Mad Scientist of the 1200s,” after the infamous Technics SL-1200 turntables that he both plays on as a DJ and repairs as a hobby. … read more