Music
Massive Nights: An Interview with Tad Kubler of the Hold...
This past March, The Hold Steady released their sixth studio album, a 10-track scorcher titled Teeth Dreams. Since then, they’ve embarked on a globe-spanning tour that will make a stop at our own Urban Lounge in mid-July. SLUG Magazine caught up with lead guitarist and founding member Tad Kubler to talk about the new record, recent lineup changes and to ask about what’s influencing them these days. … read more
The Hunter: UZALA Track Down Aficionados Across the Globe
I had been listening to UZALA’s recordings online for three days by the time I was speaking on the phone with guitarist and vocalist Chad Remains to get the resolute details of his experience with this band, a proxy for doom. While traversing a sunny community garden, I could feel the weight of introspection speaking to me. Not unlike the physical scene I was part of, Remains was warm but with a shroud of gloom. In preparation for their upcoming Bar Deluxe show on July 14, I grilled him with some questions about his perspective on the last five years as a band. … read more
The Kids Are All Right: The 801 Sessions
801 Sessions is an entirely youth-run music production company, formerly known as Spy Hop Records. 801 Sessions consists of a group of students attending Spy Hop Productions—a nonprofit youth media organization who puts on their own shows every third Wednesday at The Shred Shed. The students find the bands, do all of the promotion, run the sound, the cameras and the lights, and then edit and mix the live footage into one well-composed video that they share online. … read more
Natural Causes: An Interview with Wolvserpent
When I think of Idaho, I am reminded of giddy little trips to the nearest state border from Logan, Utah, to buy Mickey’s 40 ounces and clove cigarettes, marveling at the porn selection available only minutes away. Little did I know that, as I was stocking up on forbidden fruit for bacchanal weekends, a serpent was tempting two talented musicians with visions of doom and drone. Wolvserpent, a two-piece based out of Boise, consists of Blake Green (vocals and guitars) and Brittany McConnell (drums and violin). They return to SLC on July 24 to play at Urban Lounge. … read more
Bastard Feast: Kicking You While You’re Down
Portland’s Bastard Feast, formerly Elitist, have opened a lot of doors for themselves in the year and a half of their existence. Their debut record as Bastard Feast, Osculum Infame, drops on July 22, and if you’re into heavy, aggressive, hateful metal, you should not only pick up the album when it’s released, but trudge down to The Shred Shed on Monday, July 7, to be sonically abused in the best possible way. … read more
Punk’s Dead? An interview with Director James Merendino and a...
The cult-like following behind James Merendino’s film SLC Punk! is somewhat legendary among those who participate or are even aware of the subculture. Even during my travels, whenever I mention that I live in Salt Lake City, two things are always asked. One—Am I Mormon, and two—is SLC like the movie? Needless to say it has become a classic. … read more
EMA opens the Satellites for SLC: An Interview with Erika...
Despite the themes of disassociation and anxiety that she explores on her recent album The Future’s Void, Erika M. Anderson—otherwise known as EMA—is looking forward to connecting with her fans in Salt Lake. Before kicking off her tour, Anderson took some time during a rainy Portland afternoon to chat with us about virtual reality, H.P. Lovecraft, and the all-seeing eye of social media. … read more
Momentum Of Sound: An Interview with Michael Gira of Swans
I recently described the sound of a Swans record to a friend as being between that of a great mythological beast crashing toward the ocean while the sun explodes, and the feeling of absolute awe—articulated through volume. The experience of listening to their music is a potentially immersive one for the listener, where it is absolutely possible to become lost within an expanding perception of time and one’s surroundings. To Be Kind, Swans’ third album since regrouping in 2010, came out May 12. … read more
Who is the Penguin Lady? Interview with Natosha Washington
Ten years later the Penguin Lady is working in an entirely different vein. I am sitting on the edge of a black box theater inside Judge Memorial Catholic High School. Natosha Washington is next to me casually watching her troupe rehearsing a series of dances they’ll perform at the Rose Wagner this September. … read more
CHiT CHAT WiFF RiFF RAFF
SLUG: If you were playing basketball with President Obama and you had the opportunity to dunk on him, would you hesitate to do it out of respect for the office?
RiFF RAFF: I would super dunk 370
… read more