Localized

SLUG’s very own Jessica Davis will celebrate her twenty-first birthday at this month’s Localized with The Broken Spells and her solo project, S.L.F.M. Local favorites Tolchock Trio will kick off the event on September 17 for just $5 at Urban Lounge.

S.L.F.M.
Jessica Davis – Ukulele, Vocals

With a moustache that is thicker and bigger than mine, solo artist Jessica Davis of S.L.F.M. tells me, “Moustaches are just an idea that I enjoy. [The appeal] basically comes from villains, cowboys, sexy men on [the covers of] ridiculous novels, spies and disguises.” I have a strong suspicion that Davis’ ‘stache doesn’t grow naturally—seeing as how she is a charming young woman with a knack for writing love songs. Acquired facial hair notwithstanding, S.L.F.M. is a burgeoning local artist whom you may have seen busking around Salt Lake with her distorted ukulele.

S.L.F.M. began almost two years ago. Davis says, “I bought a ukulele, I had keyboards and I started playing as S.L.F.M. … And then the keyboards faded out because I’m lazy and don’t like to carry all that shit around.” She desired to create a sound that she considers to be new and different: She uses a distortion pedal that her dad gave her from when he played guitar. Not only does she add effects to the already uncommon ukulele, but she plays it differently than most ukulele artists do—“I just play it fast,” says Davis. Though her speedy technique has led to others’ delineations of her work as ‘uke-thrash’ and ‘uku-wailing,’ S.L.F.M.’s dulcet singing flows above and dips into the polyphonic ridge-rhythms of her instrument.

At the same time, Davis cannot help but indulge in a tad of cacophony. Davis says, “With some of the newer [songs], I push myself to yell or scream sometimes, and a lot of times, people just don’t expect that and it’s cool to see their faces—‘What is that noise coming from that girl?’” S.L.F.M. has played Velour, Farmer’s Market and in and around The Green Ant, to mention a couple spots. She can virtually play anywhere with power outlets because her amp has a P.A. system in it. She says, “I can just plug in my amp and my vocals and I don’t need anybody. Street shows have been good.”

Davis draws her influences from big names like Tune-Yards, NOBUNNY and CocoRosie, and local acts such as The Broken Spells, Tambourine Death Squad and Tolchock Trio. But part of S.L.F.M.’s allure is Davis’ willful submergence into random worlds and skewed conventions in love. Her song, “Adventure, We Go” is a song about adventuring in an effort to counter the norms of society. She says, “I’ll be the one that saves the knight from the evil damsel in distress. It’s what’s expected in loves stories: The man is there to save the woman, but did you ever think that the man has been trapped by this woman?” Davis’ poetic investigation of adventure has led her to yearn for it. Thus, SLUG Localized will only be a stop in a tour S.L.F.M. will do with Boots to the Moon—who also has a moustache. They’ll head in from Colorado, go up in the Northwest, down through California, and end up someplace in between California and Utah—“I’m not quite sure where yet… [But] I need to adventure.” says Davis, “Now!”

Oh, and I’m sure you’re wondering what S.L.F.M. stands for. I’m not going to tell you. Davis won’t either: “I can’t tell you what the name is because it’s a secret … You have to guess it to be in the club because, technically, it’s a club as well as a musical project. You get a club card.” So put on your thinking caps because you only have a few more days to get into the club before S.L.F.M. adventures away after Localized. Here’s a clue from Davis: “I like moustaches.”

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