Authors: Cody Hudson
CLC Artist: Nic Annette Miller
Ogden-born Nic Annette Miller has been practicing her humane alternative to taxidermy for just two years now. After adopting her collie companion Sheila during her senior year of school at Utah State University (where she double majored in Design and Printmaking), Miller felt compelled to go vegetarian and inspired to take her jigsaw to some birch. “‘Save a Deer, Buy a Print,’ is kind of the concept.” Miller says. … read more
Avi Buffalo: What’s In It for Avi?
Rock n’ roll and youth go together better than poofy pants, glow sticks and shitty electronic music. When you’re young, your liver can deal with the large amounts of alcohol you push through it, and you’re still pretty attractive even if you’re ugly, especially when you can play an instrument. The kids in Avi Buffalo certainly still have their youth, and after touring with Japandroids, Rogue Wave and Modest Mouse this year, it seems they have the rock n’ roll part down as well. … read more
Top 5: Ariel Pink
Ariel Pink is a scary, bat-shit insane homeless man residing in an old abandoned tunnel of reverb. His albums have always been speckled with moments of lucidity and genius, but good portions were just homeless rambling. This time he was given a budget and a producer, who took a cheesecloth and chinois and strained out all of the bad acid vibes. … read more
Slowtrain
Since 2006, Slowtrain has been a fixture on Broadway (300 S.). Through a blog, Twitter, newsletter and Facebook, they keep their customers in constant contact, which may be the key to their success. Apart from their social networking, Slowtrain has also put on some really good shows (the majority of them free) that undoubtedly inspired loyalty amongst local audiophiles. Slowtrain’s ncredible level of involvement with local music has made it an indispensible local feature. … read more
Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour: A Little Bit of Magic
Founded by a group of old high school friends in 1991 the Athens-based Elephant 6 Collective had actually become commercially viable by the mid ‘90s. Featuring bands such as Of Montreal, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Apples In Stereo, The Gerbils, The Music Tapes and Elf Power, Elephant 6 has had a pretty sizeable impact on indie music. Now it is 2011, and we get to enjoy another reunion tour. … read more
CLC Artist: Evan Jed Memmott
A first time Craft Lake City artist, Memmott’s work is on the pop art end of the spectrum and heavy on appropriation—think sci-fi/comic book nerd Andy Warhol. The subject matter ranges from sci-fi stuff (including pretty sweet Star Trek: DSN Quark and Star Trek: TNG Worf masks) to his Utah history inspired work. … read more
Ty Segall: Riding a Wave of 7 Inches and Tape...
Since 2005, Ty Segall has been leaving his dirty, tape-delayed impression on vinyl, originally with Epsilons, then Party Fowl, followed by The Traditional Fools, The Perverts and even Sic Alps. Most notably, however, he has released his music under his own name, with four full-length albums and countless 7”s. Over the last few years his sound has matured, trading in undirected aggression for a much more calculated, noisier sound. … read more
Xiu Xiu: Noise Pop, Sex Cams and Water Play
Xiu Xiu has been a facet of the indie music scene for nearly a decade, and has never ceased to be interesting. With work that ranges from morose and purposefully uncomfortable, to noise pop masterwork, Xiu Xiu continues to build a following. With their newest album, Always, coming out March 6, singer/songwriter Jamie Stewart set aside some time to discuss the album, piracy and water play. … read more
Crystal Castles: Catharsis Incarnate
Crystal Castles came out of nowhere. The music alternates between despondent and fierce, often finding a middle ground between the two. Lead singer Alice Glass growls and shrieks over Ethan Kath’s instrumentals (which are generally somewhere between 8-bit Nintendo music and a car commercial), and the result is incredible. The live show is tempestuous and infinitely stimulating—imagine Iggy Pop as the hypeman at a Justice show. They strive for abrasive and bleak, but neither is overdone. … read more
Top 5: Japandroids
Celebration Rock is the musical equivalent of getting shitfaced with your friends and talking about past successes or ex-girlfriends, ending the night with drunken optimism about the future. Somewhere between post-rock and pop-punk, they are never trying too hard to be cool—it all seems genuine. … read more