June 2012
Movie Reviews – June 2012
The Avengers, Battleship, Dark Shadows, The Dictator and Safety Not Guaranteed are reviewed this month. … read more
National Music Reviews – June 2012
New releases from Allah-Lahs, Andre Williams & The Sadies, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Burzum, Dntel, Gossip, Here We Go Magic, Hot Water Music, Jack White, Marduk, The Melvins, Sleep, Ty Segall & White Fence, and many, many more are reviewed. … read more
Torche Song Trilogy: Drummer Rick Smith is Homeless and Happy
Beginning with 2008’s Meanderthal and continuing with the band’s newest release, Harmonicraft, Torche has steadily written material that has more in common with Led Zeppelin than with Black Sabbath. “We get a lot of shit for not being as ‘heavy’ as we used to be,” says drummer Rick Smith. “Not everyone is supposed to like your band.” … read more
Localized – Staks O’Lee, Puddle Mountain Ramblers and Ugly Valley...
Roots music has always had a strong foothold in Salt Lake. With our rural history and independent spirit, folk, bluegrass, blues and country have all found a home here. We’re lucky enough to have the rough and gruff, down and dirty Ugly Valley Boys and the cotton lickin’, finger pickin’ Puddle Mountain Ramblers on June 8 for Localized this month at Urban Lounge with opener Staks O’Lee. … read more
The True Skateboarders Behind Blood Wizard
There are people who ride skateboards, and then there are skateboarders. It sounds redundant, but it’s true. Toad is a true skateboarder. Toad’s been around since the “back-in-the-day” days and still skateboards. Toad is the kind of person skateboarders want to run skateboard companies. Luckily for us skateboarders, in the year of our lord 2012, we have Blood Wizard Skateboards. … read more
Local Reviews: Despite Despair / Gunner
Squealing guitars and gritty breakdowns dot the mathcore landscape of this local split, which showcases two bands with similar influences to create undeniably different, but thematically similar music. Despite Despair begins with “Elohim,” a short track which starts slow and somber, with twangy, dissonant grooves reminiscent of Pelican’s Australasia. … read more
Birdbrain Press: We Can Do It… So Can You!
The Alt Press Fest is a yearly celebration of local zinesters, printmakers and artists who embrace the DIY ethic of creating and sharing their work. SLUG asked Alt Press Fest participants Birdbrain Press to share their creative process with us. They can do it… so can you! … read more
Local Reviews: Dirtbags Don’t Die
Dirtbags Don’t Die reminds me of those Hellcat Records compilations, Give ‘Em the Boot, which were full of all sorts of punk, hardcore, ska and a ton of other genres. Dirtbags Don’t Die can blast out top-notch punk rock, like on “Suckerpunch,” and the next thing you know, they’re seamlessly slipping into a laid-back ska tune like “I Remember.” … read more
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Letterpressed with Love: The Mandate Press
Ben Webster, who founded The Mandate Press in 2004, studied graphic design in college, graduated to land a job working in a modern print shop helping with pre-press, and eventually took a letterpress class through the University of Utah’s Book Arts Program. “The appeal is that impression, that tactile quality,” he says. “You experience something that has been letterpressed: You can see it, you can feel it—it has some character to it. It has some soul.” … read more
It’s a Short Way to the Top: The Rooftop Concert...
Three years ago, Wiley, Mindy Gledhill, Courtney Kendrick and Justin Hackworth sat in a meeting with the town’s Cultural Awareness Committee to discuss how they could make downtown Provo more vibrant. The result is The Rooftop Concert Series, thrown on the first Friday of the month from May to October on a parking garage. “It’s unique. It’s the only rooftop concert we know of. It’s also really beautiful—you have the backdrop of the mountains behind it all,” says Hackworth. … read more
SB Dance: Body Movin’ on a Meat Hook
Stephen Brown Dance Company has operated outside contemporary norms for 15 years, breaking down expectations and throwing in theatrics to keep audiences on their toes. By offering an interesting combination of modern dance and performance art, SB Dance brings in an almost otherworldly quality to each of their shows. SLUG sat down with the founder and director of SB Dance, Stephen Brown, to discuss his latest production, Of Meat & Marrow. … read more
Local Reviews: Doomed to Extinction
This is a batch of three recording sessions slapped onto one CD-R from a salty trio of grindcrushers, all captured (as the title suggests) in Raunch’s back room. Doomed to Extinction cops their name from a killer Disrupt cut, and the nominal homage lends a solid, sonic reference point for the liminal space they occupy, like crud under a toenail, ’tween grind, crust and sludge. … read more
