Vocalist Dez Fafara has been a staple of the heavy music scene for going on 20 years now, and the man is a prolific music-making machine. He is the head of nu-metal giants Coal Chamber (who have just returned from a hiatus most fans thought would be permanent), as well as helming DevilDriver, the “California Groove Machine” of melodic death metal that defies boundaries and expectations, and contributing to a myriad of other projects with members of bands from all over the heavy music spectrum. SLUG sat down with Fafara as he runs his latest press gauntlet in support of DevilDriver’s upcoming release, Winter Kills, to talk about this new rebirth for his band and discover his unique inspirations and challenges as an artist. … read more
Pitchfork Music Festival 2013
Another Pitchfork Music Festival has come and gone, leaving in its summer wake a fantastic tangle of performances, pictures, #hashtags, tweets, Instagrams and glistening memories. … read more
David Bazan @ Big Cartel 07.23
Seeing someone I’ve admired from afar in such a cozy setting came welcome, as Tuesday night I found myself in a room with David Bazan no more than 15 feet away, sharing the space with around 50 people for his Living Room Tour at The Big Cartel. … read more
Let The Dance Begin: NOW Dance Company Performs The Wedding
On Friday and Saturday, July 26 and 27, NOW Dance Company officially launched its career with a performance of The Wedding, held in the Salt Lake Masonic Temple ballroom. NOW was formed by Charlotte Boye-Christensen in collaboration with her partner/husband Nathan Webster. Boye-Christensen recently departed from the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, after serving for several years as artistic director. … read more
Adam Ant @ The Complex 07.23 with Prima Donnas
The man is on top of the world on his own terms and he seems happy about it. No bosses. No record labels. No shitty deals and scams. Just a man and his creative will to do something bigger. … read more
Trading Cantos with the Deseret Experimental Opera Company
The term “opera” often brings to mind puffed sleeves and fat ladies, but according to Quebbeman-Turley, that’s not quite what they offer: “We’re using the term ‘opera’ loosely. We don’t use the term in the sense of Wagner or Mozart opera. For us, it’s a work that’s visual, narrative, musical and theatrical all at the same time.” … read more
Parlor Hawk, L’anarchiste, Young & Old @ Velour 07.26
I learned two valuable lessons in my adventure to Provo’s Velour on Friday night. The first, with Velour shows, the opening acts are often just as impressive as the headliner … So, be there at 8, when doors open. The second: You can’t just park wherever the fuck you want in Provo, even if it is a deserted bank well after business hours. … read more
Italian Vegan with Amanda Eats SLC
For the past few of years, Amanda Rock has been Salt Lake’s hype-lady for all things vegan and vegetarian in Salt Lake City. … read more
Spitting Iconic Fire
“We have so many good nights out with our friends, we write about when we have so much fun that we never want the night to end. You love your friends and you kind of just want them to feel what you feel,” Caroline Hjelt says of the inspiration behind the killer, upbeat dance tracks that the Swedish pop duo Icona Pop has been producing over the last few years. … read more
Soft Metals @ Kilby Court 07.31 with Beachmen, Kyle Luntz
Portland’s electronic pop duo Soft Metals, after a recent move to L.A., have just released their second full-length album, Lenses, on Brooklyn’s Captured Tracks imprint and have embarked on a massive American tour to support it. They played a short but entrancing set last Wednesday at Kilby Court. … read more
Gogol Bordello, VIZA @ In the Venue 08.05
The lights went out and the stage was flooded with blue light. Then, I saw the silhouetted figure of Eugene Hütz, followed by the rest of Gogol Bordello, walk out on the stage and take their places. Hütz started singing into the mic and with compliance from the audience and the rest of the band, Gogol lit up the stage with “Wanderlust King.” From then on, the madness continued throughout. … read more
RUSH @ USANA 07.31
Nearly 20,000 faithful devotees put their lives on hold Wednesday night to gather together in a very large venue to sing praises to three men whom many hold in near diety status: the RUSH concert at USANA Amphitheater. … read more
