SLUG Mag Soundwaves

On this episode of Soundwaves we speak with the local artist responsible for the cover of this month’s issue, chat with a member of MakingFuck about music and hear tunes from local bands that will be playing SLUG’s 25th Anniversary Party. - Sean Hennefer is a local musician turned artist whose creativity produced the cover for SLUG’s 25th Anniversary Issue. He discusses the inspiration behind his oil painting “The Great Catsby” and the blossoming art scene here in Salt Lake City. Check out Sean’s work by picking up the newest issue of SLUG any place cool! - Visigoth are a local, 5-piece band of epic proportions whose brand of heavy metal is fast, loud and reminiscent of power ballads from the 1980s. “Creature Of Desire” is sure to have you headbanging and hairi-caining. - Like a shotgun blast to the face, The Obliterate Plague has been splattering skull fragments and brain matter with heavy blastbeats, unrelenting guitar riffs and satanic vocals since 1999. Their “Summoning Of The Dark Lords” is nothing short of terrifying. - MakingFuck’s music doesn’t follow conventional means. Lead guitarist and vocalist, Kory Quist, speaks on casting music theory and timing aside and why pairing a cello with heavy guitar and slow, hardhitting drums makes their take on sludge metal a dark and chilling trip

Film Festival season has already come and gone. Were you lucky enough to make it to a premiere? If you missed out it’s okay, SLUG was at both Slamdance and Sundance to give you scathing opinions on upcoming films and educated insight into what was worth a damn on episode 135 of Soundwaves. - Slamdance is a smaller festival with an intimate feel, providing independent filmmakers the chance premiere their work to other independent filmmakers. SLUG Editorial Assistant Alexander Ortega and Senior Writer John Ford discuss their favorites from the weeklong film gala. - The Devil Makes Three recently passed through to play shows in Salt Lake and the Sundance Film Festival. Check out their song “Worse or Better” on this episode of Soundwaves! - 20,000 Days on Earth gives you a look into a day of the iconic alternative rock star, Nick Cave. Using voice-overs, live performances and sessions from his home, filmmakers were able to create a story about Cave’s creative process. Listen to the title track for the film, “Push The Sky Away” on episode 135 of Soundwaves. - Managing Editor Esther Meroño, Film Critic Jimmy Martin and Digital Content Coordinator Cody Kirkland were on hand to give exclusive SLUG coverage of the Sundance Film Festival.  Our host Dan Nailen, chats with fellow SLUGgers about memorable, and forgettable, films at the popular festival.   

On episode 134 of Soundwaves from the Underground, SLUG chats with local and distant illustrators to find out exactly what inspires them and what kind of careers are available to cartoonists. - Often dealing with romance and bad luck, Liz Prince has a way of relating to readers through her comics. Her newest book, Alone Forever, deals with love, relationships, their eventual demise and the other problems that we, as humans, are bound to face. - Dave Chisholm is both a comic book artist and an experienced musician. He was the mind behind “Let’s Go To Utah,” and since leaving the Beehive State to pursue higher education in New York, has collaborated with several groups. Last year Dave released an album with his jazz band, Colossus. Check out the track “Science Adventure” from their self-titled release on this episode of Soundwaves. - Never one to limit himself to only a single form of expression, Dave Chisholm also releases music as a self-titled composer. This blend of jazz is more subtle and ethereal than his other projects, but is just as gripping. “Whisper,” from his 2011 release, Calligraphy, is a chilling walk through an array of sorrowful and wounded instrumentals. - Derek Hunter, another cartoonist/musician from the valley, has found a career in cartoon illustration. His most current work includes backgrounds for Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time and various other creations for companies like Mattel, Disney and MTV Films. Despite keeping busy with his career, Derek also finds time to create original pieces for his website, PirateClub.com.

When dealing with a climate which can only be described as bi-polar there are two things that are essential: food and liquor. Our local food and drink gurus grace us with their presence and share the best places to drink and eat away your seasonal depression on episode 133 of SLUG Soundwaves. - With 85+ sushi joints in the valley, tracking down the best can be a daunting task but thankfully, we have Jeffery from Yelp to do all the hard work for us.  Jeffery knows where to find the tastiest and freshest raw fish dishes here in Salt Lake and we were lucky enough to have him stop by the studio to impart his food-wisdom upon us. - Tolchock Trio, contradictory to their name, were a local four piece who in their 13 years saw a lot of line up changes but managed to break the “Salt Lake Curse” and remain together after gaining popularity. Each member continues to please the Salt Lake masses through a different medium these days as they are all working in the local food industry at fine establishments such as Eva and Takashi. Check out the track, “Hornets” from their 2005 release, Ghosts Don’t Have Bones on this episode of Soundwaves. - Need some feel good tunes? Wildcat Strike are a group of dudes who pour their time and souls into music and it’s hard not to notice the passion they have when it comes to life through their work. Their self-titled debut is marked with pleasant piano and dreamy guitar, but don’t forget that these guys still know how to rock and roll when you listen to their song, “Beer Pressure.” - Here at SLUG we’re thankful to have Mike Riedel to tell us what to drink. Golden ales, stouts and IPAs, whatever the beverage he has had it and is ready to tell us what he thinks. With local breweries ramping up production to keep us happy during the dreary winter days Mike shares some of his favorites, such as The Hive Winery’s raspberry hard cider and Bohemian’s Smoked Helles.

 Episode 132 of SLUG Soundwaves covers everyone’s favorite beverage: LIQUOR. Dan chats with the proprietors of a new distillery and a new bar found here in Salt Lake City, and we even jam out with some firewater-themed tunes from a couple Utah-local bands. - James Fowler had always been an avid home brewer and decided that if he could make a tasty beer, why not try his hand at whiskey? After studying the art of the still, he enlisted the help of seasoned distiller and liquor master Dan Feldman and got the ball rolling on his grand vision. - The Utah County Swillers are a bunch of good ol’ boys looking for a good time. This “trucker punk” band hails from Springville and aren’t afraid to refer to themselves as hillbillies, but don’t try and act up, these dudes are full of booze and looking to hand out an ass woopin’.  Check out their track “Liquor Store” on this week’s episode of Soundwaves. - Thunderfist started up about 15 years ago, and despite seeing their share of lineup changes and breaks still continue to play local shows and release albums here in Salt Lake City. Their song, “Hit The Bottle Again,” is a fast-paced country style rock and roll anthem that will have you chuggin’ beers and raising hell. - Trace Hegeman and Jason Lacates, owners and operators of Bourbon House, were aiming to create an upscale whiskey bar in the heart of historic downtown Salt Lake City that would cater to anyone looking for fine drink, hearty meal and a welcoming atmosphere when they decided to start work on Whiskey Street. After months of waiting for licenses and repeated attempts to file the proper paperwork, these gentlemen were finally granted the right to serve patrons in their fine establishment.

Soundwaves is back for 2014 with Episode 131. Strap in for another year of podcastin’ with host Dan Nailen and your crew from SLUG Magazine. - The Hopscotch Outreach Arts Foundation have invested their time and effort in the youth of Salt Lake City by offering classes in dance, film, writing and many other forms of alternative art. Founders Monica da Silva and Frazier Tedford explain the importance of educating our youth in these forms of expression while providing a friendly, nurturing atmosphere where kids can engage their creative side and turn their passion into life long skills. - Die Off is a brand new 3 piece that formed over the summer of 2013. Keep your eyes out for these new comers who released a demo back in October, their brand of hardcore is heavy and bouncy with a kiss of southern rock and is nothing short of what you need to act a fool in the pit, brah. - Baby Gurl sounds like they were methodically pieced together in a laboratory, before being raised up high into a tumultuous, stormy sky and brought to life by electricity that etched its way through darkness before finding a way into what was once dead flesh. This experimental rock duo is a monster that will have you grooving to weird, dancy buildups and tearing shit down to loud, funky breakdowns. - Whether you’re crumpin’, popping and locking or two-stepping, The Bboy Federation views all forms of hip-hop and street style dancing as a way not only to express yourself but also as a means to travel the country and make ends meet. Co-founders Josh Perkins and Josie Marie speak on the organizations progress since its inception in 2008 and the BBoy Fed’s upcoming professional stage show which premieres this month.

For those of you who would like to hear all of our picks from Episode #130 (SLUG Staff's 2013 Local Music Picks), here are all six tracks chosen by the editorial staff, our show's producer and host.

 Dan invites five of our rad SLUG staffers into the studio to find out what local bands they have been listening to this year in Salt Lake City’s music scene with a Local Music Roundtable on Episode 130 of SLUG Soundwaves. - Light/Black are a four-piece alternative rock band that formed in April of 2012 and have had our Editor in Chief, Angela Brown swooning ever since. Ethereal vocals and heavy guitar mixed with slow, pounding drums create a humble, spiraling, doom-laden sound that dares to rival the tones of stoner-metal bands from the 90s. - The Pentagraham Crackers are a group of seasoned Salt Lake music scene veterans and their years of combined experience would explain why they have been able to capture such a wonderful sound with their music. These gentlemen put forth sounds like they are from parallel universe where summer never ends and the beer never dries up and that is exactly the kind of place you could find our Digital Content Coordinator, Cody Kirkland. - With so many bands and groups popping up, it’s hard to find music that actually comes from the soul. SLUG’s Managing Editor Esther Merono has fallen in love with The Circulars because they have captured a slowly disappearing romanticism in their music. Their songs bring up wells of emotion not only because it is beautiful, but because you can hear these artist’s passion for their music in every strum, lyric and pounding of the drum. - Cornered By Zombies technical prowess over a guitar and a drum set make them a force to be reckoned with in Salt Lake City’s metal scene. Alexander Ortega, Editorial Assistant at SLUG HQ glorifies this duo because they produce some of the loudest, fastest and technically superb metal in the Valley and they do it without a vocalist or bassist. - Blissfully surreal, Mideau is a pairing of talented musicians who have used their project as a means to produce some of the most incredible indie-pop that has come out of Utah County. Every nuance and word and its presentation is meticulously planned and because of that dedication their final product is a magic that our very own Office Coordinator, Gavin Sheehan can attest to. - The Hollering Pines album Long Nights, Short Lives and Spilled Chances is full of lessons and musings on love and the hardships we all face day to day within ourselves and with those we know and love. Our Soundwaves host, Dan Nailen is privy to the raw, untethered emotion that The Hollering Pines possess with their breathtaking interpretation of the Americana genre.

The snow is still falling outside, so put a little rum in your ‘nog and let Dan Nailen and our guests keep you company with Episode 129 of Soundwaves.  - Even as a young, East Coast greenhorn Cam Pierce wanted to go pro and now that he’s made it he is still driven to learn more and continually evolve as a snowboarder.  Cam shares his story and explains why he doesn’t like to stick to a certain style, but prefers to dabble in the many outlets that the industry has presented him with. - At first you might ask, “What in the fuck are the Rotten Musicians talking about?” Science, video games and other concepts, baby girl. This three-piece nerd rap group will instill knowledge via hot fire spit from their educated lips over funky, philosophical beats in their track “eGGsheLLs” on Episode 129 of Soundwaves. - Hip-hop musicians, lyricists and rhymers have been a part of the Mic Masters Alliance since its establishment in September of 2011. This group brings together local and regional emcees and gives them the opportunity to exhibit the power and complexity of spoken word through competitive rap battles. - Sounding like it could be straight from the soundtrack of an 80s era video game, “Endgame” is a trippy, run and gun romp through the electronic genre. Utah County based producers Ben Q. Best and Karl Jorgensen have been hard at work creating a minimalist, analog blend of tunes that they recently released on Jorgensen’s label, Hel Audio. - The Kid Labs have been very busy creating a place for parents and their children to put aside the hustle of everyday life to come together and learn. Founder, John Hansen speaks on his organization and how it is working to create a place to hold community events that will benefit kids and families in the surrounding area while exposing them to the many forms art and expression that are found right here in the Valley.

The winter is only getting colder as the season stretches on. So while you’re retreating indoors, why not cozy up with our cuddly host Dan Nailen and Episode 128 of Soundwaves From The Underground?  - David Fetzer was an actor, writer and musician whose passing away left not only a void in the hearts of his family and friends but also in the Salt Lake community. David’s mother, Betsey Ross, speaks about David and The Davey Foundation, which helps make artistic grants possible for aspiring artists under the age of 35. - Created in the dust and desert of Moab, Cornered By Zombies are a local two-piece that found a new home in Salt Lake City. These two will thrash their way into your hearts and make it pump the life-blood that is epic, on-point instrumental metal on this week of Soundwaves. - Cookies, cakes and pies, oh shit! Jeffrey from Yelp is back to tell us where you can find the most decadent and delicious snacks, breads and other baked goods to satisfy your holiday treat needs and expand your waistline in Salt Lake City. - Salt Lake’s reach doesn’t stop at the state line. Roach Clip Records, enlisted the fine gentlemen of Canadian band Insufferable Noise Machine to represent the local label with their crazy blend of heavy, teeth shattering noise metal. - Dungeon Recordings was Kevin Cazier’s label for about the last ten years, but he scrapped it when he realized that he wasn’t content with collaborating and performing only a couple genres of music. Kevin speaks about the birth of Roach Clip Records earlier this year and how this project is his way of reaching out to punks, rockers, poets, rhymers, and experimenters and bringing them all under one roof. Something to say? Feel the need call us after one too many whiskey-cokes? Give Soundwaves a call at 858.233.9324 and leave us a voicemail, maybe you'll be featured on an episode.

Dan is back! No need to fret any longer, let his soothing, sensual voice take you on a voyage through this episode of Soundwaves From The Undergound. - The Hive Collection is a group that understands the power of collaboration and have decided to embrace it fully. DJ Decay speaks about this melting pot of filmmakers, DJs, programmers and other electronic and visual entertainers and the performances they have been creating for Salt Lake’s event goers. - Dirty, gritty, lo-fi, blown out and dark only scratches the surface when describing Fossil Arms. This local music duo creates fuzzy, desolate tracks that are teeming with emotion and are guaranteed to have you and your friends gazing at the floor at the next house party/show. - Ryan Hudson says that “snowboarding is an internal battle, progression is all internal.” Ryan shares how he grew up living in severe poverty on the streets of San Diego until he was introduced to the mountains through a youth actions sports program. Since then he moved to Utah for the snow, started shredding and hasn’t looked back since. - The Circulars are a band of musicians who have surrounded themselves with music and people who play it and they find that it is what inspires them the most. Like a slice of 1980s pop-goth gold, this band creates dreamy, dreary jams that draw you in for a ride and leave you wanting more. - ‘Tis the season… for beer drinkin’! Ales, bocks, holiday seasonals and even a beer that kind of tastes like pizza, SLUG’s beer aficionado has you covered on this year’s local Christmas-time brewskis.

On Episode 126 of Soundwaves from the Underground! -Green Day’s wildly popular American Idiot was released in 2004 to critical acclaim. 2010 saw American Idiot come to life on Broadway as a one-act musical. Dan Tracy, an actor on the play’s current run, speaks about the music and events that inspired this production. -The Wasatch Fault are loud, chaotic, complex and beautiful. This special blend of alternative rock has a way of stealing your subconscious with swirling guitar melodies and catchy, danceable riffs. Be careful or these guys will have you daydreaming all day. -The season of Christmas specials and extended commercial breaks is upon us. Turn off the reality TV and let Plan-B Theatre slice you off a piece of nostalgia with Radio Hour 8: Fairyana. Jay Perry and Jason Tatom give us details on this live radio show about a radio show where it’s miscreant writers become possessed by their characters during a holiday special. -Steeped in Americana, The Hollering Pines will pluck at your heartstrings with their twangy guitar and trembling female vocals, making you dream about the past and what could have been. The band toiled for months until releasing their debut album in November: Long Nights, Short Lives and Spilled Chances. -With the sun setting earlier and the nights getting colder, finding events and activities to fill your time with becomes harder, but Jimmy Martin reminds us that Hollywood has our cure for seasonal depression as he discusses this winter season’s upcoming film releases.  

 Ischa B. is at the helm once again and she takes us through Episode 125 of Soundwaves from the Underground! - The U of U design department is offering a course in Product and Industrial Design. Department leaders and instructors are excited to teach new ideas and classes. Even Program Director, Jim Agutter, encourages students, new and current to “come make cool shit.” - Take some speedy riffs, fast drums, creative visions and put it all together. What do you get? Simian Greed. These innovative punks released an EP back in October that comes with crayons and a black and white cover so you can color it however you see fit. Talk about D-OI-Y. - Why sell out when you can just buy in? SLC Punk is due for a sequel and Rancid drummer and executive producer for SLC Punk 2: Punk’s Dead, Branden Steineckert, speaks on building steam and funds for the upcoming film project.  - Who the fuck gets banned from Burt’s Tiki Lounge?! When your music is about breaking all sorts of shit and kicking ass, something is just bound to happen. Ulteriors are a punk five piece that formed earlier this year and if your ears are looking for an ass whoopin’ check these dudes out now. - Burlesque, tarot card readings, snake and belly dancers, magicians, and hypnosis are just a few of the incredible events that are available for booking through Voodoo Productions. Founder, and performer Jennifer Tarasevich gives us the details on why she started the company and how business has been.

 With Ischa B. filling in for Dan Nailen this week, this is what’s in store for episode 124 of Soundwaves From The Underground. - Sketch Sunday brings local artists and the community together in a social setting to watch the creative process take place and celebrate different forms of art and techniques found in Salt Lake City. - La Verkin formed back in late 2012 and since then have been making noise and not giving a fuck. Earlier this year the band released their debut EP, Judge The Judger. - You can take your Veggie Delite and shove it. Jeff from Yelp gives us the mouthwatering lowdown on just about every deli that’s worth a damn in the valley. - Joshua James is a master of slow-paced folk jams, releasing music every year since 2006. His dreamy voice and beautiful music can be all you need to carry you somewhere else for a little while. - Adopt A Native Elder provides food, clothing, medicine, fabrics and other materials to aging Native Americans in Southern Utah and Northern Arizona, so that they may comfortably live out the rest of their days in ways that are still considered to be traditional by their people.

 This week on Episode 123 of Soundwaves From The Underground! -Local musician Lindsay Heath whom is known better for her dark, gothic sounds, is responsible for our new intro and interview segment music you’ll hear on this and future episodes of Soundwaves. - Ever wanted to hit the ones and twos like a pro? Did you ever think, with the proper knowledge that you could be the next track producing, pop culture, shuttershade-wearing songsmith genius? Salt Lake DJ and Production are providing the tools and courses to learn. Max Pain and the Groovies cannot be stopped. After forming in 2009 this band of old friends has been playing weekly showcases and producing gritty, groovy rock ever since and don’t have plans on slowing down. EVER. - You don’t expect anything that comes out of the little, religion-locked nest called Provo and this is especially true with The Moth and The Flame. Currently on tour in Europe, the band released an online-only EP on November 5th which is simply titled, &. -We hope that this Thanksgiving you have someone to break the wishbone with. SLUG Magazine wants to wish everyone a happy holiday and send thanks to everyone who has been listening to us rant and rave for the last two and a half years.