How to handle pushy in-laws

Once you and your spouse have gotten married, you are going to need to learn how to deal with your in-laws. In most cases, in-laws are fine and can be easily handled until a grandchild appears. Problems with pushy in-laws can begin when you are pregnant or they can start after the baby is born. For example, you might find yourself defending future decisions about putting your child into daycare or whether it is best to breast or bottle feed. If you are experiencing these kinds of problems now, you can only imagine what is going to happen once the baby is born. The problem is that if you ignore the behaviors of pushy in-laws while you are pregnant and wait to deal with the problem until later, you will find that the problem quickly got out of hand. The best thing you can do with pushy in-laws is to deal with the problem as soon as it presents itself.

One of the best things that you can do to deal with pushy in-laws is to take charge as early as possible. For example, if your mother-in-law expects to be in the delivery room and you feel otherwise, that needs to be handled right away. Ideally your husband should be the one to talk to his parents about being in the delivery room before the day even arrives, but in some cases that does not happen because of how pushy or controlling your mother-in-law is.
Something else that you can do to help deal with pushy in-laws is to be as polite as possible. There is no sense in causing problems with your in-laws by being rude. You can be both polite and assertive. For example, if you want to spend time alone with your husband and baby on the first day home from the hospital be assertive enough to make your decision known. If you do not act assertively and allow your in-laws to start making your decision, they will continue to make all of the decision. You want to set the pattern and establish the standards from the beginning.
In begin polite you are going to want to tell your in-laws how you feel and then offer other suggestions that can work out better for you and your family. In some cases, your in-laws are going to act upset and hurt to try to get you to change your mind, some might be trying to manipulate you, but most likely, they are hurt and upset. If this happens, you cannot change your mind you need to get tough and stand behind your decision. The best way to deal with this is politely and respectfully, but sometimes you might have to handle it in other ways. The most important thing is to establish who is in control from the beginning.
Another problem that you might face with pushy in-laws is that they just show up whenever they want. This can be a hard thing to handle because it cuts into your family time. To deal with this you need to set some ground rules from the beginning. Your in-laws need to understand that they cannot come and go freely, they need to call ahead of time to see if you are available and if them coming over works for you. Again, you cannot give in or change your plans if they act hurt or upset; you need to set a standard that in time will become a habit.
In-laws can also try to override your decisions that you make, with your spouse or with your children. If they are doing, things that are against your wishes the best thing you can do are have a serious talk with them. Tell them how you feel and that things need to change. If the behavior doesn't change, you may need to limit their contact with your family until their behavior changes. If you take this measure, be sure to tell them why you are limiting their visits, so they change their behavior.

How to not offend family members

In family relationships, some relationships are so strained that you have to worry about your actions. You need to think about you are doing or saying so that you do not offend your family members. In other cases, you might be faced with a conservative family member, who can easily be offended by things that you do or say. In family gatherings, you need to be on your best behavior so that you do not offend family members.

Here are some things that you can do to ensure that you do not offend family members through your actions or words.
Number one: Correcting
If there has been a conflict or something has been done that you do not agree with, you need to take action to talk to the person that was at fault. When talking to that person you want to make sure that you do not blame the person directly for causing the conflict, nor do you want to correct that person. Instead what you need to do is address the act or event that lead to the conflict, you can even correct the act or event that lead up to the issue.
Number two: Respond
When you are talking or discussing a problem with a family member, you need to fully listen and understand what they are saying. While they are talking, you need to avoid planning what you are going to do or say next, instead focus on what they are saying. No matter how tempted you might be, do not interrupt them, and never cut them off in your response. After they are done talking and you have understood what they have said, you can respond to what they have said. When talking to them make sure, you use a normal tone of voice and talk to them in a loving and respectful way.

Number three: Treating people
When dealing with family members you need to remember that you want to treat them the same way that you want to be treated. If you are rude and demeaning to family members you are going to offend them, but you also run the risk of having them treat you rudely. To ensure that you do not offend family members always be polite. Use words and phrases such as please, thank you, I am sorry, I was wrong, I love you, you're welcome, etc.
Number four: Disagreeing
You are not always going to agree with your family members, many times you and your family members are going to disagree about a variety of things. To ensure that you do not offend family members you need to be careful when disagreeing with them. When disagreeing with family members you want to learn how to disagree with them without being disagreeable. The best way to do that is to always be courteous and have good manners. Always make eye contact when you are talking to them and avoid being too blunt and dogmatic. Putting people down for their views is not going to help family members from being offended.
Number five: Talking
When you are talking to family members, you will need to watch what you are saying. You do not want to jump to conclusions because that can cause even more problems. When talking to your family members about something important repeat what was said so that you can verify the accuracy of what you heard. Doing this can also help you to understand what they are trying to tell you and help you talk to them in a way that they can understand. You want to avoid being rash with your words because one wrong word can offend somebody.

Ballet | Company Time: Ballet West dancers create their own new works for Innovations

  Fourteen months ago, when Adam Sklute arrived in Salt Lake City to begin his tenure as Ballet West’s artistic director, he was greeted by an interesting seedling of an idea that had been patiently waiting to sprout. This seedling called for a program of original works choreographed by Ballet West dancers for Ballet West dancers.

Sklute immediately fell in love with the idea—especially when he discovered that the company had not produced a dancer-choreographed program in nine years. “New choreography is so vital. It pushes the art form forward,” Sklute says. “I didn’t have to be asked twice; I was all for it.”

Sklute is a firm believer that every artist has something important to communicate and that it is critical to provide as many outlets as possible for creative expression. “It is not only important to let dancers choreograph their own work,” Sklute explains, “but to be choreographed on. I think every dancer should have the chance to have work created especially with their abilities and unique skills in mind.”

The first stage of planning the dancer-choreographed program—eventually dubbed Innovations—was a call for written applications from Ballet West’s dancers. Sklute initially received nine applications, then narrowed the final number of participants down to three by allowing the six most promising applicants to workshop their pieces with Ballet West’s pre-professional Ballet West II students. Christopher Rudd, Megan Furse and Peggy Dolkas were the artists whom Sklute eventually selected to produce three separate 10-minute world-premiere works. “I wanted to see how the dancers would use the music. I looked for work that was interesting, unique and had something to say,” Sklute says. “I also wanted a well-balanced final program with plenty of contemporary elements.”
Dolkas says that the transition from dancer to choreographer was slightly intimidating but ultimately fun. Her piece—titled “Yes, But How Did You Get There?”—is an abstract exploration of how small, transitional movements impact larger, more dramatic ones. Dolkas explains that her first ballet teacher encouraged her to value every movement, no matter how small. When she began to appreciate the transitional steps as well as large jumps and impressive extensions, she feels that she transitioned from a mere imitator of movement to a true artist.
“For me, music initiates everything,” Dolkas says. “My boyfriend is a DJ, so I decided to have him help me create a soundtrack that has a mix-tape feel.” The resulting score combines samples from the movie Kill Bill, songs from the band The Faint and, according to Dolkas, “this 1950s record for beginning ballet students I found at [Deseret Industries]. It has funny sections and serious sections.”
Dolkas says that she was inspired by choreographer Yuri Killian’s declaration that “everyone has their own ideas about how music passes through the body.” She hopes that her piece will give the audience some insight into the process from learning one’s first barre exercise to blossoming into a seasoned artist.
As the month of May drew near, Sklute decided to open Innovations with James Canfield’s “Equinox,” a well-established piece in Ballet West’s repertory that allows the entire company to participate. Sklute also asked internationally known choreographer Susan Shields to contribute a short work. “I called her up and said, ‘I’m a big fan. Now would you be interested in choreographing something in a really short span of time on a shoestring budget?’ And, of course, she said ‘yes,’” Sklute jokes.
The experimental nature of Innovations made the program a gamble from the onset, but Sklute says that three out of four scheduled performances at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center have already sold out. “I have no idea how the audience is going to respond,” Sklute says. “These pieces are varied, unusual and not lengthy.
“There are so many different styles of music and movement. I think there’s a little something for everyone.”

Maintaining family relationships that are long distance

Nowadays, it is more and more common for jobs, school, or other opportunities and reasons to take a family across the country or even world, leaving the rest of the extended family behind.
Maintaining family relationships that are long distance used to be difficult with just letters and expensive long-distance phone calls. However, there are many things you can do now to make sure your family relationships stay strong, even if you are separated by many miles.

These are just a few of the things you can do:

Get the same cell phone plan.
If you have family members who are scattered across the country, consider all getting on the same cell phone plan. Most carriers offer free mobile-to-mobile minutes to those who have the same cell phone provider. This will allow you to talk as often as you want without having to worry about a huge phone bill. Even if you don't have the same provider, many plans allow you to put "favorites" on your plan, so you can call a certain number of people as much as you want without it counting against your minutes, regardless of what provider they use.

Start a blog.
Blogs are a popular and free way to keep your friends and family updated, no matter where you are. A blog is a journal you can post on the internet. Entries are organized by date, similar to a real journal. You can also post pictures, links, and anything else you want. You can link to the blogs of other family members and friends as well. This is an excellent way to keep your family in the loop even if they are far away. You can also set your blog to private, so only people you invite to see it can have access to the pictures and entries that you post.
Write letters.
Never forget the importance of snail mail--if you have grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and other family members you want to maintain relationships with, don't neglect a handwritten letter or card every now and again. Set up a time or two each month where you all sit down as a family and write letters to family members who live far away. Have kids color pictures if they can't write. Print off photographs and send them as well, so family members can be involved in what you are doing as a family and see how kids are growing.
Remember important events.
You can also maintain long distance family relationships by remembering important events like birthdays or Mother's Day. Send gifts, even if it's just a handmade card or picture, to show them that you love them and are thinking about them. Great gift ideas include family photographs, so your family members have visual reminders of you that they can display in their homes.

Take advantage of technology.
Technological advances have made maintaining relationships with family members long distance easy. Skype, for example, is a service that allows you to call anyone with Skype for free, no matter where in the world they are--you only need a Skype phone. Webcam also makes seeing and talking with family easy. And email will allow you to write letters and send photos as well with the benefit of them being delivered instantly.
It's difficult to be apart from family. But these tips will help you to maintain long distance family relationships.

Dance | Babel On: Forty years after its creation, Tower still resonates with significance.

Posted // September 24,2008 - Imagine a world in which a civilization celebrates its grand achievements by constructing a majestic tower. This tower is meant to represent the beauty of the world in total, a nod to the brilliance of global humanity. Now imagine that tower falling, crashing down from the sky with such force that the Earth itself shifts and quakes. Admittedly there is no way that choreographer Alwin Nikolais could have foreseen an event such as 9/11, a tragedy that is permanently embossed upon our collective psyche. But still, there is something eerily familiar about his 1965 work Tower. With such a powerful image central to the composition, there is no doubt that that a calamitous day in American history will be jarringly evoked as Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company (RWDC) reconstructs this classic piece of dance theatre.
“For me, it is prophetic because, before 9/11, who would have thought that those towers would ever fall?” ponders Joan Woodbury, RWDC co-founder and managing director. “But really, the piece is more about a different kind of tower. This piece has the sense of building this magnificent structure that becomes a modern-day Tower of Babel.”
Throughout the work, each dancer is speaking, ranting and babbling. For the most part, those various utterances remain incoherent, except for the periodic statement, question or command that breaks through all the communal noise, piercing the audience’s individual thought processes. Nikolais was making a statement that we all kind of live our lives alone; we may talk to our neighbors, we may casually engage acquaintances, but half of the time, we don’t even listen to what they say. Nor do we often recognize what we are doing and what profound effect it may have on everything around us.
”I think that’s just it. His point was that everyone is talking at the same time, so no one is listening to each other,” says Woodbury. “It is within that dynamic that they kind of blindly build this incredible tower. At first thought, this tower is this great thing of beauty. It is all so tall and wonderful that they decide to decorate it. Then they decide to throw a grand party inside of it. It is all just too exciting, too amazing.”
But like most cherished achievements within a society, imminent demise is inherently built in. In this piece, the dancers quickly realize that what they have erected is not a thing of beauty, but rather a total monstrosity. It is only then that the eyesore finally implodes upon itself and comes tumbling humbly back down to earth.
Ultimately Nikolais was exploring the loose underpinnings of a modern society that was rapidly abandoning its mores. Originally, the piece included flags that represented a Big Brother looming over a newborn burgeoning global society—acronyms such as IBM and CIA, mega-organizations that were beginning to take control of the world. When it was re-staged back in the 1980s, the acronym flags were tossed out in favor of flags bearing more symbolic messages promoting black power, gay rights, peace, etc.
“I don’t think that he started with the apocalypse in mind when he began constructing the work,” says Woodbury. “Remember, this was back in 1965. But what he was doing was beginning to deal with a more human subject matter in a very abstracted way. He also was dealing with human emotions. He was stepping out on a limb really by using human voices and very human themes.”
So certainly, Nikolais couldn’t have been consciously prophetic; he never claimed to be a choreographing Nostradamus. But what he did do was to create a work perched upon the cusp of all things modern. The fact that a 40-year-old piece of art can ring so contemporarily true is a testament to one man’s creative genius—even when it harkens to something so bone chillingly dark as those two collapsing towers.

Sibling Rivalry Burdens

The children have erupted into another fight. Keep your cool. Sibling rivalry is quite common and usually results in fights. As long as your kids are generally happy and have a good relationship with each other, you have nothing to worry about. However, if sibling rivalry in your home is causing continuous unhappiness for one or more of your children, there are some things you can do about it. Rivalry, especially among siblings is caused by low self-esteem.

A child with sibling rivalry problems has low self-esteem and is dissatisfied with themselves. They look to their parents and siblings for validation. When a child doesn't have a very good view of themselves, they tend to believe others see them the same way and feel that others around them are better than they are. A child with low self-esteem is easily provoked and easily hurt by teasing, which happens among siblings on a regular basis. The teasing explodes into fighting when someone whose self-esteem is already low is pushed even lower.
So the question isn't what can you do about sibling rivalry, but what can you do to boost your child's self-esteem so he or she has a better relationship with their siblings? For a start, make sure all of your children receive sufficient love and one-on-one attention from you. Sufficient for one child may not be the same for another, so be sure to gauge if you are doing enough by talking to your spouse. Your spouse can sometimes see where a child needs more love or attention better than you may be able to when all you do is break up fights. Spend quality time with all of your children together and one-on-one time with all of your children separately. This makes them feel loved and accepted and also gives them a chance to open up about what may be bothering them.
When fights erupt, the worst thing you can do is scold or yell. You will be sorely tempted to lose your cool, but don't. A child whose self-esteem is low will not respond well to a parent yelling at them. You'll see more fighting, not less if you don't keep your temper when your children are fighting. When children fight, take them to separate rooms and let them cool off, then talk to them individually. Ask what they would advise if they had a friend in a similar situation. Ask what they think their sibling is thinking. Ask them what they are thinking. Once they are using their brain again rather than being run by emotion, you can bring them back together to resolve their argument peaceably. This doesn't work all the time, but the more involved you become with your children when they've been fighting, the less fighting they will do, unless they are fighting to get your attention. If that is the case, you need to go back to spending quality time with them.
Some sibling rivalry problems are actually a result of problems a child is having at school. A child knows he is in a loving and accepting environment at home, but school is a whole different ballgame. Your child can have great self-esteem at home, but when they get to school, their confidence is shot, which causes problems at home too. Go to your child's teacher and ask if your child is having problems. Ask what the teacher would do in your situation. Come up with a plan that involves your child's teacher helping to boost your child's self-esteem while they are at school.

Joshua James

Down on the farm with local crooner

 Joshua James

Joshua James’ abode in American Fork is a McMansion, of sorts—a fairly luxurious space for a humble songwriter. Walking up the steps to the door, it seems too suburban, too family-like—except for the sound of a goat bleating. Around back, there’s a huge garden, along with goat and chicken housing.

The home serves as the base of operations for Northplatte Records—co-owned with McKay Stevens—with James’ home office and a recording studio both there. The label’s most recent releases—Desert Noises’ Mountain Sea and Parlor Hawk’s Hoarse & Roaring—were recorded in the three upstairs recording rooms.

But business matters for the label took a back seat during the late summer days just before the singer-songwriter left for a national two-month tour. City Weekly couldn’t connect with James the day before he left, as planned, because some domestic issues needed addressing.

“Shearing the goat took way longer than we thought,” James says, with a laugh, from the road. He and his wife, Emily, spent their remaining hours together dealing with the wool and canning tomatoes. “We wound up with about 200 quarts of food, and it’s all over the house,” he says.

James has plans to record with at least one artist this fall and winter; imagine them laying down a song’s drum track with a case of tomato sauce at their feet.

“I really love making a record with people—really taking time to help someone make their songs the best they can and finding where things sit best, because there’s a hundred different ways you can make a song,” James says. It’s building and deconstructing; it’s sowing and reaping.

“It’s a lot easier to do on other people’s songs than my own. Because you live so close to your own, it’s really hard sometimes to step back,” James says. He speaks from recent experience. He ventured to Cottage Grove, Ore., for two weeks to record with Richard Swift—The Shins’ keyboardist. Following up on the 2009 release Build Me This, James’ third album is now nearly complete; the tracks will be mastered in January 2012—once both he and Swift are done with their various fall tours—and released in mid-2012.

“It’s not super different from my other stuff, although this batch of songs feels a lot more cohesive because they were written in close proximity to one another,” James says. Stylistically, the album doesn’t diverge from his well-crafted formula, either. His textured tunes roll out of themselves organically, naturally, like they were made from the soil in his backyard. The vocally driven tracks offer James’ raspy, soft croon that, at times, seems almost silky. And his lyrics range from capturing sentiments of love and loss to delving into the esoteric.

Regarding the latter, James spins a good yarn, if it’s for a song, or not—like on his blog, WillametteMountain.tumblr.com. There, he waxes poetic and chronicles his current travels, the Ten Buck Tour, which takes its name because the gigs require only an Alexander Hamilton for entrance. He’s touring with husband-and-wife folk duo Honeyhoney, and they are trying to keep costs down in this struggling economy, he says.

“Some of the shows have been $12, though. I even talked to my manager about it; it seems a little dishonest,” James says.

It’s obvious that he believes in fairness and community, and those beliefs are essentially the founding pillars of Northplatte Records. “From day one, it was all about creating a group of friends who can support each other musically. It is so much more about the community of it than making a bunch of money and seeing this thing blow up,” James says. He seeks deep connections across his life. The feeling he gets when he sings a song, or plays a show, or talks to someone afterwards—that human-to-human bond—is the main reason why he plays music and writes, he says.

Food is kind of like that. Both involve planning, preparing, nurturing, sharing and so on. James grew up in Lincoln, Neb., with five brothers and sisters, and his parents bought cost-efficient, bulk items. It wasn’t till later in life, when he moved to Utah in 2001, that he became passionate about gardening, food preservation and homesteading, which were inspired by his grandfather in Provo.

“Being connected with something like that, well, it’s that connection that I love. Although growing food is more personal, there’s a huge parallel between it and how I connect with music,” James says. “Those are the two things that I really love, and they are the biggest parts of my life.”

Zero 7

Single Naught Spies: Zero 7 go “bonkers” with Yeah Ghost.

Singer/producer Henry Binns is the first to admit Zero 7 isn’t so much a band as it is a group of sound engineers. But then, that’s what makes the experience of listening to the British group so rich and resonant. Together with Sam Hardaker, Binns has honed his skills twisting the knobs for the likes of Pet Shop Boys, Young Disciples, Robert Plant and Radiohead. “Engineering is a fundamental part of what we do,” Binns notes, “Sam will get lost for hours working on a song until he turns a corner with it.”

So, what does the duo’s own music sound like? It’s a rare blend of textures that are lush yet organic, a combination of keyboard and electronic articulations with acoustic guitar and other non-electronic instruments.

Arguably, the secret to their success largely stems from the use of actual singers with nary an Auto-Tuned voice in hearing range.

Zero 7’s albums are highly collaborative, with contributors including British compatriots Tina Dico, Mozez and Sophie Barker elevating the music to, at times, ethereal levels. But their production is always at the forefront, walking a tightrope of subtlety by making the vocal tracks sound more full and pronounced without diluting the natural timbre of the voices.

Their 2001 full-length debut, Simple Things, was highly lauded in England and garnered a Mercury Music Prize and nomination for Best British Newcomer at the Brit Awards 2002.

On Yeah Ghost, Zero 7’s fourth studio album, the pair are aided and abetted by jazz and soul singer Eska Mtungwazi, folk artist Martha Tilston, and Rowdy Superstar. They are missing longtime collaborator and vocalist Sia Furler, who is off working on a solo album as well as a project with Christina Aguilera.

Although the group’s initial release, the self-described EP1 in 1999, came at the apex of the trip-hop movement, Binns avoids the pigeonholing. “The genre ‘trip-hop’ makes me shudder a bit,” he laughs. “It makes me think of really awful break beats. We didn’t sit down and decide to be downbeat; our music just evolved on its own.” Even though Yeah Ghost is markedly upbeat compared to earlier work, he still finds a song like “Medicine Man” “ghostly, and slightly dark.” This music might not be for the “chill-out room,” but it moves with the contemplative gestures of the inner mind.

Zero 7’s previous release, The Garden, was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2007 for Best Electronic/Dance Album, a genre whose tropes the band tries not to linger on too heavily. Yeah Ghost is more listenable than ever, if that’s possible, but also not particularly dancey. It’s a bit of a catch-all for various musical impulses that have been kicking around for a while with them. For a group with such a unified sound that they are able to tap into such an array of vocal talents and still remain pronouncedly “Zero 7,” this album provides the most variety, the most stretching out.

“On the second listen back, maybe we should’ve been a bit bolder,” Binns shrugs. “This album was in frustration with all the questions, about parting with Sia and everything. We wanted to run this thing ourselves, which was ridiculous.” The instrumental sideproject Ingrid Eto shows up on some of this release, and Binns observes, “interspersed with more upbeat stuff, “The Road,” an almost spiritual tune; this album is bonkers.”

“It’s a constant striving for something new and interesting,” Binns says of the live show. “We’re working hard in rehearsal to try to get this to sound like a show. It’s quite a big task, especially with some of the usual suspects missing, but the reviews coming back have been all right.”

Rhythm Devils: Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann & Keller Williams

Drum Brothers: The sum is greater than the parts for Grateful Dead’s percussionists.

- On the first evening percussionist Mickey Hart met Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann, Hart began to appreciate the level of decency and restraint—along with talent and fun—Kreutzmann had when rhythmically whacking cars with drumsticks.
While hanging out with legendary big-band drummer Sonny Payne at a Fillmore Auditorium Count Basie show in San Fransisco, Hart was introduced to Kreutzmann by an anonymous stranger; the two immediately hit it off. After Basie’s set ended, they grabbed two pairs of Payne’s drumsticks and made their way to a Janis Joplin show. “We walked all the way across town, playing on garbage cans, sign posts, cars, bumpers, and had a drum-bonding time,” says Hart by phone from his studio.
Afterwards, they met on several occasions for industrially set drum sessions and, eventually, Hart joined Kreutzmann in the Dead, a lifelong friendship was formed.
“We’re drum brothers, and over thousands and thousands of hours of playing, it’s evolved. We can really do together what we can’t do apart. It’s chemistry and how we agree on rhythm—it has to be greater than the parts or there’s no reason to do it,” Hart says.
After the Dead disbanded in 1995 after Jerry Garcia’s death, each has had several new projects, including one together called Rhythm Devils. The name—originated by Deadheads—derived from lengthy, improvisational drum duels during most Grateful Dead concerts. Sikiru Adepoju (talking drum), Davey Knowles (guitar, vocals) and Andy Hess (bass) will join the Rhythm Devils tour this summer, as will guitarist and looping guru Keller Williams. “There’s a lot of enthusiasm. It’s new for Keller—it’s a stretch. We thought it’d be a real good experiment because [Williams] is so rhythmically inclined and he’d make an interesting conversationalist,” Hart says.
The music’s not just drums in space; it has big grooves, too. The metaphysically inclined Hart says, “It throbs and pulses ... the basic elements of the universe.”
Hart says the preparation for the tour has been extensive and exhausting. They’ll perform Grateful Dead and new songs, some written by former Dead songwriter and longtime collaborator Robert Hunter. “[Hunter] adds the whole mythic image and wonderful depth to the song’s content. Having him write for you is a great boon,” Hart says.
Hart owns thousands of percussive devices, and they’ve never all been in one place because of sheer volume. While perhaps out of control as a collector, he loves every one for its unique sonic coloring and feeling, from American handcrafted snares to jungle drums. They could never all be brought onto one stage, until now, thanks to what he calls “the tool of the future.”
Since the ’70s, he’s cataloged thousands of sounds from across the globe into his playable, electronic encyclopedia called Random Access Musical Universe, or RAMU. “If you have a sound you love, you must sample it,” Hart says. To conjure the exotic and interesting, there are pressure-sensitive pads in different keys, with additional pads for finger-tapping work and numerous knobs to adjust different settings.
“RAMU is my database, my sound droid, my jukebox, my constant companion and my great love. Now, it’s very sophisticated and has taken a giant leap. This is where man meets machine ... and wins, hopefully,” says Hart.
While embracing electronics, the Rhythm Devils will still bang on skins and real drums with their sticks and hands. It’s just another way the lifelong drum brothers have evolved in creating syncopated sounds. “It takes ingredients to make a harmonious rhythm life. We are both sworn to the drum. We took an oath even before we met each other. We have a certain dedication to the instrument and to each other,” Hart says.
It’s a camaraderie transcending loyalty, kept somewhere in the cosmos of vibratory patterns. 

Harry O's White Party, Club Edge Halloween, Geeks at The Huddle

Fifth Annual White Party: Harry O’s In PC
If you’re new to the fair Salt Lake Valley, it would serve you well to see where the stars party in Park City. Take in the fifth annual White Party at Harry O’s nightclub (427 S. Main, Park City) and you’ll be just like the Sundance celebs who crash the state and party on Main. Saturday, July 31, is the date to wear the color of purity, but don’t worry–Ravi Drums vs. DJ Brisk is sure to inspire plenty of dirty dancing on the floor.

Halloween In July: Edge-y Stuff
Some don’t need any excuse to play dress up, but there are those who need the word “Halloween” to wear costumes. People suffering from a costume jones need not wait for October–Club Edge is offering “Halloween in July” on July 29 to fill the need. SLC’s ultra-hot, electro-infused Muscle Hawk will be playing to hoards of characters ready to dress up and party like it’s the 31st of October at 615 N. 400 West, starting at 9 p.m.

Get Tipsy ’n Quizy: Geeks Who Drink
Geeks Who Drink (GWD) mix up the traditional pub quiz with relevant pop culture sound bites and funny quiz questions at several locations– and several nights–valley-wide. Tuesday nights at The Huddle off of Fort Union seems to draw more brain cells than typical for its weekly edition of GWD, and Club Matters was recently there to document the creatively titled teams (“Leather Cheerios,” “What What in the Butt,” etc.) and the talented quizees. (2400 Fort Union Boulevard, 8 p.m.)

Hot Shots from The Huddle:
1. Chloe Jenkins and Ryan Johnson of team What What in the Butt
2. Geeks Who Drink Quizmaster Jesse Brake
3. Leather Cheerios: Megan Hancock, Ian Taylor and Lance McClain

Black Mountain Moves Toward Pop

Friday July 30, at Urban Lounge

When Black Mountain bowed with the Druganaut EP and their eponymous debut CD about six years ago, fans proclaimed them—on the basis of those silver platters—hot shit.

In return, collectively and with various side projects (Pink Mountaintops, Lightning Dust, Jerk With A Bomb, etc.), Black Mountain’s members rewarded those fans with music sufficient to choke an iPod, or at least a Shuffle. They toured with Coldplay, landed a song on a summer blockbuster soundtrack, and appeared on a trajectory away from pet Canadian band to international rock megastardom.

Now, co-lead singer Amber Webber can say things like, “I just feel so happy at this point in our musical careers that we can make a living with our music,” and “I guess every musician that’s touring constantly and working really hard wants the most people as possible to hear [their] music.”
After another EP and LP (2008’s Bastards of Light and In the Future), it’s now time for Wilderness Heart, the “Black Mountain pop record” set for release Sept. 14.

Those words ought to make fans of Black Mountain’s stoner-psych-alt-country either shudder with revulsion or thrum with anticipation. Which is it for you? Does it exacerbate or enhance the reaction to hear the record involved two producers and two studios?

Depends on how much Black Mountain you’ve climbed and whether you’ve spelunked the sundry caves along the way.

By and large, the terrain is rocky and rustic, sometimes soaring and spacey. “Our band is so weird,” Webber says. “Everyone in the band likes different music.” She recites a litany that checks psychedelic rock, old punk and thrash metal, old soul and funk, country, space rock, stoner/ sludge/doom, and her current faves, Jay-Z and Fever Ray, a sort of electro-pop version of black metal composer Mortiis. The diversity, she figures, is why their “hybrid, weird music” tends to “click” with their audience. “That’s my theory, anyway.”

Alt-country band The Jayhawks and stoner rockers Queens of the Stone Age have famously shown there’s room for pop in what they do. Plus, there’s good and bad “pop,” the former powering Cheap Trick, late-period Nirvana, the White Stripes, Black Album-era Metallica. It’s about hooks and choruses and attention spans—knowing when to launch an epic jaunt and when to adhere to the four-minute rule (previously the three-minute rule).

Typically, a band that deserves its initial praise isn’t stupid. Download the free first track from Wilderness Heart, “Old Fangs,” and hear what constitutes Black Mountain “pop.” Pumping, distorto-organ hooks, power-chord chugging, two verses, a teaser chorus, a couple more quatrains, one more tickle, then a chorus where the alternating male and female vocals entwine and ascend before plunging toward a punchy last line. It clocks in at 4:01, yet makes every second count and is, therefore, epic.

Wilderness Heart is the realization of Black Mountain’s potential. Although according to Webber there are “straightforward rock songs” (produced by Dave Sardy, helmsman of records by everyone from Brit-pop Oasis to hyperactive indie rockers White Denim) and “weirder” stuff (shepherded by Randall Dunn, master of joints by droners like Boris), the record is thoroughly Black Mountain. It’s a towering, out-of-this-world, introspective record with sing-alongs mellow (like “Buried By the Blues” an apparent ode to Syd Barrett), alt-rocky (“The Way to Gone,” “The Hair Song”), fucking metal (“Let Spirits Ride”) and, like “Old Fangs,” stonerlicious.

That’s if you can dig the band for what they are and always will be: versatile, multiply inspired, and so, so good. Odds are you will, and someday you’ll see Black Mountain ruling the Maverik Center stage instead of the Urban Lounge. “It would be a pretty big thrill,” Webber admits. “[Main Mountain man] Steve [McBean] would love to wank a guitar solo out in that capacity. I think it’s kinda foolish to hope for those kinds of things, but you kinda gotta roll with it and whatever happens, happens.”

The New Pornographers Craft Literary Jangles

Thursday July 29, Twilight Concert Series

There are rarely acknowledged challenges in making highly intelligent pop music: It seems like you’d have to work complexity into it somehow. Otherwise, it just seems overly facile or simplistic or just plain silly.

In the song “My Shepherd” on The New Pornographers’ new album Together, Neko Case reminds the object of the lyrics, whomever that may be, “you always loved the short-story form.”

It’s a key to understanding the music of this Canadian band whose ensemble sound is so sharply focused—they are so damned on all of the time—that you might overlook just how smart they are. Their songs are like short stories, unfolding in the length of the pop song format not massive, universal profundities, but smaller insights, brief yet telling windows into different worlds.

As a mainstay of the indie flagship Matador Records label, having released four of their five albums under that banner, The New Pornographers are slated to perform at “The Lost Weekend,” the label’s 21st birthday celebration, the first weekend in October, along with indie music icons Pavement and Guided By Voices. “Matador has had a big impact on our careers,” admits singer/guitarist Carl “AC” Newman, who is married to Christy Simpson, the label’s marketing manager. “We’ve always loved music on Matador, and it was kind of our dream label. We were amazed when they signed us.”

But then again, Newman has been surprised that musicmaking turned into a career at all for the Vancouver band.

“I always thought we’d be working day jobs,” he muses. “But we’re still friends and have fun playing together. We battle sometimes; it’s not always a cakewalk.”

The band’s sound, combining the ’60s-ish vocal harmonies of the Beach Boys with the melodic thrust of ’70s glam rock, and the lyric-driven writing that springs from ’90s indie rock, is more than the sum of its parts, though it’s composed of some excellent parts indeed. In addition to Newman’s two highly rated solo albums, singer Case balances her own solo career with life in the band, and Dan Bejar shares songwriting duties with Newman, in addition to his work leading experimental rock band Destroyer. All members of the band were well-known in the Vancouver music scene before The New Pornographers.

The problem with being The New Pornographers right now is that they’ve already crafted two albums—Twin Cinema and their debut, Mass Romantic—that are ranked among the best indie rock albums of all time. How do you follow that kind of success? Their solution isn’t to become more “byzantine,” as they warn against on “Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk,” but to pull their wagons together as an ensemble band never more “together.” They will keep doing what they do best, killing it softly—as much as the jangle of the music resonates, it’s the smaller moments that return as you listen to the album over and over, moments like Case’s softly phrased “careful, kid, and no one gets hurt” on “My Shepherd,” when you realize just how sharp the group is.

“We called the album Together, but it’s not like we were apart,” Newman explains. “I wanted a sense of community. I think calling it such a generic term was kind of intended to be tongue-in-cheek.”
Whatever meaning the title does or doesn’t have, it’s a somewhat more fateful view of that pop song evergreen, boy meets girl, in a song like “We End Up Together” that resigns itself to explaining “love is what happens in the dark”; it doesn’t mean their songwriting has gotten lackadaisical, but that it’s just from a perspective a little further on down the road, if not a further remove—no ironic distance from a band that gets you to put your hands together along with the song “Your Hands (Together),” and can make harsh realities like the economic metaphor of “Crash Years” eminently hummable. 

Craft Sabbath's Meg Griggs

She’s Crafty: Meg Griggs whistles (heavy metal) while she works.

The faithful flock to Nobrow Coffee & Tea on Craft Sabbath to worship at the altar of handcrafted finery.

Held the first Sunday of each month, the increasingly popular event emphasizes the unique, unusual and local side of DIY art, jewelry and fashion.

Founded just one year ago during the holiday season, Craft Sabbath offers an alternative to crass commercialism. Organizers congregate at Nobrow to showcase and sell their works, as well as promote homegrown products.

Exhibitors include Kali Mellus, who specializes in industrial jewelry with belts and necklaces made from old nails and washers, and Mary McClaugherty is recognized as a craft virtuoso making everything from stuffed animals to scarves.

The mix of jewelry, clothing and accessories, along with guest crafters bringing in a variety of items (from Rachel and Leigh George Kade’s Grimmleigh Fiends to Tim Thompson of True Gage), means the event has had a profound affect on the downtown area and the art scene—influencing the recent Craft Lake City event and pushing the “buy local” attitude into areas rarely considered.

Co-founder Meg Griggs is no stranger to the craft trade. At The Lewd Quill, she creates and sells unique hair clips that range from simplistic to lavish. She finds her supplies through various shops across the city and carefully constructs them into affordable gems.

“The way I was inspired basically came from making my own accessories,” says Griggs. “No one ever had exaggerated-enough items for me, so I would play around with vintage brooches, feathers, beads and hot glue. Combined with my love for crocheting, embroidery and sewing I made myself some unique pieces.”

Yeah, she’s crafty—she also stays busy as part of Overstock.com’s Electronics Buying Team. Additionally, the single mother spends time with her 8-year-old daughter Lily, a budding artist in her own right.

In preview of December’s Craft Sabbath, Griggs and Mellus will be showing off their latest works at Alpine Art (430 E. South Temple) Dec. 4 as part of the SLC Holiday Stroll. The two crafters will also be a part of Provo’s Beehive Bazaar Dec. 3-5.

Craft Sabbath will be expanding, doubling, adding on and temporarily moving to accommodate the hectic season. This year, the gals will be hosting their second annual Holiday Boutique, bringing in over 20 different vendors to participate, and temporarily moving the location to Artspace (511 W. Eccles Drive), Dec. 5 and Dec. 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Highlights will include Nouveau Noir’s Melissa Christensen displaying beautiful and durable leather gloves alongside Shauna Brennan’s Feathers & Frosting headbands, earrings and—with any luck—her lip-smackin’ yarn cupcakes.

Commenting on the event as a whole, Griggs exclaims, “We have someone making bionic toys, a gal making crazy cards and tags, necklaces and earrings made with machine parts. It’s going to run the entire gamut of items! There will seriously be something for everyone on your Christmas list.”

As Griggs gets her crafts in order, we throw her vast music collection into the proverbial bingo cage and give it a spin to see what powers a Craft Sabbath mind.

Little Dragon

Urban Lounge, Saturday Jan. 29: Little Dragon keeps it playful and soulful.

  Life can be full of its horns, scales and tales, but for Gothenburg, Sweden-based Little Dragon, the past year has been hotter than fire-breath.

After releasing the acclaimed synthy trip-pop Machine Dreams in 2009, the foursome attracted the Gorillaz’ attention and were featured on “Empire Ants” and “To Binge” on the animated band’s 2010 release, Plastic Beach.

Little Dragon opened as support for the second half of the Gorillaz’ worldwide tour. They lounged in five-star hotels and were chauffeured everywhere, a stark divergence from the frugal, DIY touring they’d previously known, says drummer Erik Bodin. Despite such spendthrift offstage activities and playing rapid-fire sets in massive arenas, they managed to keep the music true to their core beliefs. “Playfulness is a big part of our identity; that was the goal, even when we’d only have 25 minutes. We want to feel free,” Bodin says.

With a sensual stage presence, lead singer Yukimi Nagano snakes around miles of cables like a smooth serpentine. The jazzy songstress is backed by Bodin, Fredrik Wallin and Hakan Wirenstrand, who add in improvisation amid pop music’s constraints and noodle on various synthesizers like mad scientists unleashing their inner sound-nerd. That’s playful. That’s captivating. And that is also how they operate in the studio.

When Bodin pounds out the structure for a song, he’ll record himself solo, drumming away at great length, then splice it into several tracks. He’ll then work with Nagano on melodies. “She’s very quick, even before there are any harmonies. We then, mostly, work around the bass line and make it fit to whatever she does,” he says. The other two work with Nagano in similar fashion—like there’s three duos in one band—before the whole unit comes together.

“Once you listen to your song over and over again, you can get stuck in that bubble. I will say, ‘Yes, this is it; we don’t need anything more,’ ” Bodin jokes. “This is where the other guys come in with their angles.”

The finished products are fleshed out quickly and naturally—a chemistry they’ve developed since meeting in high school. In the recording process, perhaps, add in an occasional flare-up from Nagano, whose studio frustrations earned her the sobriquet “Little Dragon” years ago; it stuck, becoming the band name.

Adding fuel to this year’s bonfire, Little Dragon recently finished mastering their highly anticipated third album, slated for release this spring. It’ll sound more organic than Machine Dreams because programmed drums are absent and there’s less instrumentation overall. “I think it’s going to be some sort of weird Swedish soul. Yeah, definitely a soul album,” says Bodin, adding it’s a return to the style they loved and played 10 years ago but had moved away from. “We just want to do music that feels fresh to us and hopefully people dig in.”

Besides the Gorillaz, others have dug in. The song “Twice” was featured on the television show Grey’s Anatomy in late 2009. “It doesn’t mean so much in our artistic hearts,” Bodin says. More important to those hearts is when someone can take their music to create complementary, intriguing aesthetic works. For instance, Japanese designer Hideyuki Katsumata crafted the colorful, allegorical cover art for Machine Dreams and the video for “Swimming” to capture the band’s spirit.

And those inside Gothenburg’s phenomenal artistic scene have done the same. Sweden’s capital, not so surprisingly, makes for a perfect arts epicenter: It’s slightly removed from other major cosmopolitan areas, there’s a dismal amount of sunlight in the winter and Sweden wholly supports the arts.
For Bodin, worth mentioning as a memorable collaborator is Johannes Nyholm, director of the band’s 2007 “Twice” video. “We didn’t even know him or his name, and he lived just a mile away. He’s someone who’s doing these extremely beautiful and passionate films. We’ve been lucky the music has been drawing these kinds of talents.”

Young Yet Brilliant Sleuths

SLC's YYBS live up to name on new EP

 Young Yet Brilliant Sleuths (YYBS)

With a name like Young Yet Brilliant Sleuths (YYBS), it would seem that they could easily get to the bottom of a lineup that works. Elementary, my dear Watson? Not quite.

After a number of years on the Salt Lake scene, the four-piece has finally landed on a roster of musicians that has proven to be, well, brilliant. The approach to their distinct brand of indie rock is not built on pre-existent elementary pathways within the genre, but rather on original compositions and material that inspires emotion in the listener.

This notion is insightful for four boys barely emerging from their teen years. They manage to avoid indie-rock clamor and achieve a unique sound and identifiable lyrics for a visceral auditory experience.

The band has been together for over three years, but the members have changed as if they were playing musical chairs. Now, however, longtime member Tres Wilson (rhythm guitar and vocals) thinks they have have found a synergy with the current four. “It’s almost a different band as what YYBS has been in the past, but I think this EP is the definition of YYBS.” he says.

Wilson was backed by Taylor Clark (drums), Sean Smith (bass) and Craig Murray (lead guitar) in the studio over the past few months as the band recorded their self-titled EP. But everything didn’t fall into place until just now. “It took us a while, mainly because we hit coordination bumps,” Wilson says. “It’s been finished for a while, but we didn’t have time for a CD release show.”

The four-song EP was recorded at Midnight Record Studio with sound engineer and producer Cal Cruz, who has a good feel for the new lineup. “They have a really good sense of melody,” he says. “I think their songs have enough diversity that they carry. They create songs that will last. The four-song EP is very concise, lyrical and imaginative.”

Quality over quantity, as the adage goes. The band could have put more songs on the EP, but they preferred not to dilute the potency. Plus, the songs wouldn’t have meshed well, Wilson says. All the members agree with Murray when he says, “You don’t want an album full of filler songs.”

YYBS understands the importance of the creative process, and they didn’t go into the studio with any preconceptions of how they wanted their EP or the songs on it to be—instead, they just naturally let them develop.

“You have to be faithful to where the song is going and let it manifest itself,” Smith says.

While they may be young, their lyrics reveal a poetic depth of experience. Wilson’s words create an easy rapport; he is honest about his past experiences, but it’s in a way that is easy to internalize, and can be felt in myriad ways.

For instance, take an excerpt from “Persian Skin,” a standout track. “I’ve been collecting your bobby pins/ I guess to substantiate my foolishness/ The shadows on my chin and upper lip/ Seem to be stemming from my inner pessimist.”

The cover of the EP is representative of YYBS’s sound—young, energetic and free. It’s a freehand drawing by friend and artist Adrianna Myer. Murray interprets the artwork to be almost like a “Where’s Waldo? picture, but without Waldo.”
Myer packaged the CD, YYBS burned it “and sealed it with love,” Murray says, adding, in jest, that they were also environmental and animal stewards during the production process. “No elephants were harmed in its making.” 

Themselves

Two of a Kind: Doseone and Jel stay true to Themselves.

Early into their careers, Adam Drucker and Jeff Logan needed partners. Drucker (aka Doseone) was an emcee bringing his arcane approach to Midwestern rap battles (in 1997’s incarnation of Cincinnati’s “Scribble Jam” freestyle competition, he faced a rising Eminem) while Jeff Logan (aka Jel) was learning the intricacies of mapping aural patterns. In 1998, the pair met through producer Mr. Dibbs.

Drucker, however, swears he made Logan’s acquaintance shortly before then—in a dream. “I’m sitting on the porch with Dibbs and some dude that I’ve never met. We’re talking and laughing,” recalls Doseone. “Three months later, Dibbs comes over and we’re on my porch. I had total deja vu. It was exactly the dream.” Within days, Dibbs, Doseone, and Jel started constructing Outer Perimeter, an album released under the name of Presage.

Two years later, Drucker and Logan teamed as Themselves, debuting Them. They assembled tracks packed with head-spinning lines set to pumped-up tempos, penetrating metaphors that found common ground between self-aware rap, freaked-out beat poetry and intricately warped electronica.

Around the time Themselves’ album The No Music hit, they delved into managing the high-minded hip-hop label Anticon and partaking in experimental collectives like cLOUDDEAD, Subtle, and 13 & God. There was never a falling-out between Drucker and Logan; Themselves simply faded to the background. Now, prompted by Anticon’s 10th year running, they’re back with new pieces in tow.

Themselves’ 2009 offerings include theFREEhoudini, a mixtape featuring Busdriver, Aesop Rock, and Slug of Atmosphere, and CrownsDown, the followup to The No Music. “Making a righteous rap record barebones in production but full of sentiment was something that we wanted to do for a long time,” tells Drucker of CrownsDown. “We let it happen without sketching out a blueprint.”

Themselves allows Drucker to find his most authentic voice. In Subtle, a six-piece group that both he and Logan are in, he has trouble speaking on behalf of so many. “I can’t cut loose from the bottom of my heart whether it’s ‘Fuck you’ or ‘Thank you,’” says Drucker of Subtle’s broad, refined message. “With Themselves, I can say everything I think. It’s less finesse and more earnest.”

The only possible pitfall is that the real Doseone is perhaps too cerebral, making Themselves’ complex lyrics intimidating for novices to decipher. “While any poem may go from the North Pole to grade school and back, it all funnels back into a singular context,” Drucker maintains. “[My work] is intellectual and will stand the test of time. It has to be something to think about and repeat. The music we make is more for music lovers and seekers—people who want an alternative texture.” This angle tends to create two contrasting opinions. “Sometimes we sound too rap, sometimes we don’t sound rap enough,” he says, sounding a bit worn.
Still, Themselves stay the course. One of Drucker’s goals includes collaborating with noted producer/Chicago noise-rock don Steve Albini (though Drucker admits, “I hear he hates rap”). Hell, even if Themselves wrapped up this instant, the link between the duo is poised to forever stay afloat. “Themselves was the first thing that ever felt right,” Drucker says. “I could see us doing an old-folks-home record, whispering and banging on the pill cups.”

Big Shiny Geekshow Pub Quiz & Poplar Street Pub

Pub Quiz Mania: Tiki Lounge Action
Geeks and nerds alike drink, and now they have ample pub-quiz options around town. The infamous Geekshow Podcast—TheGeekShowPodcast.com—helmed by Radio From Hell’s Kerry Jackson—joins forces with Big Shiny Robot (BigShinyRobot.com) for the eighth Big Shiny Geekshow Pub Quiz Thursday. Geeks Who Drink no longer have a corner on the pub quiz action in terms of “geeky-ness,” due to content at Burt’s Pub Quiz being geared towards the comic book set, with questions about pop culture like Star Wars, Joss Whedon and Toys/Novelties. The quizzing lasts from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. at Burt’s Tiki Lounge (726 South State). Enjoy some chicken fingers, corndogs and Scottie’s Famous Pickled Eggs during the quiz, and afterward catch a round of karaoke.

Poplar Pub: Popular Anytime
Even Monday nights find a crowd and excitement at Poplar Street Pub (242 S. 200 West). Karaoke and 25-cent wings bring ’em in–and out to the patio, as well. Poplar has always had one of the more secluded, yet lively, downtown patios of all the Salt Lake City bars and clubs and is definitely worth an evening out.

Poplar’s Potent X-Rated Shot: The X-Fusion Kamikaze
1 oz. Triple-X Fusion Liquor
1/2 oz. vodka
1/4-part Triple Sec
fresh-squeezed lime juice
Shake in cocktail shaker with ice
Garnish with lime wedge
Make one of these controversial beverages yourself or belly up to the bar at Poplar for a professional shot.

The Depot Turns 5 with Jeff Beck

 Jeff Beck

United Concerts opened The Depot five years ago with visions of filling the 1,200-capacity room with shows five nights a week and fans who would show up every night to have drinks with friends, no matter who was playing on stage. It didn’t exactly work out that way.
Instead, thanks to a combination of a rough economy, confusion among some fans about the location and management learning how to run a club on the fly, they often found the room relatively empty, and discovered that booking acts was tougher than expected.
“We were trying to follow a model of similar rooms in other cities, hoping to make it a destination and not just a concert venue,” says Dave McKay, United Concerts vice president. “We had several acts that we booked for two nights, which was a huge mistake … Our theory was that people would come the first night, word would spread, and we’d get a bigger crowd the second night. That didn’t happen.
“It’s an expensive venue, between lights and security and doing everything the way we do it. It was an expensive experiment, and we quickly retooled that.”
Part of retooling was limiting the number of shows from the more than 100 booked its first year to the 30 to 40 that typically make up an annual slate now. They also started doing some $5 shows with the likes of The Temper Trap and The Gaslight Anthem to introduce new fans to the venue, offered beer specials and delved into the jam-band scene, tapping into one of the most active gig-going audiences around.
United’s retooling seems to have worked, as The Depot celebrates its fifth birthday this winter, a seeming lifetime since those early shows with The Roots and Los Lobos. McKay says The Depot has “finally come into its own” in the past 18 months, with more fans buying more tickets to more shows, and bigger artists actually asking to play there.
Among the names McKay says would have been unimaginable playing The Depot at the beginning is Jeff Beck; the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and vet of The Yardbirds and The Jeff Beck Group will be playing The Depot for the first time in April.
That announcement, exclusive to City Weekly, comes hot on the heels of Beck garnering five Grammy nominations for his 2010 album, Emotion & Commotion, including nods for Best Rock Album, Best Pop Instrumental Performance (for the song “Nessun Dorma”) and Best Rock Instrumental Performance (for the tune “Hammerhead”).
Attracting the likes of Beck, and other big names, makes booking the place a less challenging ordeal than it once was.
“It becomes easier for me to talk to an agent and say, ‘Well, B.B. King played there, and Chris Isaak played there. The Dead Weather and Black Keys played there,’ ” McKay says. “Then, suddenly, everyone’s ears perk up.”

Slash

The Depot, Saturday Jan. 29: Slash white-knuckles into the world of horror films.

  The confusion began about a year ago. During a conversation with producer Rob Eric (Trans-Siberian, Session 9) of Scout Productions, the guitar-shredding former member of Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver proved his prowess as an aficionado of horror movies—a lifetime love. Eric called Slash the next morning and proposed a joint venture.
During the first weekend of the Sundance Film Festival, Slash and Eric and Michael Williams, also of Scout Productions, officially announced the launch of Slasher Films, a film-production company focusing on cerebral horror flicks.
Slash articulated their intent as “to not reinvent, but to re-imagine dramatic, character-driven horror films—something that’s a little more in-depth than what the past two decades of horror movies have [seen] as the norm in the mainstream—and bring back a level of sophistication,” Slash said.
Slash was turned on to the genre during the heyday he hopes to re-imagine. In the early ’70s, his mom and her girlfriend threw him in the back of a Volkswagen to see a drive-in double feature: Night of the Living Dead and The Exorcist, he recalled, and “just when they thought it’d be too heavy for me, I became a huge Linda Blair fan.”
It’s those dark, scared-shitless stories that he’s always loved. Slasher Films plans to produce two movies annually. To begin with, Eric and Williams sifted through more than 100 scripts and found four worth pursuing. “If it didn’t strike us in the first 25 pages, then we stopped reading,” Eric said. “All of our scripts are based on characters that when they get slaughtered, you’d actually care.”
Their first release, Nothing to Fear, will be filmed this summer with a release in late 2011. The tale follows a God-fearing Catholic-American family lured to a small town. To their peril, the town is one of the seven gates of hell and home to a bloodlust demon whose hunger must be satiated once a year in a sacrifice.
Wake the Dead is slated for release next. It’s a re-imagining of Frankenstein based on Steve Niles’ graphic novel, with Jay Russell slated to direct; Theorum and The Other Kingdom will follow. “These are films that horror fans would want to see and could become iconic,” Eric said, nodding to classics like The House of the Devil, The Descent and The Strangers.
Not merely attaching his name to the company for hype’s sake, Slash will be hands-on with most facets of production, like amending scripts, choosing directors and discussing special effects. “I have no interest in acting,” Slash said, with a laugh, adding he also has little interest, at this point, in directing, like other musical crossovers like Rob Zombie. “I want to realize a really good film and just sit in the background.” However, Slash expressed the potential of composing scores. 2009 saw his first scoring foray with independent, low-budget This is Not a Movie.
So, it seems as though Slash can safely call himself both a producer and a musician, especially because he’s still riding high with his Billboard-topping 2010 debut solo album, Slash.
Lacking a decent set of lungs, Slash gathered an entourage of guest vocalists—Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop, Chris Cornell, Dave Grohl and Myles Kennedy, among others—for the album’s 14 tracks. On his album, unlike his fresh territorial ventures into movies, Slash sticks to the grinding pop-metal that made him famous. While not unpleasant, the album doesn’t quite have the white-knuckle-gripping feel that creeps and lingers like a quality horror film.
There is a parallel between the two mediums, though. “Horror movies are very rock & roll, there’s a kinship,” Slash said. “Rock has a very dark side. They’re both kind of about rebellion.”?

Ra Ra Riot

Lush soundscapes & sports trivia

 Ra Ra Riot

“If you build it, they will come,” said an elusory voice to farmer Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) in his Iowa cornfield during the 1989 classic baseball flick Field of Dreams. After some consideration, Kinsella turned his land into a baseball field to be filled with the ghostly apparitions of baseball past. He does what every man wishes he could do: fully follow his passion.

Kinsella plowed his cash crop; Wes Miles and company built The Orchard. Although the actions are essentially opposites—minus food references—the Ra Ra Riot frontman got that same invigorating sense of freedom. “I can imagine always having the feeling I do now, which is excitement to redefine and reshape the music I make,” he says.

He and the other four band members came together during college in 2008 in Syracuse, N.Y., via guitarist Milo Bonacci’s mutual acquantences. Within a year, they released their debut, The Rhumb Line, and soon began touring with the likes of Bow Wow Wow and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. Soon after came their excellent, expressionistic second full-length, The Orchard, which has set them on a major-league indie-pop run.

But for Miles, music isn’t the only way he gets his swings in: He’s a sports junkie. “I’d say it’s more of a release for me. Any time touring or music gets overwhelming, it’s nice to have some other dimension of your life that you can feel the full range of emotions from,” he says.

The love of the game spills over into band territory, as well. Over the course of the summer and fall tours, Ra Ra Riot’s Twitter followers have had the chance to win spots on the band’s guest list for many gigs by answering obscure baseball and hockey trivia questions. On the band’s Tumblr site, Miles drops commentary on this or that sports triviality and talks about old obsessions, like collecting baseball cards.

“I actually liked collecting cards more than watching the sports, I think. Although ‘hoarding’ might be a more appropriate word, since I really didn’t know anything about it and didn’t really trade cards, either,” Miles says.

Luckily, he’s grown out of that hoarding phase—at least musically. The Orchard hit a home run with indie-rock fans and critics alike. Its rich instrumentation—fueled by cellist Alexandra Lawn and violinist Rebecca Zeller—and melodic bass lines made a perfect backdrop for Miles’ cunning lyricism.

The man is savvy with the pen. In fact, beyond writing songs, he says that he will soon be contributing to the blog AlonOnSports.tumblr.com from time to time “about [New Jersey] Devils’ news, contract snafus, other punditry, etc.”

“Actually, I’ve sort of had a sports renaissance in my life in the last few years. I’m definitely not interested in the critical parts of sports writing, but, as an enthusiast, writing satisfies some sort of void between games without reading too many paranoid comment sections on other blogs,” Miles says.

On Dec. 11, 2010, Miles merged his two loves when he sang the national anthem prior to a hockey game between the Detroit Red Wings and the New Jersey Devils. He wrote on the blog that singing in front of his hero, goalie Marty Brodeur, was surreal.

He’s an open book when writing about the major-league sports, but he’s much more secretive about what’s in store for the band. It’s been more than a year since The Orchard was released, and Miles wouldn’t dish out on anything, really, regarding the band’s third release or any new musical directions.

“There’s not much to say other than we are getting started pretty soon, and I’m super excited about where we’re headed,” he says. Answers to other questions, like who might replace current touring drummer, Kenny Barnard, were also vague.

For now, Miles and company remain content to tour the land and tout NHL banter via social networking. Crunch time will come, as it always does, but with the pressure lessened for their third album—versus the impending questions of a sophomore effort after a stellar debut—the band can hopefully hone their craft. And, who knows, maybe a divine voice will whisper in Miles’ ear, allowing a new fruitful divergence. 

Early Portion: The Chickens

New local instrumental 'supergroup'

 The Chickens

There’s a new instrumental “supergroup” attracting buzz in Zion. The Chickens are a septet consisting of members from local reggae, ska, jazz and country bands such as Insatiable and 2 1/2 White Guys, bands that have gained popularity since the mid-’90s. And like the best things in life, The Chickens strutted themselves into existence without any planning.

“We actually never intended to be a ‘real’ band. We just wanted to get together to write and record a few songs without any prior rehearsal or game plan and see what would happen,” bandleader and saxophonist Dan Nelson says. The Chickens began as a trio with Nelson, Andy Evans (bass) and Shaun Thomas (drums and percussion), then the project expanded to a seven-piece over time. The talented musicians whom Nelson picked to play with The Chickens all add their various influences. It all comes together in a fun mash-up of, mostly, jazz and funk.

“Adding more players thickened up the sound considerably,” Nelson says, adding that somehow he wrangled up the best players in the city. This includes Page McGinnis (lead guitar), Zach Craigle (rhythm guitar), Josh Francis (trumpet) and Derek Howa (keyboards).

“After a few months, word got out and we got a few gig offers, and I decided maybe we should actually try and do something with the group.” That something is more gigging and a debut CD, which they will release Dec. 9 at Bar Deluxe; Ogden roots band Shaky Trade will open.

From the album, “Tusker,” written by Page McGinnis, is a highlight. Nelson says McGinnis got the notion for the tune on a beach in Kenya drinking a Tusker beer. “Tusker” reminds me of the riff in The Heavy’s “How You Like Me Now.”

“One song will be a straight funk tune, the next might be acid jazz and the one after that could be afrobeat,” Nelson says. “It just depends on what mood we were in when we wrote it.” For seven members, the playing is tight, the sound is innovative and catchy, and it’s something that Utah needs more of.?

Where's the Utah Metal?

Local bands talk about lost scene

 Adam Paswaters, Brute Force

When asked if he ever books metal shows, University of Utah public-relations student and club investor Rick Jones laughs and retorts, “What for? Nostalgia?”

Once upon a time, God cut through the wave of progressive rock and flower-toting jam bands to proclaim to the world, “Let there be metal.” And metal there was, in every city, in every club and in the CD decks of every teenager.

The Big Four thrash bands stopped in Salt Lake City every year. Pantera trashed rooms at the Grand America and Motel 6 alike, Ozzfest sold out the open-air venues across the country, and every local venue from the Great Saltair to the Dawg Pound had a metal act lined up each weekend, it seemed. Local metal bands were as plentiful as they were concert-ready. This, however, is no longer the case.

“The metal scene is dying in this city,” says Adam Paswaters, rhythm guitarist and vocalist for the Salt Lake City-based outfit aptly titled Brute Force. His band has been around for years, playing in every venue that will book them and any time slot that isn’t before noon. They conjure stereotypical images of a mishmash of every heavy band in history: ripped jeans, Viking hair, broken-in T-shirts of their favorite musical influences and a cloud of cigarette smoke that surrounds them like Stygian mist.

“Every show used to be metal; now it’s a bunch of indie bands and electronica. The music used to be about passion and aggression and doing your own thing,” Paswaters says. “Now, it seems like nobody wants that anymore. It’s ‘not [their] scene.’” Other bands like Ravings of a Madman, INVDRS (who played a “final show” in July, only to re-emerge in August) and Killbot have also tried to keep the bullhorns thrown high into the midnight hour whenever and wherever they could.

The time is over for Flying V guitars and blast beats, suspects former bassist for rockabilly band Hillbilly Hellcats and Salt Lake City resident Dinny Dinsdale. “I honestly haven’t been to a really great metal show in years,” he says. “Metal didn’t make the leap to the years beyond 2005, really. It’s sad. They breathed a lot of life into the city. But metal isn’t the scene anymore; people want pin-ups, not chicks in denim vests.”

Certainly the change in music in a broad scope has been multidimensional. Clothing style, dance style, social messages and drinking habits have all influenced the decline in this aggressive and sonically powerful genre.

“I don’t know when, exactly, but along the line, everybody just wanted to dance,” says “Metal” Travis Jensen, a promoter for The Complex. “Electronic music is the huge thing now, and indie.”

However, hope springs eternal; there may be a chance of revival for the genre—and from a younger generation of headbangers. “It’s not like the scene is dead entirely; we try to book tons of metal acts here. What really helps is that we have some all-ages rooms,” Jensen says, with hope.

“The bars are the last bastions for us these days,” says Logan Platt, Brute Force’s lead guitarist. However, metal stalwart Club Vegas recently closed shop, so venues are slim pickin’s. “And all the all-ages venues got shut down: Outer Rim, Lo-Fi Cafe, The Junction, Club DV8. That’s really what killed the scene, I think. ... The musical future is the kids, and they can’t see us. What we need are more venues that kids can come to without having to get a fake I.D.”

Young bands from Salt Lake City often travel to Ogden, which seems to have less of a problem keeping a lively metal scene alive. “Salt Lake is cool for going to dance clubs and stuff,” says Tim McKenna, the most vocal of a group of teenage metalheads who frequent the all-ages Ogden club The Basement. The shows feature upward to seven bands, each playing rapid-fire sets in succession to a packed house. “We can’t get into a lot of the metal shows, though, so more bands play here, I think. It’d be sick to have some better places in Salt Lake, though.”

“There’s a comeback on the way,” says local concert promoter Frank Carroll, who hails from the more vibrant East Coast metal scene. “Bands can’t get the $2,000 return that they might get in Los Angeles. It’s discouraging for them, so what they need is a group of dedicated promoters who are willing to do the DIY thing: knock on some doors, make some cold calls and not be scared of getting rejected. And they’re getting more people like that.”

It seems like metal may not be dead entirely. It might just be, fittingly, undead.