\nIssue #140: August 2000<\/strong>
\nBy Brian Staker<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![\"2000](\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Archive-Covers-2000-303x400.webp\")
\u201cWithout naming names, culturally there is one side and the other,\u201d says owner Phil Sherburne<\/strong>. \u201cA lot of kids don\u2019t fit into the norm. You gotta have somewhere to go, and Kilby<\/em>\u2019s a great place for people who didn\u2019t find a home with the Young Republicans. Not to mention the great bands that come here.\u201d He continues, \u201cIt\u2019s not a clique or anything, but it\u2019s somewhere else to go besides a dance club. These kids think differently. And it\u2019s not just for kids, but for the whole community I hope.\u201d<\/p>\n Kilby Court <\/em><\/a>has been the place in Salt Lake to see an entire array of bands you\u2019d never find anywhere else in this state and one of the few remaining all-ages venues for live music. Visiting bands \u201cappreciate being able to play for a crowd that is actually listening to you, unlike in a bar,\u201d says Rex Shelverton<\/strong> of the San Francisco group Vue<\/strong><\/a>. Over 100 shows have happened there since opening almost exactly a year ago on Aug. 9, 1999 with the Pinehurst Kids<\/strong><\/a> visiting from Portland. The lineups have read like a who\u2019s who of up-and-coming indie and smaller label rock bands.<\/p>\n Read the full article here!<\/a><\/p>\n Tony Hawk<\/a> has been pro for nearly 19 years and officially stopped competing in 1999. At 33 years of age, eating well and skating regularly keeps him healthy. \u201cHaving a family and business to manage, I can\u2019t spend all day at the skate park anymore,\u201d Hawk says. When you ride skateboards, injuries are part of the game, and although he says \u201clearning how to fall is the best way to avoid getting hurt,\u201d Hawk has knocked out his front teeth, had a few concussions \u201cbefore the days of good helmets,\u201d fractured a rib and broken his elbow. Oh yes, the pleasures of skating.<\/p>\n With skateboarding becoming more and more popular and accepted in mainstream culture, Hawk has taken advantage of the hype and used his name to make \u201cmuch more than I ever thought possible.\u201d He only endorses products that he actually uses or believes in, so don\u2019t think that he\u2019s some sell-out corporate whore. You might have noticed that damn skateboard video game that everyone has been playing, the Tony Hawk Pro Skater <\/em>game. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing that a video game finally makes the general public understand the technical aspects of skating,\u201d Hawk says.<\/p>\n Read the full article here!<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t take a penis to hold a fucking guitar,\u201d says Kelly Green<\/strong>, guitarist and singer for the punk band Teen Tragedies<\/strong>. In a town where roughly one out of every five bands has a female musician \u2014 and maybe one out of 10 boasts a female band leader \u2014 some girls wonder if playing is a man\u2019s job. \u201cBecause I\u2019m a girl, I always have to prove it,\u201d Green says. \u201cBut I don\u2019t think my music has anything to do with gender,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Victoria Johnson<\/strong>, the guitarist and vocalist for the all-girl band The<\/strong> Basement<\/strong>, is used to proving herself. \u201cMale musicians have really low expectations of females,\u201d she says. When a male coworker teased that he\u2019d never met a girl who could do a guitar solo, she called him on it, promising to give him a lesson in female rock on their next break. Liza Law<\/strong> is a tough guitar player whose intelligent lyrics can barely be heard over the hard sounds of Nell Nash<\/strong>, her band. \u201cWe\u2019re calling bullshit on these motherfuckers,\u201d she says, when asked about men who don\u2019t take female musicians seriously. \u201cWe need to re-learn issues of gender … to redefine what it means to be girls.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the full article here!<\/a><\/p>\n I recognized money and time as both a despairing image and an answer to many of Jenny Lewis<\/strong><\/a>\u2019 lyrics in the last two albums. \u201cI think my fears and anxieties take on a different word, face or emotion,\u201d she says. \u201cThose are pretty consistent. I think this new record will have some war references, as I was watching the war on television.\u201d While some artists might scoff at the idea of being political or saying what\u2019s on their mind, this is exactly what many believe being an artist is all about.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a really scary thing to expose yourself and then scarier to expose your political ideas,\u201d she says. \u201cPersonally, I don\u2019t give a fuck. I\u2019m going to say what I want to say and hopefully, the right people will hear, understand and relate to what I\u2019m saying. More than anything else, I\u2019m just afraid for the future of our country. That\u2019s why it comes up in our songs, because I\u2019m scared for my own life.\u201d Lewis has every reason to be afraid for the future of America, but musically, Rilo Kiley already has two astounding releases under its belt and will return for a third this year.<\/p>\n Read the full article here!<\/a><\/p>\n For many individuals living within the Utah state lines, Salt Lake City serves as a sanctuary from an otherwise by-The-Book society. Many members of SLC\u2019s subcultures do abide by a sort of writing, though \u2014 that of ink on flesh. You can spot tattooed youth anywhere from Sage\u2019s Cafe<\/em> and Albee Square<\/em> to the mall and McDonald\u2019s. Whether you view tattoos as a lifelong symbol of dedication to a movement or a hip fashion statement that will make the girls at East High swoon, the caliber of tattoo artists in SLC rivals that of any major city in the world. That is why, on Feb. 27, 28 and 29, Salt Lake City will be hosting its first-ever tattoo convention.<\/p>\n Put together by Lost Art Tattoo<\/em>, this year\u2019s convention ain\u2019t gonna be no wallflower amongst the dozens of annual international tattoo conventions. \u201cTen years ago, this probably wouldn\u2019t have worked,\u201d says CJ Starky<\/strong> of Lost Art<\/em><\/a>. \u201cPeople weren\u2019t getting sleeves and back pieces \u2014 there wasn\u2019t the quality. But at this convention there will be eight international booths from four different continents. We\u2019ve been planning this for a year now, and the time is right. Lots of good shops are thriving.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the full article here!<\/a><\/p>\n Last year proved to be another year of destroying the planet for Mastodon. Leviathan<\/em> was released in 2004, an album that is just as complex, indefinable and crushing as 2002\u2019s equally acclaimed Remission<\/em>. In a conceptual manner, Mastodon re-tells Herman Melville<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s tale of Moby Dick<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. The epic story of a man driven to manic obsession by his hunt for a great yet fictional white whale is just as twisted and gargantuan as the music of Mastodon. Last month, I had the honor of conversing with vocalist and bassist Troy Sanders <\/strong><\/a>about his band\u2019s decision to follow the theme of Melville\u2019s novel.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, the story of Moby Dick paralleled the lives of the four dudes in Mastodon so much, it was too easy for us to pick and pull similarities to Captain Ahab\u2019s character and the pursuit of the whale \u2014 and the dedication, persistence and sacrifice,\u201d Sanders says. \u201cThe longevity of his trip was almost like what we\u2019ve done in our band for the past five years. So we just thought it would be cool to do something themed \u2014 not a direct concept album \u2014 but something themed with water and creatures, which we\u2019re all fascinated with.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the full article here!<\/a><\/p>\n It seemed like a long three years of anticipation for the 2005 Ladytron album, Witching Hour<\/em>. Rich guitars blending into a harder rock sound was a surprise, yet the band flattened their integrity through the same richness of analog synths and gentle female vocals. Reuben Wu<\/strong><\/a> says it was a conscious effort to hold on to the original sound of Ladytron. \u201cThere is as much synth as there is on our previous records,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019ve just been able to experiment with the sound and broaden our range of instrumentation.\u201d<\/p>\n Adding guitars to Witching Hour <\/em>came naturally to the band. \u201cWe use synths as a foundation and build on top of that,\u201d Wu says. \u201cWe don\u2019t try to stay within one realm of instrumentation. It\u2019s all sound. We treat a guitar like a synthesizer, but with strings.\u201d With three out of the four members being DJs, it seemed natural for Ladytron to slip in some vinyl scratching, blending the beats in the vein of Portishead<\/strong>.<\/a> Wu says they tried, but it was a \u201cbad idea.\u201d What about male vocals? Wu suggests listening very carefully to \u201cInternational Dateline.\u201d The subtleness of male vocals rewards the listener paying close attention.<\/p>\n Read the full article here!<\/a><\/p>\n In one form or another, Ken Sanders has been involved with books and the book business his whole life. But the transformation from bibliophile to book seller is as interesting as any printed matter that Sanders sells on his shelves. \u201cI read books omnivorously from the time I could read,\u201d Sanders says. \u201cI don\u2019t ever remember a time when I did not read books.\u201d<\/p>\n Born in 1951, Sanders\u2019 obsession with books started at a young age. At Woodrow Wilson Elementary, Sanders read every book in the school\u2019s library that interested him \u2014 from the fantasy fiction of Lewis Carroll<\/strong><\/a> to the morose horror stories of Edgar Allan Poe<\/strong><\/a>. In class, Sanders would receive boxes of books from the Errol book shipments, which is something like the Scholastic Book Fairs of today. Every week he would get a weekly reader, and every month he would order bunches of 25-cent paperbacks. \u201c[Most kids] would end up getting a book or two. I had more books than the whole rest of the class combined,\u201d Sanders says. \u201cTo me, it was a lifeline.\u201d Thanks to his early attachment to books, Sanders became a serious book collector by age 14.<\/p>\n Read the full article here!<\/a><\/p>\n Today, LDS Church members adhere to the Word of Wisdom<\/em> quite strictly\u2026 but it wasn\u2019t always that way. Back when Salt Lake City was in its infancy, the church and its members proved to be both active and vital in the movement to keep Utah soaked in booze. Economically, it was a great way to attract people to Utah\u2019s ever-growing populace.<\/p>\n A Mormon (one that was oft accused of killing people) started the first Utah brewery. Indeed, the infamous Orrin Porter Rockwell<\/strong><\/a> established the Hot Springs Brewery and Hotel<\/em> in 1856. Rockwell himself was a colorful character: He was the personal bodyguard to both Joseph Smith<\/strong><\/a> and Brigham Young<\/strong><\/a>, and with his Manson<\/strong><\/a>-like beard and intense, thunderous eyes, he turned out to be as intimidating as he looked. During a speech given by Vice President Schuyler Colfax<\/strong><\/a> in 1869, Rockwell blurted out, \u201cI never killed anyone who didn\u2019t need killing.\u201d This certainly makes sense when you take into account the fact that he was arrested for the murders and attempted murders of multiple men, including notable Western figures such as Lilburn W. Boggs<\/strong>, Lot Huntington<\/strong> and John Aiken<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Read the full article here!<\/a><\/p>\n Brad Collins<\/strong> is going full-on with the resurrection of Raunch Records<\/em><\/a>, knowing all too well what a financial gamble it may be. His reasoning is not for any kind of \u201cget rich quick\u201d aspirations, and he acknowledges that others may question the intentions of this business endeavor. \u201cThere\u2019s been a couple guys that are going, \u2018You\u2019re a dope! What are you doing it for?\u2019\u201d Collins says. \u201cAs far as the [current] economy goes, most people are saying, \u2018You\u2019re crazy!\u2019 Even the distributors that sell the music are saying I\u2019m crazy \u2026 I\u2019m 52 fuckin\u2019 years old. Am I going to relate to the 16-year-old [customers]? I\u2019m not sure yet.\u201d<\/p>\n Raunch Records<\/em> opened its first location on July 4, 1984 on the corner of 400 South and 400 West. The building that housed Raunch<\/em> would soon after be known as Positively Fourth Street, which was also the home of rehearsal studios and the legendary Painted Word<\/em> all-ages music venue, which brought in most cool, touring bands of the time if the neighboring Speedway Caf\u00e9<\/em> couldn\u2019t accommodate them. It was in the worst part of town at the time, hidden by a now non-existent overpass, just south of Pioneer Park.<\/p>\n Read the full article here!<\/a><\/p>\n Read other articles from the SLUG<\/em> archives:<\/strong>
\nTony Hawk<\/strong>
\nIssue #152: August 2001<\/strong>
\nBy Mike<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"2001](\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Archive-Covers-2001-312x400.webp\")
\nFemale Musicians with an Agenda<\/strong>
\nIssue #163: July 2002<\/strong>
\nBy Joey Marquart<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"2002](\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Archive-Covers-2002-311x400.webp\")
\nAn Interview with Rilo Kiley<\/strong>
\nIssue #175: July 2003<\/strong>
\nBy Josh Scheuerman<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"2003](\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Archive-Covers-2003-292x400.webp\")
\nSalt Lake Shows Some Skin<\/strong>
\nFebruary 2004: Issue #182<\/strong>
\nBy Jennifer Nielsen<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"2004](\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Archive-Covers-2004-305x400.webp\")
\nMastodon Has the Ability to Rule Us All<\/strong>
\nIssue #196: April 2005<\/strong>
\nBy Chuck Berrett<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"2005](\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Archive-Covers-2005-320x400.webp\")
\nAn Interview with Ladytron<\/strong>
\nIssue #214: October 2006<\/strong>
\nBy Lynne Scott<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"2006](\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Archive-Covers-2006-313x400.webp\")
\nKen Sanders: The Pimp of the Printed Word<\/strong>
\nIssue #228: December 2007<\/strong>
\nBy Erik Lopez<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"2007](\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Archive-Covers-2007-305x400.webp\")
\nThe History of Beer in Utah<\/strong>
\nIssue #234: June 2008<\/strong>
\nBy Evan Sawdey<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"2008](\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Archive-Covers-2008-319x400.webp\")
\nThe Rebirth of Raunch Records<\/strong>
\nIssue #252: December 2009<\/strong>
\nBy Ryan-Ashley Workman<\/strong><\/h4>\n![\"2009](\"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Archive-Covers-2009-305x400.webp\")
\n
\nWaking up with Jimmy Valle: The Album Leaf’s New Dawn Instrumentalism<\/a><\/strong><\/em>
\nThe Zach Hammers Interview: The Most Underground Skater Ever!<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"