SLUG Magazine

Local hip-hop and house artist Alyxandri Jupiter wants to transport her listeners to a new, dreamlike plane with her latest EP release, Out of Body Experience. Currently working with Audio Flow and Media Ink, Jupiter hopes to continue taking her listeners on a “space trip.” In this podcast, she discusses lucid dreaming, out-of-body experiences, and how she creates her own fantasy world with her music.

Jupiter grew up in a musical household—in fact, her father, Chris Wright, currently works for Media Ink and is also a DJ. “I always knew that I wanted to be a successful traveling musician,” says Jupiter. She shaped her own reality and attended Scottsdale Community College—the only school where you can get a degree in turntableism. It was at SCC where she met Candy Man. “He taught me how to relax and let go,” she says. “For me, it was dancing while I was recording.”

Her dance evolved from her time spent in Hawaii. “Around the same time I was in Scottsdale Community College, I started to open up my psychedelic self-discovery,” she says. “During that time, I made the decision to move out to Hawaii. … It was a great experience, and personally, the best decision I’ve ever made.” Her time on Kona led her to experimenting with psychedelics, networking with other musicians and learning skilled dance techniques including fire-dancing and aerial arts. Out of Body Experience is a tribute to her time in Hawaii and a manifestation of Jupiter’s personal view of Alyx’s experiences on the big island. “It was my personal wonderland,” she says. “Alyx in wonderland, if you will.”

Jupiter has worked with countless musicians and DJs, including BriskOner and has even produced a single with Shanghaii, to be released this May. “I am ecstatic to show you a glimpse into my mind with the Out of Body Experience EP,” says Jupiter. Be on the lookout for her in local venues, as well as national concerts and festivals. On this podcast, you’ll hear the track “888 Lionsgate” featuring Cig Burna. Check out her music at alyxandrijupiter.com and alyxandrijupitermusic.bandcamp.com.

Thanks for listening to SLUG Soundwaves.

SLUG Magazine’s mission is to provide an honest journalistic alternative to mainstream coverage of arts, music, events and lifestyle. SLUG adds value to lifestyle through community engagement. Available in print and digitally on SLUGmag.com.

On April 21, The State Room will host one of the most epic concerts local music has to date: Ménage à Trois, showcasing Crook and the Bluff, Candy’s River House and PIG EON for a fully-orchestrated evening of the blues and psychedelic Western sounds. Crook and the Bluff’s Kirk Dath (vocals, guitar) and Darin Farnsworth (drums) give us a small snippet of the evening they have planned for Ménage à Trois.

Farnsworth thought of the concept after a concert in Escalante, Utah. “We were just talking about how typical shows have flaws,” he says, “and I’ve had this idea of having a show where the music is just nonstop and how can we pull that off.” After months of planning and allowing the concept to take root, Crook and the Bluff were presented an opportunity to make this happen at The State Room. 

“Logistically, we picked The State Room because they had a lot of equipment and had a large enough stage to accommodate three bands of our sizes,” says Dath, “a three-piece, a four-piece and a five-piece, all going to be onstage at the same time, all mic’d at the same time, all lit at the same time.” Ménage à Trois will seem much like a play: Audience members will pick up a program before entering the show so they can keep up with who is playing what at any given moment. “I don’t want to give everything away,” says Dath, “but Jordan Young from Candy’s River House, Sam Smith from PIG EON and myself will come out and perform a song all together.”

The night promises to be wild, as each band will begin to play on each other’s tracks, meshing their sounds together to create a unique concert experience. The show will also include live dancers. “We were lucky enough as Crook and the Bluff to do a show with a few of the dancers that will be performing at the Ménage à Trois show,” says Dath. “It’s just stunning. It adds so much to the show, and for people to add a visual element to the song, it seems to really work and fit seamlessly with the music.” Crook and the Bluff have worked with top-notch local performers such as Pretty Macabre, whom Dath describes as “captivating.”

The song you’ll hear on the track is “Red” by Crook and the Bluff. Don’t miss Ménage à Trois on April 21 at 9 p.m. This show is 21-plus, and tickets are on sale online for $13 or $15 at the door. For more information, visit crookandthebluff.com.

Thanks for listening to SLUG Soundwaves.

SLUG Magazine’s mission is to provide an honest journalistic alternative to mainstream coverage of arts, music, events and lifestyle. SLUG adds value to lifestyle through community engagement. Available in print and digitally on SLUGmag.com.

Joshua Faulkner and Daniel Romero are the talents behind the geeky, electronic sci-fi duo, Conquer Monster. Created with modified computers, 8-bit synthesizers and 1950s radio samples, Conquer Monster truly are the music go-to for dystopian sci-fi vibes.

“We actually met at a party and instantly started geeking out,” says Faulkner. “We’re just two nerds who like math almost as much as well as we like making music with vintage gear.” Although Conquer Monster’s music alone is all you need to invoke thoughts, emotions and stories, they bring something unique to our local music scene by always incorporating visual elements to their music, whether it’s graphic art, film clips or even their own comic book. “We really wanted to explore putting out something that wasn’t just a musical component,” says Romero. Conquer Monster teamed up with Black Omen Comics to create Purge World, a comic book that corresponds with their album, Metatransit.

Taking place in the futuristic year of 4542, Purge World instantly captivates with a plot that follows an organization of assassins in a Cold War–like era. In this universe, aptly named Metatransit, humans use technology that takes all the data that makes up a person—emotions, memories, physical data, etc.—and transfers this data into music notes. The notes are then played by a band and translated to radio waves then to the speed of light, allowing humans to essentially time-travel to new planets through music. If this wasn’t cool enough of a visual element, Conquer Monster decided to add another visual element to the music and comic book combination: a ballet company.

Faulkner and Romero met Sarah Longoria, the Director of the Municipal Dance Company, at the STEM Building at the Craft Lake City DIY Festival, and immediately wanted to collaborate. “I mentioned to Sarah how cool I thought it was that they were combing music and dance into a single performance,” says Romero. “I stressed to her how much we would love to work with them in the future, and fortunately, she contacted us this December. Having a ballet company dance to your comic book and live music is an amazing opportunity.” Considering that Metatransit is filled with magical, futuristic moments and varied soundscapes, Municipal Dance Co. has a lot of variation of moods and tones to play with.

On this podcast, you’ll hear the track “Dystopian Underworld,” the first track of the album that sets the entire scene. Join Conquer Monster and Municipal Dance Company on April 7 and 8 at Urban Lounge, where Conquer Monster will score the Municipal Ballet Company’s performance with the entirety of Metatransit.

Thanks for listening to SLUG Soundwaves.

SLUG Magazine’s mission is to provide an honest journalistic alternative to mainstream coverage of arts, music, events and lifestyle. SLUG adds value to lifestyle through community engagement. Available in print and digitally on SLUGmag.com.

Quiet Oaks release their debut album, Pretty Alright, this Friday, March 17, at their Urban Lounge release show, with support from Andrew Goldring and Strange Familia. In this episode of Soundwaves, hear Quiet Oaks singer/guitarist Dane Sandberg and drummer Spencer Sayer talk about the band’s live-performance finesse and how they’ve translated it to Pretty Alright.

Thanks for listening to SLUG Soundwaves.

SLUG Magazine’s mission is to provide an honest journalistic alternative to mainstream coverage of arts, music, events and lifestyle. SLUG adds value to lifestyle through community engagement. Available in print and digitally on SLUGmag.com.

Local street-punk band Endless Struggle will reunite this March to play SLUT Fest for a one-time reunion show (for now). In this episode, Bobby Struggle and Jesse Struggle discuss Endless Struggle’s formative years—along with some crazy stories from tour.

In the band’s early days, it was difficult to find venues who hosted punk bands, but with a bit of luck and a lot of perseverence, Endless Struggle landed as the openers for The Casualties. After that, Jake Casualty of Charged Records reached out to the band members. “Jake … asked if Endless Struggle was interested in recording a 7” album,” says Bobby. They released their 7”, Leathers, Studs, and Punks in 1999, followed by their full-length albums, In The Day (2000) and Till The End (2003).

Touring, of course, ensued after. “We went on a full U.S. tour,” says Jesse. “It was with Antidote, The Virus, The Casualties, of course, and we just went all over the country playing with these guys.” Endless Struggle especially became close with The Virus. “We toured with The Virus so much,” says Jesse, “that we ended up playing each other’s songs, just fucking with each other.”

Endless Struggle’s touring stories include a destroyed five-star hotel, getting free food for being far too hungover, and revealing the truth about he SLDP tattoos that one might see on punks in SLC. “The SLDP tattoo thing is kind of part of the original Endless Struggle logo,” says Bobby. The original logo eventually became mistaken for a gang symbol. “Cops ended up showing up so often, and they saw this SLDP written all over everything, so we actually ended up getting labeled as a street gang for a while,” says Jesse. “Kids started tagging SLDP all over everything and we were technically on the gang list for Salt Lake.” Jesse also discusses the decision he made while touring that ultimately led him to dealing with anxiety for the rest of his life. “I hate talking about this, you know,” he says, “but I think that it’s important for kids to understand that this shit will fuck you up so bad.” Because of the escalated anxiety, Jesse was unable to tour. “Being punk rock doesn’t mean just doing whatever the fuck,” he says. “It ends up coming back. It ends up hitting you pretty fucking hard.”

The song you’ll hear on this podcast is “No Luck” from the In The Day album. Don’t miss their reunion tour on March 12 at Area 51 for SLUT Fest. Follow Endless Struggle and, maybe, more of their crazy antics on Facebook with the handle @endlesstruggleslc.

Thanks for listening to SLUG Soundwaves.

SLUG Magazine’s mission is to provide an honest journalistic alternative to mainstream coverage of arts, music, events and lifestyle. SLUG adds value to lifestyle through community engagement. Available in print and digitally on SLUGmag.com.

In August, local indie-rock band Cat Ghost Formerly Known As Ghost Cat released their first EP, I’m Cooler Than You, Stop Making Fun Of Me, a charming album with lyrics that were written pre-band by Cat Ghost’s talented Ashleigh Bassett. Bassett moved to upstate New York for adventure and to search for opportunities outside of Salt Lake City. She became close with the local scene of Orange County and was playing acoustic music around the area. After six years in New York, she moved back to SLC. “Coming back, I kind of realized that there’s a lot here that is great,” says Bassett, “and I don’t know why I wanted to leave in the first place … I love that we’re such a tight-knit community and we know what’s going on with each other, and we see each other at shows. It’s not uncommon for you to play with one band the week before and then be able to go see them the next week, too.”

Considering that half of the songs on I’m Cooler Than You, Stop Making Fun Of Me were written in New York and the other half in Utah, it’s no surprise that the album is one of transition, mirroring Bassett’s experiences of location and emotional change. Songs such as “I Can Tell Already” are love songs to her friends in New York, whereas “Small Lake City” is Bassett’s ode to Salt Lake. “When you leave home, not only do you change, but everything changes while you’re not there, too,” she says. “Albatross” is a song about the fear of regret and the questions of “what if” that coincide with moving to a new place.

During this podcast, Bassett also describes how she met her fellow bandmates, Austin “Pasta Ryan” Mas and Andrew Maguire. Their story is both humorous and sweet, founded on true friendship and mutual talent. “Austin and Andrew are my best friends,” she says. “Bandmate is kind of secondary to that.” Even though the majority of their songs are melancholy, the bandmates are true jokesters and bring life and humor to their concerts.

The track you’ll hear on this album is “I Can Tell Already.” You can check out Cat Ghost Formerly Known As Ghost Cat’s music at CatGhost.bandcamp.com or on Instagram with the handle @catghostformerlyknownasghostcat.

Thanks for listening to SLUG Soundwaves.

SLUG Magazine’s mission is to provide an honest journalistic alternative to mainstream coverage of arts, music, events and lifestyle. SLUG adds value to lifestyle through community engagement. Available in print and digitally on SLUGmag.com.

Local indie rock band Strong Words have just released their third album, The Heaviness Needs a Lift. Cathy Foy is the lead vocals and guitarist for Strong Words, and her past projects include being the drummer for Browzer, The Awful Truth, The Circulars and Future of the Ghost. During this podcast, Foy discusses how personal this album is to her. “This album is a highly emotional album,” she says. “It basically is about relationships and also touches on my childhood.”

Music was a huge part of Foy’s upbringing because of her love for music. “What I did growing up was I would just go sit in my room and I would make mixtapes from my CDs and from the radio,” she says. “For me, that was a really magical time and something that I really miss.” Inspired by Cindy Blackman, Foy started to play drums. “They did a close-up of her playing,” says Foy, “and I was like, whatever she’s doing, I wanted to do that.” At 12 years old, her mother bought her a snare drum and, after practicing for a full year, she bought Foy a full drum-set.

The track “I Am From a Nowhere Place” is about growing up gay in Panguitch, Utah. “This is one of the more personal songs on the record,” she says. “I wrote this song so that I was kind of speaking to myself as a younger person, and just showing what I went through and giving a voice to that.” Born in an extremely small town, Foy expresses how difficult it was to grow up gay in a place where her voice and experiences were erased, and she was stuck in silence for many years. “It’s something you had to turn off or turn inward,” she says. “I think the beauty of that is that you have sort of a sacred place in yourself that’s just yours, and eventually that blossoms as an adult, or hopefully it does.”

The track you’ll hear on this podcast is “Big Love.” You can purchase The Heaviness Needs a Lift on iTunes, stream on Spotify or download at strongwords.bandcamp.com.

Thanks for listening to SLUG Soundwaves.

SLUG Magazine’s mission is to provide an honest journalistic alternative to mainstream coverage of arts, music, events and lifestyle. SLUG adds value to lifestyle through community engagement. Available in print and digitally on SLUGmag.com.

On Friday, Jan. 20, No Sun released their debut album, If Only, at Diabolical Records with Civil Lust and Westing opening. In this episode of Soundwaves, frontman Jordan Strang discusses how If Only came to fruition.

Originally from St. George, Strang started his music career with band Fever Dreams before moving to Salt Lake City three years ago. “Starting No Sun basically came out of necessity,” says Strang. “There all these emotions I was going through without any way to express them with my band members still being in St. George at the time, and it kind of led me to outlets I was less comfortable with like guitar and singing.” At the time, Strang’s roommates played in local band Speak Out. “We met through playing shows together as Fever Dreams, and eventually, I reached out to some members to live with me.” When Strang realized that he and his roommates were looking to create softer, more ambient music, No Sun was born.

After about a year and a half as a band, No Sun’s styles changed and altered, eventually creating an early-’90s shoegaze style. After finishing their first record, Warm, Strang send the EP out to as many labels as he could, and Don’t Look Down Records put out the record. Later, Mayfly Records wrote back to them as well, asking if No Sun would be willing to create a full-length album. “We just really, really narrowed down on trying to write a record,” says Strang, “and locked ourselves in a practice space for the better part of two months and wrote If Only, our debut record.” Once the record was completed, the band heard word that Mayfly Records temporarily had to close—but, thankfully, the label The Native Sound was interested in their record and picked them up only a few days later. “Working with The Native Sound has been absolutely incredible,” says Strang.

Hear more how Strang and his bandmates created If Only, the challenges they face, and the triumphs they achieved. The song you’ll hear on this podcast is “It’s Happening Again.” For more information, check out their music at nosunband.bandcamp.com or learn more about their upcoming U.S. tour at facebook.com/nosunmusic.

Thanks for listening to SLUG Soundwaves.

SLUG Magazine’s mission is to provide an honest journalistic alternative to mainstream coverage of arts, music, events and lifestyle. SLUG adds value to lifestyle through community engagement. Available in print and digitally on SLUGmag.com.

Local artist Tara Shupe has some powerful ballads headed Salt Lake City’s way with her band Shupecabra’s upcoming album, Survival Songs. Shupe’s folk background combines beautifully with her love of rock n’ roll music, creating an album filled with emotion and inspiration. Shupe writes, produces music and plays multiple instruments including but not limited to: cello, keys, guitar and mandolin. Shupecabra releases Survival Songs on Jan. 13 at Metro Music Hall with doors opening at 8 p.m.

Shupe started her musical career when she was very young. “I do not remember the first time I held an instrument,” says Shupe. “I come from a very musical family—the Shupes. There is a long legacy of fiddle music.” The Shupes have five generations of fiddlers, mostly from her father’s side, while her mother’s family is much more focused on choral music—which gave Shupe the perfect blend of songwriting and creating harmony with learning instruments at an early age. “We were very much required to play music,” she says. “My dad knew just enough to direct us in playing. I played fiddle and mandolin. Every morning of the weekday, he would get us up one at a time—starting with the oldest—and we would play for one hour. It was always really fun for me and I looked forward to it. It was just a good time.” Music was top priority in her family’s life. “We would spend our entire summers going to Colorado a lot. There’s a lot of bluegrass in Colorado. There was a chunk of four to six weeks where we would take off and tour straight through.” Shupe and her family would play at various gigs around the state, from corporate places to shopping malls to small fairs—dressed like pioneers. They would play Telluride, RockyGrass, the Grand Targhee Festival and more. “I actually get more stage fright now than I did then.”

Shupe’s stage presence started as young as five years old, when she played mandolin in a bluegrass festival. “I don’t recall that, actually,” she says, “but there’s a picture. It’s on an album with all these hippies.” For ten years starting at age 13, Shupe was in a band called String Fever, which started its performances at Lagoon amusement park in Ogden, Utah. Within the last 10 years, Shupe has been part of numerous bands including Urban Breakdown and Pony Ride. “It’s more about getting together with friends and playing,” says Shupe. “It’s more focused on enjoying the experience. I have a very complicated relationship with music.” Upon going to Los Angeles, Shupe picked up the electric guitar and began experimenting with rock n’ roll. “I’ve always felt like somewhat of an imposter in rock n’ roll,” she says. “Until now. I felt like it was time to branch out. It feels more freeing, that I can express myself in a more true way.” Combining her rock experimentation with her practice of folk and bluegrass, Shupe began writing and creating Shupecabra’s first album release.

Shupecabra’s EP started off as a pet project. “I got this Logic program and set it up on my computer,” says Shupe. “I was really able to take my time and do it myself. It became something. It started as a little seed, and now I have six songs. It grew out of the idea to just make something—I had no expectations beyond just creating it.” Survival Songs truly is a survival album, its songs written during the toughest and darkest times of Shupe’s life. “Through my life, I’ve written a lot of songs for myself,” she says. “Kind of power tunes that I can sing to get through hard times—and this is definitely that. I feel like I’ve sorted through lot of things and have come to a place of more strength.” Creating the album has given Shupe a constr

Local dreamscape band GABI recently released their latest album, Sea Glass, a lo-fi soundtrack with sensitive rock and indie vibes. Originally from Pheonix, Arizona, Gabi Manning leads the project with her hazy vocals and sweet lyrics. GABI has become increasingly popular after the release of their first album, Sensitive Baby, and since then, Chill Mega Chill Records has picked them up. This New Years’ Eve, GABI plays at Kilby with Lady Teeth, Spooky Snack and Rich Girlz, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Interestingly, Manning found her love of music through her first love: skateboarding. “What drew me to [skating] was the mystery of how you get the board to stick to your feet,” she says. “I started skating when I was about 10 or 11. Once you start skating and you really get into it, you will always look at the world differently.” Unfortunately, two major injuries led to a loss of rotation in her ankle, making skating incredibly difficult—but even with this setback, Manning presses on with her love for skating.

During her recovery, she realized that shooting for the stars wasn’t completely out of her future. Instead of using skateboarding as her outlet, Manning picked up her sister’s neglected guitar and taught herself how to play. “There is something so beautiful and so special [about skating],” she says. “If you messed up a trick, it was no one’s fault but yours. You had to put in all the time individually, and it was up to you whether or not you learned it or landed it. It’s the same with music.” Manning began to throw her emotions, energy and time into her music, even after recovery. “I’m skating more now than I have in the last two or three years,” she says. “It helps me get away from music. Sometimes I spend too much time in music, and I want another outlet—I can go to skating, not take it seriously and not overly push myself. I can just enjoy the beauty of that art form.”

Manning began making music and writing lyrics during her recovery as well. She began writing poetry and adding synth, guitar and bass to her poems, eventually adding in vocals. “I started playing shows back home in Pheonix,” she says, “but I was shy about it. I became friends with Tyler Broderick of Diners. He booked my first real show at this venue called Funny World—a house that this old dude bought and turned into an artists’ place.” After her first show, Manning’s confidence built, especially once she met fans. “All the fans we’ve met on tour and in Salt Lake are so nice,” she says. “That’s why I’m doing it. It’s awesome to meet people.”

GABI’s latest album, Sea Glass, is about small moments that took place between three or five days. The lyrics are intimate and poetic, filled with visual imagery of small, specific gestures. It’s longer and more sweet than their previous album, Sensitive Baby, which encompasses Manning’s frustration after she left Pheonix. Sea Glass is an expanded album with bonus tracks. The song on this podcast is “Parking Lot Love”—the story of a couple who go out for ice cream and inevitably end up in a parking lot, ending the night on a sweet note.

GABI is tender, dreamy, and a strong female-fronted band. Check them out this New Years’ at Kilby, or view their music at gah-bee.bandcamp.com. You can also follow them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with the handle @gabinfriends.

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