Buzz Blog

Coming off of Tromadance, I wanted to hit a few more venues that had local artists playing.  And to start I went back to Kilby Court to check out a show with all local Utah artists and no headlining acts.  The majority of the sets were acoustic, giving a nice change of pace to the snowy season.  Artists included Spiral Diary, Heber Skies (with Ben Killbourne), Wendy Ohlwiler (also with Ben), and finally Last The Winter. --- And while the venue wasn't packed, the crowd on hand certainly showed their support for the artists who came to play. You can check out the photos from the concert while down below I had a chance to talk with all four of the acts playing that night.Spiral Diary http://www.myspace.com/spiraldiaryGavin: It was a smaller turnout tonight.

Keeping you in the loop, we have photos added from the Tromadance Evening Party for the end of the festival.  Special thanks to Mimi Cruz for the pics and all the help she and her staff provided during Tromadance.  As soon as I get the list, I’ll post winners from this year’s festival.--- Quick updates to show off. --- Project 337 just updated the front of their building to cover up the lime-white wash. Here’s a photo as of yesterday afternoon.Next, I’ve got four new venues I’m now posting dates for.

Keeping you in the loop, I wasn't able to make it out to Breviews last night to continue Tromadance interviews, but I will try to be up in Park City tomorrow night for the panel and awards at the end of the evening.  The few films I did get to see on Tuesday were interesting and a nice change of pace to the atmosphere up in Park City. I hope everyone has enjoyed the restroom interview with Lloyd Kaufman.--- On a more personal note, a small piece of my past has died today after seeing the very public cremation of the once grand club, DV8.

The first night of Tromadance kicked off in a more educational light, showcasing mostly documentary submissions in the Salt Lake City Library's auditorium.  I got a chance to talk to a number of directors who were here for Q&A after their films were shown and learn more about their journey here, as well as Tromadance Co-Director Jonathan Lees and his views of the event.  And as an added bonus on the first night, Troma Entertainment's own Lloyd Kaufman, who did a walking interview everywhere around the festival from Night Flight Comics to the Library's lower level men's room.  Truly, and experience by itself. Chris Brandthttp://www.independentsdoc.comGavin: How does it feel being here at Tromadance?Chris: It's a joy to be here.

Remember back when film festivals used to be cheap and featured talent that wasn’t already employed by major studios?

Kilby Court has been firmly established in Salt Lake City as the premiere place for local acts to come and hone their craft in front of an audience looking for a live sound to call their own. Which is why many were very unsteady at the idea of new ownership taking over the Court at the start of the new year.

With the corporate deathnails being put into the once vibrant Sugarhouse area, the Broadway Strip is now becoming one of the new areas to carry on the local vibe it once had.  Just over a year ago, the northwest corner of 2nd East and Broadway was nothing more than a antique china store.--- Now Red Light Books has taken the area and turned it into a new hotspot for alternative reading and music.  This past Friday the store played host to a ska and punk show of both local and Vegas acts.  I stopped in to take photos and talk with the bands playing.Vanzetti Crime (Treyson Bird, Erin Tooke, Mike Westbrook, Austin Wood)http://www.myspace.com/vanzetticrimeGavin: Small venue here tonight, what did you think of the turnout?Erin:  Awesome.Mike:  This is our second show so it’s a great turnout.Austin:  Everything went well, except for Mike coming unplugged, but who’s counting.  But yeah, everyone was cool and it was great to see them come out.  We had a good time.Treyson:  Everyone was really into it, which is always good.  Lot of people I haven’t met before so we enjoyed that.Gavin:  What do you guys think of the local scene here?Erin:  It’s really good.  Kids looking for a great place to listen to music where people aren’t all on drugs or drunk.Mike:  Well I don’t know if it’s good, because rock music sucks for the most part.  But the punk-ska scene is getting bigger, there’s more and more bands so that’s always good.Trey:  There’s also a lot of jerks in the scene.Erin:  Describe how they’re jerks, Trey.Trey:  Just going to shows and showing up drunk and beating up people for fun.  People are going to shows to have a good time and hang out.Austin:  Let me tell a story.  There’s this one show we played where this guy came all drunk and started groping this girl during the set.  That stuff’s not cool.  You don’t come to a show drunk, that’s a total jerk move.  Some people kicked him, which I’m fine with because you don’t do that.  But that kind of stuff isn’t what we’re about.Gavin:  So then what do you think of the major scene in general?  Emo seems to be trend right now, but what’s your opinion on the industry as a whole?Erin:  I hate Emo!  That’s it.Mike:  Emo is a trend and it’s a gimmick.  It’s like our song, “Gimmick Gimmick Gimmick”, it’s about bands who wear makeup and how they relate to 7th graders trying to sound like they relate to age but they sing about stupid things.  Like breaking up with your girlfriend in high school.Austin:  The one thing I will say about Emo is to have a genre called Emo because it’s emotional is just retarded.  Because all music should be emotional, right?  Shouldn’t there be emotion in all music you play?  You have to call it Emo so you can dye your hair and cry?Treyson:  I hate the fact that a band can start out by doing some double bass and some screams and all the girls will just flock to it.  And twelve year old girls just eat it up.  Bands should have some talent, they should have something to stand behind, they should believe in what they play.Gavin:  Any local bands you guys recommend?Mike:  X-Communicated-X, The Pacifists.Erin:  Trebuchet.Mike:  The Play Dead Movement.Gavin:  You have an album out, or anything you’re working on?Austin:  We have demos out.  Just a couple songs, spray painted the tops and got some sleeves for them.  We ask for donations.Mike:  Yeah, it’s not about getting cash for your CD, it’s about having fun.  It’s about trying to do it as much DIY as you can.  You shouldn’t have to pay $200-$300 to record something, you can do it yourself for cheaper.  It’s all about motivation.Murder Majesty  (Shane, Sean, Beavis, Arron, Gabe)http://www.myspace.com/murdermajestyGavin:  What did you think of the outturn tonight?Sean:  It was fun.  Salt Lake City is pretty alright.Shane:  Definitely.Gavin:  What do you think of the local scene here in Utah?Beavis:  I feel the same way as I do about the turnout of the show.Sean:  The snow sucks, but watcha gonna do?Beavis:  Like it.  It’s thriving.Shane:  We’ve seen a lot of ska-punk coming out that’s good.Gavin:  Any local acts you recommend?Shane:  I am not familiar with any, sorry to say.Sean:  Vanzetti Crime were great.  Them and Talking Buzz.Gavin:  You guys got an album out or working on anything?Sean:  Yeah our CD just came out.  It’s called “Hidden Politics”.  Came out this past Tuesday.  A whole five bucks.

Quick updates for you.  Dates for The Urban Lounge are now appearing on the Under The Radar calendar.  Also just added are video game tournaments being held at The Gamerz Funk for "Call Of Duty 4" and "Counter-Strike".  Plus tonight I've just added photos from the punk rock show at Red Light Books this past Friday.  Interviews with all three bands that played will be up Monday morning at the latest. --- A brief note from the art community, some of you may have noticed a very bold paint job on one of last year's biggest attractions.  Project 337, located on 4th East, recently had an addition to the front of the building that's rather... well, censoring.  The lower half of the front of the building as well as parts of the side (which is where they seem to have run out of material) has been painted away in a light green shade.  Below is a photo taken by myself for the station back on May 12th, 2007, along with one I took just this past week.  (Before)Upon seeing it, I was reminded of the Berlin Wall, and how the Eastern Soviet run side would constantly come by and whitewash political statements that people had risked their lives to paint on it.(The Soviet side circa late 1970's.  Notice... all white.)

A quick update of info, I'm now posting info for the Tower Theater and events for the S.C.A. (Society for Creative Anachronism).  Recently added are pre-release tournaments for the new “Magic: The Gathering” expansion pack, Gay Movie Night at Tower Theater, and updates to the 9th annual Tromadance, to which I’ll be doing my best to cover all the events.  We’ll also be getting an exclusive interview with comic book creator Batton Lash (Wolff & Byrd, Supernatural Law) and film producer and director Lloyd Kaufman (Toxic Avenger, Poultrygeist) as they interview each other!  Special shout out to Mimi and her crew at Night Flight Comics for the help with Tromadance so far.Coming soon we’ll be posting events for The Urban Lounge, The Black Rose, Hastur’s Hobbies, The Gamerz Funk, and Tokyo’s Anime House.  More on the way!

This past Friday I checked out the hip hop show over at The Urban Lounge featuring acts from TML. One of the best hip hop and rap shows I've seen in a while on the local circuit, drawing in a crowd that even the staff said was more than they expected, five acts spung their rhymes and proved that the local hip hop scene is alive and thriving.