MORNING AFTER: BRAD HANCOCK MEMORIAL SHOW

This isn't going to be a typical play-by-play of the show the other night, because we're still trying to process everything.

In short, it was amazing. It was one of the most fun shows I've ever been a part of and I wanted to thank Blake and Jessica for everything they did to get it together. Thanks, also, to all the bands that played, everyone that donated raffle prizes, and everyone that showed up early and/or stayed late.

Seven Daggers, Close Grip, Despite Despair, Skeiff D'Bargg, City to City, Cherem, Aftermath of a Trainwreck, Tamerlane, Pushing Up Daisies and Clear were all fantastic and heartfelt appreciation goes out to each and every person in those bands for dedicating your time, energy, and heart to getting your sets ready over the past few months.

I, like most of you I'm sure, spent a long time yesterday searching Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and YouTube for pictures and videos from the show. You guys did a great job of being in the moment during the show, but also documenting it, so good job on that front. It's a hard thing to pull off these days.

If you have footage (of any kind) from the show, feel free to send me a link at trevorhale@gmail.com. I'd be happy to post videos and photos from the show up here over the next few days/weeks.

There won't be a lot of new content on GCA going forward, but there may be some. Dan and I didn't quite finish all the 101's we had planned, but we'd like to. Our goal is to finish the rest and roll them out over the course of a few weeks and maybe get them all collected into a zine at some point this year. Fingers crossed on that.

Thanks again to everyone that reads this site, commented and shared Facebook posts, came to the show, threw punches and kicks, and had a good fucking time.

Thanks to Byron (of Skeiff D'Bargg) for the City to City set below. Hopefully there's more to come.

CLOUDS UNFOLD

I wanted to make sure you guys knew about this because it's been a long time in the making. We started it two years ago and have been asked about it at least once a month (often times more) since.

We dropped it off at the pressing plant last week and barring some issue that is completely out of our control, we should have this and some new shirts at the show this Saturday. This will probably be the last time you see Tamerlane (for a while, perhaps ever) so make sure you come out to pick one up. It's good stuff.

TAMERLANE - "CLOUDS UNFOLD" - 12/11/10

Oh so close. Here's a taste.

 Tamerlane Teaser by trevorhale

POLL RESULTS: ALBEE SQUARE IS YOUR FAVORITE VENUE OF THE 2000s

You can't mention hardcore from the beginning of the 2000s without bringing up Albee Square. Just yesterday, a close friend of mine took a Facebook poll that asked him how he and I met and his answer was, "Probably at a show at Albee."  Blake and Scott brought in so many great bands (Integrity, Ringworm, Amendment 18... the list could go on for days) and there was always a sense that the venue was alive for all the right reasons. Salt Lake bands like Aftermath of a Trainwreck, Cherem, and Skeiff d' Bargg played some of their most historic shows in that big, lofty space.

The Vortex came in second. This makes a lot of sense since The Vortex was very much the Albee Square of the second half of the 2000s. Blake and Sias brought dozens and dozens of great bands and made just as many memories for locals. Salt Lake acts like Tamerlane, Up River, Cool Your Jets, Shutout, XReflectX, and City to City really got their start in that, once again, big, lofty space. And  the new generation of Ogden Hardcore bands journeyed south for the first times to play shows there. 

Thankfully, everyone remembers the Junction(s) in the correct light and chose not to vote for them. (Though there were some amazing shows at those places... Bad Luck 13?)

Here's the Top 3:

Albee Square - 31 (29%)

Vortex - 21 (20%)

DV8 - 18 (17%)

What are your thoughts?

SUNDAY MATINEE: SUB FOR SANTA SHOW

POLL RESULTS: BEST GCA SHOW OF 2009

And the winner is... Tamerlane, City to City, Collapse and Dogwelder at Baxter's Cafe on April 8th.

4/8 - Tamerlane/City to City - 29 (35%)
9/18 - Broadway Calls/Reviver - 17 (20%)
5/8 - Life or Death/Dismantled - 13 (16%)
8/13 - Xibalba/Tamerlane - 12 (14%)
7/9 - Unrestrained/Parasitic Skies - 6 (7%)
4/19 - Braveyoung/Collapse - 4 (4%)

ONE VOICE: MIKE TURLEY

Mike Turley is best known as the singer of XReflectX. His band carried the dark, passionate sound of Salt Lake Hardcore into the late 2000s and introduced a whole new generation to the hardcore scene.  Mike is also a talented artist (see the cover of his band's swansong full-length, The Hourglass End). Sadly, XReflectX retired this year but Mike remains passionate about hardcore and the world eagerly awaits his next endeavor.

How were you introduced to the Salt Lake Hardcore scene?

Through some of my closest friends I was shown certain bands and given the idea of going to a hardcore show. When I was 15 years old, I went to my first show at The Junction with Bad Luck 13 and I've kept going since.
 
What are your greatest SLHC memories?

I feel somewhat privileged to be able to have some of my closest friends also being a part of the hardcore scene. I have so many great memories of fun shows and times with Reflect and such. Like when we recorded our demo, we had no clue what we were doing and some stuff had to be rewritten and broken back down. It was funny but a total nightmare for any recording engineer. Probably one of my favorite shows was when all of our bands went out to California and played the Coming of Age Fest. Although it was lacking in attendance, it was a really good time. All the bands played great and it was a good experience.

Who are your favorite SLHC bands?

Pushing Up Daisies is definitely one of my all time favorites because of the stage presence they had and the musical style they introduced me to. Tamerlane, of course, for the time they've put into sticking around and the emotion and anger pushed out of the songs they produce.

How has hardcore and the Salt Lake scene impacted your life?

My appreciation for music was something I felt was never fully understood until i started listening to underground music like hip hop and hardcore/punk, and im glad for it. The people i've met and the lives that have touched me and my friends in the scene have made a huge impact on me as a person. Its honestly like an extended family.

What are your thoughts on the state of hardcore today and its future?

I feel like its a struggle in this time -- where hardcore has become so mainstream and such a money grubbing match -- to find decent people that can put on a traditional diy style hardcore show. I mean the majority of hxc bands nowadays don't even do their own booking for tours, which i mean isn't a big deal but lessens the point of the diy style of it all. That's something i totally respect about bands that take the time in doing so. The future of hardcore i think is slightly uncertain. I dont feel like shows are promoted well enough anymore outside of the internet. People need to understand that we as a whole need to do what we can to make this all work and not just the small minority of people that run a website or play in a band... every person that attends these shows through one way or another.

NEW MUSIC: GLACIAL

Currently-inactive rockers, Glacial (Ex-Lifeless/Pushing Up Daises, Current-Tamerlane/Black Sleep of Kali), have posted five unreleased songs plus "Behind Your Bead" from the GCA Mixtape for download. Get at 'em here!

THE ANNUAL SUB FOR SANTA BENEFIT IS THIS SATURDAY!

SALT LAKE HARDCORE 101: MOSHALICIOUS

"Heroes get remembered, but legends never die."

That statement sums up the short-lived, yet prolific career of Moshalicious.

Made up of a virtual all-star Salt Lake City line-up, the group was comprised of former and current members of Opened Up, Cherem, Aftermath of a Trainwreck, Sleeping Giant and Tamerlane. The goal of the band was simple: live up to the name.

And live up to the name they did. Taking inspiration from the band Bad Luck 13, the group got together one evening in the early fall of 2001 to write one epic song that would move crowds from front to back and side to side. They wanted all hell to break loose.

The only show the band ever played was at a small coffee shop called Undergroundz. It was a surprise set that everyone knew would come eventually. There had been too much talk and too many rumors swirling that everyone that regularly attended a hardcore show that summer knew it was bound to happen sooner or later.

The show carried along fine, until a drifter appeared in front of the coffee shop eager to tell tales and bask in the attention usually only reserved for sideshow freaks. The vagrant produced a dildo and bottle of toothpaste and proceeded to brush his teeth on the sidewalk for all to see. He then stormed inside and preformed a one man show that would later be referred to as "The Undercover Cop." Every eye was fixated as he waved his hands in the air and moved about the room and yelled for all to hear. When he was finished, he took a bow, yet no one clapped. The crowd was too stunned and unsure of what they had just witnessed.

But it was nothing compared to what they were about to see.

In the back of the coffee shop, Compilate had graciously (but foolishly) allowed the members of Moshalicious to borrow their equipment—because a sneak attack cannot be done properly if the band is forced to bring their own—and the stage was set.

The seven men, all donning masks and hooded sweatshirts launched into their first, last and only song, "Friends Don't Let Friends Fight Alone" and unleashed the fury.

Very few lyrics were actually audible as the three vocalists stormed the room, dancing with bats and dodged pieces of cinder block flying through the air. One bat became tangled in guitar chords and during a rather impressive spin-move, a vintage effects pedal was hurled through the audience, connecting with and breaking the thumb of the very man that had been kind enough to loan it out. As that happened, the guitarist became enraged and took to the dance floor himself, swinging the guitar above his head, daring anyone to get in the way.

As the majority of the crowd stood in stunned silence towards the end of the song, the vagrant burst into the room igniting a whole new level of energy. He too, joined the madness and began flinging bricks and  inflicting harm upon himself by smashing his own skull with a miniature bat.

When the song ended, not a single person clapped. The silence was deafening and no one was quite sure what had just happened, but they all knew they had witnessed something special.

Sadly, the only video footage of the show was destroyed and Moshalicious was never seen again, yet the legend lives on.

SUB FOR SANTA BENEFIT - DECEMBER 19

Make sure to mark your calendars for this! Aftermath of a Trainwreck and Cool Your Jets will be reuniting to raise funds for a great cause, alongside Tamerlane, Bird Eater and more!

HUGE GCA UPDATE! THE MIX TAPE COMETH AND MORE...

The first GCA Mix Tape will be up this coming Monday, December 7th at Noon! That's 11 unreleased tracks from Utah's finest. FREE!

1. Tamerlane - Dreams

2. One Clean Life - Hey World

3. Dogwelder - Smells Like Mean Spirit

4. To A Close - Up & Black

5. Reviver - New Lows

6. Collapse - Quicksand

7. Right On Track - You Were There

8. Dead As Lions - W.A.R.

9. Reach - Before It's Lost

10. City to City - 9th & Broadway

11. Glacial - Behind Your Beard

In other GCA news, Monday will also see the launch of 3 regular columns here on the site. First, the Salt Lake Hardcore 101 section will receive a major jump start. Every Monday you'll find a new article on a classic Salt Lake City band, label, shop, zine, or venue! Look out for Deadfall 101 Monday morning!

Second, we're launching the Salt Lake Hardcore Music Archive. Updated every Wednesday, this section will host a constantly expanding database of downloadable Salt Lake Hardcore classics... past to present. Tune in next Wednesday for the chance to acquire one of Salt Lake's most-overlooked/important/excellent records, the Better Way Demo!

And finally, every single Friday you'll find a new article by the name of One Voice. It will feature a 5 question mini-interview with those who've helped shape Salt Lake Hardcore Punk. Our first voice will be from Troy Trujillo (11th Street Electric Gallery, Opened Up).

SUB FOR SANTA LINE-UP ANNOUNCED

TAMERLANE RECORDING?

Undercover spy photos would suggest so.

SALT LAKE HARDCORE 101: SKEIFF D' BARGG

• Skeiff d'Bargg on MySpace

SDB's longest running line-up. Circa 2004.
Jake, Blake, Dan, Robbie, Little E

On a cold Fall evening in 2003, Blake Foard, Dan Fletcher and Eddie Golub sat around a table at the infamous Salt Lake Coffee Break. The subject of discussion? A new Salt Lake Hardcore band. Coming from Aftermath of a Trainwreck, Cherem and Tamerlane respectively, the trio sought to break from the more metallic sound of their other outfits and create something more aligned with the late 80s sounds of Slapshot and Judge. One or two practices later, the project dissolved.

Some months after that, Dan got a call from Blake. "Hey Dan," Blake said, "I'm doing a show for Integrity... you want to get that band back together and open?" Integrity being one of Dan's favorite bands he agreed, then proceeded to slamdance around his apartment air guitaring the opening riff to "Micha."

The two enlisted Jake of Aftermath of a Trainwreck and Trevor of Cherem on guitar and bass and dragged Skerv down from Ogden to play drums. The plan: to play fast, traditional, old school hardcore in Salt Lake City. This was a crazy idea to say the least considering it had been years since a Salt Lake band had attempted to write a song without a breakdown.

Another chance meeting at the Coffee Break would provide the band with its ridiculous name. Various members of the Salt Lake hardcore scene sat around a ring of couches. One of those in attendance, a guy named Andrew, struck up a conversation with a neighboring group of girls.

"Have you ladies seen the movie, Skeiff d'Bargg," asked Andrew.

"No, what's that?"

"You haven't seen Skeiff d'Bargg? Starring Terrance Jeffreyson and Honyierpo Fishpound?"

"Umm, no, what's it about?"

"Well, it's about a gang of Japanese bikers that go back in time..."

A few days before the Integrity show, the band was without a name. "Let's call it Skeiff d'Bargg," Blake said to Dan. "Okay." And the dumbest name in the history of Salt Lake hardcore was set in stone.

The show went off without a hitch.

Well, except that the band didn't know any of their songs except covers of Sick of it All's "Clobberin' Time" and Judge's "New York Crew" and kids mainly stood around confused over the lack of breakdowns. Oh, and when the band distributed the iron-on merchandise they made in the minutes before the show, Tyler of Aftermath got a purple, XXL turtleneck with kick me screened on the back. The set went better for Skeiff than it did for Tyler.

But Skeiff was born!

Rob Mini-Marts was brought in on drums shortly after and became an integral part of the band--by this I mean, the only part with the motivation to book recording time, make merch, write song and lyrics, etc. etc. Bassists included at one time or another "Kick Me" Tyler, Byron of Creation and Little E.

The band unofficially released a number of demos, most notably 2005's Jean Claude Van Demo, and recorded nearly 30 songs that would become This Is All We Know: The Skeiff d' Bargg Discography--limited to something like 60 or 70. (There would have been more copies but Blake, Jake and Dan decided to spend more time laminating garbage than making sleeves at Kinkos before the show.)

Anthems like "Drug Free for Christ's Sakes" and "Fuck the Cops" won the hearts of many, but continued to leave them motionless and confused by the lack of breakdowns.

Skeiff provided a soundtrack for many infamous Salt Lake Hardcore shows including the DRI riot in the DV8 Basement, the one at Albee Square where the homeless guy died in the street and the New Year's Eve show where the kid went into a seizure.

Perhaps the highlight of the band's career came when they convinced studio genius and hardcore veteran Andy Patterson to record vocals on a cover of the Cro-Mags' "Hard Times." The track was hidden at the end of one of the band's many demos.

Constant line-up changes brought Skeiff to a halt in 2005. Blake continued to play with Aftermath of a Trainwreck and went on to form Cool Your Jets, Gloves Off and Dismantled. Dan continued on with Cherem before doing time with First Blood, Gloves Off and City to City. Jake vanished. Robbie played with Shutout, Asthma Attack and worked on his solo project, the Vanilla Gorilla, before moving to Seattle where he plays in the band Media Mind.

Skeiff's music can be found at their MySpace page.

TONIGHT-7PM SHARP-XIBALBA, TAMERLANE, COLLAPSE, DECISIONS @ UPROK

Show up on time if you want to watch all the bands, the show must be over by 10.


Tamerlane



Xibalba


Collapse

XIBALBA, COLLAPSE, TAMERLANE, DESICIONS, +1 MORE - THURSDAY NIGHT

It's going to be a good show, come party.

TAMERLANE, XIBALBA, COLLAPSE SHOW MOVED TO UPROK - AUGUST 13

DEBUT OF NEW TAMERLANE SONG

Tamerlane - New Song - 4/8/09 from Grudge City Activities on Vimeo.

MORNING AFTER: DOGWELDER'S RESURRECTION

Collapse has been working hard writing new music for their forthcoming split with City to City and as they debuted their new tunes, it was clear their hard work has paid off. The band has built a haunting, melodic sound atop the the chops its members honed with Salt Lake's fallen Cherem and Aftermath of a Trainwreck. Atop that, Richard's vocals get stronger with each show, combining the demonic screams of The Human Furnace with an oi twist along the lines of Blitz or Anti-Heroes.

The triumphant return of Salt Lake's heaviest band, both sonically and physically, Dogwelder, followed. In the two years since the band's last show, Joe Jackson of Shutout/Skinned Elbow Records has taken on the bass spot, Jason O'Hara (formerly of Classic Assholes) picked up the drumsticks and Jared, who is rumored to be the greatest electrician in Utah, came on as a second guitarist. The band's resurrection, and especially its new song, showed promise of great things to come.

City to City—fresh out of the studio and armed with three new songs—took the stage for the first time in six months and made everyone's night. The fast-paced, melodic hardcore of their old classics and the post-hardcore direction of the new material was a great mix. Sing-a-long's and pile-ons were in full effect and the band continues to prove that they are one of Salt Lake's finest.

Tamerlane. What more can be said about Tamerlane? Except maybe that they need to finish and release that album they're sitting on and play more shows.

Dogwelder

Dogwelder - 4/8/09 from Grudge City Activities on Vimeo.

City to City

City to City - Disgraces - 4/8/09 from Grudge City Activities on Vimeo.

Tamerlane

Tamerlane - New Song - 4/8/09 from Grudge City Activities on Vimeo.