SUNDAY MATINEE: THE STENCH

Assorted footage courtesy of Running Records.

For more info on the band check out our Salt Lake Hardcore 101 column!

PHOTO ARCHIVE UPDATE: SPEEDWAY FLYERS

Classic flyers from Slapshot, Gorilla Biscuits, Youth of Today and more in SLC. Here.

BAD YODELERS TRIBUTE PAGE ADDS NEW SONGS

www.myspace.com/badyodelers

STARKWEATHER IN SLUG MAGAZINE

Slug's running an interview feature on Starkweather in this month's issue. Pick one up or it'll be posted here soon.

The magazine's also in the process of uploading all of its back issues. Stay tuned to that to find interviews with early Salt Lake acts such as The Stench and Insight (see below).

SALT LAKE HARDCORE 101: BAD YODELERS

• Bad Yodelers on MySpace
• Order Bad Yodelers records here.
  

The Salt Lake Hardcore scene has become known for integrating experimental metallic heaviness and dark melody into traditional hardcore punk. This began with the work of one band: Bad Yodelers.

The earliest incarnation of the Bad Yodelers played its first show in 1983 in the basement of Jon Shuman's house (bassist of Massacre Guys) alongside the earliest incarnation of another classic Salt Lake act, Victims Willing.

In the same year, the band recorded its first demo with its second singer, Brian Szugye. The demo featured a cover of Dr. Seuss' "One Fish Two Fish" and landed the Yodelers a now-historic opening spot with Discharge at the Salt Lake Indian Center. Szugye left the band before the show though and his replacement, Norman Frazier, dove off the stage during the band's final song, knocking his front teeth out on impact. Road manager Kevin Golding took over vocals after the show.

[On a totally tangential but interesting note, Kevin Golding was a California native who moved to Provo with his family in the early 80s, played with Bad Yodelers and Napier's Bones, and booked a number of shows at the Salt Lake Indian Center for acts including Black Flag, Battalion of Saints, Husker Du, and Minor Threat! These are shows of legend. Husker Du showed up late, after most of the crowd had left thinking the show would be canceled. They played to a handful of people, were psyched to receive $20 and used it to buy beer and pizza for all. Battalion of Saints played to an equally small crowd and threatened to beat Kevin up for it. Back to the Yodelers.]

1984 saw the release of an eleven-song cassette. The record was locally-lauded and won over a large fan base along the Wasatch Front. The Yodelers also set off on their first tour of the Rocky Mountain West. Golding left the band later in the year and Karl Alvarez of Massacre Guys became the band's 5th frontman.

Alvarez's arrival marked a shift in the band's style from its punk roots to a more experimental, metallic sound. The band recorded nine songs with Alvarez and toured extensively before he left the band to join melodic punk legends, the Descendents/ALL. A long-time friend Dow Patten fronted the band briefly before setting sail for San Francisco. Laura Jones, who went on to front Salt Lake act Commonplace, played two shows with the band before splitting due to creative differences.

In 1986, the band acquired its 8th-and-final vocalist, Terrance DH of The Stench. The band signed with European label Semaphore Records soon after and released the album, I Wonder, in 1989. I Wonder introduced the world to the polished version of the Yodelers' new hardcore/punk/thrash metal amalgam. They toured Europe the same year.

1991's Window saw the band moving toward a more refined post-hardcore/rock sound that would carry into 1993's South and the subsequent formation of the members' next project/re-naming, Season of the Spring. SOTS released a powerfully-emotional, self-titled album in 1993 but sadly disbanded shortly after.

Terrance DH shifted his focus to the band Magstatic, and now plays with Danger Hailstorm. Guitarist Mark Allen is now an assistant professor of psychology at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Karl Alvarez continues to play with the Descendents and All. He's also played with acts the likes of Gogol Bordello, The Last, Underminer, The Vultures, The Real McKenzies, and The Lemonheads.

SALT LAKE HARDCORE 101: THE STENCH

• The Stench on MySpace
• Order The Stench records here.

Renowned for their surfer looks and unique melodic hardcore-rock sound, The Stench kept the city's scene alive through the late '80s.

The band released six albums -- 86's Zigamewa (Raunch), 87's Crazy Moon (Running Records/Cargo), 88's Saltair (Running Records/Cargo), 89's Old Style (Mysophobic), and 90's S/T (Leone Trust) and Four Before (Flatline Records) -- before disbanding in 1993.

Songwriter Terrance D.H. honed his singing skills with The Stench before moving on to front Bad Yodelers, Magstatic, Daisy Grey and various solo endeavors. He continues to release solo music and leads local rock band Danger Hailstorm, while enjoying a successful career as a music engineer at Salt Lake's Counterpoint Studios. His resume includes work with artists ranging from Air Supply to Sum 41.

The Stench reunited in 2007 alongside fellow Salt Lake old-timers Iceburn and Clear for SLUG Magazine's 18th Anniversary. Slug released a DVD about the reunion show titled, Making A Scene, that can be purchased at numerous local spots and online here.