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?

UP.RIVER. REVIEW FROM SLUG MAGAZINE

From SLUG --
Up.River
Self-Titled
Old News Records
Street:
Up.River = Clear + The Acacia Strain + Terror
Apparently, Old News Records has been started in order to either release or re-release recordings, primarily from Salt Lake-based hardcore bands, that were either initially released in small quantities, or never released at all. Not a bad idea. Up.River’s self-titled album, although not necessarily my cup of tea, is certainly deserving of a listen, even if it’s nothing very original. It’s still too new to sound dated, having been recorded in 2005, but it’s also, for the most part, pretty standard Salt Lake City metalcore. The lads know how to write a song for sure, and they keep it interesting throughout by adding time changes and better-than-average slow bits. But in the end, this release isn’t something that I can envision myself listening to at any point down the road. By all means, check it out and support the idea behind Old News Records, but don’t expect anything groundbreaking. –Gavin Hoffman

"I FUCKING HATE ANGELS"

Bill French (Cherem, Up River, 78 Days After Death), who works in New York for The End Records now got a strange phone call this morning and he was kind enough to share it.

Find more videos like this on Step it up


Asrai is the band in question. Also check out Step It Up if you haven't. It's where I stole the video from.

78 DAYS AFTER DEATH FEATURED ON x43x

The x43x blog has posted an extremely informative piece on early 2000s Salt Lake act, 78 Days After Death. Members of this band went on to form Cherem, Opened Up, Tamerlane, Up River, Collapse and more. Get yourself in the know!

78 Days After Death can be heard here.

READY TO GO.

The Tamerlane discs are ready to go. Up River is in the works and Opened Up is on the schedule.

Hopefully a few people are actually interested in these.

I'm teaching myself how to make DVD's too, so you may see an Old News Records DVD sometime in the future. I won't promise anything though. I'm not made of money.

GCA'S TREVOR HALE IS SLC'S GUITAR HERO

While a number of gnarly shredders were a part of this poll, Trevor's dedication to playing hardcore in Salt Lake City, as both a full time member and a life saving fill-in, earned him the gold. Here's just a sampling for of the Grudge City acts he's done time with...

Full-Time

Rhythm & Rhymes
Renaldo & the Smoothies
Dead Last

78 Days After Death

Opened Up

Cherem

Skeiff d' Bargg
Arkham Asylum
Tamerlane
Cool Your Jets
Collapse

Part-Time/Guest Spots

Up River

Aftermath

Dogwelder

Isaiah - Omega Red/Dogwelder/Reflect	3 (4%)
Billy - Deadfall/78 Days A.D./Up River	7 (9%)
Trevor - Opened Up/Cherem/Tamerlane/Collapse	22 (30%)
Ed - Arkham Asylum/Tamerlane	16 (22%)
The Dude - Up River/The Meadows	0 (0%)
Matt - Grace from Gallows/The Masses/Cool Your Jets	7 (9%)
Marshall - DPI/Cool Your Jets/Murdock	6 (8%)
Austin - Cherem/Gutshot	5 (6%)
Nathan - City to City/Collapse	3 (4%)
Mike - Pushing Up Daisies/Glacial	3 (4%)

NEXT STEP UP

A Place For Hardcore Kids

Bill French of Deadfall/78 Days After Death/Cherem/Up River fame started a website much like MySpace a few months back, only it's geared toward hardcore kids who give a fuck about what's going on in the world around them and want to make a difference.

Step It Up Hardcore provides each of its members with their own profile, numerous message boards and groups, access to an extensive hardcore/metal video & audio library, exclusive band interviews and a community photo album. So step it up already.


Visit Step it up.

DV8 GOES DOWN IN FLAMES

When DV8 burned to the ground a few months back, it left Salt Lake with a giant charred hole beside West Temple and a decade of memories.

Memories of Bad Brains, Suicidal Tendencies, Hatebreed, American Nightmare, Cave In, Snapcase, Coalesce, DRI, Buried Alive, Murphy's Law, Bane, No Innocent Victim, Sick of it All, Nashville Pussy (Well, maybe just Trevor, Brook & Casey on that one), Rollins Band, Dimmu Borgir, Bleeding Through, Six Feet Under, Saves the Day, Face to Face, Get Up Kids, Sunny Day Real Estate, Jets to Brazil, Skeiff D' Bargg, Cherem, Aftermath, Pushing Up Daisies, Tamerlane, Up River and on and on and on.

In honor of its legacy, leave a comment about your favorite DV8 show or memory below.

NEW TRACK FROM THE MEADOWS

Danny and the Dude of Up River fame and drummer Blake Foard (Aftermath of a Trainwreck, Cool Your Jets) have teamed up in a new band dubbed The Meadows.

Imagine the heavy rock'n'roll of Everytime I Die and the breakdowns of Coalesce with some pretty melodies sprinkled on top. They've just posted their first song, "Sleeping with Vultures," so get into it here.

And let the world know what you think in the comments below!