The
City Weekly Music Awards' concerts have come and gone, and while many came and packed the venues we took over, I know
full well some of you missed out on some badass shows. So as we
tally up the final votes and get set for the closing party this
Saturday at The Depot, let's go back and take a look at one of the
shows you may have missed out on.
--- The Circle Lounge played host to two
DJ's and a hip-hop duo this past Friday. Linus Stubbs kicked things
off scratching his best works and left the crowd on the main floor
wanting more. Followed up by MindState pushing out the finest rhymes
and beats the hip-hop scene has to offer. And closing out was the
techno punk himself, Andrew Glassett: aka Nolens Volens. The downside
to the evening: the crowd wanted to hear Top 40 and wanted nothing to
do with it. But in his rebellious spirit and punk roots, he flipped
the crowd off and cranked the music on high until he was kicked out.
(Incidentally, you all know the DJ never takes requests, right?
They're not gonna play Black Eyed Peas just for you, they'll play
whatever the hell they feel like.) Anyway, I took the opportunity to
chat with all three acts from the night and took plenty of pictures
for you to check out.
Linus
Stubbs
http://www.myspace.com/linusmuzic
Gavin:
Hey Linus, first off, tell us
a little about yourself.
Linus:
Well, I grew up in Ogden and still live here. If I'm not working,
I'm usually snowboarding and hanging out with family and good friends
(I only like the good ones)! I've been making hip-hop beats since May
of 2000.
Gavin:
What got you interested in music, and who were some of your favorite
acts and musical influences growing up?
Linus:
Hands down, the person that got me started/interested in making
beats would be my very good friend DJ Stef Boogie (formerly DJ Big
Stefan). I used to see him DJing house parties in Ogden. I bootlegged
his mixtape from one of my friends and played it constantly 'til the
tape broke. After we were introduced and became good friends, I
tagged along with him to gigs and parties helping him carry his
records and turntables. One day I asked him, "Hey, can you teach
me how to make beats?" So he helped me pick out some equipment
and I've been hooked on making beats since. Some major influences for
me would have to be: The Pharcyde, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang,
Gangstarr, Madlib, J Dilla (RIP), and Pete Rock, just to name a
few...
Gavin:
How did you get involved working with others to record and produce
tracks for albums?
Linus:
I started uploading beats on Beat Society. This website was
specifically designed to showcase beats from beatmakers for emcees to
shop from. One week after I posted beats I sold my first to an emcee
in Boston named Rume Kragha. When the website collapsed, I took the
popular approach and started networking on MySpace, which helped me
reach out to a lot more emcees locally and nationally. Lately I've
relied on sites like blogs, Facebook, twitter and
word-of-mouth.
Gavin:
What was it like for you just starting out and honing your vocal and
mixing skills?
Linus:
Well, at the beginning I didn't really involve myself in recording
vocals because I was just focused on making beats and sending them
out to emcees. Most of the people I work with have their own studio
or preference on how they record their vocals so I just leave the
vocal recording to the artist.
Gavin:
You've worked with about a dozen local musicians. Mindstate, Bad
Apples, YZE and The Numbs just to name a few. What's it like for you
having put your own touch on some of their work?
Linus:
It's been great to be able to collaborate and provide beats to some
of the best hip-hop artists in Utah. The Numbs, for example have been
making music for a very long time so it's been an honor to work with
emcees that have paid their dues. Every artist has their own style,
so when they come to me asking for beats I try to give them a canvas
that will accentuate their own style.
Gavin:
What eventually persuaded you to do your own album?
Linus:
I used to make beats late at night with my homie DJ Mynd (Josh
Wangrud). We started a group together called Above The Clouds. We got
to the point where we had made enough beats to compile them into an
album. When his graphic design workload got too heavy, he stopped
producing beats and I continued. I then chose to remix Nas' God's
Son album. I called it 2nd Cousin Twice Removed
and only printed 200 copies. After that I decided I wanted to put out
an instrumental album (Panoramic) where the music didn't have
to rely on an emcee to keep the attention of the listener. Music
solely relying on the beats. 2nd Cousin and
Panoramic can be found on my MySpace for free
download.
Gavin:
What was it like for you recording Panoramic, and did you
prefer the DIY approach or did you wish you could have done a more
professional touch on it?
Linus:
When I was compiling beats for Panoramic I decided to
incorporate different styles of beats, whether they being jazzy,
funky, dark or boom bap. Not just focusing on one certain style, but
portraying the whole picture. Hence the name. I prefer the DIY
approach because personally I feel if a song sounds "over-produced"
or "too professional" then it takes away from the feeling
of the track. I want my beats to sound "dirty" such as
having record static adding an extra element, giving the song an
older or "vintage" feel.
Gavin:
What did you think of the public reaction to it after its
release?
Linus:
After I released it I started receiving quite a few inquiries from
emcees nationwide and from other countries such as Canada and Europe.
Panoramic received a feature on a fairly popular Hip-Hop
instrumental blog called www.strictlybeats.blogspot.com. And I guess
I can't leave out that City Weekly gave me a four star review.
Thanks!
Gavin:
Last year you joined up with Taskrok to make Urban Life Of The
Suburbanites. How was that experience for you, and what did you
think of the hype it got afterward?
Linus:
Working with such a skilled and clever emcee like Taskrok has been
very rewarding. When I send him a beat I never worry because I know
the final product will be quality. When we started working on Urban
Life we sorta came up with a rough concept at first. Then the
tracks just started to fall in place. I won't forget the time I first
gave him a beat. I let him choose some beats from my library. I drove
back to Ogden from his house in South Salt Lake. By the time I got
home, he had the entire track written, recorded and waiting in my
email inbox. This track is featured on the album and it's called
"Twist Of Hate". The feedback we have received from this
album has been good! It seems like everyone has their own favorite
track which tells me we incorporated a lot of variety. I'm proud to
say we have a song for everyone on this album.
Gavin:
What new projects have you got
going on at the moment, both yourself and other
contributions?
Linus:
Well, I've been pretty busy. Current projects include a Numbs/Linus
album. Moon Blazers/Linus album (a hip-hop group from California).
Another Task & Linus album is in the works as well as an album
from my new group called MultiVersal including me, Taskrok and
Philthy Phil. I'm also sharing production on an instrumental mixtape
with DJ Handsome Hands, as well as contributing beats to a long list
of emcees. Pat Maine, The Smash Brothas, MC Pigpen, Yze, Mindstate,
Ill Poet, Animal Nation (Canada), plus a lot more.
Gavin:
Down the road are you looking
more at being a solo artist or focus more on producing?
Linus:
At the moment I'm just trying to make as much music as I can.
Eventually I'd like to work more with well-established, well-known
emcees. But right now I need to focus on all the projects I have on
my plate right now.
Gavin:
Going state-wide for a bit, what are your thoughts on the local music
scene, both good and bad?
Linus:
Utah has a lot of talent when it comes to music in general. The
Hip-Hop scene was hurting for awhile but I think in recent years it
has made a turn for the better. People are starting to respect the
grind that they see others doing. Ego's were getting in the way. We
all just need to stay humble. We are all doing this for the love of
music!
Gavin:
Is there anything you believe could be done to make it bigger or
better?
Linus:
We just need to keep respecting each other's grind. We need to show
support simply by giving each other encouragement and help promote
other artists, not just ourselves.
Gavin:
Aside your own projects, who are your favorite acts in the scene
right now?
Linus:
I'd probably have to say MindState, The Smash Brothas and Pat Maine.
As far as DJ's go, DJ Juggy, DJ Erockalypze, DJ Dao and DJ Handsome
Hands. Oh, and I can't forget about Brisk Oner. He's probably the
most talented DJ/Producer in Utah right now.
Gavin:
What's your opinion on the current airplay on community radio these
days and how its affecting local artists?
Linus:
Roots Rawka from KRCL's Friday Night Fallout Show has been one of
the biggest contributors for Utah hip-hop. I also need to give
mention to DJ Dao for including local artists on his Saturday Night
Street Mix on U92. Community radio is a great tool for us artists to
get our music heard. It helps us get recognized as well as helping
out with album sales.
Gavin:
What's your take on file sharing these days and how it affects you as
a musician?
Linus:
Personally file sharing has helped me grow my name by simply getting
my music out. If people haven't heard of you, then most likely they
aren't gonna pay for you music since they have no idea what you sound
like.
Gavin:
What can we expect from you over the rest of the year?
Linus:
Hopefully good beats and production with all my current under-going
projects, albums and any other tracks that I contribute to. You might
be able to catch me and Task doing some local shows and I also DJ for
The Smash Brothas every now and then. I've got a few albums coming
out this year so stay tuned!
Gavin:
Is there anything you'd like to plug or promote?
Linus: Urban Life Of The Suburbanites is available on ITunes.
Taskrok, Philthy Phil and I have been working on some great stuff for
our MultiVersal project coming soon. Be on the lookout for the
Numbs/Linus album, the Moon Blazers/Linus album. The new Smash
Brothas album. And please support the "Alive & Well Tour"
launching this spring! Thanks for all the support
everyone!
MindState (Dusk &
Honna)
http://mindstatemusic.com/
Gavin:
Hey guys, first off, tell us a little about yourselves.
Dusk:
I rap, make beats, and outside of music I stay busy doing art. Mostly
drawing flyers, the occasional t-shirt design, and painting
canvas.
Honna:
I'm the DJ. I'm an Electrical Engineering student and run a
turntablism/scratch music website, Tablist.
Gavin:
What got you interested in music, and who were some of your favorite
acts and musical influences growing up?
Dusk:
I was always really into all kinds of music growing up.
Honna:
Music was always on growin' up. As far as choosing to DJ, I was
fascinated with the turntable. Also hearing groups like Run DMC,
Public Enemy and Beastie Boys, have scratching on their songs
certainly played a part.
Gavin:
How did the two of you end up meeting, and what pushed you to form
MindState?
Dusk:
We're brothers and we've always more or less ran with the same
friends. The group came together naturally that way.
Honna:
Yup.
Gavin:
Considering the diversity in our hip-hop community, what's it like
for the two of you performing as an MC/DJ duo?
Dusk:
I've had a really positive experience doing hip-hop. A lot the
groups that really inspired me followed that same blueprint, so
having an MC & DJ was what a hip-hop group was supposed to
be.
Honna:
Lots of good times. The MC & DJ combo is time tested.
Gavin:
What was it like first recording the Six Song Slump Buster
EP? And what difficulties did you encounter along the way?
Dusk:
Recording that was a lot of fun. We've always been big on doing
things DIY style.
Honna:
That one was recorded in my old apartment. It was fun. I learned a
lot during the process.
Gavin:
How did you decide to go with P48 as a label?
Honna:
P48 is less of a record label and more of an inside joke. Strangely
over the years it has become both less and more than the sum of it's
parts.
Gavin:
What did you think of the public reaction to it when it came
out?
Dusk: It
was a very limited release early in our career, but It was met with a
lot of positive responses.
Gavin:
Was it easier going in to make Call The Cops after that EP,
or did that present new challenges?
Dusk: Call The Cops was fun because it was our first time recording
in an actual studio. It felt like a luxury after recording our
previous three discs in a bedroom.
Honna:
The quality from the studio was much better. On the other hand my
creative process for recording scratches and scratch songs is too
slow for the studio.
Gavin:
That full length pretty much put you in the public eye and blew up
locally. What's your take on the attention that got in our music
scene?
Dusk:
We got a lot of support once the album dropped. Our CD release party
was one of my favorite shows ever.
Honna:
The album was a lot of work, it was cool to see people react to it.
The CD release show was insane, so much energy from the
crowd.
Gavin:
You recently put out the Black Lungs EP this past month. What
persuaded you to give it out for free?
Dusk:
We had all these songs recorded that we'd just kind of been sitting
on, with no immediate plan to release them. Call The Cops
dropped in '07 so decided a free digital release was a good way to
break the dry spell.
Honna:
And a good way to try to get more people to hear it.
Gavin:
You're both headed out on tour this March, what have you got planned
for that trip and who you going with?
Dusk:
Gotta give it up to PigPen, Pat Maine, & YZE on that. It's the
“Alive & Well Tour”, 25-30 cities getting a dose of Utah
hip-hop this spring. Dumb Luck is part of the tour also. We want
people to know we're making just as much noise as any other part of
the country.
Honna:
Be sure to keep your eye on the tour.
Gavin:
Going state-wide for a bit, what are your thoughts on the local
music scene, both good and bad?
Dusk:
Utah has a great local music scene, there is a lot of talent here,
but there isn't always enough support. Remember the more you support
others, the more support you'll get in return.
Honna:
There is quite a bit of variety, lots of people that are good at
what they do. Between work and school I don't get to check as many
shows as I'd like.
Gavin:
Is there anything you believe could be done to make it bigger or
better?
Dusk: Promote
yourself! Put out flyers, use social networking sites, what ever you
need to do so people know you're doing something worthwhile. I'll
never know why groups bother to book a show and not advertise it and
then complain about no one being there.
Honna:
Perhaps if there were more shows with groups in a different genres of
music would help.
Gavin:
Aside yourselves, who are your favorite acts in the scene right
now?
Dusk:
Everyone on the “Alive & Well Tour” are really doing good
things. There are a couple of younger MC's coming up that I like.
Malevolent MC and Burnell Washington. Keep an eye on them.
Honna:
Task & Linus, Odetta, Starmy, BCT.
Gavin:
What's your opinion on the current airplay on community radio these
days and how its affecting local artists?
Dusk:
KRCL has been supportive of MindState. I think it's great they give
locals a platform to be heard on the airwaves. Big up to “The
Fallout” show, Circus Brown, Honey Gehring, and all the other hosts
playing local music!
Honna:
It's a good way to discover music you might not have heard otherwise.
Big up Circus Brown & Roots Rawka!
Gavin:
What's your take on file sharing these days and how it affects you
as a musician?
Dusk:
I don't sweat that. At this point, anything that gives us another way
to get heard is more important than the money.
Honna:
Its a good way to spread music. It's cool when people buy music, but
things are changing.
Gavin:
What can we expect from you guys over the rest of the year?
Dusk:
Another digital release and a vinyl release is on the way
too.
Gavin:
Is there anything you'd like to plug or promote?
Dusk:
Check out MindState Music, Patiri Photography, Uprok/4th Street
Records, the "Alive & Well Tour", The Urban Lounge, and Peach
Boutique.
Honna:
If your into turntablism / scratch music check out tablist.net. Go
support your local record stores, Uprok/4th St, SlowTrain.
Nolens
Volens
http://www.myspace.com/nolensvolens
Gavin:
Hey Andrew, how have things been since we last chatted?
Andrew:
The last time we chatted was under unfortunate circumstances.
Several thousand dollars of equipment had been stolen from our house.
It was a very sad time, but the experience has led to many great
things. It's been a total rebirth as an electronic musician as all of
my old tools were sudden taken from me. I started picking up
instruments again, sampling them, and have been amazed by the
results. My music now is the best I have ever produced. None of it
wouldn't have been possible without the freedom and rebirth wrought
from circumstance.
Gavin:
What got you interested in music, and who were some of your favorite
acts and musical influences growing up?
Andrew:
I grew up in a family that valued rigorous classical music training.
I started playing the violin at six and was influenced by Bach and
Mozart. When I was around ten or eleven, I discovered Tchaikovsky's
Violin Concerto No. 1 and it changed my life forever. Imagine a
chubby little boy laying down in the back of a camper trailer in the
mountains of Idaho, enraptured by the emotional violin playing of
Henryk Szeryng. While my brothers and dad were looking for that giant
non-typical buck, I was wandering around a multi-colored forest
listening to Rachmoninov's Piano Concertos, Mozart's Requiem, as well
as the piano compositions of Liszt and Chopin. I have never felt
more magic in my entire life. That was the moment that I fell in love
with music and would never look back.
Gavin:
How did the idea come about to do Nolens Volens?
Andrew:
I have always been amazed by human nature and collective taste. The
duality of sound fascinates me. It can be extremely pleasurable or
equally painful. My attempt is to contradict pop music convergence
while riding the line between pleasure and pain. The Nolens Volens
idea has also evolved towards the world of collaboration and the
recycling of sound.
Gavin:
What's it like for you composing a particular piece, and then
turning that around for a live performance?
Andrew:
Early on I was very influenced by abstract expressionist painters.
My first three albums were created in a very similar technique.
Everything I recorded was the first take and minimally manipulated in
post production. In my latest efforts I have taken the opposite
approach. The composition process happens very quickly and comes
together, sometimes, in a matter of days. As an electronic musician,
I have the challenge of presenting a more engaging live performance.
My audience isn't coming to see a self-indulgent virtuoso
performance, so I have to be very aware of the experience. That could
be visual art or video projections I manipulate on stage while
reworking the music on the fly or even a stage performance with a
cast, lines and stage direction. Anything, as long as it coveys the
nature of the work. I've performed on stage as a musician over 400
times and I've grown weary of the format: players strumming guitars
and pounding on drum to a group of people. I'm more interested in
exploring new avenues that are, hopefully, more thought
provoking.
Gavin:
Do you prefer making the albums in the DIY approach, or do you wish
you could polish it up in a studio?
Andrew:
Like many artists, I am the product of my limitations. One of the
best things about being a touring musician is that I have access to
many professional engineers. Europe is obsessed with great live
sound, and sound checks sometimes take hours. On several occasions, I
asked if I could plug a recording device into the board and get
samples of everything. Most of drums on the last self-titled album
were taken from Uzi & Ari recording sessions at a tape studio The
Echo Lab in Dallas, Texas . The album was finished at Blake
Henderson's studio in San Francisco. The longer I work at music, the
more time I spend in actual studios.
Gavin:
You're also one of the few local performers who does remixes of
their own work. What made you decide to take the work you did before
and re-release it as something new?
Andrew:
When approaching a remix, I scour the track and highlight a
particular emotion or rhythmic element. Music is undeniably complex
and in my analysis of a song, I choose very small elements that I
feel should be brought forward and explored. I've never had a bad
experience remixing a song because I spend so much time in making
sure that it is engaging. I spend twice as much time on a remix than
I do on an original track. My latest album, Nv//nN
(released 2/12/10 at Circle Lounge) is an entire album remix of my
self-titled album that I released last year. Dave Madden, aka nonnon,
provided several of the beats and Jonathan Higley, aka //, helped
produce and engineer it. I feel it is my best work and was produced
in a matter of weeks.
Gavin:
Speaking of, last year you recorded and produced the self-titled
album. What was the process like in creating that one, and what did
you think of the reaction to its release?
Andrew:
My albums are always very personal to me, but this one was the most
obvious in its scope. For years I have drifted away from my family,
and I decided to try and bring myself closer to them by creating a
song for each family member. My hope was that I could recreate each
person in sound and somehow feel close to them that way. It was my
attempt at being heartfelt, an exploration into why I felt such a
distance from them. The project failed miserably in some respects.
The album ended up being more exploitative and fake, and became a
projection of how insecure I feel about being heartfelt. It actually
took me further away from them, to the point that I felt embarrassed
to show them what I had done. In other ways, the project was a huge
success because it made me realize that touching people physically
will always be more effective than trying to touch them emotionally.
It also made me realize that in order to be close to someone or some
group, you often have to sacrifice your own comfort. Art is never the
solution for healing relationships because it is always one
sided.
Gavin:
Coming up in April you've got the DATA/BOOTY
release. Tell us a bit about that album.
Andrew:
The genre of Booty House began in the late 90s when a few
independent producers started making mixtapes for strippers. I
discovered DJ Funk a few years back and became strangely infatuated
with what he was doing. Booty House is painfully simple, but has a
very specific purpose. I began writing beats with my own specific
purpose in mind. For years I have struggled with the portrayal of
women in the media and how they are reduced to mounds of flesh and
desire. DATA/BOOTY
was created as a reaction to this portrayal and has an accompanying
visual component. The purpose of the DATA/BOOTY
visual project is to examine a segment of exhibitionistic lust
purveyors and to bring the typically anonymous voyeuristic experience
into a public display through the eye of a technologically bent lens.
We hope to showcase the fragmentation of modern sexuality through
media excess and its dehumanization of the female form. All media
presented on display will be of women who have either photographed or
video taped themselves.
Gavin:
Let's go more local. What are your thoughts on our music scene, both
good and bad?
Andrew:
Making music in any confined space is exciting. You're allowed to
test and push limits with fearlessness. This isolation produces some
really interesting personalities and interesting ideas about art and
music. I really like how positive musicians are towards each other
and how they work together even if their music is very different.
Isolation is also the hardest part about the music scene in Salt
Lake. It becomes difficult to put your all into a project when it
seems no one cares. It may seem lonely, but someone always
cares.
Gavin:
Is there anything you believe could be done to make it bigger or
better?
Andrew:
Salt Lake is barely a city, and there are only so many resources for
the music scene. I feel like Salt Lake shouldn't worry so much about
having a thriving scene, but more concerned about producing music
that is solid and timeless. I think there needs to be more
interesting places to perform that aren't in a club or a converted
garage.
Gavin:
Aside the bands and projects you're involved with, who are your
favorite acts in the scene right now?
Andrew:
My current favorite local band is Dead Explorers Club. He is an
electronic musician who has taken the time and energy to perform
electronic music live, with analog instruments. My favorite producer
has been nonnon for years now, and will continue to be for years to
come. His compositions are unlike anything I have ever heard. I'm
also a big fan of Palace of Buddies, Birthquake and Ether.
Gavin:
What's your opinion on the current airplay on community radio these
days and how its affecting local artists?
Andrew:
Radio is a tricky subject. We live in an age of video, and radio is
continually being pushed out the back door.
Gavin:
What's your take on file sharing these days and how it affects you
as a musician?
Andrew:
Musicians have never really made that much money selling records. To
make any money as a musician, you have to be an engineer, mastering
technician, producer, or spend countless hours on the road. I'm a
huge advocate of file sharing. It is great way of getting unfiltered
information and I believe it is the future of all media ventures. The
debate about intellectual property is one rooted in human identity.
As we become more and more connected through technology, our
identities will meld together to produce something that is not
possessed by one, but by many. One of my goals is to have an ongoing
network of music and files that are continually manipulated by a
large group of people. If there were enough people involved in one
project, say several million, the value of that project would rise
above the current system and become something new and exciting. The
most successful organizations are those that learn how to adapt and
utilize new technology.
Gavin:
What can we expect from you over the rest of the year?
Andrew:
May 1st
is the release of DATA/BOOTY
at Urban Lounge, and then // will release his first album near the
end of May at Kilby Court. I am planning on taking several months off
to continue writing a book about food identity in America. I also
plan on moving to Berlin for a few months to collaborate with German
artists and build up our labels' repertoire.
Gavin:
Is there anything you'd like to plug or promote?
Andrew:
Jonathan, Dave, and I have just started a label called MSSV. Our goal is to promote collaboration with artists
from around the world and recycle and remix releases until they can
no longer be used. We already have several releases and free mixtapes
on the site that anyone can download, remix, and share. There's also
a DropBox, so if you've got an original track or a remix of a MSSV
release, you can upload and share it with us.