Portia Early, X96 weekend DJ and host of Live & Local (Sundays, 8-10 p.m.), wants to tell you about three more of her favorite Utah bands and songs:
The High Beams, “Dirty Clothes”
This is another project that doesn’t sound like the stereotypical local band, meaning they have great potential to make it in a bigger market. I have to give credit to City Weekly for introducing me to the Salt Lake City quartet/SLAMMys nominees. Frontman Jack Taylor has some of the cleanest pipes I’ve heard in a long time, delivering poppy, catchy songs with clever lyrics. They also have guitar prodigy Mike Sasich of Thunderfist fame on board, helping to propel the good, bob-your-head fun. I’m sure they get fans shaking their groove thangs all the time. See for yourself when they play Bar Deluxe on Feb. 15. MySpace.com/HighBeamsMusic
Lexi Sayok, “Electrify You”
This “One Man Talking Head” is the brainchild of The Explicit bassist Devan Bailey, a Clearfield native whose solo project Lexi Sayok (pronounced ‘Say-okay’) is reminiscent of They Might Be Giants’ more obscure efforts. More than half of It’s A Secret’s 33 (!) tracks are close to or just under a minute long, with plenty of experimental keyboard action pushing things along. Most are crazy, improvisational works of art similar to Utah’s Nolens Volens, The Soundrack Scene, or VCR Quintet, plus a few radio-friendly ’80s-style pop tunes. X96 program director Todd Nuke’Em recently reviewed the CD, and I think he says it best when he describes the project as, “… psychotically brilliant. Some of the songs attack with the driving force of an explosion in the nail aisle at Home Depot, with the lyrics being the sharpest parts of the shrapnel.” MySpace.com/LexiSayok
Love You Long Time, “Dreamkiller”
I haven’t featured this band in this column yet—WTF? My bad. LYLT is the best thing since Flock of Seagulls’ hair. While they spend more time on the road than in Utah County, they’re one of the most amazing live neon-clothed (and neon-striped stage sets included) bands I’ve seen since Madonna was a fuller-figured woman rolling around onstage enveloped in tulle revealing her then-famous belly. There are plenty of tight, Devo-esque keyboard riffs to pantomime-dance to, and singer MC Oz has a voice that Thomas Dolby absolutely would be proud of. Love You Long Time opened up for Shiny Toy Guns at Great Saltair a few months ago for X96’s Nightmare Before X-Mas show, and no other band would had been more appropriate. MySpace.com/LoveYouLongTime
More by Portia Early
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- Jul 12, 2012
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Early Portion: The Chickens
New local instrumental 'supergroup'
- Nov 17, 2011
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Daniel Fischer, Mark Dago, Dani Lion & more
- Sep 21, 2011
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