Friends and locals show support at Noah-palooza

A concert took place 6 p.m. Saturday night at Why Sound in Logan in benefit of Noah Sparks, a high school senior from Preston, Idaho who has recently been severely injured from a car wreck.
Admission was $5 and all the money raised from the show went to the Sparks family to help their financial situation. Michael Sparks, father of Noah Sparks, said he was hoping for a big turnout in regards to moral support.
"Noah's pretty excited about it," he said. "He doesn't think about the money end of it, he's thinking about the social end of it. He likes the idea of all his friends getting together and having a party for him."
Noah Sparks has been hospitalized for the last month with a broken spine and will be in the hospital for at least another two months. He was unable to attend, but he's a music enthusiast and a guitarist himself.
The concert, also known as "Noah-palooza," was arranged by Dayne Teigeler, a local music fan and personal friend of the Sparks family.
"Knowing members in bands and having connections in town with Why Sound, I thought I could throw it together," Teigeler said. "It's not only for a good cause, it's a type of involvement."
"Noah likes the music aspect of it and this is something he's been anticipating," Michael Sparks said. "It's not really a fundraiser, it's an event."
The first band to perform at Noah-palooza was a group of Noah Sparks's friends who have played guitar with him throughout high school. Michael Sparks said this was the first time the group has ever played onstage for an audience.
"It feels good to be able to do something for Noah," said Sage Dursteler, a guitarist from the group. "It's a really good opportunity for us too, because we're getting our work out there."
Local bands Resistor Radio and HilKat Johnson also performed at the concert, by invitation from Teigeler. "Everybody's got their challenges," he said. "We just need to try to work with each other and make each other better."
Teigeler video-recorded parts of the show and sent them to Noah Sparks throughout the evening. There was a poster and a drum head displayed that audience members could sign for Noah Sparks to keep.
Teigeler said there were approximately 30 people in attendance, including about 10 people visiting from the Sparks's hometown. He also said an event like Noah-palooza is likely to happen the same time next year.

The Red Light Commandos "come together" and find their sound on debut EP

Logan-based band The Red Light Commandos released their first album last Saturday.
The album is a self-titled EP, mixed and engineered by Why Sound's studio manager Tim Moes. Most of the recording was done at Why Sound Studio in Logan.
"They're starting to come together as a band," Moes said. "In the studio, I could see the cohesiveness starting to develop."
Everyone in The Red Light Commandos has differing, unique musical influences. The band's bassist Colton Anderson said that combining these influences is what makes the EP particular.
"We still apply it together and make it all meld with our sound," Anderson said.
Even though this is The Red Light Commandos' first physical recording release, members of the band have recording experience with separate projects that have different sounds.
"We're trying to make completely original music, which is really hard," said Sammy Pond, the lead singer for the band. "I feel like we're really getting our own sound on the EP. We're becoming more original and sounding more like ourselves."
Pond wrote the lyrics to all the songs on the EP and said most of the music was written by the band's guitarist and distinctively youngest member, Josh Mikesell. Their collective sound has often been compared to alternative and progressive rock artists Incubus and The Mars Volta. 
"The guitar style is very technical; it's not so radio-friendly," Pond said. "It's more of an acquired taste that grows on you."
Pond said that he tries to display strong imagery in his lyrics. "My writing style is more developed than on any other CD I've put out; it's a lot more personal" he said. 
"I was happy with this project," Moes said. "They're a really talented band. They work really well together as agroup and they've gotten really solid."
"Now we have something we can sell at shows," Anderson said. "Hopefully that turns into making more CDs."
The Red Light Commandos have already sold some copies of their EP with an album-release concert at Why Sound last Saturday. The band has music available digitally on its Facebook page and on soundcloud.com.

My New Mistress release debut album at concert in Logan

Local band My New Mistress released its first studio album on Friday with a concert at Why Sound in Logan.

The concert started at 7:30 p.m. It was headlined by My New Mistress and included performances by local bands Once the Lion, The Romp Stompers and Chucks.

“It was phenomenal,” said Adam Brown, the drummer for My New Mistress. “It was one of the best local shows I’ve seen in a long time. Great crowd, full house, everybody was into it; good atmosphere.”

“There’s been wonderful support tonight,” said Robert Linton, booking manager for Why Sound. “It’s good to bring people together, not only for the music, but to promote the new CD.”

The album is a self-titled, five-song EP that was recorded at Secret Sidewalk Recording Studios in Salt Lake City with producer Matt Winegar.

Winegar has been recording for over 20 years and has worked with artists such as The Aquabats and Primus. He is currently producing an album with Salt Lake City-based band Royal Bliss.

“It’s not only our baby, it’s his too,” said Doug Callahan, My New Mistress’ bassist. “He got his hands on every inch of this project. He was a great person to have on our team.”

“We really spent our time trying to get a good recording done on the release,” said Jeremy Harper, the band’s lead singer and guitarist. “We tried to get the best quality EP.”

Harper wrote the lyrics for the songs on the album. “A lot of the inspiration is from relationships, life experiences or just not giving up on things,” he said.

The band members said they recorded the five songs that represented them best for the EP. “I think it’s really good work,” Brown said. “We put something together that we’re all proud of and the songs are catchy. I have little kids and even they sing along with the songs when I play it at home.”

Callahan said his favorite song from the EP is “Adam from the Bible (Don’t Give Up)” because it gets him pumped up. Harper’s favorite track is “Benson.” “It’s quite a bit different than anything I’ve recorded over the years in other bands I’ve been in,” he said. “This one really turned out like I envisioned it in my mind.”

The album is currently available digitally on online music-streaming services like Spotify, iTunes and Amazon MP3. “It’s available digitally pretty much everywhere; you can find it somewhere,” Callahan said. On Nov. 19, physical copies will be available to purchase on Amazon.

“These guys are a great band,” said Linton, who has watched My New Mistress perform at Why Sound multiple times. “It’s fun to see them finally reach the point where they release a new album. It just shows their progression as a band.”

“We’re a new band; it’s not like we’re the biggest thing since sliced bread,” Harper said. “We’re just getting started, getting our feet wet and trying to get our music heard.”

“We’ll continue writing more songs; we’ve got some that still need to be recorded,” Brown said. “While we’re doing that, we’ll try to do some more shows. We’re trying to get some out of town.”

The next scheduled My New Mistress show is on Nov. 30 at The Venue in Salt Lake City. After the holiday season, the band plans on touring through Idaho, Nevada, Arizona and possibly more states.

Bronze Museum take break from recording to play at Beats for Bonnie

Logan band Bronze Museum will be playing a concert with other local artists tonight to support Beats for Bonnie, a local charity event. The show will be at the Lundstrom Student Living Center on Utah State University’s campus and starts at 7 p.m.

Beats for Bonnie is one of many events scheduled throughout the month for the Beards for Bonnie benefit. Beards for Bonnie is a fundraiser ran by Utah State students that raises money to help a student’s mother, Bonnie Telford, pay medical bills for her Stage 3 breast cancer treatments.

“We believe it’s a good cause,” said Nathan Dukatz, the drummer for Bronze Museum. “We actually passed up a different show to do this one.”

Bronze Museum has been taking a break from shows for writing and recording. “It hasn’t been much of a break; we’ve been busier than ever,” said the band's guitarist, Devon Smith.

The band is working in the studio with local musician and producer Benjamin Wilson and plan on releasing a four-song EP some time next year.

“We’ve recorded three demos before, but this is going to be the best one,” said the band's bassist, Conor Flynn.

“It’s sounding really good,” Dukatz said. “Once we get this done, we hope to do more shows and get more involved with the music scene.”

Bronze Museum has a radio show with Utah State’s student radio station Aggie Radio every Wednesday at 2 p.m. The show is called Morning Museum in the Afternoon and focuses on playing music from local artists as well as live acoustic performances of their own music.

Beats for Bonnie was organized by Taylor Telford, daughter of Bonnie Telford and events scheduler for Beards for Bonnie.

“It’s going to be really fun,” Taylor Telford said. “It’s a really cheap way to have fun and donate to a good cause.”

Bronze Museum will be performing as well as Logan-based acts Racecar Racecar, Rope and solo artist Taylor Wilson. Following the live acts, there will be a dance party with music provided by local DJs Mathis Farnsworth and Alex Moser. Admission is $3 and the event ends at midnight.

“I love going to concerts and seeing local bands,” Taylor Telford said. “I also love dance parties, and I wanted to make this the kind of party I would go to.”

The next Beards for Bonnie event is a bake sale on Saturday at 9 a.m., which will be held on the corner of 200 N. and Main Street outside the Cache County Corporation building.

The Wasatch Fault release debut album

Local band The Wasatch Fault released its first album on Oct. 24. The album is titled The Wasatch Fault and was recorded by Sandy-based producer Robert LeCheminant.

The band is partially Logan-based, with three of the band’s four members living in Salt Lake City and one in Logan. They’ve been a band since October of last year.

The recording for the album was done at a house in Orem. Aaron McCuiston, the drummer for The Wasatch Fault and the band’s sole Logan member, said the recording process took about five months.

“I got all of my tracks done within five or six hours,” McCuiston said. “The rest of the recording, as far as bass guitar, guitar, effects and mixing, took another couple of months.”

"I previously played in a band with the drummer,” LeCheminant said. “He’s got to be one of the best in the state.”

“It’s the first good album I’ve ever been a part of,” said Tyler Gilvarry, lead singer and guitarist for The Wasatch Fault. “This is the first thing I’ve actually put my entire heart and soul into. I’m very proud of it.”

LeCheminant is currently a member of a Salt Lake City band called L’anarchiste and said he’s fairly new to recording music. He did all the recording, producing and mixing for the record. “They gave me a lot of creative control and I feel like the end product turned out really well, so I can't thank them enough for trusting me that much,” he said.

Gilvarry and McCuiston originally formed The Wasatch Front after being in a band together previously. “We were talking about starting a new project and setting the bar higher for ourselves, as far as melody and rhythm goes, and made it a little more complex,” McCuiston said.

All songs on The Wasatch Fault were written by Gilvarry except for “Monster Falcon,” which was written by McCuiston.

Gilvarry said his lyrics were influenced by Taoist teachings and transcendentalist poets like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. “It’s about the more positive aspects of metaphysical things,” he said. “Being outside and going on hikes in the Wasatch mountains influences a lot of stuff as well.”

Two tracks on the album, “Demon Angel of Honesty” and “Baker’s Chocolate,” were written about David Charles Baker, a man from the Salt Lake City area who was arrested last fall after placing fake explosives on his driveway. “’Baker’s Chocolate’ is a song we play at every show, it’s very special to us,” McCuiston said.

McCuiston and Gilvarry said some bands that influence their musical style include The Dodos, The Dismemberment Plan and Modest Mouse. “I don’t think there’s a bunch of stuff in the Utah music scene that sounds like we sound,” Gilvarry said. “It’s good for people who like who like good, loud, aggressive indie rock.”

The band has pressed 50 CD copies of its self-titled album and has sold 15 so far. “We know the best thing for us to be doing is to play as many shows as possible and advertise the shows, because we usually get a high volume of traffic on our website after a show,” McCuiston said. “We’re hoping for the best as far as word-of-mouth goes, with people sharing links online.”

“We usually get 20 to 30 people at a show,” Gilvarry said. “We’re still kind of new, but we’re steadily growing a bigger following.”

The Wasatch Fault will be performing at Why Sound in Logan on Thursday, sharing a bill with Logan-based band Racecar Racecar and Salt Lake City’s And I, the Lion. McCuiston said he and his band plan on playing nine songs from The Wasatch Fault. “It’s going to be very good show and we’re going to go all-out,” he said. The show starts at 8 p.m. and admission costs $5.

The Wasatch Fault’s debut album is $5 for a physical copy. The album is also streaming online for free on the band’s bandcamp.com website.

Local rock bands do show at Why Sound, look for fan support

Local bands rock Atomica, Wretched Bones and The Rompstompers performed at Why Sound in Logan Thursday night.

The concert started at 8 p.m. It was arranged by Wretched Bones’ lead singer and guitarist Gavin Mikesell and people were invited to dress in Halloween costumes.

It began with a performance from The Rompstompers, followed by Wretched Bones. By the time final act Atomica was setting up its equipment on stage, there were three people remaining in the audience.

“We had a high school following for a while,” said Nikolai Borgogna, lead singer and guitarist for Atomica. “‘Tuition Is Too Damn High’ was our hit last year. We hit it off with some high school kids, but a year later, they don’t really come out anymore because they’ve seen us around 20 times.”

Borgogna’s band Atomica is doing a show Saturday night at Mulligans in Logan. “We have three hours-worth of material and you’re going to hear that at Mulligans because we don’t have an opener.” He said Logan’s music scene was “molecular.”

Why Sound owner Robert Linton said that the bands that played are a good contribution to the community’s music scene. “They’re skilled musicians.”

“All the other bands that we’re playing with, we’re all friends,” said Nicholas Porath, bass guitarist for Wretched Bones. “We all know each other outside of the bands.”

“We’ve got some recordings, none of us want to spend any money on more though,” Borgogna said. The band’s demos were recorded at Why Sound’s studio, which costs $40 an hour to use. “Hopefully Mulligans will give us some money, maybe we could get back in.”

Atomica’s bass guitarist Francisco Herrero said the band comes up with one or two new songs every week. “It’s kind of out of control.”

Wretched Bones isn’t currently recording in the studio, either. “Now we’re just practicing writing and playing. We play music we like and hope you like it too,” Porath said. He said Wretched Bones doesn’t have any shows scheduled at the time.

Atomica’s show on Saturday is only for people 21 years or older. Herroro said, “It’s good rock and roll music, come check it out.”