Music of Utah

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Music of the United States
Local music
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Utah music has long been dominated culturally by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the "Mormons"), although other groups have also played an important role. For example, the local music scene thrives in clubs although active Latter-day Saints rarely patronize them, since drinking alcohol is discouraged in the Church. However, the musical history of Utah, and much of its current distinctiveness, is owed to the LDS Church.

1 Mormon folk music
2 Mormon Tabernacle Choir
3 Other Utah music institutions
4 Notable mid-20th century musicians from Utah
5 Contemporary Utah music scene
6 New Mormon music
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

[edit] Mormon folk music

Main article: Mormon folk music

Mormon folk music constituted some of the earliest white/euramerican music in the boundaries of modern Utah. These songs, simple and easy to remember, were usually sung without accompaniment because of the scarcity of musical instruments in territorial Utah. Although they often employed the same tunes as folk music elsewhere, Mormon folk is distinctively Utahn. The songs often include unique pioneer-era Mormon culture references such as crossing the plains, Mormon ecclesiastical leaders, and LDS religious convictions.

[edit] Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Since 1847, the Latter-day Saint influence in Utah music is manifest in the state’s most famous musical institution: The Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Named after the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, the 300+ member choir is world-famous. The LDS Church supports the choir both for prestige and as a proselytizing tool for spreading familiarity of the church. The choir performs at least weekly at the Tabernacle for a radio program called "Music and the Spoken Word" which is the longest-running national radio program in the US. The Mormon Tabernacle choir has released innumerable albums since it first recorded in 1910.

[edit] Other Utah music institutions

The Utah Symphony [1] was founded in 1940 by Maurice Abravanel and performs at Abravanel Hall, a modern concert hall in downtown Salt Lake City. Controversially, the symphony merged in 2002 with the Utah Opera Company [2], which was organized in 1978. At the time the organizations were the largest two arts organizations in the state. Some opera and orchestra aficionados claimed that combined production quality would decline. Furthermore, there were questions about the wishes of the symphony's late founder. However, critical response to the merger has been good so far.

The Utah Valley Symphony [3] is a community orchestra organized in Utah County, Utah in 1959.

[edit] Notable mid-20th century musicians from Utah

Donny [4] and Marie Osmond [5] and the other Osmonds hail from Ogden, Utah. In the 1970s they rose to prominence with Donny even becoming a teen idol.

The Deseret String Band [6] formed in 1972 has gained some notoriety and performed across the world. They play a mixture of old-time music, Utah pioneer songs and Celtic music.

[edit] Contemporary Utah music scene

In addition to overtly religious music, Utah's music scene features local blues, rock, and punk bands. Straight edge hardcore punk is popular largely due to the relative prominence of straight edge culture in the state^[1]^[2]. However, violent outbreaks in some past punk shows compelled several venues, including Kilby Court, to ban groups they consider "hard" punk.

As evidence of Utah's burgeoning club music scene, over 200 bands submitted tracks for a 2004 compilation by a local music zine, SLUG ("Salt Lake Underground" [7]). The 15 year-old free monthly zine trimmed the submissions to 59 selections featuring diverse music types such as hip-hop, jazz, jazz-rock, punk, and a healthy variety of rock and roll.

Another meeting point for musicians in the Utah music scene is a website called The Rock Salt [8], which boasts a flourishing forum for local musicians. Started by local musicians, it provides a place of community for the Utah and Salt Lake City music scene.

[edit] Venues

[edit] Northern Utah

Notable clubs for local music include Burt's Tiki Lounge ^[3], Liquid Joes, Club Halo, Port-O-Call, O'Henry's, The Depot, Monk's House of Jazz, Todd's Bar & Grill [9], the Urban Lounge [10], and the Vortex [11].

There are also several venues that cater to a younger demographic, such as Kilby Court^[4] in Salt Lake's aging factory district, the Avalon Theater (previously the Lo-Fi Cafe,) The Circuit, and Velour^[5] in Provo.

[edit] Southern Utah

Despite a quickly growing population base in Southern Utah^[6], local venues remain few in number; there are only a few with regular performances. These include The Electric Theater in St. George, Neverland in Washington, and The Grind Coffee House in Cedar City^[7].

[edit] Record Labels

Though no major record labels are found in Utah, there are several small independent labels in Utah, such as ExUmbrella^[8], Rest 30^[9], Sickboy Records^[10], and Sound vs. Silence^[11]. The End Records, an independent metal and rock label and home to a number of avant-garde and experimental groups, was formed in Salt Lake City, but is currently based in Brooklyn, New York.

[edit] Rock groups

Clifton, a metalcore band from Utah, performing in Cedar City, Utah.

The popular post-hardcore band The Used was formed in Orem and is currently signed to Warner Music Group-owned Reprise Records. They have released two gold albums in the United States.

The growingly-popular indie rock sisters Meg and Dia Frampton formed their band, Meg & Dia, in Draper and are currently signed to another Warner Music Group-owned label, Doghouse Records.

Other current notable acts who tour nationally include Form of Rocket, Gaza, Clifton, Katagory V and Hourglass. Form of Rocket and Gaza were both recorded by local engineer Andy Patterson, who also played drums in incarnations of local bands The Red Bennies and Iceburn. Form of Rocket, is signed to Sick Room Records. Gaza, a hardcore and metal band, is signed to Black Market Activities. Clifton, a metalcore group, is signed to Abacus Recordings, an imprint of Century Media Records. Katagory V, a progressive metal band from Salt Lake, is signed to Nightmare Records. Hourglass, a progressive rock band is from Orem.

One band, Erosion, was perhaps the best-known local group before disbanding after a show on November 11, 2003. Erosion won several awards including a Salt Lake City Weekly battle of the bands. The four-person group encompassed a wide variety of styles, but was never sent to SXSW, a notable regional music festival. For this reason, SLUG referred to them as "the Susan Lucci of local music."

Several current rock bands have a following in the Salt Lake City music scene. The Red Bennies [12], playing since 1996 have toured the West and released many albums. Starmy [13], winner of several Salt Lake City Weekly recognitions (including best local CD and 2002 battle of the bands). Loud rock group Thunderfist [14] is noted for their sometimes raucous stage mannerisms in Salt Lake clubs. Similarly loud, punk/rock bands Form of the Rocket has a very loyal local fan-base as well as Cornwall Chee. Tolchock Trio, named after a Russian verb meaning "to hit" plays eclectic and often experimental-sounding rock. The Debonairs, a three-man Ogden group, successfully mix rockabilly and punk styles. Formed in Provo, The Last Turkish Poets have been a true "indie", unsigned garage band for over 16 years. [15] The New Evils [16] whose members have punk rock roots extending back into the 1980s, started a label, Sound Co Records [17]. The Rodeo Boys have been trying hard since 2001. Books About UFO's (a name taken from the Husker Dü song) has been a staple of the Utah music scene as well.

[edit] A cappella

Utah has a flourishing a cappella music scene. Popular groups include Voice Male, InsideOut, Octappella, Eclipse, The Standards, T Minus Five, Sixth Gear, and BYU's multi award-winning 9 man wonder, Vocal Point. Newly on the scene is the extremely popular female group, Noteworthy.

[edit] Other groups

Artists outside the rock tradition include Bob Moss [18], an older beatnik and folk music performer who has had albums released on Sound Co Records. Hello Amsterdam [19], a five-member group with only two of its originals left is known for syncopated indie music sound. Stacey Board [20] is one successful Salt Lake City folk music singer and her group has performed in several out-of-state acoustic music events. The Park City Club and Bar & Grill scene is predominantly frequented by strong vocal solo artists such as Vocalist/Guitarist Dave Hahn,[21] Vocalist/Piano Man Rich Wyman,[22] Vocalist/Pianist/Guitarist Jojo Hahn,[23] and Joy & Eric. Another well-known popular Vocalist/Pianist from Park City is MaryBeth Maziarz[24] who is known for her contributing music for the popular television show "Dawson's Creek". Newgrass artists Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand [25] had a country music hit single in 2005, "Dream Big." The Haole Boys[26] a four-member group has been playing hapa haole hawaiian music for land-locked listeners since 2000.

The Numbs [27], are a team of five DJs and emcees from Provo who have been played on TV shows, movies, and video games. The Dub Scouts, Rebel Alliance, Nemesis, Ethics, Merryl, Illoom, Djunya, Rendr801, J Law, Pelpp, A.Vanvranken, Chris Wright of Audioflo, J Luvv, and Destrukt are DJ's from the Salt Lake Valley and beyond. The Dub Scouts also get together in a purely acoustic set with a variety of drums excerising a variety of drum patterns - a personal invitation is often required to attend these experiences. DJ 5150 [28] is also widely known and respected as a significant contributor to drum and bass music in Salt Lake and surrounding cities. A relatively new musical phenomena are sites like Myspace.com. Bass Motive [29], an experimental electronica ensemblage, and many other bands of Salt Lake have used this site exclusively for exposure and feedback. COSM [30], an electronica group is known for their "organic breaks" and vocals over walls of synth and drum machine sound.

Joshua James [31] is a fairly recent addition to the Utah music scene, performing Indie/Folk music, often in intimate settings, for the past year. Joshua James has gathered a small but strong local following. Joshua also appears with an assortment of various local artists, including the Southern Boys [32]. The Southern Boys add more rock to the mix enabling the soul of Joshua James to come through to larger live audiences.

[edit] New Mormon music

Beginning in the 1960s, gospel music gained some success, and Mormons played an integral role in the development of Christian Contemporary Music (CCM) into the 1970s. Since then, Michael McLean [33] from Heber, Utah and Kenneth Cope [34] in Salt Lake City have become relatively popular among mostly-older Latter-day Saints for their religiously charged easy listening music.

Another new strain of music that is marketed primarily toward youthful Latter-day Saints is sometimes called "Mormon pop". The well-reviewed acoustic-heavy musician Shane Jackman [35], local band SweetHaven, and the acoustic pop group Colors arguably fit into this category. Mormon pop has received a boost from the new phenomena of Mormon cinema and their accompanying soundtracks. Some Mormon cinema soundtracks sold well. In light of this success, independent Utah-heavy collections of youth-oriented LDS music have been released. Often they feature traditional LDS hymns that are rearranged into heavier rock songs. Some groups perform these songs almost exclusively while others like the established Salt Lake band Magstatic [36] record LDS-themed music on the side.