So
if you haven't found out yet, SLUG Magazine turned twenty-one this month. That's right gang, time to pop out the
ol' one-liner: “Its old enough to drink!” Yeah, I know, that
phrase sounds so fucking stupid when you equate it to any business. And I'm quite sure if Mike Brown
were sitting next to me when I wrote it, he would have smacked me
upside the face for typing it. So let's move on...

--- In tribute to
them reaching a milestone year, the staffers dug deep into the vaults
and pulled out a fine selection of past articles and interviews
spanning its history. Covering every topic they could from JR's piece
about starting it, to album reviews of now classics, to columns long
ago from an array of talent who have gone onto either greater heights
or became recluse. Its worth a read. This year in celebration, the
gang will be holding a party on Friday night at The Urban Lounge,
featuring Mammoth, DJ Flash & Flare and Muscle Hawk. And this
year I got to chat with Kate Wheadon on her career and time with
SLUG, as well as her
thoughts on the local scene. Along with pictures from the magazine of events this past year.
Kate
Wheadon
http://www.slugmag.com/
Gavin:
Hey Kate!
First off, tell us a bit about yourself.
Kate:
I’m a Utah native and was in California for ten years and moved
back to Salt Lake City just over a year ago. I’ve owned a few
vintage cars in my lifetime and still have a ’67 Mustang and a ’58
Series 1 Lambretta. I love thrift shopping and hitting yard sales
in small towns. I have far too many holiday decorations.

Gavin:
What first got you interested
in music, and what were some of your early favorites?
Kate:
Billy Idol was my “teen idol” and I read a lot about him in
teeny bop magazines starting at around age twelve. I was more
interested in his influences like Lou Reed and The Kinks than I was
in other teen bop bands at the time. Generation X really opened my
eyes to the punk scene. I discovered Raunch Records when I was
fourteen years old. Early records from Rauch included the Subhumans'
Worlds Apart, SNFU’s And No One Else Wanted To Play,
Minor Threat, Dead Kennedys, Discord comps, BYO comps and European
comps as well, I still have all of those records in my collection
today.
Gavin:
What was it like for you being here during the early rise of our
music scene?
Kate:
I certainly can’t say that I was around in the “early rise” of
the SLC music scene. I was somewhat envious when I really found out
how long the SLC “punk” scene had been going on before I found
out about it. I was also raised in Utah county and commuted weekly
to shows at Speedway Caf%uFFFD, The Word, Alices and the
Fairgrounds. There were also a few bands in Utah County like King
Pickle that were playing house parties and basements.
Gavin:
Reflecting back a bit, what do
you remember of SLUG during
those days and the influence it had on you?
Kate:
I moved to Delmar Court on 300 South near the old Bandaloops in
1989. The year SLUG started. It was great to finally have a local
consistent zine. SLUG was a great resource for shows and it was nice
to read interviews from local bands.
Gavin:
How did the opportunity come about to work for PolyGram?
Kate:
In 1995, I heard that PolyGram Group Distribution was going to place
a College Rep in SLC. I didn’t really have any interest in major
labels. I didn’t listen to the radio, but I had a great knowledge
of the local music scene, bands, record stores, lifestyle stores,
etc… I sent my resume to PGD to be the SLC college rep for PGD and
received a denial letter. This really fired me up because I knew
that anyone they transferred in from out-of-state wouldn’t have the
knowledge of the local scene like I did. When the new rep arrived
from Denver, I found his phone number, knocked on his door, and told
him I was going to be his intern. Five years later I was the
National Director of College Marketing for Universal Music Group in
Los Angeles.

Gavin:
During your time with Universal you took on many different roles for
varying departments. What was it like working for the different
divisions and learning that side of the music industry?
Kate:
I became the SLC College Rep for PGD. During PGD’s sale to
Seagram and merge with Universal Music Group, I was transferred to
San Francisco to be the Artist Development Rep for Island Def Jam
Music Group where I set up regional marketing campaigns for Island
Def Jam artists. In 2000, I move to Los Angeles to be the national
Director of College Marketing for Universal Music Group. In 2002, I
moved on to be a Director of Retail Partnership Marketing, developing
campaigns for artists with brands like Levi’s, Dickies and
campaigns in national retail accounts and national magazines. It was
very interesting to see the massive force behind promoting bands,
record releases and branding. It was also sad to see great records
that never saw the light of day.
Gavin:
What eventually led to you leaving Universal, and after all that time
there what did you take away from the experience as a whole?
Kate:
I left Universal when they were preparing to merge with NBC. I was
in a newly developed department, and new departments are generally
the first to be cut in a merge. I didn’t really mind. The paranoia
of Napster and iTunes was just beginning to hit major labels. I
walked away with a tremendous amount of knowledge about how the
wheels turn in the music industry from major labels and distribution
to Indie labels and their distribution, chain retail stores and Indie
retail stores, developing marketing campaigns for major artists and
developing artists, commercial radio verses college radio, dealing
with corporate brands and developing brands. Every project was a
puzzle had you had to put the pieces together to create a successful
campaign.
Gavin:
Shortly after leaving you got involved with the X-Dance Film
Festival. How did that opportunity come about?
Kate:
Throughout my time at Universal, I kept a very close eye on what was
going on in Utah. In 2001, my brother, Mark and a few of his friends
saw the need for action sports films to get the exposure they
deserved. They proposed this idea to Robert Redford, who gave them
his blessing, and this is where X-Dance began. X-Dance had the drive
and passion that I was missing while going through corporate mergers
and the big business chaos. I watched X-Dance develop and grow
naturally at a rapid pace with great support from the filmmakers and
actions sports industry. I joined X-Dance team in 2003.
Gavin:
Being a relatively new
festival during a time with so many, what did you do to make X-Dance
stand out beyond the standard Park City set?
Kate:
X-Dance was already unique in that it focused on Action Sports
films, which other festivals didn’t. I worked with X-Dance to help
the festival gain more exposure locally and in Los Angeles by
starting the X-Dance screening series in Hollywood.
Gavin:
During this time you also
started up Pulse MME. Where did the idea come from to start that, and
what was it like running the company during that three year
run?
Kate: I
realized the growing opportunities for action sports films through
television, the internet, etc… So I began assisting with one of the
more difficult hurdles – licensing and clearing music for films.
Many great films have been shelved due to not having proper music
licenses. It was also a great opportunity for independent bands to
gain exposure outside of traditional outlets such as radio
airplay.
Gavin:
Did it make things easier running X-Dance while running Pulse, or
much more difficult?
Kate:
It all went hand-in-hand. I worked with filmmakers that had films
in the festival and assisted filmmakers so they could participate in
the festival. It helped filmmakers to have the legal music
clearances to post their trailers on-line and show their films at
other venues and festivals.
Gavin:
How did you eventually become involved with SLUG
to become their director of
Sales & Marketing?
Kate:
I needed a change and decided to move back to Salt Lake City. I’ve
worked with Angela on projects throughout the years and when the
position became available, she asked if I would be interested in
joining the SLUG team.
Gavin:
What kind of challenges did you take on coming into the fold with a
magazine already running and planning things in advance?
Kate:
The main adjustment was to jumping on board with planning all of the
summer and year-round events that SLUG hosts. Now that I’ve
been with the magazine for almost one year, I expect this next year
will run more smoothly and I’ll be prepared to plan events with
more lead time.
Gavin:
How is it for you being a part of this magazine, especially since
it’s hitting the 21 year mark?
Kate:
It’s exciting. SLUG Magazine is one of the oldest
independent zines in the country! Angela has done a great job with
building SLUG over the last nine years. It’s great to work
with her again. SLUG has a really strong and dedicated staff
- Jeanette Moses, James Orme, Rebecca Vernon and Mariah Mellus have
all been on staff for 5-10 years!
Gavin:
Going to local matters, what's your take on out current music scene,
both good and bad?
Kate:
Salt Lake has a great music scene! Through the years it seems like
it’s gone up and down, but currently it’s very strong. Many
great creative and innovative bands are in Salt Lake right
now.

Gavin:
Who are some your favorite bands and musicians in the scene right
now?
Kate:
There are many great musicians in Salt Lake. Eli Morrison is one my
favorite musicians and I’ve been a fan of all of his bands
including The Wolfs, Pink Lightnin’, Ether and Pollstar. I have to
give huge props out to Julie Stutznegger as well, she and Eli were in
a band back in the day called Power Tools For Girls. It’s hard to
name favorite bands since there are so many great bands. How about
All Systems Fail, Breaux, Eagle Twin, Dubbed, Subrosa, and my
favorite cover band is Irony Man!
Gavin:
What's your opinion on the current airplay on community radio these
days and how its affecting local artists?
Kate:
As far as radio goes, I mainly listen to KRCL. KRCL is a great
support for local bands and have diverse shows that feature many
types of local music.

Gavin:
What are your thoughts on the art community and the works coming out
of it these days?
Kate:
Angela and I organized an event last year called Craft Lake City.
It featured over 70 local artists and was a huge success! It was so
inspiring and great to see all of the amazing artists in Utah! We
are working on the 2nd annual Craft Lake City which will
be held on August 14, 2010! This is a must attend for all and
admission will be free to the public.
Gavin:
Is there anything you believe those different groups, or our
entertainment scene as a whole, could do to make things more
prominent?
Kate:
There are a lot of great events featuring music, art and film in
Salt Lake City. I feel all entities are strong in promoting events
and getting the word out. Sometimes I feel these events need more
public support and everyone needs to be open to venturing out to see
new things.
Gavin:
What can we expect from both you and SLUG over the rest of the
year?
Kate:
SLUG’s 21st
Birthday Party is this Friday, February 19th featuring DJ
Flash & Flare, Muscle Hawk & Mammoth. All artwork for the
event was designed by the infamous Brad Barker! Admission is $5!.
The SLUG Games Series is hosting the Beat The Pro Ski & Snowboard
Comp on March 6th
@ Park City Mountain Resort. SLUG will also support Utah Pride Center
by having a float in Gay Pride Parade again in 2010. SLUG won
3rd place for
Best Float last year and we’re going for the gold this year! The
parade is on Sunday, June 6th. SLUG will host the
Summer Of Death Skateboard comp series in June and August of 2010. CRAFT LAKE CITY will be held on August 14, 2010 at the Gallivan
Center in Salt Lake City. Admission is free for the public.
Call-for-artists will begin in April. SLUG Magazine hosts LOCALIZED, a monthly
music event held on the 2nd
Friday of every month at Urban Lounge. SLUG also supports The Hard Boiled Book Club held the last
Tuesday of every month at the historic Sam Weller’s Bookstore on
Main Street
SLUG will also have a booth at the Farmers Market the last
Saturday of every month throughout the summer. Check the events page for up-to-date event information! Thank you to everyone for
supporting SLUG Magazine! We look forward to seeing you at
all of the SLUG event over the next year!