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Ogden band Hi Fi Murder spins political, fun message at tavern

By Raychel Johnson - | Sep 16, 2015
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Three members from punk quintet Hi-Fi Murder pose in front of their practice space. Hi-Fi Murder is booked for a show at the Lighthouse Lounge Sept. 18, 2015.

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Three members from punk quintet Hi-Fi Murder pose in front of their practice space. Hi-Fi Murder is booked for a show at the Lighthouse Lounge Sept. 18, 2015.

What’s in a name anyway? For old-school Ogden punk rockers Hi Fi Murder, the name means everything.

For those not familiar to the punk scene in Ogden, the name may conjure up still raw and painful memories of the tragic murders and hostage-robbery that happened at the Hi-Fi Shop on Washington Boulevard in Ogden on April 22, 1974.

But for the band, the name takes on a completely different meaning, and looking forward, the punk band wants people to know they mean no disrespect.

“Regarding the name Hi Fi Murder, the name means murder by music, and has nothing to do with the horrible, awful, heinous murders that were committed in Ogden 40 years ago,” said bassist Ryan Baldwin. “We’re not disrespectful, the huge majority of the band isn’t even from Ogden, and wasn’t aware of the history of the name or the Hi-Fi Murders.

“We’re not from Ogden. We weren’t aware, but as we started playing shows, people were more than nice to remind us,” Baldwin continued. “But it’s not a disrespect name, it’s not a diss towards anybody, it’s not a knock on Ogden.”

Three members from punk quintet Hi-Fi Murder pose in front of their practice space. Hi-Fi Murder is booked for a show at the Lighthouse Lounge Sept. 18, 2015.

Baldwin said for him, the name Hi Fi Murder is synonymous with the Ogden punk music scene, and represents an era of music and good times had with his friends and musical family.

“Before I joined the band, to me Hi Fi Murder was cemented, that was the Ogden punk rock scene,” he said. “When Tainted Halos first started getting up and going it was like ‘OK, who are the punk bands in Ogden?’ There was Rebellious Cause, great band, but then there was Hi Fi Murder. Skint had stopped playing, I had always made Hi Fi Murder synonymous with the Ogden punk rock scene.”

Guitarist Cameron Nielsen chimed in with his own personal take on the name Hi Fi Murder.

“This is just a personal thing, I didn’t start the band, I didn’t have anything to do with naming it, but when I hear it, to me it means killing all the BS music, like Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift and Toby Keith,” he said, with a chuckle.

Regardless of what meaning is derived or given, Hi Fi Murder isn’t leaving the streets of Ogden any time soon, and is heading headstrong into an age of plentiful bar shows and concerts. Next on the calendar is a pre-Harvest Moon show at The Lighthouse Lounge Sept. 18 with Ogden punk veterans Draize Method.


IF YOU GO

WHAT: Hi-Fi Murder with Draize Method

WHEN: 9:30 p.m. Sept. 18

WHERE: Lighthouse Lounge, 130 Historic 25th St., Ogden

ADMISSION: $5/cover; 21 and older


  

Nick Poulson, drummer for Hi Fi Murder, said he just gets “super smiley” when he thinks about playing the upcoming show with Draize Method.

“I’m just super grateful that there’s other old punk bands in Ogden, it’s fantastic to see survivors,” he said. “It’s one of those things where you see bands come and go, but then you see things that will last forever.”

Draize Method has been a staple of the Ogden punk scene for 25 years, according to Baldwin. He said he first started watching the band when he was 15 years old. Although Hi Fi Murder has shared the stage with the grizzled band before, Baldwin said the incredible feeling of sharing the stage with Draize Method doesn’t disappear after time.

“It’s cool because I saw Draize Method play when I was 15 years old. This was back in the Prohibition,” Baldwin said, evoking a round of laughter from the other band members.

“Just to get to be able to play with those guys for me is cool. That’s 25 years … Every time we play with them, sharing the stage with those guys — people that I looked up to 25 years ago — to me is a pretty awesome feeling.”

As for the state of the punk rock scene in Ogden? It may have seen better days, and it’s not big enough to be splintered off into sub scenes. This creates a family-like atmosphere for the fans-turned-friends who come out to support bands like Hi Fi Murder show after show.

Three members from punk quintet Hi-Fi Murder pose in front of their practice space. Hi-Fi Murder is booked for a show at the Lighthouse Lounge Sept. 18, 2015.

For a band that’s going on 15 years, Hi Fi Murder is like a little family of its own.

“The cool thing about the Ogden scene is that we play, and people repeatedly come out, and we do not have fans — we just have friends,” Nielsen said, adding the band has 34 unofficial official members who like to come on stage and contribute to the music making.

“There’s a lot of really cool people in Salt Lake, and there’s a lot of really cool people in Logan, but when we come out to play, there’s a good 10-15 people that show up and pay the door cover to come see us and there’s nothing better than knowing that,” he continued. “They come on stage with us and they stand right there. They grab my backup guitar when I bust a string.”

Contact reporter Raychel Johnson at 801-625-4279 or rajohnson@standard.net. Follow her on Twitter @raychelNEWS.

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