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Editor's note: KSL.com does a monthly feature on local musicians and bands in the community. If you have an up-and-coming band or musician in mind, email your submission to jklopfenstein@ksl.com. Please include a contact email for the artist, if available.OGDEN — A lot of great music is coming to Ogden this summer. While Salt Lake City retools its longstanding Twilight Concert Series, Ogden is upgrading its own — bringing in Flaming Lips, Cold War Kids, CHVRCHES, and more.
Great music is coming out of Ogden as well.
Ogden indie synth band Mojave Nomads signed a deal with Standby Records in late 2017 and recently released a new EP, “Phases”.
The five-piece indie rock group — Tyler Harris (vocals, guitar), Colter Hill (guitar), Bryton Bell (bass), Cole Eisenhour (percussion), Mason Hill (synth/keys) — formed in 2014. Since then, the band has opened for OK GO, played at SXSW, and won American Musical Supply’s “Catch a Break at AMS” contest, beating out thousands of other bands across the country.
Though Mojave Nomads members have been building momentum across the country, it was tough to get things rolling in their hometown.
“(The Ogden scene) is basically nonexistent for all-ages bands right now,” Hill said. “There was a place called Mojo’s where we played our first few shows but it closed about six months into us being a band. Basically, we’ve had to be adopted into the SLC and Logan scenes, which are great. There’s a lot of really great talent in Utah.”
Now they’re tackling the road and learning to deal with the ups and downs of touring.
“We just finished up our fourth run of out-of-state shows,” Hill said. “The good shows really make us feel great — we’ve played sold out shows in Austin, Seattle and New York City. But sometimes it’s definitely more hit and miss. This last tour, we had a venue owner in L.A. cancel on us because he wanted to go to the Justin Timberlake show. But honestly, even the smaller shows are still just notches on our belt. We’ve really learned to roll with the punches.”
Despite the grind, Hill says touring is definitely worth it.
“The best part of touring is always when we play a really good show, or discover new super fans in other cities that we didn’t know about," he said. "It’s a really good feeling to know people in other places in the U.S. appreciate what we do in our basement on the scale that they do.”
The band is already looking forward to working on new material. Though the “Phases” EP was just released — and hit No. 20 on Billboard’s list of albums by new alternative bands — its songs have been longtime staples of Mojave Nomad’s live act.
“We’ve been playing this EP for two years now, so we’re ready for you guys to see what we’ve been working on in the dark,” Hill said. “We’re hoping to be back in the studio working on new tunes so we can have a single for you this summer.”
For more Mojave Nomads, visit their Bandcamp page.
Despite the grind, Hill says touring is definitely worth it.
“The best part of touring is always when we play a really good show, or discover new super fans in other cities that we didn’t know about," he said. "It’s a really good feeling to know people in other places in the U.S. appreciate what we do in our basement on the scale that they do.”
The band is already looking forward to working on new material. Though the “Phases” EP was just released — and hit No. 20 on Billboard’s list of albums by new alternative bands — its songs have been longtime staples of Mojave Nomad’s live act.
“We’ve been playing this EP for two years now, so we’re ready for you guys to see what we’ve been working on in the dark,” Hill said. “We’re hoping to be back in the studio working on new tunes so we can have a single for you this summer.”
For more Mojave Nomads, visit their Bandcamp page.
