By Michael Luce
I recall hearing once that if music communities were only bands, all we’d have would be random wandering musicians playing terribly imbalanced noise in the dark with no one to watch. To put it another way, despite music being the most obvious part of the Utah music scene, the community couldn’t survive without contributions from so many people, from venue owners to sound engineers.
While a lineup like Third Ward, Poolhouse, and Pinguin Mofex already sounds like a great time, tomorrow’s show at Velour Live Music Gallery will also include a celebration of visual media in music, featuring a screening of a short animated webcomic and show visuals from professional animator and self-described music lover Michael Grover. You might not be familiar with his name, but you’re likely familiar with his work; he’s made graphics for Fictionist, Sego, Kaskade, New Shack, Ryan King, and is responsible for the awesome ‘instamural’ on Pingin Mofex’s Instagram page.
Starting in 2009, Michael was an active part of the Provo music scene while he studied animation at BYU. Though his own band eventually fizzled out, he remained a presence in the scene by creating artwork for other groups. He later moved to Florida and drifted away from the scene but remained connected through his visual contributions to the Pinguin Mofex project and the occasional reference to the Provo scene in his comics.
He remarked that while music and art are different mediums, they ultimately go hand in hand and share the same purpose. “I think both are all about connecting with people and sharing stories.” His work usually involves a blend of the two, such as his ambitious webcomic Deeply Dave. Tomorrow, Michael will show off his project Jake Spooky and the Wolves Within Him as well as visuals during the Pinguin Mofex set.
Michael’s approach to art is unique because he relies on live shows like this to spread his craft. “Since I don’t use social media for my own work, I need alternative ways to build my audience, and doing live readings has been an exciting way to do that,” he said. “My comics already incorporate animation and music, and for the live shows I’ve been adding interactive elements and a voice transformer to change the pitch of my voice for different characters. That combo makes for a really unique viewing experience. Part movie screening, part live performance.”
As for the rest of the night, Nate Pyfer, frontman of Pinguin Mofex (among other things), said fans can expect a fun, relatively unserious evening of great music and art. With tomorrow’s show taking place on May the 4th, he even hinted toward some space-themed shenanigans to look out for.
Michael summed it up pretty well: “Anyone who loves experimental art and music should come to this show.”
Be sure to check out Michael’s website Grovertoons for more of his work! You can snag tickets for tomorrow’s show here and listen to Pinguin Mofex’s new single below while you wait.