Problem Daughter’s lead singer Regan Ashton’s unique vocals resemble a blend between the high pitched melodies of Against Me’s Laura Jane Grace and the raspiness of legendary Circle Jerks vocalist Keith Morris, delivering a unique feel to the band’s sound.
Guitarist and back up vocalist Shane Augustus shows the same passionate energy that can be viewed in early 1980s hardcore punk bands such as Bad Brains and Black Flag. Augustus delivers chorus-tying backup vocals that help stitch the bands clean sound together.
Drummer Trey Bird lays down percussion that has the popping sound and complexity of jazz, rock ‘n’ roll and pogo-party punk rock.
Lead guitarist Tyler Sisson’s, founder of former band Never Say Never, style separates the band from the majority of punk bands that use fast power chord progressions as the basis of their music.
The charisma and energy projected in this band’s stage performance could be compared to that of a lightning storm with unexpected surges of energy both in the band and in the audience.
The stage lined with local punk rockers bobbing up and down and singing along with every song. In the back, small groups of punks tackle each other to the hard concrete ground and throw each other into the walls.
Punk is a breeding ground for antisocial and antigovernment movements. Ian MacKay, founder of the early hardcore punk band Minor Threat, pushed the message of not using drugs through his music in 1981, therefore creating the widely growing straight-edge movement.
Other anti-government youth in revolt movements have spread from United States bands such as Dead Kennedys, Reagan Youth, Negative Approach and Anti Flag along with the strongly influential European bands The Exploited, GBH and Discharge.
“We kind of are stoked that we don’t really have a moment or anything. We just enjoy the music we play, and we play it for ourselves,” says Augustus.
The music driven focus of Problem Daughter sets them apart from the stereotypical punk rock bands that have gained successes since the 1980s.
Problem Daughter’s live performances are reminiscent of the old Salt Lake City punk scene. Problem Daughter has similar local fame to 1990s Salt Lake punk bands such as Clear, Iceburn, The Stench, The Downers and The Corleones.
The Corleones, for example, credited SLUG Magazine for the early hype and development towards their bands local success in the late 1990s. Problem Daughter has been in SLUG magazine a number of times and is about to headline the SLUG’s series Localized as the main band on Nov. 8 at the Urban Lounge.
Problem Daughter can be found online at Facebook.com, problemdaughter.com and problemdaughter.bandcamp.com. They are playing a Halloween Masquerade party at Granary Row on Oct. 19. Their music can also be found on iTunes.
