The Supposed Horrors of Salem, Plus Recent Highs and Lows in S.F. Music

Salem

​The Supposed Horrors of Salem:  ... Yet there's something totally hatable about Salem, something that in recent months has caused music writers to dogpile on the band with an M.I.A's.-truffle-fry fury. There is, of course the insane backstory of member John Holland, who told an interviewer for Butt magazine in 2008 that he used to work as a prostitute in Michigan and Chicago. There's the members' alleged predilection for massive amounts of alcohol and hard drugs, and the fact that those habits, according to interviews, played a role in Holland dropping out of the private art school he attended in Chicago. There's the fact that Holland used to work at American Apparel. The fact that several of the band's live shows were documented as utterly disastrous, and the members say they don't care. That Donoghue slept through a New York Times interview, cementing a reputation for apathy. Highs and Lows in S.F. Music: Jeff Jacobs, trumpet player in S.F. jazz ensemble the Drift, passed away at his family home in Michigan Jan. 6 after a long, expensive battle with cancer. He will be missed.