Letterpressed with Love: The Mandate Press

Letterpressed with Love: The Mandate Press
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Ben Webster, who founded The Mandate Press in 2004, studied graphic design in college, graduated to land a job working in a modern print shop helping with pre-press, and eventually took a letterpress class through the University of Utah’s Book Arts Program. “The appeal is that impression, that tactile quality,” he says. “You experience something that has been letterpressed: You can see it, you can feel it—it has some character to it. It has some soul.” … read more

It’s a Short Way to the Top: The Rooftop Concert Series

It’s a Short Way to the Top: The Rooftop Concert...
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Three years ago, Wiley, Mindy Gledhill, Courtney Kendrick and Justin Hackworth sat in a meeting with the town’s Cultural Awareness Committee to discuss how they could make downtown Provo more vibrant. The result is The Rooftop Concert Series, thrown on the first Friday of the month from May to October on a parking garage. “It’s unique. It’s the only rooftop concert we know of. It’s also really beautiful—you have the backdrop of the mountains behind it all,” says Hackworth. … read more

SB Dance: Body Movin’ on a Meat Hook

SB Dance: Body Movin’ on a Meat Hook
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Stephen Brown Dance Company has operated outside contemporary norms for 15 years, breaking down expectations and throwing in theatrics to keep audiences on their toes. By offering an interesting combination of modern dance and performance art, SB Dance brings in an almost otherworldly quality to each of their shows. SLUG sat down with the founder and director of SB Dance, Stephen Brown, to discuss his latest production, Of Meat & Marrow. … read more

Local Reviews: Doomed to Extinction

Local Reviews: Doomed to Extinction
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This is a batch of three recording sessions slapped onto one CD-R from a salty trio of grindcrushers, all captured (as the title suggests) in Raunch’s back room. Doomed to Extinction cops their name from a killer Disrupt cut, and the nominal homage lends a solid, sonic reference point for the liminal space they occupy, like crud under a toenail, ’tween grind, crust and sludge. … read more

 
 
Picking up Some Colonel Knowledge: J.D. Wilkes Plays Salt Lake City

Picking up Some Colonel Knowledge: J.D. Wilkes Plays Salt Lake...
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Even though he’s spent the last 14 years as the wild and rambunctious frontman of The Legendary Shack Shakers, J.D. “The Colonel” Wilkes was unable to resist his urges to create another highly original band with his wife Jessica: The Dirt Daubers. Now touring simultaneously with both groups on the same bill, Wilkes is up to the challenge of bringing his dual musical visions to life night after night. … read more

Midsummer Crunch: Crucial Fest Strikes Again

Midsummer Crunch: Crucial Fest Strikes Again
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Crucial Fest is Salt Lake City’s own badass rock festival thrown by Exigent Records. Making its debut last summer, Crucial Fest presented an exposition of amazing local and regional talent in a five-day, multi-venue musical orgy. At this year’s festival, running June 20-23 and June 27-30, there will be more bands and more shows spread over various Salt Lake venues, with all-day Kilby Court extravaganzas complete with art, vendors, food carts and skate demos on both Saturdays. … read more

Maximum Distortion: Utah’s Metal Valhalla Celebrates Seven Years on the Air

Maximum Distortion: Utah’s Metal Valhalla Celebrates Seven Years on the...
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Outsiders may be deceived, but Salt Lake City loves its fucking heavy metal. We also have some of the most dedicated torchbearers calling our scene home. Two of these pioneers have been broadcasting brutality every Wednesday night from 10:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. for seven years on KRCL: Forgach and Cody D, the DJs behind Maximum Distortion. … read more

Local Reviews: Stories of Ambition

Local Reviews: Stories of Ambition
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Stories of Ambition is ambitious, indeed. While the band has added members since the recording, everything on this album was written and performed (or in the case of the drums, written and programmed) by one man, Zach Hyte, formerly of Oh, Antarctica. … read more

Shred It for Credit: Summer Skate Preview

Shred It for Credit: Summer Skate Preview
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Many styles of skateboarding have begun to commingle, creating a diversity that’s never been seen. Most of the stereotypical styles have evolved outside of the barriers of their given names. With all of these styles coming together, there is no better time to find out if yours is completely righteous or completely wack than at one of the various skate contests and events happening this beautiful summer of 2012.  … read more

Capturing an Era: Skate Photographer Hugh Holland

Capturing an Era: Skate Photographer Hugh Holland
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Thanks to this revival of pool skating and some of the older tricks, a book like Hugh Holland’s Locals Only, featuring skate photography of Southern California’s infamous mid-’70s scene, is able to see the light of day. Originally released in 2010 and re-released on May 1 this year, the book contains images that sat in boxes for over thirty years. I was able to ask Holland a few questions about his great time-piece on a part of skateboarding’s history. … read more