Issues: Issue 278 - February 2012
Salty Lyrics and Love Songs
The Growlers, based out of Costa Mesa, play spooky, slowed-down surf pop. It’s an unexpectedly morose sound, considering their proximity to the beach, great surfing and ample sunshine. This spring sees the band touring through Salt Lake City on March 8, playing Austin’s SXSW, the sold out, two-weekend-long Coachella, and releasing their third album, Hung at Heart. … read more
Local Reviews: Vena Cava
Easily my favorite new local band, Vena Cava have given us a recorded taste of their jarring, experimental punk. The band has captured the ethos of their live performance—a rickety and staggering simulation of monsters that snarl against the straight-laced disposition of normal society. … read more
Man of Many Masks: An Interview with Julian Carr
Julian Carr is a man of many masks—pro skier, entrepreneur, college graduate, published writer and world record holder. He is also a man of dedication and commitment, traits that helped him achieve his success both as a professional skier and as owner of Discrete Headwear. Through all this, he’s still humble and unassuming, grounded in his love and passion for skiing. … read more
Photo Feature: Bode Merrill
Bode Merrill recently told me about his affection for dubstep and raves. That is the moment I knew he was into drugs. Perhaps I’m jumping to conclusions here and underestimating the amount of head trauma he’s sustained from snowboarding. I decided to do some research into this second theory and found that Bode actually has his very own blog dedicated to one of the nastiest of all snowboarding wrecks—the scorpion. … read more
Live Dew-ds: Exposing Snowbasin
From February 9-12, some of the world’s biggest names in skiing and snowboarding will be returning to Utah. Over the past years, this particular stop has proven successful—breaking attendance records daily and providing Snowbasin with a ton of exposure. In order to learn how this competition found its way to Utah, I met with the guys behind the scenes and spent a day on the hill. … read more
Skateboards: A Magnet for Crazy
If there is a crazy bum in my general area, they’ll usually head straight for me and spark up a conversation. It doesn’t matter if I have a skateboard or not—bums love to talk to me—but the attraction is especially strong with a skateboard. At first, I thought it was something about my personality. I just naturally emitted some scent or aura that drew crazy people to me. Eventually, though, I realized it’s something to do with being a skateboarder. … read more
Beautiful Godzilla: Bike Love
Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful powder blue converted fixie. One day, the bicycle’s owner got super wasted at a local bar and, too drunk to bike home, decided to hail a cab instead. Left alone, its frame hugging the cold black curve of the bike rack, the bicycle cowered under the shadow of the night sky. … read more
Gallery Stroll: Art Has a New Home
Salt Lake City has a new Arts Hub. Normally, an “Arts Hub” earns its name over months or years, but if you’re Derek Dyer, Executive Director of the Utah Arts Alliance (UAA), and your programs serve over 50,000 people throughout the year, and you just acquired a 30,000 square foot building, I think you have the right to call it an “Arts Hub.” … read more
Ask a Cop – February 2012
Querido Puerco,
I recently moved to the west side of town ‘cause I got a nice two bedroom casa for the same price as a mierda apartment on ninth east. I’ve heard there’s a lot of gang activity in this area, though, and wondered if there are any señales of gang territory or drug activity that I can look for.
Besos, Mamá … read more
Dear Dickheads – February 2012
Dear Dickheads,
On August 26, RadioActive aired a show asking the question “why are there not more female-fronted rock bands in Utah?” I called in and stuck my foot in my mouth, in a sense. I said that I feel it may have something to do with folks looking up to their favorite bands as idols rather than people just like themselves expressing their ideas through music. … read more