Walking into The Beerhive I pass an oversized Harley, dressed with a full fairing and enough storage for any length of a trip. I know it belongs to Ralph “Teach” Elrod, the man I’m here to meet. Shortly after joining the Salt Lake City motorcycle club in the late ’60s, Elrod took on the role as club president for the Barons MC. In his recently released book, Kick Start: Memories of an Outlaw Biker, Elrod shares stories of his time as president and gives a glimpse of an outlaw motorcycle culture independent of the Hell’s Angels. Walking in, I see Elrod at the bar. His club patch draws my attention and saves me from the awkward uncertainty of introductions with someone I’ve never met. … read more
Middle Eastern Cooking @ Caputo’s 06.09
An intimate group of about ten people gathered in the deli of Caputo’s Market downtown on a Tuesday night, hungry and eager to learn. … read more
Elementé Celebrates 25 Years
Known for scores of stylish retro furniture, unbeatable prices, and a place to rest your tired dogs, Elementé has been an anchor on Pierpont Avenue for 25 years. … read more
Junction City Trainwrecks vs. Colorado Rock’n Rollers 07.13
Using a good dual offense and defense strategy, applying the “hit it and quit it” tactic, and taking advantage of every power jam, the Trainwrecks’ lead over Colorado kept increasing. … read more
The Lone Bellow @ Red Butte 07.14
The late afternoon summer light illuminating the red rocks of the desert combined with the lavish garden complemented the performance that this Brooklyn-based trio had to show us. … read more
Rodrigo y Gabriela @ Red Butte 07.12 with Alex Wilson
Famed guitarists Rodrigo y Gabriela graced SLC for the first time in their more than decade long history. The venue could not have been more perfect for this genre of music: Latin-inspired rock n’ roll and powerful Spanish guitar riffs. … read more
Damn These Heels! Festival Coverage 07.12-14
Last weekend, the Utah Film Center hosted its 10th Annual Damn These Heels! Film Festival, a series dedicated to screening films with LGBT-centered elements. This year, the UFC screened 21 films, had a handful of panel discussions and threw a bit of a party on Friday night to kick things off the right way. … read more
An Interview with Wire @ Pitchfork Music Fest
With their new album, Change Becomes Us, Wire revisits unrecorded material from the late-’70s, and reworks it into something new and exciting. I spoke with members Colin Newman, Graham Lewis and Matthew Simms about the new album, debunking oddball political accusations and playing Pitchfork Music Festival for the first time. … read more
My Quality Minutes with Alison Moyet
It was wonderful news when Alison Moyet announced she was going to release a new album (the minutes) this year, and an even bigger surprise when it charted so highly in the UK charts (at Number Five, her second-highest-charting studio album there since 1987’s Raindancing to be precise)—a remarkable feat for any artist, especially one who hasn’t released new material in seven years and more specifically—in what remains a sexist industry—a woman. … read more
Deafheaven, Marriages, Cult Leader @ Kilby Court 07.10
The old adage about how the more things change, the more they stay the same is perfect for a description of Kilby Court, the favored venue of the underage and over-hip in Salt Lake City. Since the first time I attended a show there in 1998 or 1999, many improvements have been made to the venue, but the actual room itself is still a sweltering hot mess of juvenile machismo and shared sweat. Granted, the sound has improved immensely from when the venue first opened, but, at least to me, that doesn’t make up for having to wade through the throngs of terrible “ironic” mustaches, distressed V-neck T-shirts and dudes in cut-off chick jeans. Trivialities and old-man judging aside, I ventured out of my cave to attend the Deafheaven/Marriages/Cult Leader show at the aforementioned venue, and though not a total loss, it isn’t an experience I’m going to treasure for the rest of my life. … read more
You’re Killing Me Smalls: Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of The Sandlot
Tucked back behind brick bungalows and unassuming chain-link fences is a field whose notoriety is surpassed only by the fantastic one-liners associated with the movie based on it. That field is The Sandlot, and on a hot and sweaty Saturday in July, hundreds of people flocked to Navajo Street in Glendale to participate in one of the best anniversary celebrations of the year. … read more
Peter Murphy, Ours @ Urban Lounge 07.17
Allow me to give a bit of a precursor to why I love the music of Bauhaus/Peter Murphy more than most people in their mid-20s. To begin with the most obvious point, I grew up listening to Bauhaus a lot. My mother was a participant in Utah’s then-thriving industrial/goth scene in the late ’80s, and one of the things I inherited a strong background of industrial music. Bands like Skinny Puppy, Revolting Cocks and KMFDM were part of my playtime music, so I’ve had an instinctual draw to industrial music from the beginning. Fast forward 12 years, and I’m sitting in a crowd of sweaty midlife crises as Mr. Murphy ambled onto the raised platform and, from what I could tell, looks pretty good for being in his 50s. … read more
