Coffee, Tea or Kool-Aid: Which Party Politics Are You Swallowing?, Henry & Glenn Forever and The Story of Island Records are reviewed.
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Dear Dickheads – October 2010
So, I have a request, and I dont think it too unreasonable, though maybe it is. Heres why I write; first, some disclaimer: I was not raised in this wonderful little valley so you may find my opinions to be irrelevant. This would not surprise me, given what I am about to complain about. Though I have some hope a few other adjectives may come to mind, such as ‘objective’ or ‘insightful’… maybe not. Anyways…… … read more
Rough Side Of Da Trax
It could have been any hot summer Saturday—it should be every hot summer Saturday. We met at the newly constructed testament of the human will: Brick and Mortar skate shop. I was greeted by a mass of smiling friends, my extended family—a sweaty, dirty, wounded, raised-by-the-streets pack of wolves—blood brothers. The UTA Trax approached, we boarded, and anarchy ensued. … read more
Levi Faust: Iceman
“Iceman: it’s the way he flies, ice cold, no mistakes … ” That quote is right out of Top Gun and if you’ve ever seen Levi Faust skate, then you know it describes him perfectly. His focus is impeccable. You can see it in his face as he rolls up to a spot, feet perfectly placed, eyes locked on the target. He understands skating like most can never comprehend. I think it’s all the sugar he eats. … read more
HartBreaker: A Jon Hart Story
I’ve known Jon Hart for a little over ten years, since he was about fifteen. I recently met his mom for the first time and she wondered why we’d never met. He told her it was because he didn’t want her to know he was out skating with grown ass men when he was a teenager. Back in the day, Jon was this kid we all used to see at the St. George Skatepark. He had a mean kickflip even back then. Him and his buddies would go and skate all the old spots, like the Pine View High rail and the Dixie High big four/ledges. … read more
Contributor Limelight: Bethany Fischer
Bethany Fischer or “B” is a force to be reckoned with – whether she be shooting photos, writing hip-hop reviews or putting nerdy business men in their place for making snotty remarks about her tattoos. … read more
Please Take Me Off the Guest List
Over a decade ago, Nick Zinner, Zachary Lipez and Stacy Wakefield were just three people living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, playing in bands. This burgeoning Brooklyn music scene is how the three initially met, and how over time, they would eventually collaborate on four different books together—No Seats on the Party Car, Slept in Beds, I Hope You Are All Happy Now and, most recently, Please Take Me off the Guest List. … read more
Jimmy Plants Corn and I Don’t Care
Everything you think you know about professional skateboarding is wrong. That is, unless you know James Atkin. James has been quietly ripping for a long time now. James has style and consistency that have never gotten the justice they deserve from footage and photos. But if you see James skate in person, it’s a whole other story. He has every trick you can think of on lock, can land all his bangers in lines and even Utah’s most famous pro told me he was envious of James’ flip tricks. … read more
Localized – Marinade, Uncle Scam and The Vision
This month’s Localized features the female-fronted, male-backed stylings of jammers Marinade, funky-rockers Uncle Scam and opening band The Vision. Come check it out on Friday Nov. 12 at Urban Lounge for only $5. … read more
Two Cow Garage
Looking at the routing of Two Cow Garage’s current tour reveals many gigs taking place at bars, pubs, lounges, and even the odd brewery or tavern. If there was any justice in the world, these Ohio natives would have broken out of the bar scene and gained the same level of popularity as like-minded bands like The Hold Steady and The Gaslight Anthem. Injustice notwithstanding, one must admit that Two Cow Garage’s songs make a lot more sense after a few beers. … read more
Pretty Lights: Fuckin’ You Up Every Time That I Drop
Derek Vincent Smith, the mastermind behind Pretty Lights, has a vision: beautiful, emotional, hard-as-shit dance music. His dedication to digging through old vinyl for samples, constantly producing fresh, soulful, banging beats and putting on live shows to melt your face off has fueled a well-deserved rise to success in the electronic music world. … read more
Red Bull Rampage
Rolling up to the event, it appeared that some type of futuristic soldiers were hurling themselves down a mountain on two-wheeled gravity sleds. Then I realized it was the Red Bull Rampage—the premier free-ride mountain bike event in the world. Since 2003, Red Bull Rampage has been bringing riders from all over the planet to the southern Utah desert to ride a remote area near Zion known as Virgin, Utah. … read more
