Matteo: Blending Eastern and Western Styles in SLC

Jordan Riley and Luke Williams of Matteo playing live music.

When a band says they play “folk” music, you probably imagine them sitting around in a circle playing banjos, acoustic guitars and violins. For local band Matteo, though, their foreign-sounding name hints that something is different about the instruments they use. Matteo blends traditional Asian instruments with more common, American folk instruments. Throw in some nice vocal harmonies, and you get Matteo’s unique sound, which is unlike anything else coming from other local bands. … read more

Corporate Skateboarding Still Sucks: Joey Sandmire, Local Skateboarder

Joey Sandmire may not be a name you’re familiar with now, but it’s definitely one you should get used to hearing. The 17-year-old out of Bingham was recently added to the Blindside team and travels with SK801. I recently met up with Sandmire and his crew. Upon arriving at his desired meeting spot, his friends volunteered him to go skate a nearby rail. He agreed and I followed them to the mysterious spot. There, shaded between two buildings, was a mammoth 11-stair with royal blue handrails and a nasty kink. … read more

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti: Making a Career Out of Strange

Tim Koh, Kenny Gilmore, and Ariel Pink of Ariel Pink band

“Uncomfortable” is probably one of the best words to describe the early Ariel Pink albums, as well as the majority of interviews and a great deal of the performances. His eccentricities and diamond-in-the-rough garage pop drew people in initially, built him a fanbase of loyal, lo-fi cassette hounds, and did wonders for the beginning of the new chillwave genre. Released in August on 4AD, APHG’s newest album, Mature Themes, is a return to weird. … read more

The Wheels on the Cart Go ’Round… Sometimes

In the mid-2000s, the food cart hit America’s streets in earnest. UrbanSpoon lists 22 local trucks and carts as of this writing, serving everything from discount ramen or horchata to gourmet Asian sliders for a fraction of the cost of sit-down restaurants.   I tried to hit four carts, but it wasn’t easy. Finally, with only a few excuses, I was able to make it to three: World Dog, The Curryer and Union Street Eats. … read more

The Dirty Dash: A Gateway Drug to Running

Contestants at Dirty Dash on slip-n-slide

When most people think of running a 5k littered with swamps and walls of hay bales, the word “fun” may not be the first thing that springs to mind. Since the Dirty Dash started three years ago, however, every race they’ve held at Soldier Hollow in Midway has filled to capacity with runners eager to get sloppy—many clad in themed costumes. This year, each of their 10 races, from Albuquerque to Seattle, has sold out. … read more

Mike Brown’s Monthly Dirt: Internet Dating: an Interview with Dick Snot

I have a good friend who started up an eHarmony account a few months ago, and I decided to interview him about his experience. His name is Dick Snot. He is a very intriguing person, and the fact that he went on eHarmony is funny in itself. Dick Snot is very introverted, especially around women. Dick Snot is also incredibly sincere, honest and open. He truly doesn’t give a fuck, but not in that negative punk rock way.
  … read more

Princess Kennedy: He-She Love Connections

Princess Kennedy TV.

“Once, when I was on Jerry Springer …”
I love starting sentences like that—it always gets people’s attention, but alas, it’s true. When I was 29, some friends of mine had made up a tawdry story about a fucked-up love triangle and pitched it to the show. It was good enough to get us on a whirlwind trip to Chi-town where it was filmed, and, let me tell you, it was as unglamorous as you would probably imagine. … read more

What Awesome Tastes Like: Curry Fried Chicken

What do superheroes eat after a hard day of do-gooding? Shawarma, of course. If you saw Joss Whedon’s latest movie, The Avengers, and you stayed for the second, post-credit end scene, you know what I’m talking about. Where do the local superheroes get a genuine shawarma in our little home of vice and virtue? Well, there is only one answer: Curry Fried Chicken. … read more

Beautiful Godzilla: Gucci Gucci, Louis Louis, Fendi Fendi, Wal-Mart

I was once pretty fashion forward: putting lots of thought into my outfits, makin’ my hair all fancy and even smearing on eyeliner every day––but my entire look changed when I started cycling. When your main transportation is a bicycle, that cute sundress you pull from storage that highlights your supple winter boobies, and the matching sandals that showcase your fresh pedicure … Well … their story won’t end as happily as The Brave Little Toaster’s. … read more

Mike Brown’s Monthly Dirt: The Original Fucktard

My band, The Fucktards, is nearing 13 years old. Like most bands that have been around over 10 years or so, we’ve changed. Dare I say, “progress”? In the case of The Fucktards, I realize that’s pushing it. These days, a Fucktards show consists of us dressing up stupid, getting beer and other random objects thrown at us and playing the same seven songs over and over again, until we are asked to stop. So, I want this article to give you lucky readers the origins and beginnings of The Fucktards. … read more

Princess Kennedy: Brigham Young’s Tranimal Son?

Brigham Young had a tranimal son? Yeah, you totally read that right. I heard a rumor that Brigham Young, the HBIC back in the day, allegedly had a son who donned a dress and matching falsetto voice. “What’s that?” I ask myself. “Could it be true that mine is not the only Mormon family with dirty secrets?” Imagine! … read more