Yes, it’s true I suffer from white man’s syndrome: I have absolutely no rhythm. That’s what makes critiquing any musicians’ work difficult. If I attempted an instrument I’d fail horribly. All that said, Ravings of a Madman’s self-titled album doesn’t suck or anything, but with any band there is room for improvement. For ROAM it lies mainly in the songwriting. … read more
I was once speaking to some people about local music when guitarist Raffi Shahinian politely interrupted and said he was in a band. That band happened to be Uncle Scam. Shahinian described his band as sounding somewhat like System of a Down. … read more
Apparently, Old News Records has been started in order to either release or re-release recordings, primarily from Salt Lake-based hardcore bands, that were either initially released in small quantities, or never released at all. Not a bad idea. Up.River’s self-titled album, although not necessarily my cup of tea, is certainly deserving of a listen, even if it’s nothing very original. … read more
The Vibrant Sound has some seriously cool jazzy tunes. This four-piece band knows how to lay down the creamy sounds. Then, when the band comes in with their falsetto background vocals, it fits the music like they were born to bone for eternity. … read more
Local band Primitive Programme take listeners back to late-’70s punk music while mixing in their own futurist, minimal-pop sounds. Become a “programmer” and check out their new wave stylings at SLUG Localized on June 29 at Urban Lounge, along with new-wave locals, Civil Lust. … read more
RoHa’s main objective is to deliver beers that force you to slow down and enjoy the simple life in a community of down-to-earth brewers and beer drinkers. … read more
Proper Brewing Company employs three of seven Utahns with the Certified Cicerone title, given to those who have achieved the second of four levels in the Cicerone Certification Program. … read more
Growing up in small town Utah, we had a lot of “almost spots”—skateboard spots that had one thing wrong with it that made it impossible to skate, or spots that none of us were good enough to skate. This spot in the Avenues is one of those spots. Several skaters tried this boardslide this day, but Jake Flood was the first to roll away from the snake. … read more
Strap Tank’s beer menu is replete with nuanced, flavorful brews with unique profiles and no undesired or unintentional artifacts. The complex boutique beers run the gamut from fruity, sparkly saisons to daringly hazy, hoppy pale ales … read more
“It was time to freshen up our portfolio and be more innovative,” says Winter with regard to Uinta’s new direction. “In late 2015, we began putting a plan together to see what new beer from Uinta would look like. We looked at new packaging, yeast strains and styles that would make people take notice.” And notice people did. … read more
There’s a complexity and balance of malt and hop flavors that are subtle but still provide a bit of excitement on the tongue. The carbonation is medium-high and light bodied, with a smooth, crisp and lightly tickling mouthfeel. The light alcohol is well hidden, with zero warming effects. … read more
We thought this would be a great opportunity to host a festival because we had so much great beer—great local beer,” says Briggs. “We were so excited to see them winning awards at the Great American Beer Festival and in San Diego. We thought that we should be highlighting them ourselves, here in Utah.” … read more
