Oh, the beloved Beer Issue—close to my heart and even closer to my liver. As usual, I get to use the Beer Issue as a chance to twist some tops and bend some elbows on someone else’s dime while pretending to write a serious article, and it’s the one time of year where the SLUG editors can’t give me any shit for writing my column drunk. It’s possible to slur in an article—if you’ve ever read any of my zines, then you already know that. … read more
Happy Birthday, Karl Malone! … read more
With today’s global Internet content, instant Twitter feeds, social media boasting and a sickening amount of over-sharing, I find more and more people looking for an authentic experience—something they can’t manipulate or recreate online. They seek a movement, a cause or an event they can get behind that will connect them to their community, where they can actually see results locally. For those people, I offer you Gallery Stroll—a chance to celebrate the thriving arts community, engage with the makers and keep your money local by purchasing a piece of original, authentic art. … read more
SLUG’s Summer of Death contests have served as a springboard for countless Utah skaters. This summer’s first installment of SLUG’s 15th annual Summer of Death series took place at Ogden’s Crossroads Skatepark on Go Skateboarding Day on June 21. Split pants and busted shoes abounded, as the contestants in the amateur and open divisions vied for First Place. Lucky Stables and Austin Ramirez won the amateur and open, respectively. After First, Second and Third place titles were awarded, local band Sunchaser played their signature multi-layered dirge while people kept ripping through the park. … read more
It happened that I skated with Aiden Chamberlain once before at a spot with rails set against a white-brick building. We skated those for a while until someone decided that we’d check out a hulking rail that was just across the street. Only two of the group of about eight had the guts to huck themselves down the green, daunting monster. One of those kids was Mr. Chamberlain. … read more
Comic Jonny Brandin may want to consider me for his biographer someday, because I find him to be so. Damn. Fascinating. Hailing from Las Vegas, Brandin got his start performing puppet theater before, during and after local punk shows. That last sentence encapsulates what SLUG and our city’s art scene is all about, so let that soak in for a while. He moved to Salt Lake in 2005, and has been working the comedy circuit ever since. He worships Andy Kaufman, The Kids in the Hall and Upright Citizens Brigade, and likes to humbly remind people he doesn’t embarrass easily. … read more
This past March, The Hold Steady released their sixth studio album, a 10-track scorcher titled Teeth Dreams. Since then, they’ve embarked on a globe-spanning tour that will make a stop at our own Urban Lounge in mid-July. SLUG Magazine caught up with lead guitarist and founding member Tad Kubler to talk about the new record, recent lineup changes and to ask about what’s influencing them these days. … read more
Occasionally, we beer drinkers can find ourselves in a bit of a beer bubble. It’s easy to forget that that many of the great beer styles that we enjoy come from regions of the world that are as foreign to us as a BYU singles ward. These beers were not just created to help you “get your sexy on”—they were primarily created to be necessary nutritional staples in the regions from which they hail. Why you’re drinking a beer has as much to do as what kind of beer you’re drinking. Centuries ago, when you were having a beer, it was because the water was bad or because it was a more practical way to stretch your harvest’s yield, and temperature has a lot to do with that. … read more
I had been listening to UZALA’s recordings online for three days by the time I was speaking on the phone with guitarist and vocalist Chad Remains to get the resolute details of his experience with this band, a proxy for doom. While traversing a sunny community garden, I could feel the weight of introspection speaking to me. Not unlike the physical scene I was part of, Remains was warm but with a shroud of gloom. In preparation for their upcoming Bar Deluxe show on July 14, I grilled him with some questions about his perspective on the last five years as a band. … read more
In skateboarding, it’s easy for skaters to become known for a certain trick that they do really well, or do a lot. For example, Paulo Diaz was the nollie guy; Lindsey Robertson—heelflips; Andrew Reynolds—frontside flips; Keith Hufnagel—giant ollies; etc. When I first met AJ, I was in awe of how well he skated fakie. … read more
Me and my bike are much like P.W. Herman—before he ever masturbated in public—and his special two-wheeler, in that we have both been on many adventures together. Both of our bikes have been stolen and retrieved with little aid from proper authorities, as clearly evidenced in the famous ’80s documentary, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. My tale of thievery is a bit different, but there are several parallels. … read more
801 Sessions is an entirely youth-run music production company, formerly known as Spy Hop Records. 801 Sessions consists of a group of students attending Spy Hop Productions—a nonprofit youth media organization who puts on their own shows every third Wednesday at The Shred Shed. The students find the bands, do all of the promotion, run the sound, the cameras and the lights, and then edit and mix the live footage into one well-composed video that they share online. … read more
