Month: May 2011
The Poorwills: Melodic Stalwarts Show New Folk-Pop Face
Essentially carved out of the three separate acts of Bluebird Radio, Glade and The Devil Whale, the folk “super-group” of The Poorwills came together on a whim and spent nearly half a year putting together their debut album, Drinks On The Wing. Now, with a fully formed setlist, a release show on May 13 and possibilities of a tour, this on-the-fly project may be one of the best groups to emerge in 2011. … read more
Cinamon: The High Cost of (Being) Death
Picture death personified. Maybe you imagine a skull-faced reaper with a cloak and scythe or a terrifying angel on his pale horse. Or maybe, if you’re of the right age and background, death is a perky goth girl with a penchant for Mary Poppins and an Eye of Horus spiral on her cheek.This incarnation of Death, introduced in a 1989 issue of the DC/Vertigo comic The Sandman, (or rather, the woman who inspired her appearance) also happens to be a Salt Lake City native. … read more
Sympathy for the Recording Industry: Midnight Records
Founded in 2008 and located in the back of the Utah Arts Alliance on 127 S. Main Street, Midnight Records has beaten the odds by flourishing and growing in this incredibly volatile time of transition in the music industry. Midnight charges a flat, $75 rate per song, which includes mixing, mastering and a CD, or a $45 hourly rate, which includes mastering. The flat-rate pricing allows a more relaxed and interactive recording environment. … read more
The Indie Cred Test
Henry Owings may be the highest profile music fan in the world. Yet somehow, he has managed to parlay his fandom into being on the forefront of many ridiculously important music and book projects as of late. Owings has been the guiding force behind three Chunklet books and his latest, the self-published The Indie Cred Test is written in the style of a standardized exam, with its final goal being a complete assessment of just how cool the reader is. … read more
Small Timers
Approximately two and a half years ago, a group of friends set out to create a 10-episode web series called Small Timers. Small Timers follows two college-age students—Steve and Elton—who find themselves in huge amounts of debt for various reasons. To try to solve their financial woes, the two turn to the world of petty crime, initially attempting ridiculous stunts before figuring out that the real way to cold hard cash is through drug dealing … read more
This Will Destroy You
Perhaps it’s blasphemy, but Texas-based This Will Destroy You are what I imagine god would sound like if he were real and in an instrumental rock quartet. Their name may be just as pretentious as that statement, but once you hear any of the powerful tracks off their upcoming album Tunnel Blanket, to be released May 10 on Suicide Squeeze, it’s clear This Will Destroy You are not feigning ambition. … read more
Evryday: Saving the planet one pair of slacks at a...
Salt Lake has a thriving local community of motivated shakers and movers creating real change on the local level, and I’m proud to introduce a new crew to the fold—Ben Gustafson and Jared Smith, creators of Evryday. Evryday (ED for short) was spinning in the A.D.D.-riddled heads of Smith and Gustafson for years. On one fateful evening, a bell rang in one head as a light bulb went off in the other and it’s been a beautiful thing ever since. … read more
The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of SaltCycle
Neglected in dark closets, rusting alongside chain link fences and perhaps even torn apart and piled into boxes, the bicycles in this city have suffered a long, lonely winter as their owners set them aside. As cuffs slowly rise with the temperature, so do thoughts of smooth saddles, glistening cranks and spinning spokes. Like lovers reunited, the fair-weather cyclists mount their steeds and hit the salty streets in droves. Here to organize the enamored masses and spread the love is SaltCycle. … read more
Skate Sensei: Suggestions of a Sage
It is my true will to guide you, my dear student, on a journey—a quest into the realm unbeknownst to the many—a path less tread. In realization of certain mystery, I must be careful to speak in clear, concise language free from elicit jargon and fancy-free phantasmagoria. The concepts I allege apply to mystical acts, known by the blind as skateboard tricks. Once we clear the cobwebs of confusion, the simplicity of skate mastery can be seen clearly. … read more
Princess Kennedy: Miss Goodwitch
When I was a young queen, around 18 years old, you could say I was rather wicked. I showed no discretion when acting like a little bitch. I expected the world to be handed to me on a silver platter. I slept with my friends’ boyfriends and talked about them behind their backs. I was the little cunt who mailed people with bad acne facial sanding pamphlets and fat people diet tips. I would go to a dance club with a squirt gun full of perm solution and spray people’s hair. … read more