Authors: Cody Kirkland
Mommy’s Little Monsters on Punk Rock Halloween
Three years ago, Minor Threat, Black Flag and the Misfits played in the basement of an abandoned building somewhere in Salt Lake City. Of course, it was actually Utah’s xCOMMUNICATEDx, Pass-A-Fist and Youth Descent, impersonating and playing cover sets of some of their favorite punk bands in a Salt Lake tradition: Punk Rock Halloween. “It’s the idea of dressing up and being someone else for Halloween, but, instead, bands are doing it,” says Robin Banks, the local artist and SLUG Mag contributor who helps organize the event. … read more
Handcrafted Hacking: The Transistor and Make: SLC
The word “hacker” often connotes a lone, bespectacled computer villain sitting in a dark room, breaking code to alter the White House’s homepage or gain access to people’s personal account information on Amazon. For the people who actually do it, however, hacking is more about taking something that was made for one purpose and integrating it into your own creation to do something else. The Transistor and Make: SLC are part a community of people around the globe who see something cool and think, “Hey, I could make that!” … read more
La Barba’s DIY Coffee Operation
On the West Coast, high-end coffee roasters and cafes long ago ditched the Irish crème and the breakfast blend, instead focusing on the flavors of the (gasp!) actual coffee itself. This new school of coffee emphasizes a lighter roasting style, which highlights the different flavor profiles of coffees from particular regions. Salt Lake’s own La Barba Coffee Roasting is roasted in a modified barbecue grill in a Rose Park backyard, and it’s on par with some of the roasters that inspired it. … read more
Quadruple Your Fun: Utah’s Four Freshest Brewpubs
When I reached the legal drinking age, I joked about aspiring to have a beer gut. I have always been a real scrawny guy with the metabolism of a hummingbird, so I figured I’d never consume enough beer to develop any visible bulge in my midsection. Half a dozen years later, the Utah craft beer scene directly correlates with my budding beer belly. Always eager to try new booze, the Kirkland brothers hit the road to see what’s brewing out in the desert of eastern Utah, on the edge of the Great Salt Lake and up the hill in the Avenues. … read more
Top 5: Danny Brown
Right from the first track (“Side A [Old]”), it’s obvious that this ain’t that old Danny Brown shit. He takes us there, into his old life—his mom braiding hair on the front porch (“25 Bucks”) and a crackhead burning off his lip doing stove hits (“Torture”). But this is new territory for Brown. Old strays from the minimalist and vocal-centric emphasis of XXX and the ’90s-worship of The Hybrid, and shows that Brown is as versatile and conceptual as ever. Old is more put-together, more focused around each song’s vibe or story. … read more
Getting To Point B
Point B, starring the late David Fetzer, is “a stylized sci-fi comedy about four grad students who accidentally develop a crude teleportation device,” says Cannon, the film’s producer. … read more
Localized: JAWWZZ!!
This month’s Localized is a cross-section of SLC punk: the visceral, dissonant hardcore punk of openers Foster Body, the surf-soaked party punk of JAWWZZ!! and the acerbic, bittersweet pop punk of Problem Daughter. The convergence of punk dexterity happens Nov. 8 at the Urban Lounge at 9 p.m., emceed by Ischa B. and sponsored by Bohemian Brewery. It’s $5 to get in if you’re 21+. If you’re not, watch it online at gigviz.com. … read more
Tales of the Beer Cocktail
At its simplest, a beer cocktail is merely this: a drink with beer in it. Since there are no known texts on beer cocktails and no formal taxonomy that I know of, I’ve developed three categories of them.
Artisan or Perfection: Alpha Dominche Steampunk
The Steampunk may initially seem like the nail in every barista’s reclaimed-wood coffin—what will we all do, if not stand and pour water into a French press, AeroPress or Chemex? Perez, though, sees the Steampunk as a tool for baristas to achieve brewing excellence.
Follow the White Rabbit: A Journey Into UFO Country
Before dawn on the morning of Feb. 12, 2012, security guard Corey Serawop was halfway through a graveyard shift at a Fort Duchesne alcohol abuse treatment center when the power went out. Serawop saw red-and-blue flashing lights outside the building. Assuming the police had arrived in relation to the power outage, he went outside to meet them. Instead of a police cruiser, Serawop saw something unimaginable—something he had only seen in movies. … read more