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Talking With Teach
Walking into The Beerhive I pass an oversized Harley, dressed with a full fairing and enough storage for any length of a trip. I know it belongs to Ralph “Teach” Elrod, the man I’m here to meet. Shortly after joining the Salt Lake City motorcycle club in the late ’60s, Elrod took on the role as club president for the Barons MC. In his recently released book, Kick Start: Memories of an Outlaw Biker, Elrod shares stories of his time as president and gives a glimpse of an outlaw motorcycle culture independent of the Hell’s Angels. Walking in, I see Elrod at the bar. His club patch draws my attention and saves me from the awkward uncertainty of introductions with someone I’ve never met. … read more
Crucialfest Day Four @ Shred Shed and Wasted Space 06.29
It’s Year Three, Day Four of SLC’s amazing musical orgasm CrucialFest, and I step off the Trax stop at Courthouse to get myself some delicious pizza and beer from The Pie Hole before the festivities start. Heat’s in the triple digits, and I pity the poor fools even more who chose Warped Tour over CF. … read more
WRD: Salt Flat Fallouts vs. Black Diamond Divas 06.29
The headliner of the night was a showdown between Wasatch’s Salt Flat Fallouts and the Black Diamond Divas, in their last home game before the championship bout, so to say the least, I felt it was going to be a bloody (hopefully only figuratively) free-for-all to find out who truly was going to be the top dog this season. … read more
Crucialfest Day Two @ Killby Court 06.27
On the second day of Crucialfest 3, the music gods looked upon Kilby Court and decided, “This is where the rock shall be.” A little slice of all-ages paradise, Kilby Court is a great venue tucked away in the back of an alley. The only downside is a serious lack of air conditioning, but fantastic lighting and sound makes up for it. Besides, it’s the summer—if you’re not sweating, then you’re not trying hard enough. One of the most fun things about Kilby Court that doesn’t really translate to a lot of venues is also the easygoing, casual vibe. “Casual” is the best way to describe Kilby all the way around, with the open garage door in back and courtyard full of stickers with a firepit flanked by park benches. Not a half bad way to catch some tunes and make some new friends. … read more
Crucialfest Day One @ The Woodshed 06.26
On a warm and muggy Wednesday night, I had the opportunity to cover the first night of Crucialfest 3 at the Wood Shed. While technically starting at Kilby Court earlier that day, I was stoked to get in and get some of that sweet Crucialfest vibe. If you’ve never heard of Crucialfest, now is a good time to catch up before next year. A huge, local festival, getting bigger and bigger every year, Crucialfest is literally a crucial part of the Utah music scene in a big way. Taking place over several days and several different venues, with mostly local acts peppered with a few touring bands, it’s a great way to dive in and get a grab bag of new tunes.
Electric Daisy Carnival: The Best Kind of Zombie Nation
On June 21 to 25, I headed to Las Vegas for one of the biggest parties/festivals of the year, Insomniac’s 17th Electric Daisy Carnival! Once again, for three days straight, some of the best DJs in the world would all be in one place for another sold-out crowd at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the biggest all-night party, literally. From 7 p.m. to sunrise, there would be nonstop music. Las Vegas is already known as the city to party in, but during EDC weekend, something magical happens: It’s party level of 10 doubles and by two and multiplies to infinity. … read more
Video Nasty Movie Review
Video Nasty is a refreshing take on skateboarding. It showed that it does not have to be all about handrails and hucking your carcass down a set of stairs. … read more
The Concrete Waves of the Great Salt Lake
Hill bombing is the foundation of skateboarding. Sometime in the early 1950s, California surfers started unscrewing the trucks from their roller skates and began attaching them to carved planks of wood in an effort to figure out how to surf the streets. Skateboards were skinnier then and had clay wheels, but they still got the job done. Searching for the perfect concrete wave when the ocean lay flat became a daily occurrence among the California natives, until pool skating got big in the ’70s. You see, cruising hills wasn’t like the skate park back then—it was the skate park. Since that time, the concrete wave has only grown. … read more
Gabe Spotts: Pushing through the Ranks
Gabe Spotts has become the next and newest Am to rise up from the Provo area. Like his friends and heroes Matt Fisher and Brodie Penrod, Spotts is hoping to garner enough attention to eventually get him out of the suburbs and into the big city. With the help of his sponsors, which include local companies Fortica Skateboards, Discrete Headwear, Skullcandy and Board of Provo, Spotts has been keeping the Utah scene relevant through traveling and competing on the amateur circuit. … read more
Beer Pubs with History and Swagger
There is no better way to learn more about Utah’s history with beer than to take a guided tour of a few of the most charismatic pubs in Salt Lake City. The Thirst Fursday Historic Pub Crawl is sponsored by the Utah Heritage Foundation, an organization committed to preserving Utah’s historical buildings through outreach like this fun and drinky tour. On the first Thursday of the month, three pubs are crawled to, all offering insight into Salt Lake’s history. … read more