SLUG Contributor Limelight
February 6, 2020
Contributor Limelight: Alex Blackburn
Since July 2015, Senior Staff Writer Alex Blackburn has written chiefly about local music for SLUG. Ever since, he’s been our go-to guy for anything in the realm of math rock or instrumental-leaning rock music. He appreciates consistently writing about music, and cites his Localized double-feature about Mortigi Tempo and Lord Vox as his favorite SLUG assignments. An avid snowboarder, Blackburn makes his first SLUG foray into non-musical territory this month, with a feature about the National Ability Center on pg. 18. He sheds light on the NAC’s leadership in facilitating fun on the mountain for people of all levels of ability. Whether it’s about music or relating his convivial journey with riders on the hill, Blackburn has a knack for transporting us to his experience in whatever he writes. We’re always charmed by Blackburn’s engaging work and proud that he’s a member of our team!
Articles by contributor
Review: Twin Ponies – Friendly Pet Mass Graves
Twin Ponies = Enemies + This Town Needs Guns … read more
Review: Twin Trances – Self-Titled
Twin Trances = Red Hot Chili Peppers x The Para-Medics … read more
Review: TTNG – Animals Acoustic
TTNG = Toe × Battles … read more
Review: The Bronzed Chorus – Summering
The Bronzed Chorus = Hella / Colour … read more
Review: Sunder – Self Titled
Sunder = Wolfmother x Pond
… read more
Review: Pink Frost – Gargoyle Days
Pink Frost = Wild Nothing + Explosions in the Sky … read more
Review: Parquet Courts – Wide Awake!
Parquet Courts = Weezer + Depeche Mode … read more
Review: Not Blood Paint – Believing is Believing
Not Blood Paint = The Killers x Thirty Seconds to Mars
… read more
Review: Media Jeweler – $99 R/T Hawaii
Media Jeweler = (Battles + Modest Mouse) / Hella … read more
Review: Maserati – Rehumanizer
Maserati = Lazerhawk / The Killers
… read more
Review: Le Butcherettes – A Raw Youth
Le Butcherettes = Tame Impala x Yeah Yeah Yeahs + Jack White … read more
Review: Guides – Abstract Mind
Guides = The Cure x Modest Mouse + Minus The Bear … read more
Local Review: Will Baxter Band – Believe
Will Baxter Band = Gil Scott-Heron * The Jimi Hendrix Experience
… read more
Local Review: Your Meteor – Byzantium
Laying back, staring up at the vast night sky and thinking about the mysteries of life—that’s where I find myself every time I put this album on. Music works best when it’s treated like a rollercoaster of emotions, and that’s exactly the kind of ride that Your Meteor have constructed with their latest LP. Syncopated rhythms, interweaving guitar lines, playful melodic vocals—Byzantium is full of it all and much more. … read more
Local Review: Westward – Empire of Deception
Westward = She Wants Revenge × The Killers … read more
Local Review: Vid Nelson – Taste Test Pity City
Vid Nelson = The Jimmy Hendrix Experience + MGMT … read more
Local Review: Vid Nelson – Millenials
Vid Nelson = Black Keys x Wilco … read more
Local Review: The Statuettes – Modern Despondence
Modern Despondence = Weezer + The Killers … read more
Local Review: Talia Keys – Fool’s Gold
Talia Keys = Tower of Power x Jimi Hendrix / Radiohead … read more
Local Review: Super Bubble – Self-Titled
Super Bubble = Lettuce x Tower of Power … read more
Local Review: Sky as Skin – 10000 beautiful lakes
Sky as Skin = Rage Against the Machine + Not Blood Paint … read more
Local Review: Slow No – Wake
Slow No = Bloc Party × Piglet … read more
Local Review: Scarlet Rain – Eleventh Hour
Scarlet Rain = Avenged Sevenfold x Motorhead … read more
Local Review: Second Anchor Line – Self-titled
Second Anchor Line = The Postal Service × Piglet … read more
Local Review: PINE – Nibiru
PINE = Tool – Dream Theater … read more
Local Review: My Private Island – Self-titled
My Private Island = Soundgarden x Nickelback / Radiohead … read more
Local Review: Morgan and The Mountain – Pieces of Cadence
Morgan and the Mountain = Maisha + Estas Tonne … read more
Local Review: Night Marcher – Us & Them
Us & Them is a fantastic morsel of rock n’ roll that fits right in with my collection of psychedelia, and one that has me humming and nodding along the whole ride through. … read more
Local Review: Mayday RED – Let It Burn
I was a little surprised to see the word “debut” tacked on to Mayday RED’s apparently first album, Let It Burn. If you’ve ever seen their webpage, you’ll know that this local duo has published a lot of their work already. … read more
Local Review: Meldrum House – Prototype
With an intro sounding like it would break out into “Hotel California,” it was surprising when heavy guitar and bass burst into the mix and everything turned metal. Combining influences of ska, metal and punk with style, Meldrum House is a band that excels at the headbanging genre with a counterpoint of soft vocals. … read more
Local Review: Machines of Man – Dreamstates
Machines of Man = Muse x Lamb of God + Loincloth … read more
Local Review: Marla Stone – Self-titled
Marla Stone = Temples * Jesus on Dope … read more
Local Review: Jazz Jagz – Grim Reaper Tunes
Jazz Jagz = Homeshake + Jerry Paper … read more
Local Review: Hot House West – Self-titled
Hot House West = Duke Ellington + Dizzy Gillespie
… read more
Local Review: i Like My Trike – Implications
i Like My Trike = Beck / Sound Garden … read more
Local Review: Follow the Weather – First Light
Follow the Weather = Estas Tonne + The Cinematic Orchestra × acoustic Chevelle … read more
Local Review: Emma Park – Backyard Sailing
Emma Park = Modest Mouse … read more
Local Review: Dearth – Self-titled
Dearth = Piglet × Binkbeats … read more
Local Review: Dawnlit – True North
Dawnlit = Dream Theater x Tycho … read more
Local Review: Danger Hailstorm – Singles
Danger Hailstorm = American Hitmen + Rise Against … read more
Local Review: Big Blue Ox – Self-titled
Big Blue Ox = Tauk + Lettuce … read more
Local Review: Black Jupiter – Transcendentalism in Lofi-Infrared
Black Jupiter = Pink Floyd – Tool × Explosions in the Sky … read more
Local Review: Berlin Breaks – Empty Spaces
Berlin Breaks = Trapt + Tool … read more
Local Review: American Hitmen – Give ‘Em What They Want
American Hitmen = (Blue Öyster Cult + Deep Purple) x Chickenfoot
… read more
Local Review: ALIENWOLF – Self-titled
ALIENWOLF = Late Miles Davis x Wild Nothing … read more
Local Review: Adjacent to Nothing – Lessons and Lesions
Adjacent To Nothing = Lamb of God / Rise Against x Dream Theater … read more
Local Review: A Dead Desire – Resurrecting the Mind
A Dead Desire = Rise Against + Thirty Seconds to Mars … read more
Local Review: Ex-Okay – Awkward Silence
Ex-Okay = Lamb of God × Blink-182 … read more
Review: Russian Circles – Blood Year
Russian Circles = Chevelle × Om … read more
Local Music Review: Lord Vox – Lord Vox
Lord Vox = Radiohead + The Black Keys … read more
Review: Flavor Waster – It’s Always Sunny When You’re Cool
Flavor Waster = Marriages x Battles … read more
Review: Creature from Dell Pond – Dirty Deli
Creature from Dell Pond = Breadwinner / Hella … read more
Review: Cha Wa – Funk’N’Feathers
Cha Wa = Snarky Puppy + Galactic / John Patton
… read more
Review: CHON – CHON
CHON = Giraffes? Giraffes! × TTNG + The Redneck Manifesto … read more
Review: Animals as Leaders – The Madness of Many
Animals as Leaders =Polyphia + Hella / Chon … read more
Review: ABACU5 – A Long Way to Begin
ABACU5 = Black Keys / 30 Seconds To Mars … read more
Local Review: Black Flak and the Nightmare Fighters – It’s...
Black Flak and the Nightmare Fighters = Staind x Explosions in the Sky … read more
Local Review: Noble Bodies – Two Voices
Noble Bodies = Neon Trees x Foo Fighters … read more
Local Review: Golden Green Funz – The Ballad of Orion...
Golden Green Funz = Iron & Wine + My Morning Jacket … read more
Local Review: The Cold Year – Prey For Me
The Cold Year = Minus the Bear × The Black Keys … read more
Review: Squarepusher – Be Up A Hello
Squarepusher = Tipper x John Cage … read more
Local Review: Man Meets Bear – Shadow Falls, Echoes Juniper
Man Meets Bear = Iron and Wine ÷ My Morning Jacket … read more
Local Review: Helichrysum –These Apes Think They Heady
Helichrysum = Washed Out + Naked City … read more
24MOTOR: 24 Minutes of the Oil Refinery
24MOTOR is technically a race—technically—but by the sound of it, nobody takes it too seriously. Winning is really just a matter of chance. … read more
Mastering Gravity: How Brian Castillo and The National Ability Center...
The National Ability Center is a resource for individuals trying to find their stride on the mountains, regardless of their current ability level. … read more
Localized: Lord Vox
With an incense stick burning conspicuously in the background and the room full with a stringy, lustful, ephemeral jam, I began to understand just exactly what made Lord Vox a mystical force to be reckoned with. … read more
Localized: Mortigi Tempo
It’s always good to see musicians who care about the quality of their sound. That’s why it was so great to crouch my way down into the basement where guitarist/vocalist Chris Fallo, percussionist Marc Leach and bassist/guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Nicholas Allen like to practice and record their jams. … read more
Time For a Tempo Check With Cathy Foy
Cathy Foy is the head drum instructor at the Rock n’ Roll Camp for Girls, where she helps aspiring musicians create original music. … read more
Talking with TAUK
TAUK has mastered a funk-fusion sound that immediately reminds me of bands like Lettuce and Snarky Puppy. TAUK will be in SLC on Oct. 18 at the State Room for their upcoming winter tour. … read more
Getting the Beat Right with Jack DeJohnette
Rhythm is the heart of any band, and if you ask rhythm guru Jack DeJohnette about it like I did, he’ll tell you, “Everything is rhythm, man. Your heartbeat is rhythm. We’re talking—it’s rhythm. It’s all rhythm.” … read more
Jiving Jazz with Jeff Hamilton
Tight fills, swinging jams and impeccable style—if you’re familiar with names like Ray Brown, Oscar Peterson or Monty Alexander, chances are that you’ve heard Jeff Hamilton’s playing. Professional musicianship is Hamilton’s style—his passion for the instrument has helped bring drumming to where it is today. … read more
Yukon Blonde @ Kilby 07.28 with CHAPPO
Yukon Blonde started the night off in a big way—a healthy five-piece group with five vocal mics. … read more
Marriages @ Kilby 07.16 with Yeti Warlord, No Sun
“Jesus! I can’t hear anything!” I thought, after the first couple guitar explosions of the night. The amps seemed to be turned way too far up, because after a couple monstrous chords for sound check, I was already regretting that I’d forgotten earplugs. “It’s a good sign that my ears are ringing and the show