"I left my heart in..." We all know how that song lyric goes. But Salt Lake City crooners can take heart—there are songs that celebrate SLC as well. Songwriter Doug Wintch added to the list when he wrote Salt Lake City in 2013. Wintch said he based his song on “a guy who used to sit at the bar down at D.B. Cooper’s and cry into his beer over a long lost high school … [Read more...]
Archives for December 2017
J.P. Whipple and His Band, Tycoon Machete
In my travels as a folk singer, I meet all kinds of musicians and artists. I am starting this series to focus on some of Utah's creative types, to tell their stories and dive into why they create the art they do. Each month I will feature a different Utah musical act. I begin the series with J.P. Whipple and his band, Tycoon Machete. It's the middle of a fall Friday … [Read more...]
A Christmas Ghost Story
The Holiday Season. Beneath the theological ownership (you had better say “Merry Christmas”, damn it!), mindless, competitive consumerism, and talking caribou with bizarre otorhinolaryngological symptoms, there lies an often-ignored tradition of folklore, myth, and legend—traditions that are steeped in occult practices. Occult, when properly defined, means “Hidden Knowledge” … [Read more...]
The Deseret Alphabet—Brigham Young’s Most Expensive Failed Experiment
“The advantages of this alphabet will soon be realized, especially by foreigners … It will also be very advantageous to our children. It will be the means of introducing uniformity in our orthography, and the years that are now required to learn to read and spell can be devoted to other studies." ~Brigham Young, delivered in the Salt Lake City Tabernacle on October 8th, … [Read more...]
In a Changing Climate Night Flight Comics Re-Invents as a Mail Order Business
Retail is not for the faint of heart. As the owners of Night Flight Comics, Alan Carroll and Mimi Cruz were retailers for 30 years. They recently decided to shut down their brick and mortar space. And though they are not closing due to lack of profit, as their lease came up for renewal, Alan had to ask, “Do we go for 40? Do we die doing this? What comes next?” The store … [Read more...]
Fight the Salt Lake City Inversion with SLC Air Protectors
How does it sound to work with your neighbors to advocate for a healthier environment here in Utah? Would you like to help bring about cleaner air this winter? Perhaps you’re interested in lobbying politically, or maybe it sounds more fun to dig your hands in the soil. The Native American-led SLC Air Protectors may be the group you’re looking for. Co-founded in 2016 by Salt … [Read more...]
Providing Special Needs Jobs and Delicious Ice Cream Howdy Homemade Ice Cream Finds a Home in Utah
Nothing speaks more to Utah’s local foodie community than a genuine mission statement and amazing ice cream. Because of Utah’s obsession with ice cream and charitable lifestyle, Howdy Homemade Ice Cream (Howdy) has found the perfect home. Tucked away in the neighborhoods of Sugar House, Howdy isn’t the typical ice cream shop that we ice cream lovers come across every … [Read more...]
Joe Maughan Continues a Tradition of Hands-On Jewelry Making at 9th & 9th Jewelers
For Joe Maughan, aka “Joe the Jeweler,” making custom jewelry is in his blood. Joe’s parents first opened the store, previously called The Vug, as a rock shop in 1989. “Rock’s turn into gems and gems turn into jewelry; and here we are 30 years later. There just are not many hands-on jewelers anymore. Nor am I a suit and tie jeweler—I’m a flip-flop jeweler. I do business … [Read more...]
Salt Lake Podcaster Andrea Smardon
Andrea Smardon, an award-winning producer, left her job at KUER 90.1 FM to podcast Changing Our Stories wanting, "freedom to follow my curiosity," Smardon said. She hopes "to pursue big questions, bigger than I could approach with daily news." Smardon craves wisdom from "stories that will help us navigate the way forward in changing our lives," she said. I'm interested in … [Read more...]
Podcaster Chris Holifield Quit His Day Job to Bring Salt Lake to the World
I am Salt Lake broadcast its first episode, Sorry Clementine, in August 2012. Five years later, Episode 300 is newly out the door. Its creator, Utah podcast coach, producer and host, Chris Holifield says, “That side hustle became a way to connect with people all over the world.” A Little History “I liked the idea of a talk radio show, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do a … [Read more...]