Jon Turner is a fast man—he talks fast, he walks fast, he thinks fast and he works fast. I know this sounds like a Jimmy John's commercial, but Jonny T, as his friends call him, isn't making sandwiches; he is creating tone. I sat down with Turner in his basement in Ogden. The low ceiling and walls framed his work table and guitars hung from stands all over the room. T … [Read more...]
Mormon Economics in Early Utah
Utah is defined by two factors; natural beauty and Mormonism. No matter how the state evolves and changes, Mormonism was the reason for the founding of the state. After the Mormon pioneers were driven from Missouri and Illinois, they headed west, many on foot, to the deserts of what was then Mexico. Prophet Brigham Young saw a location that would be a gathering place for the … [Read more...]
To The Bat Kave: Tunes in Toquerville
Southern Utah is not synonymous with live music. However, near the blood red cliffs of Zion, in the little town of Toquerville, Dave Durrant is cranking away at the Bat Kave studio. Like many musicians, Durrant was interested in capturing his own material and started recording his music on a Tascam cassette recorder. Looking back on those days he says, "it was kind of cool … [Read more...]
Respect the Real: the Need for Authentic Voices in American Music
I was sitting at a table in one of my favorite Salt Lake bars listening to Rooster, a traveling country singer. His song was about something he experiences on any given night of the week. It was a song about sleeping in his truck in some middle-of-nowhere Wyoming town after a gig. Throughout the song, a drunk lady leaned against the stage yelling repeatedly, "play Johnny … [Read more...]
Road Trip Adventure: Diary of a Wanderer
I’ve driven the highways of 43 states, sang in endless dive bars, and slept in more WalMart parking lots than I care to remember. I left Utah in 2013, in a van with a bunch of blues musicians, and we worked our way, playing shows all the way to the Georgia coast and back. I haven’t left the road since. I was singing at the Urban Lounge in Salt Lake City, when Richard Markosian, … [Read more...]
Tony Holiday and The Velvetones: Living and Breathing Blues
The blues began on the plantations of the South, but it didn't stay there long. It is said that the blues is an amalgamation of Mexican guitars, Native American singing and African singing. It is often performed in a call and response manner, as it was first used to keep rhythm and bring a little joy to the lives of those picking cotton on the sprawling plantations of the Old … [Read more...]
Slave of the Road—Lorin Walker Madsen
In the world of traveling musicians there are some we call "road warriors." These are the ones that are on the road more often than they are home. (If they have a home other than the tour van.) They are perpetual travelers. Musicians like these are out there doing it the old way. They play dive bars, rodeos, hometown festivals, anywhere that pays. They are the kind to spend … [Read more...]
George Charles Nelson III Sings Millennial Love Songs
I've known George Charles Nelson III for about four years now. He's an old school East-Coast kind of guy, a trained fighter actually, but he's also a soft hearted poetic type. He's been vegan pretty much for forever. From his little house in Salt Lake City he grows tomatoes, and has two chihuahuas—one is over 20 years old and the other is close to it. By day he works in a m … [Read more...]
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 Song for Colorado City
I was traveling through the Southwest, taking in the deep red of the rocks and the blue of the sky when I came across a town unlike any other in America. Colorado City, or, as the locals call it, The Crick, is on the Utah/Arizona border and is comprised of Colorado City, Arizona; Hildale, Utah; Centennial Park, Arizona; and Cane Beds, Arizona. Its vermilion cliffs and the wide … [Read more...]