JH Underground – news, sports and music blog from Jackson Hole, Wyoming news, sports and music blog from Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Tonight is the screening of Michael Franti’s documentary “I Know I’m Not Alone” at Center for the Arts. The movie follows his trip to Baghdad, Israel and Palestine in 2004, when he and a group of friends set out to explore the war zones armed only with video cameras and a guitar.

Here is an excerpt from our interview with Franti, in which he talks about his motivation for going to the Middle East and recounts his first attempt at snowboarding in Jackson Hole.

We will be showing this interview tonight before the film, as well as a special message from Franti to the audience. Showtime is 7 p.m. Doors will open at 6, and pizza and beer will be available for purchase.

Tickets cost $10. Proceeds will benefit the Middle East Children’s Alliance, a charity Franti supports that is working to make peace in the Middle East by improving the lives of kids. Click here to purchase tickets.

On Saturday, Franti and Spearhead came to Teton Village to share the gift of music. Here’s our chance to return the love.

(Still photography by David Stubbs; Filmed by Peter Pilafian and Tony Birkholz)

Posted under Music, Politics, Ski Resorts

“Wyoming, are you feeling the dance?” Michael Franti shouted near the end of his show Saturday at the Jackson Hole Mountain Festival.

Were we ever! Slipping and sliding in the Teton Village parking lot, a crowd of perhaps 3,000 or 4,000 grooved beneath the stars as Franti closed out a joyous evening with his dance anthem “Everybody Ona Move.”

“We don’t stop,” he sang. “And we don’t quit.”

No, Franti and Spearhead would not relent, much like a winter that has brought 550 inches of snow to the Tetons. Dreadlocks flying from beneath his cap, the towering singer and guitarist bounced across the stage as if flying down the Alta Chutes. His set spanned 20 songs and more than two hours.

The most indelible image I have from the night: wisps of steam rising from Franti’s head each time he stepped to the microphone.

We’ll have much more to report from Saturday’s Mountain Fest as well as a preview of Franti’s documentary, “I Know I’m Not Alone,” which is showing at 7 p.m. Monday at Center for the Arts.

Check back Monday for more photos and a cool video by Tony Birkholz.

Posted under Music, Ski Resorts

Despite the cold, wind and snow outside, I’m holding out faith for the skies to clear and calm by the time Michael Franti and Spearhead take the stage this evening at Teton Village. If not, we’ll be dancing in the storm.

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Posted under Music, Ski Resorts

Controversy erupted at the 33rd World Championship Snowmobile Hill Climb late Thursday as event organizers were ambushed by last-minute entries of hybrid snowmobiles.

The four-woman team from California-Amazon Technical School, calling themselves “Team Al Gore Rhythm,” arrived unannounced in a Toyota Prius towing two experimental sleds which they claimed burned an alternative fuel.

Jennifer Flynn, the team captain, said, “We’ve been working on a recyclables-based technology we call pre-apocalyptic craptacular fusion. Using a mixture of sea water, pulverized No. 1 plastic and shredded coated-print stock — we use Victoria’s Secret catalogs because we love the irony — we have created a 55-pound engine that delivers nearly pure energy. The gimbal-mounted flywheel acts as a gyroscopic stabilizer, too.”

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Posted under Environment, Humor

Residents of east Jackson reported being disturbed this morning by a nuisant whining noise that began abruptly and has carried on for hours.

“Dude, what is, like, someone clear-cutting Cache Creek with a chainsaw?” said Carter Stoneman. The part-time ski instructor reported feeling “shanked” when the buzz became audible over the Widespread Panic jam he was listening to.

“It sounds like someone is drilling an oil rig straight into Snow King Mountain,” said Emily Trussfund, who nearly spilled her herb tea at the nonprofit she works for, upon hearing the grating sound.

Customers at nearby Pearl Street Bagels began coughing after mysterious fumes wafted through the neighborhood. Authorities are investigating.

Posted under Environment, Humor

It’s almost April, and yet the snowstorms show no signs of abating. Nearly another foot of snow was measured in the Tetons today, and the forecast calls for 14 inches by tomorrow night, with still more on the way.

It’s been a winter of nearly continuous powder skiing. Naturally, after we eclipsed the 500-inch mark earlier this month, people began to wonder whether this season would set a new record for snowfall.

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Posted under Environment, Ski Resorts, Sports, Weather