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

When Blitzen Trapper takes the stage Sunday night at the Pink Garter, Marty Marquis will feel right at home.

Marquis, red-haired guitarist and keyboardist for the Portland-based quintet, used to hitchhike a lot when he was younger. He made a point of choosing a route that took him through Jackson and the national parks.

“I love the Tetons, love Yellowstone, and the folks that I met around there were always really friendly,” he said Thursday from Salt Lake City, where the band was performing. “It seemed like I got offered a job every time I came through there.” Also, the parks and surrounding area were “some of the historical trappers’ favorite places to hang out.”

Expect Marquis and his bandmates to share a few stories, theirs mixed with historical tales, during the show. Blitzen Trapper’s songs are steeped in Western imagery, telling of wandering and adventures, outlaws and wolves.

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Posted under Environment, Music

Tags: jackson hole community radio, pink garter, rock, wolves, writing

(Ed. note: With Wyoming snowboard star Travis Rice bringing big air to the Big Apple this week, we asked former Jackson resident/DJ/shredder turned NYU grad student/hipster Brad Desmond for a report. Besides studying the music biz, Brad writes about music and other topics on his blog, My Sunday Sweater.)

When I first watched Brain Farm’s That’s It That’s All at its Jackson Hole premiere in 2008, I was blown away. And not just because I won the raffle twice (Quiksilver coat and belt), but because it was clear that Brain Farm was breaking new ground in the world of ski porn. As my chest vibrated with the soundtrack’s bass and pupils dilated to take in the scope of IMAX/Planet Earth-quality cinematography, I was surprised to feel something other than the usual image-induced stoke. That desire to run to the nearest chairlift was there, however matched by a sense of awe and wonder that I had yet to experience from an action sports film.

Naturally my excitement for Brain Farm’s follow-up built as The Art of Flight began to garner media hype last winter. I was even more excited when I found out the film’s world premiere would take place in New York City, a place I recently migrated to from Jackson. But this excitement fizzled when the show quickly sold out (I guess I took the Jackson habit of last-minute ticket buying with me). A quick look on Craigslist revealed tickets selling between $50 and $100 (retail was $20, plus Ticketmaster fees). It was clear that whatever marketing Brain Farm, Quiksilver and Red Bull were doing was paying off.

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Posted under Art, Entertainment, Media, Sports

Tags: films, hipsters, jackson hole community radio, new york, snowboarding, travis rice

It’s overwhelming staring down CMJ Music Marathon’s line-up of 1,200-plus bands — especially coming from Wyoming. The annual weeklong music festival that takes place in October throughout New York City showcases some of the world’s top emerging bands. If you’re an up-and-coming artist, you play it. And if you want to discover some of that music, you go. As a volunteer DJ at 89.1 KHOL, Jackson Hole Community Radio, I went.

CMJ is a fractured event. Bands play simultaneously across the city in small lineups where each act plays for about a half hour. Because of this, you just have to pick one of these lineups and commit. You can’t be bombing around the city trying to catch so-and-so in Brooklyn, then some other band in Manhattan. Just go from lineup to lineup and stay as long as you want. Most of the shows take place in bars or small music venues where you can meet almost every band you see. At CMJ, you’re not close to the music; you’re in it.

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Posted under Music

Tags: hipsters, jackson hole community radio, new york, sam petri, travel

Cara Rank of the News&Guide already wrote a follow-up, but I wanted to include a link to last week’s debate on KHOL between Wyoming Senate candidates Tom Frisbie and Leland Christensen.

This is a pivotal seat, and in contrast to many of the local races, the candidates have sharply different views on issues such as health care (Christensen favors suing the federal government over health reform) and wolf management (Frisbie supports statewide trophy game designation, a compromise the state has been unwilling to make).

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Posted under Democratic Party, Economy, Environment, Politics, Republican Party, Wyoming Legislature

Tags: jackson hole community radio, leland christensen, Media

Tonight Jackson Hole Community Radio hosts the first in a series of “fireside chat” political debates, featuring Len Carlman and Ruth Ann Petroff, candidates for Wyoming House of Representatives. The savvy political strategist April Hankey and I will be moderating. The show runs from 7:30 to 8 p.m. at 89.1 FM and will be rebroadcast tomorrow from 3 to 3:30 p.m.

Got a question we ought to zing the candidates with? Leave it in the comments section below, or e-mail politics@jhcr.org.

The series continues on KHOL at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13 with Wyoming Senate candidates Leland Christensen and Tom Frisbie and culminates with a forum Oct. 20 at Betty Rock. The “Political Pizza Party” will feature mayoral candidates Franz Camenzind and Mark Barron and the five candidates for Teton County commissioner. Len and Ruth Ann will be back for round two, and there will be music by Screen Door Porch and Pete Muldoon and Friends.

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Posted under Democratic Party, Economy, Environment, Politics, Republican Party, Wyoming Legislature

Tags: jackson hole community radio, ruth ann petroff