I’ve had the privilege of watching Salt Lake City based trio Cinders grow up right before my eyes. This is their story, but actually, it’s mostly mine.

It seems like it was just yesterday that I was sitting with Montana and Adrian (I’ve somehow never met Brad?) in their basement studio “recording” my band’s EP. I say “recording” because I was so bad at playing bass that we literally had to piece together each and every single song note by note.

I featured Sam (I hope we can be on a first name basis, my dude) as the inaugural Friday Fresh Find back in December. Six months later, I have only become a bigger fan. Full disclosure: this post will be much more serious and much less sexual than the prior post. Sorry to disappoint. Or maybe some of you are relieved. And just in case you are wondering, yes, this is a screenshot from the private listening session this post is about.

​Is it possible to be nostalgic for a year in which you didn’t even live?  I’m sure there is specific word for it, but despite all of the internet research I have done for this post, I am drawing a line and refusing to look it up.

Here is the story of one crazy (not very crazy) night about the time my friend Shawn and I went to a concert for the band Jukebox The Ghost. We had no idea what we were getting into. We were way in over our heads (while splashing in the kitty pool) and it was a wild (not so wild) time that neither of us will ever, ever (almost certainly one day will) forget.

Shoutout Shea Serrano as I steal his intro idea.