Email Author Bob Mehr

1999 Stories by Bob Mehr

• Lookin' for a Hero

  published December 30, 1999

  Someone once noted that if there was a local Punk Preservation Society charter, Keith Jackson would be its Chairman of the Bored. Few things, it... More >>

• Hit & Miscellany

  published December 16, 1999

  Though we usually eschew the quick-hit news and notes format, we felt this would be a good opportunity to clean off the ol' desk. With millennium... More >>

• Wong Place, Right Time

  published December 9, 1999

  As you walk down Tempe's Mill Avenue, somewhere past the Gap and Hooters but before you get to Abercrombie & Fitch, you'll pass Long Wong's, a... More >>

• Dirt Roads, Dead Ends and Dust

  published November 25, 1999

  The Supersuckers look like satanic cowboys and sound like punks-gone-metal. Onstage, front man Eddie Spaghetti, guitarists Dan "Thunder" Bolton... More >>

• Gloritonic

  published November 18, 1999

  It's been hard not to feel a little bit sorry for Gloritone. It's not that the local trio isn't a good band; it is. It's just that the group had... More >>

• Mr. Rocker

  published November 11, 1999

  There's a fantasy that probably every rock fan and critic has shared at one point or another. It involves the notion that somewhere, likely in a... More >>

• In Bob ('s Sister) We Trust

  published November 11, 1999

  You wouldn't know Judy Pollard is Bob Pollard's sister just by talking to her. At least you won't find any of the telltale signs that would brand... More >>

• The Genre Gap

  published November 11, 1999

  Rock is not dead. Just ask anyone who was onstage at Sunday's Arizona Music Forum's all-day festival. Performers made frequent references to just... More >>

• Wargasm

  published November 4, 1999

  Saturday, July 17, 1999: A sold-out crowd of 70,000-plus crammed inside Pasadena's Rose Bowl to watch one of the final performances of Sarah... More >>

• Unmodified

  published November 4, 1999

  Kimber Lanning is a petite, fair-haired lady. Plopped down in a beanbag chair in a corner of her Tempe Stinkweeds record store and surrounded by... More >>

• Babes in Arms

  published October 28, 1999

  "Detroit is a virtual ghost town except for the music scene." So says John Krautner of Motor City rock band The Go. The 22-year-old guitarist... More >>

• So you want to be a Rock 'n' Roll Star

  published October 21, 1999

  As front man for the Gin Blossoms, Arizona's most famous rock band, Robin Wilson fulfilled all his adolescent fantasies. For years, he played... More >>

• Not Dead, Just Hot

  published October 14, 1999

  Within the Valley music scene, few artists or songwriters enjoy the kind of universal admiration of Dead Hot Workshop's Brent Babb. So it comes as... More >>

• Mr. Clyne's Wild Ride

  published October 7, 1999

  Roger Clyne is in a reflective mood. The Peacemakers' front man has had plenty to think about over the last year. He got married, became a father... More >>

• Last Gang in Town

  published October 7, 1999

  The Peeps are discordantly glamorous. Guitarist Paula Monarch is all tattoos and red hair. Bassist Chela Mischke is tall and dark -- with dark... More >>

• Desert Noir

  published September 30, 1999

  It's easy to be taken aback by the depth of Calexico's The Black Light. In under 60 minutes, the group's auteurs (and erstwhile Giant Sand... More >>

• The Journey

  published September 30, 1999

  "Yeah, Kraftwerk and the Backstreet Boys," chuckles Markus Schulz. The Phoenix DJ is laughing at the juxtaposition of the two, shall we say,... More >>

• Hey Anthology

  published September 16, 1999

  When Outside Looking In: The Best of the Gin Blossoms hits stores on October 19, the first question on the lips of most people will be,... More >>

• Recordings

  published September 16, 1999

  The Go Whatcha Doin' (Sub-Pop) For rock 'n' roll fans, these are troubled times. Contrary to popular belief, it... More >>

• Living the Blues

  published September 9, 1999

  You'll have to excuse Bob Corritore if his head has been in the clouds lately. It's understandable given the fact that the release of his All... More >>

• Return to the Valley of the Yakes

  published August 26, 1999

  By the time the punk-rock revolution finally arrived in the Valley around 1978, the music quickly began to become filtered through the overheated... More >>

• Devotion, But No Doubt

  published August 26, 1999

  In theory, but all too rarely in practice, music can -- as former rock scribe Jon Landau once wrote -- "answer every impulse, consume all emotion,... More >>

• You Can Call Me Alvin

  published August 26, 1999

  If Dave Alvin hadn't written or sung another note after 1986, his place in rock 'n' roll history would still be secure. As a founding... More >>

• Under His Spell Again

  published August 19, 1999

  "That was fucking insane." When all was said and done at last Wednesday's Buck Owens birthday salute, that succinct verdict from Flathead... More >>

• On and On

  published August 12, 1999

  Lest you think that female-fronted bands merging glistening Southern California pop and intensely personal lyrics with an aching vocal snarl... More >>