Email Author Bob Mehr

2000 Stories by Bob Mehr

• Evening at the Improv

  published December 21, 2000

  The living room of Jamal Ruhe's downtown Tempe home is a mess. The small quarters are cluttered with amplifiers, cables and instruments of every... More >>

• Y2 Chaos

  published December 14, 2000

  As we approach the twilight of each calendar year, it seems music critics are overly eager to proclaim the preceding 12 months as the "Year of"... More >>

• Road Weary

  published December 14, 2000

  While so much music over the years has mythologized the "road" -- CCR's "Travelin' Band" and Grand Funk's "We're an American Band" immediately... More >>

• Bitter Pill

  published December 7, 2000

  Let's say, for the purposes of this article, that's it's 3:30 in the morning. Only, it's really 4:30 because the clock in your car is an hour... More >>

• Indie Year 2000

  published December 7, 2000

  As unwarranted as last year's premillennial (or is it Willennial?) hysteria was, it was nothing compared to the elaborate steps city fathers took... More >>

• 'Toonsmiths

  published November 23, 2000

  The early winter air is crisp, but Robin Wilson is looking for a spot in the sun. Settling down on a bench, clutching a cigarette and coffee mug... More >>

• Seems Like Old Times

  published November 2, 2000

  Tonight is a homecoming. It's been three and a half years since Dead Hot Workshop's classic lineup has played together, more than that since... More >>

• Back in the Zone

  published November 2, 2000

  The odds of hearing any Valley artists -- save the Gin Blossoms and Refreshments -- on the radio took a big hit last year when KZON-FM 101.5... More >>

• Fowl Play

  published October 26, 2000

  "Kurt. Kurt. Look up, man." With his dark eyebrows arched beneath a shock of freshly bleached hair, Chicken bassist John White is reprimanding... More >>

• Hot and Bothered

  published October 26, 2000

  When you think of the cutting edge of hip-hop, a flurry of names immediately springs to mind: Killah Priest, Sauce Money, Major Figgas, C-Murder,... More >>

• Long Time, No CD

  published October 19, 2000

  Gloritone bassist Nick Scropos remembers vividly when the myth of major-label recording came crashing down, near the end of the band's monthlong... More >>

• Shotgun Franny

  published October 12, 2000

  When she traveled to Austin last November to make a guest appearance on Willie Nelson's new album, Milk Cow Blues, veteran Phoenix diva... More >>

• Fair to Middlin'

  published October 5, 2000

  It's fall once again, and that means the Arizona State Fair will get into full swing shortly. This year's lineup of musical performers is enough... More >>

• Danger Zone

  published September 28, 2000

  It's late April, well after midnight, and there's something strange going on at the Arizona Roadhouse. The pleasant, somewhat upscale Tempe... More >>

• Servile or Survivor?

  published September 21, 2000

  For those of you going through Survivor withdrawal, this month's Mail or Muse has been conceived with your shallow needs in mind. If you... More >>

• Hot Poppers

  published September 21, 2000

  "Musicality" -- and all that the term implies -- has long been the most misunderstood and undervalued element of punk rock. It's the kind of thing... More >>

• No Lag in the Hag

  published September 14, 2000

  Merle Haggard is contemplating quitting country music, and it's your fault. The 63-year-old Haggard isn't ready to walk away just yet.... More >>

• Chick Magnates

  published September 14, 2000

  "Novel" is a word rarely used to describe bands in the Valley music scene. And while, strictly speaking, The Weaker Sex is not a "novelty act," it... More >>

• Fresh Prints

  published September 7, 2000

  With new stuff on the way from Chicken, Truckers on Speed, the Pistoleros, the Piersons and Big Blue Couch, the remainder of this year offers no... More >>

• Final Curtain

  published August 31, 2000

  I'm gonna take out my eyes and wash them clean/Filling them in the decay/Removing all the debris, because the world I'd like to see is not... More >>

• I Want My MP3

  published August 24, 2000

  If you were to judge the online music revolution based solely on the MP3.com charts, you'd have to conclude that... More >>

• Song of Salvation

  published August 17, 2000

  As his body shivered and convulsed, Sam Moore mumbled a quiet prayer. "Dear God, please . . ." Moore knew about praying. He knew the church... More >>

• Indigenous Voices

  published August 17, 2000

  When the Grammys -- notoriously the most staid of all the entertainment awards (remember Jethro Tull beating out Metallica as outstanding heavy... More >>

• In Sync

  published August 3, 2000

  For years, rumors swirled that Pink Floyd's 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon was intended to serve as a sort of alternate soundtrack to... More >>

• Gimme Indie Rock

  published August 3, 2000

  Indie rock kids have it good. Seeing them hang around the local record store or coffee joint, we look on with no small amount of jealousy.... More >>