Email Author Brendan Joel Kelley

Awards

• 2006 - Arizona Press Club Awards, published June 16, 2005

  "High Voltage"

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2005 Stories by Brendan Joel Kelley

• Panic!

  published December 29, 2005

  You've got to wait until the new year to buy the new Strokes record, First Impressions of Earth, in stores, but this Thursday, December 29,... More >>

• Old Soul

  published December 15, 2005

  A couple years back, singer-songwriter Jake La Botz was spending his Sundays down at the Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in south central L.A.,... More >>

• Under Raps

  published December 8, 2005

  I've been thinking about the word "nigga" a lot lately. Seems it's popping out of everybody's mouth these days, whether it's high school... More >>

• Rob Swift

  published December 8, 2005

  Known for his beat-juggling skills with his '90s New York DJ crew the X-Men (who would later become the X-ecutioners, so as not to get sued), Rob... More >>

• Tween Scene

  published December 1, 2005

  Recently, my nephew Torin celebrated his fourth birthday. My brother, a sound engineer, recruited a local band, New York Homecoming, to learn a... More >>

• Loud Mouths

  published December 1, 2005

  On a recent evening in a quiet Tempe neighborhood, the guys in Smoky Mountain Skullbusters are in a small padded room at guitarist Dylan... More >>

• Furious Styles Crew anniversary

  published December 1, 2005

  For hip-hop heads, it just doesn't get any better than the annual Furious Styles Crew anniversary celebrations around these parts. The b-boy... More >>

• Escape Plan

  published November 17, 2005

  On the most recent First Friday, at midnight, I'm in a former Mormon church with immense ceilings. Psychedelic colors are dancing on the walls... More >>

• Dig Deeper

  published November 10, 2005

  "The blues is dying out here," my friend Dale Baich told me recently when we were bullshitting about music. I was taken aback by his statement,... More >>

• Grandmaster Flash

  published November 10, 2005

  It's not often we get a living legend hitting the turntables in the 'Nix, because, really, the art isn't old enough to have that many pioneers.... More >>

• Blue Cheer

  published November 3, 2005

  I have a theory that excessive sobriety and serious relationships can easily hamper an artist's potential. I know it's true with me; the focus... More >>

• Cousins of the Wize at the Bash

  published November 3, 2005

  The more things change, the more they stay the same: Just when you thought local hip-hop/rock/reggae outfit Cousins of the Wize was in the 'Nix's... More >>

• Tenth Power

  published October 27, 2005

  In late spring of this year, I was kicking myself for having missed the 10-year anniversary show for local label Truxton Records. A few weeks... More >>

• Boy George at Myst

  published October 27, 2005

  Boy, oh boy. Just in time for Halloween, one of the spookiest-lookin' characters of the past few decades is coming to town to pick up one of... More >>

• BK at Metropolis

  published October 20, 2005

  It's always exciting when a world-class DJ hits the 'Nix for the first time; it does our egos good and quashes a bit of our desert metropolis'... More >>

• Devil in the Details

  published October 13, 2005

  "If you see us again, we will definitely be doing it for the money," announced Tom Reardon, bass player and vocalist for Hillbilly Devilspeak, in... More >>

• Death From Above 1979

  published October 13, 2005

  Hot Pink!, the long-reigning queen of the glam-dance scene, seems like it ought to have petered out. Instead, even with founder DJ Nimh spending... More >>

• Blood Brothers

  published October 6, 2005

  The bathroom sink is bathed in blood, the splatter extending up onto the mirror above it. Near the stalls there's a guy holding his tee shirt to... More >>

• DJ AM at Myst

  published October 6, 2005

  It must be a bitch being better known as Nicole Richie's fiancé than for your skills on the tables, but that seems to be the case with DJ... More >>

• Radar Love

  published September 29, 2005

  Back in the day, I regularly watched DJ Radar perform with his Bombshelter DJs crew at Nita's Hideaway and, later, the Green Room. The scratch... More >>

• Boom Bap Room at Big Fish Pub

  published September 29, 2005

  As the temperatures start to drop, Monday nights are heating up in the world of beats and thumps. The latest entry is hip-hop weekly Boom Bap Room... More >>

• Fly's Down

  published September 22, 2005

  When it comes to music, sometimes you need an evening of total fucking irreverence, abandon, chaos, loss-of-bowel-control hysterics. Take my... More >>

• Paul van Dyk at Myst

  published September 22, 2005

  "America's favorite DJ" (according to BPM magazine) and acclaimed electronic music producer Paul van Dyk is touching down in the Valley... More >>

• Foreign Affair at Hidden House

  published September 15, 2005

  Phoenix eating and drinking establishment The Hidden House (607 West Osborn Road) has been making waves in the DJ scene lately, offering up beats... More >>

• Native Son

  published September 8, 2005

  American music is a rich tapestry of historical elements, often evident in contemporary music. The White Stripes channel Delta blues with Detroit... More >>