KQ Resurrection @ Rips Ales & Cocktails

Buckle your safety belts, because you're about to trip through a time warp. We're setting the Wayback Machine to a quarter-century ago — 1989, to be exact — when a small radio station called KUKQ was the blasting out alternative, underground, and indie rock tunes over Valley airwaves via 1060 AM. The station was a landmark not only because it was the only source for said tunes in the Valley, but because it was influential, to boot. At the controls were now-legendary DJs Jonathan L., Mary "The Bone Mama" McCann, and Leah Miller. "Everything we were playing was groundbreaking in that era. Nobody else was playing those sorts of things," says Miller, who worked at the station until 1993. "You name the band and we played it. The core artists at the time were Depeche Mode and The Cure, and we were also playing local music like The Sidewinders, the Meat Puppets, and Gin Blossoms. Everybody got their first play in Phoenix on KUKQ at that time." Miller, along with KUKQ super-fan Jim Ballard, will bring the spirit of the early years of the now-defunct AM station — which went off the airwaves in 1995 — back to life during their KQ Resurrection at Rips Ales & Cocktails, 3045 North 16th Street, which launches on Friday, January 3. A one-off version of the event back in November proved to be a major success, so the duo decided to hold it on the first Friday of every month. They'll spin many of the same tunes that were the staple of KUKQ back in the day, only with nary any static to be heard. Plus, they'll be handing out a reproduction of the Q's signature stickers (pictured) that adorned many a poor college kid's jalopy way back when. The tunes start at 9 p.m. Admission is free. Call 602-266-0015. — Benjamin Leatherman