Akron

Why Arizona?

Since the New Times is moving this column to coincide with the print edition, I thought I'd take a moment to re-introduce myself and give you a peek into why I've resided in Arizona for the past 17 years. It has a little to do with the glowing gray area between synchronicity and fate. By this I mean ... More >>

Like The Black Keys? Dig Their Musical Roots

What a wonder prime time slots at Coachella two years in a row will do for you. Everything's coming up Milhouse for The Black Keys these days. The blues/indie/garage group played a sold-out show at Mesa Amphitheatre last year and will return to a much larger venue in October. Thanks to the succes ... More >>

John Gillis, Veteran Victims' Advocate, Joins Maricopa County Attorney's Office; Former Justice Department Official's Daughter was Murdered in '79

John Gillis -- veteran Los Angeles cop, former U.S. Department of Justice official and champion for the rights of crime victims -- will be helping out Valley victims for a while.Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery has hired Gillis to serve as the chief of the agency's victim services division. ... More >>

Top 10 Cities That Spend the Most on Fast Food: AZ City Makes the Greasy Cut

David McNew, Getty Images​Value meals, super sizing, quick trips through the drive thru -- America loves fast food. Wedging itself into nearly every nook and cranny of our society, its everywhere. And some cities in the good ol' 'U.S.of A. take advantage of it more than others. So says the mo ... More >>

Jessica Lea Mayfield Is Only 21, But She's No Stranger to the Tour Grind

Akron/Family at Rhythm Room Last Night

Shawn Anderson, www.electricmustache.comAkron/Family performing live in Phoenix on April 4, 2011.​Akron/FamilyRhythm RoomMonday April 4, 2011Akron/Family is not from Akron, Ohio.I just wanted to clear that up right up top since I am, in fact, from Akron, Ohio while the proggy/jammy/folky/experimen ... More >>

The Black Keys Coming to Mesa

​We've got a big show announcement today: The Black Keys are coming to Mesa Ampitheatre on Thursday, April 14.Since I'm also from Akron, Ohio (or a suburb, anyway) I've been following their career since they played to half-filled local clubs. (Funny story from my old college newspaper here.)The Ke ... More >>

Cheetah Chrome Talks Dead Boys, Dissing Devo, and His New Band Batusis

​ Cheetah Chrome and Sylvain Sylvain are considered founding fathers of punk rock, as original members of Rocket From the Tombs and The Dead Boys, and New York Dolls, respectively, but the two are far from mellowing out with their age. Their new project, Batusis, roars and rips with just as much f ... More >>

Phoenix's Gomi Are Bringing Grunge Back from the Dead

David Allan Coe @ Harold's Cave Creek Corral

Why Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh Befriended Local Circuit Bender Corey Busboom

What's Selling: Zia Record Exchange Tempe

​Music lovers at Zia Record Exchange in Tempe are craving rougher, louder sounds at the moment. Topping the chart this week is The Sword. Also in demand were Best Coast's lo-fi chillwave and the beloved raps of everyone's favorite white boy, Eminem, as well as the talented Akron blues boys, The Bl ... More >>

Nothing Not New: Podcast #6

Peter M. Storch​Hope you all had a good Memorial Day weekend. Now that you're back on the clock, use company time to give a listen to the sixth Nothing Not New podcast. In this installment, music editor Martin Cizmar and I play 11 songs from recent new releases and discuss the industrial roots of ... More >>

The Black Keys

Brothers

VW Trainwreck: Terrible Music, Worse Flier

​ It's been a few months since I had the onerous task of reviewing Tempe punk band VW Trainwreck's super-shitty record Dramaturgy in our You Asked For It column, only to field comments from the band suggesting:1) I did not really listen to the record even once.2) Record companies pay for good ... More >>

Rob Zombie "Hellbilly Deluxe 2" Tour To Open Tour in Phoenix

​ Just like the horror movies he gets so much inspiration from, Rob Zombie is not afraid to revisit a successful past project when there's money to be made. Thus we have the The Hellbilly Deluxe 2 Tour, which will open in Phoenix before hitting the rest of the U.S. around Halloween. Lest you thin ... More >>

Locals Only

Arizona Artists Cover Each Other on the When in AZ Compilation

Arizona Artists Cover Each Other on the When in AZ Compilation

Rain Washes Away the D-Backs' Chances Against the Philadelphia Phillies

Blame the rain -- or, more appropriately, the fact that the D-Backs stink -- for last night's loss in Philly. ​ Once upon a time, the Arizona Diamondbacks were winning a game against the defending MLB champeen Philadelphia Phillies (we know, hard to believe). Stephen Drew had slugged a lead-off h ... More >>

Jessica Lea Mayfield

Jessica Lea Mayfield

Detroit Cobras in Phoenix: Like Jazz in Japan

Anarbor Announces Massive Tour, Gets Song On "The Hills"

Local kiddie dance-pop act Anarbor has announced a massive slate of tour dates with The Cab, The Secret Handshake, Forgive Durden and You Me and Everyone We Know, as well as a stint on Warped Tour.The Phoenix-based band has been touring pretty much non-stop since releasing Free Your Mind, their seco ... More >>

The Pretenders Bring Too Much Twang to Dodge

Luke HolwerdaYou'd be hard-pressed to find a better-preserved 57-year-old rock star than Chrissie Hynde. Onstage at Dodge Theatre Wednesday night, the Pretenders frontwoman looked incredible and sounded exactly as she did 30 years ago, when the band recorded their eponymous debut. Really. Her distin ... More >>

Jimmy Eat World: A Decade of Clarity

The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde Kicks Out Some Tasty Jams On Break Up

Jessica Lea Mayfield Impresses, Annuals Disappoint, at Rhythm Room

Jonathan McNamara We don't normally run two pieces previewing acts from a single concert in our print edition, but last week I made an exception for Jessica Lea Mayfield and Annuals at Rhythm Room. After tonight's show I'm definitely glad I did.As the headliner, Annuals, a six-piece indie act from N ... More >>

A Dan Auerbach Story, From Way Back

The Black Keys as they looked back when I interviewed them.With The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach's solo record, Keep It Hid, having come out last Tuesday and his protégé, Jessica Lea Mayfield coming to town tomorrow, I thought this would be a good time to share a story I wrote on Auerbach for my colle ... More >>

Jessica Lea Mayfield

The Pretenders Coming To The Dodge

"The British Rock band The Pretenders with original founder Chrissie Hynde will make a stop in Phoenix to perform at Dodge Theatre on Wednesday, March 4. The tour is the band's first extensive headlining tour since 2003. The show will begin at 7:30pm. Tickets will go on-sale Monday, December 8 at 10 ... More >>

Little Photoshop of horrors: The devolutionary art of Mark Mothersbaugh

Little Photoshop of Horrors

The devolutionary art of Mark Mothersbaugh

Taser trying to zap Ohio county coroner

Yeasayer's experimental rock finds a way to make a connection

"It's All a Bunch of Hipsters": The Stray Cats, the Pretenders, and Don Henley @ the Jobing.com Arena

Same As It Ever Was

The Black Keys keep it real

Akron/Family

Epic freakiness

Top 10 sellers at Stinkweeds, 1250 East Apache Boulevard in Tempe

Chart-busters for the week

Thrill Ride

The original man's band, refrocked

Dinner at 8

With a side of greasepaint

Blues Clues

Gettin' down-and-dirty with the Black Keys

The Black Keys

Thickfreakness (Fat Possum)

Identity Crisis

Court committee considers keeping the names of jurors secret

Number One With a Mullet

Heavy metal gets the lite treatment in the cliché-studded Rock Star

Hearts and Banjos

Valley rock 'n' roll vets Bruce Connole and Keith Jackson bond -- bluegrass style

Devo

Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology (Warner Bros./Rhino)

Kid Pics for the week

A CRAMPED INTERIOR

THE CRAMPS' LUX PONTIFICATES ON ART, LIFE AND THE COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS

PORT O' CRAWL: TUCSON

DON'T BLINK