Kickstarter Inc.

Top Five Must-See Phoenix Shows This Week

"It's Friday somewhere" isn't strictly true -- I don't think the International Date Line works that way -- but if Jimmy Buffett were to write a song to that effect, and it made you feel better about going to see The Presets and Dragonette tonight at the Marquee, I think it would be a pretty useful f ... More >>

Shine Coffee Adding a "Living Room" and Urban Park to Downtown Space

Last fall, Shine Coffee owners Laryn and Christiaan Blok expanded their coffee business from a retro-cool Airstream trailer to a walk-up java shop in a tiny, Colonial-style structure at 10 West Vernon Avenue (across from the Heard Museum light-rail stop on the north side of the street). See also: ... More >>

Mealmatch: Local Organization Helping Fight World Hunger with Social Media App

Though no one can know the exact number of people who go hungry every day, one statistic estimates that 925 million people were hungry throughout the world in 2010, according to the the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. See also: - Kickstarter Campaign Asks for Money to Start "Freegan" Cafe ... More >>

Run Boy Run Brings Frisky Young Bluegrass to Country Thunder Today, Rhythm Room on Sunday

Garrison Keillor knows about all the cool stuff way before the rest of us do -- we were in Tucson a couple of weeks ago, innocently catching a show at Plush that featured old friends of whom we're huge fans, and it turned out to be the release show for Run Boy Run's So Sang the Whippoorwill. Already ... More >>

Lip Chaser Delivers Mouth-to-Mouth Action at the Bar

Pucker up, Phoenix -- a frisky new follow-up to the body shot is here, and it's making its way to a liquor store near you. Lip Chaser, a patent-pending "kiss chaser," is a product from a Tempe-based business aimed at targeting the promiscuous party scene with a line of candy lip-gloss chasers. We ... More >>

Kickstarter Campaign Asks for Money to Start "Freegan" Cafe -- Serving Food from Dumpsters

Starving college students have been known to come up with creative ways to get free and/or cheap food. But Tufts University student Maximus Thaler is taking frugal to a whole new level. He and a crew of dumpster-diving hippies friends want to start up a restaurant (read: soup kitchen, because they d ... More >>

Mindless Self Indulgence, Marquee Theatre, 3/29/13

Mindless Self Indulgence @ Marquee Theatre|3/29/13Mindless Self Indulgence is truly an enigma, an exception to the rule, or "ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife." They band's so original that you can't place a tag on them or put them in a genre. The band paid a visit to the Marquee Thea ... More >>

TapIt Cap Makes A Growler Into A Mini-Keg

The TapIt Cap is a device on that promises to turn your average growler into your very own mini-keg. As you know, growlers are awesome and we were extremely psyched when Arizona changed its booze laws to allow their sale. See Also: --Do The Right Thing: Buckle Up Your Growlers For Safety --Here Co ... More >>

Bartendro: The Open Source Cocktail Droid

The year is 2013 and we can't help feel like sometimes the future we were promised simply isn't getting here fast enough. We still have to drive our own cars, personal jetpacks are not readily available and for as much debate as there is over gun control we can't help but notice that laser pistols a ... More >>

Top Five Must-See Shows This Weekend in Phoenix

When people ask what kind of music I like, I'm tempted to say "Good music." I understand the need for musical terminology, but there's really too much good stuff to limit what you listen to. It's a lesson Zero Zero teaches well. Nicole Laurenne and Michael Johnny Walker have the garage rock thing lo ... More >>

Red Rocks Folk Band decker. Defines Itself with Slider

Americana Quartet The Cold Desert Discusses Woman & God

Nobody ever said being a local band was easy. If they have, they're full of shit. Though Peoria-bred roots-rock quartet, The Cold Desert, is fairly new to the game, its outlook on being a local band is realistic, knowing first-hand that the Phoenix music scene is hard to tap into and even harder t ... More >>

Sareena Dominguez, Sir Sly, and DJ Seduce Added to New Times' Carnaval Eléctrico

New Times' Carnaval Eléctrico at Crescent Ballroom has locked in its lineup: DJ Seduce, Sir Sly, and singer/songwriter Sareena Dominguez will join national headliners Cold War Kids, Hanni El Khatib, In the Valley Below, and locals Mergence, Wooden Indian, Diners, and Stan Devereaux & The Funky Suns ... More >>

Arizona's Murs Bridges Hip-Hop's Divide

Random a.k.a Mega Ran Hits Trunk Space on Tour; Unveils Tribute to Reddit Co-founder Aaron Swartz

There are plenty of cats around town that can make a case for being at the top of the game when it comes to repping the rap scene in Arizona. But few can contest that they work harder than 8-bit beat guru Random a.k.a Mega Ran. This month alone he's already released a 17-song release requested and ... More >>

Ask Fan Landers: Should I Publicly Humiliate My Bandmate for What He's Done?

Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls' Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to help you stop doing it wro ... More >>

The Popinator Was Sent From the Future to Feed the Past

As far as snack foods go, popcorn is up there in terms of simplicity of production and ease of consumption. But this is the 21st century right? Surely science and engineering have something to offer us beyond picking up our food with our hands like an animal. See Also: New Gourmet Popcorn Shop in ... More >>

Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. Receives Liquor License Approval

See Also: Craft Beer of the Week: Bell's Oarsman Ale Good news, East Valley Craft beer lovers. Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. just received approval for their Series 3 Domestic Microbrewery Liquor License! That means that the Kickstarter assisted brewery that will eventually be housed at 721 N. A ... More >>

Bears of Manitou @ Martini Ranch

$100 a Head Rat Dinner: Survival as Performance Art (NSFW)

Brooklyn based artists Laura Ginn recently hosted a $100 a head gourmet dinner that used rat as it's central ingredient. The meal is reported to have begun with a "rat and pork pate" appetizer, followed with braised and grilled rat and finished with a sorbet. The dinner took place in New York Cit ... More >>

Five Food/Farm-Related Kickstarter Projects in Arizona That Want Your Money

Kickstarter, the crowdfunding platform for creative pursuits ranging from a nano-satellite that lets you "tweet" from space to a comic book about a killer zombie monkey to Bike-In Theater, allows enterprising idea people to skip conventional means of project funding and go right to the folks that ma ... More >>

Help This Man Bring Crystal Bacon to the World

The internet is fond of bacon. See Also: Bacon Lube Creators to Star in Bacon Reality Show See Also: The 110% Bacon Burger For True Patriots Who Love America and Hate Their Arteries See Also: Everything's Coming Up ... Bacon? So it's not really a surprise that an enterprising couple from Chicago h ... More >>

Local Cupcake Caterers Use Crowdfunding to Get Delivery Vehicle, Will Show Thanks with "Noms"

See also: Our Lady of Cupcakes Takes on Sprinkles See also: Chef Chat: Our Lady of Cupcakes, Part Two We can thank crowd-funding websites like Kickstarter for two things. One, the digitalization of businesses hitting you up for money, and two, a few really cool local businesses. It's a double-edged ... More >>

Bears of Manitou Wants to Fight the Colorado Wildfires (And You Can Help)

See also: Take Cover: Bears of Manitou Cover Damien Rice See also: Want to Write a Song for Bears of Manitou? Tons of bands use Kickstarter to secure funds to finish an album, but how many of them offer to take you camping and plan on donating excess funds to charity? Tempe folk rockers Bears of Ma ... More >>

Three Things to Eat, Drink, and Bake this Weekend

Happy weekend and Happy Father's Day to all the dads and dads to be out there. This weekend we've got a tasty burger waiting for us out in Gilbert, an afternoon of craft beer drinkin' to do, and a sinful dish of bacon wrapped treats to make. It's going to be a busy one! Check out what's on our p ... More >>

This Week in Beer

Beer is a big deal in the Valley. From tastings and tappings to pairing dinners and more, there's a different beer event to attend pretty much every night. Every week, we curate upcoming brew-related goings-on and lay them out for you here. Your calendar will be as full of beer as your belly.

David Liebe Hart Band @ Trunk Space

Shawn Demumbrum of SpazDog Comics Talks About a New Collection of Stories Inspired By The Pixies

See also: Phoenix Artist Makes Smiths Comic, And You Can Help See also: Unite and Take Over 2: More Stories Inspired By the Songs of The Smiths Shawn Demumbrum of SpazDog Comics likes comics. And he likes music. While the two are hardly exclusive, it's hard to think of someone more explicitly marr ... More >>

Before Braille's David Jensen Returns With New Band Loyal Wife

The Strand: Industrial Music Meets Pirates vs. Ninjas

For more than a decade, industrial electro/rock band The Strand have increasingly become known for an electrifying stage presence, undeniable talent, and enigmatic sexual energy. They've been known to frequent the Valley's fetish balls and favored intimate venues. And they have a knack for seducing ... More >>

Kickstart The Lost Album by Elton Duck, L.A. Power Pop Band Featuring Micki Steel of The Bangles and Mike Condello

See also: The Psychedelic Pop of Mike Condello Remembered With Two New Releases When we were working up our 100 Songs That Defined Arizona list, one name was mentioned more than any other by our readers and consultants, and that name was Mike Condello (1946-1995). Known best for his work on The Wal ... More >>

Weekend: B-Real of Cypress Hill, Loyal Wife, Heartless Bastards, Switch, George & Dragon 17th Anniversary Party

Earlier this week we remarked on the longevity of Grand Ave art-space the Trunk Space, which is celebrating eight years of DIY operation next week. Well, here's something to consider: This week, The George & Dragon pub, which has hosted many a punk rock show in its day, turns 17. That's only one yea ... More >>

Safwat Saleem on Expletives, Kickstarter, and Making 900 Screen Prints in Three Months

​Safwat Saleem's not afraid to use a couple expletives. The local designer used plenty of colorful language in A Bunch of Crock, a project born out of sayings, conversations, and stereotypes he gathered following 9/11. His latest project, Oh Expletive!, is a little bit different. Saleem says ... More >>

Blog Collectives Ad Hoc, Portals Embrace Communal Fandom Over Influence

It's obvious music blogs have a unique place in the great big music discussion. Entire careers have been bolstered by one lone blogger posting a hot new MP3 that quickly catches fire and burns up RSS feeds. However, some of the biggest taste-makers on the Internet have combined forces and their new ... More >>

Unite and Take Over Vol. 2: More Stories Inspired By the Songs of The Smiths

Unite and Take Over Vol. 2, Record Store Day variant cover by Jason Pedersen​One of our favorite Kickstarter success stories was last year's Unite and Take Over, a graphic collection of songs inspired by the lyrics of The Smiths. Editor and writer Shawn Demumbrum took to the crowd-funding s ... More >>

Tempe Town Flick: Filmmaker Nico Holthaus Plans Stuck Outside of Phoenix

By any yardstick you wish to measure it, you probably owe Nico Holthaus a drink. If nothing else. Mill Avenue Inc, his 2008 documentary chronicling the corporate invasion of Tempe, is a talking history time capsule of the faces and places that made the Tempe music boom of the '90s happen. But it did ... More >>

Burlesque at FilmBar, Vernacular Typography, and Christopher Walken Reads Where the Wild Things Are

Welcome to the Morning Buzz, a catch-up on interesting happenings around the city and country and a quick guide to what (and who) to keep your eyes on. We'll be here, first thing every weekday, to get you going. Here's what's buzzing this morning:​1. Scandalesque Presents: FilmBar Vignet ... More >>

Lawn Gnome: An Indie Book Store Coming Soon to Roosevelt Row

Local poet Aaron Johnson started his own grassroots publishing company when he saw designer and poet John Kofonow read a poem about Lawn Gnomes in Studio 111 in Flagstaff. More than six years later, the two, along with Ernesto Moncada and Lauren Perry are setting up shop on Roosevelt ... More >>

KWSS Looks to Kickstart Fan Base With Billboard Fundraiser

​After the hubbub surrounding X1039's alternative demise and the subsequent '80s takeover of what is now dubbed MY103.9, it left one alternative rock station on the dial: KWSS 106.7 FM. Indie and local music fanatics -- New Times included -- speculated that the departure of X103.9 could lead to ... More >>

Art For Kickstarters: Loyal Wife

Loyal Wife​When you or I get hit up to finance someone's 12-vinyl disc, pearl handled, hand-carved boxed sets, it will be officially time to pronounce the fan-funding phenomenon dead. Jason Woodbury profiled Kickstarter a few weeks ago, and here we can see it working rather successfully for Lo ... More >>

Yellow Canary Dance Hall to Close at Month's End

​Stephen Steinbrink is a pretty busy guy, but it looks like there will be one less thing on his plate at the end of the month: his venue/art-space Yellow Canary Dance Hall will be shutting its doors. We profiled the space as an example of how Kickstarter has helped fund projects like it here ... More >>

Safwat Saleem's "Oh Expletive", Free Guggenheim Books, and The Supreme Court's Take on the F Word

​1. Safwat Saleem's Oh ExpletiveOh Expletive by Safwat Saleem Local designer Safwat Saleem released the Kickstarter video and page for his latest project, Oh Expletive: a "project of epic epicness." The series of illustrations includes zombies, unicorns, flamethrowers, and knife fights -- all ... More >>

Want to Write a Song for Bears of Manitou?

​Not content to earn a few comparisons to Hall & Oates, a few listens, and a few laughs, Tempe-based folkies Bears of Manitou have wasted no time in following up their 1-866-25-BEARS hotline with another promotional stunt. That's right, according to the band's Fiverr page, for just $5, you can su ... More >>

Jason P. Woodbury on How Bands Tapped Into Crowd-Funding in 2011

Year in Review, Kickstarter, Top 15 Local Releases in This Week's Issue

​In this week's issue of New Times, I join our friends in café, art, and stage in a look back on 2011, observing trends and noting the good, the bad, and the ugly of the year in the review. I focused on the crowd-funding site Kickstarter. We featured a couple Kickstarter projects this year, (my ... More >>

The Dollyrots' Kelly Ogden on Being on Joan Jett's Label, Kickstarter, and the Band's New Record

When The Dollyrots left Joan Jett's Blackheart label earlier this year, they went to their fans to help raise money for the band's fourth record of buzzy, catchy punk. The fans came through. The band set its Kickstarter goal at $7,500, but fans wound up pledging $33,124. "It blew us away," says ... More >>

iji Explain "That Spooky Feeling"

Seattle band iji have roots here in Phoenix. Songwriter Zach Burba started the group in Tempe, and played frequently at The Trunk Space, honing his weird funk-pop. I've always liked the Burba's sensibility (full disclosure: a band I used to play in a band that covered the iji tune "Meet Me in the ... More >>

Good Amount Kickstarts In a Quiet Way

​They say it ain't bragging if it's true -- but last time we wrote about someone's Kickstarter project, big things happened. Now I know that we aren't the sole reason Shawn Demumbrum's Smiths comic met and exceeded its goal. It's a great idea on its own, and the fact that The Guardian, Paste, and ... More >>

Phoenix Artist Makes Smiths Comic, And You Can Help

Jason Pedersen​You know, when you think about it, Morrissey is kind of like a comic book character already. Call him "Super Sad Man," or "Captain Sexually Ambiguous." Don't expect Shawn Demumbrum's Unite and Take Over: Comic Book Stories Inspired by The Smiths to be as stupid as those ideas, th ... More >>

Brooklyn Band Outernational Doesn't Boycott, Plans to Release EP Discussing Border Issues Instead

Outernational: Bundled up in Brooklyn, but still thinking of Arizona.​It's not often that a Brooklyn-based band takes up an interest in Arizona. In fact, it's usually the other way around. But for punk rockers Outernational, our desert home is of particular fascination. Their members see Arizona a ... More >>