Tool (Band)

Music Fests Like Coachella Drive Concert Sales to New Heights

Unearthing Metal's Classical Roots

I wasn't raised on Anthrax or Zeppelin, or anything between in regards to the heavy metal alphabet. No, the soundtrack of my youth was classical music. I competed in classical piano competitions for the better part of a decade, and Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Wolfgang Amadeus ... More >>

Up On The Sun's 12 Most Popular Phoenix Music Stories of 2012

Is this year over yet? Well, close enough. So in honor of 2012 we've dug through the past 12 months of stories looking for the greatest hits. Below you'll find the stories (minus most of the newsy stuff) that people clicked on each month. And if thousands of other people clicked on these stories, yo ... More >>

Chow Bella's Gift Guide for the Wine Lover

What? Not done with your holiday shopping? Yeah, neither are we. But we've been making lists -- and checking them twice -- and we've got some suggestions for the nice people on your list. Today, Chow Bella's Gift Guide for the wine lover. See also: - Chow Bella's Gift Guide for the Beer Lover - Cho ... More >>

Intended Zing: Maynard James Keenan Would Like You To Stop Effin' Around

I base my life and my movements throughout it on quite a few assumptions. These may or may not be accurate, factual, or even realistic. And until they actually prove themselves to be inaccurate, I follow them without question. (Insert silly comment about assuming here.) Today's rant is centered on ... More >>

Maynard James Keenan: Events and Rituals

The journey known as "Vintage 2012" is almost complete. Not finished, but it's most certainly arriving at a fairly calm station. No more 2 a.m. panic-related insomnia attacks, where I stare at the ceiling going over and over the logistics of a tiny workspace. I'm not about to kid myself; there's sti ... More >>

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 >>

Maynard is Moving to Wednesday

By now you've probably grown accustomed to starting every other week with a dispatch from "Chicken Little" himself, Maynard James Keenan. Up on the Sun is proud to feature Kennan's column twice a month, and you folks have responded in a big way to the the winemaker/multimedia artist/musician/actor's ... More >>

What is Puscifer?

What is Puscifer? (Besides being the International Multi-Media Project I've been developing since 1995?) Good question. We usually respond with the very dismissive and obviously evasive answer: "What is Puscifer is what Puscifer is." A less evasive version of the answer is that it is an "uncertain c ... More >>

Top Five Phoenix Music Stories of the Week

The news waits for no one -- at least that's what we read somewhere -- so it's perfectly understandable that you, the reader, might have missed out on a musical tidbit, breaking news about your favorite venue, or one of our rants. So enjoy this digest-style sampling of some of our biggest stories f ... More >>

Six Desert Metal Bands You Need to Hear

See also: Monday Monday: Is Heavy Metal Really The Devil's Music? The desert is the perfect place for heavy metal to spawn: desolate, hot, seemingly devoid of life, save for the plants and critters that spit poison or are encased in thorny flesh. Yet Valley of the Sun's healthy metal scene just c ... More >>

Whitehorse at Yucca Tap Room 6/27/12

White Horse Yucca Tap Room Wednesday, June 27, 2012 I feel I should mention this is the first show I've ever worn earplugs to. Why? Because as three of my friends can demonstrate, the dangers of tinnitus are very real, you guys! Also, because nothing would help me from being such a Nancy boy in t ... More >>

Here's The Heavy Metal Soundtrack to Your Sexcapades You've Been Looking For

We might not all agree on musical taste, I mean, metal, indie rock, jazz, hip-hop, none of it is made for everyone, but I think we can all agree that there's really nothing so appealing as all-out sex appeal. Sex might not be the first thing you think of when you think of heavy rock, but it's in the ... More >>

Entrance Band, Amen Dunes, and Wooden Indian at Chasers, 5/1/12

Entrance Band, Amen Dunes, and Wooden Indian Chasers Bar and Night Club Tuesday, May 1, 2012 See also: Amen Dunes on Living a Million Musical Lives I'm sitting at a table with Paz Lenchantin a few hours before her heavy psych-blues outfit, Entrance Band, decimates the stage at Chasers in Scottsda ... More >>

Ross Rocks Benefit at Hollywood Alley, 4/28/12

Ross Rocks Hollywood Alley Saturday, April 28 Ross Wincek, the co-owner of Hollywood Alley is responsible for bringing countless great bands to Phoenix over the past 25 years, as well as giving local bands a place to grow. Wincek had a stroke in March, so local bands and fans of the Alley are doing ... More >>

Chevelle's Pete Loeffler Loves the '80s; Gun-Wielding Fans? Not So Much

Illinois-based rockers Chevelle have a clear-cut formula when it comes to making music: They keep it honest and real. They've never strayed far from their controlled chaos and somehow gentle rampage or their mix of dark magnetism and gothic pop (think early Tool meets The Cure if you haven't heard r ... More >>

New Film Queens of Country Has a Bizarre Vibe That Is Distinctly Arizona

Maynard James Keenan (Puscifer, Tool, A Perfect Circle) on The Importance of Keeping It Local

​Maynard James Keenan is a successful guy: he's fronts two massive rock bands, Tool and A Perfect Circle, owns Merkin Vineyards and Caduceus Cellars in Jerome, Arizona, where he lives. Though ostensibly a "side-project," Keenan's band Puscifer seems to be increasingly be where Keenan's hear lies. ... More >>

Metal Goes Pop: Five Examples of Doing It Right

​Yesterday our compatriots at Country Grind announced that heavy rockers Torche and Part Chimp will team for upcoming Chunklet-issued 12-inch record that finds Torche covering legendary lo-fi rockers Guided By Voices. Torche have always been a metal band unafraid to embrace big pop sounds, and th ... More >>

Queens of Country Soundtrack to Feature Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse), Wanda Jackson, and Classic Country

Lizzy Caplan as Jolene Gillis​Directors Ryan Page and Christopher Pomerenke (of Phoenix bands Less Pain Forever and Runaway Diamonds) are no strangers to "music movies." The pair's documentaries, Moog, The Heart Is a Drum Machine, and Blood Into Wine are all insightful looks at the various way ... More >>

Jon Haddock Questions Your Philosophy In "Idios Kosmos: Koinos Kosmos," at SMoCA

Sicmonic @ 910 Live

Top 40 Songs with Arizona in the Lyrics: Songs 20 through 1

Wikimedia CommonsArizona sunsets have inspired many songs.​Yesterday, we brought you 20 songs about Arizona, or with some reference to Arizona in the lyrics. We found 170 songs total, and whittled our list of the best down to 40. Our post yesterday counted down songs 40 through 21. Here are the ... More >>

Top 40 Songs with Arizona in the Lyrics: Songs 40 through 21

Wikimedia CommonsArizona: Land of sun and song.​There have been more than 140 songs with lyrics about Arizona in them. Seriously. Some of them have been big hits by huge acts, too ("Get Back" by The Beatles, "Take It Easy" by The Eagles). The lyrics to these songs capture various snapshots of the ... More >>

Between the Buried and Me - The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues

​Between the Buried and Me, The Parallax: Hypersleep DialoguesMetal Blade RecordsRelease Date: April 12, 2011 What is it about prog metal bands and two-part albums? Last year, the Ocean's one-two punch of Heliocentric and Anthropocentric topped my "Best of '10" list. Now, Raleigh, North Carolina' ... More >>

Coachella 2011 Dangerously Close To Selling Out [UPDATE: Coachella 2011 Is SOLD OUT]

The message at Coachella's official website​With Kings Of Leon and Kanye West as headliners, I understand that some may choose to read that headline with a different meaning.However, what I mean to say is that festival passes are very, very close to selling out for the 2011 edition of Coachella. U ... More >>

Phoenix Filmmakers' Movie The Heart Is A Drum Machine Gets Soundtrack from Flaming Lip

​Stephen Drozd of The Flaming Lips is releasing a soundtrack to the documentary The Heart Is a Drum Machine which was produced by local filmmakers Ryan Page and Chris Pomerenke.The film, a documentary which explores why people feel such a connection to music and features cameos by George Clinton, ... More >>

A Perfect Circle at Marquee Theatre Last Night

Maria Vassett​A Perfect Circle Marquee Theatre November 4, 2010 There was a palpable sense of excitement in the air before A Perfect Circle took the stage at a sold-out Marquee Theatre last night. It's not often you go to a concert and feel like you're part of a rare and significant happening -- ... More >>

Winemaking 101: A Crash Course at Studio Vino

There's something magical about making food or drink with your own two hands. Not that I haven't passed a few store-bought cakes off as my own at dinner parties, but it just doesn't feel the same when your contribution to the meal comes out of a bottle, box or KFC bucket. But what abo ... More >>

Puscifer Takes Tour East This Spring

​Arizona's own Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle) takes the his side project, Puscifer, east in spring 2010. The musical/comedic/theatrical stageshow that is Puscifer played a few shows in the Southwest earlier this month including two dates at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Phoenix (o ... More >>

Maynard James Keenan Gets Theatrical With Puscifer

Puscifer Plays The Orpheum Thursday and Friday

I'm definitely on the record with my thoughts about Tool's lame-ass stage "show" but honestly I'm pretty excited to see Maynard James Keenan's new side project Puscifer at The Orpheum Thursday. Why? Well, this video should help explain, as should the article we ran in this week's paper, which expl ... More >>

Jason Mraz, Fall Out Boy, and Other Must-See Sets at Fall Frenzy

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Point/Counterpoint

By Martin Cizmar and Brian BardwellUnfortunately we were unexpectedly barred from taking photos at last night's Lynyrd Skynyrd show at Celebrity Theatre.​Sometimes one perspective on a show isn't enough. So, like we did with Beck and Tool, Up on the Sun is bringing you a point/counterpoint style w ... More >>

Green Day Brings Classic Rock Feel To U.S. Airways Show

Luke HolwerdaGreen Day's Billy Joe Armstrong on stage at U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix.​Depending on who you ask, there's something either: a) vaguelyorb) obviously and irredeemably pathetic about a 37-year-old man in skinny black jeans. So, yes, Green Day singer Billy Joe Armstrong immediatly ... More >>

July 22 In Blogs: George Gascon, Yo La Tengo, Lisa G's, and Tool

In the 24-hour news cycle it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times' blogs. Today's entries: Feathered Bastard: Neo-Nazi Oi Fest II Scheduled for October 24 in Tonopah, Arizona George Gascon Was Threatened w ... More >>

Maynard James Keenan Opens Wine Tasting Room in Jerome

It's 110 degrees here today. It's 83 up in Jerome. Sounds like a good time for a road trip, no? Oh, if only there weren't that four-letter word called WORK to deal with. Well, if you can play hooky -- or hold out 'til the weekend -- I already have something to add to your itinerary. It's ... More >>

Local Wine Wins at Whole Foods

Lauren GilgerVoters tasting the local wines on Saturday at the Arizona Wine Consumer Choice Awards at Whole Foods Market in Chandler.Move over, Napa. Arizona's young wine industry is currently undergoing a growth-spurt akin to a 12 year-old basketball player. For proof, see Michele Laudig's cover st ... More >>

Can Maynard James Keenan Put Arizona Wine on the Map?

Former Korn guitarist Brian Welch finds Jesus

Adrian Belew

Puscifer

"V" Is for Vagina
(Puscifer Entertainment)

A Cut Above

Saw is cinematic carnage of the highest order