For those of us stuck in Arizona during South by Southwest, the only solace is the number of great bands making pit stops in the PHX on their back-and-forth routes to Austin. Portland’s Parenthetical Girls – whose former members went on to form the groups Xiu Xiu and Dead Science…

It takes more than an overly ironic band name and a nasal-intensive vocal style to be a pop-punk singer. But not much more. Perhaps that’s why No Use for a Name vocalist Tony Sly decided to try his hand at an acoustic-indie-folk side project. Now don’t you go sobbing into…

While American pop singers were busy having babies and/or not wearing underwear in public last year, the Brits were turning out starlets faster than crumpets. But unlike the hugely famous Katy Perry and Amy Winehouse, South London’s Adele snatched not one but two Grammys without a bi-curious façade or a…

Folks who love to shuffle their feet to London beats have a new night to groove to — and the spot is charmingly light-rail accessible. Tonight marks the first installment of Influx Fridays, an evening of drum and bass and breakbeats presented by Groove Corps Productions and Direct Drum and…

You can justify just about anything while suffering from a broken heart. Sleeping around, drug abuse. But what’s a group of broken and betrayed straight-edge kids from Orange County supposed to do? Well, some of ’em started a metalcore band named Bleeding Through, which features vocalist Brandan Schieppati expressing his…

Turns out the iMac has one fatal flaw: it enables sorority girls from Huntington Beach to market themselves as an electro-pop group. Meet The Millionaires, three young Jessica Simpson-alikes who wear Amy Winehouse costumes and became overnight Internet sensations thanks to MySpace and the Apple-exclusive GarageBand. Posing with alcohol bottles…

You may as well own up to it. We know you’ve got a few Ace of Base tracks on your iPod, which is why you avoid using “party shuffle” around others. It’s not so bad, really, because in some parts of Europe (and some clubs in AZ, evidently), that sound…

If you want a steamy-hot weekend, there’s no time like the present to start warming up, so call that young breezy whose number you scored at Circle K and seduce her with the romantic atmosphere at SoulCicle. The evening features low- to mid-tempo indie and old-school classics by Chicago DJ…

At first listen, it’s easy to write off Pepper as just another poor man’s Sublime, but aging bodies in Volcom gear who sing about pot can be deceiving. Southern California’s catchy Hawaiian import has more than a decade of experience at making white kids feel like they know exactly what…

If you asked Mr. Claus for a holiday-themed rave this year, you got it, thanks to the Mary X-Mas Superfest. The folks behind one of AZ’s longest-running dance parties have been hard at work creating the ultimate extravaganza featuring go-go dancers, falling snow, laser lights, and a metric ton of…

During the period when Skinny Puppy was broken up – from the mid-’90s to about 2003 – frontman Nivek Ogre formed a new project called ohGr with composer/producer and fellow stray Puppy member Mark Walk. The group was (and still is) the shiz, because ohGr’s two-man sound storm departed from…

There’s a heap of pressure in being likened to this generation’s Herbie Hancock, but New Zealand musician/producer Mark de Clive-Lowe seems up to the challenge. Remixing tracks for stars like Lauryn Hill and Jody Watley and performing with members of The Roots and Miles Davis’ band, Clive-Lowe has gained stardom…

Eyebrow piercings and poor facial hair choices aside, you gotta give Godsmack credit for turning what could have been a trendy, one-hit wonder into a legitimate rock band with an incredibly loyal fan base. When the seminal group first hit the national scene in 1998, it fit easily into the…

On its Web site, the Mukilteo, Washington-based band The Fall of Troy prides itself on being “impossible to classify.” However, at first listen, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to blurt out “screamo” and be done with it. Then again, upon further investigation, it becomes apparent that this Northwest trio is speaking…

It may be socially acceptable to ride the feminist-musician wave now (Pink somehow manages to sell a ton of CDs), but back in 1990, Ani DiFranco was one of few artists whose music incorporated overtly feminist themes. Then Lilith Fair turned the whole concept into one big eye-roll response. Rather…

If you’ve ever been to a local hip-hop show (or to Hollywood Alley), chances are you’re already acquainted with the infamous Brad B., MC for long-time Valley favorites Drunken Immortals as well as his more recent endeavor, The Insects (a band that invites you to download its entire debut album…

Just because you wrote a few songs doesn’t mean you’re qualified to author an entire book. (How would you like to read Donny Osmond’s memoirs?) Fortunately, former Phoenician Art Edwards — co-founder, co-songwriter, and bass player of The Refreshments — has more than the necessary credentials (i.e., an MFA in…

Hey, gringos, look what you’ve been missing. Namely, Silverio, a south-of-the-border sensation who will seduce all five of your senses with a wink of his eye and a thrust of his pelvis. The Mexican love child of Peaches and Günther (you know, the gold lamé-loving Swedish sex panther who sings…

Remember how much fun it was to swim at the public pool as a kid? Unfortunately, when you grew up, you realized that the oasis of your memory was just a chlorinated hole filled with grimy little creatures who got pleasure from peeing in the water and stewing in their…

A cover charge seems fairly reasonable for a live musical performance, but many of today’s dance nights provide zero visual stimulation. That is, unless someone in the crowd gets drunk enough to strip and/or vomit in the middle of the dance floor. So why would you pay someone to push…

When you found your boyfriend in bed with your roommate, why did you storm out of the house and head directly to the mall? Hmmm? Do you indulge in such “retail therapy” behaviors? Then you may be a consumerism addict. No worries. You’re not alone. Hordes of people stroll about…