As the temperatures start to drop, Monday nights are heating up in the world of beats and thumps. The latest entry is hip-hop weekly Boom Bap Room at Big Fish Pub in Tempe (1954 East University Drive), kicking off on Monday, October 3. Brought to you by Universatile Music, the…
Back in the day, I regularly watched DJ Radar perform with his Bombshelter DJs crew at Nita’s Hideaway and, later, the Green Room. The scratch virtuoso and I became friends, and I rarely missed one of his sets, even if it was at a rave where he was the only…
“America’s favorite DJ” (according to BPM magazine) and acclaimed electronic music producer Paul van Dyk is touching down in the Valley this weekend, right on the heels of the release of his latest double mix CD, Politics of Dancing 2. Van Dyk, who grew up behind the Iron Curtain in…
When it comes to music, sometimes you need an evening of total fucking irreverence, abandon, chaos, loss-of-bowel-control hysterics. Take my advice: Look to the kids. I hit up Modified Arts a couple of weeks ago to check out a local band that fits the bill perfectly: We Fly Our Kites…
Phoenix eating and drinking establishment The Hidden House (607 West Osborn Road) has been making waves in the DJ scene lately, offering up beats several nights of the week. Among its notable offerings is Foreign Affair, a downtempo rhythm celebration that goes down every Monday night. DJs Delikacy and Xtra…
Hundreds — more likely thousands — fondly remember the good ol’ days with a monkey on their back; in this instance, RedMonkey, the long-reigning, irregularly held house music celebration thrown down by infamous local DJ Pete Salaz. Wave your Tootsie Pops in the air, because RedMonkey’s making a comeback. Back…
American music is a rich tapestry of historical elements, often evident in contemporary music. The White Stripes channel Delta blues with Detroit garage; bluegrass elements figure into almost every alt-country (or y’all-ternative) outfit’s output; New Orleans jazz is co-opted by post-prog rockers like the Mars Volta. But rarely do you…
Who needs freakin’ DJs anyway? Unless they’re scratching, beat juggling, or throwing down mash-ups, they’re just playing songs — you know what you wanna listen to better than they do, right? If you think so, and you’re bourgeois enough to own an iPod, bring it down to AZ 88 on…
I know a thing or two about riding mechanical bulls. Exactly two, in fact: the brutal dual blasts of pain in my testicles after I rode one a few years back at the state fair. I was instantly convinced that cowboys must wear protective cups to pull off this feat…
It’s been a long fucking summer, and the end’s still not in sight, so when you need a break from the pummeling sunshine and simmering concrete, check out Aqwela Entertainment’s Summer Oasis at Earl’s Tin Palace (15784 North Pima Road in Scottsdale) on Monday nights. DJ Tranzl8r spins all styles…
When Tucson’s The Bled recorded their first full-length for Fiddler Records, Pass the Flask, vocalist James Muñoz had just replaced the band’s former singer and had mere days to familiarize himself with the songs. Nonetheless, Pass the Flask was a masterpiece of screaming, growling heaviness, a blend of mathematical metal,…
Here in the ‘Nix, we’re not known as a hotbed for mainstream hip-hop — we’re an indie hip-hop town, with a packed schedule of weekly club events and frequent visits from crews like the Shapeshifters. That’s going to change in the near future, thanks to the imminent migration of Proof,…
Any excuse for a party, right? Local dance rock institution Hot Pink! is throwing itself a pre-two-year anniversary get-down before its actual two-year birthday party. We like their style. On Friday, August 12, DJ Nimh and his cronies are flying in legendary NYC impresario DJ Michael T., creator of the…
You may not know his name, but Tony Moran has been a staple of the dance and pop scenes for years, having worked with mainstream artists like the Beach Boys, George Michael, Janet Jackson, and even Britney. These days, he focuses on working behind the turntables in the DJ booth,…
When I was fresh out of high school, I took off on a pilgrimage to Berkeley, California, the punk rock mecca of the early ’90s. While that was a hell of an adventure, my post-grad exploits ain’t shit compared to what the five Gilbert High School grads in the band…
If you were born and christened “Michael Jackson,” you might be thinking about changing your name nowadays — perhaps to something like a disclaimer such as “Oh No.” That’s exactly what Oh No, the triple threat MC/producer/DJ brother of Madlib (Otis Jackson Jr.) did a while ago. Oh No’s swiftly…
When I visit Cory Spotts in the control room of his north Phoenix studio, he’s got his finger on the Valley’s musical future — quite literally. With a click of the mouse, a sizable chunk of the best stuff being produced in town reverberates through the room, and Spotts is…
Governor Janet Napolitano put a quick end to the bill that would have allowed you to take your guns into bars around the state, but that’s not stopping Niños Con Pistolas (Children With Guns) from setting up shop at the Old Brickhouse Grill (1 East Jackson Street) on Saturday, July…
Your heart won’t be the only thing pounding if you’re in the middle of the dance floor at Myst on Thursday, June 30. There’ll be loud, irresistible beats courtesy of the Planet of the Drums collective: Dara, AK1200, and Dieselboy (with MC Messinian), a trio of turntable messiahs who should…
When I was a teenager working in a skateboard shop called G&B up in Anchorage, Alaska, skateboarding was an insular scene that even had music of its own: a blend of punk, hardcore and thrash known as skaterock. Personified by acts like Arizona’s own J.F.A., Gang Green, Suicidal Tendencies, Drunk…
It’s getting to the point where it’s almost too hot to go out and dance, at least before the wee hours — it seems best to hide in the air-conditioning and drop some ambient beats while you chill with an icy vodka tonic. That is, unless you’ve got some seriously…
A confession: I like sad, introspective music by mopey boys who sing about their broken hearts, a.k.a. emo. At the same time, I also like to make fun of the stereotypical emo fashions and emo kids’ self-absorbed affected moodiness. I’m too grown-up to define myself by the music I listen…
