Aaron Dontez Yates, better known to the world as Tech N9ne, is not a big fan of the typical. “How many black dudes do you see painting their faces and coming out with bishop robes on the stage?” he asks me, speaking from his tour bus “somewhere in New Mexico.”…
If there’s ever been a weekend you don’t have to scramble for musical options, this is it. You’ve got a quadruple threat: Country Thunder in Florence, McDowell Mountain Music Fest in Phoenix, Way Out West Fest in Tucson, and that big party in Indio called Coachella. But are you not…
See also: fIREHOSE’s Ed Crawford: “It Was Our Job. We F**kin’ Showed Up Every Day.” M. Ward has slowly and sturdily built himself up as a songwriter and producer over the past decade, with a string of hushed folk, country, blues, and pop inflected records that don’t cry out for…
This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up On The Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts. What do you need to know before heading to Coachella? How did the Trunk Space’s 8th…
One of the best moments of the current season of NBC’s Parks and Recreation (in a season full of great moments) was the show’s spot-on NPR spoof in the episode “Born and Raised.” Interviewing on a sort of a Fresh Air-meets-Talk of the Nation show hosted by Dan Castellaneta, Amy…
There was once a time when the name M. Ward was reserved for only the hushiest kind of record collectors, the kind of dudes who scratched John Fahey and Leo Kottke records off their wish lists one by one, who didn’t think alt-country was a dirty word, the kind of…
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…
Coachella is a weird beast: In addition to hotly tipped acts like Avicii and Justice, big name standard bearers like Radiohead and The Black Keys, and holy-hell-they’re-reuniting bands like Refused and At the Drive In, there’s always a few bands that have just kept soldiering on, whose break-ups and hiatuses…
“Top of the Morning,” the 1966 single by Phoenix garage rockers The Hobbit starts off with a simple rhythm, the sound of a clamped high-hat tapping out a simple 4/4 beat. Then it blows up: white boy soul vocals, bobbing and weaving organ, clanging guitars, and racing bass, all the…
Jeez, was Mad Men strange last night or what? Last night’s episode was probably the closest the show has come to acting like a horror flick, with all the blurry, murderous details, and the blood splattered headlines (of course there was that moment with the John Deere tractor in season…
Portugal. The Man at Crescent Ballroom When a band spends a considerable amount of time on the road, as Portugal. The Man has since the release of In the Mountain in the Cloud almost a year ago, the cumulative effects begin to show in the performance. Fortunately for the Crescent…
See also: Up on the Sun: The Podcast, Episode 3, with Ron Livingston, Isaac Brock, Wanda Jackson, and More “I wanted something with a lot of textures and songs [that] could take you somewhere new,” says Abe Gil of Treasure MammaL in this week’s issue. But reading Gil is one…
See also: Jackalope Ranch’s Five Other Books We’d Like to Smoke Move over Gene Simmons — the Snoop Dee-oh-double G is poised to eclipse you in terms of marketing gimmicks. You know all those times you’ve been chillin’, wishing you could toke up using mock-handwritten lyric sheets of Snoop Dogg…
This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up On The Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts. Who are the hottest women in metal? Want to hear exclusive music from Isaac Brock of…
The idea that the album — as a unified, complete statement from a musician — is finished has been the subject of many great think pieces and essays over the past couple of years. Until now, the release of his debut LP, Checkognize, Abelardo Gil III, who raps, sings, and…
It used to be no big deal for Phoenix/Chicago-based folk punks Andrew Jackson Jihad to play the Trunk Space. In fact, it seems it used to happen a couple of times a week. It wasn’t the first place I saw the band (that would’ve been at The Palace of No…
Listening to other crate diggers stories of amazing scores might be the only thing vinyl nerds love as much as collecting records. Jealously inducing tales of that time you found “that rare 45, for, like, 50 cents.” It’s at once infuriating and inspiring, a little more fuel for the fire…
It’s easy to imagine the sounds of Tempe in the ’90s dominated by jangle, over-driven amps cranked, and melodic singers crooning a Mill Ave export that would crack into the mainstream. But listening to Half String, a Tempe-based band that featured Brandon Capps, Tim Patterson, Matt Kruse, and Kimber Lanning…
Back in March, we spoke with Howe Gelb, of Giant (Giant) Sand about his new album, Tucson, in the first episode of our weekly podcast (We call it Up on the Sun: The Podcast. Ain’t we clever?). Well yesterday Fire Records debuted sprawling, echoing track from the “country rock opera,”…
Me to Benjamin Leatherman: I’m interviewing a band. Benjamin Leatherman: What band? Me: Local punk dudes called Christian Science Monitor Lizard. Leatherman: That’s one of the best names I’ve heard in years. Indeed, Christian Science Monitor Lizard, the punk rock trio of Kevin Koenig, Ben Kraftwerk, and AC Grüns, boast…
If our review and slideshow fail to make it crystal clear, let’s just say it: The PHX AM After Party with No Age, Radio, Moscow, and a host of local punk bands on Saturday night was crazy. And awesome. The outdoor stage, which hosted touring acts like the aforementioned bands…
White Rabbits at Crescent Ballroom It’s safe to say it’s been a while since I’ve been so blown away by a band I didn’t even know. Everyone I spoke to before the White Rabbits show started hadn’t even heard of the band except for one or two people, so considering…
