Fans of blink-182 had plenty of reasons to wonder if the band would ever play together again after 2005 found the band splitting in two, with guitarist Tom DeLonge forming Angels and Airwaves and bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker forming +44. But a series of tragic events in…
As our extensive Comicon coverage hopefully proved, comics and music have never been so closely linked. Bands like Coheed and Cambria are keeping the sci-fi/rock ‘n’ roll tradition alive, but so is local act A Life of Science. The electro-indie duo is prepping the release of their upcoming album, Vita…
I didn’t make it out to the French pop spectacular at FilmBar on Saturday night, but the pics posted on Facebook got me super-pumped to catch Serge Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life. Non-documentary or concert films are tough to pull off (those are, too) but when a movie gets it right…
It’s been a weird couple of weeks for strange collaborations — like that Jack White/I.C.P. jam — but there are few stranger musical team-ups weirder than the forthcoming Lou Reed and Metallica album, Lulu. The first single from the record, “The View,” went up on the Lou Reed and Metallica…
Making your weekend plans? We’ve already highlighted some of the best music going down this weekend, from the rock ‘n’ rolling Quarter Inch Crown, hardcore stalwarts H20, and the Music of the Old West performances at the MIM. But there’s plenty more music going on this weekend. Here are our…
Big ups to the folks over at NPR’s All Songs Considered blog. Today they featured Sister Cities, the Phoenix band that our own Christina Caldwell wrote up back in August, telling the tale of the band’s global roots and dream-pop sound. “If you’re a band from the west coast, you…
They don’t come much more “multi-cultural” than Rupa and the April Fishes. Born in California to Indian parents, songwriter Rupa Marya was raised in France, India, and the United States. The music she makes with her group, The April Fishes, borrows sounds from all of her cultures. French nouvelle vague…
On Saturday, September 24, the Musical Instrument Museum is scheduled to open “Power of Music: Photographic Portraits of Americans and Their Musical Instruments 1860-1915.” Featuring portraits from the collection of Mark Lee Gardner, author, historian, and musician, the portraits capture remarkable images of Civil War-era soldiers, housewives, children, the rich,…
In this week’s issue, Nicki Escudero brings us the tale of Arrowheart — a young combo of country-pop singers that have their eyes set on the big time with the guidance the hit-maker who co-wrote Madonna’s “Open Your Heart.” We’ve also got mini-features from M.T. Richards on Colour Revolt (don’t…
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. How did Valley hip-hop artist Intrinzik wind up in a band with his father? Want to…
It’s hard to imagine the guys running the experimental electronic label Warp Records sitting around the label’s offices in Sheffield in ’95, smoking spliffs and listening to art-damaged singles by Aphex Twin or Autechre saying, “You know, this fucked-up electronic shit is cool, but when are we going to release…
Blondie guitarist Chris Stein sounds slightly surprised by my call. “Hello,” he asks, with a strange kind of hesitance. But it just takes a second for him to start going, rattling off details about the new Blondie record, Panic of Girls. The record is not without flaws — considerable ones…
Math rock, post rock, prog rock. Whatever you want to call it, it usually doesn’t sound very fun. Gloss Drop, the latest record from Battles, defies that notion. The album, featuring guest vocals from Gary Numan, Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead, and Yamantaka Eye of the Boredoms in the wake…
“Wait…you know it’s The Weekend, right? Not The Weeknd.” I had a couple people let me know, just to be sure. See, The Weeknd — the project name of Canadian soul singer Abel Tesfaye — has a plenty of hype, and the potential to bring elements of dubstep and chillwave…
Today at 4:20 p.m. (get it?), Odd Future member Domo Genesis, who we profiled earlier this year, when right as he was leaving ASU, dropped a brand new mixtape, Under the Influence. Over 14 tracks, Domo positions himself as the sleepy-eyed mellow member of the Wolf Gang. While his buddy…
Songwriter Justin James started his musical career with a particularly violent incident — not that his breezy, ultra-casual pop-rock would ever betray it. A former windsurfer, James was attacked by a shark. While put up in bed, he spent time strumming the guitar, which led to an unexpected musical career…
Our sister blog, Chow Bella, knows the score when it comes to the whole food truck boom here in Phoenix. As such, the staff there has all details regarding tickets to the first annual Phoenix Food Truck festival, which features over 30 food trucks taking over A.R.T.S. Project #1/ 408…
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 the band’s take on “Exit…
If you’re into scuzzy rock ‘n’ roll in this town, you know Westley Allen — either from his time onstage with The Plainfield Butchers, his gig behind the bar at Time Out Lounge, or as the host of Erratic! Radio on KWSS. Allen took some time to listen to three…
Phoenix-based pop band French Quarter has a new record out, Desert Wasn’t Welcome, and the band is heading out on tour to support it. Recorded at Dub Narcotic Sound System in Olympia, Washington, home base for K Records, and finds the trio incorporating elements of dance, dub, and jazz into…
Last week we blogged about your chance to win free tickets to see David Bazan (of Pedro the Lion, Headphones) for free in beautiful Payson, Arizona on Wednesday, September 28. The show is part of Bazan’s house tour, and the Payson gig is one of the three shows of the…
It’s Friday, and you know what that means: Food Truck Day at Phoenix Public Market. Wait, it means something else, too…what was it? Oh, yeah. Shows — a whole bunch of them. We’ve written up BroLoaf, Slightly Stoopid, Return to Forever, and The Rhythm Room 20th Anniversary gigs, but here…
