I kind of feel like I’m the only person who isn’t completely blown away by Cults — but I’m willing to bet that seeing Cults at Club Congress on July 30 probably ruled. There are few places I like seeing shows more than Congress, and addition to the crazy-hyped Cults…
BY LAUREN WISE After a two-year break, The Mars Volta has wrapped up their sixth studio album, the follow-up to 2009’s Octahedron. Yet-to-be-titled, the album is slated for release in 2012. But don’t worry, we wouldn’t leave you hanging out there without a little taste. Songs from the album recently…
I hated Eastbound & Down when I first started watching it. The show’s protagonist, Kenny Powers, portrayed by Danny McBride, was just so utterly unlikable. I couldn’t get behind him, even as an anti-hero. He was just too racist, sexist, and shitty. I don’t know what exactly changed, but for…
Destroy Nate Allen is a folk-punk duo, made up of married Christian rockers Nate and Tessa Allen. The pair’s music is a strange thing — acoustic guitar anchored and melodically reminiscent of Social Distortion as much as recalls groups like Dogbreth and Andrew Jackson Jihad (the band has played with…
You know, when you think about it, Morrissey is kind of like a comic book character already. Call him “Super Sad Man,” or “Captain Sexually Ambiguous.” Don’t expect Shawn Demumbrum’s Unite and Take Over: Comic Book Stories Inspired by The Smiths to be as stupid as those ideas, though. Demumbrum’s…
If you’ve got a subscription to Guitar World, you no doubt know who Mr. Big is. Comprised of some of the biggest names in the shred lexicon — guitarist Paul Gilbert, bassist Billy Sheehan, drummer Pat Torpey, and vocalist Eric Martin — the group issued hit rock records until the…
As profiled over at our sister (er, brother blog?) Feathered Bastard, Arizona-based human rights group Puente is planning a celebration tonight at El Portal, the Mexican restaurant located Grant Street and First Avenue owned by Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox. The event celebrates one year of non-compliance in regards…
Phoenix indie-poppers French Quarter have a new album due out on Off Tempo Records in October, but lucky you: you can hear the whole thing right now. Recorded at the indie-famous Dub Narcotic Studios in Olympia, Washington, the album is the latest in a torrent of releases from French Quarter…
Buffalo KillersThe Compound GrillThursday, July 28I’m all for ironic appreciation of the ’70s, but you know what? Some things about the ’70s can be liked without having to resort to some sort of “ha ha, isn’t it funny” crutch. When I watch Dazed and Confused, I don’t find myself laughing…
DJ Element is one busy cat. Just a few weeks ago we wrote about his FreeStyle Sessions mixtape release, an now we’ve got work that Element and DJ Pickster, both resident DJs at the popular Thursday night Blunt Club party, are taking their sounds on the road.Making a name for…
In this week’s music feature, New Times takes a look at the music and history of Valley DJ/reggae performer Tony Culture. Culture acts as sort of an elder statesman of reggae in Phoenix, and our interview covered much more ground than I had room to include in the paper. Culture…
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 does David Heartbreak have to say about Timbaland, Europe, and Moombahsoul? *What’s selling at Stinkweeds…
The Blunt Club is going on tour, and the DJs behind the popular, long-running Valley hip-hop night are having a party to celebrate. DJs Pickster and Element (pictured) are hitting the road to explore California (one tour stop even features Warren G), but everyone knows you can’t leave town without…
It’s a Tuesday night at The Lost Leaf in downtown Phoenix. The bar’s small dance floor is packed with dancers; one girl in a flowery dress does the typical hippie dance, arms flailing in the air, while one guy emphatically skanks about the room. DJ Smite is on the turntables,…
It’s tough to be bandmates with a sibling (see The Kinks, Oasis, and The Louvin Brothers), but luckily the Cincinnati-based Buffalo Killers have some practice. Brothers Zach and Andy Gabbard played together for years in the dearly departed boogie/garage outfit Thee Shams, learning the hard way to share tunes and…
Thom Travisano loves the blues, and like one of those proverbial Blues Brothers, he’s on a mission from God to document the music he loves.Okay, okay — Travisano never actually claimed to be on a mission from God when I met with him Sunday afternoon at his short term lease,…
The Tubes have serious roots in Arizona. Formed after two Phoenix-based bands, The Beans and Red, White and Blues Band, moved to San Francisco and combined, The Tubes were remarkably ahead of their time. The group’s mix of simulated sex and hard rock landed them some primo opening spots, setting…
Liturgy The Rogue BarTuesday, July 26Unfairly or not, Liturgy gets a lot of flack. There are a lot of reasons, I suppose. The band plays black metal — true “outsider” music — but they don’t look the part, at least not when the part normally looks like this. Then there’s…
When I listen to 3, the new album by the Cincinnati-based rock ‘n’ roll band Buffalo Killers, I like to imagine the band tearing down the highway, blasting sweet classic rock tunes on the way to some mythical backwoods gig.Speaking with bassist Zach Gabbard, who is joined by his guitarist…
Long time Valley radio personality Dave Pratt is returning to the FM dial. On August 15, Pratt will be taking over the morning slot at X103.9.Pratt has been a Valley FM staple for years — his time at KUPD lasted twenty of them — before he moved to KZON in 2002,…
“This City,” the first single from Patrick Stump, previously know as “that guy in Fall Out Boy who doesn’t flash his wang on the interwebs,” drops on iTunes today.The single, which features Lupe Fiasco, is from Stump’s upcoming solo debut, Soul Punk. The record has been plagued with delays, but…
Last Thursday, KWSS station manager Frank Magarelli informed us that the station would be back on the FM dial within “five to eight days.” Apparently Magarelli is a big fan of “under promise, over deliver,” because the station was back on the air by Friday afternoon…
