For years, I was a pretty big fan of the ska-punk — a genre that aimed to marry punk’s energy to ska’s rocksteady vibe — until, at one point in my late teens, I decided that I detested ska and ska-punk and tossed out all my previous feelings for the…
When you’re born with the name Leon Blue, it’s hard to imagine life taking you down any path other than that of a badass boogie-woogie blues pianist. Blue — real name, natch — has racked up plenty of high-profile work as a sideman, manning the keys for The Ike &…
It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. They practiced, they planned, they were ambitious and optimistic. Then, like so many rock musicians before them, excessive use of alcohol took it all away. Before they knew it, Hooves had embarrassed themselves at probably the biggest annual event in the Phoenix rock…
Cheetah Chrome and Sylvain Sylvain are considered founding fathers of punk rock, as original members of Rocket From the Tombs and The Dead Boys, and New York Dolls, respectively, but the two are far from mellowing out with their age. Their new project, Batusis, roars and rips with just…
Do you remember the rousing, anthemic song you heard sound-tracking key moments in Barack Obama’s presidential bid? This was long ago, in the halcyon days of late 2008, when the feeling was one of indefinable rush, belief that maybe the process could work and we could make history simply by…
How much you enjoy Tucson’s Mostly Bears depends on how high your tolerance for shirtless press photos, warbling falsetto vocals and anthemic indie-prog is. If the idea of Muse barn-storming with The Mars Volta sounds like something you could get down to, by all means, catch the band when…
Few bands are better suited to soundtrack a stiff drink and a contemplative stare than The National, who have been issuing literate, dark records for the past decade. High Violet, their latest, is another notch on their belt, full of powerful songs that combine their Midwest gravitas with New York…
At the risk of offending CMT viewers or people who still watch the Grammys, I wasn’t all that familiar with the Zac Brown Band when I was assigned this piece. I had seen his album in record stores (he looks like he needs a shower), and I think I had…
In case you missed it, Palm Beach buzz band Surfer Blood has signed to Warner Bros. It’s a puzzling move three-quarters of the way through the year 2010, when not one but two independent releases have taken the number-one spot on the Billboard charts. What does being on a major…
Day one of Fall Frenzy belonged to the the arena rockers, day two got a little more alternative, but day three was all about the metal.So metal, in fact, that it wasn’t technically day three of the “Arizona Fall Frenzy,” so much as its own separate gig, the Rockstar Energy…
I’m 16 years old, working at our family tool shop, and I’m listening to the acoustic guitar introduction of Weezer’s “My Name Is Jonas.” My father and I are at separate workstations, a few feet from each other. I’m in the throes of adolescence and my father has taken to…
There’s no hesitation in the voice of Bob Corritore. The owner of The Rhythm Room, disc jockey behind Sunday night’s blues program on KJZZ, and renowned harmonica player/producer/impresario fires off an answer to the question I was certain would stump him. What’s your all-time favorite record? “The very first record…
“I always said I hated the Black Crowes,” says Mike, sipping a Diet Coke. “Then one day someone put on a Black Crowes album and I was like, ‘Who is this?’ There were four or five songs I liked — I mean, really liked.” I agree with Mike, staring at…
“I always said I hated the Black Crowes,” says Mike, sipping a Diet Coke. “Then one day someone put on a Black Crowes album and I was like, ‘Who is this?’ There were 4 or 5 songs I liked, I mean, really liked.” I agree with Mike, staring at his…
Mark Matos used to live in Tucson, where he played with a rising indie band called Campo Bravo. Then he had a road to Damascus moment while out on tour, experiencing an epiphany while tripping on LSD. His new band, Os Beaches, is located in San Francisco, where they attempt…
So, Mark Matos is on tour somewhere in the Midwest, gets real far out on an LSD bender, decides to quit his buzz band Campo Bravo, and move away from the “tweaker dens” of Tucson, where they’ve been steadily gaining attention for years. Returning to the Bay Area where he…
It’s a quiet Friday afternoon at Carly’s Bistro, and the members of Phoenix indie-rock act Snake! Snake! Snakes! shuffle in one by one. First comes guitarist/vocalist Jon Messenger, followed by bassist Chris Sanchez and, finally, drummer David Cooper, who slides down into his chair with uncalculated ease. The group announces…
So, Mark Matos is on tour somewhere in the American Midwest, gets real far out on an LSD bender, decides to quit his buzz band Campo Bravo and move away from the “tweaker dens” of Tucson, Arizona, where they’ve been steadily gaining attention for years. Returning to the Bay Area…
T-Model FordThe Rhythm RoomJuly 29th, 2010There’s a scene in the 2003 documentary on the early Fat Possum Records roster, You See Me Laughin’: The Last of the Hill County Bluesmen, where James “T-Model” Ford recounts to director Mandy Stern about a when he was 11 and his father savagely beat…
Mr. Fitzsimmons, as I stare at the blank Word document on my computer, I am determined to write about your songs. Not your Katy Perry cover and not your beard — as long and as impressive as the latter is. I bet folks write a lot about that beard and…
You got to give it up for local boys done good. Former downtown poster boys Miniature Tigers may have shuffled off to New York, but that hasn’t stopped them or their label, Modern Art Records, from drawing considerable national focus to Phoenix and Arizona-centric issues, like posting a message from…
Jeremy Kittel is a young, fairly attractive young man who plays violin. Now, before your mind is cluttered with images of Andrew Birds, Owen Palletts, and Tobie Milfords, let’s get this straight: Kittel doesn’t play indie violin-folk, he plays classically minded jazz, bluegrass, and Celtic music. When he does veer…
