Even without an LP on which to hang their hat, Glendale-based reggae band Black Bottom Lighters have opened for Flogging Molly on St. Patrick’s Day, toured the West Coast, played the local stage at True Music Festival, and headlined a pre-Thanksgiving show at The Marquee. Suffice it to say few…
Judging by the amount of success that local performers at last year’s McDowell Mountain Music Festival have seen since their March 2013 engagement at Margaret T. Hance Park, I think it is safe to say that the festival’s organizers know how to pick ’em. Just about every local band that…
Califone, Destruction Unit, Cherie Cherie, Los Puchos The Icehouse 3/21/14 Wooden Indian didn’t merely put on a concert Friday night at the Icehouse — they created an experience, transforming the cavernous downtown Phoenix arts venue into an otherworldly sonic happening. And the evening was every bit as epic as Wooden…
Andy Warpigs Album Release Party The Lost Leaf 3/16/14 Andy Warpigs has officially taken a step up from DIY phenomenon to full-on local rock star following Sunday night’s raucous release party for his debut album, Folk Punk Yourself. The album is an eight-song ode to juvenile humor, drug use, and…
Although it was definitely one of the more smaller of the outdoor stages at the Viva PHX last night, I’d be willing to bet the PHX Alley Stage offered, by far, the highest energy and most raucous crowd out of the entire music festival. This shouldn’t come as a surprise,…
Banana Gun has an odd tale of how the band ended up in Phoenix. As bass player Ross Troost tells it, he and drummer Ian Breslin and guitarist Nick Dehaan were on a West Coast tour nearly a decade ago in their old band, Fat Rabbit, when they swung through…
If KONGOS had not officially “made it” before Wednesday night, they certainly have now. The South African-born, Phoenix-based rock quartet made their national television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and while their single “Come With Me Now” did not sound quite as buff as it does on Lunatic, their latest…
The Ataris Pub Rock 2/28/14 Kris Roe is the perfect cannon fodder for a music reviewer looking to go harsh on a singer. His band is hardly relevant, his recent shows have been fairly lackluster, and he’s had his fair share of attitudinal problems. Saying his group, The Ataris, stunk…
While bands and musicians from all over the states will head to the Valley for next Friday’s Viva Phoenix music festival, none will travel as far as Honolulu-based rockers Kings of Spade. The five-piece band will be jetting from their island home to the mainland as a part of their…
It’s 2014 and high time you got some new music into your playlist — seriously. And that’s doubly true when it comes local music, of which there’s an abundance in metro Phoenix. The Valley’s music scene is gifted with burgeoning bands and emerging artists who will be making waves and…
The Ataris have always been Kris Roe’s baby. He is the singer, chief songwriter, and one constant member of the platinum-selling pop-punk band. An Indiana native, Roe has been fortunate enough to see music he wrote and performed go platinum in March 2003. For the 10-year anniversary of that platinum…
The Wind-Up Conspiracy Roosevelt Row 2/21/14 Downtown Phoenix’s most bizarre DJ duo ever, The Wind-Up Conspiracy, made their public debut last night and added an extra touch of strange to the oddball art circus known as Third Friday. The distinctly strange twosome of DJ Birch and DJ Decca played their…
It’s pretty safe to say that Roosevelt Row has more than its share of mad DJ sessions conducted amid the arty milieus of both First and Third Friday, especially outside such venues as Jobot or Aside of Heart. But a madcap DJ session done on gramophones? Yeah, that’s sort of…
When they haven’t been busy rehearsing, recording, or playing out around town, five Valley bands — The Prowling Kind, Andy Warpigs, The Hourglass Cats, The Prowling Kind, Fairy Bones, and The Haymarket Squares — have been busying themselves in recent weeks planning and filming music videos for their latest tracks…
The Ataris have always been Kris Roe’s baby. He is the singer, chief songwriter, and one constant member of the platinum-selling pop-punk band. An Indiana native, Roe has been fortunate enough to see music he wrote and performed go platinum in March 2003. For the 10-year anniversary of that platinum…
It’s 2014 and high time you got some new music into your playlist — seriously. And that’s doubly true when it comes local music, of which there’s an abundance in metro Phoenix. The Valley’s music scene is gifted with burgeoning bands and emerging artists who will be making waves and…
The Linecutters Long Wong’s 2/14/14 Although its always hard to tell how far any new band will go — and even harder when said band comprises high school juniors — local punkers The Linecutters seem to have it. The Gilbert-based thrash trio have been around only since September, but they…
St. Valentine’s Day Massacre The Sail Inn 2/14/14 There is a stark contrast between the playing styles of Field Tripp’s Dan Allmond and Brandon Decker. To wit: Decker appears to be a driven perfectionist looking to squeeze every bit of soul out of each note, while Allmond seems content as…
Everyone loves a great love song. Passionate hyperbole about the glowing light of romance’s grand glory that can uplift and soothe an aching heart or nurture love’s first embrace. Really, love just wouldn’t be the same without great song to accompany it. There’s just nothing better than hearing hit those…
It looks as though Ricky Williams may have some competition when it comes to weed-related football jokes. That’s because local comedy rapper Hot Rock Supa Joint (the self-described “punk rock hip-hop dude who makes your booty pop”) has started an Indiegogo fundraiser with the goal of raising $4.5 million, all…
Although 2014 has only just begun, it’s already been an epic year for local four-piece rock band KONGOS, and we mean that quite literally. The South African-born brothers have inked a deal with NYC-based Epic Records and will make an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday, March 5. Oh,…
For all of those fortunate enough to catch the Keyboard Cat playing Bruno Mars during the halftime of the Puppy Bowl on Sunday, I envy you. That’s because I had to endure about 15 minutes of pure torture while watching the actual Bruno Mars performing with the Red Hot Chili…
