Donning an actual mirror as an album cover could be a clever ploy, but the tunes that Sebastian Clark and Normandie Wilson have crafted provide solid evidence of their playful sincerity. The two twentysomethings initially bonded over their mutual love for the Beach Boys, so Brian Wilson’s pocket-symphony, sonic-cohesive influences…
We drown out the white noise of daily living: too-loud conversations, grumbling automobiles, and the low hum of electronic trappings. With its new CD, afterglow, RPM Orchestra engages us to listen more closely and think more deeply about all that hits our ears. The album is filled with compelling aural…
There’s been a lot of talking and tweeting today about yesterday’s blog post on the return of Counter Culture, this time, we’ve heard, to a prime location on Mill Avenue. Andres Yuhnke, co-founder of Counter Culture, told Chow Bella earlier this week that his business was a lock to reemerge on Mill. While…
It seems that everyone’s favorite 24 hour coffeehouse is on the verge of a comeback. The Counter Culture Cafe used to offer music, art, and locally-made goods and clothing along with coffee, light snacks, sandwiches, and wifi available at all hours until they were unceremoniously booted from their home on the northwest…
Summertime is on full blast, which means that we’re definitely in the midst of barbecue season. To tell the truth, though, while there’s nothing more satisfying than serving up juicy burgers, plump franks, and roasted veggies to pals, grilling under a hateful Phoenix sun can be less than ideal. (Not that…
If you think of The Gin Blossoms as the primary legacy of Valley music, you’re invited to hop into the Delorean that is “The Grid: Music Edition” exhibition. The Trunk Space, hosts of this sweet show, posed this simple question to The Shizz online local music community: “What’s the oldest…
Chicano artist Harry Gamboa Jr. knows the role of the court jester well, wrapping uncomfortable truths with disarming absurdity and punchiness. In 1981, Gamboa spoke about Chicanos’ relative invisibility in the art world and mainstream culture. As part of the ’70s conceptual and performance art collective ASCO – alongside fellow…
The art of the Chicano Movement of the late ’60s and ’70s sought to evoke the assertions of a burgeoning mass of people who had largely been treated as invisible. The decades that followed saw Latino and Latina artists striking out of traditional painting and sculpture and instead experimenting with…
We’re often glued to our computers, processing the deluge of information we see on the screens. Damned if, despite the link-sharing and various means of online gabbing, it doesn’t seem anti-social. That’s why we’re totally sprung on the new Reading Society shindig. The biweekly gathering is an open and informal…
PHX Bux have been getting a lot of love lately (with occasional misinformed haters trailing behind, too) and it’s easy to see why. The discount art tokens have taken off as a viable experiment in citizen-based currency with a grand total of 2000 in circulation, and are accepted at over 25 local…
Yesterday’s memorial ceremony for Michael Jackson brought a lot of the memories of the man and the myth to the forefront. One of our favorites was Magic Johnson’s outing of The Gloved One’s love for KFC by the bucket load.While the dearly departed King of Pop relished The Colonel’s secret…
If you think of The Gin Blossoms as the primary legacy of Valley music, you’re invited to hop into the Delorean that is “The Grid: Music Edition” exhibition. The Trunk Space, hosts of this sweet show, posed this simple question to The Shizz online local music community: “What’s the oldest…
The gem of the Team America soundtrack, “America (Fuck Yeah),” rattles off a stunning litany of the things that make the United States great. Unfortunately, sweet hair, hot babes, and classic cars escaped mention, so AZ Rockabilly pays tribute with its own Independence Day bash, the Dixie Fried Concert &…
Hip-hop has been woven from the lives and perspectives of countless artists and everyday people. The Arizona Hip Hop Experience seeks to explore that rich tapestry during a supercool all-day event on at Tempe Center for the Arts. Arizona’s hip-hoppers have been on the grind since the days of making…
Reincarnation seems pretty sweet. Leave through one exit, hop into a new entrance. In the meantime, we leave a lot of ephemera behind – hand-penned letters, mix tapes, pictures – and FOUND Magazine is there to catch what we cast off. Author, filmmaker, and This American Life contributor Davy…
If you think of The Gin Blossoms as the primary legacy of Valley music, you’re invited to hop into the Delorean that is “The Grid: Music Edition” exhibition. The Trunk Space, hosts of this sweet show, posed this simple question to The Shizz online local music community: “What’s the oldest…
While writing is in Andre Dubus III’s blood, he held more than a half-dozen jobs – everything from bartender to bounty hunter – before settling in as an author. It might be this range of occupations that allows Dubus to explore the mindset of multiple characters in his latest, The…
While ninjas and robots will always be dear to our hearts – and zombies are white-hot right now – the sun hasn’t completely gone down on pirates. If you’re still digging the eye patches and peg legs, you might want to splash around with the Pirates on the Salt River…
The California-bred burlesque show has shed vintage threads and bared its collective gams (and more) across the globe, with a vaudevillian hit list that includes the Vans Warped Tour, Ozzfest, and HBO’s Real Sex. The veterans of the burlesque circuit have also wowed audiences at the Vancouver International Burlesque Festival,…
Now that MySpace has basically killed itself, the best way to check out new music is to hit the streets. That’s where you’ll find Mika Miko, who post up tonight at the Trunk Space, 1506 Grand Avenue. The five-piece punk group has been grinding for six years with a mix…
Though the claim is tongue-in-cheek, P. Diddy’s album title We Invented the Remix still smells of methane. The barest notion of the remix, the manipulation of source material to create a significantly altered or wholly different work, goes way back — even the Bible didn’t drop from the heavens in…
Harold Branch III (a.k.a. HB) might roll with Chicago’s Enigma Poets, but it’s no mystery as to the wordsmith’s role in Phoenix’s spoken-word scene. The poet grew up amid the turmoil of Chi-town’s west side and settled into Arizona life as a teen, determined to make a difference with his…
