It seems like only yesterday that we were stuffing ourselves with turkey. Adrian Orange can’t shake Thanksgiving, either, because that’s the name of the band with which he found a following for his unique takes on electric folk-rock. Even when the Portland, Oregon, artist gets increasingly experimental with pals and…
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as long as thumping music, fun, and great friends exist. Case in point: This Christmas Eve, Pinky Ring collective deejays Benjamin Cutswell, D-JR, McKay, William Fucking Reed, Senbad, Tricky T, and friends – hailing from the hallowed Phoenix halls of hip-hop,…
Many a high jinks-filled road trip has been prefaced with the old axiom that getting there is half the fun. That certainly rings true for the shepherds trekking to catch a glimpse of the newborn baby Jesus in Cultural Coalition’s La Pastorela AriSonora. In the classic Latino retelling of the…
Since the annual tradition of getting sloshed with people you can barely tolerate has been neutered by PC, lawsuit-fearing wimps, the Eastside Records Christmas Party goes balls out to save your soul. Remembering the real reason for the season, California’s Knights of the New Crusade, clad in medieval chainmail, drop…
Many a high jinks-filled road trip has been prefaced with the old axiom that getting there is half the fun. That certainly rings true for the shepherds trekking to catch a glimpse of the newborn baby Jesus in Cultural Coalition’s La Pastorela AriSonora. In the classic Latino retelling of the…
The commercialization of December 25 has steadily risen since a bald kid named Charlie Brown lamented killing a tree. It’s an annoying trend that some downtown Phoenix performance artists have taken as an opportunity to flip off ol’ St. Nick for the past 23 years. But with the almighty dollar…
For the past year or so, DJ mig50 has brought Yacht Rock Sundays to the masses with a monthly event featuring the music of Michael McDonald, Hall & Oates, and Steely Dan. Sounds awesome, right? Well, it is, but big ol’ bummer for us, ’cause mig and Yacht Rock have…
“Oh, the humanity!” cried WKRP in Cincinnati reporter Les Nessman as 25 turkeys plummeted to their splatty deaths after being tossed from a helicopter. Unfortunately, our consciousness always takes a dive similar to the publicity-stunt-cum-fowl-tragedy following Thanksgiving dinner. Luckily, Redmonkey’s Work That Turkey is here to save the day. Redmonkey…
Luck, of the preparation-meets-opportunity type, has been on Ben Kenney’s side for a long time. First off, Kenney’s punk-tinged rock outfit Supergrub mingled in the Philly underground scene with 3 7000 9, a group of energetic shredders headed by firecracker frontwoman and British transplant Nou-Ra. Thanks to Nou-Ra’s association with…
Native North Americans legendarily used all parts of any buffalo they managed to fell. Nothing was wasted. Similarly, Banding Hendrix (pronounced “Bonding”) pulls from everything around him and within him and pours it into his work. See for yourself when the San Francisco native displays his array of pop, tribal,…
When Queen’s Freddie Mercury penned the line “I want to ride my bicycle,” it’s doubtful he intended it to be a double-entendre. But don’t tell that to Reverend Phil Sano, the ordained minister of the Church of Bicycle Jesus, mainstay of the Portland bike scene, and the man who is…
“These are the people in your neighborhood/The people that you meet when you’re walking down the street/They’re the people that you meet each daaaay!” (Pardon us.) So goes the catchy Sesame Street ditty, a happy tune that could’ve easily been written for Conspire, the collectively owned and operated spot that…
Dre of OutKast, amid a chorus of East Coast boos during the 1995 Source Awards, defiantly declared, “The South got something to say.” Diplo bit, and he’s been weaving what his native South has to say into his mixes for years as one-half of Philadelphia’s Hollertronix and as a solo…
DJ Seduce, a local jock who has dedicated his life as a music enthusiast to searching for grand grooves that shuffle people’s feet while moving their souls, has really gone way out – specifically, Brazil – to collect music for his latest comp, Brazil:Sambossica. The album, which features grooves by…
DJ Seduce, a local jock who has dedicated his life as a music enthusiast to searching for grand grooves that shuffle people’s feet while moving their souls, has really gone way out – specifically, Brazil – to collect music for his latest comp, Brazil:Sambossica. The album, which features grooves by…
The number seven has always been mysteriously alluring. Across different mythologies, it’s been associated with perfection and divinity. Soul/funk songstress Erykah Badu named her and Andre 3000’s son Seven, noting that the integer is the highest single-digit prime number – beating George Costanza to the punch. The Coronado Neighborhood Association…
Ah, the comfort of the nightlight – its thin, pale beams chasing away the monsters of the imagination in our sugar-fueled childhoods. Nowadays, our plug-in savior casts enough illumination to keep us from stubbing our toes in the shroud of darkness. More than a mere sentinel protecting us from dangers…
Every epic event needs a killer party as its prologue, right? (China’s Olympic opening ceremonies, anyone?) That’s why Phoenix’s premier b-boying group, Furious Styles Crew – who will represent on Saturday and Sunday with the state’s biggest hip-hop event – are throwing a killer party tonight to celebrate the group’s…
The Furious Styles Crew family, fresh from representing the U.S. in the Battle of the Year competition in Germany, will showcase b-boys and b-girls breaking out to body-rocking jams during the Furious Styles Crew 15th Anniversary Main Event. Sat., Oct. 25, 2-9 p.m.; Sun., Oct. 26, 2-9 p.m., 2008…
There’s a sly smile that highlights Paisley Yankolovich’s face. It’s the kind of bemused calm of knowing that the Christian performance artist’s journey with Jesus is less a sunset-showered walk on the beach than an adrenaline-pumping roller coaster that invites people to hop on and throw up their hands at…
Some rappers obsessively brag about moving product, whether record sales or controlled substances, but Devin the Dude is much more interested in his El Producto. The Houston native’s Southern drawl is homegrown, but his laid-back style is helped along by plenty of blunts and brew. The consummate Everyman, the Dude…
It seems as though downtown Phoenix is finally taking shape as the vibrant place that the fifth-largest metropolis in the U.S. warrants. (Credit the long-entrenched arts community and local, independent businesses for fighting the good fight.) It even seems that, despite a few hiccups here and there, the civic leadership…
