In this week’s print edition New Times writer Chris Hansen Orf — himself a member of a veteran Tempe Americana act — catches up with hard-nosed roots rockers Flathead. The band talks about how they’ve been able to fit on bills with everyone from Meat Puppets to Ralph Stanley, X and The…
Song: The Cool Kids, “Bundle Up”Context: The Cool Kids have their first real record coming out — hard to believe since they’ve been buzzing for so long and have a few mixtapes out. This track, “Bundle Up,” is availible for free download from the duo’s site. The Cool Kids -…
A story in today’s Arizona Republic should worry all local music fans. The paper reports that Mesa Amphitheatre, a grassy 5,000-capacity outdoor amphitheater has entered a world of hurt as it loses out on big-name acts booked into another city-owned space, Mesa Arts Center, and other competitors.The Republic story paints a picture that’s…
: AgesandAges, “No Nostalgia”Context: I really, really dig Alright You Restless, the debut from this Portland seven-piece that sort of reminds me of Go Team! meets The Decemberists. This is the first song but the entire record is very, very good. Agesandages – No Nostalgia by mmcizmar…
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’s up with Frankie Muniz’s alleged suicide threat? How fast is the Arcade Fire show at…
McDowell Mountain Music Festival named its headliners more than a month ago — Edward Sharpe, Black Joe Lewis and Xavier Rudd probably having the most mass appeal. Now local independent web radio station Creamy Radio has announced the acts playing the local state they schedule. New Times covergirl Courtney Marie Andrews,…
Sour Soul, a funky indie-rock band from Mexico City, will be at Rogue Bar on March 8.Please, no one mention this to Sheriff Joe. True, the band played 110 other dates north of the border last year, and, yes, they don’t particularly look like the economically-oppressed small-town Mexican day laborers…
Song: Bass Drum of Death, “Young Pros”Context: This band Bass Drum of Death just signed to Fat Possum — home to Band Of Horses, Wavves, Yuck, The Black Keys and many more of the best bands out there. So far I really like what I hear from them. The track…
In this week’s Noise Complaint comic, Up On The Sun cartoonist Robbie Pfeffer imagines what county jail would be like for the typical Phoenix hipster…Enjoy!…
Song: The Plainfield Butchers, “Truckstop Urinal”Context: This is a standout track from the new record Hard To Be Human by local punks The Plainfield Butchers. Plainfield Butchers – Truckstop Urinal by mmcizmar…
Yoko Ono, the avant-garde artist known exclusively for being the weird wife of late Beatle John Lennon, has been tapped as a “featured speaker” by Austin’s all-important music industry gathering South By Southwest.The talk will evidently start as a sit-down interview with Austin DJ Jody Denberg on Friday, March 18th…
Captain SqueegeeArizona Strong Beer Festival Steele Indian School ParkSaturday, February 19, 2011The annual Strong Beer Festival has been blessed with great weather in recent years — sunny with warm air and clear skies. In other words, typical weather for February in Phoenix.Such a thing should never be taken for granted, nor…
Arcade Fire.Comerica Theatre.Phoenix, Arizona.April 13.The last time this band was in Phoenix, they played Modified Arts. Now they’re back, playing Comerica and making some of the best popular music you’ll ever hear, winnin’ Grammies, topping Billboard and still confusing idiots. I’m not sure what else there is to say.OK, maybe…
Song: El Ten Eleven, “Paranoid Android”Context: This is the best new Radiohead track you’ll hear all day… El Ten Eleven – Paranoid Android by mmcizmar…
A Tucson-based community group has a huge benefit show lined up in the wake of the Laughner shootings.Jackson Browne, Alice Cooper, David Crosby & Graham Nash, Sam Moore, Nils Lofgren, Keb’ Mo’, Jerry Riopelle, Dar Williams, Ozomatli, and Calexico are all signed up to play Tucson Convention Center on Thursday,…
Song: J.D. Stooks, “Move To Portland”Context: J.d. Stooks, the subject of this week’s music feature, says he thinks this song could be a perfect fit for the new show Portlandia. I agree totally. Move To Portland by J.D. Stooks…
This week’s main music feature is on singer-songwriter J.D. Stooks, who almost gave up music when the songs that’d always come easily to him stopped appearing.A tragedy — a friend’s suicide — shook him up enough to start writing again, and thus he has a new album called Shutterbug out.We’ve…
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. Should indie rock fans be happy Arcade Fire won a Grammy or not?What did Justin Bieber’s…
Song: Ree Boado, “You Got Something”Context: This local singer-songwriter, who we featured in print this week, is probably the most radio-ready local act going right now. She reminds me a lot of Regina Spektor. Ree Boado – You Got Something by mmcizmar…
When tomorrow’s pop culture writers look back at the meteoric career of dreamy teen pop sensation Justin Bieber it’ll be easy to pinpoint the exact moment his star started to fall.That’d be February 13, 2011 — the night of the Grammy Awards — when the mop-topped Canadian scamp was passed…
Song: Hooves, “Freaker’s Ball” (Dr. Hook cover)Context: Here’s a new track from Hooves — a cover of a Dr. Hook song. Sort of a weird little song but it works very well. By the way, Hooves are engaged in an epic death match with fivespeed (“We’re not trying to lose to…
The interwebs is exploding today with news we’ve known for awhile: Frankie Muniz and his girlfriend Elycia Marie, are totally unstable.Phoenix New Times readers been privy to this information for almost a year (the whole sordid tale of Elycia and Frankie’s Twitter-based vendetta against me is here). But today, TMZ, Perez and…
