As already revealed by Martin Cizmar, this weekend holds a bevy of entertainment for the Valley. Tempe has it’s annual Music Fest and Florence will cast some Country Thunder down upon the masses. If neither of those spark your fancy and you want a fun (and cheap) way to enjoy…
Respecting a band for being out there and doing its thing in front of strangers night after night is something we take for granted in this evolving music culture. We (myself included) are too quick to judge a band after hearing only one or two songs. We dismiss it as…
It’s perfectly normal to admit you enjoy a small dose of the Grateful Dead. One need not be a hippie or a ponytail enthusiast in his 60s to enjoy the Dead, as the popular — and painfully accurate — stereotype dictates. For example, I enjoy putting on American Beauty and…
This weekend holds a bevy of entertainment for the Valley. Tempe has its annual Music Fest and Florence will cast some Country Thunder down upon the masses. If neither of those spark your fancy and you want a fun (and cheap) way to enjoy the weekend weather while hearing some…
It’s perfectly normal to admit you enjoy a small dose of the Grateful Dead. One need not be a hippie or a ponytail enthusiast in his 60s to enjoy the Dead, as the popular — and painfully accurate — stereotype dictates. For example, I enjoy putting on American Beauty and…
The fine folks over at amazon.com decided that the time was ripe to assemble a list of the best indie rock albums of all time. Indie rock is a genre either really easy to define or kind of confusing to define, but that sentiment did not hold back amazon.com as…
Berkeley punk rockers Green Day will adapt their multi-platinum, Grammy-winning, catnip-for-angst-ridden tweens album American Idiot to the stage, just in time to open Berkeley Repertoire’s 2009/10 season. The musical will be the first for the vaunted Berkeley Rep’s new, swanky Roda Theatre, a fitting choice for Green Day, some of…
Fleet Foxes? Check. TV on the Radio? Check. Parisian rockers Phoenix join the ranks as the next hip, trendy band to grace SNL’s music stage this season. Their next album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, isn’t due out until May 26th, but the band still managed to swing a spot on the…
Being adopted by and revered in a city where you’ve lived for the greater part of a decade isn’t impressive. When that city happens to be New Orleans and you are a white soul, blues, and R&B singer from San Francisco, the feat becomes legendary. Such is life for Eric…
Metal, like any popular genre of music, is one that spreads itself over many different styles. Everyone and their mother is fully aware of the hair-metal craze that swept across the Sunset Strip in the early 1980s, sparked by Quiet Riot’s breakthrough success. Bands like Slayer, Metallica, Anthrax, and Megadeth…
Metal, like any popular genre of music, is one that spreads itself over many different styles. Everyone and their mother is fully aware of the hair-metal craze that swept across the Sunset Strip in the early 1980s, sparked by Quiet Riot’s breakthrough success. Bands like Slayer, Metallica, Anthrax, and Megadeth…
For an unprecedented third time since its December launch, the Metro Light Rail will be extending its hours to accommodate those patrons of the Tempe Music Festival (April 3rd & 4th) hoping to catch either night’s later sets. The Tempe Music Fest now joins New Year’s Eve and the NBA…
Those wily whippersnappers over at Pitchfork have dubbed yet another indie buzz band with their “artist to watch” label. This time around it is Staten Island rockers Cymbals Eat Guitars, masters of the ancient, time-honored tradition known as the art of “using a sentence as our band name.” All sarcasm…
There’s a bunch going on this week, and by a bunch I mean SXSW. It is hard to compete with that wonderful festival right now, so I will let our coverage — handled dutifully by our own ambassador of the funk Martin Cizmar — of the events take precedence over…
What is there not to like about Paul Wall? First of all, his name is an absolute blast to say — especially in his trademark Houston drawl. He always rocks his beloved grills, allowing the world to see that he has both fine taste in mouth jewelry and a big…
What is there not to like about Paul Wall? First of all, his name is an absolute blast to say – especially in his trademark Houston drawl. He always rocks his beloved grills, allowing the world to see that he has both fine taste in mouth jewelry and a big…
It’s a stark contrast in weather while talking to Steve McGraw, guitarist for Gilbert indie-rock act Lydia. From New York City, where McGraw is enjoying the tail end of a lovely little storm that dumped snow all across the Northeast, he gets to hear all about another mild, sunny March…
Former Polyphonic Spree member Annie Clark, better known to the world as St. Vincent, will be bringing her fantastic brand of dark, melodic indie pop to the Valley this May. The former member of Sufjan Stevens’ band will release her new album, Actor, on May 5 as a follow-up to 2007’s remarkable…
Former Poison frontman — and the pride of Mechanicsburg, PA — Bret Michaels is set to release a tell-all book this June. You heard correct, folks: Christmas is coming early this year. Roses and Thorns: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy to My Reality will prove to set itself apart from…
For those of you who may not know, this coming Tuesday is St. Patrick’s Day – a day to revel in the sheer glory of Ireland and all that Irish culture has bestowed upon us. As I have also been told, St. Patrick’s Day is an excuse to get shitfaced…
On St. Patrick’s Day everyone is Irish, and everyone’s liver gets a workout. Music is, of course, a big part of the fun. Who doesn’t love day drinking while listening to the likes of Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly, bands whose style of music is the perfect complement to pitchers…
Trying to pull off a cello in today’s indie/alternative rock scene is tricky. On one hand, a cello can set a band apart from a mass of whiny, boring acts, and having an accomplished cellist adds a touch of class that bearded, flannel-loving four-piece bands from the Pacific Northwest will…
