It never hurts to have friends in high places — just ask The Thermals. The Portland, Oregon-based band got a career boost when Death Cab for Cutie lead singer Ben Gibbard got hold of their self-produced debut album, More Parts Per Million, and subsequently passed it along to Sub Pop…
Since Nickelback-bashing has become almost as clichéd as the band’s music, I decided to take a different approach. I registered at the band’s official message board, nickelbackforum.com, and asked some of Nickelback’s biggest fans why, exactly, they like Nickelback. Here are some of the replies: Russell, board moderator: “By incorporating…
New Orleans will always be best known for the annual debauchery of Mardi Gras, but underneath its “party hardy” façade lurks one of the country’s most vibrant metal scenes. Long before Hurricane Katrina laid waste to huge portions of the city and gave New Orleanians a reason to be seriously…
Since Nickelback-bashing has become almost as clichéd as the band’s music, I decided to take a different approach. I registered at the band’s official message board, nickelbackforum.com, and asked some of Nickelback’s biggest fans why, exactly, they like Nickelback. Here are some of the replies: Russell, board moderator: “By incorporating…
Writing about bands you like is easy. Writing about bands you hate is also easy and occasionally enjoyable, especially if it’s a band that everyone else seems to love. By contrast, coming up with 200 meaningful words about a band that no one cares about (including, apparently, the band itself)…
With Ozzfest on hiatus this year as Ozzy Osbourne works on a new studio album, the summer festival circuit seemed ripe for a new entry in the heavy metal market. Unfortunately, the few festivals that have attempted to fill the void haven’t given fans much to get excited about. Last…
At first glance, a bill featuring Def Leppard and Poison seems a natural fit. After all, they’re two of the most successful bands of the 1980s and, no doubt, they probably share a significant number of fans, which should bode well for this tour. But upon closer examination, Def Leppard…
Max Cavalera is the Roger Waters of heavy metal. Both men spent the early part of their careers fronting hugely influential and innovative bands (Sepultura and Pink Floyd), then left to pursue solo careers that have been inconsistent and, at times, self-indulgent. Meanwhile, their original bands have dutifully continued on,…
This is typically where you’d find a diatribe against Hellogoodbye and their bland, unoriginal electro-rock sound. True, the band sounds like an unlikely (and unwanted) collaboration between Blink-182 and T-Pain. True, there are certainly bands that do the whole dance-rock thing to much greater effect (Under the Influence of Giants,…
This is typically where you’d find a diatribe against Hellogoodbye and their bland, unoriginal electro-rock sound. True, the band sounds like an unlikely (and unwanted) collaboration between Blink-182 and T-Pain. True, there are certainly bands that do the whole dance-rock thing to much greater effect (Under the Influence of Giants,…
When we last checked in with former Valley mainstays Lymbyc Systym in early 2007, siblings Mike and Jared Bell were getting ready to release their first full-length album, Love Your Abuser, on Mush Records. In the 21/2 years since, the duo has released a remix version of that same album,…
How many teenage girls would be willing to read their diaries aloud to a roomful of strangers? Okay, so Phoenix singer-songwriter Courtney Marie Andrews doesn’t literally read passages from her diary to audiences around the Valley. But the heartfelt — and occasionally uncomfortable — honesty in Andrews’ lyrics is something…
The cover of Asher Roth’s latest album, Asleep in the Bread Aisle, employs all the subtlety of a sledgehammer in its portrayal of the rapper passed out on a grocery store shelf surrounded by white bread. The cover is a presumably self-deprecating statement about Roth’s status as the latest suburban,”white-bread”…
If this year’s Rockstar Mayhem Festival inspires a sense of déjà vu, it could be due to the fact that Slayer and Marilyn Manson already did the co-headlining summer tour thing just two years ago. It could also be because Rockstar seems to slap its corporate logo on so many…
Over the past decade or so, Clutch have become the musical equivalent of comfort food. The recipe may vary slightly from album to album, but, for the most part, you know exactly what you’re going to get: crunchy, Southern-fried riffs from guitarist Tim Sult complemented by a thick, hearty groove…
If this year’s Rockstar Mayhem Festival inspires a sense of déjà vu, it could be due to the fact that Slayer and Marilyn Manson already did the co-headlining summer tour thing just two years ago. It could also be because Rockstar seems to slap its corporate logo on so many…
As a musician working the local club scene, Russ Covner has tasted his fair share of failure. So, when it looked as if his 48th birthday gig was about to be canceled, he was disappointed but not shocked. The story: His band, Bitter Allegiance, had been booked for a show…
Emperors of Japan weren’t the first band to give away their music for free on the Internet, but they were definitely ahead of the curve when they released Your Freak Majesty as a free download on emperorsofjapan.com in 2006, long before big-name bands like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails followed…
With Australian singer-songwriter, one-man band and noted didgeridoo enthusiast Xavier Rudd stopping in town this week, we thought this would be a great excuse to compile a Top 10 list of our favorite Australian musical imports. (It was also a great excuse to use the term “didgeridoo enthusiast.”) 10. (tie)…
With Australian singer-songwriter, one-man band and noted didgeridoo enthusiast Xavier Rudd stopping in town this week, we thought this would be a great excuse to compile a Top 10 list of our favorite Australian musical imports. (It was also a great excuse to use the term “didgeridoo enthusiast.”) 10. (tie)…
It’s a mild Friday evening in May, and the patio at Pure Sushi in downtown Scottsdale is packed with patrons in business casual, sipping sake and discussing everything from the economy to fashion. Sonny Long is standing inside the restaurant, looking out at the plush, white leather couches through the…
You might not think that Tempe “humorcore” band Psychostick and Jill Sobule (a.k.a. that chick who sings the other “I Kissed a Girl” song) have much in common, but it turns out they both have some seriously loyal fans. Last year, with the country mired in a recession, Psychostick and…
