For a genre that never received much attention, even during its heyday, thrash metal is enjoying one of music history’s more unlikely renaissances. In the past few years, a slew of retro-thrash bands has emerged from the underground. With names like Municipal Waste, Toxic Holocaust, and Merciless Death, these bands…
If your first assumption was that Phoenix alt-rockers Mondegreen came up with their name as some sort of quasi-artsy way of saying “green world,” you wouldn’t be alone, but you’d be wrong. Despite its vaguely Frenglish vibe, the word “mondegreen” was actually coined by American writer Sylvia Wright in 1954…
Bruce Springsteen is an icon who’s divided music fans like few other artists have. There’s a sizable faction of fans that worshipfully buys every album, attends every concert, and generally believes that “The Boss” can do no wrong. Nothing written here is going to persuade them not to go to…
Bruce Springsteen is an icon who’s divided music fans like few other artists have. There’s a sizable faction of fans that worshipfully buys every album, attends every concert, and generally believes that “The Boss” can do no wrong. Nothing written here is going to persuade them not to go to…
Rockabilly is a genre known as much for its flamboyant, ’50s-rooted imagery as it is for its music, so the juxtaposition of rockabilly music and an old-fashioned burlesque show seems like such a natural fit that the only surprise is that nobody thought of it sooner. Big John Bates and…
It sounds strange to say, but the idea of a white dude from the Midwest starting a hip-hop label doesn’t even seem that unique anymore. Ever since Atmosphere turned Rhymesayers Entertainment into an emo-rap empire and Insane Clown Posse built Psychopathic Records into a marketing juggernaut that Gene Simmons would…
Rockabilly is a genre known as much for its flamboyant, ‘50s-rooted imagery as it is for its music, so the juxtaposition of rockabilly music and an old-fashioned burlesque show seems like such a natural fit, the only surprise is that nobody thought of it sooner. Big John Bates and the…
The Yucca Tap Room has long been a haven for local bands, but the venue rarely hosts national touring acts (we’re guessing that whole “never a cover” policy might have something to do with it). Thus, it will be a rarity when Los Angeles hardcore punk outfit The Bronx plays…
Over the years, instrumental rock has earned a (mostly deserved) reputation for being self-indulgent, pretentious, and unnecessarily intricate. On their early albums and EPs, Chicago instru-metal quartet Pelican certainly fit that mold, crafting dense, multilayered songs that frequently exceeded the 10-minute mark. But their latest release, 2007’s City of Echoes,…
Perhaps terms like “living legend” get thrown around a little too frequently in the music world, but it’s hard to argue with Etta James’ resume. She’s a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner, a member of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and has a star on the Hollywood Walk…
Over the years, instrumental rock has earned a (mostly deserved) reputation for being self-indulgent, pretentious and unnecessarily intricate. On their early albums and EPs, Chicago instru-metal quartet Pelican certainly fit that mold, crafting dense, multilayered songs that frequently exceeded the 10-minute mark. But their latest release, 2007’s City of Echoes,…
PHOENIX Kinch: The piano has gotten a bad rap lately, thanks mostly to schmaltzy lite-pop bands like Keane and those dueling piano bars that seem to be springing up everywhere. Fortunately, Kinch has come along to give the piano its balls back. The band’s debut, Advances, veered from rollicking, up-tempo…
Valley indie rockers Emperors of Japan have already contributed two excellent albums to the local music canon in the form of 2006’s Your Freak Majesty and last year’s Activator. Based on the lineup for this weekend’s Shizzfest, you may as well add “ace concert promoters” to their list of accomplishments…
Chris Martinez may be the best local rapper you’ve never heard of — but not for much longer. The 22-year-old producer and MC, who records under the name KonGeror (or, more recently, just K.), has called Arizona home since his family moved to the Valley from El Paso, Texas, nearly…
I admit that I have a soft spot in my heart for cheesy ’80s prog metal. If you perused my collection of old cassettes, you’d find all sorts of stuff featuring intricate dual guitar leads and operatic vocals, all performed by dudes with ridiculous poodle hair. Heir Apparent, Crimson Glory,…
At first listen, The Expendables sound like just another ska-punk band from California, a state teeming with such bands. But on closer examination, it becomes clear that this Santa Cruz foursome owes as much to Iron Maiden and Judas Priest as they do to Sublime or No Doubt. Expendables songs…
Chris Martinez may be the best local rapper you’ve never heard of — but not for much longer. The 22-year-old producer and MC, who records under the name KonGeror (or, more recently, just K.), has called Arizona home since his family moved to the Valley from El Paso, Texas, nearly…
Even witnessing it up-close and in person, the transformation is hard to believe. Grace Perry, a naturally pretty, soft-spoken 23-year-old college student and librarian, is about to turn into a monster. On a Thursday night in late January, the five members of Landmine Marathon are rehearsing at their small, unadorned…
It would seem unlikely that indie-rock scensters, art-house film snobs, and video game geeks would converge in the same place at the same time, but those disparate groups will have a common bond Thursday night at the Clubhouse in Tempe. DeVotchKa, a foursome from Denver, started out as a backing…
Say what you will about pop punk and its mostly lamentable impact on the music landscape (hey, it’s at least partially responsible for giving us emo, right?), but you have to respect a band that has stuck around as long as NOFX has. The San Francisco-by-way-of-L.A. punk band was formed…
Prescott has long been a favorite destination for Valley bands hoping to expand their fan base. Over the years, numerous local bands have made the short drive north to entertain central Arizona music fans at Matt’s Saloon, Sundance’s Place, the Bird Cage Saloon and other venerable venues along Prescott’s historic…
In the ’90s, a dead lead singer seemed like a surefire ingredient in the formula for musical immortality. Jeff Buckley garnered way more fans after his 1997 drowning death than he did while alive. Bradley Nowell’s 1996 heroin overdose turned a little-known ska-punk band from Long Beach into an international…
