On their Twitter page, local rock band Gospel Claws describes their music as “grainy and rough yet still deeply soulful.” That’s a pretty fitting description; the songs on Gospel Claws’ 2010 debut LP, C-L-A-W-S, embody this aesthetic, as songs like “Summer Nights Lakeside” and “Walk Me Down” juxtapose dreamy melodies…
At first glance, the dark green leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa tree look no more remarkable than mint leaves. They’re large (up to seven inches long and four inches wide), somewhat oval in shape, and smooth to the touch. The trees are indigenous to Southeast Asia, and their leaves, known…
“If it’s not fun, it’s just not working,” says Ron Scott, the owner of Cactus RC & Hobbies, explaining the point of the remote control and slot car races that take place at his shop every weekend. This past Sunday, dozens of racing enthusiasts made their weekly voyage to his…
Night Ranger, Foreigner, and JourneySunday, July 24Ashley Furniture HomeStore PavilionIn all my years attending concerts at this pavilion (under its myriad names), I’ve never seen traffic like what we waded through before the Foreigner/Journey concert. Cars were still backed up and blocking the intersection at 83rd Avenue and McDowell an…
If the average Phoenician decided to build a home/compound out of surrounding desert materials, we’d probably be surrounded by primitive mud huts.But in the head and hands of renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the concept of using natural materials to build yields breathtaking structures like those at Taliesin West, Wright’s…
The silly string will fly at the Rogue Bar this summer. Valley electro-pop band Peachcake, known for their interactive shows featuring silly string, stuffed animals, and crazy costumes, will be holding down a residency at the Rogue Bar every Saturday in August.And the lineups look killer. Peachcake will be joined…
Domestic partners Niki and Esther have a lot in common, and over the course of their three year-plus relationship, they’ve adjusted to their differences. Niki likes quiet nights at home; Esther likes explosions and introduced Niki to sci-fi and comic books. But while Esther loves superhero stuff, Niki can’t get…
Local independent radio station KWSS 106.7 FM, which went off-air this week, will hopefully be back on terrestrial radio in “optimistically, five to eight days,” according to station manager Frank Magarelli. Magarelli says the station has voluntarily gone off-air while seeking to move to another frequency. “We were working on…
If time travel ever becomes a reality (and then, inevitably, an industry), wouldn’t it be fun to go back to see our favorite classic bands at various points? The Beatles on their first U.S. tour in 1964, Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock in 1969, Guns N’ Roses on their pre-breakout 1987-88…
If art imitates life, then Phoenix-based painter Rachel Bess is living in a world full of stunningly corporeal ghosts. Her oil paintings on panel juxtapose surreal backgrounds with portraits so realistic they look like photos of real people frozen in fantastical moments.It’s no wonder, then, that the acclaimed Lisa Sette Gallery…
As we reported yesterday, local independent radio station KWSS 106.7 FM has gone off air, but the station’s still streaming online at kwss.org. Representatives of the station are not making any “official” comments at this time as to why they’re presently not on terrestrial radio, but are expected to go…
They Might Be Giants’ new album, Join Us, comes out today. If you’ve only been following TMBG for the past four or five years, you might be under the impression that this Brooklyn-based band is a children’s music group. That would be understandable, considering Join Us is the first TMBG…
Local independent radio station KWSS 106.7 FM went off the air today.The station, which we profiled in a cover story this spring, is still streaming online at kwss.org and will continue hosting its popular The Morning Infidelity show from 6 to 10 a.m. MST on the Internet.We called representatives from KWSS…
Megadeth, Godsmack, and Disturbed at Rockstar Mayhem Festival Friday, July 15, 2011 The Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion”You guys are fucking amazing, Phoenix!”This was the first thing I heard as I approached the Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion for the Rockstar Mayhem Festival. The compliment, enthusiastically hollered from the stage by Machine Head singer…
As temperatures continue to rocket upwards of triple digits here in the Valley, the idea of going to an all-day concert at an outdoor venue sounds like an adventure in masochism. Today, the Rockstar Mayhem Festival (featuring Disturbed, Godsmack, Megadeth, Machine Head, In Flames, and more) is going on at…
120 Minutes, the MTV show that broke countless alternative bands from 1986 to 2000, is coming back, this time on MTV2 — and it will be hosted by the show’s original veejay, music geek extraordinaire Matt Pinfield. Pinfield has been one of the most influential and enthusiastic figures in alternative…
Despite some media reports to the contrary, DMX did not “smuggle drugs” into prison, according to both a representative for DMX and a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Corrections. Though the public inmate record for DMX (real name: Earl Simmons) shows a disciplinary infraction on June 30 for failing…
Blink-182 fans have been anticipating the band’s new single, “Up All Night,”for a long time. Fake leaks of the song date back to at least 2007. When Blink bassist and singer Mark Hoppus told MTV News two years ago they wouldn’t be playing the song on their reunion tour, the…
Anyone who was a fan of Phoenix hardcore skate punk legends JFA (Jodie Foster’s Army) — or first wave Phoenix punk, in general — should be excited to see Father Figures play with Asses of Evil this week. It’s not exactly a JFA reunion, but close enough, with half of…
When a reverend has an epiphany, it’s usually important. And when a music fan has an epiphany that turns them into a rockin’ “reverend,” it’s even more vital. Legend has it that in the early ’80s, a young Texan named Jim Heath went to see The Cramps play in Dallas…
In March, Conspire coffee shop closed down, got a face lift, and then re-opened as a downtown art gallery and vegan cafe. There have been growing pains, for sure — the cafe still doesn’t have regular, set hours (don’t expect to ever find the door open before noon), there have…
On Monday night, singer Jewel and her husband, Ty Murray, had their first child, a boy they named Kase Townes Murray. And while “Kase Townes” isn’t that bizarre of a name, it’s not as traditional as say, Jason or John or Steven.But what do musicians and rock stars care about…
