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…
Starting today, you can bid on historic music memorabilia, like the strap from the guitar Jimi Hendrix burned on stage at the Monterrey Pop Festival in 1967 and a glove Michael Jackson wore at a 1997 concert in London — provided you’ve got some serious moolah.The minimum bid for Hendrix’s…
Embattled rapper Earl Simmons, better known as DMX, was supposed to be released from Arizona State Prison (where he’s been incarcerated on charges of probation violation since last December) today.But that’s not going to happen. As we detailed in our exclusive feature story last year, Simmons has long struggled with…
As we reported yesterday, Mic Todd, the bass player for metal band Coheed and Cambria, was arrested on Sunday at a venue in Massachusetts where the band was scheduled to play. Todd’s alleged crime? He reportedly walked into a Walgreens, claimed he had a bomb, and demanded six bottles of…
How much does it cost to book GZA from Wu-Tang Clan? Or Lil Jon? Or Nicki Minaj?Cahleb Branch knows, because his company, Valley-based Money Power Respect Entertainment, books international shows for them, among a slew of other well-known hip-hop artists. But beyond that, the five year-old company’s established an innovative,…
Incubus fans expecting the band’s popular brand of guitar rock are in for a shock with the group’s seventh album, If Not Now, When?, released today. Listening to all twelve of the slow, concise power ballads here, one might even start to think they were listening to a Coldplay album.Well,…
Reggae may be synonymous with island music, but it’s also got a rich history right here in the deserts of Arizona. As we reported a couple years ago in our cover story on Hopi reggae artist Casper Lomayesva, reggae acts from all over the world played reservations in Arizona throughout…
According to its own polished hype, the aptly named Hype Music is “a remarkable talent-incubating, hybrid, music licensing company fueled by some of the world’s hottest, emerging, independent artists.” But Hype may just live up to its name. The company’s a partnership between music industry powerhouses MTV Networks and Extreme Music, and…
Being a musician usually entails playing an instrument, but there are downsides to having a drum set or a six-string, especially when lugging one’s own equipment on tour.But there are a handful of musicians whose instruments are always with them. They are called vocal instrumentalists, and they use their voices…
When it comes to crooners, they don’t get any cooler than Frank Sinatra. Over the course of his 60-year career, “Old Blue Eyes” won a dozen Grammy Awards, three Academy Awards, and recorded 297 singles, including hits like “Theme from New York, New York,” “My Way,” and “Strangers in the…
Usually, the party is at the bar, but at The Dirty Dogg Saloon in Scottsdale, the party’s on the bar — especially on “Wild & Wet Wednesday,” when the club holds its weekly wet T-shirt contests. When we walked in around 11:30 last night, two tanned, athletic women in tight,…
Sometimes, metal bands sound like teenagers screaming over a wall of doomy, spiraling guitar chords. Sometimes, metal bands sound like a demon orgy in a thunderstorm. And occasionally, a good metal band sounds like both. One of the things that make Phoenix band Sicmonic notable is musical diversity. The quintet’s…
Being in a touring rock band is challenging enough without internal conflicts, but when two members of the group are separating/divorcing each other, there are only two paths to take: 1) the Fleetwood Mac route, in which all the trauma is poured into an album for the whole world to…
Today, Universal Music Enterprises will re-release a handful of albums by the late Tupac Shakur, including the posthumous album R U still Down? (Remember Me). Originally released in 1997 (a year after Shakur’s murder), R U Still Down? was one of the rapper’s best-selling albums, going quadruple platinum in the…
The upbeat melodic pop songs of singer/songwriter Maren Parusel can turn someone with even the surliest reputation into a purveyor of positive vibes. Case in point: Pall Jenkins from Black Heart Procession, a band known for creating deep, dark, introspective songs. Jenkins produced Parusel’s debut album, Artificial Gardens, and when…
Some bands call themselves “eclectic” because they merge metal and hip-hop or include a xylophone in some songs, but Swedish band Teddybears’ music is the epitome of the word. Listening to the band’s sixth album, Devil’s Music (released in the states on Big Beat/Atlantic today), it’s impossible to pigeonhole the…
Music writer Jane Scott, who covered just about every music legend you can think of during her 50-year tenure at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, died early Monday morning at age 92.As a female music journalist, Scott was a pioneer. She was the only woman reporter at a Cleveland news…
Did someone say $1 Pabst Blue Ribbons? And a “punk rock DJ night”? We are so there. This Tuesday, July 5, local punk purveyor Tim Neilson (better known by his DJ handle, Johnny Volume ), continues hosting his bi-weekly Delinquency event at the Yucca Tap Room in Tempe. In addition…
REVIEW BY MELISSA FOSSUM AND DANIEL RAVEN New Kids On the Block and Backstreet Boys have grown up a bit since their heydays on MTV and the music charts, and so have their fans. But that hasn’t stopped the bands from cashing in on nostalgia, or people from buying tickets for…
The CosmeticatorsThe Trunk Space Thursday, June 30, 2011After the loud ‘n’ proud punk rock show at Trunk Space last night, I’m starting to think there’s a new trend of garage rockers writing songs about their pets. As we mentioned in this week’s music feature on Phoenix trio The Cosmeticators, the band has songs…
