Arizonans love to share holidays with Mexico. Or maybe they just love to party. For years, Cinco de Mayo has been a Valley beer blowout, as residents chug cheap Coronas in celebration of . . . what? You probably think Cinco de Mayo is Mexico’s Independence Day, but it’s not…
Sandra Conaty Brace was an active woman. She mastered the 55-word short story, had several published, cared for her 25 cats, and worked as an administrative assistant for Risk Insurance Solutions. On September 10, 2001, Brace took the day off to do chores and watch Judge Judy. When her husband…
Sam Rosenthal brings a new meaning to the term “dark arts.” Since he founded the goth collective Black Tape for a Blue Girl 18 years ago, Rosenthal has experimented with a variety of musicians and sounds, from the ethereal (flutes and female vocalists) to the eclectic (edgy electronics and baritone…
What comes to mind when you think of Salt Lake City, Utah? Luxurious homes, looming Mormon tabernacles, men with multiple wives and a dozen little kids, all laughing and running across manicured green lawns toward their SUVs? The Salt Lake City stigma may stick to uncomfortable places, but take a…
Fri 8/20 What if Spider-Man 2 or The Bourne Supremacy had skipped out on Phoenix movie theaters? Madness would take to the streets. Yet fans cope as independent films regularly bypass silver screens around the Valley. Beginning Friday, August 20, one of six indie flicks will premi’re each week exclusively…
8/12-8/31 Jen and Scott Sanders, owners of the Paper Heart, 750 Grand Avenue, pride themselves on providing something for everyone. So any pop-cultural pimp worth his or her weight in Hot Topic gear will find something of interest at the joint, be it Argentinean tango lessons or alt-rock shows. Similar…
One day back in 1969, Winston Rodney was walking through the hills of St. Ann’s, Jamaica, when he ran into Bob Marley, who was on his way to his farm with a donkey, some buckets, and some plants. Rodney told Marley he wanted to get involved in the music business,…
ONGOING For children, tubing the Salt River is a learning experience. We learned that saguaros are native only to this part of the world, that the bald eagle is an endangered species in the Sonoran Desert and, most important, to keep our butts from sinking all the way down in…
If you’re going to the Phoenix school of punk rock, what better teacher to have than Jeff Dahl? Local trio Labor Party thanks the former Angry Samoan for his “support and expertise” in the liner notes of its new CD, Graffiti and Glass, a raucous nod to the psychedelic pre-punk…
Dinah Cancer wants you to know that she is not goth. Goth connotes mopery, and as a wicked woman of the night, Cancer does not mope — she prowls. “I do carry a fondness for dead things,” Cancer writes on her Web site. “I’d always worn and had a very…
7/30-8/1 Don’t hate the players — hate the game. Back in the day, all we needed was Mountain Dew, a few Snickers bars, Super Nintendo, and for our parents to leave us undisturbed for 72 hours. Nowadays, we need a full-blown gaming conference. And for what? So we can puss…
Accidental supergroups make great rock ‘n’ roll. Take, for example, the Burden Brothers, whose founding members — vocalist/guitarist Vaden Todd Lewis (ex-Toadies) and drummer Taz Bentley (ex-Reverend Horton Heat) — got together to jam on some songs Bentley had written. The two liked the songs so much that they posted…
Ani DiFranco sent me a Christmas card back in 1996, along with a note listing her New Year’s resolutions: “Do more,” “Be more,” “Give more” and “Sleep at night.” She’s certainly done, been and given more in the past eight years, but I doubt she’s been sleeping at night. A…
When your logo is a pentagram with a pot leaf in the center, and your vocalist is “God of metal” Phil Anselmo (Pantera), you’ve got all the symbolism needed to pull off a skin-peeling speed-metal record. And that’s exactly what Superjoint Ritual did, creating 13 blistering tracks and christening them…
It’s hard to avoid words like “somber” and “melancholy” when describing the Velvet Teen’s music. The band brought in a string quartet for its latest album, Elysium, and the symphonic swelling behind singer Judah Nagler’s winsome falsetto makes the band sound rather like the bastard child of Pachelbel and Jeff…
For someone who’s considered one of the forefathers of hardcore hip-hop, KRS-One sure gets into a lot of scuffles with his progeny. While many artists readily admit the influence KRS-One had on their music (Sublime even gave props to the rapper with its song “KRS-One”), other artists such as Nelly…
Thu 7/16 Author Erika Lopez is growing out her grassroots. After writing four books for Simon & Schuster (with saucy titles such as Lap Dancing for Mommy and Hoochie Mama: The Other White Meat), the self-described “half Puerto Rican Quaker bisexual” gave S&S the finger, choosing to self-publish and tour…
THE NIGHT: Saturdays at Dwntwn Club THE DJS: Luis & Cesar 3ro THE SCENE: Minority rules at this upscale club. Before 1 a.m., most of the 300-plus people here are Latinos in baggy jeans and designer dress shirts, with dates in shrinking mini-skirts or tight dresses. The air is heavy…
7/09-8/01 For weeks, Gerry Cullity has been surrounded by whores — yes, whores, good golly! “And isn’t that a little bit like heaven?” says Cullity, director of Desert Stages Theatre’s mainstage production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, which opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 9, at 4720 North…
Looking for some raw, underground sounds? Scrape the polish off the wax — the Tempe-bred Drunken Immortals take an organic approach to hip-hop, crafting inventive, socially conscious songs layered with live instrumentation and lyrical insights. The eight members of Drunken Immortals — Brad B, Tony Love, Professional, Crow, Mic Cause,…
7/2-8/6 Since we were mere babes, we’ve tentatively unwrapped each chocolate bar, hoping that famed golden ticket was inside. Alas, we’ve been left only with empty pockets and stern lectures from our dentist. Regardless, we’ll enjoy reliving our cavity-filled childhood at the production of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,…
THE NIGHT: Fridays at E-Lounge THE DJ: Domenica THE SCENE: A diverse coterie of same-sex couples (male and female, and the occasional straight couple) busts shameless moves on the dance floor. Narcissists watch themselves in the giant mirror that covers one wall, while exhibitionists gyrate on the platform. By midnight,…
