View image | gettyimages.com Inspiration for music can come from a variety of different sources and the laundry list of books and short stories that have influenced rock bands could fill, well, a library. But while “For Whom The Bell Tolls” by Metallica, “Ramble On” by Led Zeppelin, and “Frankenstein”…
Post-punk strung through an art-rock meat grinder, Viet Cong is the resuscitated project from two members (vocalist/bassist Matt Flegel and drummer Mike Wallace) of the heavily eulogized noise-rock band Women. Transitioning has been less than smooth for VC, however — there was a rather infamous onstage fight between Flegel and…
Jason Kron, the one-man beat virtuoso behind Hug of War, not only dresses like a mad scientist, he’s about as ambitious as a benevolent Dr. Strangelove. “I’m putting all of my creative energy into making music that will unite the world and usher in a new era of enlightenment,” Kron…
They started with just an old school bus that ran on vegetable oil, but in three short years, the Epic Proportions Tour slowly has approached the hyperbolic standards of the name. Co-managed by Peter Sotos and Gabe Kubanda, Epic is a local venture that books self-sustaining tours across the country,…
Gravity gave Greta Morgan a gift and a broken fibula. Working as a skilled tightrope tripper, fatigue set in from constant touring in the circus and she fell three stories. Recovering in the wake of her broken dreams, she taught herself piano and created Springtime Carnivore. “I’ve been playing ever…
Piss-flavored beer. Dank nugs. Loud as fuck guitars. It’s just another day in the life of Wolvves, one of the grungiest, venomous garage rockers gracing Phoenix these days. A calculated, even mix of aggressive punk and noise pop (with some rapping thrown in for good measure) Wolvves continue to earn…
The name isn’t blasphemous, at least not intentionally. In fact, Zola Jesus (sometimes known as Nika Roza Danilova) combined French writer Émile Zola with our Lord and Savior’s name to alienate her peers, not to piss off the pious. But it seems now Zola has more friends than she could…
Blood is thicker than water, but for the Avett Brothers, music is thicker than blood. It’s not just a moniker — Scott and Seth Avett really are related, and they’ve been playing together since they were kids. But 2000 was the year they started releasing their signature blend of fervent…
You might say Sidney DeLorean has an obsessive personality. Part of that obsession just happens to be dicks. And standup comic Marc Maron. And neon pink hair. And dicks. Lots of dicks. What size dicks, you ask? Why, “Average Dicks,” of course, as DeLorean, a local rapper (who once was…
Don’t call Sunset Voodoo a reggae band. Not that its members have anything against rocksteady rhythms. It’s just that the Tempe trio, who identifies as straightforward rock mixed with psychedelia, just isn’t sure how it got the label in the first place. Lucas Roth (bass, backup vocals) says he can’t…
All evidence indicates that the hacker group calling themselves the Cyber Caliphate are amateurs. Their takedown of the U.S. military’s Central Command’s Twitter and YouTube accounts on Monday, followed by threats, leaked documents, only seemed to prove that the “jihadists” in question don’t even know their own name. Oh, but…
There is no better venue for eclectic taste than Trunk Space, but Saturday night’s 10 Years of Gilgongo Records show was extremely motley, even by their standards. This is all due to the refined, diverse tastes of James Fella, who runs the label out of his home. It’s almost hard…
Remember that TV show American Idol, where people dissolve musical talent into a cutthroat Twitter tournament? Jordin Sparks (and Pepperidge Farms) remembers. The 24-year old Glendale singer took home the gold in 2007, and she’s kept busy ever since. Most recently, Sparks signed to a new label and released a…
These days, punk and even so-called alternative music seems to be cut-and-dried. But it doesn’t have to be that way — just ask JJCnV, the Mesa trio who has been releasing some of the strangest tunes in the Valley for nearly a decade. Their crass sense of humor has spanned…
Formed in 2010 following the dissolution of electro-dance band The Analog Society, The Echo Bombs aimed for a more lo-fi approach, a la Best Coast. Now they’re switching gears again with their first full-length, King of Uncool. It’s more primal and creepy as fuck, with sludgy garage-rock riffs that typify…
“We will be the hand on the chainsaw of rebirth that will tear down the rotting tree of the art world, and plant our seeds in the desert of Tempe … join us.” So begins the manifesto (yet to be written) of Girlfriend Gallery, a venue in the Valley that…
It’s clear that El-P and Killer Mike, the explosive rap duo that make up Run The Jewels, give a shit about their fans. You need look no further than how they handled the funding for Meow The Jewels, the tongue-in-cheek proposal to remix Run The Jewels 2 with nothing but…
Wait a second, you might say — Phoenix has a Jewish funk band? It’s true. As the name implies, Jerusafunk skillfully blends traditional klezmer with the ass-bopping sensibilities of R&B rhythms, tossing in jazzy twirls here and there. Using instruments such as bass clarinet, saxophone, and trumpet, the band attacks…
With nearly 80 musicians playing, Sidepony Express Music Festival in Bisbee promises to be one wild weekend. From Friday, November 14, to Sunday, November 16, folks from as far as Los Angeles, North Carolina, New Mexico, El Paso, Nashville, and Portland will make it to the southeastern Arizona mining town…
“Pizza is life and life-affirming,” says The Pizza Underground. And who could disagree? By extension, The Velvet Underground could be described similarly. That’s why, with songs like “Pizza Gal” and “Take a Bite of the Wild Slice,” The Pizza Underground is one of the best combinations of things ever. TPU…
Some matches are made in heaven — others, like Run The Jewels, are made in the murky, underwater trenches of underground hip-hop. Named after a verse in LL Cool’s J “Cheesy Rat Blues,” RTJ swerves like a great white shark — sleek as hell, just don’t get caught in those…
Sometimes, no amount of coffee or marijuana can help you from lying around a dingy house instead of being able to write. I wasn’t excited about Yelle. I almost considered not going at all. But I’m glad I forced myself to get out because this show was possibly the best…
