“Esoteric” is the first word that comes to mind when describing Josh Tillman, the mystic muse behind Father John Misty. Inspiration for the band’s 2012 album, Fear Fun, struck via psychedelic lightning bolt, giving Tillman the courage to be (as clichéd as it sounds) himself. That meant embracing both the…
“Esoteric” is the first word that comes to mind when describing Josh Tillman, the mystic muse behind Father John Misty. Inspiration for his 2012 album, Fear Fun, struck via a psychedelic lightning bolt, giving Tillman the courage to be (as clichéd as it sounds) himself. That meant embracing both his…
As the leader of his own home-based ministry, Paisley Yankolovich is a mentor to the oppressed, the freaks, the weirdos and even quite a few normal people, never missing an opportunity to tell someone they’re loved for who they are. But Paisley is also an accomplished singer, his records a…
The band’s been around for only something like eight months, but already it’s been banned from Last Exit, kicked out of Pub Rock, and even 86’ed from a Laundromat. The bassist recently quit and now the group’s canceled all its upcoming gigs to focus on a new album, new videos,…
It’s been 18 months since the 2012 Super Bowl and now we’re talking about M.I.A’s middle finger again. Turns out, even though NBC and the FCC didn’t file charges against the English-Sri Lankan songwriter for flipping the bird and mouthing “I don’t give a shit,” the NFL has been in…
The band’s been around for only something like eight months, but already it’s been banned from Last Exit, kicked out of Pub Rock, and even 86’ed from a Laundromat. The bassist recently quit and now the group’s canceled all its upcoming gigs to focus on a new album, new videos,…
OK, so I don’t know much about The Zombies. Like, at all. For years, I thought their number one sizzling summer hit “Time of the Season” was actually Marvin Gaye. Give me a pass on that one, the English rock band were clearly trying to crimp his style far more…
Master of the mindmelt, Tobacco is probably best known as the enigmatic frontman of Black Moth Super Rainbow, penning the vocoder-drizzled psychedelia of a digital generation that misses Super Nintendo and VHS tapes. While BMSR is often the kind of tuning you’d slap on as you peaked on a mushroom…
I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure Charles M. Schulz didn’t listen to much of The Smiths. If he had, I wonder if he would have found as many parallels between Charlie Brown’s deep-seated melancholy and Morrissey’s painful, angst-ridden lyrics as the proprietor of the This Charming Charlie Tumblr has…
Emby Alexander have had a pretty busy year. They released a self-titled EP in March, let Mandi Kimes (their backup vocalist) go, unveiled two music videos this summer, and joined the roster of Bigo & Twigetti, a label in the UK. Their first single through the record company, “Dressed Undressing,”…
As much as I embrace the label in a jaded attempt to disarm its pathetic sting, “hipster” doesn’t really describe me. I listen to hundreds of musicians, scattered from every genre you can name (except ska, because fuck ska), but I never choose to like a band because they’re obscure…
So this one time, my brother left a large tube of salami under our bunk bed — because he likes to hoard food — and totally forgot about it for three weeks, until it started to smell so bad that we almost called the paramedics. We looked down there and…
So this one time, my brother left a large tube of salami under our bunk bed — because he likes to hoard food — and totally forgot about it for three weeks, until it started to smell so bad that we almost called the paramedics. We looked down there and…
An inordinate passion for pleasure is the secret of remaining young, or so sayeth Oscar Wilde. His eccentric wit is a perfect fit for L.A.’s Kitten, fronted by the just barely legal Chloe Chaidez, who co-founded the band when she was just 15. By now, she’s likely tired of hearing…
An inordinate passion for pleasure is the secret of remaining young, or so sayeth Oscar Wilde. His eccentric wit is a perfect fit for L.A.’s Kitten, fronted by the just-barely legal Chloe Chaidez, who co-founded the band when she was just 15. By now, she’s likely tired of hearing how…
Remember in high school when mom pawned all your old video games ‘cuz you never played them anymore? Then, as soon as you got to college and first felt homesick, you ended up buying a used SNES and had to start your cartridge collection from scratch? Thanks a lot, mom…
It’s almost like a local indie supergroup! No Volcano features Colorstore guitarist Jeremy Randall, bassist Jake Sevier of Letdownright and Kingfathand, and drummer Chris Kennedy and vocalist/lead guitarist Jim Andreas of the mid-’90s outfit Trunk Federation. And perhaps you’ll recall Trunk Federation’s mirrored head that would spin like a disco…
Phoenix doesn’t just boast talented music makers, we also got this cool seraglio of directors. And when you combine the two, you get the kind of music vid that’s worthy of all your indie cred. Cash it in right here with three kickass, locally produced music videos. Bogan Via -…
DRIVE-THRU by Katie Johnson “Welcome to McDonald’s. May I take your order?” I’m 7 years old and I’m kneeling behind a low wooden chest in my parent’s cookie-cutter home in Ahwatukee. My stepfather, Jim, is on the floor with me. Hunched over in wilted work clothes, he studies a nonexistent…
If you can’t stand the heat — get in the kitchen. On Thursday, June 13, at 6 p.m. at the Lounge at Crescent Ballroom, Chow Bella writers are warming up for summer with “Fried,” an evening of true stories. Admission is free; food and drink will be available for sale…
Didn’t think apocalyptic chic could translate into an existential-blend blink-182? Think again. The Thermals swirl your Interpol with Ted Leo before throwing in a dash of humor to balance out the depressing despair of existence in the shadow of nuclear bombs, drone strikes, and rising sea levels. But if your…
Hello. You are reading a music-themed weblog. Sometimes this music-themed weblog (known as “Up on the Sun”) features words that describe music events the night before. Show reviews are a kind of “cool” history, but to some people, they’re boring, pretentious outlets for the Millennial Generation’s worst epidemic: Fear of…
