Readers' Choice: Celebrity Theatre
Readers' Choice: Celebrity Theatre
Readers' Choice: KNIX-FM 102.5
Readers' Choice: Handlebar-J
Readers' Choice: KKFR-FM Power 92
Readers' Choice: Best Buy
Also working in Ticker Tape Parade's favor is the band's uncommon work ethic. The average-guy amalgam of hardworking stiffs have been honing their tight set of hook-laden songs for more than a year. They've stirred up word-of-mouth interest by playing whatever influential West Coast club will have them, or gathering up a few other local hopefuls for self-promoted shows here in the Phoenix area, and reinvesting their door proceeds in the band -- instead of blowing it on personal extravagances like, say, food. The band has even been selling its debut six-song EP, You're Creating a Scene, for little more than cost. "Sure, we have a CD that we think is worth a lot more than four bucks," says Wendt. "But at this stage of the game, it's way better just to get the music out there." Take that, RIAA!
Readers' Choice: Authority Zero
Alex Santamaria, program director and drive-time jock on KAJM, "Arizona's jammin' R&B," effectively bridges that gap by shrewdly peppering the station's boomer-skewed playlist of classic Motown and cruisin' slow jams with songs that reveal the source of current hip-hop's most sampled beats. The kids in the back seat won't hear the Beyoncé/Jay-Z hit "Crazy in Love" on KAJM, but they might hear the 1970 Chi-Lites platter "Are You My Woman," from which Beyoncé's hit lifts its propulsive horn riff. Santamaria, a longtime player in the Valley R&B scene (he helped program AM powerhouse KQ in the '80s), also allows himself to share in the uncoolness foisted on his listeners by humorously mishandling current slang and copping to his own dance-floor ineptness -- even while coolly cueing up that old Gap Band jam that Ashanti lifted for her latest CD.
Readers' Choice: Dave Pratt
Nita's Hideaway
1816 East Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe
480-966-7715
BEST CLUB FOR BLUES/JAZZ
Rhythm Room
1019 East Indian School
602-265-4842
BEST CLUB FOR LATIN MUSIC
Pepin
7363 Scottsdale Mall, Scottsdale
480-990-9026
BEST CLUB FOR COUNTRY MUSIC
Rockin Rodeo
7850 South Priest, Tempe
480-496-0799
BEST DANCE CLUB
Club Rio
430 North Scottsdale Road, Tempe
480-894-0533
BEST PLACE TO BUY NEW CDs
Best Buy
several Valley locations
BEST PLACE TO BUY USED CDs
Zia Record Exchange
several Valley locations
BEST VINYL RECORD STORE
Zia Record Exchange
several Valley locations
BEST RADIO STATION -- ROCK
KUPD-FM 97.9
BEST RADIO STATION -- BLUES/JAZZ
KYOT-FM 95.5
BEST RADIO STATION -- HIP-HOP
Power 92 KKFR-FM 92.3
BEST RADIO STATION -- LATIN
KMRR-FM 100.3
BEST RADIO STATION -- COUNTRY
KNIX-FM 102.5
BEST RADIO STATION -- ALTERNATIVE
KEDJ-FM 103.9
BEST RADIO PERSONALITY
Dave Pratt
BEST VENUE FOR NATIONAL ACTS
America West Arena
201 East Jefferson
602-379-2000
BEST VENUE FOR LOCAL ACTS
Nita's Hideaway
1816 East Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe
480-966-7715
BEST LOCAL BAND NAME
Rhythm City Express
Readers' Choice: Nita's Hideaway
Readers' Choice for Best Venue for Local Acts: Nita's Hideaway
With nothing on the menu aside from bottled water and soda and nothing surrounding the downtown performance space, there is little to distract from the work of those on stage. Aside from that, Modified is staffed by genial indie-rock volunteers, instead of a phalanx of surly pituitary freaks who man the doors at most Valley venues. Modified doubles as an art gallery, as well; the paintings and sculptures prove far more classy accouterments (if not nearly as raunchy) than the empty condom machines one normally finds in the typical rock club.
A purist's haven, it's no wonder, then, that Modified's acquired a national reputation since opening just 18 months ago.
Readers' Choice: Modified