Stephenie Meyer is probably the most well-known “Mormon author” of our times, and much has been made of her Twilight book series about young, seductive vampires. But if anybody in the Mormon Church finds Meyer’s books a little too racy, they’d absolutely crap themselves if they ever read Mormon Underwear…
It’s not hard to get Jonathan Brandstein going. All you need to do is bring up music and travel — two things many people are head over heels about — and he’s like a freshly discharged jack-out-of-the-box telling all sorts of amazing tales of the places he’s been and the…
Monsterologist Daniel m Davis (of Steam Crow) has been abducted by monsters 218 times. And in an effort to provide a public service, he’d like to show you how he’s survived. You can catch him and Monsterpocalypse tool kit this Saturday at Red Hot Robot from 7 to 8:30 p.m….
15: Jessica Jordan Jessica Jordan was born in Tempe, on December 24, 1979 at 3:14 p.m.. She was raised on Disney cartoons, Warner Brothers, The Ladmo Show, Nickelodeon, coloring books, craft time with her mom and grandma, cassette tapes, beepers, her dad’s records, VHS, Push Pops, and Y95.5 FM. She…
Viewing the works of big-time Southwest painter Merrill Mahaffey, you’d never suspect that “things God made are harder to draw than things man made,” as a teacher once told us. Mahaffey’s discipline applies fractal modernism to the wonders of nature. Somehow, in Mahaffey’s landscapes, the sun looks brighter but also…
The members of Hair Raid look like they each aspire to be part of a desperate and different, yet very iconic and over-the-top ’80s band. Borrowing from the styles of Bret Michaels, and members of Mötley Crüe, Twisted Sister, Bon Jovi, and Def Leppard, their mocking name says it all…
Recording a three-day competition in Lyon, France, in which sugar is heated, stretched, and blown into delicate, rococo shapes, Kings of Pastry has none of the shame-and-humiliation rituals of reality TV cook-offs like Top Chef, no dishy Padma Lakshmi to coolly eliminate hopefuls. Though Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker’s food-fetishizing…
The NYC-based string quartet, which features a postclassical bent on contemporary music and has toured with rockers like Todd Rundgren and Joe Jackson, visits the Valley as a part of its TruckStop Tour. Guitarist Jeff Peterson and Robert Mirabal provide accompaniment. Thu., Sept. 16, 7 p.m., 2010…
Folks gather to discuss the novel by Roberto Bolaño, the late author of the classic tomes The Savage Detectives and 2666. Thu., Sept. 16, 7 p.m., 2010…
After two wins, the season finally begins for the Arizona State Football team. That’s not a typo. It’s just that the Devils, who waltzed through their first two games against Portland State and Northern Arizona, will actually play someone with a big-time-college-football pulse. On Saturday, ASU visits the city of…
After two wins, the season finally begins for the Arizona State Football team. That’s not a typo. It’s just that the Devils, who waltzed through their first two games against Portland State and Northern Arizona, will actually play someone with a big-time-college-football pulse. On Saturday, ASU visits the city of…
Now that a sweltering summer has been put behind us, we’re up for anything that reminds us that seasons exist. We might still have sweaty days, but our night temps are dipping low, which means the Mid-Autumn Harvest Moon Festival will be the perfect occasion for fall to plant its…
Billboards always suck. So do many large-scale print ads. That’s why the recently completed Knowledge Breaks Down Barriers Created by Ignorance mural is such a badass and welcome addition to the local community. East L.A.-based creative type Raul Gonzalez, along with youth from the Garfield neighborhood in central Phoenix, created…
There are a lot of hardworking theater folk in Arizona. And, just like the actors on Broadway, they deserve a little recognition. Thankfully, we’ve got the upcoming 20th annual AriZoni Theatre Awards of Excellence Ceremony to hand out “Zoni Awards” (get it, like Tony?) to the best theater locals. Hit…
Listen to Italian creative-music ensembles Tribraco and Neo and it’s not hard to imagine that these dudes are all over ESP-Disk’s records by Marion Brown, The Fugs, and Noah Howard. Or maybe those infamous BYG Actuel recordings by Burton Greene, Jimmy Lyons, and Clifford Thornton migrated en masse south from…
Meghan McCain is, like, totally the new maverick. We hope she’s on the ballot in 2024. She’s young now, but with further education and family support, she could really turn this country around sometime in the future when we need it most . . . say, after Sarah Palin. In…
With what the economy’s done to our tax base, we probably wouldn’t be enjoying Shemer Art Center & Museum’s exhibitions and classes this year had the private-sector Shemer Art Center and Museum Association not stepped in. SACAMA operates the center right now, while Phoenix Parks and Recreation maintains the historic…
How do you know you’ve been abducted by a monster? “Usually, you wake up in the desert sitting naked in a cardboard box, surrounded by cans of Tab with honey in your eyes. That’s a pretty good indicator. It happens way more than you might think.” So says Daniel m…
We all remember when Norm MacDonald was fired from Saturday Night Live in 1997 after making too many “O.J. Simpson is guilty” and “Michael Jackson is a homosexual pedophile” jokes. But it’s not like that killed his career or anything. He went on to star in such hits as, ahem,…
A simple, straightforward, bullshit-free piece of work. That’s what Lisbon, The Walkmen’s upcoming album, sounds like. These post-punk rejectionists were formed in the muck and mayhem of the garage rock revival, along with a slew of other “the” bands – namely that quintet who were dubbed the saviors of rock:…
After yanking back a 16-ounce can of sugary, guarana-infused Rockstar, whatcha gonna listen to? Sufjan Stevens? The Decemberists? Negatory, bro-ham! You’ll want exactly what this energy-drink-sponsored alt-metal tour brings to the table: Blast beats, scream-o vocals and high-decibel thrash showmanship. Now in its third year, Rockstar’s answer to Ozzfest (conceived…
Learn all about living life as a creative with filmmaker, writer, photographer, and artist Crista Cloutier. Sun., Sept. 19, 2-5 p.m., 2010…
