It feels like it was just weeks ago that I was touring the West Coast with DJ Z-Trip, the Phoenix native who became known as king of the mash-ups before turning his back on the subgenre he helped launch. But really, it was 2001, and I was helping lug Z-Trip’s…
In the 18 months captured in this seven-disc set, Miles Davis is between milestones. His astonishing early ’60s sextet (which gave us, among other things, the seminal Kind of Blue) is no more, and he is searching for what will eventually become his groundbreaking mid-’60s quintet. The collection encompasses an…
Remember the scene in Tron, when the laser atomized Jeff Bridges and then re-created him, in digital form, inside of that old TRS-80? 8 Ft. in the Air does the same thing to old funk records. Drop the worthless Gap In-Store Dance Track “Beautiful” (and when you do, drop it…
Other than chedda, what separates the up-and-coming flowmaster from a baller whose SoundScan numbers rival the deficit? The answer depends on the gamespitta in question, but when it comes to PHX lyricist N.O.K. (None of a Kind), the difference between this talented MC and bigger playas in the game could…
Life has given Mike Ness plenty of opportunities to fold his hand. The 42-year-old Social Distortion leader has battled heroin addiction, seen the inside of a jail cell more than once, gotten dropped from a major label after failing to rack up the “hits,” and watched an endless parade of…
The U.K. Subs never were quite as glorious as the Clash, the Damned, or the Sex Pistols, but rather operated just a tier below, releasing an astounding debut LP, Another Kind of Blues, at the height of England’s punk craze in 1979. With such classics as the R&B-and-reggae-tinged “Stranglehold,” the…
How can you pack this much arena rock into one arena? Wait 35 years and you can have Keith Emerson as a supporting act. In his day, rock’s key showman would stab daggers into his synths, strap himself to a Steinway piano spinning upside down, and rig his piano with…
When East Side Records owner Ryan Stamen dressed as comedian Neil Hamburger to emcee an October 30 Halloween party at The Rogue, he didn’t expect to get into a scuffle with a rock star. But that’s what Stamen says happened, after four guys dressed in black suits — allegedly members…
1. Eminem, Encore (Aftermath) 2. Dispatch, All Points Bulletin (Universal) 3. A Perfect Circle, Emotive (Virgin) 4. Handsome Boy Modeling School, White People (Elektra) 5. Green Day, American Idiot (Warner Bros.) 6. Elliott Smith, From a Basement on the Hill (Anti) 7. Jimmy Eat World, Futures (Interscope) 8. NOFX, The…
Thursday 18 Acme Bar & Grill: DJR (all genres) Acme Roadhouse: DJ J. Alan (Top 40) Ain’t Nobody’s Bizness: DJ Tsunami (Top 40, hip-hop) Anderson’s Fifth Estate: Piranha Room/Area 51 with DJs Jeremy & Ricky (industrial/goth, electroclash) Axis/Radius: Ladies’ night with DJ MCB & Josh Royal (all genres) AZ 88:…
Four death-metal guys from northwest Phoenix say they are proud to be more disgusting than you. And with Genital Hospital, ETTS (Evicting the Testicular Squatters) has met its goal. It’s obvious from reading the song titles (e.g., “I Got Kicked Out of N.A.M.B.L.A. for Being a Pervert”) that the band…
Calling all At the Gates fans! Darkest Hour is coming to town. The Swedish-sounding metal band may, in reality, be from the Midwest, but with a little schooling from Fredrik Nordstrom (At the Gates, In Flames, Arch Enemy, Dimmu Borgir), the group is more powerful than ever. Its new album,…
Aaaaarrrrggggh! Expect to hear a lot of that when Mr. Dibbs, the granddaddy of hardcore turntablism, hits the stage this Friday, November 19, at the P.I. in Tempe. Dibbs, the bald, heavily tattooed demon behind the tables for Atmosphere’s touring excursions, throws down the vinyl with an almost metal aesthetic,…
You can kiss the usual questions goodbye when interviewing a band comprising a 17-year-old girl and her dad. Ask about the sex and the drugs and you’ll find yourself retreating to something wholesome like the rock ‘n’ roll to keep from blushing before they do. Luckily, the novelty of a…
She’s Hank’s granddaughter, blessed with one of country music’s most famous last names, but she sounds more like a sensitive West Coast singer-songwriter than the third generation of a family of infamous Nashville crazies. Williams has a pleasing conversational tone, a gentle voice that doesn’t call attention to itself, and…
All but the dullest punks get restless with age, but while Joe Strummer branched out in high-minded directions like world-folk, cruder and ruder minds chase a different kind of eclecticism. On The Dwarves Must Die, for example, Blag Dahlia trades whatever class he’s got left for an orgy of ill-bred…
The members of Before Braille decided they couldn’t make their fans wait until 2005 to hear new tunes, so for this six-song teaser EP, they recorded four new tracks (three of which are acoustic), and then tacked on a couple tracks from Tired of Not Being Away From Here, the…
Yellowcard belongs to the very exclusive club of emo-leaning pop-punk bands named after soccer violations that prominently feature a violinist who does onstage back flips. Gymnastics aside, though, the presence of Sean Mackin (the Itzhak Perlman of the Warped Tour set) is hardly a gimmick; his adroit bow-handling adds buckets…
There’s nothing better than having your front man fuck up in public, especially when your band is about to release a new album. Jason Stollsteimer let Jack White go smack-my-bitch-up on his face, and suddenly the Von Bondies became positively anticipated. Likewise, Jeff Tweedy checked into rehab for painkiller addiction,…
Mike Watt: musician, diarist, raconteur, philosopher, punk rock’s favorite uncle, and San Pedro, California’s goodwill ambassador to the world. He built his reputation by helping to lay the foundations of West Coast punk rock (the music, not the fashion statement it has become) with the tensile manifestos of the Minutemen…
Modern-day indie rock owes a huge debt to Pavement, and Crooked Rain is arguably the pinnacle of the band’s career: all endearing sloppiness; disses on the Smashing Pumpkins; cool, jammy guitars; wit for miles; and anthemic catchiness (pretentious diehards, get over yourself: “Cut Your Hair” is the best indie rock…
UNKLE is Mo’ Wax tastemaker James Lavelle’s all-star project. He and songwriter Richard File gather a noteworthy group of musicians for Never, Never, Land, and although the grocery list of guests is overwhelming, the duo elicits interesting performances from each participant. Where Psyence Fiction, Lavelle’s inaugural UNKLE collaboration with DJ…
