Dave Alvin Blackjack David (HighTone Records) Before radio defined formats such as AAA and Americana, musical styles such as folk, hillbilly and blues seemed to sprout from the soil. Dave Alvin digs deep into that soil to embellish the stories that form the heart of Blackjack David. Alvin abandons the…
Was it Debora Iyall of Romeo Void who once crooned “never say never”? Well, apparently, the chunky songbird knew what she was singing about, ’cause in the fast-paced world of rock ‘n’ roll, nothing is permanent. Best friends are liable to sue each other one week and share the mike…
Bob Jacks knows what’s important, and what’s important isn’t carrying high-interest revolving credit debt on his back. In fact, Jacks doesn’t carry much at all. The Hammertoes guitarist and self-described “American gypsy” understands that enjoying the freedom of moving at a moment’s notice means denying himself material goods some consider…
Liz Phair whitechocolatespaceegg (Matador Records) In a way, it shouldn’t matter that Liz Phair took four years to put together her third album, whitechocolatespaceegg. Sure, Bob Dylan released his first seven albums in the time it took Phair to craft this set of ditties, but times have changed since those…
He’s been up close and personal with Cher’s rear end, escorted Johnny Rotten around the Valley and entertained Fats Domino in his New Orleans living room. Yet Charles Levy–the man who single-handedly turned an anonymous roadside tavern into a hub of cutting-edge music, and manages Gloritone, the Valley’s best chance…
Jim Adkins grins and looks up from his Pilsner while perched on a stool at a local brew pub. “Seriously, the last four months have been the best time of my life.” Anyone familiar with the life and times of the 22-year-old singer/guitarist for Tempe-based Jimmy Eat World wouldn’t be…
Whenever rock is in the doldrums, it usually revives itself by looking to foreign sources for a fresh infusion of energy. These days, with American alt-rock a joyless mountain of mediocrity, it’s easy to see why pop-music critics are getting so hot and bothered about the movement known as Rock…
Poetic Justice, a 1993 film depicting urban poetry and peril, could serve as a metaphor for the current plight of the hip-hop music genre. Behind an attractive facade (Janet Jackson and the late Tupac Shakur) is a story overwrought with drama, gunplay and no sense of direction. Hip-hop today is…
Local jazz drummer Dave Cook has three bands, and he plays a variety of different venues around the Valley. But for most of his fans, this 39-year veteran of the local music scene has long been defined by the Monday-night jams he hosted for almost a decade at the Melody…
‘Rock ‘n’ roll–real rock ‘n’ roll, not some prefab Bush/Marcy Playground/Eve 6 bullshit–is an inherently dirty business. Anyone not convinced need only check out a Makers show or talk to one of the Makers. Though they may be swathed in leather and zebra stripes, the Makers embody the raw, concussive,…
Sure, who wouldn’t like a sign from above that he or she is on the right track? For months, Sipping Soma’s Mark Matson had been woodshedding his living-room sound experiments with neighbor Diedre Radford, the possessor of an exotic, eerie voice and a cheap keyboard. Matson got just the validation…
When Zia Record Exchange’s founder Brad Singer died in May, the official word from his family was that “business as usual” would be the order of the day for his empire. After all, by this point, Zia seemed to be such a sturdy, self-sustaining entity that it made little sense…
Brian Setzer has made a career out of updating retro styles. As the front man for the Stray Cats, he updated the Memphis rockabilly sound of the ’50s. His complex guitar licks added a surprisingly sophisticated jazzy element to the trio’s minimalist rhythm section. The band’s early-’80s hits like “Sexy…
Haggis What’s Up Haircut? (Epixuti) In a live setting, Haggis is a source of pure astonishment. The group’s hard-driving guitar-rock–while taking some influence from punk and the early ’90s grunge revolution–initially seems kinda plain and conventional. Before you know it, though, you find yourself bowled over by this band’s overpowering…
On April 8, 1994, the echo of a shotgun blast reverberated around the world. Kurt Cobain was dead, by his own hand, according to police investigators and the King County medical examiner. While millions of Gen Xers mourned the death of their “voice of a generation,” critics and fans alike…
Not all the participants in the Sgt. Pepper movie are unwilling to talk about the experience. Alice Cooper, about to embark on a tour, was gracious enough to answer our e-mail of infrequently asked questions (that’s IFAQ in e-mailese) concerning his involvement in this historically bad film. New Times: How…
Keith Richards once made the point that all good rock music should basically aim for the crotch. According to his theory, rock is a primal, visceral force free of intellectual hang-ups, and anything directed at the cerebral cortex is a self-conscious perversion of the music’s essence. Scott Miller loves rock…
One way I’ve discovered to subsidize my real writing and alcohol habit is porn writing. Smut for Dollars: cheap hack porn-vid toss-offs for quick-buck fixes. Scribing a “review” takes about as long as a good whack session, which is actually longer than it takes to do an album review. Album…
In 1978, RSO Records was the most successful record label on planet Earth. From Christmas of 1977 to May 20 the following year, the Robert Stigwood-owned label maintained a 21-week stranglehold on the top position of Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart. No other record label has ever managed to score…
Beastie Boys Hello Nasty (Grand Royal/Capitol Records) Along with Beck, the Beastie Boys have become the embodiment of postmodern music in the late ’90s. The comparison goes beyond their shared use of the Dust Brothers or the perpetual ironic distance they both maintain, which allows them to simultaneously celebrate and…
James Mather and Mike Heffington have two consuming passions: recording punk-rock bands and drinking as much Natural Light as they can get their hands on. Fortunately, they live in a world where their hobbies frequently intersect. It’s well-known in local punk circles that Natural Lights are as essential a component…
Mark Sandman can’t help it. He knows he should be moody. He appreciates how he’d make a more lasting impression as a Gloomy Gus spinning torturous tales of woe. Fans expect that kind of thing. Journalists, too. After all, the guy leads a band called Morphine. But Sandman can’t find…
