Okay, so you blew your tax refund on a ticket to Coachella. How do you make these the best three days of your life while on a budget? It’s not easy. Last year, writer Marc Ballon asked a bunch of people how the hell they afforded Coachella. Most estimated they…
Most bands would take not developing much of a fan base over their early years, let alone eight early years, as a sign to throw in the towel. This is certainly not the case for NOFX. What started off as a hardcore punk band in the early ’80s slowly developed…
Mitchell Hillman listens to more local music than just about anyone in the Valley. He presents his picks for best new music in his column, Right Hear, Right Now. The Hellflowers – “Running Through The Fog” The Hellflowers may be based in Los Angeles, but half of their lineup hails…
In 2009, Highly Suspect was a Cape Cod bar band playing cover songs by legends like Sublime, Jimi Hendrix, and Pink Floyd. Six years, four albums/EPs, and two Grammy nominations later, the band clearly didn’t just change their musical concept. In fact, Highly Suspect has helped redefine a lot in…
When a band like the Valley’s own BroLoaf tells you its new record has “pop sensibilities,” you just have to roll your eyes. Those who have witnessed the spectacle of the almost 8-year-old band’s live show understand the general need to eye-roll when the subject of the “Loaf” comes up…
Though it may seem contrary to the notion of becoming a successful band, ignoring trends may be the best way to get discovered. At least, that concept proved successful for The Darkness. Formed in 1999 by brothers Dan and Justin Hawkins, the pair set their sights on the big time…
Darrin Robertson and Jim Saccoman are looking at me suspiciously. The two local musicians thought a mutual acquaintance of ours had put me up to this interview, and asked me how I encountered their self-described “recording project” Sha-Pink, which has been creating music locally for more than 30 years. “We’re…
Country Thunder 2016 has wrapped up, but that doesn’t mean you can’t live vicariously through our pictures. These brave souls braved the rain and were rewarded by musical performances by some of the biggest names in country. Check out select few shots from the festival below, and explore the full…
After you’ve decided to start ranking all the acts on the Coachella lineup, there comes a moment when you realize you’ve made a terrible mistake. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is way too big, too ambitious in scale and scope, too sonically diverse to be reduced to a…
A bastion of the country music community and a bucket list festival slot for its artists, Country Thunder in Florence is the crown jewel in a state that’s about as south as the Southwest gets. This year saw Kip Moore, Florida Georgia Line, Jake Owen and Eric Church in headlining…
Music fans of Phoenix, get ready for an invasion. Operators – Monday, April 11 – Valley Bar Dan Boeckner’s musical résumé, which includes Wolf Parade and Handsome Furs, reads like the indie rock equivalent of a Major League Baseball journeyman player. The Canadian singer-songwriter performs well with any team he…
Waiting 364 days since last year’s Record Store Day probably put a serious ache in the hearts of record collectors, but that veil of sadness is about to lift. Saturday, April 16, is the day vinyl fanatics and music freaks have been rabidly awaiting. Collectors and fans will flood local…
As we’re sure your aware by now, the legendary Elvis Costello is going to be in town this weekend. If not, consider yourself enlightened. Social Distortion is also scheduled to perform in the Valley this weekend, specifically at the Arizona Bike Week festivities in Scottsdale), as is metalcore act Killing…
Nonpareil is a band that want to tell it like it is. Locally grown but internationally influenced, the Phoenix-area quartet plays a noisy brand of post-punk carefully designed to enthrall and motivate the listener and will please even the most discerning devotee of the great Dischord Records label out of Washington,…
Mitchell Hillman listens to more local music than just about anyone in the Valley. He presents his picks for best new local music in his column, Right Hear, Right Now. Snake! Snake! Snakes! – “In My Head” Depending on how long you’ve been into Snake! Snake! Snakes! you’ve been waiting…
Dan Boeckner, currently touring with his New Wave synth-pop trio Operators, is a member of three indie bands. Does he ever worry that he’s not dedicating enough time to each project? “I do constantly worry that I should be writing something,” he says. “That worry is like gas in the…
In case you don’t already know, it’s Arizona Bike Week. Yesterday kick-started the annual event. This mammoth celebration of all things chopper-related also includes an active concert roster throughout its weeklong run, featuring a lot of longtime acts guaranteed to incite nostalgia and deliver hit-filled sets, like Social Distortion, Blues…
If you’ve been remotely cognizant of country music lately, with the radio on or the Academy of Country Music awards or the Country Music Association awards blowing up your timeline, then you know country bands are hot. There’s a still a place for pop and vocal powerhouses, but bands that…
You can never have too many urinals, right? That probably wasn’t the logic that went into some of the new renovations at Mesa music and event venue, the Nile Theater, but the addition of bathrooms, urinals, and a small room in the men’s room area has allowed the venue’s overall…
Chase Bryant was almost ready to call off his music career at just 18 years old. He’s now the country star behind the hits “Take It On Back” and “Little Bit Of You,” which hit the Top 5 just hours before he spoke with New Times last week, but at…
In the six years between the release of the self-titled debut of awkwardly punctuated Phoenix band Snake! Snake! Snakes! and the upcoming release of the group’s sophomore record, Tranquillo (due out April 9), the rock ’n’ roll four-piece has changed an awful lot. For starters, the group traded in ivory…
You may not know this, but Elvis Costello has a wicked sense of humor. While the prolific musician may be better known for his rancorous songs like the contentious “Tramp The Dirt Down,” which famously stated he would dance on the grave of then-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, he’s long…
