It’s been a really weird year for Robbie Pfeffer. As frontman and lyricist of scuzz-funk five-piece Playboy Manbaby, the guy is someone you’d expect to be a little weird. After all, this is a band that writes wacko songs called “Falafel Pantyhose” and sings about minivans, neck tattoos, and “Pulsating…
Perusing dobro player and music producer Jerry Douglas’ résumé should make you tired. He’s long been regarded for his superb mastery of the kind of acoustic guitar that features a metal resonator built into its body. It’s a talent he’s not afraid to use; the man is busy. In addition…
Chris Cornell’s concert on September 17 has been postponed until November 4. Tickets for the old date will be honored at the new one, and tickets can be returned at point of purchase if necessary. No reason was given for the announcement. So for now, just remember the time Cornell,…
Taylor Swift is just like you. Taylor Swift is your friend. Taylor Swift is life. Taylor Swift is love. They say with enough repetition, even the most asinine messages start to have a ring of truth to them. Hell, that’s not even just true in government propaganda. It’s the whole…
Rapping in 2015 is more or less an individual art form. Sure, there are a handful of decent rap groups out there, but few that can compare to those of the past (except maybe Migos, they just barely missed the list). Here are 10 of the best rap groups to…
Valley pop singer Luna Aura released the playful new clip for her single “Dancing with Your Ghost” today, a jovial romp filmed at a local skating rink whose storyline follows a nerdy, sweet guy who crushes on the popular girl. The song was inspired by the tragic death of the…
When you set about the task of marking a musically milestone 30 years in the making, you plan out carefully and try to execute to make the event a living embodiment of that landmark. The Jesus and Mary Chain did exactly that as it hit the stage of the Marquee…
“I call it my nerd medley,” Lindsey Stirling explained to the crowd at downtown Phoenix’s Comerica Theatre Thursday night after performing her own blend of the themes to video games The Legend of Zelda, Skyrim, Dragon Age, Halo, and Assassin’s Creed. She thanked her longtime gamer fans as well as…
It’s not like George Clinton is underrated. After all, Kendrick Lamar featured Clinton on the opening track of To Pimp a Butterfly, the very funky “Wesley’s Theory,” which finds Clinton spouting vintage P-Funk psychobabble — wise observations encased in psychedelic word play (“Lookin’ down, it’s quite a drop / Lookin’ good…
Be sure to browse our comprehensive concert calendar for more options. Circuit Des Yeux – Friday, August 14 – Valley Bar With the release of In Plain Speech, Circuit de Yeux singer Haley Fohr’s fearless forays into cinematic drone have shifted from solo production to collaboration inspired by collective living…
Together for a decade, with six albums and a whole lotta touring under their belt, New Jersey band Screaming Females aren’t losing any steam. In fact, they don’t seem to stop evolving into a stronger, more abominable force. Featuring Marissa Paternoster on guitar and vocals, King Mike on bass, and…
Back in September, on the set of the N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton, cameras rolled in the parking lot of the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium as actors playing prudish protesters hoisted signs (“Crap Rap N.W.A”) and ran over a pile of the group’s records with a steamroller. A little later,…
The world is filled with visionaries who made a difference. Steve Jobs created a digital marketplace for music. Dr. Dre launched a musical empire. Al Gore created the Internet. And then, there’s Okilly Dokilly, the world’s first and only Ned Flanders-themed metal band, based on the Simpsons character so friendly…
While upstart bands eye the throne, Captain Squeegee is fervently working to defend the crown as Phoenix music video kings. The Mesa-based atomic jazz fusion ensemble has been steadily producing the highest quality music videos in the Phoenix indie scene with a barrage of videos in multiple disciplines. The first…
Harrison Fjord – “People I Meet” Last week at Revolver Records Harrison Fjord dropped their debut EP Puspa In Space at a First Friday release party. They have one of the more unusual sounds being bandied about town right now. The first single “People I Meet” is an unusual blend…
Every Wednesday is Heritage Hump Day! That’s because every Wednesday from now to the end of the year or before someone really big stops us, Heritage Hump Records (a temporary subsidiary of Onus Records) and New Times will be bringing you a limited edition collector’s item of a much beloved…
Sam Smith is asking fans in Phoenix to stay with him, at least those who bought tickets to the singer’s August 12 concert in Glendale. The singer announced today that the concert had to be postponed — Smith’s vocal chords, for which the singer recently received surgery, need more rest. …
Injury Reserve enthusiast and fellow Tempe hip-hop artist Will Neibergall (the artist once known as Glass) boldly proclaimed that “these guys are up next” in the press release preceding Injury Reserve’s second video, “Washed Up,” off the group’s new album, Live From the Dentist Office. (Listen to the full EP…
“It feels good to get into weird stuff,” Heaters bassist/vocalist Nolan Krebs says of the trio’s deep, spaced-out, fuzzy psychedelia, the kind that comes only from full immersion into the darkest recesses of the form. “It’s hard to say why that is, and I don’t think any of us feel…
If you’re headbanging on stage and happen to smack your bass with your skull and split open your forehead, splattering blood all over yourself, what do you do? If you’re Metz’s Chris Slorach, it’s a no-brainer: You duct-tape that shit and keep going. The musically abrasive Toronto trio is bloodied…
Gunfire erupted inside of a Glendale bar and nightclub over the weekend, resulting in the shooting death of one patron and the injuring of another. An after-hours altercation between patrons in the early morning hours on Saturday, August 8, at the La Sierra Nightclub and Kanta Bar in Glendale turned…
Last time we heard about Upon a Burning Body singer Danny Leal, he faked his own disappearance as part of a mindblowingly ill-conceived publicity stunt just prior to a concert in Phoenix. Now, he’s acting up again, according to metal blog Lambgoat. Reportedly, Leal approached Dylla and some of her…
