By her own admission, the 2015 Bethany Cosentino is far more comfortable in her own skin than the 2009 version. Cosentino, the lead singer and principal songwriter (along with multi-instrumentalist Bobb Bruno) for Los Angeles indie-pop duo Best Coast, first burst into public consciousness with the unfathomably catchy “Boyfriend,” from…
Some musicians’ greatest fears are rooted in the sophomore slump, stolen gear, public ridicule, or an overarching sense of failure. Of all, one of the most challenging and frightening times for an artist is having to play their music for the muse that inspired it, especially if its connotations are…
AWOLNATION’s success is a slow clap. The Los Angeles band’s music has been featured in dozens of television and reality shows, commercials, and soundtracks. Macy Gray and metal band DevilDriver have covered the group’s six-times platinum single “Sail.” The same song has been used to sell phones and sportswear. It…
Viva PHX 2015 offers festival goers 90 bands at 20 different venues for an incredibly reasonable $24 ticket price. For you mathematicians, it works out to an average of 4.5 performers per venue and if you were to catch say, five of them during the course of your night, that’s…
That epileptic seizure warning at the beginning of “Tony,” the new music video by Instructions, isn’t a joke. Directed by Ryan Lee Caldwell, the video is a psychedelic spinout through a nostalgic maze of blown-out color. In order to better represent their core dynamic, Instructions made their video for “Tony”…
Arizona is no stranger to Megadeth drama. So when guitarist Chris Broderick and drummer Shawn Drover officially left the band last year, metal fans anxiously wondered what musical endeavor they would dive into next. Enter the aptly named Act of Defiance. The former Megadeth members revealed that this new hard…
There might be a few concerts happening this weekend. Little things like the 90-band Viva PHX or the headliner-packed Pot of Gold Music Festival. But until then, here are some options to whet your appetite…
Vex is one of those bands that commands attention whenever they hit the stage. Fitting, since their name is the very definition of evoking mystery and discussion. It’s also defined as changing or “shaking up” the arrangement or position of something, and that’s something Vex is all about. The four…
Death via noise may be Oliver Ackermann’s end goal, but A Place To Bury Stranger’s frontman says he doesn’t have tinnitus yet. “Maybe things are a little bit quieter,” the guitarist tells us. “But I still feel like I can hear the full spectrum of sound. I guess I’m pretty…
Here are our picks for the best concerts in Phoenix this weekend. For more options, visit our comprehensive concert calendar…
Rick Estrin and the Nightcats First, Rick Estrin and the Nightcats have been around the blues for many years, but they remain popular and recently released a new CD, You Asked for It: Live. This CD is their first live CD. This band is worth seeing. The Nightcats are professionals…
It’s been awhile since New Times has checked in with Time Out Lounge, so we decided to drop erratic radio DJ and rock-‘n’-roll miscreant Westley Allen a line to see what’s jumping at TOL — Allen started booking bands at the small venue about a year and a half ago…
There is a moment in Girl Talk’s episode of the Hulu documentary series A Day In The Life where he states he’s never really associated with DJ culture, only to cut to several journalists asking him about DJing or his very small vinyl collection. Gregg Gillis, the name behind the…
In an age when the Internet immediately determines the popularity of an artist, it seems presumptuous to heap the hype on a musician after releasing just one song. After listening to the malaise-filled anthemic “Stuck In The South” by Nashville-based artist Adia Victoria, the song legitimizes the practice of being…
We dig you, Phoenix. That’s why every spring we hunt for emerging creatives doing exceptional things in metro Phoenix and award the best and brightest with Big Brain Awards and cash prizes. They’re gems, these up-and-coming sculptors, dancers, musicians, and chefs. It’s what makes them Big Brains. For the 2015…
Friday afternoon in the ballroom in Talking Stick Resort, about 13 men are walking on stage, preparing. They move with a practiced deliberation to create what will become Divas, a drag show starring Frank Marino, who’s been the costumed star of a Las Vegas female impersonation revue for 30 years…
Phoenix might have an issue with Prom Body. The Tucson-based scuzzy-yet-musical punk outfit has tried again and again to play in the Valley to no avail, plagued by misaligned schedules or vehicular woes. Their luck may be turning around, however, as the band has two shows scheduled in the coming…
View image | gettyimages.com Inspiration for music can come from a variety of different sources and the laundry list of books and short stories that have influenced rock bands could fill, well, a library. But while “For Whom The Bell Tolls” by Metallica, “Ramble On” by Led Zeppelin, and “Frankenstein”…
Do it on your own. Get uncomfortable. Learn, create something, be a voice for those without one, tell a tale in the hopes that it might inspire the listener. Alynda Lee Segarra will not tell you these things outright, but give a listen to Hurray for the Riff Raff, her…
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…
Post-punk strung through an art-rock meat grinder, Viet Cong is the resuscitated project from two members (vocalist/bassist Matt Flegel and drummer Mike Wallace) of the heavily eulogized noise-rock band Women. Transitioning has been less than smooth for VC, however — there was a rather infamous onstage fight between Flegel and…
It must have seemed like such a good idea at the time. Sub Pop had released I Love You, Honeybear, the latest from Father John Misty, in the usual formats (digital, vinyl, and compact disc). Those looking to enhance their listening experience for an extra cost could purchase a copy…
