Editor’s note: Since Oct. 6, 2012 (the 50th anniversary of the release of the Beatles’ debut single “Love Me Do,” we’ve been on a half-century celebration cycle in which we are scheduled to relive every Beatles innovation, every release of the Beatles’ landmark career in real time, right until the…
After the dust settled at Burning Man 2012 and attendees went home, the team at Walter Productions — specifically, founder and Valley resident Kirk Strawn — began thinking of what to take to the event in 2013. “We wanted to take fire, and a next-generation sound system,” Strawn says. Burning…
Watchu know about Liquid Stranger? In reality, probably not as much as you think. Sure, you’ve probably heard a tale or two about the reclusive, enigmatic producer/DJ over the years, but most of it likely is untrue. For instance, despite the sinister dubstep-influenced sounds and ultra-mysterious aura he cultivates, the…
Thursday 5 AZ/88: Black Out Thursdays with Josh 1 (soulful house, lounge) Baja Joe’s: Latin Live Thursdays with DJ Chop (Top 40, Latin) Bar Smith: Ladies Night with DJ AL3, & DJ Fantastico (hip-hop, EDM, trap, Latin) Bobby Q’s: All Star Thursdays with DJ Freshmaker, DJ Phlava, DJ Dark Vader,…
Lonesome Shack may be based in Seattle, but you’d be forgiven for mistaking the band’s Alive Records debut, More Primitive, for a mid-’70s recording from Mississippi’s fertile Hill Country blues scene, owing much of its elegant boogie to the droning styles of R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, and Fred McDowell. But…
Tech N9ne’s record label is called Strange Music, a name that fits like a glove. From his beats to his lyrical style to his appearance, the Kansas City-based hip-hopper is simply an unusual guy. Last time Tech came through Phoenix, local photographer Ben Garcia caught a shot of Tech that…
Frederick Huang and his group Of the Painted Choir have been reinterpreting the sad, sad subgenre of “desert rock” for years now, dismantling every last vestige that distinguishes the craven likes of Gin Blossoms and the Refreshments (yikes!) by losing both the desert and the rock. That leaves this Phoenix…
Jack White was still upholstering furniture in southwest Detroit when the Detroit Cobras formed nearly two decades ago. Inspired by classic rhythm and blues, the band was known for giving obscure tunes a garage rock varnish, with former exotic dancer Rachel Nagy’s sassy vocals hitting you below the waistline. As…
Got more than half million in the bank and a burning desire to resurrect a piece of local rock history from the dead? If so, then give Franco Gagliano a ring ASAP, since the building he owns that once housed famed Phoenix rock joint The Mason Jar is up for…
Toes were tapping, bodies were swaying and there were mini standing ovations after almost every song Hugh Laurie and the Copper Bottom Band played for a sold out crowd Tuesday night at the Mesa Arts Center. If there was any doubt that the House M.D. star was a tried and…
I’ve been to maybe 100 shows at Crescent Ballroom, yet I’ve never seen the place so packed for an opener. Someone screamed, “We’re here for you,” so apparently Sylvan Esso has some fans in town. Their glockenspiel samples and soft, pitter-patter vocals made Esso feel like a modern version of…
From house to rap, one of the coolest things about Phoenix’s music scene is there’s an abundance of variety constantly being released. Check out five songs from local artists released in May that should make you proud of the diverse Phoenix music scene…
On a recent trip to Denver (to totally get stoned LOLJK), I found myself in some giant cathedral that was converted into a five-story dance club. Each level had a different DJ and mood, but the bottom had this chill guy and his girlfriend who, before starting a DJ set,…
A memorial service for Phoenix-born Tomas Tovar Rascon, a famous banda singer known as Tito Torbellino, will take place today at 5 p.m. at Celebrity Theatre. The service is open to the public, and the theater reports that 1,700 tickets sold out in four-and-a-half hours yesterday…
There are scores of musicians from the ’90s who don’t get the chance to pull off a second act. Many of the one-hit wonders of the decade are coasting off the fumes of audiences craving nostalgia and play the grandstands of state fairs and the early afternoon schedule of your…
While the rest of us have been meandering around our social media apps watching cat videos, laughing at celebrity memes and sharing statuses, Phoenix musician and Holy Coast producer Keith Walker and former Phoenician DJ and producer MyKill — aka Michael Clark — have been a little more productive with…
For fans of The Turtles, CSN&Y, and Jefferson Airplane/Starship, as well as patrons of Milano’s Music in Mesa, June 7 promises to be, at very least, an opportunity to meet an interesting member of rock ‘n’ roll’s expansive past. Johny Barbata, who played drums for all of the previously mentioned…
If there’s one thing that can be said about Jared Mullins, singer/songwriter/guitarist for San Diego rock/soul trio Heavy Glow is that he’s single minded about the duality he wants to express. “I’ve always been drawn to heavily guitar based rock and roll mixed with soul,” he says. “Guitar riffs based…
At the this this was written, it was 104 degrees in Phoenix, with a projected high of 110. Summer is coming. Since we all know that ignorance is bliss when it comes to Phoenix summers, here are five concerts, all in climate-controlled, air conditioned environments, that will make you forget…
OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder knows fans aren’t going to mouth every lyric to every song at their show, and he’s OK with that. The days of fans listening to entire albums are slowly dissipating, he says backstage before the group’s show in Phoenix on Sunday. Music is appreciated one single…
Progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me are making a stop in Arizona before heading out to support Meshuggah for its 25 Years of Deviance tour. Although we don’t get to see the band play with Meshuggah, Between the Buried and Me is coming to Arizona on a strong…
Billy Joel turned 65 years old on May 9. When you’re as old as he is, you retire, have a party, collect your pension, and enjoy the fruits of your labor. But when you’re the sixth best-selling recording artist of all time, you just keep on working. The audience at…
