Place a finger on the 1980s punk scene and one band is still having impact some 35 years after forming: X. Mixing driving punk energy with rockabilly riffs, staccato rhythms, unexpected dual vocal drive, and socially conscious lyrics, X was a defining voice in the punk movement. Their uncompromising ability…
The spring of 1989 was a period of birth for me: It was the first time I ever played a gig at a club with a PA of its own. The place was Time Out of Mind in South Phoenix. Not the most reputable club, as some of you may…
Call us huge nerds for making such a comparison, but local superstar DJ export Z-Trip has a few things in common with Doctor Who. Stick with us on this one for a moment. Both, for instance, scamper through the annals of history in pursuit of their raison d’être via equipment…
Shining Soul has been relentlessly promoting their newest release Sonic Smash in both the hip hop and activist community over the past few weeks, including interviews, radio appearances, and their Sonic Smash Tour (we talked to them back in September.) The entire endeavor culminated with their welcome home CD release…
This is officially the last week where of the year where you’re allowed to believe you have authority over the Christmas-music-listening habits of others, and I hope to god you don’t waste it. When you’re done yelling at the guy in the gift department at Macy’s for playing Wonderful Christmastime…
Megadeth is such a strong act that it needs little introduction. One of the underground metal groups of the ’80s who achieved lasting commercial success, the band has sold more than 50 million albums over the course of more than 30 years. The four musicians have a knack for creating…
By Mitchell L. Hillman Sometimes you go to a show and there simply is a vibe, a certain ephemeral quality, a momentary zeitgeist that can be described in no way other than “perfection.” It could be any number of things, but usually it comes down to first, a carefully casted…
The weekend before Thanksgiving can’t help but disappoint you. It’s trying as hard as it can, and it’s perfectly happy to remind you that you’ve got a short week coming up, but really the only positive you can take from it is that you won’t get trampled chasing down a…
Mesa-based pianist and singer-songwriter Courtney Cotter King is, among other things, the Valley’s version of Zooey Deschanel. Not only is she a dead ringer for the new girl, Cotter King also achieves maximum quirk. Describing one of her songs, “White Rhino,” she says, “I started writing the piano to it,…
Remember that one music festival Liquid Sol? You know, the one that reportedly was originally going to happen in September out in Florence only to be rescheduled for November in Glendale and then finally put off once more until next spring. Yeah, well, it’s most definitely happening and now has…
Benjamin Franklin warned that small leaks can sink great ships, meaning you should sweat the small stuff. But for the progressive math-rock quintet that borrowed Franklin’s aphorism, it’s mostly been one big leak after another. Two nearly fatal car accidents — one involving a motorcycle, the other a Vespa –…
Booked several days a week at venues across the Valley, it’s clear the Hoodoo Casters are doing something right; they’ve played nearly every blues-friendly venue in the Valley, along with some in northern Arizona. Their motto says it all: They’re “the blues your mama warned you about.” Performing a mix…
On the off chance you haven’t noticed, scads of reboots, makeovers, and metamorphoses have gone down in Scottsdale’s after-dark scene. In just the past month alone, Barney’s Boathouse was sold to new proprietors and became more of a hip-hop spot called Arizona Eye Candy, Jackrabbit Lounge underwent renovation and was…
Mesa-based pianist and singer-songwriter Courtney Cotter King is, among other things, the Valley’s version of Zooey Deschanel. Not only is she a dead ringer for the actress/musician, Cotter King achieves maximum quirk. Describing one of her songs, “White Rhino,” she says, “I started writing the piano to it, and it…
Thursday 21 AZ/88: Black Out Thursdays with Josh 1 (soulful house, lounge) Bar Smith: Thursday Ladies Night with DJ AL3, & DJ NERD (hip-hop, Latin, EDM) Bobby Q’s: All Star Thursdays with DJ Freshmaker, DJ Phlava, DJ Dark Vader, & DJ Skoolboi (hip-hop, Top 40, reggae) C.A.S.A. Sunba: House Party…
The Internet has made it extraordinarily easy for indie creators to compete on the same platforms as major ones and hardly easier at all to make money like them. For artists, the problem is obvious; for fans and consumers, it’s more subtle. It’s easier to discover a story or a…
From the Shangri La art Tell this guy about the death of the album.By Michael Corcoran “The album is dying in front of our very eyes,” Variety columnist and music business know-it-all Bob Lefsetz wrote recently based on weak LP sales, including Katy Perry’s Prism, which sold only about 220,000…
Pearl Jam concerts are different. It’s not just a bunch of guys on stage cranking out rock songs; even in Jobing.com Arena, it’s an intimate, more personal affair. Artists talk about the energy that flows between audience and stage, and that’s what’s so obvious here. The bands cares; the fans…
If you’ve ever wandered into Crescent Ballroom early on a Saturday evening, you’ve likely been privy to the bewitching performances of Flamenco Por La Vida. Led by Angelina Ramirez and Carlos Montufar, the group expresses its Latin gypsy soul through sound and dance in the Ballroom’s lounge weekly, but on…
One of Hermann Hesse’s lesser known collections, Wandering, reflects on anxiety, death and the arts while aimlessly meandering through the countryside. Alt-folk singer Bryant Eugene Vazquez left Flagstaff, Arizona barely two months ago to ramble on to Philadelphia, but he’s still releasing records here in the desert. On his latest,…
One Direction[Editor’s Note: In his column Serrano Time, award-winning scribe and goofball Shea Serrano writes about his life and times.] Last week, I wrote about why One Direction’s “This Is My Story” sucks. Usually, whenever one of these pieces goes up (and they go up often), I get a handful…
The fellas from Fayuca are fresh off another successful tour supporting their wicked-cool record, Barrio Sideshow, released earlier this year. Thanks in large part to the video placement of their lead single “Por Que Seguir” on MTVu, the boys from Phoenix are finding it a lot easier to fill venues…
