Donavon Frankenreiter Keeps Fans Guessing

Musician and professional surfer Donavon Frankenreiter has been all over the world and seen his share of big waves. Still, he marvels at the daredevils who routinely tackle giant waves, including an estimated 100-footer recently surfed in Portugal. “It’s unbelievable what some of these guys do,” he says by phone…

Small Black Frees Itself From Its Bedroom Beginnings

“Free at Dawn,” the opening song of Small Black’s second full-length album, is the sound of a band reclaiming itself at the start of a new day. Gone is much of what characterized the band’s eponymous 2008 EP and 2010 debut album New Chain — the chill synths and preset…

Seven Nights of EDM, DJs, and Dancing

Thursday 13 910 Live: The Audio Virus, Pneumatic Fist, & more (industrial, EBM) Afterlife: Touch Thursdays with DJ Tsunami, DJ Michael Ryan, & DJ Matt Fox (Top 40, EDM) AZ/88: Black Out Thursdays with Josh 1 (soulful house, lounge) Barney’s Boathouse: Thirsty Thursdays with DJ Pulse (Top 40, rock) Bikini…

Pantera Tribute Act Cowboys N Hell On The Best Cover Bands in Phoenix

People either love or hate cover bands. Some think they are fantastic tributes, while others think they are blatant rip-offs. Personally, I love tribute bands. They give music fans a chance to hear songs live and celebrate a favorite band–and often it’s a band that’s disbanded, one you’ll never be…

Fall Out Boy – Marquee Theatre – 6/11/2013 (VIDEO)

Fall Out Boy Marquee Theatre (View the full slideshow.) June 11, 2013 It was as if Fall Out Boy had never left. When they played Marquee Theatre last night, it was hard to imagine they’d ever abandoned the scene and called it quits four years earlier. The Marquee was sold…

The 10 Metal Gods Geeks Will Always Worship

by Adam Steininger Geeks love metal more than the computers on which they listen to it. They yearn for heavy metal forged by Orcs in the mountains of Mordor, smuggled halfway across the universe on Serenity, and then discovered by Silver Surfer while out scouting for delicious planets. These bands…

Grace Potter: “Do I Want To Do The Katy Perry Thing?”

by Chris Parker Wild and free like much of what you’ll find in Vermont, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals have had the opportunity to grow on for four albums on Disney subsidiary Hollywood Records. They’ve never stood still, passing from rootsy jam to southern rock to the atmospheric dance-tinged modern…

iTunes Radio Is Really About Buying Music, Not Streaming It

After an unpleasantly long stretch on the rumor mill–even by Apple standards–complicated by a hard-bargaining Sony Music, iTunes Radio finally exists. For the most part, the rumor mill got it right: It’s a lot like Pandora, it has text and audio ads (which feel strange on an Apple product), and…

Top Five Must-See Phoenix Shows This Week

Has there been any point in the last 50 years in which people weren’t convinced rock and roll needed saving? Fall Out Boy’s latest album isn’t a boast or a promise so much as the natural career path for rock stars who’ve become monstrously successful and lived to tell about…

Trinidad James – Celebrity Theater – 6/8/2013

By Jonathan Alvira Trinidad JamesCelebrity TheatreJune 8, 2013 Groupies, strippers and first-time stage dancers were “turnt” up all night with Mr. “All Gold Everything” himself. As I watched a blonde bombshell from the crowd get pulled on stage to shake her ass for the screaming fans, I came to a…

Eight Must-Read Heavy Metal Books

Metalheads are some of the most devoted music fans on the planet. No–I mean we really love our music. Oh, you memorized Lady Gaga’s music video dance moves? Check out my Kreator Coma of Souls back piece, and meet my friend’s daughter, Sabbath. Later we’re going to karaoke to cover…

Top Five Must-See Phoenix Shows This Weekend

If you want to see the Refreshments, who haven’t played together as a band since 1998, now might be a good time to figure out whether you’re legally allowed to go to Mexico. I don’t mean to spoil this week’s Must-See Phoenix Shows This Weekend, but it might take you…