Music

For as long as metal has been around, people have associated the sound with “The Devil” and “Satanism.” Locally, it’s slim pickins’ finding an actual Satanic metal band to chat with. I’m not talking “dressed in black” here; I’m talking blood-guzzling, church-burning, javelina-murdering dudes donning corpse paint with greasy long…

Now that Ultra Music Festival has passed, the next stop festival-wise is Electric Daisy Carnival. There’s nothing like the sights: people in neon green, yellow, pink, and orange tutus running around; spirit hoods that look like animal heads, beaded bracelets that cover forearms, sparkling bras, fuzzy boots, goofy glasses, and…

There are an estimated 300 Grateful Dead tribute bands (by one website’s account), including the Tempe-based Xtra Ticket. But of all those bands, only Dark Star Orchestra actually play the Dead. Let us be a little clearer. DSO picks a Grateful Dead show from a list of thousands spanning the…

Some guys have all the luck, not to mention effloads of talent to boot. Steven Chung is one of those guys. Things have been extra rosy for the 32-year-old Scottsdale nightclub veteran and house music guru, who performs as both DJ Tranzit and his darker alter ego Juheun, including inking…

American Juggalo ScreengrabBy Paul T. Bradley For those among you who are “down” and perhaps for those who are not, you know that much brouhaha was made by the FBI’s inclusion of Juggalos — ie fans of Insane Clown Posse — in their 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment. This, of…

It took three whole years for Stellacutta to finish its self-titled debut album, which finally saw the sweet monitor glow of their Bandcamp page in January. The record is a pristine showcase of the Tempe outfit’s bombastic, jazz-inflected indie rock — the melodic heights reached within it show that the…

You want depressing? Try this: Bobby Brown on VH1’s Celebrity Fit Club. In healthier, happier times, Brown wouldn’t have come within 50 feet of VH1, cable television’s premier clearinghouse for vanity reality shows. But Brown isn’t what he used to be. He’s no longer a suave, stealthy playa with the…

Golden, Colorado, features a bar called the Buffalo Rose. Bands are flanked on stage by stuffed standing polar and black bears. The walls are lined with animal heads. About 200 people squeeze inside. It’s where once-popular top-selling, stadium-filling bands go to die. Soul Asylum hasn’t yet played there, but the…

Sacramento, California-based hip-hop duo Blackalicious has released three full-length records in the two decades it’s been in action: 1999’s Nia, 2002’s Blazing Arrow, and 2005’s The Craft. But don’t dismiss Gift of Gab (Timothy Parker) and DJ/producer Chief Xcel (Xavier Mosley ) as slackers. Though they might not appear to…

Mammoth, Arizona-based Al Foul’s website proudly proclaims the rockabilly singer as the “One, the Only Al Foul.” It’s more than just an accurate boast: The duder performs solo, snarling over a fat Gretsch guitar and stomping on a bass drum. But his songs aren’t rowdy BBQ Show/Bob Log-style tirades. No,…

Some guys have all the luck, and Steven Chung is one of them. Things have been rosy, to say the least, for the Scottsdale house music guru who performs as DJ Tranzit. When EDM superstar Bad Boy Bill swung through the Valley recently, it wasn’t just to perform at Axis/Radius…