It’s hard to know where to start with The Residents. The band’s press release claims that they neither exist nor play any instruments, and yet they have released more than 60 albums, a smattering of videos, DVDs, and short films, and produced a handful of theater productions as well. It’s…
The indie-folk movement has become a plague. What started as an innocent return to roots quickly became a fad and, somewhere along the line, the pining for simplicity and an authentic nod to American roots music turned into a push to get ahead. But the cynicism directed at Americana’s revival…
Maynard James Keenan drives around Arizona’s Verde Valley in an oversize green pickup. The truck’s wheels kick up clouds of dust as he rumbles down the dirt road that leads to Four Eight Wineworks, the barreling room where wine from his nearby Merkin Vineyards ages in casks. From here it…
A 38-year-old Jersey-born rap veteran who is a certified member of Mensa, Chino XL has called L.A. his home for a decade and a half. “I feel like there’s more space, metaphorically, because there’s space physically,” XL says. “Whenever Jesus was tempted or looking for clarity, he went to the…
San Diego’s post rock-meets-subdued pop duo Pinback has kind of been under the radar for the past five years. Rob Crow and Zach Smith took a break from recording new Pinback songs to focus on side projects and family, all while taking Pinback out for occasional tours. But the duo…
Right now, there’s a Tool fan angrily venting about the lack of a new Tool album in some dark corner of the Internet. Right now, Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan is most likely working on something other than a new Tool album. As detailed in this week’s Phoenix New Times…
Yesterday afternoon, the home page of the Coachella website changed to a video called “Bloom,” which shows plants and art exhibits sprouting from the ground. Some look pretty creepy–did those worm/slug things 30 seconds into the video really just form a structure? At least the rest are fairly cute or…
Doing some crate digging at Tracks in Wax, I uncovered a rather strange relic: an album showcasing local music. The cover was a faded license plate with the words Arizona Sounds Vol. 1, sponsored by KDKB 93.3 FM. It was printed in 1977. As a Phoenix native, I’ve always had…
Social Distortion @ Marquee Theatre|1/22/23By most standards, I arrived on the Social Distortion scene rather late, some 15 years ago. I wasn’t much older than 14 when I bought my first album, and was — like most fans — immediately hooked. Many of us grew up on the lyrics of…
Fetish freaks, goth groupies, and costumed geeks…oh my. All of these types turned out by the hundreds for the Thriller Costume Party at Monsterland in Mesa this past Saturday for one last hurrah before the haunted house-themed nightspot headed for the gallows. They weren’t only party monsters packing into Monsterland…
Welcome to our Label of the Month feature, where we’ll expound on some of our favorite music manufacturing companies, the folks that help mold the entire picture for amazing artists and shoot those ideas out into the world. This month, we’re aiming our sights on Ghostly International, the Ann Arbor,…
After signing a three- million dollar record deal with Sony Music in 2011, A$AP Rocky, the 24-year-old Harlem-based emcee had a hell of a 2012. Already considered to be on front line of the new wave of hip-hop artists, A$AP lived a life that many aspiring musicians only dream about…
January isn’t the busiest time for concerts, but it is a month full of show announcements. It seems like a big and interesting show has been announced almost every week, and we can’t complain. Crystal Castles, Billy Bragg, and Jeff Mangum are all something to look forward to. The fun…
Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls’ Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to help you stop…
Yesterday, NME revealed the unfortunate news that the rumor that The Rolling Stoneswere headlining Coachella was just that– a rumor. “We’re not gonna do Coachella ‘cos it’s too early,” Mick Jagger told the magazine. “We’re not gonna be ready to go by April, but we’re not gonna stop.” Looks like…
By Andy Hermann As the Hollywood-based casting guru behind Jersey Shore and A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, Doron Ofir knows how the lowbrow culture game is played. But even the man who gave the world Snooki might have been caught off-guard by the outrage over one of his…
McDowell Mountain Music Festival’s 2013 lineup, featuring The Shins, The Roots, Deer Tick, Les Claypool’s Duo de Twang, and more, has expanded to include a host of local Phoenix-based acts. The weekend festival will now Kongos, Mergence, Banana Gun, Fayuca, The Veragroove, Yellow Minute, Decker, and Jared and The Mill,…
Once a week, Up on the Sun features a new comic strip from punk rocker, cartoonist, and full-time dad Brad Dwyer. See the New Times print edition to check out the strip in glorious, inky newsprint each Thursday…
Rebellious personas are to rock ‘n’ roll what cocaine was to the eighties: in high demand, deliciously indulgent, and a way to catch a buzz that makes it okay for men to rock garishly colored neon outfits. Stage names are a huge part of those heavy metal, punk, and rock…
Yeah, yeah, yeah…we get it. Mondays suck (we’ve read Garfield). But it means the start of a new week, which means a bunch of killer shows in and around Phoenix. And here are a few of the coolest — our top five must-see shows this week…
Iamwe @ Crescent Ballroom| 1/19/13We’re going to need another venue. Iamwe is a rare exception in indie music. Last night, the local rockers packed Crescent Ballroom to release their album, Run Wild. After touring the East Coast with Anberlin, the boys returned to their hometown to play their first headlining…
Trampled by Turtles @ Marquee Theatre|1/19/13The rumors are true: There’s nothing like a Minnesotan man. Better yet, there’s nothing like a group of Minnesotan men gifted with knowledge, skill, and artistic sensitivity performing exciting and powerful music. This might sound like a cheap generalization, there’s no way to better simplify…
