As 2012 draws to a close, we’ll be looking forward to the 2013 and spotlighting 13 Phoenix bands that will be making a mark on the Southwest throughout the new year. Our first entry in the series comes from writer Troy Farah, focusing in on new “math folk” band Me…
Robert Thornton Thornton is the founder of Paper Clouds Apparel, which is launching a new line of clothing raising funding for special needs schools on January 7. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? The only station I really…
Curious about what’s going on around town this weekend? Need some suggestions where to rock, dance, or krump in the Valley of the Sun? Don’t fret: These are our Five Shows to See This Weekend…
So, hey, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame went ahead and announced their Class of 2013, which this time around includes Rush, Public Enemy, Randy Newman and someone called the “Disco Queen,” Donna Summer. Those who were nominated but didn’t make the cut included Kraftwerk, Deep Purple, Joan Jett…
In this week’s issue of New Times, I chart the conversation that occurred when I sat down with J.S. Aurelius and Alexander Jarson of Tempe’s Ascetic House, a creative “collective” that releases art, video, music, and literature. The two aren’t eager to define what Ascetic House “is.” And that’s the…
Alt-country rockers Limbeck may technically be a Southern California band, but the group has number of ties to Arizona. “Comin’ From Tucson” is about a long drive home after playing a show at Club Congress almost a decade ago, the band is good friends with Reubens Accomplice, who just so…
2012 wasn’t really a bad year for local hardcore and metal music, but there seemed to be more noteworthy demos circulating around than official releases. Now, I understand that the distinction between a demo and an official release is really just a matter of using the word “demo” to describe…
Justin Townes Earle can tell stories. It’s what the Nashville-raised singer-songwriter has done for six years, writing albums that have placed him at the forefront of rusty, soulful Americana. His records drip with imagery — muddy rivers, ghosts, “Memphis in the Rain” — and he speaks just as vividly as…
Like any country band worth its salt, Limbeck knows the value of “road songs.” The band’s sophomore record, Hi, Everything’s Great (2003), is a must-have for any cross-country road trip, its lyrics describing the nation’s cities and highways with the same vivid detail as the interesting characters the band has…
“Ascetic House is operated out of the West Temple, a small shed in the Sonoran Desert, and much of the artwork, music, and publications were actualized therein.” So reads the inscription at the front of most of the photocopied chapbooks filled with prose, poetry, and firsthand psychedelic accounts issued by…
What started in Portland, Oregon, as a 2003 Fat Tuesday party has evolved into the must-see national act. MarchFourth Marching Band’s music brings to light the deepest grooves of funk, swing, rock, and jazz, and their style pulls from an array of influences, like Sergeant Pepper leading a freaky Cirque…
Austin metal quartet The Sword is keeping it simple. In 2010, the band had its greatest commercial success to date with the dazzling Warp Riders, a high-concept album that was the metal equivalent to a sci-fi novel. For Apocryphon, the band’s newest release for indie label Razor and Tie, singer/guitarist…
Boots, big buckles, tight jeans, and 10-gallon Stetsons is the non-official dress code (but garb of choice for most attendees) for the annual KMLE Acoustic Christmas, benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. There will be plenty of good tidings and twang in the air as rising country stars Randy Houser,…
Ed Masley is the poet laureate of romantically challenged, over-educated, ne’er-do-wells, channeling the clever knock-kneed misanthropy of Elvis Costello. The Breakup Society frontman formed the band from the ashes of his old outfit, The Frampton Brothers, who broke up while recording the songs that would comprise TBS’ 2004 debut, James…
If DJ Phlava were penning a Christmas wish list to Santa this year, the local hip-hop selector would likely ask jolly ol’ Saint Nick for a new iPad, as well as a slick 60-inch HDTV for his living room wall, and a fancy ride for his son. In the meantime,…
Thursday 13 Afterlife: Touch Thursdays (Top 40, electronica, dance) AZ/88: Black Out Thursdays with Josh 1 (soulful house, lounge) Bar Smith: International Thursdays with DJ EC, DJ StarMarz, & DJ Clavo El Parientito (hip-hop, Latin) Bobby Q’s: All-Star Thursdays with DJ Phlava, DJ Dark Vader, & DJ Skoolboi (hip-hop, reggae,…
It’s peculiarly fitting that these two punk trailblazers should arrive in town on the same night, because they’ve been inextricably bound together for more than 35 years since the beginnings of Los Angeles’ punk underground. For one thing, they’ve endured, even though (or perhaps because) their members have solo careers…
It seems the record store world is in a constant state of shuffle in Phoenix. Recent months have seen Zia Records move up the road to its biggest location yet, Eastside Records reborn on Forest Ave., and the birth of Scottsdale’s The Record Room, which joins wax shack stalwarts like…
There are two things the peeps behind the Fitted Misfits know well: Hawking t-shirts and raging pretty effin’ hard. They did both this past Monday night at Zuma Grill in Tempe during their takeover of the Mill Avenue bar. And the Club Candids camera was there to capture all the…
Taylor Swift is coming to town on Tuesday, May 28, at Jobing.com Arena. And…never has the thought of the pending apocalypse been so appealing. Sure, Swift has her vocal detractors (like me), but her new album, Red was released in October and quickly sold a whole bunch of copies, which…
Watch any video from local pop rockers Halocene, and it’s clear that this band loves to have fun. The go completely over the top in the band’s new video for “Sometimes,” which focuses on the “What People Think I Do” meme. Even though the band has a blast trashing TVs…
This time of year is fun-slash-maddening for us goofy music critic types. It’s a time for poring over notes, for obsessively analyzing what made the records we loved so great. Of course, they can’t all be winners, can they? As we dug into our Best of Lists, we turned up…
