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…
I initially conceived this list as a starting point to further explore of one of the biggest albums of the year: “Ayo, if you liked that Grimes record, this shit is pretty good, too.” The Korean and Japanese pop influence on Visions made it easy to like, but it was…
The United States was was knee deep in the Vietnam conflict when John Lennon and Yoko Ono penned the words to the 1971 single, “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).” But while it’s been more than 30 years since the infamous twosome led the cries for an end to violence and…
Austin metal quartet The Sword has gone through some significant changes since the release of 2010’s Warp Riders, a high-concept album taking place on the halves of a fictional planet each locked in eternal day and nighttime. They replaced their drummer, signed to a new label, and toned their earlier…
Let’s face it, the Mayan Calendar thing is kind of silly, but I’m still obsessed with it because I often ruminate on The End. It’s an important scenario to consider, no matter how unlikely, because it makes us ask the Big Questions and wonder how meaningful/meaningless our lives truly are…
Bloc Party @ Marquee Theatre|12/9/12Bloc Party brought a night full of surprises to Tempe — chiefly one that all attendees would be able to get a good night of sleep. Singer Kele Okereke had a bit of a cold, and the show ended at the very un-rock ‘n’ roll hour…
Sometimes it can be difficult to get pumped up for the holidays, especially nowadays, when the sacred dates are saturated with commercialism, consumer greed, and an importance on tradition that, unfortunately for many, lost its spiritual meaning a long time ago. See also: Your Holiday Heavy Metal Gift Guide Korn…
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. See also: 10 Most Ridiculous Claims Made By Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine Dave…
When it comes to bar traditions, karaoke is on par with happy hour specials, bar nuts, and forgetting to close out your tab after a long night of partying. Whether you have the talent to audition for American Idol or The Voice, or you just think you’re the best singer…
The Cabbage Patch. The Running Man. The Dougie. There was no shortage of slick dance moves that the folks who attended the La La Land Music Festival at the Phoenix Convention Center on Friday pulled out of their collective repertoires as such EDM superstars as Bl3nd, Cosmic Gate, and Datsik…
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…
Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding: Don Felder, L.A. Guns, Sebastian Bach, John O’Hurley, Murray SawChuck, and Alice Cooper with Johnny Depp @ Comercia Theatre|12/8/12Local shock rock legend and all Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee Alice Cooper hosted his 12th annual Christmas Pudding holiday bash at Comerica Theatre in downtown…
La La Land Music Festival @ Phoenix Convention Center, 12/7/2012Has the current zeitgeist of electronic dance music about to hit its expiration date? It’s a contentious topic that’s been bandied about by DJs, producers, and online music wonks in recent weeks. No less a source than the great godhead himself…
Orgy @ Joe’s Grotto|12/7/12Alt metal band Orgy had its heyday in the late ’90s/early 2000s, but after singer Jay Gordon retooled the lineup last year (Gordon is the only remaining original member) I was curious to see how they would actually fare live. Luckily, what I found at Joe’s Grotto…
The news waits for no one — at least that’s what we read somewhere — so it’s perfectly understandable that you, the reader, might have missed out on a musical tidbit, breaking news about your favorite venue, or one of our rants. So enjoy this digest-style sampling of some of…
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band @ Jobing.com Arena|12/6/12Who is Bruce Springsteen anyway? The street rat poet singing about characters straight out of West Side Story? The balladeer casting American youth in B movie glory, Roy Orbison grandeur, and fleets of fast cars? The protest singer, spitting bile at…
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Singer and guitarist David Martinez, 28, resides in the Mesa suburbs but hones his musical chops in a rather unexpected place: the small mining town of Superior, about 60 miles east of Phoenix on U.S. 60, where films like The Gauntlet (with Clint Eastwood), Eight Legged Freaks, and The Skinwalkers…
’80s rocker Don Dokken will make a special appearance tonight at Club Red for an intimate acoustic performance featuring Dokken hits, cover tunes, and the stories behind some of the band’s greatest hits. Dokken fans were prematurely promised a full fledged reunion last year when the singer and guitar god…
Shan Man of 98 KUPD You can hear 98 KUPD’s weeknight DJ from 7-11 p.m. every weeknight and find his KUPD blogs at www.98kupd.com. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? Is this a trick question and are…
Speaking with comedian Gregg Turkington about Phoenix’s storied 80’s punk scene, yielded plenty of yarns about seeing legendary bands in their prime. However, he also painted a vividly grotesque portrait of Arizona during the Reagan ’80s and his own teenage experience in trying to navigate reactionary politics, fried food, and…
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…
