Oh, Alanis, you sure have mellowed out. Seventeen years ago, you released Jagged Little Pill, one of the most commercially successful albums of the ’90s. Those vindictive songs about heartbreak (“You Oughta Know”) were balanced by the Taoist outlooks (“Hand in My Pocket”) and not-so-ironic situations (“Ironic”). It was an…
Oh, foolish, foolish record industry! You could’ve saved yourself once — maybe twice over — if only you had you listened to forward-thinkers like Otto D’Agnolo. In 2005, the producer/owner of Chaton Recording Studios wrote a slim volume, The Music Business Is Burning Down, Thank God, in which he foreshadowed…
In the hands of most DJs, a pair of turntables is the place to put colored Serato Control records. When wielded by the expert hands of Richard Quitevis, known in the music world as DJ Qbert, a pair of Technics 1200s will reach transcendence, becoming a true musical instrument or…
Mike Watt doesn’t waste time. Picking up the phone in San Pedro, the town he’s called home since his childhood, he answers with a distinct, direct bark: “Watt!” He plays music the same way he greets interviewers, with no time for introductions and pleasantries. We’ll recap anyway: He was one-third…
Nirvana or Pearl Jam? It’s the Beatles-or-Stones query of the flannel era, a sort of musical litmus test, almost a line in the sand. Nirvana, of course, has the tragedy going for it (like The Beatles), and the successful followup projects (Foo Fighters is Nirvana’s Wings, and Eyes Adrift is,…
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, R&B, dancehall) Cadillac Ranch: Thirsty Thursdays with DJ Chris…
Officials from the Tempe Police Department recently arrested a second suspect in connection with the now-infamous shootings that took place outside of the Clubhouse Music Venue earlier this year. According to documents from Maricopa County Superior Court obtained by Up on the Sun, Tempe cops apprehended Bryston Zavion Ware a…
PiL @ Marquee Theatre|10/30/12″You all look so fucking happy!” Public Image, Ltd. frontman John Lydon called out the crowd about halfway through the band’s Marquee Theatre performance. And he was right; the surprisingly small crowd was truly caught up in the moment because; well, simply because the music was so…
Happy Halloween, everyone! On behalf of everyone at Up on the Sun, I hope you find a cool concert or party to go to tonight, and thoroughly encourage you to party a little too hard. Halloween is a blast–as a kid, neighbors handed out free candy because you dressed up…
Converge @ Nile Theater| 10/30/12By Mike Bogumill When trying to describe to people unfamiliar with Converge what kind of event I went to last night, I was hesitant to use a phrase like “metal show” or “hardcore show”. While metal and hardcore certainly influence all the bands that performed, none…
There’s nothing more annoying than when your boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend just can’t move on — especially when it involves her posting adorable animal pictures on his Facebook page. It’s that kind of ex-girlfriend misbehavior that inspired local musician Haley Grigaitis, aka Ruca, to write the bluesy song, “Hands Off.” “‘Hands Off’…
Our man about town, Alice Cooper is a busy guy. In addition to all that rocking and rolling, he’s currently holding down the Halloween guest editor spot over at Village Voice’s Sound of the City blog. And of course, he’s ironing out the details of his annual Christmas Pudding event…
When The Compound Grill closed in April, 2012, it set the future of the McDowell Mountain Music Festival, which had taken place there since 2010, in uncertain light. See also: Compound Grill Closes See also: All New Times McDowell Mountain Music Festival Coverage Of course, the festival (winner of our…
Last week, a couple of so-called indie bands released music videos that featured quirky blonde actresses. Michelle Williams traveled to Niagara Falls Wild Nothing’s “Paradise” and The Girl Next Door Elisha Cuthbert imagines herself in a movie in The Gaslight Anthem’s video for “Here Comes My Man.” Both of these…
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…
Matthew Dear @ Rhythm RoomPart of the reason you see musicians live is to experience their craft firsthand. Like a zoo or the ocean, secondhand exposure just doesn’t cut it — you need to see it for yourself. I went into Matthew Dear’s show not knowing what to expect: he…
My house got robbed over the summer and among the items taken were my laptop and iPod. I had backed up none of my data. I would estimate I lost somewhere around 12,000 songs. It also feels safe to estimate that 95 percent of my MP3 collection was not purchased…
One of the brilliant things about collaborative music groups is that there’s always work to be done. Accounting for half of the super group Writer’s Guild, Mr. Miranda and Random a.k.a Mega Ran hit the road earlier this month to tour with fellow local emcee Mouse Powell, allowing group member…
As Com Truise, east coaster Seth Haley struggles with something resembling a gear fetish, owning close to 15 vintage synthesizers. Naturally, his instrumental monsters stem from some of the most influential ’80s New Wave acts, from New Order to Berlin to Depeche Mode, but his grip on EDM, self-described as…
Tiger Army @ Marquee Theatre | 10/28/12Tiger Army frontman Nick 13 promised something special when we spoke to him last week ahead of last night’s Halloween celebration, Octoberflame V. That could have meant a number of things in hindsight: outrageous outfits, an elaborate stage set up, pyrotechnics, and any number…
A lot of folks were buzzing about seeing Green Day in a club as intimate as the Marquee Theatre in Tempe on Monday, December 10, but it looks like folks will just have to keep imagining (or read our review of the Foxboro Hot Tubs gig at the dearly departed…
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…
