There’s never been a huge a market for heavy metal music videos. Praise is far and few between, and they don’t garner awards like pop music videos, clips like Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” which won seven MTV Video Music Awards in 2010, and even grabbed a Grammy for Best Short…
Nothing says “it’s officially summertime” quite like seeing a dude nonchalantly sporting a short sun dress. Appropriately, Sundressed has got us pumped up for a great summer gig this weekend that’s part of the June F-Boms series.This Friday at 8 p.m., Sundressed will be performing one of five residency shows…
If you’ve walked by Bar Smith on a recent Wednesday evening and had your eardrums assaulted, its probably Jason Ayers’ fault. The bass-loving beat-juggler and his long-running SubConscious night have (literally) been shaking the downstairs walls at the downtown Phoenix club with a storm of subharmonics and plenty of thrum…
Where we’re going, we don’t need roads; just a synthesizer, eyeliner, and a touch of androgyny. Welcome to Flashback Friday. Seminal ’80s ska revivalists Madness are probably best remembered for their kooky house-of-mirrors-style riff-raff and carnival music flair. During MTV’s glory days, it was all about the cheery pop/rock sound…
There’s no such thing as the sophomore slump for Santi White, who has once again charmed audiences with the genre-defying Master of My Make-Believe. The album includes collaborations with members of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Switch, Diplo, and David Sitek, as well as the infectiously catchy song “Disparate Youth.” Santigold’s…
fun. Ikeda Theater at Mesa Arts Center Thursday, May 31 See also: Nate Ruess Has Some fun. At Zia Records fun. frontman Nate Ruess wears his heart on his sleeve, and that’s why it’s so easy to get into his head. His lyrics — part stream of consciousness (“My friends…
It’s not usually a happy ending for a band when only some of their members are informed that they’re breaking up. Aaron Freeman, a.k.a. Gene Ween, said earlier this week that it’s time for him to put Ween to rest. “It’s been a long time — 25 years,” Freeman said…
I can’t even start writing this blog without thinking about what an utter hypocrite I am. When I was 12, I obsessed with the Backstreet Boys. I may or may not have wished my Nick Carter poster a good night as I went to sleep. I felt like their music…
Mike James The local comedian performs Thursday, June 7, at Jaxon’s in Scottsdale. For more information, go here. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? 97.3-FM — 24/7 comedy. What’s the first album you bought? Haha. I was 8…
Curious what’s going on around town this weekend? Need some suggestions as to how to rock, dance, or krump in the Valley of the Sun? Don’t fret: These are our Five Shows to See This Weekend. Friday, June 1: Frequency Fridays @ DWNTWN Fridays used to be one of the…
News reports indicate that the shooting at Seattle’s Cafe Racer Espresso on Wednesday, May 30, took the life of Joseph “Vito” Albanese, an establishing member of the Phoenix punk rock scene. Matt Driscoll of our sister paper Seattle Weekly’s Daily Weekly blog writes that 40-year-old Ian L. Stawicki was behind…
See also: Peel Me Off This Velcro Seat: 15 Songs About Being Bored Hope you had productive May. Today is the last day the official month of masturbation. Who comes up with that stuff, anyway? We hope you gave yourself some lovin’ this month, and we encourage you to continue…
Gun Outfit and Broken Water Meat Market Garment Factory Wednesday, May 30 I will declare, without the slightest inkling of doubt or hesitance, that Olympia, Washington has the best independent music scene in the country right now. The major hipster metropoli (Brooklyn, San Francisco, Austin) all have loads of recognized…
The Smashing Pumpkins have had a checkered past swirling with drug addiction, depression, lineup changes, and death. Yet the band has soldiered on — remarkably, the band is set to release its seventh album, Oceania, on June 19. Billy Corgan is the only remaining member in a band that oscillated…
See also: John Prine and Loudon Wainwright III at The Orpheum Theatre, 11/19/11 See also: Loudon Wainwright III on 40 Odd Years, Rufus, Martha, and Emotionally Flashing The Who’s Pete Townshend may have famously penned the line “I hope I die before I get old,” but in many ways, it…
See also: Meet The Devil’s Daughters, Phoenix’s New Sultry Rockabilly Sirens The Devil’s Daughters became the talk of the rockabilly town last week when we introduced the Valley to their smokin’-hot sound and cool-cat style. As promised, the lovely ladies released their first music video over the weekend. The slick…
Valley artist Drew Alexander, who goes by the moniker Square Eyes, knows you don’t need a major label to produce high-quality work.The local singer-songwriter and producer, whom we profile in this week’s issue of Phoenix New Times, is no longer signed to Geffen Records, but judging by the slick clip of…
This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up On The Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts. What are sultry rockabilly sirens The Devil’s Daughters up to? What are our 10 favorite vintage…
What does true belief sound like? Something like Fred Cole’s guitar, I reckon, or his busted voice, backed by the thumping bass lines of his wife, Toody. Both in their 60s, they’ve rumbled along the back roads of punk rock, garage, and country music for nearly 40 years, most notably…
Though it seems most of the indie bands of the ’80s disappeared for a while (perhaps waiting for Coachella to offer them a stack of cash to reunite), plenty of rock acts — especially those working during the big hair/power-ballad-as-the-second-single era — have stuck around, playing smaller venues, cruise ships,…
It’s high praise for a band to get compared to ’80s pop punks Descendents, and fellow Los Angeles County melodic-punk vets Toys That Kill share a similar backstory. Todd Congelliere previously fronted F.Y.P., a hardcore band with a rotating lineup. F.Y.P. followed a strategy employed by Descendents: changing the band’s…
It was a year of landmarks when rock en español pioneers Caifanes released their self-titled debut. The Washington Redskins were crowned Super Bowl champions, then-presidential candidate George Bush made “read my lips” a catchphrase, and the hottest woman on the planet was a cartoon character named Jessica Rabbit. That year,…
