The recent 10th anniversary party for The Blunt Club saw plenty of old favorites making a return to the long-running hip-hop night. That includes former host Emerg McVay (who’s been busy shooting music videos these days) and onetime resident John Hyder. While the 30something hip-hop selecta left both the Blunt…
Gardner Cole Cole, who has written and produced for artists such as Madonna, is the producer for local country pop band Arrowheart, who are schedueld to perform Sunday, May 27 at Hidden Meadow Ranch. For more information, head here. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on…
Where we’re going, we don’t need roads; just a synthesizer, eyeliner, and a touch of androgyny. Welcome to Flashback Friday. In case you missed it, Google commemorated the 78th birthday of electronic music pioneer, Bob Moog, with a wicked-cool doodle earlier this week. Moog left his mark on the world…
When Ari Leopold moved to the Valley last year, he stumbled upon a burgeoning indie rock scene that couldn’t be ignored. Well, difficult for him to ignore, anyway. The Tempe rock scene he fell in love with isn’t exactly popular if you’re thinking mainstream success. You don’t see parents from…
“Loud” is the most common description of A Place to Bury Strangers, the New York-based trio of Robi Gonzalez (drums), Oliver Ackermann (guitar/vocals), and Dion Lunadon (bass guitar). But loud is only part of it, as Worship, the band’s expansive new album (due out June 26 on Dead Oceans) demonstrates…
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, May 25, and Saturday, May 26: Lost Leaf Turns Five It’s been five…
Tupac’s hologram appearance at Coachella sparked all sorts of buzz, from the Hologram Tupac Twitter to the exclusive all-hologram Coachella lineup. And, sure, it would be pretty rad to see Michael Jackson, Nirvana, Buddy Holly, The Beatles, and Bob Marley & the Wailers on the same bill, but Goldenvoice would…
Arizona’s rockabilly music scene has a new voice in Mesa’s “devilish duet” The Devil’s Daughters. Sultry sirens Mysti Moon and Lisa Mortensen are equipped with drop-dead stares and cool croons, and a swinging band to announce their arrival. Backed by drummer Leeroy Nelson, guitarist Shorty Kruetz, and stand-up bassist Tommy…
Last week, punk band Rise Against ended their boycott of Arizona by announcing two high-profile shows. That isn’t to say that The Sound Strike , the boycott organized by rockers like Zack de la Rocha to impact the state in the wake of SB 1070 is over, but it’s shifting…
See also: Ladylike Approaches ’70s Pop With Sharpened Tools Records don’t often sound as effortless as Ladylike’s self-titled debut. The Tempe-based power-pop combo subtly incorporates disparate elements of ’70s pop, piano rock, and Queen bombast, topping it all off with effervescent melodies. The band, made up of Rob Kroehler, Ryan…
It was a night of porn like no other. Before relocating to Arizona I did a night shift at KUNC, a public radio station in Fairbanks, Alaska. Broadcasts occasionally adopted a theme and one show was devoted to ’70s soundtracks. My friend Nathan, who has the most eclectic taste in…
See also: Dead Eyes of London Aim For Loose Grooves In this week’s issue of New Times, Lauren Wise speaks with modern-rockers-turned-retro-garage-soul fetishists Dead Eyes of London. “[Our music is for] the fan that has listened to punk rock and matured,” guitarist Chan Vallarino says. “[It’s] heavy and darkly romantic…
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 deceased Bee Gee Robin Gibb’s best songs? How does Ian Astbury of The Cult…
The music of Phoenix-based rock ‘n’ roll outfit Dead Eyes of London is the sound of a reboot. It’s a terse re-imagining of the beats of vintage Motown, the slinkiness of jazz, the sweat-caked T-shirts of garage rockers, and spilled cocktails. But it’s not retro-minded and stuck in the past,…
Don’t worry if you have trouble categorizing what exactly Brooklyn-based artist Reggie Watts does. Is it performance art? Music? Comedy? It’s mostly best to just listen. “I can exist in both worlds — comedy and music,” Watts says over the phone. “It’s just something natural. I like to travel between…
For better or worse, the sacred cows of punk are being gutted — for example, the now-antiquated concept of “selling out” has nearly vanished from the lexicon of underground music. Even hardcore — a genre that places a gigantic bounty on aesthetic purity and hard-nosed authenticity — is rethinking its…
“I’m not of the ‘avant-garde über alles’ mindset,” guitarist Bill Horist says on the phone from Seattle, where he’s lived and launched tours since 1995. “I like all kinds of music. People say they like all kinds of music, and sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. I like a lot…
When it comes to George Clinton and Funkadelic, or Parliament or Parliament Funkadelic or the P-Funk All-Stars — or whatever his backing ensemble might be called — you’re either all in or you’re in for a long evening. Given Clinton’s propensity for playing three- to four-hour concerts, this brand of…
When the owners of the Monarch Theatre stated they wanted the downtown Phoenix venue to become one of the premier forums for electronic dance music in the Valley, they weren’t screwing around. In the four weeks since the joint debuted, it’s featured such top-shelf EDM tastemakers as New York trance…
Thursday 24 16th Street Bar & Grill: Kickback Thursdays with DJ Cedric Ceballos (hip-hop, classics, neo-soul, reggae, R&B, Top 40, old school) Azucar Cuban Lounge: Latin Night with DJ Los & DJ Yoshi (cumbia, reggaeton, bachata, rock en Español, old school, funk) Bar Smith: Double Vision Thursday with DJ Kyko,…
Free online music service Spotify has plenty of fans (and nearly as many vocal detractors) but let’s stick to the facts. According to the music library, Ladylike is a “rock-oriented version of The Pussycat Dolls,” a “contemporary girl group comprised of four striking vocalists.” Below the description, you can listen…
Irene, simply put, is an enabler. Ostensibly a duo, Cincinnati’s Bad Veins are able to augment their indie-pop performances with a vintage reel-to-reel player, such a crucial element to the band that it’s been anthropomorphized, sort of as a do-it-all female multi-instrumentalist (complete with her own Twitter: @thereelirene). “Irene does…
