See also: Up on the Sun: The Podcast, featuring Mitch Freedoms Soul Jam Selections Welcome to another episode of Up on the Sun’s weekly podcast. This week we’re joined by Tucson MC/tattooist/director Isaiah Toothtaker. We’ve featured a couple of videos from his upcoming EP with incarcerated rapper Max B (formerly…
See also: Musical Instrument Museum Debuts “I Am AZ Music” Exhibit See also: Alice Cooper: No More Mr. Bad Guy When Alice Cooper, Phoenix’s resident lord of the underworld/radio personality/Christian activist, pops up in the Tim Burton new flick, Dark Shadows, what he’s wearing should look mighty familiar. The duds,…
We reviewed Roger Waters’ show last time he was in town, and he blew us away. As Perez Hilton would say, that concert was “amaze-balls.” Waters has been on tour for over a year and a half, and the man knows what he’s doing. He also knows people won’t hesitate…
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. Saturday, May 12: Right to Marry to Stage Benefit Show @ Trunk Space It’s…
I’m glad I grew up in the ’90s. I had strong, independent, beautiful women as musical role models, and they ruled the airwaves. The Spice Girls preached girl power, Lilith Fair paraded feminine gusto across the country, and No Doubt , fronted by Gwen Stefani, assured us that being treated…
On Wednesday, President Obama affirmed his support of same-sex marriage in the United States, a position that’s evolved over the past couple of years. He’s still making plenty of room for the states rights discussion, but still, Barry’s support is a big effin’ deal. “It is important for me to…
Captain Squeegee frontman Danny Torgersen is a bona fide quote machine. The singer and trumpeter is known for his unconventional views. Just take his vocal contribution to a song that asserts 9/11 was an inside job (in dubstep!) or simply supporting underdog Ron Paul for president. Those views might be…
Greg Lake says he doesn’t have a whole lot of time to listen to music. He’s too busy playing it, as he’s done since the 1960s, doing time as a member of King Crimson, Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, The Gods, Asia, and Ringo Starr’s All-Star Band, effectively establishing himself as…
Mother’s Day is all about celebrating moms, motherhood, and maternal bonds (to quote Wikipedia), but why do we stop there? What about celebrating all women? That’s what the National Day Labor Organizing Network and human rights movement Puente Arizona is planning to do on Sunday, May 13, with the event…
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 is Devo doing with instrument-maker Corey Busboom’s creations in their new video? Why are we…
If you’re bored and have access to the Interwebs, go to Amazon and type “string tribute to” in the search field and prepare to be blown away. Did you know there’s a string version of James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful” (because the original is too threatening)? How about Tool? How about…
Countless rock docs and tell-alls have confirmed it: Lead singers/songwriters are dictators. Call it an ego thing, but there’s no denying that those dudes know what they want, and if that doesn’t jibe with a band’s established democracy, well . . . tough. Don’t agree with the lead singer? You’ll…
Waka Flocka Flame has said he writes his lyrics as a way to express the emotions he’s feeling at a given time and that they’re usually tapped out on the fly on his BlackBerry, rather than in a meticulously curated notebook, as is the case with many rappers. Well, express…
“Fuck It, You Win” has to be one of the greatest, most hate-filled song titles ever penned to an ex who’s taken things too far. Add stinging guitars, ripped-from-the-gut vocals, and a driving, in-the-gutter beat (and captivatingly dark video imagery), and it’s not just a catchy title but a fucking…
How to measure loyalty, commitment, devotion? In the case of David Jensen, of Sunset Alliance Records and guiding light behind Before Braille, Art for Starters, and now Loyal Wife, his dedication to music can be physically measured in the form of actual compact disc inventory, shrink-wrapped and stacked up, in…
Although it usually takes an hourlong drive to drag your ass all the way up to the Cowtown Event Venue in the Northwest Valley, EDM fans from across PHX will want to make the lengthy trek this weekend. That’s only because DJ Sam Groove and the members of Hades Entertainment…
With Arizona politics an ever-increasing mix of insanity and idiocy, it’s nice to know that some folks are still out there fighting the good fight. Alicia Porter, 24, is busy enough with her full-time job as outreach specialist at the Arizona Science Center and pursuing her master’s in museum studies…
Since the emergence of the term, “emo rap” has been a pejorative shunned by any artist to whom the tag was applied. But it’s a useful label nonetheless, aptly encompassing a particular brand of emotive, borderline-sensitive hip-hop that emerged full-force after Kanye West’s flawed but important 808s and Heartbreaks. Canadian…
Thursday 10 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,…
Body-modification superstar Dani Danger is moving to Hollywood, but in gregarious fashion, freaky folks gathered to wish her well with a huge party. Tempe Mediterranean restaurant Olive Branch was transformed on Saturday, May 5, morphing into a sight-to-see circus. Pink-haired gals dressed as flappers and puffed on long, elegant cigarette…
Florida punk-rockers Against Me! have always made honesty a policy, discussing scene politics, social politics, and issues of justice and hypocrisy with an insight and power. But who saw this one coming: After a long battle with gender dysphoria, Tom Gabel of Against Me! has decided to start living his…
Anything you can do I can do better. Of course, that isn’t the case if you can actually do it better. Just to be clear, this list isn’t about girl power. No doubt, there are dudes who rock harder than some girls and girls who rock harder than some dudes…
