Phantogram is hitting the road in support of the follow up EP, or “mini-EP” as guitarist Josh Carter likes to call it, to the group’s dynamic debut LP, Eyelid Movies. Last year, this trip-hop group played a packed show at Rip’s Ales and Cocktails for Sticky Fingers. This time around,…
Sebastien Millon You can check out the local artist and fashion designer’s work here. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? NPR. I love keeping up on the news, but they also have so many great stories on culture, including…
Gwar guitarist Cory Smoot was found dead Thursday morning, according to NME.The band found Smoot, also known to metal fans as Flattus Maxiumus, while they were preparing to cross the border to Canada. The cause of his death is currently unknown.Frontman Dave Brockie, also known as Oderus Urungus, has released…
Nobunny, Mangled Men, JJCnV, and Andrew and his Feisty Felines Yucca Tap Room Wednesday, November 2, 2011 I think my favorite part of my recent JFA/skate punk oral history was Brian Brannon’s description of the early ’80s Phoenix punk scene: “It was good to have so many diverse bands like…
It’s been a long time since we’ve heard from thrash-metal stalwarts, Suicidal Tendencies. Most of the 2000s were void of any new albums, as the band lay dormant following their 1990s retirement. The good news for all you “cyco” fans is that as of 2009 original frontman Mike Muir has…
HemoptysisThere’s nothing more metal than shooting a music video in 100 degree-plus heat in the Arizona summer.That’s exactly what local metal band Hemoptysis did for their new clip, “M.O.D.,” off their debut full-length album, Misanthropic Slaughter. The video was shot this past September at an abandoned metal warehouse in Vail…
We’ve done a lot of coverage on the Rock the R3volution tour, from its announcement to almost inevitable collapse. The confluence of music and politics has always been interesting to me. Political art can be cringe-worthy (“boot up ‘yer ass,” anyone) or undeniably beautiful (“a change is gonna come”). Trevor…
We know our audience here at Up On the Sun isn’t the type to snub its nose toward local music, but if your friends have been willfully ignorant to the scene, there are no more excuses. And if they’re still making excuses, blindfold them and take them downtown. The Phoenix Center…
Earlier this year The Sheepdogs became the first unsigned band to land on the cover of Rolling Stone after they won the magazine’s Choose the Cover contest. Although they toured extensively before they entered the contest, their world was turned somewhat upside down when they finally won, and now they’re…
Reptar makes it look easy. Y’know, the whole “band” thing. The whole build a fanbase, tour, release albums… all that. But the way that the fast-rising dance-pop band’s career has evolved seems so by the book that it seems a little off. After all, didn’t the digital revolution mean that…
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 does Henry Rollins have to say about Occupy, his new book, and KCRW in Los…
This week’s issue is a weird one. In our feature, Danny Torgersen and Trevor Denton of Captain Squeegee and Sun Ghost discuss the Rock the R3volution tour, a musical celebration of Ron Paul. Yeah — as strange as that is. In our Shrapnel section, Chris Piel examines the potentially long-lasting…
When operating in a genre that’s decidedly retro, a little bit of self-awareness is necessary. Otherwise, you run the risk of looking like you’re living, writing songs, and performing in a hermetic time-warp bubble. Someone like the fiery Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings are a terrific band — but their…
It’s a secret go-to cliché of publicists everywhere: If a band’s biography says its music “defies categorization,” it usually can be pegged in four words or fewer. In other words, it’s code for “I’m not into this band enough to sit back and contemplate what this music really is.” PAWL…
Jeez, who do you have to screw to be nicknamed “The Devil”? I mean, Jerry Lee Lewis married his teenage cuz and got booted out of Bible school for playing a boogie-woogie version of “My God Is Real,” and the best he could come away with was “The Killer.” Jesse…
Okay, so we’re going to come clean. When we saw that Phoenix-based electro/indie/hip-hop dude YUS had a tune called “Hunger Strike” on his SoundCloud page, we thought we were in for a Temple of the Dog remix. Clearly, we’ve been spending too much time reading grunge 20th-anniversary coverage. YUS’ “Hunger…
The Diplomats were once New York’s most subversive hip-hop crew. With members including the gleefully antisocial Cam’ron, the group brandished pink fur coats and rhymed about drinking sake on Osaka Bay. Their brittle, desolate tracks were full of psychedelic pomp and gauche non sequiturs. But since hitting their commercial peak…
Danny Torgersen and Trevor Denton are two very different guys. We’re huddled around a table at Cartel Coffee Lab in Tempe on a busy Tuesday night. Torgersen is firing off rapid-fire statements, punctuated by a unique laugh, akin to a cackle, one that half endears you to him and half…
The mind of Bryce “Decade” Tieman would be a trippy place to visit. Based on the otherworldly electronica audioscapes he’s uploaded to SoundCloud, it’s likely that the head of the local EDM aficionado is filled with a fantastic and fanciful array of colors, lights, and sounds. You’ll probably witness a…
With new album w h o k i l l, Merrill Garbus — the fearless, ferociously talented woman behind beatnik pop outfit tUnE-yArDs — aims for the history books. “I always want to be at the forefront of progressive pop, like Deerhoof or the Dirty Projectors,” Garbus says. “They’re changing…
A year ago, Odd Future were the hottest shit in the rap game. They were crude, smart, and original. Fans and critics caught on, excited by the obnoxious rhymes and lyrical violence. But now that Tyler the Creator’s album Goblin has dropped to lackluster sales, critics are re-evaluating. Maybe Odd…
Thursday 3 27th Avenue Bar: DJ Manage (Top 40) Afterlife: Thumpin’ Thursdays (various) AZ 88: Josh One (various) Bar Smith: Ladies Night with DJ iDenaty, DJ EC Rock, & DJ Oh-Jezus (various) Blue Martini: Rewind Thursday with DJ Mendez (hip-hop, dance, Top 40) Bobby Q’s: DJ Deuce (hip-hop) Capitol Sports…
