Welcome to the latest installment of our weekly feature, Sound Off, in which Jason P. Woodbury is joined by a different guest each week to listen to and discuss three tracks from local Phoenix artists. If you would like your songs to be considered for future Sound Off columns, please…
Halloween weekend showed no signs of slowing down at The All Hallow’s Day (Night) Costume Ball at The Crescent Ballroom. Live entertainment included a costume contest (congrats E.T.), Flamenco Por La Vida, and DJs Sean Watson, William Reed, Don Ricardo, Benni Beatnik, and many more. Most of the costumes were…
The ’80s. Pretty much since they ended, there has been mini-to-full-scale ’80s revivals every few years, with New Wave, dance punk, vintage hip-hop and other sounds of the cocaine-decade repurposed by young musicians. But some of 2011’s most buzzed-about records share a common bond, utilizing elements from ’80s soft rock…
Das Racist Crescent Ballroom Tuesday, November 1, 2011 From the outside, last night’s Das Racist show seemed like a typical hip-hop show. The trappings were the same: a bunch of MCs on stage, a hypeman/woman, and a DJ — but on closer inspection, there was something unusually eccentric about Das…
Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears are back with more of the same garage soul that they do so well. Their loud personality and groovy James Brown-style outshine those of other bands in the genre. Frontman Joe Lewis spoke to Up On The Sun about why the group loves playing…
Move over Mara Salvatrucha.Watch your backs Bloods and Crips. The rabidly loyal Insane Clown Posse fanbase otherwise known as Juggalos have earned the title of “hybrid gang” in the FBI’s 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment. The report states that, “many Juggalos subsets exhibit gang-like behavior and engage in criminal activity…
Bob Marley once said that “One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.” Reggae music, especially, has a way of making you forget your problems. Maybe because the kinds of people who listen to it are the usually same kind of people who enjoy getting…
People like to dedicate the month of November to specific tasks. Say, growing a mustache (Movember) or writing a novel (National Novel Writing Month). One dude who clearly knows how to do both is Nick Cave. His books, And the Ass Saw the Angel (1989) and The Death of Bunny…
Last weekend was full of fun Halloween parties, and Bar Smith exceeded expectations with this week’s edition of Sticky Fingers. Don Bolles of The Germs headlined this hipster dance party full of movie stars, sexy costumes, and people dressed as tacos on Friday, October 28. Check out all of Melissa…
It’s been a long time since the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson first began orchestrating one of rock’s most anticipated albums. Finally, after nearly four and a half decades of half-releases and bootlegs, Capitol Records is issuing the official release of the Beach Boys’ long lost album Smile. Wilson reconstructed his…
Otoacoustic Emissions at St. Augustine’s Church in Tempe Monday, October 31, 2011 According to the Billboard Contemporary Christian Music charts, “Courageous,” by the Georgia-based band Casting Crowns, is the most popular Christian song in America. The song is a lot of things: vaguely arena rock, pitched somewhere between Coldplay and…
Now you and your kids can dance to social activist music as performed by 99% of the bands in the Phoenix area. Not really, but the music roster at The 99% Unityfest on November 5 is looking pretty full, packed with talent from rock, hip-hop, funk, indie, folk outfits and more…
The last time Roger Waters pulled a big marketing stunt, it made a lot of people really mad — so I’m not at all surprised that the piggy bank that showed up yesterday at the New Times building proves that Waters isn’t into desecrating sad-indie kid memorials every time he…
If electronic dance rock from Arizona is your thing, then you need to know about Analog Society.Analog Society was one of the bands that was in the running to be the opening act at this year’s Fall Frenzy. They’re a five-piece local band with a cool rocker chick and they’re worth a listen,…
Some vidcasts you just have to make a leap of faith that everything will work out all right. Like when singer songwriter Lonna Kelly tells you she’s just formed a girl group called Make My Baby, you book them on the show and ask questions later which is what we…
On the official Rock the Revolution site, presidential candidate Ron Paul says: “I always knew that if you were going to have a revolution, you needed two things. Young people, and music.” Well, it used to say that at least. Now it just says: “Rock the r3volution Tour Has Been…
Back in May, Lydia announced that they’d be coming back from hiatus… sort of. The Gilbert-formed band is returning as a shell of itself, with co-founder Leighton Antelman leading the effort. He and drummer Craig Taylor decided to bring the band back after nearly everyone else in the group quit last…
As a rocker and vocalist, Sonny Moore was passable at best. As his alter ego Skrillex, however, the dude’s an electronic music maestro and fifth-degree party instigator. Moore displayed said skills last night at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe with aplomb as he whipped a crowd of more than 1,000…
We know it’s a school/work night and all, but it’s still Halloween, which means you have a perfect excuse for shucking off the Monday blues and getting creepy. There’s plenty going on around the Valley: indie-punk supergroup Wild Flag are scheduled to rock Rhythm Room, the excellent Shannon & The…
It’s happened to us all. You’re excited to catch a show, and in your over-exuberance, you wind up drinking too much and missing the whole thing. This week’s installment of Record Heat finds Brad Dwyer struggling with the same situation. We know you probably got your Halloween adventure out of…
Want to know what new release discs and platters are moving across the Valley at local record stores? We’ve got you covered with another installment of What’s Selling. The best part about Halloween is dressing up. Although no one in this week’s list at Stinkweeds in Phoenix is particularly horrifying,…
“I Want To Know What Love Is,” “Cold As Ice” and “Urgent,” then you’re in luck because Foreigner is making their way to Phoenix in January.If punk rock, underground hip-hop, or cabaret punk are more your style, plenty of venues will be able to offer you those types of shows…
