Artist: Black Rebel Motorcycle ClubTitle: Beat the Devil’s TattoosRelease date: March 9Label: Abstract Dragon/VagrantThere’s something kind of quaint about this new Black Rebel Motorcycle Club record. It isn’t bad, by any stretch, but it doesn’t sound nearly as dangerous as the band name and album title would have you believe…
Our man Kevin Murphy at So Much Silence is probably the biggest hip-hop head you’ll find in this town — at least when it comes to the obscure East Coast stuff of the mid-90s. So it’s no surprise that he correctly named the inspiration behind The Main Ingredient, a new-ish…
Ah, there are so many great things about this flier for the Nobility Obliged show tonight, March 11, at Chyro Arts.First: it’s pink. How punk rock is that? Not that the bands playing are exactly punk rock. Phoenix band Nobility Obliged and Cali-based Bird by Bird are more indie, and…
David Bazan was worried he’d be marginalized. At least that’s what he told me over the phone a few weeks ago, discussing public reaction to his latest album, Curse Your Branches”Honestly, what I actually thought was that the record was going to be so marginal, because anyone who cares so…
THURSDAY 11 Bikini Lounge: DJ Shane Kennedy (jazz, blues, country, R&B, rarities) Bomberos: Rani G., dk.strickler, Deon Pearson, & Alkeme (house) Capitol Sports Lounge: DJ Danny Peru (old school) Cherry Lounge & Pit: UK Thursdays (dubstep, trip-hop, drum ‘n’ bass) Copper State: DJ Kavi (hip-hop) Hanny’s: William Fucking Reed (lounge,…
Plenty of former punk and hardcore icons have traded in their volume, crunch, and at least some of their onstage aggression in recent years for new directions as folk-leaning singer-songwriters. Look at 7 Seconds’ Kevin Seconds, Hot Water Music’s Chuck Ragan, Gorilla Biscuits’ Walter Schreifels, etc. But if you poke…
To put it into perspective, Abe Vigoda the actor was born before the invention of the electric blender, Band-Aids (probably useful for that early electric blender development), and flash-frozen food technology, not to mention the discovery of penicillin. Dude’s been around a loooong time. It’s impossible to say right now…
When a guy like Martin Scorsese likes your music enough to release a best-of compilation of your music as part of his Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues series, you have to feel pretty good about yourself. Especially when you consider that some of the other artists included in the series…
There’s an easy way to distinguish between “alternative metal” and regular, old-timey heavy metal. Critics and rock anatomists will tell you about “time signatures” and “syncopation,” but the lyrics offer a more rewarding contrast. For example, instead of instructing the head-banging masses to “Pour some sugar on me,” an alternative-metal…
Remember those kooky Freedom Rock TV commercials (“Turn it up, man!”) from the ’80s? It was a great gimmick — and potentially adaptable to any music genre, be it gangsta rap or Christian pop or Celtic punk. Can’t you just envision it gone Irish? “Oi, Seamus, is that Sham-Rock?” says…
The DJ duo of Roya and Funkfinger are the best friends any culture vulture could ever want. Together, the pulchritudinous pair puts on the dynamite dance night Obscura every month at vintage dive bar Rips, 3045 North 16th Street, serenading local scenesters with hot spins of retro Europop hits, ’80s…
It’s been almost a year since Antique Scream packed their gear, and little else, into their touring van, left Phoenix, and moved to Seattle. Back then, the band — singer/guitarist Chris Rutledge, bassist Stu Lasswell, and drummer Bill Fees — had just finished a three-month U.S. tour and signed with…
It’s an understatement to say that New Times music editor Martin Cizmar has the ability to piss people off. Everyone from Ted Nugent to Frankie Muniz has had harsh words for Martin. In January, Cizmar wrote a blog post with the rather innocent headline, “Do House Shows Matter?” expressing his…
Over the past decade, Xiu Xiu has released some pretty bleak tunes. The musical project of San Jose singer/guitarist Jamie Stewart and various collaborators has put out guaranteed party-stoppers like “Support Our Troops OH!”(“Did you know you were going to shoot off the top of a 4-year-old girl’s head?”) and…
Random If Random wanted to be any more the opposite of mainstream rap, he’d probably have to take up the banjo and start playing country music. A middle-school social studies teacher by day, Random writes hip-hop music that is devoid of profanity, misogyny, violence and (thankfully) Auto-Tune. Instead, Random’s hip-hop…
This week, New Times ran a box 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. Why did Howard Stern give Phoenix band The Heartless $5,000? Why is John Lennon Advertising cars?…
Jimmy Martin-Nelson (a.k.a. Death to the Throne) is a little hesitant discussing the success he’s experienced in recent years as a DJ. No less a source than the Web sites of Rolling Stone and Vibe have heaped praise upon the funky Phoenician for his remixes of songs by such heavyweights…
Artist: AcrassicaudaTitle: Only the Dead See the End of the WarRelease date: March 9Label: ViceI forget who said it (Ebert? Tarantino?) but someone once questioned whether a movie is really any better just because it’s “based on a true story.” Whomever said it was implying that no, it’s usually not…
It seems anything involving Blondie and Converse, the quintessential and iconic shoe of late-’70s punk rockers, would be a great idea.Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry wasn’t just known for her golden tresses and her take-charge attitude, but also for her sense of style. Many musicians who came after her followed her…
Maybe it’s because I’m a heterosexual female, but I enjoy watching the guys on this season of American Idol way more than the girls, and I don’t even enjoy watching the guys that much.Ouch, you say? Well, if you’ve been watching the top 24 in action at all since the…
While Phoenix vodka lovers are celebrating Chelsea Handler’s upcoming appearance Thursday, March 11 at Dodge Theatre, a few of her writers from her late-night comedy talk show, Chelsea Lately, are also coming to the Valley. Next Saturday, March 20, stand-up comics, writers and round table participants from the show…
[jump] Shows announced in the past week:Iron Maiden: With Dream Theater, Thursday June 17, 7:30 p.m. Cricket Wireless Pavilion, 2121 North 83rd Avenue Phoenix, (602) 254-7200. Caribou: Tuesday, May 18, 7 p.m. Clubhouse Music Venue, 1320 E. Broadway Rd., Tempe, 480-968-3238. Sage Francis: Thursday, June 10, 7 p.m. Clubhouse Music Venue, 1320…
