The Nadas are not a forgotten band from that “the” band explosion from 2000 that featured the likes of The Strokes, The Hives and The Vines. Sure, The Nadas existed back then, and their unique name would have lent itself nicely to that particular scene, but things took a different…
In the ’90s, a dead lead singer seemed like a surefire ingredient in the formula for musical immortality. Jeff Buckley garnered way more fans after his 1997 drowning death than he did while alive. Bradley Nowell’s 1996 heroin overdose turned a little-known ska-punk band from Long Beach into an international…
Guitar virtuoso Al Di Meola is quite dazzling when it comes to technique. His blazing riffs exploded in the ’70s as a member of the groundbreaking jazz-fusion group Return to Forever, with his fretwork often defined by dizzying, slashing turns. Over the years, the New Jersey-born Di Meola has ascended…
There’s a well-known saying among diehard fans of dyke-folk duo the Indigo Girls: “Everyone wants to marry Emily; everyone wants to sleep with Amy.” With a new solo album on her own label, Amy Ray (the brunette Indigo; the blonde is Emily Saliers) should continue to stoke her fans’ passions…
In the 1990 film Cry-Baby, Johnny Depp played a rebellious rocker named Wade “Cry-Baby” Walker. Walker’s singing voice, however, was provided by rockabilly revivalist James Intveld, who was trying to make a name for himself. Intveld’s real break came in 1996, when he was invited to contribute a track on…
On its new album, Today We Are All Demons, the band’s fourth, Combichrist effectively ups the ante on the tried-and-true answering machine intro with a message from an unfortunate soul on his way to jail on a concealed-weapons charge. His girlfriend, meanwhile, is in the hospital after swallowing a bottle…
To say that Nik Richie has had a beef with the West Valley is as an obvious understatement as saying that Hamas and Israel are known to get into a minor dust-up once in a while. The infamous “reality blogger” has spent years on his debaucherous tattletale site TheDirty.com labeling…
With their star swiftly rising thanks to a slate of dates opening for Ben Folds and a showcase at SxSW, a lot of us showing up at Miniature Tigers’ show at Yucca Tap Room last night kind of thought this could be one the last times we’d see the band…
[jump] Since the Sail Inn’s old location was unoccupied (a danceateria called Trax had taken over the spot in the interim but eventually fizzled out), Lombardi decided to resurrect her old joint, albeit after a complete renovation. “I had to do a bunch to get this place in shape again…
Tempe-based music artist The Wiley One has been booked to perform at the “Jocks That Rock Super Party” in Tampa, Florida on Friday, January 30. The Wiley One’s newest album, No. 7 Kid, was released on Sun Dawg Records last year, and serves up a well-wrought mix of ska, hip-hop, and folk, with a stylish troubadour touch that the ladies seem to love.
Think comic conventions are only for geeks, nerds, and losers? Well, we may not argue with that, but we will argue that being called a “geek” and a “nerd” are no longer derogatory terms. Those guys who picked on Bill Gates for wearing glasses so thick he could see into the future during the ’70s are now probably the same guys who fix Gates’ plumbing when one of the 18 toilets in his mansion is on the fritz — if they’re lucky.
The Houston Press asks that question in this post from their music blog, Rocks Off. Their conclusion? “Green Day can go back to singing about jerking off now. If they feel like it.”Lots of video goodness with this funny piece…
The Neville Brothers/Dr. John concert scheduled for Super Bowl Sunday has been moved to Feb. 3. Celebrity Theatre made no bones about the reason for the move: The Cards are in the Super Bowl, who’s going to go to a show that night? Instead of February 1 the show will…
I’ve always been a fan of public transit map shirts, bags and umbrellas. It’s the classy way to show off from your vacay. I mean, it says “I went to this city” but also “See, I’m cool, not only did I hook up with some Dutch guy at my hostel,…
The home of Rice-A-Roni, the Golden Gate Bridge and a bevy of fabulous gays was host to the third night of pre-Hollywood American Idol auditions, and can we agree on one thing right off the bat? Yes, yes, there was the excitement of the Inauguration, but isn’t it really Akilah…
Otis Jackson Jr. (a.k.a. Madlib) wins the award for the coolest bedroom ever.With apologies to Russell Simmons, Madlib’s arguably the hardest working cat in hip-hop.Besides creating his own jams and flows under a few different noms de guerre (Quasimoto, Sound Directions, Yesterday’s New Quintet), the California-born MC and DJ has…
The rumors are true: J-Heads is about to be under new ownership. The long-running east Phoenix bar and punk rock institution is in the process of being sold by its current proprietor Tonya Copeland due to recent financial woes. The deal is expected to be completed by January. And as…
Dubbed as one of the BBC’s 10 Breakout Acts of 2009, West London’s White Lies released their debut album To Lose My Life… yesterday to much fanfare. The buzz surrounding these three chaps from across the pond is staggering. On one hand, it’s always a good thing for a band…
Not too many bands would post a flier for a show where they’re not even named, but I thought there was something telling about Third and Maryland’s decision to do so here, where they’re, presumably, referred to as “LIVE BAND !”Third and Maryland, a four-piece gener-ock band from Phoenix/Scottsdale/Buckeye/Cave Creek…
Be honest: You’ve had a sip. You know what I’m talking about–you’ve taken a little tug from that sweet, refreshing Obama Kool-Aid. It’s OK — most of us have. And things will hit a fever pitch today, what with the inauguration and the excitement over you-know-who taking off for pastures…
I’m not sure I’ve seen anything that sums up the raucous atmosphere surrounding the Obama inauguration better than this live video for “My President is Black” with Young Jeezy and Jay-Z (a.k.a. Old Jeezy), which I came across over on The Village Voice’s music blog, Sound of the City. If anything, it sure beats…
We’ve got a couple big pieces of news involving Kinch, who recorded what we said was the best album in Arizona last year. First comes news that they’ve been selected for SxSW, joining several other Phoenix bands at indie rock’s biggest showcase. They’ve also got new tracks from their The…
