For us, the name Black Carl evokes images of Carl Weathers from Predator wailing on the harmonica while Family Matters’ Carl Winslow, in full police regalia, belts out soulful tales of pain and hammers out blues notes on the guitar. While Tempe’s version of Black Carl may lack former celebrities,…
There’s one thing certain about Dick Taut and The Ripcords, a whatever-they-feel-like-playing ensemble with members culled from various parts of the Midwest: You never know what goofball lyrics will come out of the piehole of lead singer Dick Taut, a.k.a. Elijah Billington. The group’s latest release, with 15 tracks of…
In a recent interview, Wyclef Jean managed to sum up, in just a few words, the very thing fans both admire and abhor about the former Fugee. Bubbling over with understandable enthusiasm for Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant, the star-studded sequel (of sorts) to his 1997 solo debut,…
Guitarist Ben Chasny is the primary member of Six Organs of Admittance, a traditional indie-rock group with an ever-changing lineup. He’s pinned down a sound by blending his intricate guitar playing with Old World chimes, drones, and chanted vocals, and has created ethereal, peaceful tunes that bring about a Zen-like…
After spending years in the studio and onstage with some of rock’s biggest names, The Section Quartet is out to see just how far novelty can take them by hitting the road in support of their debut album, Fuzzbox. Released earlier this year, Fuzzbox features this traditional string quartet performing…
Phoenix-based metal band The Iris seems to thrive on exploring and adapting electronic sounds to its format — with no bass player, it relies heavily on the programming of guitarist Kasey Kautenburger and drummer Tim Klever, while Marilyn Manson-inspired vocalist Brandon Dooley moans and screams into the mic, taking encouragement…
The DJ scene around the ’Nix is quite tumultuous. Turntablists have a habit of changing up their weekly nights more often than Lindsay Lohan changes boyfriends. You know the drill: Your favorite jocks will be working the stage at a chic Scottsdale danceteria one week, only to replace it with…
In conjunction with this week’s cover story on Phoenix’s hip-hop scene, “Raising Terrazona,” we’re putting a media blitzkrieg up here that highlights some of the hottest hip-hop acts in our great desert metropolis. Below, you’ll find photos, links, and embedded videos from some of Terrazona’s best. Consider it proof of an impending Southwest hip-hop explosion.
THURSDAY 3 Axis/Radius: Crystal Thursdays Ladies Night (Top 40, rock, dance) Blooze Bar: DJ El Dedo (rockabilly) Bobby C’s: Willy B. (old-school R&B) Bunkhouse: DJ Doom (dance) DrinX: Remix Thursdays with DJ Justin Michael (remixes) e4: Old School Thursdays (funk, hip-hop, ’80s, electrohouse, ’90s) Hard Rock Cafe: The Original Latin Ladies…
I don’t know about you, but I’m happy as hell to get 2007 behind me. Maybe it’s my age (38), or the fact that I hang out with other Booze Pigs, but it seems as though this has been a rough year for everyone (especially my liver). Good friends moving…
The holidays are a time of family, schmaltzy Christmas commercials that somehow make you cry, and if you are involved in music journalism, list-making. Lots and lots of list-making. Over the past few years, the availability of year-end critics lists has multiplied faster than the worry lines on Ben Bernanke’s…
Cleveland doesn’t have celebrities. That’s why our contribution to this year-end roundup is star-free. The biggest thing we’ve got (next to LeBron James, who was too busy playing basketball or something to talk to us) is the stripper-lovin’ host of The Price Is Right, Drew Carey. But we’re pretty sure…
For basketball star Diana Taurasi, 2007 was a stellar year. The 6-foot guard for the Phoenix Mercury helped lead the franchise (and the city of Phoenix) to its first-ever basketball championship, toppling defending WNBA champion Detroit Shock on its home court in the final game of a best-of-five series. The…
Margaret Cho has had her own TV show, a couple of bestselling books, a Grammy-nominated comedy album, and two feature films based on her national tours, but 2007 saw a new conquest for the comic: She became a viral video queen. Cho’s sexy, traveling circus-like spectacle, The Sensuous Woman, which…
San Francisco’s world renowned Kronos Quartet has charted an impressive course around the globe, commissioning more than 600 works — and releasing more than 40 records — with composers from China, Russia, Vietnam, and Iraq since its inception more than 30 years ago. Founding member David Harrington cites an unusual…
Dixie Chicks Grammy-winning-song collaborator Dan Wilson released his first solo album this year, the Rick Rubin-produced Free Life. The Semisonic songwriter and former Trip Shakespearean still lives in Minneapolis, still shops at the Electric Fetus, and plans on holing up and writing songs for the next few months. He recently…
We were super-nervous about Chez Nous’ big move from Seventh Avenue to Grand Avenue. Change is scary, especially when it revolves around a Valley staple of nightlife. So when we heard they pulled it off and that they were having a kickass New Year’s party, we decided to check it…
Until recently, the dance floor at the opulent-yet-ookie nightspot Palazzo, 710 North Central Avenue, was solely the domain of the gothy boys and ghouls who turned out on Fridays in droves for Tranzylvania, where they’d thrash about until the wee hours to murky darkwave and nihilistic anthems. But now these…
The holidays are a time for comforting surroundings and family. Since we made Faux Show Fridays at Glam our second home in 2007, we decided to spend some of our holiday cheer there on Friday, December 21, for its black-tie holiday party. (Click here for more photos.) It’s been more…
THURSDAY 27 27th Avenue Bar & Grill: DJ Turtlewaxxx (hip-hop, old school, Latin groove) Axis/Radius: Crystal Thursdays Ladies Night (Top 40, rock, dance) Big Fish Pub: DJ Kocky (club music, underground hip-hop) The Blooze Bar: DJ El Dedo (rockabilly) Bobby C’s: Willy B. (old-school R&B) Bunkhouse: DJ Doom (dance) Club Vibe:…
As two different Radiohead releases this month prove, rock boxed sets aren’t becoming any more sensible. The “discbox” version of the band’s new release, In Rainbows, is stuffed with extras. They range from useful (music), through aimless (booklets and artwork), to mystifyingly redundant (the album on CD, 12-inch vinyl, and…
The Fiery Furnaces — the frequently conceptual Brooklyn indie/art rock band with siblings Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger at its creative core — is typically branded with such adjectives as “difficult,” “challenging,” “dizzying,” and “unpredictable.” They’re also pretty damn prolific, averaging an album a year since 2003. The group’s latest is…
