As much as we hit up the downtown scene, it wasn’t until this past weekend that we finally got around to seeing Andrew Jackson Jihad play live (shameful, eh?) at one of our favorite venues, The Trunk Space, for their CD-release party on Friday, August 31. (Click here for more…
Albert Lineses III is a student of Socrates and Sun Tzu. He’s also a Catholic-turned-Buddhist turntablist and hip-hop and party rock DJ from the south side of Phoenix. Like his penchant for stalwart theories of philosophy and spirituality, his spin-side manner leans toward the wise and the elevated. “I have…
Miranda Lambert has sung about dousing exes in kerosene for their no-good ways, and on her sophomore effort, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, the country star takes aim at a few more men who have done her wrong. All twang and laughs, she recently spent some time talking about why you don’t mess…
Death metal legends Cannibal Corpse released one of their most brutal records to date in last year’s Kill (Metal Blade), an album full of songs with tasty titles like “Necrosadistic Warning” and “Submerged in Boiling Flesh.” The latter describes a dish fit only for stomachs of steel (or Jeffrey Dahmer):…
Some classical music sounds heavier than rock music, particularly huge orchestral and operatic arrangements like Wagner’s Die Walküre and the Symphonic Dances of Rachmaninoff. Explosive compositions like those often bring to mind images of deranged composers with tussled hair and furrowed brows, waving a baton at an army of horns…
There were a lot of great independent labels that flourished in the ’50s and early ’60s, and each owns a place in the stars — Chess, Sun, Atlantic, Motown, Stax. It was a movement, a golden age for music geared toward a new teen demographic. Maybe it’s true that Vee-Jay…
Drawing on a raw, ragged roots-punk ethos that’s served everyone from The Pogues to Against Me!, Tempe’s Liars Handshake stokes the same passionate fury. Featuring the core of the old punk outfit Bullet Train to Moscow, the band’s led by the gruff, raucous vocals of Jared Christy. The quintet offers…
Retro rip-off artist or respectful interpreter of classic styles? English vocalist and guitarist James Hunter walks a tightrope between interpreter and impersonator. Complete with brassy choruses, tailored suits, and old-school charm, Hunter’s classy brand of soul and R&B evokes Sam Cooke’s smooth croon while sidestepping the pitfalls of cheapskate cover…
John Vanderslice is a generally unnoted musical impresario whose versatility, talent, and intelligence make it seemingly impossible for him to achieve the success he truly deserves — though stranger things have happened. His impeccably crafted pop flows easily from the experimental to the baroque, from spare to plush (with more…
We found this blurb on Yahoo!, describing the Kings of Leon’s official Web site: “Rock band from Tennessee whose songs teem with primal emotions and rangy rhythms.” First off, somebody from the Kings’ camp wrote this. Second, somebody in the Kings’ camp thinks their songs teem with primal emotions and,…
For the longest time, we’ve been hoping the producers behind TV’s CSI franchise are eventually gonna create a spin-off of the long-running TV series that takes place in the Valley, where the seedier side of the PHX would get fictionally depicted in spectacular fashion (à la Las Vegas, Miami, and…
In an monster-length interview that took place (on August 15th) shortly before the D-Low memorial concert, former Sacred Reich guitarist Wiley Arnett spoke at length with New Times correspondent (and avowed Sacred Reich fan) Saby Reyes-Kulkarni about the band’s heyday, as well as his new band, The Human Condition. Part one of the complete transcript follows:
Thursday 30 Anderson’s: S.W.A.G. Thursdays with DJ Essence, DJ Astonish, & Bryce Breeze (hip-hop, reggae, R&B) Baja Tilly’s: DJ Adrian (old school, R&B, cumbia, reggaeton) The Blooze: DJ El Dedo (rockabilly) Bobby C’s: Willy B. (old-school R&B) Bunkhouse: DJ Doom (dance) Charlie’s: DJ Bryan (country, Top 40, hip-hop, dance) Cherry…
So, I’m on a mission to find a place to host an official Booze Pig happy hour near downtown, and because most of the go-to Phoenix dives are disappearing (Newman’s, Big Al’s, News Room, Chez Nous) the pickins are slim. Then, I remember this square block building on the northwest…
Guitarist Sean Bonnette is playing his acoustic ax like a troubadour on crank. The 21-year-old scruffy-haired musician is a supernova of manic energy, ripping vicious riffs onstage at the Trunk Space in downtown Phoenix as the frontman for folk-punk trio Andrew Jackson Jihad. His right hand is a furious blur…
This year’s “D-Low Memorial Show,” with Sacred Reich, Car Bomb, Soulfly, and The Cavalera Conspiracy, certainly boasts one of the most exciting lineups in the history of the event. With brothers (and former Sepultura cornerstones) Max and Igor Cavalera in the lineup, The Cavalera Conspiracy’s live debut gives the show…
To some, Billy Childish will come off as a crank. He’s outspoken and has little patience for authority or institutions. It’s the reason he was kicked out of St. Martin’s School of Art in England when he was 16. You might call him a primitivist for the raw, gut-level attack…
Lately, we’ve been tying it on all over this town, and this past weekend, we were partied out. Thank Christ the Gold Lion Boutique held a fashion event called Arte Puro hosted by local designer Leonor Aispuro that mercifully started at 7 p.m., allowing us to hang with the gorgeous…
Among the various influences cited by this Phoenix-based band on its MySpace page, the band describes its sound by telling a story of various alt-rock musicians meeting in a dive bar as they drown their sorrows to Pearl Jam. The Seattle band is indeed the most obvious of all names…
If he hadn’t choked to death in London’s Samarkand Hotel 37 years ago, how many mediocre records would Jimi Hendrix have dropped by now? Stevie, The Stones, Sir Paul . . . they’re all way past the point where any residual genius is still expected. Since The Gold Experience more…
A snotty music critic’s hypothesis: No relevant artist releases a covers album. Several supporting examples have dropped in 2007 alone, and we’ll get to those in a minute. Contrary evidence is scarce, but Exhibit A for the defense is Patti Smith’s Twelve. Smith has always had a knack for rewriting…
It’s unfortunate that Daddy Yankee is the poster boy for reggaeton in this country. It’s even more unfortunate that he took this album as an opportunity to declare himself the Big Boss (of reggaeton, one would presume), mainly because the shortcomings of El Cartel: The Big Boss wouldn’t be as…
