It’s hard to imagine the guys running the experimental electronic label Warp Records sitting around the label’s offices in Sheffield in ’95, smoking spliffs and listening to art-damaged singles by Aphex Twin or Autechre saying, “You know, this fucked-up electronic shit is cool, but when are we going to release…
L.A. rapper Murs has been through some changes since he rolled into Phoenix in March to present Fornever, last year’s collaboration with DJ 9th Wonder: He’s completed a new album called Love & Rockets with East Coast beatmaster Ski Beatz (of Jay-Z’s “Dead Presidents” fame). Murs has been spending time…
Back in the day, Eric Bowler, otherwise known as DJ Evil One, was strictly all about hip-hop. But years of spinning will open your mind quickly, and the Portlander-gone-global knows it. “I’ve always been a total music nerd, so being able to spin records was a dream of mine as…
One of the first suggestions on The Crystal Dreams Wild Fire Tour–The World’s Wildest Paint Party flier is “wear all white.” With guests spraying paint in the air at every turn, this was a more of a requirement than a recommendation. Things got messy. The party went down Saturday, September…
Today at 4:20 p.m. (get it?), Odd Future member Domo Genesis, who we profiled earlier this year, when right as he was leaving ASU, dropped a brand new mixtape, Under the Influence. Over 14 tracks, Domo positions himself as the sleepy-eyed mellow member of the Wolf Gang. While his buddy…
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. It’s not very surprising that Lil Wayne and the Red Hot Chili Peppers topped the sales charts at Zia Record Exchange last…
If you’re into scuzzy rock ‘n’ roll in this town, you know Westley Allen — either from his time onstage with The Plainfield Butchers, his gig behind the bar at Time Out Lounge, or as the host of Erratic! Radio on KWSS. Allen took some time to listen to three…
Last week we blogged about your chance to win free tickets to see David Bazan (of Pedro the Lion, Headphones) for free in beautiful Payson, Arizona on Wednesday, September 28. The show is part of Bazan’s house tour, and the Payson gig is one of the three shows of the…
Brian Coughlin chimed in on three tracks from local artists in last week’s installment of Sound Off with Jason Woodbury. Now you can hear what he and local indie rockers, Kinch, have to offer with their latest effort The Incandenza streaming online. The new record picks up where 2009 EP,…
Sharing the stage with Japhy’s Descent tonight will be Sasquanaut and Lawnchair.The show will be going down at 8:30 p.m. at the Rogue Bar. Cover is only $5, and the gig is for those who are 21 and up. More information about the show can be found here.Expect the show…
Songs about weed belong to no specific genre, but the lines separating punk, hippie, dub, and surf rock — all toke-friendly genres — has never been blurrier. You can credit Sublime for making the cross-pollination mainstream, and also Slightly Stoopid, which was discovered by Sublime frontman Bradley Nowell in 1996…
Like a deranged used car salesman in an ill-fitting suit, Del the Funky Homosapien is setting ticket prices so low on his tour that he’s practically giving them away! Actually, he is giving tickets away. The rapper, best known for his work with trip-hop’s Gorillaz and hip-hop collective Hieroglyphics, has…
Consider this: Just as you were shaking your Labor Day weekend hangover, Hank Williams III was busy releasing not one but four new albums and kicking off a 24-date tour. The outlandish four-album release explores the third-generation Williams’ esoteric musical interests. A double album, Ghost to a Ghost/Gutter Town, expands…
Forever, the new album from Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, and Lenny White, may be credited to Corea, Clarke, and White, but most fans can read between the lines: It’s a Return to Forever album in all but name (and that title sure is cheeky). Touring in support of the two-disc…
DJ Jonny Rogers has one of those rags-to-riches stories you see in movies, except it actually happened. As a doe-eyed intern at WOXY in Cincinnati, Jonny Rogers learned the tables intimately and finally made his way to the Valley to host some of the area’s hottest DJ nights. As a…
Contrary to common belief, pop starlet Ke$ha isn’t worthless. However oversexed or perceivably vacuous the 24-year-old might be, her electro-rap debauchery is one of the more redeemable sounds on commercial radio. Let’s face it: The predominating trend in pop music these days is a lack of mirth and imagination. Most…
Welcome to the latest installment of our weekly feature, Sound Off, where 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 email…
Old Town Scottsdale girls were dressed to impress at High Society Friday, a weekly upscale party at Jackrabbit Lounge. Guests danced all night to the hip-hop beats dropped by DJ Robby Rob and DJ Kaydee. Check out the fun in this week’s Club Candids slideshow…
If you honestly love music, you’ve got rules about it. Here are a few my mine. 1. Non-jazz artists and bands may feature no more than two saxophone solos during the duration of their career. 2. Bass guitars should be strung with two to four strings, but any more is…
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. It’s been eight months since Adele’s sophomore album, 21, debuted with a bluesy pop fervor that has helped the soulstress continue her…
David Bazan — who issued records under the Pedro the Lion banner before embarking on a “solo” career — is an artist who values connection with his listeners. That sounds flowery, sure, but it’s true. All of Bazan’s records, including this year’s excellent Strange Negotiations, have centered around big themes:…
Like your favorite comfort food, power pop music is familiar, tasty and satisfying… and, sometimes, it’s the only thing you want. If you consider The Raspberries’ 1972 self-titled debut album and its absolutely perfect single, “Go All The Way,” as the genesis of the genre (and I do, with apologies…
