There was plenty of after-hours activity taking place across the Valley over Halloween weekend, including plenty of freaky late-night fetes and fiestas that went down past the midnight hour. Over at Afterlife in Scottsdale, costumed craziness was ensuing during the club’s Seven Sexy Sins Bash.Over the course of the evening (and…
In a recently taped interview with Matt Lauer, George W. Bush claimed that Kanye West’s candid outburst on the September 2, 2005 Concert for Hurricane Relief telethon — “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” — was the “worst moment” of his presidency. The worst. Bush has a new book, Decision…
Tennessee pop rockers Kings of Leon were what people wanted most this week at Zia Records Chandler.Indie hipsters Steel Train’s self-titled album from earlier this year was a hot item. The album Lil Wayne wrote from prison was in pretty high demand as well. The latest release from the hardcore…
Foxy Shazam front man Eric Nally made a very interesting point about the private lives of rock stars when I spoke to him last week. He brought up the factor of their ambiguity and how they were considered to be characters that all their fans wanted to know everything about…
Thank gosh Katy Perry chose to release something meaningful for her third single, not just a song about Daisy Dukes or losing your virginity. No, her current single, “Firework,” is a very inspirational track that her fans really need to hear. It’s a song all about believing in yourself and…
Title: Children of FortuneBasics: More shitty pop punk? No. Some countrified rock about fictional outlaws? No sir. Then what, pray tell, exactly is Nowhere Man And A Whiskey Girl? Just some super mellow, twangy folk music. Derrick and Amy Ross comprise the duo — she sings and plays piano while…
Get in the Halloween spirit by taking a gander at this flier for The Creepy Crawl Ball this Sunday, October 31 at The Underground at in Mesa.The poster depicts a giant Frankenstein trying to capture a very scared woman, giving viewers a spooky taste of what to expect at the…
It’s always been easy to mistake Gov’t Mule for a travel-size version of the Allman Brothers Band. Formed in 1994 by ABB regulars Warren Haynes and Allen Woody, Gov’t Mule featured some of the same personnel as its larger, more famous cousin and hails from the same Southern blues-rock sound…
Kid Rock described Lady Antebellum as a “hillbilly Fleetwood Mac, except I suspect they don’t do drugs or sleep with each other.” Hmm? Like a lot of today’s country stars, Lady Antebellum traffics in heartache. But aside from the lyrics, there is little to suggest the band is hurting in…
Lynyrd Skynyrd has endured a lot in their nearly 45 years of existence — withstanding allegations of racism over “Sweet Home Alabama,” the 1977 plane crash that claimed the life of three band members (including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant), their song “Free Bird” becoming a ubiquitous gag during encores…
Remember MySpace? It was this ugly website where kids went to reveal too much about themselves, sometimes in musical form, occasionally in a way that sprouted into a career. Harmony Tour co-headliners The Maine and Never Shout Never — the former Tempe-based, the latter the professional handle of 20-year-old Missouri…
When a band has a quick and steep rise to success — and doesn’t come from a town with much indie cred (read: New York or L.A.) — it appears to easily let go of its hometown as an important aspect of its identity. Phoenix is lucky that Jimmy Eat…
Apparently Boston’s in Tempe isn’t just for gourmet pizza anymore. Black Eyed Saint clothing took over the sports bar/pizzeria Friday night for its Evil Ball/fashion show/hot rod and bike show and New Times was there to chew bubblegum and kick ass. Feast your eyes on our slideshow…
A 10″ record of “Coming to the Mountain” by Bruce Haack topped the chart at Eastside Records this week.Music lovers were also really into buying albums that mention rabbits. TunaBunny’s self-titled album slipped into the mix, and No Bunny’s “First Blood” LP did as well.The unique audio graphic novel by…
Chris BrownLet’s just get this out of the way: Chris Brown is in no way unexcused for his violent behavior toward Rihanna. Domestic abuse is wrong, plain and simple.That being said: Brown’s latest single, “Deuces,” is a hot track. Who knows if he is talking about Rihanna in the song,…
Artist: Shane HuntTitle: Another Awkward Silence Between Friends EPBasics: I’ll admit that I chuckled upon seeing the name of this particular EP. Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s perhaps one of the most ingenious, cleverly-titled EPs I have received thus far, so bonus points for making me smile,…
Lindsay TripodisField Trip at The Rogue BarNo, this isn’t a flier for the latest Star Trek convention.Rather, this eye-catching poster advertises one of the most eclectic live shows you can sink your teeth into this weekend. That’s because there are all types of genres represented at the concert, from indie,…
It takes colossal cojones to release a song called “Obscurity Knocks” as your band’s debut single, which the Trashcan Sinatras did in 1990. “I think it was a wee bit of not so much tempting fate, but it just seemed to fit our personalities at the time,” says singer Frank…
What do you get the man who has everything? Hit records, a literal harem of reality-show women, a vast collection of bandannas and motorcycles — and it’s still not enough for Bret Michaels. You would think Poison’s 1988 power ballad “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” would be the high point…
Eric Sean Nally has a big voice — like, Freddie-Mercury-on-poppers big. He also has a mild theatrical streak, having been known to eat smoldering cigarettes on stage, and sing while hanging upside down like a bat. For these reasons, Nally and his Foxy Shazam band mates have elicited comparisons to…
The music of Gospel Claws is filled with meandering, sweet chord progressions, gentle percussion, and an excitement that is restrained everywhere besides the vocals. Joel Marquard’s voice, in contrast, is raw, unpolished, and strained. That voice adds an unfamiliar and unexpected twist to the garage-informed pop songs (the band’s first…
Let’s begin with the costuming: Multi-colored ribbons hang like bunched-up fringe on a deconstructed jacket, with feather embellishments and mismatched swatches patched on. If as a 5-year-old I could’ve gotten away with dressing like a fairy tale creature, I certainly would’ve been on board. Jonsi projects this childlike aura, not…
