The term “indie rock” is as vague as the term “rock” these days; thankfully, there are still people out there making music that can’t be defined, no matter how many adjectives or hyphens scribes throw into the description. Take Asthmatic Kitty Records artist Raymond Raposa (the sole member of Castanets),…
While it might be a little chilly outside this weekend, with nighttime temperatures dipping into the 40s, local beat-slinger extraordinaire DJ Spyder and a crew of torrid turntablists are gonna be heating things up on Saturday, January 26, at Inferno, a new monthly dance night at Chasers, 8005 East Roosevelt…
December is gone and I think I’ve been drunk since Thanksgiving. For some reason, I decided to celebrate a Greek Christmas with my Jewish friends down in Tucson. What’s a Greek Christmas, you ask? It starts with a huge boneless leg of lamb with mint jelly and homemade spanakopita, and…
There’s been a lot of talk about hip-hop at the New Times office, so by midweek, we were geared up for Raising Arizona at The Bar, a.k.a. The Lucky Devil in Tempe. (Click here for more photos.) This weekly DJ night may not have the frantic buzz of Hollywood Alley’s…
OneRepublic’s Colorado connection is mighty tangential. Tulsa-born lead singer Ryan Tedder and guitarist Zach Filkins met while attending high school in Colorado Springs, and guitarist Drew Brown is from Boulder. But local fans had little to do with their rise to prominence. Indeed, the band’s been based in Los Angeles…
Guitarist Scott Stearns is an astronaut of musical violence. He explores dark, ugly places that reek of sulfur, rotgut, and boiling sweat. His Necrodamus project is a reshuffling of a recent Fistula lineup. But where that band lurks in a sludgy punk-metal midground, Necrodamus alternately stalks both sides of the…
Get Off the Stage is Too $hort’s 17th album — not counting compilations and reissues — but it’s also the end of an era. It’s his last for Jive, the label he’s been associated with since 1988. “I’m a legend in the game,” he says on “Shittin’ on ‘Em,” adding,…
On the surface, a musical collaboration between two such seemingly polar opposite talents as Americana/bluegrass goddess Alison Krauss and shouting, yowling Robert Plant is mind-boggling. But under producer/bassist T-Bone Burnett’s direction, there’s no superstardom at play here, just a cadre of singularly talented people painting something novel, interesting, and completely…
For every quote, cliché, or saying, there is something or someone to disprove it. Dionne Warwick has disproved F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “no second acts in American lives” quip famously. With a voice both honeyed and dusky, Warwick was frontwoman for one of the greatest partnerships in pop history, Burt Bacharach…
The wave that this Texas-born singer/songwriter has ridden for the past few years isn’t bad, considering he’s someone who began seriously pursuing a professional career only after being fired (by his stepfather, who thought he needed a push) from his day job as a gas wholesaler. Green is unique because…
It’s too bad the days are gone when metal bands tried to make their album covers look all tough and sinister and ended up with borderline laughable results instead. After all, what metalhead of a certain age bracket doesn’t get all warm and fuzzy thinking about the cartoon-evil artwork for…
Gallows wield their instruments with such malevolence that it wouldn’t be surprising to discover they also use them to brain rodents in their flat. The U.K. quintet is heavily indebted to the brutal pulse of ’80s American hardcore acts like Black Flag and post-punk’s jagged guitar salvos, influences they share…
Crash Romeo work on their power chords as often as they work on their action-figure poses. Guitar-driven verses come with enough space to allow ax-slinger Steve Anderson the time to point to audience acolytes, with pick nestled between thumb and middle finger; the pauses before choruses are protracted, meaning vocalist…
Don’t know if you’re down with the latest 411, but Emerg McVay and the rest of the Blunt Club crew have ditched their longtime digs at Hollywood Alley in Mesa and set up their weekly hip-hop shop at a new location, namely Club Red, 2155 East University Drive in Tempe…
It’s about time they did something with that great big dirt lot on First Street and Roosevelt. For months, this prime location on the main drag of First Friday art walks was just another sidewalk stop filled with art and music booths. But on Friday, January 4, the area turned…
Whether it’s straight-ahead rock, burning jazz, or experimental electronic fusion, we can get behind any project involving pianist Jacob Koller, percussionist Corey Fogel, and bassist Andrew Jones. When the three decide to gig together, they become an unstoppable force. Though their debut studio release features substitute bassist Chris Finet (not…
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…
