There are three bands about to come through Phoenix that have, collectively, been writing, recording, playing and influencing heavy metal for around 100 years. One. Hundred. Years. You might think, yeah, okay; that’s impressive. What if I also said that, collectively, these bands have released more than 30 studio albums,…
Wait a second, you might say — Phoenix has a Jewish funk band? It’s true. As the name implies, Jerusafunk skillfully blends traditional klezmer with the ass-bopping sensibilities of R&B rhythms, tossing in jazzy twirls here and there. Using instruments such as bass clarinet, saxophone, and trumpet, the band attacks…
Cohesion is the name of the game for Dum Dum Girls’ Dee Dee Penny nowadays. Though you might know the band because of its highly acclaimed first album, I Will Be, the band’s sound has morphed four years later from a lo-fi, surf vibe heavy on female vocal harmonies to…
The members of Arch Enemy have always set the bar high for themselves and their genre. Then again, let’s be honest: any band labeled Swedish melodic death metal provokes high expectations. It combines the strongest elements of heavy metal, like super heavy riffs and refined melodies, set in an environment…
Earlier this year Phoenix New Times celebrated the cream of the crop with our 36th annual Best of Phoenix edition. Here are our top picks for best radio stations in metro Phoenix. Best Alternative/Rock Radio Station: KWSS 93.9 FM KWSS stepped up in a big way this year, sponsoring the…
You won’t be able to catch local indie band The Brown Tones performing at the Ice House Tavern later tonight. Ditto for Six Gun Satellites and their gig on Saturday night at the dive bar. That’s because all upcoming live music events at the Ice House Tavern have been canceled…
The first thing you should know about this Saturday’s Bloodfest out in Mesa is that the titular liquid that will drench attendees isn’t composed of plasma, erythrocytes, platelets, or leukocytes. Instead, it’s a mixture of water, various dyes, and other non-toxic ingredients. Despite what you may have heard or read…
Long before heavy metal was known for ingredients such as shredding guitars, double bass, “horns up” or black leather, the budding chefs were studying up in the ‘burbs of England. Not far from Birmingham — which eventually spawned Black Sabbath — a young Rob Halford walked to school in Walsall…
Need some new ear candy? Here are four tracks brought to you by locals to get you grooving…
We totally got to party with a robot in Scottsdale a few weeks ago. True story. Well, we’re pretty sure it was a robot, but admit that it might’ve been a dude in some shiny, vacuformed plastic armor. (We also may have been a few drinks in at the time.)…
You’ll often hear about how the Arizona State University downtown campus has revitalized downtown Phoenix, but you rarely hear credit given to the other demographic whose growing presence in the area has thrived: Latinos. From gourmet cuisine to hair salons that become art galleries at night, there’s a sense of…
It’s tempting to refer to 2014’s Nobody Wants to Be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave, the Twilight Sad’s fourth LP, as their return-to-guitar-rock record. Their last full-length effort, 2012’s underrated No One Can Ever Know, was saddled with a similarly reductive byline: their synthesizer record. Both are accurate-ish, but…
It’s mid-afternoon on Friday, October 24 when an unidentified member of the Danish underground post-punk/hardcore buzz-band Iceage finally answers the group’s mobile phone. “Oh! You want to talk to my friend Elias, don’t you?,” he cheerfully says, referring to Elias Bender Ronnenfelt, Iceage’s 22-year old singer, who bears a striking…
November brings the best of both worlds to the Valley of the Sun — temperatures have finally fallen below 90 degrees, and some of our favorite metal band’s touring schedules are still in full swing. It’s that time of year where we can leave those sweaty mosh pits and emerge…
The story is not altogether unfamiliar: A couple guys get together to play music, tour the folk festival circuit and have a little fun. Suddenly, the duo becomes a full band, a song gets significant radio attention, and record labels come knocking. That’s part of the back-story for Canadian bluesy…
Last month Phoenix New Times celebrated the cream of the crop with our 36th annual Best of Phoenix edition. Here are our top picks for best DJs and bands in metro Phoenix…
Over the next several weeks, we will uncover the order of the 10 most influential Arizona punk rock records, complete with an in-depth look at each. But for now, we present a record that functions as a sort of honorable mention, a record that would probably have made a few…
Back in 2004, when Jimmy Eat World released its fifth album, Futures, singer/guitarist Jim Adkins sang in the title track that he hoped “for better in November” and that listeners would “believe your voice can mean something.” It was around this time President George W. Bush was up for re-election…
As Jimmy Eat World gets ready to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their album Futures on Thursday, October 30, at Marquee Theatre, singer/guitarist Jim Adkins reflects on the inspiration behind some of the album tracks, including a number one hit on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, “Pain.”…
Whether or not you agree with their political views there is no denying that downtown Phoenix’s original protest band The Haymarket Squares is one of the most distinctly talented groups in town. The all strings quintet make some pretty amazing sounds when they get on stage, or in the studio…
Courtney Barnett tends to find her songs in places no one else is looking. The Melbourne, Australia, singer-songwriter collects subject matter like a curio shop, her words turning the inexplicable or the mundane into fully formed commentaries and poignant observations on some of life’s biggest questions. The plain, the everyday,…
Husband-and-wife duo Tennis (Aliana Moore and Patrick Riley) is as excited as ever to return to familiar soil to share their new album live with some recognizable faces. Their new and third album, Ritual in Repeat, is reminiscent of 1980s girl-pop: hints of Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, and Pat Benatar can…
