Stone Sour and Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor has been all over music news lately. Headlines have ranged from “Corey Taylor: There’s Nothing Worse Than Forced Music” to “Slipknot’s Corey Taylor Robbed of Music Gear, Late Bassists’ Guitars Stolen.” There are things that have come to light this past year that…
The week a once-ubiquitous band rolls through town on its comeback tour is a good time to reflect on whether, why, and how much you enjoyed it in the first place. For me and Matchbox Twenty, America’s most indestructible post-grunge band, those answers are “yes,” “because they’re so overproduced,” and…
If either Mighty Mike Saga or Alex King seems at all stressed lately, it’s to be expected. The pair of rivetheads has spent the past two years preparing to bring Saga’s influential dance party I Love Industrial to Phoenix this weekend, and there’s still plenty to do before the madness…
It takes a lot for a heavy metal band to beat out Lady Gaga on the music charts — especially in a place like Japan, where people love the pop artist’s catchy dance music and outrageous outfits. (You know, since the Japanese need a reason to sport cartoonish, questionable, and/or…
It’s been a while since Chris Isaak released an album of all-new music (2009’s Mr. Lucky), but for the rockabilly crooner with the spangled jacket, fat Chet Atkins-style guitar, and perfectly coifed hair, new material isn’t really necessary. Isaak made his name with his early albums, most notably San Francisco…
It’s hard to believe Bruno Mars was playing small clubs like Martini Ranch back when his breakout single, “Just the Way You Are,” started to gain traction. Now, after a steady takeover of pop airwaves, he’s playing US Airways Center. It’s hard to avoid hearing the tracks he’s touched, whether you’re…
Hollywood Alley is closing at the end of the month, and the move looks to have been sudden for everybody concerned; as recently as July 10, they were still planning a Labor Day blowout for the Mesa venue’s 25th anniversary. Since the abrupt announcement, Hollywood Alley’s Facebook page has become…
Folk musicians, for the most part, have it rough. Blindly thrust into the Dylan-esque pantheon, the overarching image of a folk-based singer-songwriter is that of the introspective introvert that shyly picks at an acoustic guitar before gracefully exiting whatever forum he holds. Yet when you’re young and influenced by the croonings of Damian Jurado and David Bazan, both exceptionally dynamic musicians in their own right, you’re bound to take a different approach to such a storied genre. Justin Moody, operating under the moniker The Balcony Scene, is such an example, having recently returned to his native Arcadia after spending the majority of his teens in Prescott. Breaking out of the coffee shop mentality for the first time, Moody is making his biggest debut yet with Tempe powerhouses Dust Jacket and Sundressed tomorrow at Crescent Ballroom.
It’s not often that a band’s social media bio nails it, but Tempe metal band TOAD’s is a rare exception. There’s no hyperbole, no invoking the names of far-out influences to seem “cultured.” It’s straight and honest: “An American rock ‘n’ roll band from the 1970s trapped inside of a…
Few things pique my interest more than authentic, hardcore Satanic metal musicians. But at the same time, there’s a part of me that is convinced that most satanic metallers are a bunch of prima donnas. I do know that it’s important to tread lightly when discussing the terms atheistic Satanism…
The proprietors of Hollywood Alley dropped an atomic bombshell on Facebook Thursday afternoon, and its devastating news: The venerated Mesa rock bar will be closing for business on July 31, just shy of its 25th anniversary. It would be safe to say that the announcement was a massive shock to…
An inordinate passion for pleasure is the secret of remaining young, or so sayeth Oscar Wilde. His eccentric wit is a perfect fit for L.A.’s Kitten, fronted by the just barely legal Chloe Chaidez, who co-founded the band when she was just 15. By now, she’s likely tired of hearing…
It’s almost scary to think about the music that guitarist John Scofield would have created as a heavy metal artist or as someone who dabbled in psychedelic, prog, or surf rock. Instead, Scofield touches on all these areas together, with his mostly jazz-fusion-ish construct Überjam. Maybe deconstruct would be a…
Rancid is the perfect starter punk band. The group has the punk image down pat — just look at frontman Tim Armstrong’s liberty spikes and numerous tattoos. The cover of . . . And Out Come the Wolves is enough to make any aspiring young punk pick up the record to find out more…
American Idol Live! is a testament to how much smaller American Idol gets every year as a cultural institution. Don’t get me wrong — it’s still big. Season 11 winner Phillip Phillips’ debut single is still ubiquitous. But at the show’s peak, being a runner-up was its own way to…
When Nick Norris and a few other locals launched Hip Hop House last summer, the semi-regular event involved pretty much what its name implied: a rowdy showcase of rap, boom-bap, and urban artistry taking place inside a residence, which in this case was funky domicile/music venue Funny World. Norris, an…
by Alex Distefano Call it what you will — glam metal, hair metal, cock rock, or plain old ’80s metal — but there’s something to be said for a subculture that extended from the late ’70s into the early ’90s that refuses to wash off its makeup and die. Glam…
Much of the conversation about the Baptist Generals’ Jackleg Devotional to the Heart, the 10 years-in-the-waiting follow-up to the Denton, Texas-based band’s Sub Pop debut, No Silver/No Gold, has centered on exactly what singer/songwriter Chris Flemmons was doing during the decade-long stretch of national inactivity. In this week’s issue of…
The latest way to “shock” music video viewers? Nope, it’s not making gazers feel like they’re tripping out on drugs while they’re watching, a la Miley Cyrus and “We Can’t Stop.” It’s putting not just scantily clad ladies, but fully nude women, all over your video. Yep, that’s a naked…
At age 13, Phil Anselmo dove headfirst into what he knew to be his true calling: heavy metal. “I was playing my first gigs before I was barely a teenager,” says Anselmo. “I’ll put it like this: I used to come home from school and practice Judas Priest’s Unleashed in…
Michigan native and old-school rocker Ted Nugent may always be looking to ruffle a few feathers, but he is a bit of a softie at heart. Sure, he’s incredibly outspoken politically and musically and to about every hunted animal on the planet. He’s the same guy who named his 2013…
Since 1983, the Melvins have influenced countless bands and carved out a path that is all their own. They constantly explore unexpected paths, even relative to their own work — with every album they wind up even further away from what people have finally pegged as a their “sound.” Over…
