At its best, metal music is always ridiculous. To describe Ensiferum as ridiculous would be like describing Michael Scott in the seventh season of The Office as “kind of annoying.” Their name means “sword-bearer” in Latin, they play symphonic speed-metal, wear kilts, pose with swords in their publicity shots, sing…
As many other DJs and EDM artists have done in recent years, the Brazilian beat-blasting duo of João Miguel and Luciano Oliveira (a.k.a. The Twelves) broke through to the big time via the blogosphere. After their raucous remixes of MIA, Asobi Seksu, and Erlend Oye garnered rave reviews on the…
There’s plenty of theatrical smoke that billows throughout downtown Phoenix dance pad Club Silver every week during Privileged Fridays, but it may as well be steam. That’s because there’s plenty of hotness up in thar: sizzling hip-hop beats from DJ Kyko and DJ Dario on the turntables, sweltering dance floor…
There’s nothing a like a heavy metal benefit show. Brace yourself for hardcore shenanigans at Warehouse 201, a venue that has recently seen decreases in attendance and is now in danger of closing. The Alchemist Divide frontman Brandon Kellum designed this flier to support the cause. “The flier was designed…
Title: Walkin’ SidewaysBasics: We’re going, going back, back to country, country for this week’s YAFI. And why the hell not? Country is beloved all over this fair land — especially in the rough and rugged Southwest. Now, I’m not the biggest fan of country music — but good music is good,…
Dick Dale — guitar legend and father of surf rock — has inspired and influenced at least three generations of musicians with his raw, attitude-driven, fuzz-swelled tone. Of course, his style was shaped by time spent on sun-soaked California beaches, but the uniquely overpowering sounds that pour out of the…
The Handsome Family are nothing if not persistent. There are not many bands that have gone through as much weird stuff, yet made so many awesome albums with so many weird albums covers. This is even more impressive considering that The Handsome Family is, literally, a family — a married…
Feeling good must make Keller Williams feel good. There’s never a dull moment in the guy’s catalog, which now includes merry versions of Marcy Playground’s “Sex and Candy” and Kris Kristofferson’s “Don’t Cuss the Fiddle.” Williams aims to entertain as well as enlighten audiences with Appalachia renditions of these tunes…
If you adore ska’s third wave, then you should give thanks to Tazy Philips. It was the Southern California disc jockey and his influential radio show, The Ska Parade, that helped the launch the careers of some of the biggest tastemakers from the genre’s massive mid-’90s revival. He was the…
If the name Yann Tiersen rings a bell, it’s probably because his music was used on the incredibly adorable soundtrack for the 2001 film Amelie, which showcased his whimsical use of instrumentation and romanticism. How does an avant-garde composer with a love of post-punk follow that up? In the 10…
Johnny Cash is one of those musicians who is so well known that everyone can recognize a few of his songs. His signature heavy, straight-shootin’ guitar, often marked by a plink-plink-a-dink pattern, is coupled with that always-distinguishable, gravel road of a voice that comes from way down deep. His iconic…
The opening track of Lesson Number One, the debut album from non-ironically named Phoenix trio The Father Figures, announces to listeners that this band has no intention to “re-create the scene.” That’s a relief to those who’ve followed the exploits of the band’s members for the better part of two…
Sir Smeezy (a.k.a. DJ Smite) estimates that his ginormous music collection includes more than 8,000 different 45s. And if he has his way, the 32-year-old will spin each and every one of ’em during his new biweekly event The Hot Plate. On first and third Tuesday of every month, Smeezy…
The dance floor was glowing and the bass was flowing during the weekly Subversion session at Disco in Scottsdale last Thursday as boffo British beat-slinger Jakwob and local DJ duo HavocNdeeD doled out the dubstep all evening for an adoring crowd of hipsters and hotties. The Club Candids cameras were…
Bass player Adam Gross of Strange Young Things managed to pull together a great flier that looks casual yet celebratory in honor of his bandmate Corey’s birthday.”I wanted to make the poster embody that spirit,” Gross said. “I always associate bright colored text and confetti-like imagery with birthdays. I felt…
Artist: J.D. StooksTitle: ShutterbugBasics: The tidy, five-song EP from Phoenix native J.D. Stooks follows his solid 2008 album Women & Gold. Stooks is a rare beast as far as YAFI is concerned — he writes songs with some content, at least stuff I am actually interested in. On Women &…
Since forming in 1997 in Ocala, Florida, this self-identified Christian metalcore band has undergone a full personnel enema. First, guitarist Luke Morton — the guy who came up with the group’s name, no less — split on the eve of their debut album, Act of Depression (1999). Four years later,…
Despite what you may have heard, these wily New Orleans-based rockers did not name themselves after that singular feeling you get from French-kissing a horse. In fact, the name comes from a Sam Shepard-Patti Smith play from the 1970s, so maybe it has to do with French-kissing Patti Smith. Can’t…
A peculiar thing happens when artists taste success but don’t hit it really big: They transition from being the Next Big Thing to being a cult favorite. It’s then that comparisons to other semi-obscure but critically significant musicians roll in. There really should be a cap on comparisons to Bob…
If you have been waiting years to finally see the band that inspired Blink-182 and Fall Out Boy and a host of other emo/pop punk bands, your dreams are well within your grasp. Kansas City’s The Get Up Kids, forefathers of emo, that wonderful genre known and loved by millions,…
The Valley has been ringing in the New Year with a plethora of post-hardcore bands sweeping through the area. The latest to hit town is Escape the Fate. The Las Vegas group is kicking off Dead Masquerade, their first headlining tour, with dates in Tucson and Tempe. Escape the Fate…
The Asylum Street Spankers epitomize cheeky, hokey, pun-filled humor. The octet layers stringed instruments with intricate harmonies to create a backwoods sound. Then, it adds showmanship and humorous lyrics about getting loaded before breakfast and having a neighbor who fires up his leaf blower before dawn. (Oh, yeah, they also…
