Motor City-born Texas maverick J.D. Souther is the sort of fabled musician and artist who rarely exists anymore. I’m a lifelong country-rock idolator, and Souther emerged from my sonic foraging early in my musical journey, soon after my beloved Gene Clark and Gram Parsons, an L.A. titan iconic for his…
The holiday season is all about getting together with your friends and family. So it’s kinda groovy that local EDM fanatics are gonna get the chance to reunite with Joe DiPadova this weekend. The 29-year-old mixmaster, who rocked the house at many a PHX nightspot for years before relocating to…
To renew your soul, check the slideshow.It’s pretty obvious that New Times was super excited about the five year anniversary of Treasure Mammal. Truly, there are no amount of blogs or Night & Day pieces that can properly explain the experience that is this one man band. So, naturally, Club…
So, a few weeks back I discussed a band called Evan Brightly that’s got a person’s name, but is actually five people. This week, meet Lisa Savidge, an act that sounds like it’s a woman, but is actually four dudes. And what else is Lisa Savidge? According to their MySpace,…
By Martin Cizmar This week we’re gonna get artsy with our Flier of the Week. Human Mirror is an electronic duo that uses a laptop, electronics, drums and more to make a sound that’s very eclectic, but has strong strands of world music and dub. They’re Phoenix based, but planning…
When it comes to goth nights here in the Valley, people seem to think that Club Palazzo’s Friday-night freak fest Tranzylvania is the only ghoulish game in town. Turns out they’re dead wrong, as popular GLBT hangout Velocity 2303, at 2303 East Indian School Road, has been putting on a…
It’s been about 12 years now since singer-guitarist Max Cavalera left Brazilian metal gods Sepultura and formed the Phoenix-based Soulfly. Some fans still haven’t gotten over it, but for the most part, his musical efforts over the past dozen years have been an ample salve for the wounded. Often at…
The Morning Of is an indie-rock sextet of fresh-faced youngsters from upstate New York who have suddenly found themselves waking up on the sunny national stage. Boasting major distribution via their label, Tragic Hero Records (which was recently absorbed by Warner Music Group), these kids are riding a wave of…
There’s something I can’t quite figure out: Why does Rihanna get to be a pop star? And I’m not necessarily asking in a way that demeans Rihanna. I just reviewed her new album, Good Girl Gone Bad, and I was surprised by how much I liked it. In the past,…
The longest-running rivalry in modern metal pits Mushroomhead against Slipknot, a conflict that continues its inexorable march toward some sort of Wrestlemania resolution. The feud started back in 1999, when Mushroomhead accused Slipknot of stealing its creepy-mask shtick, and it’s only become more heated in recent years. Mushroomhead ridiculed its…
Sub-par live shows, photos of bassist Pete Wentz’s penis, and petty Internet fights with ex-friends can’t stop the pop-punk juggernaut known as Fall Out Boy. Any criticism lobbed at the Chicago quartet is addressed head-on or is slyly incorporated into lyrics and videos, meaning that the band is practically immune…
By Lilia Menconi Definitely Shady. Click the slideshow.Sometimes a night just doesn’t go your way. On Saturday, November 22nd, we really wanted to check out Harvey Wineburger because we hear they have some old-timey bowling game that is really really fun. When you’re drunk. But, as we flew into the…
The Sweet remains Laurel & Sunset (Self-released) By Martin Cizmar If writing a handwritten note counted for as much as it should on these things – and it doesn’t – I’d have written about The Sweet Remains a month or so ago when their album Laurel & Sunset arrived in…
We’ve all been to that show at least once. You know, the show where the opening act far outperforms the headliner, making you wish the opener got the longer timeslot. It’s a common occurrence, and it’s hardly tragic, except for the headliner that just got its ass handed to it…
Life can be tricky for metalheads who turn to heavy music to galvanize their conscience. If that sounds like a stereotype, plenty of metal bands play into the meathead/douchebag/sociopath thing and do it with pride. Gojira isn’t one of those bands. But Gojira doesn’t simply spew pointed political sloganeering either…
So, the other evening I was watching the History Channel when a two-hour program about the Dark Ages came on. I thought to myself, “Wow, I should really turn the sound down and put on some In Flames” — kinda like we did in college when we’d crank The Jesus…
Hey, kids, how’d you like to know how brand-new Orange, California quartet Eye Alaska came up with its name? Well, according to singer-guitarist Brandon Wronski: “‘Alaska’ is the Aleutian word for ‘that which the sea breaks against.’ ‘Eye’ means that you’re looking to those upon whom the sea breaks. It…
Here’s a recipe for a seriously stellar night of entertainment: Take a half-dozen of Arizona’s most imaginative visual artists, VJs, and filmmakers, and mix them liberally with eight or nine of the Valley’s DJs, turntablists, and “audio navigators.” The result? An all-night extravaganza titled Illumination v2.0, which goes down on…
By Martin Cizmar I bring you this week’s Flier of the Week not because it’s a bunch of bands we’ve recently featured at the Ruby Room, but because it’s possibly (and hopefully) the last time we can use Sarah Palin as a pop-culture touchstone for a long, long, long time…
By Martin Cizmar
Not too many bands morph from cover band to successful original act – especially when they start out playing covers of Ryan freakin’ Adams, but that’s just what the subject of this week’s You Asked For It, The New Westerns, have done.
By Benjamin Leatherman Music editor Martin Cizmar totally digs the Flaming Lips funky new CD/DVD Christmas on Mars, and apparently so do the customers at Zia Record Exchange (105 West University Drive in Tempe). Here’s the rest of the top 10 best sellers for the week of Nov. 10-Nov. 16…
By Lilia Menconi You should know the drill by now. Click this link to the slideshow. We’ve gone to a number of these lovely parties and this time, we were particularly impressed with the way it all came together. The theme, inspired by Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art’s current exhibition,…
