In the song “California (Hustle & Flow)” from Social Distortion’s Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes, singer Mike Ness professes, “Life gets hard and then it gets good / like I always knew it would.” Ness, the one-time Fullerton, California, street punk and lone surviving member of the legendary So Cal…
There’s no doubt that THC is all about making you feel good. It causes you to laugh, feel nostalgic, forget all your worries. Plus, it makes barbecue taste 10 times better. And by THC, I’m talking about Texas Hippie Coalition…
Phoenix Lights is giving Sunday Funday a whole new meaning this weekend when Hardwell, Zeds Dead, Robin Schulz and more DJs drop in to Civic Space Park in downtown Phoenix for day raving antics. A little background for the youngins or those not on-point when it comes to “alien” sightings…
Every Wednesday is Heritage Hump Day! That’s because every Wednesday from now to the end of the year or before someone really big stops us, Heritage Hump Records (a temporary subsidiary of Onus Records) and New Times will be bringing you a limited edition collector’s item of a much beloved…
On the gorgeous spring afternoon that Dinosaur Love agrees to meet me, he insists on rendezvousing in front of the giant red Tyrannosaurus Rex outside the Phoenix Art Museum, because of course he does. The singular mind behind this obsessive music project, better known as Peter Kulikowski, arrives modeling a…
The past Harper and the Moths record was based on a depressing time. Singer Harper Lines had moved to Seattle for love, and what resulted was a heartbreak record aptly titled Love Songs for the Damned — released after Lines trekked back to his home state of Arizona and reunited…
Forget being left out of the Grammys; you rarely hear about anything in those heavy metal and hard rock in the news, unless someone passes away or gets arrested for something ridiculous. But it doesn’t really faze metal and rock fans that much. We don’t really care about whose dating…
By Liz Ohanesian We can’t fault the person who thinks there are no female DJs playing this year’s Coachella. After all, Annie Mac — whose affiliation with BBC Radio 1 makes her pretty high-profile — is buried one row from the bottom of the third-day line-up. (One other lady DJ,…
If ever a song were to frame the longevity, trajectory and torque behind the Boston based heavy metal act, Godsmack, it would have to be the first single, “1000hp”, from their sixth studio album of the same name. While the track sounds like a piece of hype music, the autobiographical…
Right now, things are still nice outside as far as the weather goes. But if you’ve lived in the Valley for any stretch of time, however, you’re probably well aware by now that its not gonna last much longer. Like it or not, we’re on the cusp of warmer temperatures…
On Tuesday, a California federal jury ordered Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke to pay $7.4 million to the estate of Marvin Gaye, finding that the duo ripped off Gaye’s classic “Got to Give It Up” for their 2013 song of the summer “Blurred Lines.” The two songs share a similar…
Mitchell Hillman listens to more local music than just about anyone in the Valley. He presents his picks for best new music in his column, Right Hear, Right Now…
You’d think that Doro Pesch would come off as a pretty tough broad. I mean, this is the first female band leader in heavy metal. Her name has been synonymous with “strength” over the past 30 years. She helped pioneer heavy metal’s style, not just blazing a trail for future…
Every Wednesday is Heritage Hump Day! That’s because every Wednesday from now to the end of the year or before someone really big stops us, Heritage Hump Records (a temporary subsidiary of Onus Records) and New Times will be bringing you a limited edition collector’s item of a much beloved…
Some musicians’ greatest fears are rooted in the sophomore slump, stolen gear, public ridicule, or an overarching sense of failure. Of all, one of the most challenging and frightening times for an artist is having to play their music for the muse that inspired it, especially if its connotations are…
That epileptic seizure warning at the beginning of “Tony,” the new music video by Instructions, isn’t a joke. Directed by Ryan Lee Caldwell, the video is a psychedelic spinout through a nostalgic maze of blown-out color. In order to better represent their core dynamic, Instructions made their video for “Tony”…
Arizona is no stranger to Megadeth drama. So when guitarist Chris Broderick and drummer Shawn Drover officially left the band last year, metal fans anxiously wondered what musical endeavor they would dive into next. Enter the aptly named Act of Defiance. The former Megadeth members revealed that this new hard…
Rick Estrin and the Nightcats First, Rick Estrin and the Nightcats have been around the blues for many years, but they remain popular and recently released a new CD, You Asked for It: Live. This CD is their first live CD. This band is worth seeing. The Nightcats are professionals…
It’s been awhile since New Times has checked in with Time Out Lounge, so we decided to drop erratic radio DJ and rock-‘n’-roll miscreant Westley Allen a line to see what’s jumping at TOL — Allen started booking bands at the small venue about a year and a half ago…
Phoenix might have an issue with Prom Body. The Tucson-based scuzzy-yet-musical punk outfit has tried again and again to play in the Valley to no avail, plagued by misaligned schedules or vehicular woes. Their luck may be turning around, however, as the band has two shows scheduled in the coming…
Do it on your own. Get uncomfortable. Learn, create something, be a voice for those without one, tell a tale in the hopes that it might inspire the listener. Alynda Lee Segarra will not tell you these things outright, but give a listen to Hurray for the Riff Raff, her…
Every Wednesday is Heritage Hump Day! That’s because every Wednesday from now to the end of the year or before someone really big stops us, Heritage Hump Records (a temporary subsidiary of Onus Records) and New Times will be bringing you a limited edition collector’s item of a much beloved…
