MonaLisa Watkins sang “Xanadu” with Tab Benoit, watched Dick Dale stand behind the bar telling stories to Rhythm Room employees, and watched Francine Reed sing “A Song for You” a cappella to the bar’s staff. Those are some of the memories that she has after 17 years of working at…
It’s a beautiful thing when the pieces fall into place. For Lizzy Plapinger and Max Hershenow, the creative forces behind MS MR, the New York-based synth-pop duo currently supporting Grouplove on a nationwide tour, serendipity was strong at work during the band’s inception. While studying at Vassar College, Plapinger having…
Anything involving Alice Cooper is bound to push the boundaries of what’s normal in the world of pop culture and music. Forty-five years after he began shocking the world for the first time, Cooper, along with a team of filmmakers, Cooper is back, this time in film form. Unveiled as…
Valley stoner rap guru Hot Rock Supa Joint took some time out of his busy day to answer some pressing questions in honor of 4/20, which apparently is some sort of weed holiday. You really have to spend some time in HotR ock’s presence to get a true feel for…
Since the release of their debut album, Tennessee, The Prowling Kind have been looking to prove it is one of the premier indie rock bands on the Phoenix scene. The band already has passed many of the traditional milestones for a Valley band looking to conquer that next step. The…
For hipster types, the fixation with Yacht Rock a few years back was one of those trendy things that quickly sailed into the sunset. For local selector DJ Organic, however, spinning up the sometimes-cheesy soft rock, easy listening, and album-oriented hits of the late ’70s and early ’80s was more…
It is every artist’s goal to be the next new thing — clichéd as it is, any creative will eventually admit this desire. Few can make one radical thing while even fewer continue to deliver intriguing material. Phantogram, the electronic psych-pop duo from upstate New York, fall into the latter…
When it comes to categorizing what makes a great heavy metal vocalist, there are a lot of factors that come into play. First off, there’s the matter of subgenres. Mainstream, Swedish, death, black, melodic — as much as I hate to pay attention to this bottomless list, it’s a fact…
Devour the Day might sound like a morbid name for a band; but that’s because the members were going through some pretty dark times. The group was born out of another band’s demise, and the uncertainty that followed. When American rock band Egypt Central disintegrated in 2012, bassist Joey Walser…
The five musicians of L.A.-based band Gemini Syndrome create such an electric reaction among themselves, it might be construed as too many primal forces colliding. However, it just happens to work out beautifully in their music. As their live set kicks off, the first thing you notice is guitarist Rich…
Under normal circumstances, we’d wish local club promoter Robden Brethauer and the DJs of Obscura a hearty “Happy Birthday!” in honor of the monthly dance night’s sixth anniversary party this weekend. Since such glad tidings run contrary to the mopey and melodramatic sentiments inherent to the Britpop, post-punk, and ’80s…
If you’d told the brothers Kongos two years ago that their second album would still be going strong in 2014 and, in fact, gathering strength by the day with no end in sight, they would’ve called you “lunatic.” But it’s true. Lunatic, the Phoenix band’s sophomore effort, self-released in 2012…
Later tonight, the Trunk Space will wrap up both its 10-year celebration and its ambitious performance project, the Indie 500. As we’ve previously reported, the multi-day concert festival — which dozens of bands playing the space over the last week and change — sought to have a total of 500…
There are many reasons people keep coming back to the Trunk Space, and it’s not necessarily because of the music (although that is the biggest reason). There’s the whole sense of community that’s developed around the DIY gallery and venue, which has become a wayward home and all-inclusive haven for…
If you’ve been into the EDM thing for more than a few minutes, you’ve heard about the Mad Decent Block Party the last couple years. Heard about the great performances by the label’s regulars like Riff Raff, Diplo, and Major Lazer. Heard the tales of wild crowds and even wilder…
A very special guest will make surprise appearance at the Trunk Space during one of this weekend’s editions of its ongoing Indie 500 concert series, and it’s someone that fans the Grand Avenue venue are intimately familiar with. Namely, Andrew Jackson Jihad…
The Phoenix Suns need all the help they can get right now. The surprise team of the 2013-2014 season is currently in ninth place in the NBA Western Conference playoff race, and with only seven games left in their season, the team needs something — anything — to help propel…
Now more than ever, there are a lot of metal — from comedy to thrash to black to grindcore — getting slung in and around Metro Phoenix thanks to concerts and gigs by locals and touring acts alike. As such, Up on the Sun’s resident metal scribe, Lauren Wise, is…
If you’ve never heard of David Guetta before, please feel free to go back underneath the rock you must’ve crawled out from under. After all, the tousle-haired Frenchman and internationally known house music DJ/producer is considered one of vanguards of EDM’s most recent crossover surge in popularity. Plus, he took…
If you were out soaking up the sounds at the Monarch Theatre during Pete Tong’s spectacular set last month, we might have taken your picture. Ditto for those who hung out at both Bottled Blonde and El Hefe in Scottsdale, folks celebrating Spring Training at Dos Gringos and Giligin’s, or…
Not many bands have attained popularity and commercial success outside the mainstream music industry box the way that Mustard Plug has done. While they can’t claim to be most famous ska-punk band in existence, the septet have amassed a sizable cult following, as well as radio-friendly songs and music videos,…
A ghost from my high school years visited me this week. It spoke to me over the radio on a sudden trip home, blasting from tinny speakers in a random storefront. Staying purposefully out of touch with Top 20 radio, especially the songs that get spun in my hometown, I…
