This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up On The Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts. What albums sold the most copies at Hoodlums Music in 2011? What songs are easing our…
The year 2011 may go down in history as the first year we paid more attention to where music will be stored and what delivery system it will stream from than we did to actual music (which continues its steadily declining devaluation in the marketplace, thank you). One hallowed time,…
As Ricky Rozay can attest, it costs to be the boss. The redoubtable 35-year-old has encountered a few glitches en route to hip-hop celebrity. His gluttonous build, self-parodying image, and seemingly absent moral compass (the offensive language on 2010’s Teflon Don doesn’t stop with “If she died on my dick…
In 1970, Elton John released his self-titled sophomore album and Tumbleweed Connection. In 1974, Kiss released their eponymous debut and its followup, Hotter Than Hell, nine months later. In 2003, alt-country songwriter Ryan Adams released his most flippant album, Rock N’ Roll, the same day he released his darkest, Love…
Blessthefall is a true Phoenix success story. Since forming in high school, the group has kept at it, and gained a diehard fanbase along the way. The band released its third full length, Awakening, on Fearless Records this past October. This week we’re bringing you local metalcore in the form…
Phoenix music historian Johnny “D” Dixon has a way with words. He recently updated his Mostly Vinyl Facebook page (the official site of his Sunday evening anything-goes program on KWSS 106.7) with a cryptic message: “What can I say…..I can’t believe this has been sittin’ in the can for 40+…
After tweets yesterday from Dave Pratt Live co-host Kassi Jayde indicated yesterday that KEXX-FM (103.9) would be shifting to a “classic rock” format, a Facebook post by Gadger, a X103.9 jock, who hosts (or hosted) the station’s “Local Frequency” program, states that the format shift will be less “classic rock”…
VektorNPR has a way of simplifying complicated ideas for the layman, be they the financial crisis or the intricate web of Republican frontrunner intrigue. When it comes to their profile about Tempe’s sci-fi thrash metal four piece Vektor, they kept things uncluttered and uncomplicated: “Vektor: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Fast.”…
Update: Station DJ defines new format as “built for Gen-X , by Gen-X. Looks like big changes are headed to the Valley’s long-running X103.9 (those of us who have been around awhile still slip up and call it “The Edge” regularly). According to Kassi Jayde, the co-host of Dave Pratt…
The speculation is over. See the 2012 festival lineup. (Double weekend!)…
We like to keep you updated on what’s moving off the shelves at Valley record stores with our weekly What’s Selling blog, but we’re also aware that after awhile, big stacks of records and CDs get to be a cumbersome haul. Seriously, moving with records is a special kind of…
Uber-American rock and sex icon Lenny Kravitz is going to rock Comerica Theatre patrons to their knees. Watching Lenny jam would sure beat seeing Scott Stapp any day of the week.Lenny Kravitz, Creed, The Ting Tings and other artists will be bringing their A-game to the Valley over the next few…
It was somewhat of a surprise that NOFX sold out last night’s Marquee Theatre show at the very last minute. In spite of Fat Mike’s poo problems and outspoken attitude toward our city, we welcomed the band with open arms and screamed along to the songs as if our lives…
So, the Radiohead thing felt pretty big, and Gun N’ Roses was positively surreal. So try this one on for size: Van Halen, featuring David Lee Roth and the Van Halens: Eddie, Alex, and Wolfgang, are headed to US Airways Center on Saturday, June 16. That’s right. Saturday night. With…
Vinnie Iñiguez Iñiguez is a professional golfer. For more info on him, visit his website here. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? Straight out the gate, it’s usually BackSpin on Sirius. Its got a solid mix of classics. What’s…
Local mic controller Mr. Miranda isn’t one to mince words. If you don’t believe us, check out this little trifling he recently laid down to the head-nodding beat of Nicolay’s “Tight Eyes.” Tight Eyes ( Freestyle ) by MrMiranda “You’re not a man homeboy, you’re a mannequin,” Miranda quips. Sharp…
British tabloid NME has a penchant for overstating it — you know, a new “savoir of rock” every couple weeks — but they’re right on the money with this one: the January 7 issue of the magazine spotlights Phoenix-based Otro Mundo as one of the 100 New Bands You Have…
This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up On The Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts. Want to rewind? We take a look at three local cassette tape labels. What famous album…
What happens when a promising young pop band’s album gets rejected by the major label they’ve signed a seven-album contract with? In the case of The Maine’s Pioneer, the band says “screw it,” and releases it anyway. Of course, the story is more complicated than that, which singer John O’Callaghan…
John O’Callaghan is beat. The 23-year-old singer has just returned from fronting his band, The Maine, on a quickie tour with Taking Back Sunday. O’Callaghan slinks into a molded plastic chair at Cartel Coffee Lab in Tempe. He has the rock-star look down pat: a frayed denim vest over a…
NOFX frontman “Fat” Mike Burkett has quite the reputation. In 2010, while performing at Austin’s South by Southwest Festival, Mike took the stage as “Cokie the Clown”: sad-face paint, oversize Chuck Taylors, and a flower that squirts out “cocaine.” He discussed his mother’s assisted suicide and a troubled relationship with…
Calling “Fire Ring b/w Weekend Habit,” the forthcoming release from Tempe psychedelic soul combo What Laura Says, a “single” is a little misleading. “Neither song is slated to appear on the next album,” says bassist Mitch Freedom, laughing. Nonetheless, the band plans on releasing the tunes “in the first quarter”…
