Musically, the Vietnam War era is remembered through “All Along the Watch Tower,” “American Woman,” “War Pigs,” and Hot Rocks-era Rolling Stones — the sort of heavily bluesified rock songs you’ll hear in Platoon and Full Metal Jacket. Odd as it may seem, future generations may think Operation Iraqi Freedom…
What can we make of Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister these days? The 65-year-old frontman of semi-legendary punk/metal outfit Motörhead is still the same bird-flipping rock ‘n’ roller who changed the lives of innumerable angry suburban children with guitars. But he’s also turned into a bit of a grandpa. Yes, he’s still…
After a quarter-century of showcasing the biggest up-and-coming bands, Austin’s South by Southwest has built enough of a brand to warrant unofficial offshoots in far-flung places. Like, umm, Tempe, which is a convenient stop for Texas-bound bands from the West Coast. Every year, the folks at Stateside Presents toss a…
When it comes to South By Southwest, Phoenix’s fortunes are always changing. In recent years, as many as 20 local bands have played at the king-making music industry event in Austin, a half-dozen from Phoenix alone scoring official showcases. This year, there are only four Arizona acts showcasing, including one…
Miley Cyrus is continuing to prove that she’s into older men, according to the Fab Life.Cyrus seems to be having a fling with Kings of Leon bassist Jared Followill. They’ve been doing an awful lot of texting lately, according to a source that’s close with Kings of Leon.The source said,…
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. Are The Refreshments really playing South By Southwest as reported?Which Strokes side project is the best…
SanTan Brewing is taking the beer festival band thing to a whole new level at their first Ameri”CAN” Canned Craft Beer Festival.The Chandler brewery cans instead of bottles, which probably seems like a trivial distinction (or a horrible mistake) to people who aren’t into craft beer.Trust me, it’s the sort…
Song: Family Of The Year, “Treehouse”Context: LA’s Family Of The Year will be playing the South By Stateside show on Monday at Sail Inn. This is a super cool song from the group. Treehouse by Family of the Year…
Their live shows, however, are where the band makes their reputation. They coordinate their clothes — usually all white — and pretty much just have at it onstage. Nothing is out of bounds and seemingly everything tends to happen. Luckily for the Phoenix crowd, Man Man are set to release…
According to Associated Press, former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr was found dead in a home in Salt Lake City earlier today. Starr, 44, played bass in the band from the band’s formation in 1987 till 1993, when he was kicked out of the group, though not before playing…
In this week’s Noise Complaint comic, Up On The Sun cartoonist Robbie Pfeffer riffs on the sorry state of the Valley’s bus system.Sure, they might have What Laura Says doing cute little commercials for them, but the Valley’s buses as seen through his eyes aren’t anywhere you’d happily be. Some…
, according to MTV News.Gaga says she wants to stand on her own two feet this time around, although many people think it’s safe to jokingly say that she practically collaborated with Madonna on the hit single “Born This Way,” anyway.”I’ve already collaborated with my favorite female in the business,”…
Song: The Horde and the Harem, “Gold Rush”Context: This Pacific Northwest quintet plays part one of the annual South By Stateside showcase on Monday at Sail Inn in Tempe. Gold Rush by The Horde and the Harem…
While the similarities between Beach House and Wye Oak run deep, their sounds thankfully aren’t exact copies of each other. On Civilian, Wye Oak duo Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner take the Baltimore-based male/female indie rock duo formula and make it their own, infusing a twinge of folk and even…
Black Cactus Records does a little bit of everything — people associated with the local collective design merch, record albums and make web sites for members.Now they’re promoting shows, too. With touring bands, even.This Thursday, March 10th, the BC gang brings LA’s Goldenboy to Mesa’s Goathead Saloon, a venue which…
Renowned actress Gwyneth Paltrow is negotiating a record deal with Atlantic Records, according to Monsters and Critics.The label is in talks with Paltrow to make a country pop album. After all, she seems to be a hot reborn star in the performance market right now, having recently made appearances on…
Song: The Low Anthem, “Champion Angel”Context: It’s a folk explosion today as Mumford & Sons and The Low Anthem announce shows in the Valley of the Sun. Mumford’s show will be a totally unique event — they’re traveling by train to Chandler — but The Low Anthem’s show at Ice…
British retro-folk revivalists Mumford & Sons have made it no secret they yearn for a bygone era when electricity was something to be marveled at and a man’s facial hair could be as intricate as the handwriting in the letters he receives fortnightly from his dear sweet love.So it’s not…
There wasn’t an edition of popular dubstep session Subversion going on this week, and not just because the Subsonic Tour starring Excision was at the Marquee Theatre last night.The organizers and promoters behind Subversion announced today via they’re in the process of not only moving the event back to its…
Song: Database Megamix Context: Hipster DJs Database will be at Bar Smith tonight. Drop by after First Friday if you’re looking for a big sweaty party. DATABASE MEGAMIX [DJ BORBY NORTON] by dbnmegamixes…
, according to Paste.The project began when an Englishman named Richard Newman decided to reach out for singers, musicians and producers via Twitter to make a cover song together in honor of his two year Twitter anniversary.Just a few short days later, Tw1tterband pulled off a pretty solid cover of…
Opportunities abound for y’all to catch DJ M2 in action, whether it’s during his weekday shift on hip-hop station Power 98.3, or every Thursdays over at Dirty Pretty during Groove Candy. Either way, it’s well worth going out of your way to do so, as M2 weaves some mixing magic…
