The Big 4 (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer & Anthrax) Announce Lone U.S. Concert, Prompting New Times Contributor To Announce Incredibly Nerdy Metal Project

Dreams do come true. Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax, thrash metal’s legendary “Big Four,” have just announced a lone U.S. concert on Saturday, April 23 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. Tickets go on sale this Friday, January 28.Despite their status as the godfathers of the thrash metal…

Let’s Meet Dave Pratt’s New Co-Host Kassi Jade (Pics)

After Up On The Sun broke the news about legendary Valley broadcaster Dave Pratt making an imminent return to radio Sunday he took to his blog on AZCentral to confirm, promising “Full details on our new show with the Republic/azcentral’s Larry Rodgers coming soon.”It’s great to see ol’ Larry Rodgers,…

Beyonce and Sleigh Bells Collaborate in the Studio

Diplo says noise pop duo Sleigh Bells have been hitting the studio with Beyonce, according to NME.The producer recently blogged about being in the studio together with the three musicians. Sleigh Bells’ album Treats was played for the good people who work for Beyonce, and now they’re working on some…

Nirvana – Polly (Remix)

Song: Nirvana, “Polly” (Remix)Context: This one goes out to “Big” Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Congrats on making it to the Super Bowl, guys… Nothing makes the rubes in Pittsburgh forget sexual assault allegations like a few big wins. Nirvana-polly by breakbeatfunk…

Justin Bieber: The New Face of Nail Polish

Can somebody please tell me why the hell Justin Bieber is the new face of nail polish? Seriously, what has the world come to?According to Just Jared Jr., J. Biebs has teamed up with Nicole by OPI to make the One Less Lonely Girl Collection because “nail polish really makes…

Dave Pratt “Set To Return” to Morning Radio

Legendary Phoenix broadcaster Dave Pratt — the “Morning Mayor” of Phoenix who built KUPD into a powerhouse in the 80s before working at a string of other big FM stations — says his return to radio is imminent.Pratt was bounced off the airwaves at KMLE, one of the Valley’s twin…

Best Coast – Sunny Adventure

Song: Best Coast, “Sunny Adventure” Context: This is a just-released song from Best Coast, who will be at Clubhouse Saturday. Read our interview with Bethany here if you haven’t yet. Sunny Adventure by bestcoastt…

Zia Prepping Annual Local Music Compilation Disc

Record Store Day is still a few months off, but local chain Zia Records has already put out a call for songs to include on their annual You Heard Us Back When compilation.Bands have until March 7 to get their material in, and they’ve got a good shot of getting…

Creed Saves a Boy From a Wolf Pack

A boy saved himself from a pack of wolves with a little help from Creed on Thursday, according to NME.Thirteen-year-old Norwegian student Walter Eikrem came across a pack of wolves on his way home from school. He knew not to run away from the wolves, so he quickly became resourceful…

Katy Perry Coming to Phoenix (Thank Her Sponsor, Schick Razors!)

Skankstress Katy Perry just announced a tour date for Phoenix’s Comerica Theatre on August 3.It’s part of a “California Dreams” tour that starts on June 7 in Atlanta and runs through August 14, the second show in Katy’s hometown Santa Barbara, California. Tickets, priced pretty modestly at $30-48, go on…

From Print: Blogs Teased in Our 1/20 Issue

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. How did Kimber Lanning of Stinkweeks talk an association of record store geeks out of boycotting…

Steven Tyler Rejected For Led Zeppelin Position

Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry has revealed that lead singer Steven Tyler was turned down after he auditioned to replace Robert Plant in Led Zeppelin, according to NME.However, Jimmy Page invited Tyler to make a record together, which Tyler declined. Why the hell would anyone turn down the chance to make…

Latest Cake Album Hits No. 1, Sets Dubious Record In The Process

This year sure has been a fickle beast thus far — treacherous weather, Jared Lee Loughner and now a slumping music industry.Showroom Of Compassion, the latest album from venerable rock band Cake, took the top spot on the Billboard charts for the week ending on January 16, Yahoo! News reports.That’s good news,…

Andrew Jackson Jihad on Downtown Phoenix

Sean Bonnette has a theory concerning time, space, and the area of Phoenix that city planners officially refer to as the “Central Business District.” “I have this idea — I’ve had it for six months now — that ‘Central Phoenix’ and ‘Downtown Phoenix’ are two totally different places, but they…

Best Coast: Things Are Going Swimmingly for Bethany Cosentino

Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast sounds pretty rough as she answers the phone for our Monday afternoon interview, but given her week, it’s understandable. A few days before, she and her bandmates — guitarist Bobb Bruno and drummer Ali Koehle — made their television debut on Late Night with Jimmy…

Pazz & Jop Announced. Kanye Won. Duh.

Our sister paper, The Village Voice, has announced the results of their annual Pazz & Jop critic’s poll.If you’re unfamiliar, basically like 1,000 music critics get to vote on their favorite albums and singles, assigning points to the top 10. Then those points are tabulated and Kanye West wins.Or at…

Coachella 2011 Official Lineup Announced

In perfect Girl Talk fashion, the good people of Goldenvoice set up a surprise late night release of Coachella’s overwhelmingly impressive lineup.Many of Michael Lopez’s lineup predictions were spot on. The Strokes made the cut, as did Duran Duran, although on a different day than what Billboard speculated.The Black Keys…