It’s a quiet Friday afternoon at Carly’s Bistro, and the members of Phoenix indie-rock act Snake! Snake! Snakes! shuffle in one by one. First comes guitarist/vocalist Jon Messenger, followed by bassist Chris Sanchez and, finally, drummer David Cooper, who slides down into his chair with uncalculated ease. The group announces…
You might not think that a guy who writes songs called “Yank Me, Crank Me” and “Wang Dang Sweet Poontang” would lead you to soul-searching, but when Ted Nugent called me a prick, that’s exactly what happened. Now, the Nuge wasn’t ripping on people like me or on a group…
In the post-Summer of Love late ’60s — smack-dab in the middle of the Vietnam War protests, draft-card bonfires, and the Chicago Democratic convention melees — Merle Haggard dropped a couple of jingoistic little H-bombs titled “Okie from Muskogee” and “Fightin’ Side of Me,” which told the hippies burning their…
Rolling Stone gives a nice little recap of the first interview Lil Wayne’s done since he’s been in prison.Weezy called in to Funkmaster Flex’s radio show from the New York penitentiary, and is apparently already planning post-release collaborations. Wayne said, “I’ve been saying to myself that I really wanna do…
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. Who are the most worthlessly obscure artists boycotting AZ over SB 1070? What are the five…
Ever wanted to learn a ton of shit about the music biz without going to Brooklyn to get P. Diddy a cookie or riding in a van with Ian MacKaye as he talks about not eating animals or drinking beer? Mesa Community College has you covered.MCC has been beefing up…
KWSS 106.7, “Arizona’s Alternative Radio,” hosts Adam Carolla this Friday. The former Man Show co-host, Crank Yanker and Loveliner will chat with Morning Infidelity host Beef Vegan before his run of weekend dates at Tempe Improv.Check out a podcast from last time Carolla was on TMI here — including a…
Song: MF Doom, “My Favorite Ladies” Context: This video from The Onion. Hit play and open this link in a new window to get the effect. MF DOOM – MY FAVORITE LADIES (JIMMY WHOO RMX)…
Song: Arcade Fire, “Ready To Start”Context: As Michael Lopez mentioned earlier, you may or may not have heard that Arcade Fire has a new record out today. Ready to Start by Arcade Fire…
Local uber-producer Bob Hoag is owed a lot of favors in this town. The Atari-turned-knob-twister-turned-Love Me Nots Drummer has had half the bands in town come through his well-regarded Flying Blanket Studio in Mesa (even if the Black Cactus guys want no part of it) and routinely gets out-of-towners through.What,…
Oh, a new Arcade Fire album is being released today? I had no idea — aside from the fact that most everyone has been looking forward to The Suburbs, the band’s third album, ever since they first finished listening to their previous album Neon Bible.It’s hard for the Montreal rockers…
Artist: WavvesTitle: King of the BeachRelease date: August 3Label: Fat PossumRemember Wavves? They (well, it was more or less one guy, Nathan Williams, and whoever would back him) were huge in Indieland last summer, the ultimate buzz band of 2009. Then they played some high-profile festivals, totally sucked at those…
Dated enough for you? 1994, then, was the perfect time for a song like “Regulate” to peak in popularity. Why, then, has it taken until now for a synopsis of the song to materialize?…
Here’s a fun fact about seminal 80’s band The Tubes — their origins are in Phoenix. Tubes’ founders Bill “Sputnick” Spooner and late keyboardist Vince Welnick were born and raised in Phoenix, playing in early high school bands before packing up shop, moving to San Francisco in the late 60’s…
Marquee Theatre had one of the most interesting crowds it has probably seen in awhile when Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta came to town last night. The sold-out audience was a mix of glitter-covered cougars, teenage girls and gay men, and the eyeliner was out in full force. After the…
Song: Turn Back, O Man! “French Wife”Context: Is this band breaking up or not? “New project in the works” + hype = ??? Either way, this is a fun story song. French Wife by turnbackoman…
Lady Gaga may have recycled some material from her previous club tour at her sold-out arena show at US Airways Center Saturday night. She used some of the same imagery and even in-between-song banter as she did at her previous smaller shows. And the sound quality may have been horrible,…
How could someone who’s been dead for over a year release a new record? The simple answer would likely be that the people who have control over any remaining recorded material are hungry for the money that accompanies anything involving Michael Jackson’s name.Rolling Stone reports that the King of Pop…
Song: Lady Gaga, “Starstruck”Context: When Lady Gaga updated her Facebook status to say she was hanging out in the Arizona desert. 37,291people (and counting!) “liked” it. The fame, indeed. Lady Gaga – Starstruck…
ame: Aaron TaylorAKA: Vanilla Gorilla (not really)Current club schedule: Thursday at Jackrabbit Lounge, Friday at Suede, and Saturday at Myst.Genres spun: Hip-hop, Top 40, old school, electro, reggae, or anything else you might tip for.How did you get started as a DJ? Back in ’94, a buddy had one Technics…
Holy crap, only five-plus months left of Nothing Not New. I gotta get to a lot more new(-ish) releases. Let’s roll . . .Cowboy Junkies — Remnin Park: Who knew these dour Canadians were even still around? Remnin Park is a concept album inspired the Timmins’ family month-long sojourn to…
This week’s music feature is on Lady Gaga’s seemingly overnight rise to super-stardom. Ever wonder exactly how or why this happened? Nearly everyone agrees she’s awesome. But is she really? We get to the nitty gritty.We also take a took at the subtle differences in the metalcore genre through the…
