Artist: Drive By TruckersTitle: The Big To-DoRelease date: March 16Label: ATOI’ve been looking forward to hearing the new Drive By Truckers’ record for one reason: They represent the last time (before this year, of course) I dove head first into the work of a band I was totally unfamiliar with…
Gone are the college-era days of the The Whigs raucous live shows and raw sound. Instead you’ll find a timid homage to one of America’s biggest sell-outs. Still, The Whigs press on, and In The Dark will stand as an extension of their garage/grunge sound, even if that same sound…
Rolling Stone gives everyone the highlights of last night’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. You know — just in case you lost your ticket to the Waldorf and/or cannot afford top-tier cable channels.While each year is unique, people just can’t stop talking about The Stooges’ intense performance…
If you’ve ever been through the system for a ridiculous traffic infraction at Tempe’s downtown kangaroo court (full disclosure: I have), you probably know the city is run by idiots. Like, the sort of idiots who wanted a now-shuttered Borders Books on their downtown strip instead of several legendary bars?…
To say Marshall “Fucking” Beck and New Times have had a contentious relationship over the years would be an understatement.Love him or hate him, though, Beck’s dedication to the local metal scene is unassailable. In addition to hosting and promoting numerous metal shows throughout the Valley, Beck is also the lead…
There’s no denying Lady Gaga’s a pro when it comes to crafting a unique visual style to go along with her catchy pop music. Her new video with Beyoncé, for “Telephone,” is no exception–it sure is unique. But it also doesn’t make a whole lot of sense and contains a…
Summer. Her collaboration with producer/performer M. Ward — She & Him — has become quite the force in today’s music scene.NPR’s Exclusive First Listen has made the duo’s second album, the appropriately-if-not-imaginatively titled Volume Two, available for a full album stream a whole week before the album is released…
Last night was an exciting one for fans of rock band Digital Summer. The group best known for its successful grass roots marketing (hand-delivering tickets to fans, putting their logo-covered stickers all over town, etc.) made their triumphant return to Tempe, opening for Sevendust and Drowning Pool at Marquee Theatre.Meanwhile,…
Artist: April Smith and the Great Picture ShowTitle: Songs for a Sinking ShipRelease date: February 23Label: April SmithHere’s one for fans of musical theater. With a flair for the dramatic, April Smith and her band weave in and out of various old-timey American musical idioms: Dixieland, ragtime, swing, doo-wop. It’s…
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is hosting its induction ceremony tonight.Too bad you can only watch it if you get the Fuse channel, or if you happen to be at the Waldorf Astoria in New York.The list of inductees this year is diverse, and will feature…
On July 31, Lady Gaga will hit U.S. Airways Center on her massive summer Monster Ball Tour. Gaga told Rolling Stone that she sees the show as a sort of “pop-electro opera.””The theatrics and story elements are in the style of an opera. Imagine if you could take the sets…
Artist: The Morning BendersTitle: Big EchoRelease date: March 9Label: Rough TradeObviously, summer ain’t no big deal in Phoenix. No one here actually looks forward to the dreadful season. But everywhere else (including my native Midwest), people have had more than enough winter by this point, and are waiting for the…
Chelsea Handler is everything you could want in a comedian — she’s incredibly smart, super-sexy and pokes as much fun at herself as she does the celebrities she rags on.Plus: she is not shy about her love for vodka, and some fans even say she was tipsy when she took…
AKA: DJ Tsunami Club Nights: Tuesdays at Charlie’s, Fridays at Z Girl Club, Saturdays at Incognito. Preferred genres: Rhythmic pop urban dance How did you get started DJing? Ever since I was born, my family raised me on music. I began making DJ tapes when I was 8, doing voice-overs…
Phoenix rapper Trap has released a new song from his forthcoming mixtape, I Never Sleep. The song is called “My Gucci” and features Trap flowing over a trippy beat and a Slick Rick “La Di Da Di” sample.Here what Trap had to say about the new song and the status…
D-JR is the top party DJ in town, at least according to the Red Bull Thre3Style contest held at the Venue of Scottsdale Wednesday night. D-JR, who prides himself on his technical skills, won the local stop on the energy drink-sponsored 13-city tour, where he faced off against eight other…
There’s no shortage of strip club action in the Valley of the Sun. From high-end gentleman’s clubs like Christie’s Cabaret and Le Girls Cabaret to the low-rent flesh parlors of the West Valley’s skeezier industrial neighborhoods, Phoenix is definitely skin city.Despite what you might think, the buxom babes baring it…
This week’s music feature is about Antique Scream, who moved from the Valley to the Pacific Northwest over a year ago, and is now coming back on tour.Also in this week’s issue, you’ll find the lowdown on every Valley band headed out to Austin for SxSW in the coming week…
Everyone knows how difficult it is to raise the funds for a musical project you want to start. Josh Wise, a member of Brooklyn’s French Kicks, is working on a multi-faceted solo project.It’s ambitious. It involves limited-edition LPs, a video project, paintings, and live shows. The problem is, even though…
Artist: Black Rebel Motorcycle ClubTitle: Beat the Devil’s TattoosRelease date: March 9Label: Abstract Dragon/VagrantThere’s something kind of quaint about this new Black Rebel Motorcycle Club record. It isn’t bad, by any stretch, but it doesn’t sound nearly as dangerous as the band name and album title would have you believe…
It’s been almost a year since Antique Scream packed their gear, and little else, into their touring van, left Phoenix, and moved to Seattle. Back then, the band — singer/guitarist Chris Rutledge, bassist Stu Lasswell, and drummer Bill Fees — had just finished a three-month U.S. tour and signed with…
It’s an understatement to say that New Times music editor Martin Cizmar has the ability to piss people off. Everyone from Ted Nugent to Frankie Muniz has had harsh words for Martin. In January, Cizmar wrote a blog post with the rather innocent headline, “Do House Shows Matter?” expressing his…
