Bon Jovi proclaimed on their Twitter they were “ready for Arizona” before their show at Jobing.com Arena last night, and the rock band members weren’t the only stars in the building. Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre came out, and Dashboard Confessional singer Chris Carrabba had something to say about the concert…
“Uh, I think someone at our label talked to someone at their label. I’m not really sure.” Interview enough bands coming through town, and you’ll eventually just quit asking how a particular tour came together — it’s usually something lame involving an A&R dude. That’s what makes the upcoming tour…
In 2004, Salon.com’s Verne Becker asked guitarist Aaron Burke of The Minibosses, “How far can the Minibosses go?” Burke responded: “I have no idea. Our main focus is playing and having a good time doing it. When that stops, we stop.” Lucky for us, Burke and his buds, fellow guitarist…
Admittedly, it’s not the kind of question that keeps you up at night. Or triggers piercing migraine headaches. Or makes your nose bleed uncontrollably. Still, you’re interested in knowing: What is America’s longest continuously active ska band? According to Robert Hingley, singer and lone remaining founding member of The Toasters,…
This week, New Times ran a small box 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. Is Anthony “Hartbreaks” Hart the new king of Phoenix’s hipster DJs? How was the first show at…
Artist: Shout Out LoudsTitle: WorkRelease date: February 23Label: MergeThe album’s title and no-nonsense cover art and design belie the breezy indie pop contained inside. Mind you, it’s not the wimpy and boring indie pop in the vein of, say, Vampire Weekend. The band’s crystaline sound may seem fragile, but there’s…
Fearless prediction: McDowell Mountain Music Festival 2010 will not be on par with MMMF 2009.The 2009 festival, which took place at Scottsdale’s WestWorld and featured The Flaming Lips and Matisyahu, impressed the hell out of me. In fact, we named it Best Music Festival in our annual “Best of Phoenix”…
So it seems that The Who singer Roger Daltrey made a statement to the BBC recently that he would be interested in working with former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page on a new album. He may be putting the proverbial cart in front of the horse, though, as this is…
Frankie Muniz, the former Malcolm in the Middle star who’s now playing drums for Phoenix band You Hang Up has granted an interview to Popeater where he discusses how he got together with You Hang Up. Unfortunately, Popeater asked stupid questions like “How does the L.A.-based star end up behind…
[jump] What this critic says: “Past Lives — lead by enigmatic lead singer Jordan Billie — have crafted an album that constantly shifts tempos, often playing things on the more slower, serious side. Gone are Billie’s days of relentless screaming over punk-laden guitars, replaced with a more subtle approach to his…
Artist: Brian Jonestown MassacreTitle: Who Killed Sgt. Pepper?Release date: February 23Label: A. RecordsMy only exposure to Brian Jonestown Massacre was in that rock documentary DiG!, which followed the rise in popularity of BJM and kindred spirits/rivals The Dandy Warhols. The latter band eventually achieved some mainstream success while the former sabotaged…
Carly Simon taught me not to be so vain, and not to assume this song — or three-day festival of local and international DIY indie/punk acts — was about me. However, I’m going to go ahead and assume that the “Cizmarch Madness” festival at YOBS has something to do with…
Every band has its set of problems. Feuding guitarists, trouble getting gigs, issues with scraping up enough money to record a record or go on tour.Few American bands face the same struggles as Acrassicauda — an Iraqi metal band that recently moved to Brooklyn. They were the subject of the…
The radio station formerly known as “The Edge,” X103.9, will host the new singer of “Sublime” on Friday. Rome Ramirez, a chubby 21-year-old California kid who was in elementary school when Brad Nowell died of a heroin overdose, will perform with The Dirty Heads in an “intimate acoustic session” at…
Apparently, Chris Martin and his record label, EMI, are not on the same page when it comes to news about when Coldplay’s new album coming is out. Martin says it will hopefully be released by Christmas of this year, but EMI says that isn’t true. Apparently, when asked whether Coldplay’s…
It wasn’t quite Beatlemania, but that didn’t seem to matter to the female underclassman crowding around the dorm common room windows to get a peak at Story of the Year. The band, whose album The Constant was released less than a week ago, warmed up their pipes prior to Friday’s…
Rihanna reportedly celebrated her 22nd birthday in metro Phoenix over the weekend, at a party put together by her rumored boyfriend, LA Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp. TMZ says Rihanna got a lap dance from a midget porn star at the Scottsdale bash (video here), which also featured Sprinkles cupcakes and…
Paul McCartney will open his upcoming “Up And Coming” tour at Glendale’s Jobing.com Arena. The former Beatle will play a show at the hockey arena on Sunday, March 28.The news, which was officially announced at a press conference this afternoon, was hinted at by Danny Zelisko at Saturday night’s Mariah…
Artist: ShearwaterTitle: The Golden ArchipelagoRelease date: February 23Label: MatadorThanks to the several people who wrote to me over the weekend after reading the music feature I wrote for the print edition of this week’s New Times. The feedback was mostly positively (this time, only one dude called me a pretentious…
Chances are good that you’ve read a thing or two about Kevin Smith on the Internets lately. The outspoken — and oversized — auteur (the director of such indie flicks Clerks, Chasing Amy, and Dogma) has received much attention over the past two weeks due to the one-man jihad he’s…
She has her own Twitter account, so it’s no wonder Mariah Carey inspired her fans to share the love over Twitter themselves after her performance Saturday night at the Dodge Theatre. Here’s what her little lambs had to say about the show.Oh, and you can check out our review here.@prtypearl-…
So make sure your little monsters are in them.Okay. I stole the joke. But it was so obvious I couldn’t resist. Evidently making music, performing sold out concerts, winning Grammys, finding the most outrageous fashions that she can, and working for Polaroid is not enough for the Lady. Now she…
