Courtney Marie Andrews Offers Free Mp3 From New Album

Local folk standout Courtney Marie Andrews has made a song from her new album — which will be availible July 31. “The Buffalo and the Bird” is one of a few songs I really like on her sophomore effort, Painters Hand and Seventh Son, so be sure to check it…

New Release Tuesday: Spoon EP Got Nuffin

It’s a pretty slow new release schedule today, unless your name is Rob Thomas, Jeff Tweedy or Moby (or Mephistopheles, for that matter). What I do have to offer, however, is a new EP from Austin indie rockers Spoon. Got Nuffin contains only 4 tracks, yet it is their first new…

Jens Lekman Has Swine Flu

Jens Lekman, a Swedish indie pop singer-songwriter who writes sugary ballads about pretending to be the lover of a lesbian friend to fool her conservative father, playing bingo in the countryside and accidently chopping his finger off while trying cut up an avocado (they’re all amazing songs, I swear!) has…

Weird is the New Cool to Play Two Shows in July

 We told you about Weird is the New Cool back in April and now the guys have a couple shows booked for July. WINC are scheduled to perform Saturday, April 18 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum and Saturday, July 25 at Chyro Arts, according to the group’s MySpace page. The local band can…

A-Trak Coming To Club Red

I’ll be real with ya: I don’t often get excited about a DJ coming through town especially since Girl Talk (a) never comes through town and (b) is supposedly not a DJ.A-Trak is a different story. Since he’s Kanye’s tour DJ, you may well have seen him before. If you…

What Laura Says Does Daytrotter

What Laura Says has become the latest Phoenix band to get some love from influential blog series Daytrotter (check it out here). The band played “Dot Dot Dot,” “What’s Done Right,” I Suppose” and “Waves,” which are all available for download. The series also recently hosted Dear and the Headlights,…

BET Awards Joyously Honor Michael Jackson’s Legacy

Last night’s 2009 BET Awards were left scrambling and revamp their program to accommodate the sudden passing of the King of Pop Michael Jackson this past Thursday. It was the obvious choice to honor one of black music’s biggest — if not the biggest — icon in history. There was…

Yellow Minute Returns to Yucca on July 3

“Yellow Minute is the next big buzz band,” Rodney Hu, owner of Tempe’s Yucca Tap Room and one of my good friends, declared during a recent phone conversation of the AZ band. “Just watch. You’ll see.” After catching some of the band’s performance at Hu’s bar last week where they opened for…

The Maine Jump To Warner Brothers

Tempe pop-rockers The Maine have jumped from Fearless Records (a pretty decent label in it’s own right) to Warner, one of The Big Four, reports Absolute Punk and elbo.ws.The band already had pretty legit distribution, but they’re now making an even bigger push, re-releasing their 2008 debut, Cant’ Stop, Won’t…

Michael Jackson Death Coverage Galore (And A Few Other Things)

NME:  Authorities release Michael Jackson 911 call Pitchfork: MGMT to Open for Paul McCartney Rolling Stone: U2’s “Spider-Man” Musical to Star Evan Rachel Wood, Alan Cumming So Much Silence: Incoming: Sunny Day Real Estate (!), Oct. 9 Spin: Michael Jackson’s Legacy: Neither Black Nor White NME: Lisa Marie Presley: ‘Michael…

Eric Clapton Is God, but Steve Winwood Is Not

The good news: God is coming — soon. The bad news: He’s bringing Steve Winwood. The good news: He smites with guitar instead of cricket plagues. The bad news: He won’t be smiting the Jonas Brothers. The good news: “After Midnight.” The bad news: “Higher Love.” The good news: You…

Phoenix’s Emperors of Japan to Release Ice Queen

Emperors of Japan weren’t the first band to give away their music for free on the Internet, but they were definitely ahead of the curve when they released Your Freak Majesty as a free download on emperorsofjapan.com in 2006, long before big-name bands like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails followed…

How Dear and the Headlights Became the Most Important Band in Arizona

It’s mid-afternoon at The Tiniest Bar in Texas, and Dear and the Headlights have just finished playing the fourth and final show they’re cramming into four days at South by Southwest, a music industry circle jerk that’s a make-or-break week for up-and-coming bands. Onstage, bearded singer Ian Metzger draws the…

Emperors of Japan CD Release Show Friday at Ruby Room

I’ve owed Emperors of Japan a favor since, like, six weeks on the job, when Tony Poer’s entry in my Flier of the Week contest won, committing me to attending one of their shows. Through cruel circumstance, I actually haven’t made good on that quite yet, but I hope to…

Stereotyperider’s Last Show is at Yucca Tap Room This Weekend

After 10 years in AZ music scene, once-hot indie-rock band Stereotyperider are calling it quits — for good. The guys will say goodbye to their fans with a final show at Tempe’s Yucca Tap Room Saturday, June 27. The show will also feature The Necronauts and The Reddmen and Stereotyperider…