Guest DJs Spinning on ASU’s Radio Station This Week

Sorry for not giving you earlier notice, but ASU’s student radio station, The Blaze, is hosting their annual Guest DJ week this week, featuring everyone from Jimmy Eat World frontman Jim Adkins, to Miniature Tigers to… me.You actually already missed Adkins, who spun this morning, but you can still tune…

The Word Alive Sign to Fearless

All of the emo/scene blogs have been ablaze with last week’s news that Phoenix hardcore act The Word Alive have signed to Fearless Records, the California based indie label that has released such divers bands as At the Drive-In, the Aquabats, Sugar Cult and most recently Phoenix phenomenon The Maine…

Afrika Bambaataa Visits Bar Smith’s Pinky Ring on April 22

Bar Smith’s Wednesday night electro/hip-hop affair Pinky Ring has offered some choice guests over its six months of existence (including local legend Z-Trip and NYC/ATL funkmeister Treasure Fingers). And now its organizers are about to add top themselves with their latest coup: Afrika Bambaataa. The Bronx-born hip-hop pioneer (who’s considered…

Truckers on Speed to Play Two Shows in Mesa This Weekend

Tempe’s countrified punk-rockers Truckers on Speed have two big performances in Mesa this weekend. The guys will share a stage with Tempe rock guys Dead Hot Workshop and Los Guys at Mesa’s Goathead Saloon (1423 S. Country Club Drive) on Friday and will take part in the AZ Bike Week…

Phoenix to Play Saturday Night Live

Fleet Foxes? Check. TV on the Radio? Check. Parisian rockers Phoenix join the ranks as the next hip, trendy band to grace SNL’s music stage this season. Their next album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, isn’t due out until May 26th, but the band still managed to swing a spot on the…

In Vayden, Phoenix/L.A. Works

Scene from the green room of Scottsdale’s Martini Ranch: A burly security guard approaches Phoenix rockers Vayden, who are hanging out before their headlining Friday-night set at the club. “I heard you guys are all the rage,” the guard says. “Ah, man,” Vayden singer Curtis Casey sighs, tucking one of…

Nu Rock Is Disturbed

Metal, like any popular genre of music, is one that spreads itself over many different styles. Everyone and their mother is fully aware of the hair-metal craze that swept across the Sunset Strip in the early 1980s, sparked by Quiet Riot’s breakthrough success. Bands like Slayer, Metallica, Anthrax, and Megadeth…

Phoenix’s Latino Rockabilly Set Turns the Beat Around

On a small corner stage at Chopper John’s, Marco Polo’s getting ready to perform with his Mexican psychobilly trio, Curse of the Pink Hearse. Most of the patrons at this biker bar on east Indian School Road in Phoenix are white, blue collar 30-somethings kicking off a late-winter weekend with…

Glendale Fest Benefiting Military Families Scheduled for April 11

Festival season is officially upon us — with Country Thunder and Tempe Music Festival next weekend, and McDowell Mountain Music Fest later in April — and we’ve got one more to add to your calender. Clean Slate Celebration in Glendale April 11 is a benefit for Murray Grey Foundation, which…

Cymbals Eat Guitars Explain Why There Are Mountains

Those wily whippersnappers over at Pitchfork have dubbed yet another indie buzz band with their “artist to watch” label. This time around it is Staten Island rockers Cymbals Eat Guitars, masters of the ancient, time-honored tradition known as the art of “using a sentence as our band name.” All sarcasm…

Just Announced: Lucero, St. Vincent, George Jones

A lot of big indie shows — but not big, big shows — in last week’s concert announcements. Lucero, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears are coming to Rythm Room in May, as are Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s. St. Vincent plays Modified on Sunday, May 31, which…

A New Way to Tell Who Was Buzzing at SxSW

If you are like most people reading about SxSW on every blog out there, it can be a bit overwhelming. But that is nothing compared to how overwhelming it can be to actually be at a festival where 300 bands are playing at every minute (how many stages does Coachella…

The Killers Postpone Dodge Theatre Show Until September

Local fans of The Killers have been waiting patiently for the band’s upcoming gig at Dodge Theatre next month. It’s been almost two years since The Killers last performed in the Valley, and local fans of the blockbuster post-punk band have been waiting oh-so patiently for their chance to see…

The Loveblisters Breaking Up?

We’ve got some very sad news for you this Monday: The Loveblisters are very likely breaking up. No announcement on their MySpace, but we got an e-mail from their former manager, Jack Maverik, saying their upcoming show at Last Exit will be their, umm, last exit, and confirmed the news…

KJZZ’s Story on I Heart AZ

Right now I’m writing up a column on last week’s I Heart AZ party, a SxSW showcase our blog contributor Steve Chilton threw last week in Austin, which was definitely the highlight of my week at the festival. Radio works faster than us print folks though, so I figured I’d…

SxSW Wrap Up

Whether you’re trying to put back together the memories you made after being hit by the speeding truck that was this weekend’s SxSW music festival or you’re a local who couldn’t make the trip, we’ve got all the slide shows and articles to catch up on what you missed. This…

SxSW 2009: Sunday

Attention, all Phoenicians unable to attend SxSW this year: Don’t worry. Sure, it’s not as good as standing inches away from your favorite band in a trendy Austin club, but we’ve got the coverage to keep you satisfied. Scenes from South by Southwest We’ve got some images from around town…

SxSW 2009: Saturday

Attention, all Phoenicians unable to attend SxSW this year: Don’t worry. Sure, it’s not as good as standing inches away from your favorite band in a trendy Austin club, but we’ve got the coverage to keep you satisfied. Village Voice Media SXSW Party: Meese, Bear Hands, Crystal Antlers, Gomez and…