By Martin Cizmar
There ain’t no bowling alley at Kierland Commons. So, really, I am at a last to explain what happened at Sunset Bowl today, as a team from Desert Living Magazine bested two New Times teams and a slew of other area bands, promoters, club owners and assorted independent music types to win the inaugural Phoenix Independents Bowl.
By Martin Cizmar
To be honest, we purposely drug out feet on the show announcements this week. Usually we blog ‘em here Friday, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell you all we’ve got is Kenny Loggins and NOFX.
The brainchild of local world music enthusiast DJ Seduce, Afro:Baile Records’ catalog brims with global beats, from sambas and forro to funk and jazz fusion. The overall vibe is one of laid-back goodness, and Maria Maria provided a perfectly chill setting for Seduce’s rich soundscapes.
Glenn Danzig is the Devil’s curator for the Blackest of the Black Tour, a metal mini-festival he’s been presenting and headlining intermittently since 2003. The punk alumnus has reached highs beyond most of his peers, but, 31 years into his musical career, he still thinks it’s important to help bands…
In 1996, Chuck Palahniuk wrote a novel about a pussy tormented by our consumerist society who creates a fight club and, in order to get over his aforementioned lack of balls, a badass alternate personality called Tyler Durden. Years later, four dudes from Seattle named their band Forgive Durden for…
A Vagabond Dreamer,
A Ryhmer and Singer of Songs.
A Revolutionary in Country Music
Beloved By The World
By Martin Cizmar
I do not generally drink in cemeteries. Yesterday, I made an exception.
By Martin Cizmar Just yesterday I was praising Coheed and Cambria, and today it was announced that they’ll be playing in town Sunday, along with local boys Stiletto Formal. Man, it seems like since they got signed it’s been forever between Stiletto Formal shows here in Phoenix, it’ll be good…
Saturday Night Live has some funny political parodies, but the revitalized sketch comedy show isn’t the only place to find some election-time chuckles. A Phoenix-based production company called Synthetic Human has gotten in on the action, with a political satire video titled “I’m Voting Republican.”
By Martin Cizmar Meatloaf’s concert at The Arizona State Fair, scheduled for Thursday, has been canceled due to illness. No make up date was announced. Tickets will be refunded at point of purchase. Earlier this week, Flo Rida’s show at The Venue of Scottsdale was quietly scrapped. No reason was…
As we pointed out in a previous blog, “Pop Goes Obama,” Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama can dance. In this clip of him on the Ellen show, Obama gets into the groove.
David Lynch’s films have always garnered cult followings, but in the case of his 1984 screen adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel Dune, there’s more magic than murder in the air. There are psychic “witches,” futuristic water suits, giant sand worms, a coveted, mysterious spice, and Sting in a mankini. Fans of the sci-fi flick showed their spirit by dressing up as their favorite characters from the film at “The Spice Will Flow” Dune costume party at Green Restaurant in Tempe on Saturday, October 25.
By Martin Cizmar
So, sadly, Phoenix does not appear to be getting of Montreal’s Skeletal Lamping Tour, which MTV says is a much better bet than Madonna’s latest tour – and features Kevin Barnes on horseback, staging his suicide covered in whip cream but we do have a few related acts with shows announced this week. But a few shows by related acts were announced this week.
Jimi Hendrix died 38 years ago, but his music lives on — and his merchandising does, too. Caffeine fiends can now drink a real “rock star” energy drink — the “Jimi Hendrix Liquid Experience.” The flavorful brew was introduced last year by The Liquid Experience Group, a division of Beverage Concepts, LLC, and seems to be catching on in consumer land. The drink is available in seven states — New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Nevada, California, and Arizona, and the company looks to expand its distribution over the next two years.
In watching the presidential campaign for what feels like forever, the phrase you keep hearing that’s supposed to define people called to public service is “personal narrative.” Experience, judgment, policies, character, good grooming habits . . . They’re nil if you don’t have a compelling life story that you can…
Weekends start early in Rocky Point. The sun hasn’t yet set on a Friday night, but the beach is already spattered with vomit. Most people entering the tony Peñasco Del Sol hotel, overlooking the beach, plop cans of cerveza down on the marble counter as they check in. Where they…
This year’s Arizona State Fair has an Old School Jam, featuring Naughty By Nature, Tone Loc, Coolio, Young MC, Klymaxx, Club Nouveau, and Timex Social Club. What many don’t realize is that these bands already toured together once — in 1995, when many of them were at their height of…
By Jonathan McNamara When Music Editor Martin Cizmar asked me to accompany him to Mexico to cover a Roger Clyne concert for the debut of his column, Sonic Truth, I knew it was going to be a big deal. But it wasn’t until I was hanging from a scaffold trying…
By Martin Cizmar
It’s been a good day in metal, what with Metallica opening their World Tour here in Phoenix Tuesday night, and now Guns N’ Roses announcing a release date for Chinese Democracy.
By Martin Cizmar
You know a local band is big when they get not one but two CD release parties. The Stiletto Formal will be all over town this weekend, celebrating the release of ¡Fiesta, Fiesta, Fiesta, Fiesta! at The Clubhouse on Friday and The Rogue on Saturday.
What makes Barack Obama such a pop culture icon? There are numerous things, but here we present The Top 10 Reasons Barack Obama Is Cool.
By Martin Cizmar
I don’t know why anybody would want to celebrate or encourage Phoenix and Tucson growing together, but apparently someone does, which is why there’s a Phooson festival leading this week’s upcoming show announcements.
Epic is a word that frequently punctuates Larry Elyea’s conversation. Not enough times to warrant a drinking game — like with Sarah Palin and the word “maverick” — but enough to notice it’s the ultimate compliment he can bestow. Sitting in the dramatic control room of his Mind’s Eye Digital…
