Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Check. Grammy winner. Check. Major inspiration for the Blues Brothers. Check. Valley resident. Check. Sam Moore is almost 80 years old. He’s an original “Soul Man,” one of the best tenors the music biz has ever seen or heard, and you can spend your…
Remember that TV show American Idol, where people dissolve musical talent into a cutthroat Twitter tournament? Jordin Sparks (and Pepperidge Farms) remembers. The 24-year old Glendale singer took home the gold in 2007, and she’s kept busy ever since. Most recently, Sparks signed to a new label and released a…
Gilgongo Records founder James Fella smiles mischievously as he pulls a record from a sleeve and puts it on the turntable. “This is incredible,” he says, dressed unassumingly in a button-down, blue jeans, and New Balances. The youthful-looking 32-year-old brushes his hair to the side as haunting sounds emit from…
Jim Eno, drummer for indie stars Spoon, reveals some insider knowledge about the creation of “The Beast and Dragon, Adored,” the opening track from their fantastic 2005 album Gimme Fiction. It’s a peek behind the curtain of how the Austin-based band constructs an album. Once privy to the information, you…
There are a handful of high-profile bands and artists that have never, ever performed in Phoenix — Daft Punk being chief among them — that we’d give anything to see in concert here. As of yesterday, however, Knife Party is no longer on that list — at least not any…
You know how people are always complaining that good bands never come to Phoenix? Those people can put this on their Sonoran hot dogs and eat it: U2 announced two dates in Phoenix at the venue formerly known as US Airways Center, Talking Stick Resort Arena. The band will be…
Another local stadium’s naming rights now belong to a casino. Maybe our local sports teams owe someone money? The venue formerly known as US Airways Center will now be called Talking Stick Resort Arena, the Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury, and Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community announced today. The arena serves…
The first two albums Fleetwood Mac released after Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined Christine McVie, bassist John McVie, and drummer Mick Fleetwood provided the pop soundtrack of the late 1970s. The tender nature of singles like “Landslide,” the mysticism of “Rhiannon,” and the bold confessional nature of “Go Your…
Lana Del Rey announced tour dates for May and June today, and the fourth stop of the tour will be in Phoenix at Ak-Chin Pavilion on May 14. Somewhat surprising is the announcement that supporting Lady Lana on the tour will be Courtney Love. Yes, the Hole lead singer and…
Elmo Kirkwood recently got a haircut. It’s a standard barber cut, short on the sides but with a dramatic swoop of curly brown hair combed over that serves as a constant reminder of his familial heritage, that of the brothers Kirkwood, his father Curt and his uncle Cris, two of…
Foo Fighters announced their 2015 tour a few days ago. The radio rock stalwarts will swing through Ak-Chin Pavilion on September 25, 2015…
With nearly 80 musicians playing, Sidepony Express Music Festival in Bisbee promises to be one wild weekend. From Friday, November 14, to Sunday, November 16, folks from as far as Los Angeles, North Carolina, New Mexico, El Paso, Nashville, and Portland will make it to the southeastern Arizona mining town…
Take a look at the following quotes about digital music and try to guess which came out of the mouth of Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich during the Napster days and which came from Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney a few weeks ago while talking to New Times. “It has nothing…
Things get particularly crazy on weekend nights in Scottsdale’s entertainment district when last call looms — and we mean even crazier than its usual brand of madness. Grab a spot on the sidewalk anywhere along Saddlebag Trail or Stetson Drive in the early hours of Saturday or Sunday and you’ll…
So much for American Junkie 2.0. The Scottsdale nightlife hangout and day-drinking hangout for football fans, which shut down for several weeks over the summer for extensive renovations, has apparently closed again. And there’s been no indication if it will be reopening anytime soon. For the last several weekends, American…
So, how bummed were you when last week’s Belle & Sebastian concert got moved the outdoor from Civic Space Park to the indoor, seated Orpheum Theatre setup due to rain? Well, chin up, kids. We knew it wouldn’t be long before Stateside Presents’ Charlie Levy announced another Civic Space show,…
Valley of the Sun residents curious about how magnets work but unwilling to ask a scientist for an explanation will have to wait a little longer to satiate their curiousity — or at least go down to Tucson Thursday to find out. Insane Clown Posse has canceled their Mesa Amphiteatre…
Steve Wiley is Up on the Sun’s resident Record Store Geek. He shares stories of great music and wacky characters from his continuing 27 years in Valley record stores and the always zany music biz. I’m closing in on a half century of existence — an existence immersed in the…
Now’s the chance to use that old-fashioned monogrammed hanky that’s burning a hole in your dresser drawer or just grab a cheap box of tissues – – whatever suits you best for sopping up tears mixed of both laughter and desolation – – and spend the evening with Puddles Pity…
Popular conjecture claims that Black Joe Lewis started playing guitar simply to annoy his redneck co-worker at an Austin, Texas pawnshop. That’s partially true — he did purchase his first guitar there and played it in his down time — but Lewis, seeing his friends in bands, had elected to…
You have to earn a Weezer fan’s trust before he shows you his playlists. First, he’ll make sure you aren’t just parroting somebody else’s post-Pinkerton decline narrative. He’ll want to be sure you don’t believe bassist Matt Sharp secretly wrote both of the band’s two classic albums. He’ll need to…
By Lina Lecaro After fierce blowback from a disgruntled community of drag queens, drag kings, transgender folk, and more, Facebook has eased enforcement of its “real name” policy. Chief Product Officer Chris Cox said in a Facebook post that the whole situation took the company by surprise. Some individual decided…
