There’s no shortage of Michael Jackson conspiracies, but this one is my favorite: Michael Jackson was supposed to do the music for Sonic 3, one of the biggest video game events of the ’90s, but the child abuse scandal that changed his career forever sent Sega running. Nevertheless, the conspiracy…
Everything is 20 years ago. Or so goes the cyclic, feedback-loop that is pop culture. Apparently, it was 20 years ago for The Stones Roses when they formed in the mid ’80s, citing ’60s psychedelia as a primary influence (in 1967, 20 years before The Stone Roses formed, another notable…
Mike Kinsella has reincarnated himself yet again, and you have every reason to be excited. Kinsella, along with brother Tim and cousin Nate, helped to usher in the emo movement of the Midwest, setting the underpinnings for the genre with Chicago-based Owls, Cap’n Jazz, Joan of Arc and American Football…
The Hourglass Cats released their video for their single “Sense,” on Monday. The video is their first from their May 2013 EP, 432. The video is a plotless ode to the summertime day trips that Phoenicians take to get out of the sweltering Phoenix heat. “I mean, obviously, it’s an…
When it comes to tradition during the holiday season, Phoenix isn’t known for snowmen, hot cocoa, or sledding. But one thing that can always be counted upon is the tradition of Christmas Pudding — Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding, to be exact. And it’s a tasty recipe. After nearly five decades…
It’s that time of year again, and with the holidays comes the annual Almost Acoustic Christmas concert. A seasonal staple, and one of the more buzzed-about events among Valley country fans, Almost Acoustic Christmas plans on beefing up the artists on the bill this year by featuring up-and-coming musicians Cole…
Talking about Captain Squeegee’s new album, To the Bardos, frontman Danny Torgersen is excited about the songwriting and the performances, and he’s excited about the crowdfunding campaign that made it possible — he’s excited about most things, to be honest. But that’s not what he’s most excited about. “I think…
Talking about Captain Squeegee’s new album, To The Bardos, frontman Danny Torgersen is excited about the songwriting and the performances, and he’s excited about the crowdfunding campaign that made it possible–he’s excited about most things, to be honest. But that’s not what he’s most excited about. “I think Bob Hoag…
Sedona-based decker. has been playing atmospheric desert-folk jams across Arizona and beyond for years, making multiple nationwide tours and earning a place on the main stage at last year’s McDowell Mountain Music Festival. The group’s music possesses a certain quality that fills in the empty space at all its live…
I haven’t had to work on Thanksgiving for a long time. But I had a column to write, with a Friday deadline, so work I must. I know it seems obvious (because it is obvious), but if I was going to be writing on Thanksgiving, I truly thought it would…
Change brings both a new outlook and new detractors. Ask Jimmy Stadt, vocalist for upstate New York post-hardcore outfit Polar Bear Club, whose newfound vocal range brings a sheen to Polar Bear Club’s tight pop-rock structures that can still open up a pit. On Death Chorus, the band’s fourth release…
Scottsdale young people The Summer Set have built up a big, devoted fanbase for their particular brand of electronic pop-rock, but it was still a bit of a surprise to see where that had gotten them Thursday morning–on NBC at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, performing for a New York…
Josh Landau can’t stop moving — mostly because he doesn’t allow himself to. For starters, he’s the vocalist for Venice Beach-based The Shrine. Then there’s Eliminator, the skateboarding and clothing company he manages with bandmates Court Murphy and Jeff Murray. Finally, his band’s about to embark on a series of…
Of all the stars of the ’80s punk scene, only one band is still having impact some 35 years after forming: X. Mixing driving punk energy with rockabilly riffs, staccato rhythms, unexpected dual vocal drive, and socially conscious lyrics, X was a defining voice in the punk movement. The band’s…
One Direction is probably coming to Phoenix at some point in 2014. I’ve been following an account called @1DNeedstheheat for the better part of the year, which is how I know, but Live Nation has officially begun teasing the boy band event of 2014, and pretty soon you’re going to…
Call us huge nerds for making such a comparison, but local superstar DJ export Z-Trip has a few things in common with Doctor Who. Stick with us on this one for a moment. Both, for instance, scamper through the annals of history in pursuit of their raison d’être via equipment…
Mesa-based pianist and singer-songwriter Courtney Cotter King is, among other things, the Valley’s version of Zooey Deschanel. Not only is she a dead ringer for the new girl, Cotter King also achieves maximum quirk. Describing one of her songs, “White Rhino,” she says, “I started writing the piano to it,…
Remember that one music festival Liquid Sol? You know, the one that reportedly was originally going to happen in September out in Florence only to be rescheduled for November in Glendale and then finally put off once more until next spring. Yeah, well, it’s most definitely happening and now has…
Benjamin Franklin warned that small leaks can sink great ships, meaning you should sweat the small stuff. But for the progressive math-rock quintet that borrowed Franklin’s aphorism, it’s mostly been one big leak after another. Two nearly fatal car accidents — one involving a motorcycle, the other a Vespa –…
Mesa-based pianist and singer-songwriter Courtney Cotter King is, among other things, the Valley’s version of Zooey Deschanel. Not only is she a dead ringer for the actress/musician, Cotter King achieves maximum quirk. Describing one of her songs, “White Rhino,” she says, “I started writing the piano to it, and it…
The Internet has made it extraordinarily easy for indie creators to compete on the same platforms as major ones and hardly easier at all to make money like them. For artists, the problem is obvious; for fans and consumers, it’s more subtle. It’s easier to discover a story or a…
From the Shangri La art Tell this guy about the death of the album.By Michael Corcoran “The album is dying in front of our very eyes,” Variety columnist and music business know-it-all Bob Lefsetz wrote recently based on weak LP sales, including Katy Perry’s Prism, which sold only about 220,000…
