Were you looking forward to seeing what West Coast G-funk pioneer Warren G on Thursday, February 10? Looking forward to seeing if he could bring that old hutzpah to classics like “Regulate” and the curiously titled “Party We Will Throw Now?” Well, we were — we crowned the guy king…
Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls’ Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to help you stop…
Local record label 80/20 has been on a roll lately. The label signed Future Loves Past, PALMS, and Captain Squeegee last month, and announced the acquisition of local electro fuzz poppers Zero Zero yesterday. Zero Zero, like the other three bands, is set to release a new album this year…
And so it begins. Now that the all the decorations have been put away into the attic and holiday season is firmly in the rearview, so ends a relatively dead period in the local concert calendar. As the days grow longer and the temperatures begin to climb, big shows and…
Once a week, Up on the Sun features a new comic strip from punk rocker, cartoonist, and full-time dad Brad Dwyer. See the New Times print edition to check out the strip in glorious, inky newsprint each Thursday…
High-energy hip-hoppers Weird Is the New Cool and Latin-reggae-punk rockers Fayuca wasted no time in hitting the road to begin their 2013 campaign. Mere days after the new year dawned, the two local acts launched their Spark the Flame Tour on Thursday, January 3, and paid a little visit to…
Corey Eaton is a fairly straightforward guy. He doesn’t rock a clever or overly pretentious DJ moniker and tends not to put on any airs about himself or his chosen profession. The 35-year-old — who maintains weekly residencies at several of the Valley’s Dos Gringos locations, as well as Fat…
Lana Del Rey’s “Cola” put some interesting visuals in our heads, especially that line about the particular flavor of her labia – “My pussy tastes like Pepsi Cola,” she sings. As we’ve already gone into, local pranksters MAN-CAT took the vulgarity one step further, creating their own ad campaign, complete…
Matt Anderson The local comedian performs at Monkey Pants Bar and Grill at 8:30 pm, Thursday, January 31. Follow him on Twitter @MattAnd3rson. When you put your key in the ignition, what station would play right now? I am an FM guy because I’m the poorest of them all. So,…
The New Year promises to bring excitement to River Jones Music, as the label just added five bands from around the nation to its roster. From Portland comes Bike Thief and Alameda, from Austin comes the Technicolor Hearts, from Seattle comes Sophia Duccini and from Tempe comes local music scene…
By now you’ve probably formed an opinion about Django Unchained, the controversial new Quentin Tarantino film starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, and Leonardo DiCaprio. But don’t let that stop you from diving into Karina Longworth’s excellent Phoenix New Times cover story this week, which features the writer/director…
Gospel Claws, Put Your Sunshine Away (Common Wall Media/President Gator Records): The men of Gospel Claws had a rough time in 2011 and 2012. Songwriter Joel Marquard fought (and beat) testicular cancer, and the band tragically lost guitarist Mark Erickson. But there’s no mourning on their second LP, Put Your…
As I type this, it’s still 2012, but by the time we hit “publish,” it’ll be 2013. So I’ll turn to the great poet Kanye West to sum it all up: “I’m livin’ in the future so the presence is my past. My presence is the present, kiss my ass.”…
Once a week Up on the Sun features a new comic strip from punk rocker, cartoonist, and full-time dad Brad Dwyer. See the New Times print edition to check out the strip in glorious, inky newsprint each Thursday…
Is it possible to have a New Years Resolution for a whole city? Not sure, but I have one. One for Phoenicians one and all, myself included. So here goes: Let’s take some musical risks, Phoenix. Let’s look for opportunities to try new things. No sticking to known quantities. We…
Happy New Year loyal punk fans. If you really tied one on and you’re nursing your hangover by chugging some Pedialyte, punk music may be the last thing you want to listen to. But 2012 was a great year for punk releases, which made this list difficult to narrow down…
Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls’ Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to help you stop…
Editor’s Note: With a tip of the cap to the man, we bid Maynard James Keenan adieu. This is MJK’s final column for Up on the Sun, as he’s devoting 2013 to more music and more wine. You won’t have to wait too long to hear some of the fruits…
One of the best turntablists in Arizona, if not the entire southwest, announced today that he’s hanging up his headphones for good and bidding farewell to the DJ world. Logan Howard, known to many by his moniker DJ Element, dropped a bombshell on the local music scene within the last…
It’s been a mighty big year for hip-hop music in Arizona, most notably with the explosion of the locally-produced platinum hit “Mercy” by Kanye West. Producer and New F-Os member Lifted helped direct ears towards our corner of the map for his work on the massively popular track, but he…
The year 2012 brought an array of exciting moments in heavy metal, from album releases by veteran acts like Napalm Death and younger bands like Goatwhore, to some of the biggest ever heavy metal festivals, to a few of my personal favorite interviews with metal legends. Enjoy — and happy…
Friends and family of Matt “Fundy” Funderburk, bassist of Lydia, Bears of Manitou, Joey Arroyo Band, and other musical groups, are still coming to terms with his passing. The musician’s Facebook wall is still full of endearing messages. Two memorial services for Matt Funderburk have been announced: the first is…
