Maynard James Keenan: Events and Rituals

The journey known as “Vintage 2012” is almost complete. Not finished, but it’s most certainly arriving at a fairly calm station. No more 2 a.m. panic-related insomnia attacks, where I stare at the ceiling going over and over the logistics of a tiny workspace. I’m not about to kid myself;…

Did Death Grips Shoot Themselves in the Foot by Leaking Their Album?

Following the disintegration of electroclash hardcore hip-hop outfit Death Grip’s relationship with their label, Epic Records, has been as drama-filled as a reality TV show. It seems to have started when Epic pushed back the due date for a follow-up to their debut, The Money Store, so Death Grips leaked…

Starfucker On Their Upcoming Album: “It’s About Death. Surprise.”

Starfucker’s highly danceable beats put the band in league with Neon Indian and Passion Pit, but frontman Joshua Hodges brings enough lyrical insight to the table to have you thinking and boogieing. Hodges has something of a fetish for The Grim Reaper’s handiwork, even searching out the original copy of…

Top Five Phoenix Music Stories of the Week

The news waits for no one — at least that’s what we read somewhere — so it’s perfectly understandable that you, the reader, might have missed out on a musical tidbit, breaking news about your favorite venue, or one of our rants. So enjoy this digest-style sampling of some of…

Indiia Wilmott, What Are You Listening To?

Indiia Wilmott Wilmott is the owner of Yes to the Arts, a T-shirt vendor that donates profits to arts programming to Arizona schools. For more information, go here. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? 95.5-FM. It’s an…

TheRecordingArtist.com Remakes the Music Biz

Oh, foolish, foolish record industry! You could’ve saved yourself once — maybe twice over — if only you had you listened to forward-thinkers like Otto D’Agnolo. In 2005, the producer/owner of Chaton Recording Studios wrote a slim volume, The Music Business Is Burning Down, Thank God, in which he foreshadowed…

Bassist Mike Watt Reps Blue-Collar Ethos

Mike Watt doesn’t waste time. Picking up the phone in San Pedro, the town he’s called home since his childhood, he answers with a distinct, direct bark: “Watt!” He plays music the same way he greets interviewers, with no time for introductions and pleasantries. We’ll recap anyway: He was one-third…

Eddie Vedder Steps Aside from Pearl Jam for Solo Work

Nirvana or Pearl Jam? It’s the Beatles-or-Stones query of the flannel era, a sort of musical litmus test, almost a line in the sand. Nirvana, of course, has the tragedy going for it (like The Beatles), and the successful followup projects (Foo Fighters is Nirvana’s Wings, and Eyes Adrift is,…

Second Suspect Arrested in Clubhouse Music Venue Shooting

Officials from the Tempe Police Department recently arrested a second suspect in connection with the now-infamous shootings that took place outside of the Clubhouse Music Venue earlier this year. According to documents from Maricopa County Superior Court obtained by Up on the Sun, Tempe cops apprehended Bryston Zavion Ware a…

Haley Grigaitis of Ruca Explains “Hands Off”

There’s nothing more annoying than when your boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend just can’t move on — especially when it involves her posting adorable animal pictures on his Facebook page. It’s that kind of ex-girlfriend misbehavior that inspired local musician Haley Grigaitis, aka Ruca, to write the bluesy song, “Hands Off.” “‘Hands Off’…

Why Would Any Band Play Spokane?

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…

My Stolen MP3 Collection Got Stolen

My house got robbed over the summer and among the items taken were my laptop and iPod. I had backed up none of my data. I would estimate I lost somewhere around 12,000 songs. It also feels safe to estimate that 95 percent of my MP3 collection was not purchased…

Green Day Cancels Upcoming Tempe Tour Stop

A lot of folks were buzzing about seeing Green Day in a club as intimate as the Marquee Theatre in Tempe on Monday, December 10, but it looks like folks will just have to keep imagining (or read our review of the Foxboro Hot Tubs gig at the dearly departed…

Record Heat: PFFFT! by Brad Dwyer

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…

Morrissey U.S. Tour Postponed; Tempe Tour Date to Be Rescheduled

Bummer news Moz fans: Morrissey’s upcoming stop at the Marquee Theatre on Wednesday, November 21, has been postponed. The singer is returning to to England to be with his ailing mother. Current ticket-holders are advised to hold on to their tickets, as replacement dates will be “announced shortly.” A representative…

Kristy Aguirre, What Are You Listening To?

Kristy Aguirre Aguirre is the booker/promoter for Tickle Your Bone Comedy at Brigett’s Last Laugh, Tuesday’s at 8 p.m. For more information, go here. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? I’m without a vehicle at the moment,…