It’s hard for me to find things that I don’t like about Phoenix rockers Snow Songs. Starting with singer Yolanda Bejarano’s lovely vox to the band’s bright arrangements and pop consciousness, there’s so much to fall in love with here. One of my favorite things about them is that they…
Johnjay Van EsVan Es is the host of the Johnjay and Rich radio show heard on 104.7 KISS-FM here in Phoenix. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play? 104.7 KISS-FM. No other station is programmed on my radio dial –…
See Also: Clubhouse Music Venue Closes Down See Also: Last Night’s Town Hall Meeting on Clubhouse Music Venue Shooting Filled With Anger, Accusations, and RhetoricThere’s currently an online petition going that hopes to motivate Tempe city officials to reopen the Clubhouse Music Venue, which closed its doors last week. So far,…
See also: KUKQ Returns to Phoenix (via the Internet) The new online station bearing the call letters of bygone Phoenix radio station KUKQ has launched, streaming online at kukq.com. As we reported last week, the site’s connection to the original radio station isn’t literal — though Facebook comments about the…
After three years, a music feature, and a bunch of gorgeous music videos, Boys & Frogs has decided to call it quits. But it’s not so much an ending as beginning, according to songwriter Michael Alexander. “I just think it was time for me, personally, to move on. I’ve been…
Welcome to Throwback Thursday, where we revisit the overplayed, over (and under)rated, and the one-hit and multi-hit wonders of yesteryear. Today’s tidbit of information that will make you feel old: Harvey Danger’s “Flagpole Sitta” is 15-years-old. Even if the title doesn’t ring a bell, its chorus is probably still rattling…
This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up On The Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts. What were the worst moments of SXSW? How does local band The Madera Strand Sound Covering…
Although it’s admittedly kinda fun putting Lilith Fair and FoxVag Fest in the same sentence, the two music expos couldn’t be more dissimilar once you remove the female-heavy rosters. Lilith Fair was started in 1997 by Canadian adult-alternative chanteuse Sarah McLachlan as a response to the commercial radio dial —…
Reggae originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s — an integration of numerous musical styles dating back to 1930s swing bands. Over the years, new beats regularly had infiltrated the Jamaican music scene and been altered and adapted to prevalent styles. The R&B music drifting over the radio from Miami,…
Making things obvious has just never been Hot Snakes’ style. “Hi-Lites,” from 2004’s Audit in Progress, provides a great example of this MO in action. The song begins with a shivering, impetuous guitar line that sounds like it’s desperate to break out of a confined space and go skyward. When…
Tumblr blogger Chris Haley has proclaimed that he loves comics and he loves Kanye. Put ’em together and you have, you guessed it, Kanye Plus Comics.This blog has got all of the comic drawings with captions that have been replaced with Kanye West’s lyrics. Each entry lists the artist, the song…
See also: Ace Frehley on KISS and His New Memoir, No Regrets You guys like guitars? How about makeup? Well, KISS and Mötley Crüe are coming to town. The “summer’s biggest, baddest rock tour” (their words, not ours) is headed to Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion (I feel like Gene Simmons…
Hip-hop artist Tyga, who was set to perform in the Valley this weekend, was involved in an altercation last night after a concert in Omaha, Nebraska, that resulted in a shootout.In addition to injuring two of his posse members, the incident has caused the cancellation of Tyga’s appearance on Friday…
When The Ting Tings announced months ago that they were coming to the Valley, the concert was originally supposed to take place at the Clubhouse Music Venue in Tempe. Then the tragic shooting outside the establishment prior to a Nipsey Hussle show went down on March 2, which caused the…
Bummed out that Drake skipped Phoenix in favor of Tucson earlier this month? Well, be bummed no more: Everyone’s favorite former-Degrassi star/current sexy music maven is returning to Arizona, planning a stop at Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion on Thursday, May 10. Drake’s latest, Take Care, earned him four Grammy nominations…
Marianne Dissard and Nive Nielsen will be performing a free set at Stinkweeds tomorrow before heading over to the Crescent where they’ll be opening for Y La Bamba later in the evening. The all-ages warm-up show at the Phoenix record store starts with local folk singer Dylan Pratt and wraps…
If you’ve ever spent any time in the Up on the Sun comments section, you know it can be a weird place. We’ve had some pretty deplorable stuff in our Clubhouse comments — stuff that makes you sort of shake your head and wonder if all that crap people say…
When The Madera Strand prepared a Police set for Cover the Crescent, the band’s main obstacle was finding the right pitch. “[Sting] sings so high anyway, but I’m also an alto, so some of those notes were kind of hard to hit,” says vocalist d’Averill Demetrulias in reference to “Walking…
Kentucky alternative rockers Cage the Elephant are making a stop at the Marquee Theatre in April. The band is still pumping out singles from their latest release, Thank You, Happy Birthday, and will surely be performing many of them for the Tempe crowd.Cage the Elephant, Garbage, Hot Tuna and other…
Despite what his nom de guerre of Silent-J might portend, Jimmy Ng is rarely at a loss for words. Ask him his opinion on the current state of electronic dance music or what skills are necessary to succeed as a DJ these days and you’ll get an earful from the…
So, was last night’s Radiohead show hyped up to be like, the greatest thing, ever? I hate going concerts with any sort of expectations because I usually walk away disappointed. I’ve been a casual fan since I first heard “Fake Plastic Trees” in Clueless, which is pretty funny when you…
Mike KennedyKennedy is a comedian and producer at the Speakeasy Comedy Lounge. He co-headlines the Tempe Improv Thursday, April 19. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? I would’ve said X 103.9-FM a month ago, but now it’s…
