Ska kids and rude boys from throughout the Valley will definitely be skanking up a storm at this news: alt-rock station X103.9 and local promoter Jeremiah Gratza (a.k.a. President Gator) are bringing a massive two-night ska festival to the Clubhouse Music Venue in Tempe next month. The first night takes…
Congratulations, Alice, you’re headed to Cleveland.Alice Cooper, the shock rocker raised and residing in Phoenix (Detroit is also trying to claim him today) has been selected for enshrinement in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum on the shores of Lake Erie.Tom Waits, Neil Diamond, Dr. John and…
Song: Foals, “Spanish Sahara”Context: NME’s top song of the year is, as the Brits say, a load of donkey bollocks. They’re trying to do that LCD Soundsystem thing where a seven-minute song has five minutes of build-up to two minutes of brilliance but they’re not near pulling it off. There…
Artist: Tierra del Fuego Title: Queen of the Rendezvous Release date: December 11 Label: Scapular Winging Through pure happenstance, I witnessed this local band, Tierra del Fuego, on Saturday night play as they played to a small but appreciative crowd at Trunk Space. It just happened to be the band’s…
While December is a time usually reserved for the hordes of formulaic top ten lists, it is also a time for looking ahead to next year’s most anticipated releases. South Carolina wiz-kid Chaz Bundick — better known as Toro Y Moi — has one of those anticipated releases, his sophomore…
At some point in time, Michael Jackson wrote a song for Hanson, according to ShowBiz 411.The song was written for them to play, not in their honor. Jackson never actually gave the song he wrote for Hanson to them. He intended to send it to the 90s boy band but…
KWSS 106.7’s morning show, The Morning Infidelity is making a big push for local music fans. The show, which airs weekday mornings is running a countdown featuring Arizona-only acts every day at 9.a.m. Pretty cool, right?Here’s the details:…
Some prominent faces were in the audience last night at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill for The Tempe Trap show. Openers for Neon Trees tonight at Ovations Live! Showroom at Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino in Chandler, Paper Tongues, took in the show, as well as…
Song: Mariah Carey, “Oh Santa!” Context: Mariah Carey’s 1994 Christmas album is the all-time best, so I’m excited to see she has a new Christmas album out. This is the lead single off Merry Christmas II You. Mariah Carey – Oh Santa by Ju Miguel…
Gone are the misguided, commercialized efforts from Temporary Pleasure, instead replaced with nine minute, techno-centric odysseys. There are no vocals on this album, which should be a huge beacon of hope for long-time SMD fans — especially after the flurry of random guest vocals on their last album. Delicacies finds the…
If this all makes sense to you, then you’re all set for Akron/Family’s show this April. For those not salivating at the news of psych rock weirdness, Yann Tiersen, Loretta Lynn and Plain White T’s have just announced shows of their own.The rest of this week’s non-abandoned train station-recorded just announced shows:…
Salvia sales in Los Angeles have rapidly increased since a video of teen pop star Miley Cyrus allegedly smoking salvia from a bong leaked early Friday morning, according to NME.Apparently the video has triggered salvia sales to triple overnight.It seems many lots people than usual went to L.A. shops over…
Local pop/rock band This Century recently stopped by Arizona for a hometown show at the Nile Theater with Hey Monday, The Ready Set, Cartel and We Are the In Crowd. While they sadly had to cancel their concert (singer Joel Kanitz had vocal issues), the band was kind enough to…
Alternative/acoustic hippie band Dispatch, part of whom you might know now as the band State Radio, has a big upcoming announcement.Here’s the catch: Nobody’s heard from them in so long that it’s tough to guess what the announcement is going to be. Will the band be reuniting after an extensive…
It’s amazing how much music is released in a year. I’ve listened to nearly 270 records in their entirety this year, yet I still have a huge stack of unlistened CDs on my desk, several unlistened digital downloads in my iTunes, and a lengthy list of high-profile stuff I never…
Song: Gay Blades, “Try To Understand” Context: The Gay Blades play Rogue Bar in Scottsdale Saturday night. Their new record, Savages, is excellent even if Jay Bennett liked it barely better than Kanye. The Gay Blades – Try To Understand by Alexandre Diogo…
Santa as a Hatchetman? That’s how’s depicted in this Christmas card from the good folks at Insane Clown Posse’s label, Psychopathic Records. I have to say, this really warms the cockles of my heart. In fact, I don’t think eggnog flavored Faygo or a moderately attractive Juggalette in red and…
Welcome to Obscuro, a new weekly feature where Up on the Sun dives deep into the world of vinyl oddities: private press jobs, major label cast-offs, and general thrift shop clutter that’s thus far escaped anyone’s attention. These LPs have been hiding out, collecting dust, until we come along, investigate,…
Miley Cyrus decided to have a little fun not long after her 18th birthday. She was caught on video smoking out of a bong, according to TMZ.First of all, this absolutely made my day even though Miley was only smoking salvia, a natural herb that is legal in the state…
Name: Michele Chinichian AKA: DJ Roya Current gigs: Obscura, held at Rips Bar every second Saturday of the month. Genres spun: I play a blend of indie, New Wave, and Britpop at Obscura. I also enjoy spinning ’80s pop, old school, electro, and the occasional Top 40 guilty pleasure. How…
Artist: Mini Mansions Title: Mini Mansions Release date: November 2 Label: Ipecac One of the biggest musical curveballs of the year has to be the debut record by the Southern California trio Mini Mansions. I say it’s a curveball because I wouldn’t have guessed such a Beatles-esque display of psych…
Although there isn’t particularly an abundance of ska bands in Arizona, local ska band the 2 Tone Lizard Kings are keeping the genre fresh. They incorporate the energy of Fishbone frontman Angelo Moore, a maturing sound, and the vibes of a raucous crowd into their performances, and they put on…
