At first, Corey Busboom thought it was a prank. When the local artist and musician answered his cell last January and heard the geeky voice of Mark Mothersbaugh on the other end, he suspected telephonic trickery by his friends. Boy, was he ever wrong. It, indeed, was the lead singer…
I’m 16 years old, working at our family tool shop, and I’m listening to the acoustic guitar introduction of Weezer’s “My Name Is Jonas.” My father and I are at separate workstations, a few feet from each other. I’m in the throes of adolescence and my father has taken to…
Artist: SuperchunkTitle: Majesty ShreddingRelease date: September 14Label: MergeI can’t the say the new record by Superchunk is as great as their seminal first couple of records — released two decades ago, if you can believe it — but Majesty Shredding sure sounds good to these ears. Mostly because the North…
Song: Mavis Staples, “You Are Not Alone”Context: The new Mavis Staples record produced by Jeff Tweedy sounds pretty damn good. Mavis Staples – You Are Not Alone by smartleydunn…
A piece from Weiland’s fashion collection.Scott Weiland, the noted drug abuser who also sings songs for Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, will be making an appearance to promote the rough synthesis of an opioid (Morphine acetate muriate) resulting in a mixture of tightly related precursors and metabolites to that…
John Mayer is the type of guy who has better things to do than tweet, so maybe it’s no surprise that social media has gotten him into some trouble in the past.Despite his busy schedule, I’ve always imagined Mayer to be this solo artist who has all day to think…
There may not have been as many handmade signs or as much hysteria at Mesa Arts Center last night as Hanson has seen in their heyday, but the band still managed to pack more than 500 fans in for an intimate show. The guys proved their accessibility to their fans…
Song: Of Montreal, “Sex Karma”Context: False Priest drops today — time to give it a thorough listen. Of Montreal – Sex Karma by rotolo3…
Arizona winemaker/Tool singer Maynard James Keenan is getting his band A Perfect Circle back together.The group, which also includes Billy Howerdel of Ashes Divide, will embark on a five-city tour this fall including a three-night stop at Tempe’s Marquee Theatre…
It’s a sad day for white kids with dreadlocks. Bob Marley’s family has lost its fight with Universal Music Group over what they claim was exploitation of some of his greatest music.The Marleys tried to obtain the copyrights to five of Bob’s albums and claimed that UMG owes them royalties.Light…
A few weeks back, a publicist with what I think was a British accent connected my cellular line with Zac Hanson’s. Mid-morning coffee in hand, I wasn’t sure which one of the three brothers I’d be interviewing, until he answered. The seemingly groggy drummer of the 90s teen sensation Hanson…
I digress — today marks the third album from Quebecois dance/funk duo Chromeo, Business Casual. The hotly anticipated third offering finds the gang working with a new producer, Philippe Zdar — one half of Cassius and the producer behind Phoenix’s commercially (literally) bankable Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. What do the guys do…
Let’s face facts: You’re never going to play that old saxophone again.Sure, you think about it every few months, but your skills are too far gone and your heart’s not totally in it. Honestly, it’s more or less mocking you from the bottom of closet.Why not give it to a…
The identity of the teenager drive allegedly responsible for the fatal vehicle accident that claimed the life of Arizona-born hip-hop star Carnegie (a.k.a. Abay Lattin) has surfaced in the local media. According a story posted on KPHO’s website, the 17-year-old driver is identified as Kathryn Elizabeth Hetrick of Gilbert. Tempe…
YouTube has announced it’s in a testing period for live streaming, according to TechCrunch.Today and tomorrow only, YouTube will partner with a group of companies to make a live broadcast schedule. Unfortunately the feature will be removed from the site once the trial is over, so be sure not to…
Joining GWAR for this week’s just announced shows are Free Energy, Nas, Fuel, Chali 2na and Cobra Skulls.The rest of this week’s just announced, non-fluid spewing shows:…
More details have emerged over the weekend regarding the fatal car crash that killed local hip-hop artist Abay Lattin (a.k.a. Carnegie) of Silver Medallion early Saturday morning. Tempe Police Department spokesperson Molly Enright stated that alcohol was likely involved in the crash and that the 17-year-old female driver from Gilbert…
Song: Band of Horses, “Older”Context: At this point you should probably expect all 12 songs from Infinite Arms to make an appearance here at some point. Older by bandofhorses…
Child pop stars have been making it big for ages. I’m not talking about teens who hit it big from their participation in the Mickey Mouse Club; I’m talking about the Osmonds and Stevie Wonder.And don’t forget Michael Jackson; he was kind of a big deal. Now new child pop…
This is some heavy-duty bad news that I have the unfortunate task of reporting: Carnegie, one half of Scottsdale/NYC hip-hop duo Silver Medallion was killed in a car accident early this morning. The 25-year-old Arizona native, who was known offstage by his real name Abay Lattin, was heading home from…
Steven Page, former singer for the Barenaked Ladies, has finished his first solo album since parting ways with the band in 2009.The split was attributed to his reluctance to record another album with the band, but the decision was likely influenced by the threat of more bad press following his…
Weezer, a favorite band among nerdy Americans, has teamed up with the crew of the show Jackass to produce a fun-filled music video for their new single “Memories.”I don’t know about you, but I definitely want to party with these guys. It’s not every day that I get to ride…
