When he was 30, Mark E. Smith, iconoclastic front man for The Fall, wrote “Living Too Late,” an odd reflection on mortality where he sang of crow’s-feet ingrained on his face. Now almost 50, one of rock’s most original and recognizable voices sees no reason to reflect or dwell on…
Andre Williams — the Godfather of Rap, the last rock ‘n’ roller, the don of dirty R&B — has lots of kids. There are the five he sired himself, who have mixed feelings about his music. “They hated it — they didn’t even want to be represented by it,” says…
The legend of Coheed and Cambria goes beyond the three albums of music the band has released. It goes beyond its wiry, Yes-on-emo histrionics, beyond New York, where the four-man group is based, beyond Earth, even, and far out into interstellar space. In fact, Coheed and Cambria isn’t just a…
“Zeitgeist” Etymology: German, from Zeit (time) + Geist (spirit) — the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era. Yeah, it’s a loaded word, one that knots sober Teutonic gravity around dramatic academic loft. But Merriam-Webster’s definition couldn’t be more on point in describing the music of U.K. quartet…
As of press time, New Times got word of a tragic loss suffered by the Valley’s punk rock scene: Sid Copeland, 33, proprietor of Jugheads bar and music venue, suffered a fatal heart attack on Saturday, April 22, reportedly while lifting weights at a commercial gym. He is survived by…
Not that long ago, my friend Jason and I got ourselves in hot water with our girlfriends when we went on a double date to a nice restaurant and, after several shots, began acting like drunken jackasses — literally. We were running through all of the farm animal noises we…
In 1986, it didn’t matter if you supported the anti-rock mothers of the PMRC, loved pop playboy Robert Palmer, or subsisted on a no-carb diet of hardcore punk; there were two kinds of people: 1) those who bowed and worshiped Metallica’s new thrash-metal masterpiece Master of Puppets, and 2) infidel…
The Phoenix hardcore scene just can’t seem to get a break. Between bad press about feisty hardcore gangs and more venues refusing to book bands that have a reputation for attracting violent fans, now the scene has taken another hit — high-profile local posi act Where Eagles Dare is closing…
The voice crackling over the cell phone belongs to a cat with three days left to live: D12 rapper Proof, Slim Shady’s right-hand man, and a respected hip-hop artist in his own right, who was slain early Tuesday, April 11, in a three-way shootout that the Detroit po-po are still…
Musically, this sure as hell can be an incestuous town. I see it more and more all the time, with the same musicians playing in multiple bands with different sonic flavors, often on different instruments. Especially in Tempe, where a relatively small group of musicians hold down a scene where…
As we’re all painfully aware, Monday, April 17, is this year’s tax deadline. For the average 9-to-5 schmo, that means scrounging through a pile of employment forms, bank statements and gas receipts for stuff to write off. Of course, some people try deducting every receipt in the house, from so-called…
In a bar somewhere on the West Coast, a presumptuous punk-rock fan approached a woman who looked familiar. “Hey, you look just like Exene Cervenka. What are you doing here?” The woman, taking pleasure in the opportunity to shut down this clueless tool, flatly said, “I am Exene. I just…
Whenever indie rock has veered too close to becoming like a traditional form of music — whether it’s by-the-book Class of ’77 punk, emo with sanctioned sad chords, press-the-distortion-pedal-here grunge, or power-pop that eschews anything Big Star or Cheap Trick hasn’t already tackled — that’s when it’s failed us as…
Watching the Loveblisters play on the small stage at Last Exit in Tempe, you kind of have to feel sorry for Ethan Hillis, the curly-haired drummer and youngest member of the band. He’s barely visible behind the line of the five other musicians — flanked by keyboardists Jessica Stanley and…
Rock bands, as anyone who’s been in one for more than a week will tell you, can be as contentious as an episode of Hardball. Boston’s arena-rock quartet Damone is no exception, having divorced both its label and its main songwriter, Dave Pino, under circumstances ugly enough to be kept…
New Times has been throwing this bash since 1996, and somewhere along the way, a clever employee must’ve figured out that early evening is a good time for everyone to come hang out — night owls and early birds included. Need proof? Just get a look at the 12,000 music…
For record labels, video games and music are a match made in target-audience heaven. EA Sports pushes major-label names in rock and hip-hop on the company’s yearly Madden and NBA updates, and Tony Hawk games sport underground punk and metal soundtracks, but while those are somewhat appropriate, this week’s latest…
MEMO To: New Employees From: Emo-Rock Headquarters Date: July 16, 1999 Subject: Corporate Guidelines With all of the recent hires, we thought it would be prudent to review some essential company guidelines: • Your band name must include a day, a month, or a season. Please note that “Thursday” is…
This month marks 10 years since I started covering music in the ‘Nix for New Times, and in that swath of time, I’ve met a plethora of promoters and venue managers around here — many of whom, let’s just say, I wouldn’t introduce to anyone I actually care about. It’s…
Dear Miranda, I’m your biggest fan! I know, being the famous country singer you are, you must get this a lot, but I really think we’d make a great couple. Sure, there’s a bit of an age difference here. It’s not like I could be your dad, but, hell, my…
It’s a very depressing song, isn’t it?” asks Richard Butler with a rueful laugh. The longtime frontman of the Psychedelic Furs is referring to “Maybe Someday,” the final track on his solo debut, and he’s right. The nicotine rasp that burned itself into music history in such New Wave standards…
All hail “Love Rollercoaster,” a sweet slice of funk brought to us by the Ohio Players. There is not enough funk in this world. So we welcome every bite of funk that has been fed to us and every band that cooks it. Oh, Ohio Players, the sins that have…
