The rock n’ roll lifestyle didn’t drop from the sky with the appearance of the Rolling Stones, you know. Half a century of jazzmen and blues figures had already set the stage with their endless womanizing and love for needles, pills and bottles. And Stan Kenton, pianist, bandleader, eccentric genius,…
I ain’t fraid uh no ghosts, and I proved it a few days ago in Bisbee, where the lovely Bettie and I spent the night in a bed and breakfast called the Oliver House. That’s right, I’m gonna tell you about my weekend vacation. We’ll get to music later, don’t…
I ain’t fraid uh no ghosts, and I proved it a few days ago in Bisbee, where the lovely Bettie and I spent the night in a bed and breakfast called the Oliver House. That’s right, I’m gonna tell you about my weekend vacation. We’ll get to music later, don’t…
Hotel X A Random History of the Avant-Groove (SST) From the capital of the Confederacy comes a quartet of white boys named Hotel X, venturing forth into the realm of cool jazz that goes with late nights and cigarettes like braces go with crooked teeth. A Random History is a…
I ain’t fraid uh no ghosts, and I proved it a few days ago in Bisbee, where the lovely Bettie and I spent the night in a bed and breakfast called the Oliver House. That’s right, I’m gonna tell you about my weekend vacation. We’ll get to music later, don’t…
Hotel X A Random History of the Avant-Groove (SST) From the capital of the Confederacy comes a quartet of white boys named Hotel X, venturing forth into the realm of cool jazz that goes with late nights and cigarettes like braces go with crooked teeth. A Random History is a…
Hotel X A Random History of the Avant-Groove (SST) From the capital of the Confederacy comes a quartet of white boys named Hotel X, venturing forth into the realm of cool jazz that goes with late nights and cigarettes like braces go with crooked teeth. A Random History is a…
At last Thursday’s grand-opening gala, the Diamondback Theater in Scottsdale served up shrimp, lobster, prime rib, squid-ink pasta in an Alfredo sauce, teriyaki chicken, rivers of booze and Waylon Jennings, but these are things the Rules of Ethical Journalism prohibit me from indulging in. Like I would go out there…
It’s become a clich, how fake jazzers like Dave Grusin and the Rippingtons’ Russ Freeman gush endlessly over the merits of their weightless fare, preaching as though their lobotomized music will guarantee happiness for anyone turning an ear and a billfold in their direction. But fellow bloodless brother Bob James,…
Before he landed a major-label recording contract, before he filled his first dance hall, Rick Trevino flat-out knew he’d be playing in front of big crowds. He just wasn’t certain whether he’d be wearing a cowboy hat or a baseball uniform. While the 22-year-old Austinite eventually found the lot of…
Last Thursday, my telephone rang and on the other end was Yoko Ono. Some of you out there may be scoffing, maybe you don’t think that’s a big deal. Scoff all you want; she used to be married to my hero–Tony Cox. Only kidding! Mrs. Lennon was on the horn…
It starts in the parking lot. Drive in behind the wheel of something small, some damn Japanese car, and you feel like a fish out of water. But it’s more than that; you feel almost unpatriotic. The lot of Phoenix Civic Plaza is filled with four-wheel-drive monsters, many of which…
This is how an interview with Howe Gelb begins. Question: How are you doing? Gelb: (17 seconds of silence.) Q: Did I wake you up? Gelb: No. I thought you were talking. Then you just stopped. Q: I was. I said, ‘How are you doing?’ Gelb: Oh. You needed a…
When the Piersons formed two years ago, its members had two major things in common: a distaste for the live music in Tempe bars and the inability to play their instruments. And the Piersons had a goal, too. To play a single night–any night–onstage at Long Wong’s, the dark and…
Once again, we take a look at what a few local humans liked and didn’t like in the music world this year. From fabulous celebrities such as Charles Barkley and Barry Goldwater to everyday folks you may have seen at your local Circle K or topless bar (Dave and Mariah,…
For as long as there has been a Ramones, there have been critics calling it a three-chord, one-joke band. Maybe so, but it’s a joke that works; 1994 marks the 20th anniversary of the quartet’s inception as ber group of the New York underground. Over the years, the Ramones have…
Three tiers of exotic plants, two fish in a big aquarium and a bright green bird are the things that greet you upon entering the home of King Karl. Karl is a soul singer from Opelousas, Louisiana, moved up here to Mesa a few months ago for his health. He…
I first came to Phoenix in late September, and I had three days to find a place to live before returning back East to get my stuff and move out here permanently. I stayed with my friend, Wes, the only person in town I knew, in his apartment on University…
Good things come in small packages, as the saying goes, but at Christmastime, big packages look a whole lot better under a tree than little ones do. Back in the old days, when Santa left a 12×12 LP, it was a mouth-watering sight the next morning. Sure, CDs may sound…
The artistry of Don Rickles has spanned not only the decades, but virtually all mediums of entertainment. From the seminal years of the Hello Dummy album, to the film work (Kelly’s Heroes, Beach Blanket Bingo), to television’s lauded C.P.O. Sharkey and Kibbee Hates Fitch–the 1965 sitcom pilot that is now…
There is a 77-year-old man onstage dressed in a tuxedo. He wears a toupee and sings songs that were hits for him decades ago. He may forget a line or two, might miss a cue, his voice may be slightly ragged. But he’s still the best singer this country ever…
So you think rock n’ roll has fostered some pretty rough characters, eh? Some real wicked mothers, huh? Forget about it. Frank Sinatra did it bigger, badder, more atrociously and with more inspired outrage than any mere rock upstart. And he did it first, blazing a trail for the wanton…
