For a band that celebrates the subtlety of the classic influences within its music — rhythm and blues, folk rock, alt-country — Harper and the Moths is raw and bold when it comes to their subject matter. They relish the concept of channeling romance, heartbreak, and desire straight into their…
In today’s age of omnipresent coverage and instant information, it’s pretty difficult for bands to maintain any sort of anonymity. The art-rock collective The Residents has stayed unknown for more than 40 years, and Slipknot pulled it off for a while. But one eccentric Swedish act has kept their names…
As usual, local filmmaker Nico Holthaus has set up an unenviable task for himself. On the party weekend before Halloween, he’s scheduled a premiere of the final cut of Art Edward’s fictionalized love letter to the Tempe music scene of the early ’90s, Stuck Outside of Phoenix, at the Pollack…
I think people have finally gotten used to the yearly back-to-school lamentations about just how old or nonexistent college freshmen were when Kurt Cobain died, so here’s a new one: The Format’s Interventions + Lullabies, the erstwhile Great Arizonan Hopes’ infamously under-supported major-label album, turned 10 years old Monday. Surprise:…
Kanye West’s Yeezus tour is coming to Phoenix in December, which means you have less than two months to think about how “I Am a God” is going to sound at US Airways Center. The Phoenix date is set for Tuesday, December 10 — just after the first wave of…
Last week, I riled up the Mumfords with Five Reasons CDs are Better Than Vinyl. This week, I’ll try to get back in their good graces and give vinyl its due. I know what you’re saying. “Pick a side, Geek” It might seem a little wishy-washy on the surface, but…
First, you have to know that Spike TV still exists. Then you’ll have to take my word that one of its reality shows is a Kitchen Nightmares clone called Bar Rescue. Then you’ll have to know that Tempe’s Rocky Point Cantina (subsequently briefly known as Havana Cabana) is the bar…
It could be the relatively short notice or the confusing name — I would not have pegged him as a jazz artist, personally — but it’s happening, universe: The Robin Thicke Controversy Machine is coming to Ahwatukee, as one of the headlining acts of the Arizona Jazz Festival. It may…
Some of the circumstances behind the recent death of local singer-songwriter Andrew Duncan Brown were revealed to Up on the Sun within the last hour via his label Smoking Pirate Records. According to an e-mail from the Mesa-based label, the 27-year-old musician was found dead on Sunday floating in the…
If you watched the Rocky Point Cantina episode of Bar Rescue you may have noticed a lot of weird things about the episode–like how the bar they rescued is now boarded up and closed. Here’s one you might not have caught: Local metal band Killing Spree playing to someone else’s…
I’m feeling a little spunky this morning, so I figured I’d rile up some Mumfords. Mumfords? That’s my latest name for hipsters. Outspoken, cooler-than-thou cats who are all over the latest music craze, regardless of whether it’s truly in their heart or not. Most writers don’t harass Mumfords, in fact,…
Lots of music fans have a cult-favorite band, and lots of those cult members certainly believe they’d spend 30 years of their life, on and off, trying to get them back together. E Street Band guitarist and Rascals fan Steven Van Zandt was part of an even smaller subset —…
There are very few legitimate extreme metal festivals in the United States. Typically, fans have to head overseas to events like England’s Damnation Festival, Netherland’s Eindhoven Metal Meeting, or France’s Hellfest to get their fix. However, in the past couple of years, American metal promoters are catching on. Maryland’s Death…
I’m going to be totally honest with you here: I love state fairs, but I’m mostly in it for the lemon shake-ups. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy the concerts — it’s just that I enjoy them only after I’ve eaten a lot of unconventionally fried food and then…
By Catherine Downes With Depeche Mode on tour, we thought it’d be fun to dig through our heaping, and incredibly disorganized, collection of “vintage” press photos. Last time we rummaged through these stacks, we found some sweet Jesus and Mary Chain pics (score!) So for our entertainment, and hopefully yours,…
You didn’t have to spend a lot of time at beleaguered metal bar Rocky Point Cantina to be interested in the way it went under. Thankfully, you don’t have to be a regular viewer of SpikeTV’s Bar Rescue, either. After looking set to fall off the schedule, Bar Rescue’s trip…
The Beatles are the greatest band to ever hit this planet. You may have heard that. But how much do you really know? What I have found over the years, both in the record store and while conversing with my friends, is that most people recognize the Beatles brilliance, but…
There’s something to be said for a local band having the gall to throw a CD-release party in 1995. “Before that,” laughs Rich Fourmey, “everything was a tape-release party. So we said, to hell with it. We’re gonna shell out thousands of dollars and have a CD.” It’s the kind…
There’s something to be said for a local band having the gall to throw a CD-release party in 1995. “Before that,” laughs Rich Fourmey, “everything was a tape-release party. So we said, to hell with it. We’re gonna shell out thousands of dollars and have a CD.” It’s the kind…
There’s no point in asking Roger McGuinn if “Eight Miles High” is a drug song. The band claimed at the time it was about flying to an unfriendly London for a tour, but the intent seems obvious, and fellow Byrds Gene Clark and David Crosby eventually supported the allegations. Whatever…
Sister Lip brings the spirit of jazz to the rock scene, and local rock fans are feeling the music. And the year-old band (the current lineup has been together since April) is starting to land coveted slots on high-profile bills. For instance, on Saturday, October 19, the local quartet will…
Last week, upscale New York retailer Barneys announced the “New York Holiday” collection, in which it pairs with luxury-rap icon Jay Z to produce a bunch of superfluous shit you’ll never, ever buy. Amidst the $70 t-shirts and fancy knit scarves and gold double-rings (which are something that people wear,…
