Chad Horstman, What Are You Listening To?

Chad HorstmanHorstman is the CEO of Yandy.com, an online lingerie and costume retailer.When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now?  The radio is pretty bad. I usually stream Pandora.What’s the first album you bought? Bon Jovi.What’s the first concert…

Christian Jacobs of Yo Gabba Gabba! Doesn’t Talk Down to Kids

Thom Yorke of Radiohead isn’t into doing interviews. He prefers to be the shadowed cock-eyed intellect behind the Radiohead machine or to spout spastic lines and moan over the twitchy glitch-pop of his Atoms for Peace project. He doesn’t have much time for promotional rigmarole. But Yorke has kids, and…

Parenthetical Girls Aren’t Lacking for Kinks

It’s not easy being beautiful. Just ask Zac Pennington, frontman of experimental pop group Parenthetical Girls, whose vocal strains fall halfway between those of Perfume Genius and Lightspeed Champion, complemented with the baroque pop stylings of Belle and Sebastian. Pennington, known for his gender-neutral lyrics and his Morrissey-borrowed wit, pens…

Street Teams Are Bullshit: How to Promote Your Band Online

Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Ask Fan Landers! Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls’ Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to…

Sadie Such, What Are You Listening To?

Sadie Such Such is the owner/photographer/producer at Sadie Such Photography and Films. Learn more here. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? I think I may have left it on the country station last time I was in…

Zero Zero and Love Me Nots Balance Electro Pop and Garage Stomp

The love affair began over a fuzzy guitar lick topped with a greasy organ swirl. Keyboardist Nicole Laurenne and guitarist Michael Johnny Walker were in a band rehearsal when the other musicians stepped out for a smoke. Walker noticed a fuzz pedal that hadn’t been used during the session. So,…

The Epilogues Hatch a New Beginning

We don’t necessarily want what’s good for us — from chili cheese fries to that one last Jäger shot to a late-night booty call. And sometimes we must give thanks for the circumstances that thwarted us and led to a later sense of relief. So it is with dramatic indie…

Red Rocks Folk Band decker. Defines Itself with Slider

“We’re changed people,” Brandon Decker says firmly, describing the aftermath of the nearly fatal rollover car accident that forever altered the lives of the members of Sedona-based indie-folk band decker. It’s a story that’s been told many times, but it bears repeating: Last August, en route to Santa Cruz, California,…

Meat Puppets Expand with Rat Farm

Though the band now resides in Austin, Meat Puppets and the brothers Kirkwood (Curt and Cris) will be forever tied to the Valley of the Sun whence they sprung. That connection has gotten stronger to with the addition of Curt’s son Elmo–a Tempe resident and guitarist in local bands Flamingo…

Paramore’s “Now” Shows Off New Direction for Band

Paramore doesn’t need the Farro brothers to go on. So long, founding brothers Josh and Zac. Frontwoman Hayley Williams is soldiering on, bad haircuts and all. It looks like the band’s big move into maturity might just abandon the sparkly pop that made the band famous. Who cares that it…

Is It Ever OK to Steal Another Band’s Name?

Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Ask Fan Landers! Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls’ Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to…