Despite cultivating an audience that includes both folk lovers and metalheads, the gorgeously downcast songwriting of Chelsea Wolfe has been mistakenly typecast: The stark cover of Wolfe’s feral, cacophonous 2011 album, Apokalypsis, showed a portrait of the California native with whited-out eyes, an image she has said was intended to…
Looking on the surface is often deceiving. A simple glance at local band Element a440’s press photos might lead you to believe it’s a typical industrial/goth outfit. At first listen, you may compare the band’s sound to Marilyn Manson, ’80s punkers Big Black, or Stabbing Westward. But Element a440 doesn’t…
Editor’s note: Last November Daniel Johnston missed a flight and was forced to reschedule his stop at Crescent Ballroom. But time flies, and this weekend, on Sunday, February 3, he’s slated to make up his date with a special performance. We ran this piece from New Times contributor Chris Parker…
Among all the reigning veteran British rock bands, The Who is the world champ of releasing greatest hits compilations. These days you can buy the studio version of “My Generation” on 12 officially sanctioned best-of-The Who albums and live versions across 10 concert albums. Yet there are some songs even…
Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? 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 help you stop…
Epileptics beware: the new Black Moth Super Rainbow video for “Hairspray Heart” warns you against seizures. But watching WWE pro wrestler Goldust (Dustin Runnels) perform as “The Pink One” in this juicy Jacuzzi jam will give you quite a few other convulsions. See also: -My Bloody Valentine Might Release Its…
22 years after the shoegaze masterpiece Loveless was released, My Bloody Valentine main man Kevin Shields has announced that the band could finally release its third album any day now. According to the band’s Facebook page, the album was mastered on December 21, meaning the long-awaited release might actually see…
Once a week, Up on the Sun features a new comic strip from punk rocker, cartoonist, and full-time dad Brad Dwyer. See the New Times print edition to check out the strip in glorious, inky newsprint each Thursday…
It’s been almost a year since local rock group The Tremulants played their last show following the death of frontman Marco Holt who succumbed to non-Hodgkin lymphoma. His passing left the music community grieving and family and friends reeling. Tremulants bassist Isaac Hensleigh stepped away from music in the subsequent…
Jake Goldsmith is one funny dude. Whenever we get to speak with the 30-year-old selector and member of the Rebel Disco collective, he tends to be quick with quips or some sort of wittiness that always makes for a lively interview. Such was the case when Up on the Sun…
Jack Howell Howell has been the producer/engineer/musician/owner of WilloDisc Production House since 1989. For more information, go here. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? KWSS 106.7 FM. What’s the first album you bought? Michael Jackson, Off the…
The Father Figures started with a 50th birthday party, which is either the least or most punk thing ever. Traditional agitated punk wisdom would suggest that guitarist/vocalist Michael Cornelius, bassist/vocalist Tom Reardon, and drummer Bobby Lerma lead pretty square lives: All three are married with children (Cornelius is actually a…
It’s hard to know where to start with The Residents. The band’s press release claims that they neither exist nor play any instruments, and yet they have released more than 60 albums, a smattering of videos, DVDs, and short films, and produced a handful of theater productions as well. It’s…
The indie-folk movement has become a plague. What started as an innocent return to roots quickly became a fad and, somewhere along the line, the pining for simplicity and an authentic nod to American roots music turned into a push to get ahead. But the cynicism directed at Americana’s revival…
Maynard James Keenan drives around Arizona’s Verde Valley in an oversize green pickup. The truck’s wheels kick up clouds of dust as he rumbles down the dirt road that leads to Four Eight Wineworks, the barreling room where wine from his nearby Merkin Vineyards ages in casks. From here it…
Right now, there’s a Tool fan angrily venting about the lack of a new Tool album in some dark corner of the Internet. Right now, Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan is most likely working on something other than a new Tool album. As detailed in this week’s Phoenix New Times…
Doing some crate digging at Tracks in Wax, I uncovered a rather strange relic: an album showcasing local music. The cover was a faded license plate with the words Arizona Sounds Vol. 1, sponsored by KDKB 93.3 FM. It was printed in 1977. As a Phoenix native, I’ve always had…
Welcome to our Label of the Month feature, where we’ll expound on some of our favorite music manufacturing companies, the folks that help mold the entire picture for amazing artists and shoot those ideas out into the world. This month, we’re aiming our sights on Ghostly International, the Ann Arbor,…
January isn’t the busiest time for concerts, but it is a month full of show announcements. It seems like a big and interesting show has been announced almost every week, and we can’t complain. Crystal Castles, Billy Bragg, and Jeff Mangum are all something to look forward to. The fun…
Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? 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 help you stop…
McDowell Mountain Music Festival’s 2013 lineup, featuring The Shins, The Roots, Deer Tick, Les Claypool’s Duo de Twang, and more, has expanded to include a host of local Phoenix-based acts. The weekend festival will now Kongos, Mergence, Banana Gun, Fayuca, The Veragroove, Yellow Minute, Decker, and Jared and The Mill,…
Once a week, Up on the Sun features a new comic strip from punk rocker, cartoonist, and full-time dad Brad Dwyer. See the New Times print edition to check out the strip in glorious, inky newsprint each Thursday…
