Not all signs of the record biz’s struggle for life are depressing. Thanks to EMI’s $1.9 billion merger with Universal Music Group, a few things will get shaken up, including a chance the wretched informercial sludge Now That’s What I Call Music! series will be put six feet under…
James Mabry Mabry is a comic with Duck in Cover Comedy. Learn more about the troupe here, and watch him perform Saturday, October 13 at the Speakeasy Comedy Lounge in Scottsdale at 10 p.m. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play…
So, last night’s debate was weird and surprisingly civil. Republican candidate Mitt Romney was crowned the unofficial “winner” by even the “left wing media,” in spite of constantly cutting Jim Lehrer off and threatening to destroy Big Bird’s livelihood (there’s already a Fired Big Bird Twitter account). My recent vegetarian…
Local punk vets The Father Figures have been pretty busy lately. The band is headed to the studio next week to record a full length album that will tentatively be released in mid-November. The trio has a couple of big shows to look forward to, sharing the stage with PiL…
So, the drummer of a massively successful, NPR-adored indie-folk band quits said band, buys a van, loads it with psychedelic drugs, and drives down the West Coast to Los Angeles, where he cranks out a record that’s equal parts Waylon Jennings honky-tonk and Richard Brautigan “mayonnaise,” with songs about driving…
Speaking with Robyn Hitchcock in 1996, the conversation quickly diverged from music to the difficulties of growing tomatoes at high elevation. It was not his issue, but mine, as he lives in England, where growing tomatoes is much easier, and I was in Colorado. Still, that conversation made it clear…
People always told 66-year-old soul songstress Bettye LaVette she should write a book. Fifty years in show business should make for more than a few good tales, right? “I’d say, ‘Yeah, well, I’m sure I won’t be famous enough to sell a book before I die,'” LaVette says, her brassy…
With their Countdown to Extinction 25th Anniversary Tour kicking off in early November, Megadeth will be lighting up the Marquee Theatre on Saturday, December 8. God and Dave Mustaine only know how the mayhem will play out in the concrete jungle of the most-definitely-going-to-be cramped venue — especially given Mustaine’s…
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…
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…
I missed Sound Wave, so my Saturday was not spent doing ecstasy in a drained swimming pool. Sad face. I also missed Justin Bieber’s concert, which totally blows because he threw up, guys! He threw up on stage in front of hundreds of people and now millions of people will…
The news waits for no one — at least that’s what we read somewhere — so it’s perfectly understandable that you, the reader, might have missed out on a musical tidbit, breaking news about your favorite venue, or one of our rants. So enjoy this digest-style sampling of some of…
Last night, Manuel Camacho took a big step towards local DJ stardom. And it only took 15 minutes to do so. The 24-year-old, who performs as Maneone, bested four other mixmasters (including Convince, Mattafact, and Looney) to reign supreme during a Red Bull Thre3style University DJ battle held on Thursday…
Cue the tweenage screaming: Justin Bieber is coming to town, and the prepubescent estrogen is going to be out of control. In anticipation of his groundbreaking tour that’s set to hit Jobing.com Arena this Saturday, September 29, here are some of his most meaningful lyrics off his current album, Believe,…
The combination of live music and live art performances have become as much a part of the city of Tempe as the college campus and man-made lake that inhabit it. What better way to celebrate the thriving scene than with a two-day festival showcasing some of the Valley’s best acts?…
There are plenty of ways to show someone that you think they’re sexy. Some methods are subtler than others, but Rod Stewart wants ladies to be direct and just reach out and touch him. Tempe rockers Rough Tough Dynamite take a culinary approach with their synthed out surf cover of…
Alex Navarrete Navarrete is the Executive Chef of Saddle Ranch Chop House at Westgate City Center. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? I listen to my TuneIn radio app on my phone. I skim through The Vibe…
Black Flag: Very influential, not always critically praisedWelcome to Ask a Failed Musician, in which I will help struggling musicians make sense of their careers and even offer some advice. Whether or not it will work, who knows? It obviously didn’t work for me. But then again, I was on Kimmel…
The story behind No Doubt’s sixth album, Push and Shove is oddly familiar. The band put out a record a few years ago, toured, and then fell off the radar for a bit. It took No Doubt seven years to follow up Tragic Kingdom with Return of Saturn. The album…
Earlier this year, two of heavy rock’s biggest performers, Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson, took to performing on the same stage. It’s a combination that makes perfect sense. Throughout the ’90s and into the 2000s, the two have dominated pop culture with their theatrical blend of heavy metal and pop,…
The Sound Strike, the boycott of Arizona by popular musicians opposed to Arizona’s controversial anti-immigration law SB 1070, has been a divisive topic among Arizona music fans. While its intended effects, which include raising awareness of the law and targeting a national spotlight on the topic, are clear, many music…
In 2006, a study by National Geographic revealed that a shocking 50 percent of teenagers were uninformed when it came to geography, many of them even failing to identify New York on a map. Six years hence, we’re willing to bet that members of the 18 to 25 demographic are…
