Record Heat: Sludge by Brad Dwyer

Every Monday morning 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. In this week’s Record Heat, Brad Dwyer investigates a case of mistaken…

Derrick Hall, What Are You Listening To?

Derrick Hall Hall is the president and CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? Arizona Sports 620, KNIX or KMLE. What’s the first album you bought? Kiss, Love Gun. What’s the first concert…

The Beach Boys on 50 Years of West Coast Mythology

Some music has a setting, a place that feels woven into its sound. For The Beach Boys, one of rock ‘n’ pop’s most enduring groups, the setting always has been California. But the Golden State makes for remarkably varied terrain, and while early singles like “409,” “Little Deuce Coupe,” and…

A Brief History of White Boy Soul

Mayer Hawthorne is a terrible, terrible rapper. Should you decide to hear “Haircut” drop a quick 16, be forewarned. But the man has pipes. The sharp-suited crooner showed a deep knowledge of black music — especially Stax and Motown soul — on last year’s How Do You Do, walking the…

Slipknot, Anthrax, Motörhead, and Slayer Unite for Mayhem Fest

Calling the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival a mere concert is like calling the tour’s namesake beverage “kind of sticky.” The Mayhem Festival is more than just a selection of public performances by thrash titan favorites Slayer and Anthrax, legendary British speed-punks Motörhead, and Iowa’s heaviest export, Slipknot. It’s an…

From Print: Blogs Teased in Our July 5 Issue

This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up on the Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts. How did Phoenix pop-rock band The Wiley One Celebrate UFO Day? What does heavy metal band…

Take Cover: The Swamp Coolers Channel Their Inner James Bond

We’ve all had dreams of growing up to be a spy at one point or another– whether we lived vicariously by playing GoldenEye 007 (for Nintendo 64, natch) or we wished Christopher Nolan really was directing the prequel to the James Bond series. Local surf/Americana rockers The Swamp Coolers cover…

Tumblr of the Week: YVYNYL

Not that we’re opposed to reading, but once in a while we want a straightforward summary of why an album is worth a listen. We’re also interested in playlists with obscure artists we’ve never heard of. Plus, we appreciate some cool vinyl cover art when we see it. We do…

Top Phoenix Music Stories of the Week

The news waits for no one — at least that’s what we read somewhere — so it’s perfectly understandable that our 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…

Crowdsourced: Fans Beat the Heat at Vans Warped Tour 2012

See also: Valley Bands Sweat it Out on Warped Tour Stages See also: Vans Warped Tour 2012: The Good, the Bad, and the Auto-Tuned See also: Warped Tour 2012, Camelback Ranch Baseball Stadium, 6/28/12 Yesterday was my first Warped Tour in eight years. A lot has changed, though oddly enough,…

Jen Deveroux, What Are You Listening To?

Jen Deveroux The local party promoter invites you to Sharks and Minnows Saturday, June 30, at the Phoenix Place Hotel and Suites at 2 p.m. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? I don’t listen to the radio. What’s the…

Spice Up Your Life With The Spice Girls Musical

After reading Lenni Rosenblum’s blog about Dave Matthews Band, I considered calling this “Fuck you, I Love The Spice Girls,” but the thing is, I don’t think I’m alone here. The Spice Girls got their share of critical jabs, I’m sure, for for a certain generation of girls (yeah, mostly…

From Print: Blogs Teased in Our June 28 Issue

This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up on the Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts. How did Against Me!’s first Arizona performance fronted by Laura Jean Grace go over? What should…