Download: Giant Giant Sand’s “Forever and a Day”

Back in March, we spoke with Howe Gelb, of Giant (Giant) Sand about his new album, Tucson, in the first episode of our weekly podcast (We call it Up on the Sun: The Podcast. Ain’t we clever?). Well yesterday Fire Records debuted sprawling, echoing track from the “country rock opera,”…

Take Cover: Fatigo Covers Depeche Mode

Covering Depeche Mode without a synthesizer can be a bit of a challenge, but Fatigo pulls it off with a piano, a trumpet, and some cool bass effects. “We are going to integrate some of Depeche Mode’s synthy sounds [while] giving it that Fatigo south of the border sound,” says…

Incoming: Summerland Tour, Santigold, 311

This summer is bringing in a miraculous flood of awesome shows if ’90s alt-pop rock is your cup of tea. Everclear, Sugar Ray, The Gin Blossoms, Lit, and Marcy Playground are hitting the road together for what is sure to be an absolutely epic dream of a Summerland Tour. We apologize…

Record Heat: Frankenstein Meets Wolfman by Brad Dwyer

If our review and slideshow fail to make it crystal clear, let’s just say it: The PHX AM After Party with No Age, Radio, Moscow, and a host of local punk bands on Saturday night was crazy. And awesome. The outdoor stage, which hosted touring acts like the aforementioned bands…

Chaka Khan Releases Trayvon Martin Tribute Song

It’s been several years since Chaka Khan has had a relevant, mainstream voice, but that hasn’t stopped her from speaking out in light of the February shooting involving Florida teenager Trayvon Martin and neighborhood watch commando George Zimmerman. Last week, the “Queen of Funk” best remembered for her 1984 cover…

A Look at The Creamy Radio Stage at McDowell Mountain Music Fest

Holy festival season, Batman. We’re two weeks away from the craziest confluence of big festivals I’ve ever seen. There’s Coachella (weekend one) in Indio, California, Country Thunder in Florence, Arizona, and McDowell Mountain Music Festival at the Compound Grill in Phoenix. Pretty much every spectrum of music is covered, but…

Brad Steinke, What Are You Listening To?

Brad Steinke​Steinke is a host and reporter for FOX Sports Arizona. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? Sirius XMU. It features great new indie artists — I’ve heard Lykke Li, Neon Indian, Chapel Club and Lana Del…

You Heard Us Back When Vol. 6 Tracklist Tops 30 Songs

While $3 isn’t enough to buy you a gallon of gas these days, it is enough to buy you the sixth installment of Zia Record’s local music compilation, You Heard Us Back When. The double-disc album is scheduled for release on next month’s Record Store Day, April 21, and features…

Throwback Thursday: Sixpence None the Richer

Welcome to Throwback Thursday, where we revisit the overplayed, over (and under)rated, and the one-hit and multi-hit wonders of yesteryear. I have a bone to pick with Sixpence None the Richer for giving me unrealistic expectations about dating. When “Kiss Me” came out, it made me think that once I…

Blogs Teased in Our March 29 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. What are our five favorite Jonathan Richman songs? Does heavy metal make you more sane? Follow…

Weird Is the New Cool Rebounds From Tragedy

To paraphrase the common axiom: In show business, it’s not who you know, it’s who knows you. Phoenix-based hip-hop crew Weird Is the New Cool counts Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash, radio DJs Johnjay and Rich, and MTV favorite Gym Class Heroes among its admirers, achieving recognition for its…

Noise Rock Duo No Age Pushes Its Own Limits

You probably knew a kid like Randy Randall in high school — a skateboarder and crate-digger with his own sense of fashion, generally seen plugged into a Walkman. (These were pre-iPod days.) One day, a girl at school asked him what he was jamming out to, and Rogers answered, “Scratch…

Heartless Bastards Songwriter Erika Wennerstrom Takes Aim

To clear her mind after a lengthy stretch of touring, songwriter Erika Wennerstrom hit the road again, this time alone, finding both solace and inspiration in the wide-open spaces of West Texas rangeland. What came from Wennerstrom’s peaceful isolation is the Heartless Bastards’ fourth and best album, Arrow, a stout…

Tumblr of the Week: Fiddy’s Biddies

Twitter has proven to be a fascinating look into the head-spaces of many of our favorite celebrities and musicians. While plenty of rappers have taken to the micro-blogging site, few have managed to be as consistently entertaining and ridiculous (and occasionally controversial) as Curtis Jackson, better known by his moniker…

Download “Seekers,” Future Loves Past’s New Song

Future Loves Past released a new single yesterday and it’s gorgeous. “Seekers” came out just in time for the summer, and its effervescent percussion and melodic vocals are a pleasant reminder that pool season is just around the corner. But the meaning of the song isn’t as carefree as the…

Take Cover: Born Loser and The Hangers On Cover The Pixies

Born Loser and The Hangers Onput together a Pixies set after a fan said BLATHO reminded him of The Pixies. Initially, some band members thought it was a bad idea thanks to odd timing, but it turned out well. “[We decided] we’ll just do whatever ‘Where is my Mind?’ is…

Record Heat: Fox-Vag Fest by Brad Dwyer

See also: FoxVag III: Promoters Assures It Ain’t Another Breast-Fest I was out of town, but I’m willing to bet that Fox Vag Fest III, the three-day, two-venue dominating festival of female-fronted punk, rock, and indie acts was pretty crazy. In his feature about the festival, Serene Dominic jokingly compared…