There’s no quicker way to alienate listeners than to be so pretentious as to describe a band as an “experience,” “lifestyle,” or “state of mind.” Still, despite the groans the following statement may elicit, there’s no way to get around it: Boys and Frogs is more than a band; it’s…
Although he operates in a genre of music that tends toward innovative extremes — either lionizing the traditions of the past or rejecting them outright — Buck 65 is a particularly forward-thinking MC and turntablist. He’s always been willing to play with convention and weave a healthy amount of folk,…
Despite the quick rise of his punk outfit Cloud Nothings through the blogosphere and the warm critical reception of the band’s latest record, Attack on Memory, 20-year-old singer-songwriter Dylan Baldi remains calm. The big, black all-ages Xs drawn on his hands surely negate any ego-tripping. “Some cities on the West…
Hope those thinking caps aren’t too snug: Phoenix New Times’ Big Brain Awards are back. The annual awards designed to recognize innovative artists in the fields of design, visual art, fashion, performing art, and culinary art, and give each $500 for their creative endeavors…
It’s hard to find music videos on TV these days. Sure, one could argue that the internet has ushered in a new era of DIY or underground video creativity, but it’s hard not to miss the days when you could waste hours watching clips on MTV or VH1. If musical…
Hanging out at Bar Smith on a Friday isn’t just another night out on the town. It’s pure adventure, especially when trying to navigate the crowd on either floor during the phenomenally popular Sticky Fingers weekly.It’s doubly difficult if you’ve had a few, as some of the drinkologists at Bar…
In 2010, our New Times operations manager and Up on the Sun contributor Jay Bennett wrote a column about listening to only new music called Nothing Not New. For a whole year. Some time has passed, but not the lesson that column taught me. There’s nothing wrong with favorites, but…
We’re pretty excited about Hooves’ homecoming gig in March, and listening to “Animal Mother,” our exclusive sneak peek at the band’s upcoming Fetch, Little Doggie LP, justifies the commotion. A live staple at the band’s shows for some time, the recorded version offers a certain clarity that isn’t always present…
Heads up to all the dry cleaners in town — psych-pop choral band The Polyphonic Spree is coming to town, and they’ll be bringing loads and loads of “the whites” with them. Good luck fitting the whole crew on the stage of the Crescent Ballroom. Seeing how they cram everyone…
We let you know about the first five bands on the Punk Rock Bowling lineup, and we’re pleased to announce a bunch more. There’s Sham 69 with its 1977 Jimmy Pursey/Dave Parsons/Dave Tregunna lineup. Hot Water Music returns — just not Chuck Ragan and/or The Draft, but Hot Water Music…
Beau MacMillanFood Network star MacMillan is the executive chef of elements at Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? ESPN Sports Radio.What’s the first album you bought? Led Zeppelin, the fourth untitled studio…
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 inspired Pickster One, Z-Trip, and LL Cool J’s “Super Baller”? What five singers should team…
You expect the typical rock ‘n’ roll drama when a band takes to the studio to tackle its sophomore album: band fights, creative control struggles, and gigantic egos. But it wasn’t any of that stuff that caused the four year gap between Source Victoria’s The Fast Escape and their airtight…
Resident rapper Jaron Ikner, better known as Black One, may call Phoenix his home, but his heart still lives in his hometown. Tucson. Fresh off of his first full-length album, Black Sun Rising, Ikner looked to T-Town for a lot of the material that comprise the 14-track record. Only two…
This scene invariably has played out in every musician’s life — the point when one band member informs another he just proposed to his girlfriend. Following a stretch of confused ground inspection before resuming eye contact, instead of offering congratulations, his friend says something along the lines of, “Well, I…
You don’t know the meaning of “poignant” until Glen Campbell, sitting two feet from you, starts to sing “Ghost on the Canvas,” the title track of his new — and final — album. The country great, who’s going through the early stages of Alzheimer’s, sometimes forgets which family member once…
When The Darkness entered the spotlight in 2003, the parenthetical question was: “Are these guys for real?” Glam rock long had given up for dead. So, did these guys really and truly love all things ’70s and ’80s rock, or were the spandex unitards, feather boas, long hair, lavish stage…
Bon Iver is the new Arcade Fire of the Grammy Awards. In classic “Who is…” Tumblr fashion, a plethora of people have taken to the interwebs to express their disdain for Justin Vernon and co. because they won the Best New Artist and Best Alternative Album awards, simply because they…
Road trip anyone? The Beach Boys — you know, those old dudes in funny hats who played with Foster the People and the certified cool guy and totally-not-the-worst Adam Levin-fronted Maroon 5 at the Grammy’s — are coming to Arizona, but they are skipping Phoenix in favor of launching their…
If the Grammy’s taught us anything, it’s that despite Dave Grohl’s apparent objections, electronic dance music, or EDM, has stepped boldly into the spotlight, with artists like Skrillex and Deadmau5 leading the charge toward the mainstream. Director Amir Bar Lev’s RE:GENERATION Music Project, a documentary produced in part by the…
One of the great faces of Motown, Smokey Robinson, will be visiting the Valley of the Sun soon.Get ready to hear some of the best crooning that Hitsville, USA ever had to offer.Smokey Robinson, Kris Kristofferson, Maná and other artists will be visiting Phoenix in the coming weeks. The rest…
The Sun Club in Tempe. Mad Gardens on Van Buren. The Stumble Inn down in Tucson. In another lifetime (read: more than 25 years ago) these and a dozen other scuzzy dives around Arizona were all ground zero for punk rock.Flash forward to present day and many of the aforementioned spots…
