Various artists Libations Unlimited: Phoenix 1997-1999 (Sentry Press) While Phoenix is nationally known for many things–excruciating heat and a sadistic sheriff among them–a stellar music scene doesn’t make the cut. Save the Meat Puppets and Gin Blossoms, virtually no Valley bands have cracked Top 40 radio or become household words–and…
For a guy once known for his unwillingness to do interviews, Elvis Costello has turned out to be one of pop music’s most insightful commentators. Over the years, he’s actually emerged as something of a “player-coach,” to borrow a term Rolling Stone once applied to Pete Townshend (in fact, Costello…
It hasn’t been the easiest of weeks for the band Chula. For their first real road excursion, the emo-punk quartet had lined up a couple of Southern California gigs along with two other bands, to be capped by a return gig in Tempe. Three hours out of Phoenix, their van…
The Negro Problem Joys and Concerns (Aerial Flipout) If there’s a weakness surrounding L.A.’s recent pop renaissance, it’s that too many of the bands settle for emulating their heroes, right down to the very last “c’mon, c’mon” and “sha-la-la.” As transcendent as much of Badfinger and the Raspberries still sound…
It was probably pure coincidence, but Gwar fans entering Club Rio’s “21 and over” patio on Tuesday, May 25, received a stamp on their wrist that read: “Circus.” The word perfectly describes the band’s bong-inspired combination of trash metal riffings and goofy gore–both performed with stage props far more ridiculous…
Henry “Mojo” Thompson sits in his wheelchair, hunched over his kitchen counter, jotting down notes in a spiral notebook. His one-room South Phoenix apartment has the near-empty look of someone who’s either moving in or moving out. The only furnishings are a TV and VCR that both rest in one…
Nick Broomfield’s controversial 1998 documentary Kurt and Courtney works very hard to paint a negative portrait of Courtney Love. So hard, in fact, that by the end of it you almost find yourself feeling sorry for her. Everyone from Love’s father to her ex-boyfriend to her former nanny fires verbal…
Branford Marsalis calls exactly at the appointed time, 3 p.m., despite a schedule that should not allow for such promptness. He is on a cellular phone, sitting on the front stoop of his 13-year-old son Reese’s piano school on White Plains Post Road in Eastchester, New York. Branford does not…
Various artists Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (Maverick Records) The world inhabited by Austin Powers is more an evocation of the way the ’60s were documented than of the time period itself. Its absurd devotion to swinging at all costs echoes films like Casino Royale and the Matt…
It’s not often that I feel like I’m in the middle of an episode of V.I.P. Actually, part of the inept glory of Pamela Anderson Lee’s action series is that it never feels like anybody’s real life, with the possible exception of those well-tanned, scantily clad super sleuths out there…
On the eve of Cinco de Mayo, while many bars spent a slow evening stocking a shitload of Coronas, limes and tequila, Boston’s was quite busy serving an eclectic crowd of fans who came to see Atlanta space rockers Man or Astroman?. This band has been immortalized within indie rock…
The year is 1983. Offspring singer Dexter Holland–looking very much the blond, spiky-haired, ersatz Billy Idol that he is today–is pathetically bashing away at the drums, in his very first band. This raw piece of camcorder verite is the kind of stuff that VH1’s Before They Were Rock Stars is…
Ricky Martin Ricky Martin (Columbia Records) Whatever happened to the good old days, when the Grammy Awards were a joke and everybody knew it? Grammyland used to be a fanciful place where Jethro Tull was the pre-eminent hard rock band, while Toto and Christopher Cross were recognized as Mozarts of…
Old 97’s Fight Songs (Elektra) On “Victoria,” the opening cut off the Old 97’s 1994 release Wreck Your Life, front man Rhett Miller sings, “This is a song about Victoria’s heart/You might think it’s stupid but I still think it’s art.” In truth the same sentiment could be applied to…
If rock’s first half-century ends with Korn’s “Rock Is Dead” tour pulling down the largest 1999 concert receipts, what hope could there possibly be for people to get excited about the acts that once made rock live? Come New Year’s Eve, Little Richard will probably be woohooing it up in…
After 11:00 on any uneventful night, the bicycle ride to Circle K takes maybe 10 minutes, tops. And that includes stopping, avoiding eye contact with the crack dealers and the panhandlers and purchasing the beer. The return trip, though, is a bit trickier. First, it is slightly uphill. Second, both…
The scene is a self-serve copy shop on Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago, the time is several years ago and the protagonist is Wesley Willis, beloved local icon. Willis is built like a Sasquatch (he’s six feet four inches tall and weighs more than 300 pounds), but his spirit is friendly…
“Who’s in charge of this? Is it okay if I sing?” The question came from Peacemakers guitarist Steve Larson. The answer was a soft murmur, neither affirmative nor negative. In actual fact, no one was in charge at Balboa Cafe on Wednesday, April 28, the night that the recently formed…
Ben Folds Five The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner (550 Music) It’s a strange paradox of the music industry that a recording artist’s most common response to success is a case of melancholia. The cutout bins are overloaded with self-pitying follow-ups that lament the emptiness of fame and the tedium…
We keep hearing rumblings that Phoenix has emerged as a major metropolis. Some inhabitants even take pride in the smog they inhale, viewing it as confirmation that we’re in the big leagues. But Phoenix still struggles to find its own identity and forfeit facsimile. Serving as one of many sketchbooks,…
By definition, grindcore is an abrasive form of music. It’s fast, harsh and noisy, residing somewhere between metal and punk, and inevitably confusing fans of both. Born out of punk’s mid-’80s search for an identity that the thrash metalers were co-opting at the time, its musical message remains intact. It’s…
Tom Waits has unleashed his first album of new material in more than six years. For those who have followed the lowlife renaissance man’s career over the past 26 years, that statement is all the incentive they need to rush out and buy it. Fortunately, Mule Variations, his first album…
