Here we are at the midway point of what has been the worst year for music having nothing to do with what was issued and everything to do with who was discontinued. “Sure,” you say. “We lost a lot of giants early in the year like Bowie and Prince, but…
Mitchell Hillman listens to more local music than just about anyone in the Valley. He presents his picks for best new local music in his column, Right Hear, Right Now. Emby Alexander – “Phoenix Sons” On the 4th of July Emby Alexander released their third full-length album with Sound of…
It’s 2016 and Vancouver’s White Lung have no qualms about it. Although steeped in punk’s history and aesthetic, they prefer to innovate rather than look to the past. While their most obvious influences stem from ’80s hardcore and feminist didactics expressed in ’90s Riot Grrrl fashion, their newest album, Paradise,…
It’s July. I’m not going to go into a rant about how hot it currently is in Phoenix — we all know. We all see the annoying Facebook posts daily of temperature gauges. Yes, we live in the desert. Yes, it’s the price we pay for gorgeous winters. So shut…
Evan Stephens Hall already has an idea of what heaven looks like — creatively speaking, of course. The frontman of New Jersey indie rock band Pinegrove, Hall seems like the kind of musician who just has to get it out via whatever medium he has at hand. Luckily for him,…
You know that licking toads to get stoned isn’t exactly an urban legend, right? If you piss off Bufo alvarius, it will secrete 5-MeO-DMT and bufotenin, two highly potent psychedelics chemically similar to DMT. The Colorado River toad is actually native to the Sonoran Desert, but there’s another legendary psychedelic…
The story of the Replacements was about more than rock ‘n’ roll, and author Bob Mehr’s Trouble Boys: The True Story of The Replacements makes that clear. It’s got everything you want in a rock bio — crazy antics, detailed history, extensive background — but it goes deeper. Unlike so…
Following up from my Hall and Oates essay, I decided it was time to talk about another musical “guilty pleasure” for those not quite cool enough to abandon the idea of guilty pleasures. I’m talking about what the common folk call “hair metal,” but what has alternately been called glam…
See also: The 10 Coolest, Scariest, Freakiest Songs About Heroin See also: 10 Songs About Cocaine See also: 15 Songs to Light Up to on 4/20 Sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll. It’s in many ways the enduring holy trinity of pop music. Like it or not — we’re not…
Dillon Francis is anything but boring. For proof of said statement, look no further than any of his social media outlets, all of which are filled with hilarious (and oftentimes bizarre) images and videos that illustrate the DJ and producer’s absurd and irreverent sense of humor. Over on his constantly…
Happy Fourth of July everyone. If you’ve still got some mojo and, more importantly, money leftover from spending the three-day weekend partying and playing hooky from work, there are several notable shows happening this week. The list includes gigs by pop princess Selena Gomez, indie singers like Mitski and Japanese…
It’s hard to reconcile what a game changer Odelay was when it was released 20 years ago. Not to say that it changed modern music as we know it. It did not despite its critical and commercial success, but it was a transformative album for Beck himself. Two decades later…
We’re about to hit what’s known as the dog days of summer, a period of the summertime that’s particularly loathsome due to the fact its muggy as hell outside and no sign of relief on the horizon (save for the occasional monsoon storm). Thankfully, we’re also about to roll into…
The Valley’s longtime tradition of underground hip-hop is returning to its roots at a new monthly party, The Rhythm The Rebel, at Rebel Lounge. “There’s a lot of really good underground hip-hop out there that’s more just for listening, that sets a mood or a vibe so people can just…
Ted Nugent. Ted “Fucking” Nugent. He calls himself this frequently. During a 45-minute phone conversation, he must’ve said “Ted fucking Nugent” at least a dozen times. The man is mesmerizing and drunk on confidence, even if he never takes a drink. There really is no one else quite like him,…
Country music fans of the West Valley, better dust off your boots and get ready to cowboy up. The second Metro Phoenix location of Cowboys Saloon is set to make its debut next month in Peoria and will offer just as much country kitsch and dance floor action as its…
XIXA came to exist almost by accident. The Tucson sextet – formerly known as Chicha Dust – formed and began playing the Peruvian style of psychedelic cumbia as a way to get more gigs without overbooking the solo projects of its two co-founders, Brian Lopez and Gabriel Sullivan. With almost…
Mitchell Hillman listens to more local music than just about anyone in the Valley. He presents his picks for best new local music in his column, Right Hear, Right Now. Stephen Steinbrink – “Absent Mind” Before he was Olympia, Washington’s Stephen Steinbrink, he belonged to Phoenix, Arizona. I first became…
Punk rock is many things. It’s fun, it’s furious, it’s chock-full of rebellion, and for some, it’s a labor of love. With any luck, it’s all four of those things. Enter Brendan Kelly, singer/guitar player of the Falcon. Kelly’s a busy man. The Chicago-area native is married, a dad to…
There’s an urgency to New Madrid. It’s evident by the opening thrust of “Not In Me,” the lead track on the Athens, Georgia, band’s latest effort, magnetkingmagnetqueen. Sporting rapid, airy vocal overlays pushed by a frenetic drumbeat and prog-ish guitar licks, the song makes it clear New Madrid is not…
Fifty years ago, women’s role in heavy metal was mostly a lyrical focal point — a heartbreaking vixen, fantasy figure, groupie. Now, it’s commonplace that women not only frequent the stage, but work as tour managers, sound and light techs, promoters, publicists, booking agents, managers, and more — all in…
If you want the best rock ‘n’ roll concert in Arizona this summer, you’ll have to travel south. Rock legends Kiss kick off their ‘Freedom To Rock” tour at AVA Amphitheater in Tucson on the same day we celebrate America’s independence. Nothing says Fourth of July like a Kiss, right?…
