Sir Richard Bishop met John Fahey only once, despite the fact that Fahey’s Revenant Records — the blues, jazz, and folk label founded by the guitarist/independent label pioneer — released Bishop’s proper solo debut, Salvador Kali, in 1998. “[It was] shortly after the record came out,” Bishop says. “He was…
Valentine’s Day isn’t all red roses, sweet treats, and sweet nothings. For those who’ve had their hearts pile-driven into the ground or become jaded about the onslaught of flowers, candy, and romantic treacle, the Hallmark-like hullabaloo surrounding the holiday is pure torture. We suspect that Friday, February 15, is one…
The critical narrative says that pelvic-thrusting rock stars are clueless actors. Even the kingliest of rock gods, people who understand better than most how to tickle an audience, tend to be noobishly ungraceful onscreen — can we get an “amen” from anyone who’s seen The Wiz or KISS Meets the…
The word “keytar” isn’t often paired with “seductive,” but don’t tell that to Phoenix-based electro-rock trio Access Zero. The band’s music is hot-blooded and aggressive, not the brittle, dweeby synth-pop typically associated with the instrument. When the band performed live at Fetish Ball a couple of years ago at The…
Atención, long-lost singer/songwriter types: If you’re looking to make a big comeback, having a mythical backstory, two stone-cold classic LPs in the can, and a blockbuster documentary goes a long way. Such is the case with Sixto Rodriguez, whose rise from dusty-fingered crate digger obscurity to a star has been…
Local low-power alternative station KWSS has announced that it’s moving to a new home on the FM dial, shifting from 106.7 to 93.9 on Sunday, March 10. Home to shows like TMI (which I call into once a week to discuss music news and play selections), Mostly Vinyl with Johnny…
Terror @ The Underground|2/12/13 H2O and Terror are in the midst of a co-headlining tour that made its way to The Underground last night, until H2O canceled the show a few hours before doors opened. We reached out to Mantooth and Bridge Nine records to find out why H2O canceled…
Mesa’s reggae/punk outfit Authority Zero has come a long way over the course of its nearly two-decade career. The band quickly moved up from intimate (often free) local shows to playing Warped Tour and, eventually, touring the world. Authority Zero is now a household name in the local scene, an…
The Scottsdale nightlife crowd is a die-hard bunch indeed, fully dedicated to going wild out at their favorite after-dark emporiums of alcoholic fun no matter what weekend it happens to be, or whatever the weather’s like outside. The Old Town entertainment district’s raucous repast of bars and clubs are abuzz…
Eric Bibb and Habib Koité @ Musical Instrument Museum|2/11/13The distance between Memphis, Tennessee, and Bamako, Mali, West Africa, is geographically large, but last night that distance in musical terms was no more than the three feet separating Eric Bibb and Habib Koité on the Musical Instrument Museum stage…
Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls’ Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to help you stop…
It’s hard to break down what OM is not because it is so complex, but because it is so simple. Music journalists are absorbed by terminology and context. We see a band like OM featuring the bass player (and, in a sense, the heartbeat) of Sleep, Al Cisneros, and immediately…
Nobody ever said being a local band was easy. If they have, they’re full of shit. Though Peoria-bred roots-rock quartet The Cold Desert is fairly new to the game, its outlook on being a local band is realistic, knowing firsthand that the Phoenix music scene is hard to tap into…
The Grammys are a huge night for music fans. While we tend to shake our head and wonder how some of these artists won (ie. “Album of the Year”), it’s entertaining to watch the live performances and keep fingers crossed for our favorite artists. fun. won big last night, sweeping…
Once a week, 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…
I wasn’t raised on Anthrax or Zeppelin, or anything between in regards to the heavy metal alphabet. No, the soundtrack of my youth was classical music. I competed in classical piano competitions for the better part of a decade, and Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart…
Blues Control duo guitarist Russ Waterhouse and pianist Lea Cho travel the spaceways of indie rock on an undulating platform of psychedelia, electronic, jazz, prog, and new age conventions. The combined result is music that flows from blissful quiet to hypnotically droning to feedback-drenched loud, with any number of random…
When writing about Things As They Are, the debut LP by Tucson psychedelic outfit Saint Maybe, for my 10 Best Things I Heard in 2012 column, I noted the album’s sprawling, wide-open desert quality: “[It] sounds like the space between Phoenix and the Old Pueblo. It feels like a late-night…
For every up there’s a down. It’s like reading the awesome news that Elton John plays on the new Queens of the Stone Age record the same day you read Christina Applegate is leaving NBC’s Up All Night.. Bummer! So here’s the bad news: It’s Monday, which is the worst…
UPDATE: The band also took home the award for “Best New Artist.” So maybe LL Cool J’s joke about “always getting back together” following Taylor Swift’s performance of “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” fell a little flat, and maybe the Gotye win for Best Alternative felt a little…
Steve Aoki @ Axis Radius|2/9/13If you don’t believe in Jesus, alright, but Asian Jesus is real. Steve Aoki, record producer, DJ, and founder Dim Mak Records, graced Scottsdale’s Axis/Radius with his presence last night, spreading his music to all and making one amazing mission trip to land more followers and…
New Times’ Carnaval Eléctrico at Crescent Ballroom has locked in its lineup: DJ Seduce, Sir Sly, and singer/songwriter Sareena Dominguez will join national headliners Cold War Kids, Hanni El Khatib, In the Valley Below, and locals Mergence, Wooden Indian, Diners, and Stan Devereaux & The Funky Suns on Friday, March…
