Reviewers are supposed to be objective. By that standard, perhaps I’m not the best person to write about Thursday night’s St. Vincent show at the Rhythm Room. So, before you read on, in the interest of full disclosure, I’ll be honest with you: I’ve been a huge fan of Austin-based…
Welcome to “Nothing Not New,” a yearlong project in which New Times editorial operations manager Jay Bennett, a 40-year-old music fan and musician, will listen only to music released in 2010. Each Monday through Friday, he will listen to one new record (no best ofs, reissues, or concert recordings) and…
Here’s our second installment of The Grand Tour, a regular feature where PHXmusic.com takes you inside practice spaces, tour vans and seedy apartments occupied by Phoenix-area bands. This week we give you a look inside Source Victoria’s rehearsal space & recording studio. If you’d like your band featured, tweet @PHXmusicdotcom. …
Last night the Rhythm Room in Phoenix was packed with hipsters checking out indie pop artist St. Vincent, and they were quick to take to the interwebs to talk about what they thought of the show. Here’s what was being said (and check out our interview with Annie Clark here.)…
This week’s New Times music feature is a look at the slow death of Associated Distributors, and several really cool locally owned record stores. All I’d ever wanted to do was work in a record store. I’d begun collecting LPs in earnest during my freshman year in high school. I…
We are used to celebrities saying stupid things in interviews. Sometimes, we are even forgiving. I mean, it’s difficult for someone to be “on” all the time. And I imagine that for celebrities who are constantly scrutinized by the media, and talk to the cameras/recorders frequently, it’s hard to not…
Welcome to “Nothing Not New,” a yearlong project in which New Times editorial operations manager Jay Bennett, a 40-year-old music fan and musician, will listen only to music released in 2010. Each Monday through Friday, he will listen to one new record (no best ofs, reissues, or concert recordings) and…
There are a few speaker cables needing to be hung, and someone’s gotta make some minor adjustments to the soundboard. But other than that, The Underground is just about ready to go. The downtown Mesa music venue, which is located in the space formerly occupied by the Nile Basement, is…
Google’s vast stretch of the blogosphere is going silent. The search giant, who owns the popular Blogger service and blogspot.com domain has been destroying content from music bloggers deemed to be copyright infringes. Google has owned up to it on its Buzz blogger: “When we receive multiple DMCA complaints about…
Sure, Valentine’s Day is a great holiday for some–looking at you, ooey-gooey couples who can’t seem to keep their hands off each other. But for others, Cupid is more of a devil than an angel, only shooting arrows at a select few who get to act all romantic this lovers’…
It’s been almost two years since I profiled Digital Summer, and I’m still getting shit for it to this day. More times than I can count, certain local musicians or hip-hop artists have told me they think the West Valley hard rock band “really sucks” and asked why this publication…
Dave Mason hasn’t had the illustrious solo career of former Traffic band-mate Steve Winwood. No platinum-selling albums, no Grammys, no sold-out shows with Clapton at the Garden. But as American-sounding, 60-something British blues-rockers go, he’s a distinctly cooler cat. After penning Traffic’s best-known song, “Feelin’ Alright,” in the late ’60s,…
Singer-guitarist Annie Clark — better known by her nom de indie rock St. Vincent — returns to town on yet another tour behind her acclaimed second album, 2009’s Actor. We caught up with her via phone for a quick chat: New Times: So Actor has been out for a while…
Most bands go into immediate brain death when their lead singer fatally overdoses on heroin, cocaine, or any combination thereof. From Sublime to the Blues Brothers, the case history is extensive. Not Alice in Chains. It took 14 years, but the seminal Seattle grunge band is finally back with a…
THURSDAY 11 27th Avenue Bar: Ladies Night with DJ Moy, & DJ Jared Paul (Top 40, hip-hop, Latin) AZ88: Mr. P-Body & Friends (classic and old-school grooves) Bikini Lounge: DJ Shane Kennedy (jazz, blues, country, R&B, rarities) Bobby Q’s: All-Star Thursdays (hip-hop, Top 40) Bomberos: Rani G., dk.strickler, Deon Pearson,…
Life’s been pretty sweet for DJ Tranzit lately, and here’s why: The 29-year-old’s collaborative EP with DJ Dooz (Nothing but a Dancer) recently dropped on German EDM label 12.inch.recordings, his release party at the Crown Room last week was attended by more than a hundred, and he’s been booked as…
All I’d ever wanted to do was work in a record store. I’d begun collecting LPs in earnest during my freshman year in high school. I joined the Columbia Record Club (under the name ZaSu Pitts) and, by senior year, my collection was overtaking my tiny bedroom. My classmates had…
It’s a trip how things come full circle. You see, on February 7, 1999, the modest red-brick building at Roosevelt and Fourth streets, formerly known as Metropophobobia, celebrated its grand opening as Modified Arts with a sold-out performance by the Chicago Underground Duo. Nearly 11 years to the day, the…
If the word “loser” actually means “killer Americana musician,” then “The Losers Ball” may actually have an accurate title. Probably, though, it’s supposed to be ironic. The lineup for the third-annual night will feature Exene Cervenka, frontwoman of legendary L.A. punk band X, who just last year released a solo…
Since the acoustic form has become cliché, it has become more and more difficult to find those who are truly good at their craft. The soothing sounds of Southwestern-style folk/country have, indeed, become popular, even east of the Rockies, and the Acoustic Brotherhood Tour features three of the biggest names…
In the beginning, Philadelphia native Garrett “G. Love” Dutton — hitting the national music scene like a fourth Beastie Boy crossed with splashes of Beck and Bob Dylan — created the song “Cold Beverage” with his two-man backing band, Special Sauce. The year was 1994, the shambling song came from…
He may be a star now, but back in the day, Andrew McMahon had to haul his piano into the basement of the former Nile Theater in Mesa just like the rest of them. “I’ve definitely got a lot of good memories from Phoenix,” McMahon says, remembering the Valley as…
