In this week’s music feature, Martin Cizmar explores how the last ten years have taken Ma$e from a rap super star and Puffy’s right hand man to a passionate preacher man with his own flock in Phoenix and Atlanta. This got us thinking: who are the other big named musicians…
This unidentified westside cat, who’s apparently living large, was a previous target of Nik Richie’s scorn. Call me crazy, but has TheDirty.com gotten a little tired? Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had loads of fun gawking at ribald snapshots of Ed Hardy-clad scenesters or other human train wrecks that the…
The Phunk Junkeez announced on their MySpace page that they will release a new live album sometime this spring. The disc, a follow-up to 2007’s “Hydro Phonic,” will feature new and unreleased tracks from the local high-energy rap/rock band. The group recently posted “Come to Party,” a new track, on…
…and by that headline we mean Dear and the Headlights has been featured in a segment on NPR. Having completed their documentation of Liberal, Upper-Middle-Class Existence, every Saab driver’s favorite radio network has put up a podcast of the Tempe band’s “I’m Not Crying. You’re Not Crying, Are You?” Check…
Arizona may be prosecuting Lil Wayne on felony weapons and drug charges, but the popular rap artist has no qualms with picking Arizona to win the upcoming Super Bowl.In his ESPN blog today, Lil Wayne writes that the Cards are going to take the Steelers “by 14 to 17 points…
Last night was the Obama Staff Ball in Washington. While the stars of the night were the president and vice president, the entertainment was top-notch, Jay-Z and Arcade Fire. The ball was the final event in the weeklong celebration of the historic inauguration. It was a party for the thousands…
We recently ran across this list of the “Top Ten All-Time Arizona Musicians” from Arizona Premiere Living. Some of the choices are obvious: Meat Puppets, Jimmy Eat World, Jordin Sparks, Gin Blossoms, Alice Cooper, and Linda Ronstadt almost always make the “top” lists of Arizona musicians.
The lack of crossover between the Phoenix and Tucson scenes has always struck me as a little odd, not only because we’re out here in the desert together, without another decent-size city within a five hour’s drive of us, but because the music coming out of the scenes isn’t all…
It’s always tough to watch a band you admire jump the shark. Regardless, it’s pretty common to see bands make creative choices that forever remove them from the realm of the cool and send them hurtling on inescapable trajectories toward gimmicky stagnation or even downright mediocrity.Unlike Happy Days (or even…
Greeley Estates is scheduled to perform on Saturday at the Clubhouse Music Venue in Tempe. We’ve got some mighty big plans this upcoming weekend. On Friday, we’re gonna be stopping by the Marquee Theatre in Tempe to witness the return of SoCal metal-punk legends Snot, followed by a jaunt over…
Valley indie-rock buzz band Source Victoria (a Jim Adkins favorite!) and Gin Blossoms über-guitarist Scotty Johnson are mixing it up this weekend with gigs outside the box. Source Victoria will perform at Scottsdale’s Art One Gallery, 4120 N. Marshall Way. The show starts around 10 p.m. Cover is $5. Proceeds go…
For someone like me, who is an Arizona Cardinals season ticket holder, this season has far exceeding any expectations I had for the team heading into September. Not to toot my horn or anything, but after watching the Cardinals dismantle the playoff-caliber Miami Dolphins in the home opener, I said…
So, last night, American Idol took its tone-deaf dog-and-pony show to Louisville, Kentucky. But, really, does it matter where we were? Louisville was the same as Phoenix, which was the same as San Francisco, which we all know is going to be just like Tuesday’s show in Jacksonville. There’s the horrible…
Surf rock? Garage Rock? Cocktails? Sounds like the recipe for a cool Saturday night to me! The Ruby Room hosts four bands from the two genres Saturday, including The Surfside IV, who get their name on the drum kit in the poster, The Rebel Set, and Thee Jaguar Sharks of…
Pazz and Jop, the annual Village Voice poll of music critics, is out. Conducted since 1971, the poll is the original metacritic, aggregating music writer’s annual best of lists in to one mega list. Unsurprisingly, TV on the Radio won the number one spot, as it did in all the…
Arizona hip-hop acts Cousins of the Wize and Golden Tung will reunite to play a show at Chaser’s, 8005 E. Roosevelt, on Friday, February 20. The two bands collaborated last year to record “We Do This Together,” a song that is often played at Arizona Cardinals games. Cover is $7,…
Could you imagine this photo in the paper, beside my column on pastor Mason Betha, a.k.a. the rapper Ma$e? Neither could I. And not just because my name is spelled wrong.So this might be a little inside baseball for some readers, but I thought I’d share it anyway, because it’s…
THURSDAY 22 Bunkhouse: DJ Doom (dance) Club Red: The Blunt Club with Pickster Uno, DJ Element, Emerg McVay, & more (hip-hop) J-Heads: Thursday Night Artist Spotlight with DJ Kavi, & guests (hip-hop) Margarita Rocks: DJ Mr. Eaton (Top 40) FRIDAY 23 ACME: DJ Design (rock, electro, Top 40, mash-ups) Axis/Radius: Back…
It hardly needs to be stated, but Willie Nelson is an American original — a legendary songwriter, tireless performer (at 75, he continues to tour relentlessly), fine actor, committed activist, and all-around cool dude. Over the course of his celebrated five-decade career, the country music troubadour has been quite the…
Lil Wayne is scheduled to bring his “I Am Music” tour to Phoenix this week, but be warned before you drop $35 to $75 on a ticket. While New Orleans native Dwayne Carter Jr. had the best year of his career in 2008, he has repeatedly wasted fans’ time when…
On the title track of Cattle Decapitation’s 2004 album Humanure, vocalist Travis Ryan growls the line “Here’s to your health.” But don’t get the wrong impression, as he isn’t exactly trying to foster a warm and fuzzy feeling. In the same song, he invites the listener to “defecate upon the…
The last time you saw Mason Betha, he was probably in a shiny suit, holding a handful of money, with Puff Daddy dancing behind him. That was 10 years ago, when Mason was Ma$e, Puffy’s protégé following the assassination of The Notorious B.I.G. Back then, Mason was bemoaning the adverse…
