Wait, is this a joke? That’s an understandable reaction when encountering the clobbering metal riffs of The Sword, and it’s not the only time in recent years a new hard rock/metal act has elicited such a response. In the semi-proud tradition of Andrew W.K. and Wolfmother, this Austin quartet is…
This young, Dutch-born saxophonist has a long history as a sidewoman, performing alongside Dave Stewart (with whom she recorded “Lily Was Here,” a hit she often performs live), Prince, Aretha Franklin, and many others since her late teens. As a bandleader, she brings influences from funk, Latin music, and other…
Florida quintet Yellowcard broke big on 2003’s Ocean Avenue. Songs like “Way Away” and “Only One” kept the band on the radio, in video games, and on awards-show stages for more than a year. You couldn’t escape Yellowcard. The group recorded a follow-up, Lights and Sounds. Then, singer Ryan Key’s…
Try as you might, there’s no knocking Jay-Z’s hustle. So what if he’s no longer president of Def Jam? So what if he’s mostly irrelevant? So what if there are more literate, talented, and entertaining rappers dropping science out there? Unfading swagger, shameless self-mythologizing, and a willingness to pimp goods…
Noise is a relative concept — for many, it is what interferes with what we’d prefer to hear. For others, noise is a means to an end, a catharsis, or an inverse of what’s known as “harmony.” The Who, Velvet Underground, and the Beatles pioneered the inspired use of noise…
Picture some of the most in-demand NYC-based musicians with a bent toward jazz forming a band. Now, imagine that the group stays together for more than a decade without rotating guest musicians (not atypical for, say, a rock outfit, but quite unusual in jazz). Think of how awesome the music…
In their chart-topping single “You! Me! Dancing!” the indie Britpoppers of Los Campesinos! describe how a raucous club night in their native Wales is filled with much dancing and debauchery, singing, “The beats, yeah, they were coming out the speakers/And were winding up straight in your sneakers.” And from what…
Aside from the fact that many of the Derby Dames physically resemble Wendy O. Williams, the late Mohawk-sporting, scantily clad singer of the Plasmatics, derby girls also share a love of extreme adventure with Williams, who performed all her own stunts, from jumping off the top of a moving school…
Fall Out Boy fans who attended the band’s performance at Cricket Pavilion in Phoenix last June will want to check out the band’s new live DVD, Live in Phoenix (released April 1 on Island). The DVD includes several pan-outs on the crowd and a few close-ups, too, so if you had seats in the pavilion, you might very well have a cameo in the show. The concert, part of FOB’s 2007 Honda Civic Tour, includes songs from all three of the band’s albums, including “Saturday,” “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s An Arms Race,” “Dance, Dance,” and “Me & You.” The disc also contains eight Fall Out Boy music videos (in chronological order), the making of “Me & You,” and backstage footage.
Cherry Bomb!’s April Pre-Pride party at the Rogue on Thursday, April 3rd.
There is something eerie about people intently staring at a DJ play his set. Records are meant to be spun in high booths at dark clubs where DJ’s can feel free to shuffle through their stack of vinyl and stammer the beat, without looking terribly interesting.
Believe it or not, there are a handful of excellent indie record labels in the great state of Arizona, boasting rosters with some of our finest local artists and some hot underground national acts, as well. This week, we’d like to give a shout-out to Funzalo Records.
“You’ve got an interesting package in there,” our editorial assistant tells me, as I scoop up my usual daily stack of mailings. She tells me the receptionist actually opened it before they put it in my box to make sure the package was “okay.”
As soon as I see the return address on the package, I understand: this is from Marshall “Fucking” Beck, vocalist for local metal band Rebirth, Bo Bice look-alike, and a supercilious shit-slinger at New Times who’s often accused us of not covering enough of the local metal scene.
A batch of bad-ass shows were just announced this week. Read on for the news.
One reason I wanted to see a live performance featuring Joss Stone – the white girl who sounds like a black soul singer (what does that lame stereotype written by critics even mean?) – was to see if she was legit.
Kudos to any band that incorporates go-go dancers in its stage show. In addition to punky/pretty bass player Frankie Stein, Tucson psychobilly group The Mission Creeps also have two go-go dancers, both with sexy espionage names like Katarina and Oksana. But seeing a Mission Creeps show isn’t just about the eye candy – this quartet oozes out reverb-heavy, slinky music in the fine tradition of “horror-surf” bands like The Cramps and the HorrorPops, creating a creepy, ambient vibe that would make the band’s songs at home on any Quinten Tarantino or neo-noir film soundtrack.
Let’s dispense with the written description and let you listen for yourself. Ya dig?
Mill Avenue saw its fair share of action over the weekend with the Tempe Arts Festival and the Tempe Music Festival at the lake. But we decided to see what kind of crew rolled in after all the main events were over. So we headed down to Mill Avenue Cue…
THURSDAY 3 Axis/Radius: Divine Ladies Night (Top 40, dance) Blooze Bar: DJ El Dedo (rockabilly) Bunkhouse: DJ Doom (dance) Casey Jones: Da Gutter Thursdays with DJ Soulman (hip-hop, Top 40) Cherry Lounge: DJ M2 (rock, ’80s, old school, hip-hop) Club Red: The Blunt Club with Pickster Uno, DJ Element, Emerg McVay, & guests (hip-hop, breaks) Crown…
“Let’s get fucked-up! It’s Wednesday!” This piece of midweek advice comes courtesy of Corey Gloden, lead singer of Strange Young Things, who are playing at The Loft in Tempe. I’m kicking back at the bi-level club’s copper bar with my friend Whoopi Pupi, watching the local rock group perform. Gloden’s…
It’s days before the first date of what’s being billed as the last tour ever for industrial-metal pioneers Ministry, and frontman Al Jourgensen is determined to convince naysayers that the band’s days are truly numbered. “I’m not one of these comeback people that does farewell tours that are, like, three…
Local singer/guitarist Brian Chartrand has his fingers in lots of stuff — he plays in local jam band Ten Dollar Outfit, and he’s also a member of Phoenix group RGB. But more than anything, Chartrand has his fingers in heavy-handed acoustic guitar plucking, especially on his solo EP, Sleeping With…
