About 60 years ago, a place called the Wild West came into existence. This was a raw, exciting, savage land that sometimes came in black and white, sometimes in glorious Technicolor. It was a place as vast and open as a movie screen, as far away as a living-room television…
A van chugs into the parking lot. It is one of those mid-Eighties models with dark, vertical windows and frosted piping painted on the sides–the kind of van they made for happy American families on the go, but which you usually see driven by unkempt, deadbeat types, or by serial…
Those big, blue eyes sear out at you from the cover of the CD, smoldering, wicked and forgiving. The dirty-blond hair cascades below her rib cage, all tousled and just-woke-up. The lips, from the Mona Lisa school of innuendo, are a full stroke of red that say it all without…
Things are not looking good for Tony’s New Yorker Club. The Tempe nightspot has been on the critical list since last December, when owner Stuart Woltz filed for Chapter 11. “The ironic thing is, some of the things we’ve been doing in the last few months–like going to two stages–really…
It’s all set; the fix is in–I’m going to heaven for sure, and here’s why: Last week I went to see Rush, but know this–I hate Rush. Some label person had sent me two free tickets, so I figured, why not? Why not give prog-rock one more chance? I grabbed…
It’s not easy being a horse’s ass. It certainly hasn’t been easy for Miles Hunt. The lead singer and chief wise guy for England’s alterna-pop band the Wonder Stuff has developed quite a rsum as a snotty, grade-A jerk. “I pay no attention to it, really,” Hunt sniffs. “It’s just…
Across the street from a Valley golf course with winter-brown grass, behind a white wall that probably keeps in more than it keeps out, is the low-slung, spacious home of Curt Kirkwood. That’s Curt Kirkwood–father of twins, fearless interviewee, marijuana enthusiast, Meat Puppet. A pit bull is standing out by…
Writing this is not going to be easy. On the way down to the New Times command center this past, glorious Super Bowl Sunday, I drove through the drive-through at Omega Burger. Bacon cheeseburger, onion rings, soda; an American meal. Now here’s the ugly part: As I made my way…
You may think Bo Diddley’s rich. You may think Bo Diddley inhabits a Jaggeresque world of limos, laughs and luxury. You may think his membership in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame secures him universal credit for his contributions to the music. If you do, you’re wrong. “My life…
The rock n’ roll lifestyle didn’t drop from the sky with the appearance of the Rolling Stones, you know. Half a century of jazzmen and blues figures had already set the stage with their endless womanizing and love for needles, pills and bottles. And Stan Kenton, pianist, bandleader, eccentric genius,…
I ain’t fraid uh no ghosts, and I proved it a few days ago in Bisbee, where the lovely Bettie and I spent the night in a bed and breakfast called the Oliver House. That’s right, I’m gonna tell you about my weekend vacation. We’ll get to music later, don’t…
I ain’t fraid uh no ghosts, and I proved it a few days ago in Bisbee, where the lovely Bettie and I spent the night in a bed and breakfast called the Oliver House. That’s right, I’m gonna tell you about my weekend vacation. We’ll get to music later, don’t…
Hotel X A Random History of the Avant-Groove (SST) From the capital of the Confederacy comes a quartet of white boys named Hotel X, venturing forth into the realm of cool jazz that goes with late nights and cigarettes like braces go with crooked teeth. A Random History is a…
I ain’t fraid uh no ghosts, and I proved it a few days ago in Bisbee, where the lovely Bettie and I spent the night in a bed and breakfast called the Oliver House. That’s right, I’m gonna tell you about my weekend vacation. We’ll get to music later, don’t…
Hotel X A Random History of the Avant-Groove (SST) From the capital of the Confederacy comes a quartet of white boys named Hotel X, venturing forth into the realm of cool jazz that goes with late nights and cigarettes like braces go with crooked teeth. A Random History is a…
Hotel X A Random History of the Avant-Groove (SST) From the capital of the Confederacy comes a quartet of white boys named Hotel X, venturing forth into the realm of cool jazz that goes with late nights and cigarettes like braces go with crooked teeth. A Random History is a…
At last Thursday’s grand-opening gala, the Diamondback Theater in Scottsdale served up shrimp, lobster, prime rib, squid-ink pasta in an Alfredo sauce, teriyaki chicken, rivers of booze and Waylon Jennings, but these are things the Rules of Ethical Journalism prohibit me from indulging in. Like I would go out there…
It’s become a clich, how fake jazzers like Dave Grusin and the Rippingtons’ Russ Freeman gush endlessly over the merits of their weightless fare, preaching as though their lobotomized music will guarantee happiness for anyone turning an ear and a billfold in their direction. But fellow bloodless brother Bob James,…
Before he landed a major-label recording contract, before he filled his first dance hall, Rick Trevino flat-out knew he’d be playing in front of big crowds. He just wasn’t certain whether he’d be wearing a cowboy hat or a baseball uniform. While the 22-year-old Austinite eventually found the lot of…
Last Thursday, my telephone rang and on the other end was Yoko Ono. Some of you out there may be scoffing, maybe you don’t think that’s a big deal. Scoff all you want; she used to be married to my hero–Tony Cox. Only kidding! Mrs. Lennon was on the horn…
It starts in the parking lot. Drive in behind the wheel of something small, some damn Japanese car, and you feel like a fish out of water. But it’s more than that; you feel almost unpatriotic. The lot of Phoenix Civic Plaza is filled with four-wheel-drive monsters, many of which…
This is how an interview with Howe Gelb begins. Question: How are you doing? Gelb: (17 seconds of silence.) Q: Did I wake you up? Gelb: No. I thought you were talking. Then you just stopped. Q: I was. I said, ‘How are you doing?’ Gelb: Oh. You needed a…
