Guitarist Scott Stearns is an astronaut of musical violence. He explores dark, ugly places that reek of sulfur, rotgut, and boiling sweat. His Necrodamus project is a reshuffling of a recent Fistula lineup. But where that band lurks in a sludgy punk-metal midground, Necrodamus alternately stalks both sides of the…
Get Off the Stage is Too $hort’s 17th album — not counting compilations and reissues — but it’s also the end of an era. It’s his last for Jive, the label he’s been associated with since 1988. “I’m a legend in the game,” he says on “Shittin’ on ‘Em,” adding,…
On the surface, a musical collaboration between two such seemingly polar opposite talents as Americana/bluegrass goddess Alison Krauss and shouting, yowling Robert Plant is mind-boggling. But under producer/bassist T-Bone Burnett’s direction, there’s no superstardom at play here, just a cadre of singularly talented people painting something novel, interesting, and completely…
For every quote, cliché, or saying, there is something or someone to disprove it. Dionne Warwick has disproved F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “no second acts in American lives” quip famously. With a voice both honeyed and dusky, Warwick was frontwoman for one of the greatest partnerships in pop history, Burt Bacharach…
The wave that this Texas-born singer/songwriter has ridden for the past few years isn’t bad, considering he’s someone who began seriously pursuing a professional career only after being fired (by his stepfather, who thought he needed a push) from his day job as a gas wholesaler. Green is unique because…
It’s too bad the days are gone when metal bands tried to make their album covers look all tough and sinister and ended up with borderline laughable results instead. After all, what metalhead of a certain age bracket doesn’t get all warm and fuzzy thinking about the cartoon-evil artwork for…
Gallows wield their instruments with such malevolence that it wouldn’t be surprising to discover they also use them to brain rodents in their flat. The U.K. quintet is heavily indebted to the brutal pulse of ’80s American hardcore acts like Black Flag and post-punk’s jagged guitar salvos, influences they share…
Crash Romeo work on their power chords as often as they work on their action-figure poses. Guitar-driven verses come with enough space to allow ax-slinger Steve Anderson the time to point to audience acolytes, with pick nestled between thumb and middle finger; the pauses before choruses are protracted, meaning vocalist…
Don’t know if you’re down with the latest 411, but Emerg McVay and the rest of the Blunt Club crew have ditched their longtime digs at Hollywood Alley in Mesa and set up their weekly hip-hop shop at a new location, namely Club Red, 2155 East University Drive in Tempe…
Better than:Being too cool to dance.
The Blue Man Group’s “How to Be a Megastar Tour 2.1” is like a mini pop-psychology lesson, embedded within an interactive, multi-media extravaganza. The premise behind the performance: a fledgling band of Blue Men order an instructional videotape titled The Rock Concert Instruction Manual that tells them how to be rock stars and give audiences a stellar concert experience.
If you’ve looked at the forums at Web site www.arizonabeats.com, you already know that my cover story on Phoenix hip-hop, “Raising Terrazona,” has ignited quite the firestorm of criticism from members of the local scene. For those who haven’t seen the forums yet, there’s a whole section titled “Arizona reacts to the New Times article ‘Raising Terrazona,’ wherein people in the forum level several complaints, including that the story was “racist,” that I tried to create tension that didn’t exist between two scenes, and that since I’m not a hardcore hip-hop fan, I had no business writing about the local hip-hop scene.
This week’s cover story on Phoenix hip-hop, “Raising Terrazona,” contains a scene where 5Fith Coast Records co-owner Roca Dolla and local artist Cinque exchanged words in the VIP room at The Door on Scottsdale Road. Since the story came out, I’ve received phone calls from both Roca Dolla and Cinque, who each want to clarify what really happened that night. The scene in question is below, followed by Roca Dolla and Cinque’s responses.
It’s about time they did something with that great big dirt lot on First Street and Roosevelt. For months, this prime location on the main drag of First Friday art walks was just another sidewalk stop filled with art and music booths. But on Friday, January 4, the area turned…
THURSDAY 10 Axis/Radius: Crystal Thursdays Ladies Night (Top 40, rock, dance) The Blooze Bar: DJ El Dedo (rockabilly) Bobby C’s: Willy B. (old-school R&B) Bunkhouse: DJ Doom (dance) Casey Jones Bar & Grill: Da Gutter Thursdays with DJ Soulman (hip-hop, Top 40) Club Red: The Blunt Club with DJ Swifrock, Pickster…
In high school, I quit guitar lessons after just six months. I have really tiny hands and got frustrated just making chords — plus, my teenage self thought it’d be more fun to date an ax master than to be one. Later, I decided that writing about rock bands was…
Mike Relm is single-handedly introducing turntablism to parts of middle America on his second stint with Blue Man Group, opening its current production, How to Be a Megastar Tour 2.1. With between 7,000 and 12,000 people at each show, it’s the San Franciscan’s biggest gig. He’s already a YouTube celebrity…
Overlooked amid the hoopla surrounding the recent Mitchell Report — former Senator George Mitchell’s investigation into the use of steroids and human growth hormone in Major League Baseball — was the release last month of the Quayle Report. The culmination of an eight-year, $77 million investigation headed by former Senator…
Whether it’s straight-ahead rock, burning jazz, or experimental electronic fusion, we can get behind any project involving pianist Jacob Koller, percussionist Corey Fogel, and bassist Andrew Jones. When the three decide to gig together, they become an unstoppable force. Though their debut studio release features substitute bassist Chris Finet (not…
For us, the name Black Carl evokes images of Carl Weathers from Predator wailing on the harmonica while Family Matters’ Carl Winslow, in full police regalia, belts out soulful tales of pain and hammers out blues notes on the guitar. While Tempe’s version of Black Carl may lack former celebrities,…
There’s one thing certain about Dick Taut and The Ripcords, a whatever-they-feel-like-playing ensemble with members culled from various parts of the Midwest: You never know what goofball lyrics will come out of the piehole of lead singer Dick Taut, a.k.a. Elijah Billington. The group’s latest release, with 15 tracks of…
In a recent interview, Wyclef Jean managed to sum up, in just a few words, the very thing fans both admire and abhor about the former Fugee. Bubbling over with understandable enthusiasm for Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant, the star-studded sequel (of sorts) to his 1997 solo debut,…
Guitarist Ben Chasny is the primary member of Six Organs of Admittance, a traditional indie-rock group with an ever-changing lineup. He’s pinned down a sound by blending his intricate guitar playing with Old World chimes, drones, and chanted vocals, and has created ethereal, peaceful tunes that bring about a Zen-like…
