“Little Dutch sailor boy” takes on an entirely new context when Harry Merry takes the stage. The Holland-based, one-man band, dressed in full nautical regalia, puts on a bizarre freakout circus that’s both riveting and uncomfortable to watch. Goofball lyrics modulate from a high Pee Wee Herman-inspired timbre to Draculian…
Mixing Beth Orton’s electronic grooves, Lisa Germano’s eclecticism, and the smooth confessional tenor of Suzanne Vega, Birmingham, Alabama’s Maria Taylor has gained notoriety with her debut, 11:11, and her latest effort, Lynn Teeter Flower. Discovered by Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst and signed to his Saddle Creek label, Taylor fronted the…
Hate techno? Pablo Gomez sure doesn’t, and neither do his buds Joe Bear or Shane Silkey. In fact, the DJ trio (also known as AreFriendsElectrik?) partnered up with .anti_space’s Justin McBee to present ^UP, their weekly Saturday dance night in the upstairs lounge of Homme, 138 West Camelback, to showcase…
Thursday 29 Bikini Lounge: Scratchy Rekkid Night with DJ Shane Kennedy (various) Coconut Club: DJ Coolstylz (Top 40, dance, hip-hop) The Door: Pink Thursdays with DJ Astonish (hip-hop, Motown, Top 40) Dos Gringos – Tempe: DJ Steel (rock, ’80s, old school, hip-hop) Glam: Under the Underground with DJVIRGO (EBM, industrial,…
This week, Club Candids decided to skip the weekend debauchery because we had the opportunity to hang with some Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, March 21, at Axis/Radius in Scottsdale, where everyone was celebrating Raja Bell’s new reality TV show, Beyond the Court. Before we even had our camera ready, we…
Seems that straight edge kids get a little sensitive when they’re being made fun of, judging from this video of west side death metal purveyors E.T.T.S. razzing the sober ones. Check it…..
Tonight promises to be a wild one at the Stray Cat’s weekly BANNED! in Tempe night, with both DJ Johnny Volume and wanna-be-startender Tyler King celebrating their birthdays at the punk rock DJ night (which I wrote about here, if you’re curious). Here’s the word from Mr. King’s computer on…
Hellas’ Pedals – Justin’s box Things have been a bit quiet here at Ear Infection HQ over the last few days thanks to a fractured and sprained wrist that’s been immobilized by an evil splint device which I’ve recently removed… There was some tomfoolery between brothers and instead of landing…
Pickster One In last week’s installment of my column Revolver in New Times, I issue a call to arms for DJ’s to kick out mix cds and hit me up with them, because I don’t see enough of that shit. Well, a few days ago when I was interviewing Brad…
I was all gung-ho about hitting up the free Army of Robots/Back Ted N-Ted/Loveblisters show in Flagstaff at the Monte Vista tonight until I saw a physician yesterday who told me that my wrist and tibia were fractured and splinted my entire right arm until I can see an ortho…
The Liar’s Handhsake, in a sober moment I told you last week about the marathon I was going to attempt with the Liar’s Handshake on St. Patrick’s Day – playing four different venues to four disparate crowds in the 24 hours that constitute the holiday. Since then I’ve been getting…
A few weeks ago, I helped judge the Ultra DJ Spinoff at Myst in Scottsdale. Six finalists had 25 minutes each to impress the judges (who also included DJs Pete “Supermix” Salaz, and Inertia, and the crowd), with the winner receiving an expenses-paid trip to Miami Beach for the Winter…
J.J. Grey, front man for country-fried funk ‘n’ soul band Mofro, comes from the Florida swamplands and a rich storytelling tradition. Hints of both seep into the songs on Mofro’s latest, Country Ghetto, which contains a few tracks originally penned for neo-blues diva Cassandra Wilson. We recently caught up with…
“I may be an ice queen, but I like it fucking hot,” Siouxsie Sioux says from the stage at London’s Royal Festival Hall, site of the Dreamshow concert DVD (Rhino). The disc was shot over the course of three shows in June 2004 and, in between continually bitching about the…
If you want to get rich during a gold rush, you don’t go digging for gold. The guaranteed money is in picks, axes, wheelbarrows, and the land deeds that surround the boom. Only rubes sweat out the risk in the hills. Well, there’s a gold rush going on right now…
British post-punks/pre-New Wavers Echo & The Bunnymen released Songs to Learn and Sing in 1985, and 10 of the tracks that made the first comp are included here, most notably hit singles like “Rescue,” “Do It Clean,” “The Cutter” and “The Killing Moon.” But this new collection contains 10 more…
Sharon Stone makes another movie, bands of the 1978-1982 epoch reunite, technology advances, trans-fats are banned — yet The Fall persevere, with Mark E. Smith the sole remaining founding member. Tart-tongued leader Smith still rants like he’s got the world’s number, though portions of Reformation find phone-it-in weariness creeping in…
Ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr knows a little something about dealing with strong-willed vocalists (ahem, Morrissey), so it’s no surprise that his contributions to the poppiest Modest Mouse record yet are solid. But it’s still a treat to hear how focused Isaac Brock and company are on the lushly arranged Ship,…
During its heyday in the ’70s, reggae powerhouse Trojan Records never released an album in the U.S., but Trojan imports were must-haves for every serious reggae collection. Although it’s not obvious in his work with Radiohead, Johnny Greenwood is a huge reggae fan, and he’s one of the few non-reggae…
Musicians working solo in the singer/songwriter category don’t have it easy — the label alone scares off a lot of listeners, thanks to a stigma of ceaseless sameness and average acts flooding the genre with acoustic guitars, granola warbling, and philosophical-hippie-shit-meets-posturing-confessional lyrics. And they lack the attention-grabbing power of a…
The kings and queen of raw, naked pain and quavering, sheltered emotionalism will bring their irresistibly precious brand of experimental indie pop to the Valley next Sunday. Songwriter Jamie Stewart, his cousin Caralee McElroy, and drummer Ches Smith come in advance of the April 10 release of Remixed & Covered,…
Listening to Angélique Kidjo’s forthcoming album, Dijn Dijn (Razor & Tie), is like attending a crash course in World Music 101. Her 11th full-length, scheduled for a May 1 release, is filled with familiar Western classical-inspired formulas — poppy hooks, radio-friendly durations, and a star-studded list of guest musicians from…
