There were times when Sara Taylor felt like crying. The lead singer of the Canadian dark wave band The Birthday Massacre was overwhelmed by the level of intimacy she experienced with the donors to the band’s crowdfunding of its 2014 album, Superstition. Through Skype, Taylor (who is known as Chibi)…
“Hello you fucked up Phoenix maniacs that we’ve come to know and love! How are you?” bellowed Exodus vocalist Steve “Zetro” Souza, surveying the crowd clustered in front of the stage. He shaded his eyes from the harsh green lighting and squinted. I followed his gaze to the back of…
In the past year and a half, Phoenix rapper Bag of Tricks Cat has gone on national and international tours opening for nerdcore heavyweight Mega Ran, with whom he dropped a split EP. He also recruited Bazaar of platinum-selling hip-hop group D12 to appear on his track “Never Sober.” A…
Even after all rock singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge has accomplished as a legendary rock singer-songwriter, there are still music critics who claim her trademark raspy vocals can go from passionate to histrionic when she really gets going. Truth is when you have that much passion and belief in who you are,…
Looking for a memorable show to see over the next few nights? Consider any of the following eight options, which comprise our concert picks for this week. If you’re looking for even more live music in and around the Valley, be sure to check out our comprehensive Phoenix concert calendar…
Phoenix is truly rich with music festivals these days. Not just the enormous festivals with nationally known headliners and $116 tickets, either — Phoenix has music festivals dedicated to local artists, single-day, South by Southwest-like affairs, festivals for every major drinking holiday of the year, and even festivals that are…
Got any big plans for the weekend? There’s definitely a lot going on music-wise, including the final concerts of this year’s Arizona State Fair, the annual MIMFest at the Musical Instrument Museum, and all the live performances happening on street corners and inside gallery’s at tonight’s First Friday along Roosevelt…
“My name is Juan Manuel Chavez, better known as Bebi. I’m 19 and I play the cello.” Chavez is speaking Spanish in the trailer for Landfill Harmonic. He hoists his “cello,” a colorful instrument fashioned out of an oil drum and kitchen accessories salvaged from the Paraguayan landfill he grow…
Alan Parsons Live Project — the latest incarnation and live version of the Alan Parsons Project — announced today it will play Celebrity Theatre on Friday, March 25. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, November 13, at the Celebrity Theatre box office or website. “We’ve established the…
It seems as though there are only two seasons in the Valley — hot and not hot. And as you’re undoubtedly aware, particularly this week, we’re firmly in the midst of the latter. However, that only extends to the weather only, because we’re also in the midst of one of…
If there is one thing that Phoenix-based folk artist Daryl Scherrer knows about, it’s heartbreak. Whether performing his solo acoustic stuff as “The Voice Who Lost Its Man” or playing with either of his bands, The Blood Feud Family Singers and Monster May I, the central theme to any Daryl…
Around the back of Tempe’s Cartel Coffee Lab, just after 8 one night, the members of Chandler’s Draa sit in a perfectly lined formation along the farthest perimeter of the alley, looking like they just got shot down by their prom dates. That wouldn’t seem too farfetched considering the fact…
It’s hard not to think HEALTH is more mechanized than Kraftwerk ever could have dreamed. The Los Angeles quartet teethed itself on the abrasive thrash of New York noise rock bands but committed to harmonic balance with trademark melodic synth licks and singer Jake Duzsik’s distant, unaffected voice. With a…
The last band with pure exuberance and panache to hit the scene and remind everyone what rock and roll was about in the first place—raw edge and rebellion with a don’t give a shit attitude—was The Strokes. Now, The Struts invade the U.S., blending hard rock’s stomp, glam’s over the…
If Tool fans were upset by some of the statements Maynard James Keenan made in our cover story this week, they didn’t show it last weekend. Somewhere between 25,000 and 30,000 people packed into Tempe Beach Park Saturday night to hear Tool play its only concert of 2015. The fans ate…
Over the past century, no one musical style has entranced multiple cultures of fans quite like bossa nova. Influenced by the swing of American jazz and saunter of Brazilian Samba, the music has entranced fans worldwide with its seductive syncopation. And since the ground-swell of bossa nova began to take…
This week marked the 15-year anniversary of Linkin Park’s debut Hybrid Theory, which went on to sell more than 10 million records and changed the rap-rock game forever. Despite the record’s worldwide success, creating the record proved to be a challenge. New Times caught up with lead singer Chester Bennington…
People flee from the east coast to escape the gloomy seasons. Guitarist Cleo Tucker and bassist Harmony Tividad, the duo who make up the indie punk band Girlpool, left the perennially sunny streets of southern California to experience the unpredictable weather patterns of Philadelphia. It was a bold move when…
After we posted our story on Puscifer frontman and Arizona resident Maynard James Keenan Tuesday morning, it went viral. More than 20 blogs from all over the world, including, bizarrely, a K-pop website, wrote posts about a comment Keenan made, which many interpreted as disparaging Tool and its fans. In…
Actor Jeff Daniels is omnipresent right now, appearing in the sci-fi blockbuster The Martian as well as the biopic Steve Jobs. Dumb and Dumber To lingers in some second-run movie houses. When not fielding calls from his agent or conducting interviews about said films, Daniels can be found on stage…
Our story about the new Puscifer album took over the Internet yesterday, going so viral that yesterday evening it was trending on Facebook. While the story discusses Keenan’s relationship to wine, Puscifer, and Tool, many interpreted a comment he made about Tool fans to be inflammatory. “It’s lost. Insufferable people . …
The most legendary heavy metal band out there is coming to Phoenix next year. The band announced today that it would extend its 2016 tour into Phoenix. The tour finale is scheduled to take place on September 16 at Ak-Chin Pavilion. It’s not just the tour finale. If you believe…
