By David Thorpe While perusing Insane Clown Posse’s Twitter timeline, like a person does, I came across something interesting: Our favorite rap clowns announced a new update to their official smartphone app, which I didn’t even know existed. For the advancement of pop journalism and human knowledge in general, I…
For the pasty-faced, pleather-clad members of the Valley’s goth and industrial scene, 2013 already has been a year of tumult and turmoil. First, longtime venue Sanctum, which hosted freaky-deaky fetishistic adventures during numerous nights like TekNOIR and Black Mass for years, decided to kill off its dance events in late…
Since 2001, Claudio Sanchez — the huge-haired and highly conceptual frontman of prog-tinged emo outfit Coheed and Cambria — has devoted every moment to building an immersive science fiction storyline known as The Amory Wars. Thus far, the interplanetary narrative has spanned seven albums and a parallel series of comic…
Somewhere between Dwight Yoakam’s honky-tonking cover of Cheap Trick’s “I Want You to Want Me” and Terry Manning’s power-pop take on “Guess Things Happen That Way,” the Jack Clement-penned single made famous by Johnny Cash, lies Reckless Kelly’s “She Likes Money, He Likes Love.” The standout track from the Austin-via-Bend,…
Anberlin has never been the band to drop copious amounts of J-bombs in its songs, but the band’s music often has served as a musical metaphor for how people maintain their faith during troubled times. Anberlin’s latest, Vital, combines aggressive modern rock and New Wave beats with stories of people…
Victor Wooten loves his bass so much that he may as well have it welded to his body. Though that might prove awkward when getting on the bus or in an elevator, it virtually is the reality of his situation. For Wooten, who can rightly be considered one of today’s…
For the pasty-faced, pleather-clad members of the Valley’s goth and industrial scene, 2013 already has been a year of tumult and turmoil. First, longtime venue Sanctum, which hosted freaky-deaky fetishistic adventures during numerous nights like TekNOIR and Black Mass for years, decided to kill off its dance events in late…
Post-hardcore rockers The Used have been put through the wringer more than a couple times during the 12 years they’ve spent together as a band. It’s hard to imagine that even before the time spent addicted to drugs, label shifts, and the on-stage injuries, the members had already experienced homelessness,…
School of Rock’s name is a little deceptive–Jack Black doesn’t hang out at the Tempe bar and legendary guitarists aren’t on hand to teach ASU students how to rock. On Saturday nights, the bar is only “rock” in name, though being located above Fascinations is pretty bangin’ (pun intended). See…
“The blues was like that problem child that you may have had in the family. You was a little bit ashamed to let anybody see him, but you loved him. You just didn’t know how other people would take it.” –B.B. King “Metal confronts what we’d rather ignore. It celebrates…
A successful long-term musical career is a rarity in any genre, but what does it take to be truly acknowledged as an elder statesman in heavy metal? In most rock circles, any popular musician over 40 is usually handed some token of longevity for remaining relevant (meaning young people are…
PDP is not the newest designer drug or texting acronym. No, it’s the hip way to name-drop Poi Dog Pondering, the cross-cultural band that flirted briefly with mainstream success in the 1990s and has managed to stick around without it. Why? Because there are never enough party bands on tour…
Twenty-three-year-old songwriter Winston Yellen didn’t attempt to “pull a Bon Iver” when he rented a pre-Civil War home — formerly occupied by Johnny Cash and June Carter — in the woods outside Nashville and recorded his debut LP, Country Sleep. It just sort of happened. “I wasn’t really conscious of…
Kanye West may be today’s “lyrical mastermind genius,” but he was still learning his way around a book report when legendary lyricist Rakim and DJ Eric B began writing hip-hop history. The East Coast rap duo dropped their debut single, “Eric B. Is President,” way back in 1986 and set…
Valentine’s Day isn’t all red roses, sweet treats, and sweet nothings. For those who’ve had their hearts pile-driven into the ground or become jaded about the onslaught of flowers, candy, and romantic treacle, the Hallmark-like hullabaloo surrounding the holiday is pure torture. We suspect that Friday, February 15, is one…
Local low-power alternative station KWSS has announced that it’s moving to a new home on the FM dial, shifting from 106.7 to 93.9 on Sunday, March 10. Home to shows like TMI (which I call into once a week to discuss music news and play selections), Mostly Vinyl with Johnny…
The Scottsdale nightlife crowd is a die-hard bunch indeed, fully dedicated to going wild out at their favorite after-dark emporiums of alcoholic fun no matter what weekend it happens to be, or whatever the weather’s like outside. The Old Town entertainment district’s raucous repast of bars and clubs are abuzz…
The Grammys are a huge night for music fans. While we tend to shake our head and wonder how some of these artists won (ie. “Album of the Year”), it’s entertaining to watch the live performances and keep fingers crossed for our favorite artists. fun. won big last night, sweeping…
I wasn’t raised on Anthrax or Zeppelin, or anything between in regards to the heavy metal alphabet. No, the soundtrack of my youth was classical music. I competed in classical piano competitions for the better part of a decade, and Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart…
UPDATE: The band also took home the award for “Best New Artist.” So maybe LL Cool J’s joke about “always getting back together” following Taylor Swift’s performance of “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” fell a little flat, and maybe the Gotye win for Best Alternative felt a little…
Dear neighbors, I hate you. Your haircuts suck and your yard is ugly. To make matters worse, you called my landlord and then the cops on me because I was having a party you described as a “rave.”…
The night following Super Bowl is a weird time. A bunch of people are probably passed out at home, or on their new best friend’s floor. It’s not exactly a busy time for nightlife, believe it or not, a couple folks kept raging. Depending on who you were rooting for,…
