With hip-hop more mainstream and codified than ever, Gucci Mane represents a refreshing departure from the formulaic marketing and progressive emasculation of contemporary rap music. The Atlanta artist’s rhymes may suffer when it comes to depth, variety, intelligence, and delivery, yet his realness on and off the mic transcends his…
Once awash in blogosphere love, Cold War Kids have experienced a shift in buzz. The band’s third album, Mine Is Yours, was supposed to launch them into the big time, breaking them through the way Kings of Leon’s third album did for that band. Yet the record hasn’t quite taken,…
Bands whose names are also geographical locations: a tricky situation. More often than not, get ready to chart out a set list of lousiness. Chicago? Meh. Europe? No way. Asia, Boston, Kansas? No good. America? Okay, “A Horse with No Name” is good. Younger bands like Beirut and Defiance, Ohio,…
San Diegan DJ Scooter has built a reputation on the West Coast and beyond. His hometown consistently shows him love, like voting him San Diego’s best DJ four years in a row. Hey, what can he say? He’s a fun dude to have at a party. Always mixing up his…
On Thursday, August 25, Cue Bar celebrated their 16th birthday with a huge party. The bar’s signature long island iced teas and sexy clientele made it quite the sweet sixteen. Check out pictures in this week’s Club Candids slideshow…
Welcome to the first installment of our new weekly feature, Sound Off, where I will be joined by a different guest each week to listen to and discuss three tracks from local Phoenix artists. If you would like your songs to be considered for future Sound Off columns, please email…
It’s been awhile since we heard anything from New Yorkizonans Miniature Tigers, but yesterday they released a tune off their upcoming album, Mia Pharaoh.There’s no official word on a release date for the disc just yet, but if “Boomerang” is any indication, we might be hearing more from the Miniature…
Want to know what new release discs and platters are moving across the Valley at local record stores? We’ve got you covered with another installment of What’s Selling. Stinkweeds is an indie rock strong hold. Look no further than the list of the store’s best selling records for the week…
It’s tough to believe that locals Jimmy Eat World released what was perhaps their biggest hit, “Sweetness,” nearly a decade ago. But sure enough, Tokyo Police Club is here to remind us of just how much we’ve aged. As part of their “10 days, 10 covers, 10 years” project, the…
Just a few weeks ago, Beef Vegan of KWSS 106.7’s The Morning Infidelity asked New Times music editor Jason Woodbury when the Black Bottom Lighters should expect a write-up in our humble alt-weekly. While the band was sitting in the studio. Not that we’re feeling the pressure — the Glendale…
Jean Grae comes across as the kind of lyricist you don’t want to mess with. “You Don’t Like It (So What),” from her forthcoming album, Cake or Death, states it plainly: “I’m like Judy Bloom with uzis.” You wouldn’t expect DJ LES735 (a.k.a. Luis Sias), who will be spinning at…
Patrick Stump didn’t just lose three of his bandmates when he started his solo career. The former Fall Out Boy frontman also tossed out those signature hats and shed a bunch of weight, too, recasting himself as a svelte and sexy singer with a personal style that favors bow ties…
Even though Prince’s control-freak tendencies made him itch to play every instrument himself in his first band, Grand Central Corporation, friend and guitarist Morris Day swung his swanky balls around enough to earn a place in the little guy’s future collaborative royalty. Day’s song “Partyup” ended up on Prince’s genre-ravaging…
Of all the Rock and Roll Hall’s glaring omissions, it’s hard to beat the institution’s blind eye toward the “Wizard of Osmond” himself. When The Osmonds abandoned their barbershop quartet revival campaign and recorded “One Bad Apple,” a song that Motown had rejected for the Jackson 5, it ended the…
There’s a killer song by ’80s doom-metalheads Saint Vitus called “Born Too Late,” and the song’s subject fits Tempe-based roots-rock band The Smith Family Band well. The music of Derek and Ryan Smith doesn’t have anything to do with the sludgy guitars and crawling tempos of Saint Vitus, owing its…
With so many girls wearing bikini tops to raves, a lingerie-themed party was bound to happen. Jackson’s on 3rd hosted the fifth annual Lingerieve on Saturday, August 20 and did not disappoint. There were plenty of corsets, fishnet stockings, and glow sticks to go around. Check it out in this…
Want to know what new release discs and platters are moving across the Valley at local record stores? We’ve got you covered with another installment of What’s Selling. Looks like the students returning to nearby ASU have been hitting Zia Records in Tempe up for some dorm-rocking jams. Just about…
Want to see indie rockers The Globes, El Ten Eleven, and Sister Crayon for free on Tuesday, August 23, at The Rhythm Room? Up on the Sun has two tickets to give away to one lucky reader. Read on to hear a tune from each band, and details on how…
Since fist-pumping his way from his hometown of Miami to making Scottsdale his new scene of choice, Michael James has certainly been a busy dude. He regularly spreads his time between hitting the clubs in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and right here in the Valley, moving between Old Town’s Axis/Radius…
Music experts have long debated who exactly spawned that loud, angry beast that is heavy metal, but most everyone agrees that Led Zeppelin are the genre’s absentee forefathers. Yeah, go ahead and scrunch your nose, but it’s true in a way: Led Zeppelin, along with Black Sabbath and Deep Purple,…
Sir Sean Connery’s classic “We named the dog Indiana” line from 1989’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is one of the best in film history. It would seem Colorado-via-Phoenix songwriter Brent Cowles, who goes by You Me and Apollo when performing his freaky folk rock, took Indy’s dad’s lesson…
