Artist: J.D. StooksTitle: ShutterbugBasics: The tidy, five-song EP from Phoenix native J.D. Stooks follows his solid 2008 album Women & Gold. Stooks is a rare beast as far as YAFI is concerned — he writes songs with some content, at least stuff I am actually interested in. On Women &…
Since forming in 1997 in Ocala, Florida, this self-identified Christian metalcore band has undergone a full personnel enema. First, guitarist Luke Morton — the guy who came up with the group’s name, no less — split on the eve of their debut album, Act of Depression (1999). Four years later,…
Despite what you may have heard, these wily New Orleans-based rockers did not name themselves after that singular feeling you get from French-kissing a horse. In fact, the name comes from a Sam Shepard-Patti Smith play from the 1970s, so maybe it has to do with French-kissing Patti Smith. Can’t…
A peculiar thing happens when artists taste success but don’t hit it really big: They transition from being the Next Big Thing to being a cult favorite. It’s then that comparisons to other semi-obscure but critically significant musicians roll in. There really should be a cap on comparisons to Bob…
If you have been waiting years to finally see the band that inspired Blink-182 and Fall Out Boy and a host of other emo/pop punk bands, your dreams are well within your grasp. Kansas City’s The Get Up Kids, forefathers of emo, that wonderful genre known and loved by millions,…
The Valley has been ringing in the New Year with a plethora of post-hardcore bands sweeping through the area. The latest to hit town is Escape the Fate. The Las Vegas group is kicking off Dead Masquerade, their first headlining tour, with dates in Tucson and Tempe. Escape the Fate…
The Asylum Street Spankers epitomize cheeky, hokey, pun-filled humor. The octet layers stringed instruments with intricate harmonies to create a backwoods sound. Then, it adds showmanship and humorous lyrics about getting loaded before breakfast and having a neighbor who fires up his leaf blower before dawn. (Oh, yeah, they also…
Don’t be alarmed if you hear the sound of irritated groaning emanating from the campuses of Arizona State University and other local institutions of higher learning this week, as it’s merely the collective grumblings of students returning to class for the spring semester. Southern rapper T-Pain will offer an ease…
Well, the official 2011 Coachella lineup hit the interwebz last night. A happy day indeed, even if Kings Of Leon are headlining Friday.Seriously, though, Kings of fucking Leon? Why not Drowning Pool?When you’ve got The Strokes playing Sunday why does anyone need to see a shitty imitation Friday?And are organizers…
Like the old saying goes: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Exemplifying this well-worn cliché axiom perfectly is the Vagabond Ballroom in Scottsdale. Back in Old Town’s old days, this dance shack as known as Anderson’s Fifth Estate and offered dark and heavy music notorious nights…
Title: Borrachos, Chingasos Y Rucas Basics: How about some good ol’ fashioned AZ punk, compliments of local quartet Numbers On Napkins. Lead by the prolific Chase Stain, Borrachos was produced by Joe Queer of, oddly enough, The Queers while being engineered by Landmine Marathon’s Ryan Butler. That’s a…
Nothing says “good times at the Trunk Space” quite like Pee Wee Herman and Snail Quail.Snail Quail’s singer and guitarist Jonathan Cisneros designed this week’s featured flier. He was shooting for something that would make people smile.”The concept behind the flier was to make it undeniably ‘Snail Quail-esque’ and simple,”…
Metal has probably produced more legitimate subgenres than any other branch of rock. Yet, for the most part, these offshoots have remained fairly true to the genre’s roots, especially visually: Grizzled, long-haired dudes in black leather playing brutal music. But then we have metalcore and bands such as We Came…
It’s hard to know what to make of Social Distortion’s over-30-year-cling to their signature sound. Take their new single, “Machine Gun Blues,” from their forthcoming album, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes: The three-minute ’30s gangster parable sounds exactly how you would expect the first single from a new Social Distortion…
The music scene in Phoenix, as much as we don’t like to admit it, isn’t perfect. It’s not that we don’t have enough bands making decent music — but one thing that has, in my opinion, always hampered some bands in Phoenix is that their records seem to lack a…
Someone in Concrete Blonde’s licensing camp really dropped the ball. 2010 saw the release of the 20th-anniversary edition of their seminal 1990 album, Bloodletting, described by the kind folks at Amazon as “a gothic tapestry of danger, vampires, alcoholism, and passion,” but I didn’t hear a single one of their…
Stuart Langelaan (a.k.a. Lange) commands some serious respect in the DJ world, and rightly so. Some of the 36-year-old British trance trickster’s accomplishments include ranking highly on the UK sales charts several times over the past decade (and earning an appearance on BBC’s Top of the Pops as a result),…
When the dreaded last call inevitably strikes in Scottsdale, the Old Town party crowd is confronted with a few of choices:A. Schlep on home and call it a night. B. Get some greasy-ass grub at Joe’s NY Pizza or elsewhere C. Pass out on the sidewalk D. Head to an…
NME’s deputy editor Luke Lewis published an interesting article about the future of digital music last week.Lewis made a list of 10 insightful music predictions regarding what the developments of digital music might entail in 2011, and I’ve got to hand it to him, he did a great job and…
Wanna see a badass show? Well you got it.In fact, the upcoming Monsters of Mock gig will be jam packed with 80s tribute band greatness.Bad Reputation, a local Joan Jett Tribute Band, is headlining. Joining Bad Reputation are the Ultimate Van Halen Tribute and 33.Erin Morley, Bad Reputation’s drummer, is…
Title: Guest HouseBasics: Pawl may refer to:•A common component of a ratchet •A part of the adjustable height locking mechanism of an extension ladder•A part of a table saw splitter, a safety mechanism designed to prevent kickback•Jazzed up cinematic pop from a fellow named Paul Krauss and his friends…
Last year was a big one for Greeley Estates, the best-known post-hardcore act to come out of our state. Almost exactly a year ago, the Greeley Estates released No Rain, No Rainbow, the band’s fifth album in six years. They charted on the Billboard Top 200, changed guitarists, and toured…
