You’ve heard of post-punk, post-hardcore, post-grunge, and, perhaps, postpartum industrial pop-folk. But are you familiar with the rock subgenre known, simply and asininely, as “post-rock”? The term has been applied to El Ten Eleven, the Los Angeles-based instrumental two-piece whose atmospheric, non-chorus-based sound murals generally unfold within the boundaries drawn…
There are not many things more morbid than a band called Bitter End releasing an album called Guilty As Charged. If the first mental pictures you get are of death row, then you’re not far off. Lyrics have always played an important role in punk rock, and this hardcore Texas-bred/New…
If you missed these exquisite Prince and the Revolution impersonators when they swung through town a year ago, well, here’s your chance to party like it’s 2010. Led by singer-guitarist/Prince doppleganger Jason Tenner, the Reign has shot to the top of America’s tribute-band food chain, scoring a gig on Late…
New York-born DJ/producer Eli Escobar probably has developed a serious case of burning ears by now, considering how many folks have praised the electro-house hustler’s kinetically charged remixes online during the past few years. Music bloggers across the globe have gushed about the glitchy and aurally enticing soundscapes he creates,…
While the rest of Scottsdale were welcoming the dawn of 2011 with block parties, bizarre bonanzas, and beer-soaked bashes, the folks over at the Rogue were spending their New Year’s Eve in a far more subdued fashion. That’s not to say the party wasn’t popping at the south Scottsdale dive,…
In the spirit of the new year, the New Times is feeling festive, so we’re featuring two fliers this week! Also, all of this week’s coolest fliers are coming from shows at the Rogue Bar.Personally, this flier caught my eye because it reminded me of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’…
Nothing says eye-catching, understated awesomeness like this flier does.Tommy Miller, frontman of the Sweet Repose, designed the flier, which he actually created with PowerPoint in order to keep the design simple.”I wanted to spell the band’s name in an upside down human pyramid,” Tommy said. “It ended up looking like…
Alter Bridge is essentially Creed without Scott Stapp, and if that doesn’t warrant use of the phrase “addition by subtraction,” nothing does. Following Creed’s breakup in 2003, guitarist Mark Tremonti and drummer Scott Phillips recruited onetime Creed bassist Bryan Marshall (who left the band in 2000) and vocalist Myles Kennedy…
Since the Fiesta Bowl Block Party began taking over downtown Tempe on New Year’s Eve, it’s either become the absolute best place to be or the one place you want to avoid — depending on the crowd you run with. Either way, music fans are curious to know who will…
Objectively speaking, is this eight-years-running New Year’s Eve party in Collagen City really the “ultimate”? Well, if your vision of “ultimate” has room for Rx Bandits and two skilled tribute bands, then, yes, it totally is. Born from the same SoCal ska-punk primordial ooze that yielded Sublime and Reel Big…
The classic blues pattern is not technically complicated. The devil is in the details, the nuance. Beginning guitar players often start out with a blues scale, a watered-down version of the American Songbook, and a play-along CD in the background. There’s nothing wrong with that — everyone’s gotta start somewhere…
The Valley’s nightlife landscape was as tumultuous and volatile as ever in 2010, as more than a dozen bars and clubs came and went over the past 12 months. But while heavy hitters such as Club Rain or Forbidden blinked out of existence, downtown Phoenix’s Bar Smith, 130 East Washington…
Sticky Fingers was fun as a “Motherf***ing Rock N Roll Dance Party” Friday nights at Rips Ales & Cocktails, but it’s become nothing short of pandemonius (for lack of an appropriate “real word”) since moving to Bar Smith and incorporating hip hop as well as various genres of electronic dance…
2010 sure was a fickle beast at times. A Kanye West album was top dog, a Canadian teenager ruled the world and a bunch of bands decided to boycott Arizona. But enough looking into the past, it’s time to look towards a fresh, new 2011. What better way to get…
As I was compiling my soon-to-be-revealed list of the Top 25 Albums of 2010, the toughest decision I faced was where, if anywhere, to place Girl Talk’s All Day on said list. It was certainly one of the most talked about releases of the year, what with Girl Talk creator…
Title: Hope In a State of DecayBasics: Chandler-based Tractor Pull Divas play — wait for it — country-tinged rock. Bet you didn’t see that coming! Nonetheless, theirs is a rock lighter on the country aspects and they have a lead singer who can hold his own. Also, whoever plays the…
What’s a nice way to give a show a classic holiday touch? Peep this flier.Anamieke Quinn, a folksy singer with a strong, spunky voice, designed the flier with a little inspiration from artist Gil Elvgren. “His girls tend to have a wholesome and pure yet sultry and playful allure, which…
Steve Aoki’s biggest accomplishment isn’t starting his own record label, Dim Mak, in his early 20s or working with artists like Drake, Bloc Party, Snoop Dogg, and Peaches. Nope, all that is simply an everyday existence for Aoki. It’s Aoki’s 2008 album, Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles, that really helped…
If the New Year’s Eve block parties in Tempe and Scottsdale strike you as — waaaaait for it — “lamestream” alternatives to true ring-out-the-old revelry, why not try a little punk? The pride of Mesa’s Westwood High will headline a five-band show on the year’s biggest party day, presumably executing…
Christmas Eve happens to fall on a Friday this year, which can be a blessing and a curse if you’re a club promoter. It’s the start of the weekend, which means most everyone’s in the mood to party; but it’s also Christmas-frickin’-Eve, which means most cats are gonna be with…
The 20-year history of metal mainstay Fear Factory features more bickering, backstabbing, and fickle side-switching than an entire season of Flavor of Love. Following the band’s poorly received Digimortal disc in 2001, founding guitarist Dino Cazares jumped ship — ostensibly because the album’s more radio-friendly sound offended his hardcoredness. No…
Something the owners of the soon-to-be-defunct Eastside Records in Tempe said in this week’s feature story has been bothering me all week:”And it got to the point in Tempe… that, yeah, we could stay open, but we would have to sell a bunch of shit we don’t like. None were…
