No Longer Together(Self-released)Grade: DWell, it was a bumpy start to my first go around with You Asked For It. The transition into my second week was somewhat better, but not by much. Case in point: Scottsdale’s No Longer Together, a spunky little three-piece that won Alice Cooper’s “Proof is in…
Here’s our second installment of The Grand Tour, a regular feature where PHXmusic.com takes you inside practice spaces, tour vans and seedy apartments occupied by Phoenix-area bands. This week we give you a look inside Source Victoria’s rehearsal space & recording studio. If you’d like your band featured, tweet @PHXmusicdotcom. …
Sure, Valentine’s Day is a great holiday for some–looking at you, ooey-gooey couples who can’t seem to keep their hands off each other. But for others, Cupid is more of a devil than an angel, only shooting arrows at a select few who get to act all romantic this lovers’…
Dave Mason hasn’t had the illustrious solo career of former Traffic band-mate Steve Winwood. No platinum-selling albums, no Grammys, no sold-out shows with Clapton at the Garden. But as American-sounding, 60-something British blues-rockers go, he’s a distinctly cooler cat. After penning Traffic’s best-known song, “Feelin’ Alright,” in the late ’60s,…
Life’s been pretty sweet for DJ Tranzit lately, and here’s why: The 29-year-old’s collaborative EP with DJ Dooz (Nothing but a Dancer) recently dropped on German EDM label 12.inch.recordings, his release party at the Crown Room last week was attended by more than a hundred, and he’s been booked as…
It’s a trip how things come full circle. You see, on February 7, 1999, the modest red-brick building at Roosevelt and Fourth streets, formerly known as Metropophobobia, celebrated its grand opening as Modified Arts with a sold-out performance by the Chicago Underground Duo. Nearly 11 years to the day, the…
If the word “loser” actually means “killer Americana musician,” then “The Losers Ball” may actually have an accurate title. Probably, though, it’s supposed to be ironic. The lineup for the third-annual night will feature Exene Cervenka, frontwoman of legendary L.A. punk band X, who just last year released a solo…
Since the acoustic form has become cliché, it has become more and more difficult to find those who are truly good at their craft. The soothing sounds of Southwestern-style folk/country have, indeed, become popular, even east of the Rockies, and the Acoustic Brotherhood Tour features three of the biggest names…
In the beginning, Philadelphia native Garrett “G. Love” Dutton — hitting the national music scene like a fourth Beastie Boy crossed with splashes of Beck and Bob Dylan — created the song “Cold Beverage” with his two-man backing band, Special Sauce. The year was 1994, the shambling song came from…
He may be a star now, but back in the day, Andrew McMahon had to haul his piano into the basement of the former Nile Theater in Mesa just like the rest of them. “I’ve definitely got a lot of good memories from Phoenix,” McMahon says, remembering the Valley as…
Generally, the thought of a “night out” on Mill Avenue gives us a sickening feeling normally reserved for positive lab test results or finding half of a roach in our food, but after checking out Sucker Punch Sally’s bar/diner on Friday night, we’re thrilled to have found a new douche-free…
The last few weeks our “What’s Selling” column has focused on record stores in Tempe. But take just a few steps west and kids sure are buying different albums. Even though the ever-trendy Vampire Weekend makes the top 3, Lil Wayne comes out first, and indie rock and hip hop…
Borders, Battles & Beers(Self-released)GRADE: D+Note: Michael Lopez is taking over our long-running You Asked For It review column.Music is a medium that comes to a particular person through inspiration. It is also a medium that inspires others to be creative and to perhaps make their own music. Sometimes a historical…
Okay, this flier for Andrew Jackson Jihad at the Rogue Bar is a little disturbing (aren’t black birds supposed to be bad luck?), but it’s still fun since THERE’S A BIRD WEARING A CORSET! Seriously, how often do you see birds wearing corsets?! Not that often, my friend, and what better…
Few of us get creamed by a speeding 18-wheeler and live to tell about it. Even fewer of us take that near-death experience and use it to fuel our signature brand of devilish lo-fi blues-punk. But, hey, that’s Scott H. Biram for you — a down ‘n’ dirty East Texan…
Denver-based synth-buddies David Schmitt and Kyle Even are very young, very tattooed, and very loud. Their brand of buzzing, densely layered electronica is sometimes classified as screamo — which in this case means it sounds like someone took a death-metal band, replaced their guitars with Korg X50 synthesizers, and let…
While it’s practically impossible for a white dude with an acoustic guitar and harmonica to achieve anything genuinely surprising, it’s nearly as difficult for such an artist to achieve anything approaching genuine. Joe Pug’s “I Do My Father’s Drugs,” from his excellent 2008 Nation of Heat EP, is one of…
The best cover songs are born when an artist takes a song written by someone else and not only performs it, but fundamentally changes it, imbues it with something new, and alters the song’s DNA in a way that claims the song and makes it their own. Think of Cat…
Tom Reardon is been a guitar-beating, band-organizing, lyric-spitting juggernaut who’s been a major figure in Phoenix’s rock scene for more than 15 years. In addition to his lengthy involvement with on-again/off-again noise-rock act Hillbilly Devilspeak and the defunct joke-punk band Pinky Tuscadero’s White Knuckle AssFuck, the bespectacled 40-year-old has also…
Is electro waning in popularity in the Valley? One might think so, given the fact that some of the more popular electro nights, such as Gosh Damn and Party Foul, have blinked out of existence over the past six months. But that hasn’t stopped the promoters of this weekend’s ElectroSelf…
Welcome to The Grand Tour, a regular feature where PHXmusic.com takes you inside practice spaces, tour vans and seedy apartments occupied by Phoenix-area bands. This week we give you a look inside the glamorous rehearsal space of Gospel Claws.Smells Like: Cigar smoke. The boys were puffing away the whole time…
Martin Cizmar’s review of the sold-out Phoenix show Monday night has raised some eyebrows, making a few good points about the current state of the French band. A lot of Martin’s opinions come from someone who isn’t the biggest fan of the band, and that is perfectly fine. I, on…
