So maybe this is the year of the celebrity death, but 2007 had its share. That year, all sorts of heavy-hitting jazz musicians crossed to the other side, including Alice Coltrane, Max Roach, Michael Brecker, Oscar Peterson, and Joe Zawinul. The past two years haven’t been immune either (Freddie Hubbard,…
Somewhere along the line, Apple Computer Inc. started hiring staffers with a knack for searching out perfect pop songs. These employees have an acute sense for picking catchy, pop-driven songs to pimp their lines of iPods. More often than not, Apple catches lightning in a bottle with the songs and…
If you’re a rock band that hails from pretty much anywhere in New Jersey, perhaps the greatest honor that could be bestowed upon you — more than a Grammy or induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — is for Bruce Springsteen to play with you onstage. It…
They were among the first punks to go Americana. Like The Blasters dipped in acid and sun-baked by the Arizona heat, The Meat Puppets play cosmic country and blues, ranging from ambling, psych-singed instrumentals to effervescing folk jangle, led by Curt Kirkwood’s warbling baritone. While their first album primarily favored…
When Bill Murray made glorious lounge-mockery of the Star Wars theme on Saturday Night Live all those years ago, little did he know that the bit would inspire, if not one of the great all-time music acts, then one of the great all-time music shticks. Led by Sinatra-soundalike Richard Cheese…
If yesterday’s blog comments about the mayhem on Roosevelt Row are any indication, folks are looking for a quieter place to view art on First Friday.Of course, there’s always Grand Avenue. But this past Friday, we checked out a brand spankin’ new art walk at Heritage Square Park. We rolled…
OK, we’re going to admit right off this week’s best poster was not determined by art alone. Truth be told, for a show by our good friend Psyko Steve, who usually does some great stuff, this Kinch flier is a little disappointing.Fact is, we know the flier isn’t super fancy…
Not to get all up in your grill, William Safire-style, but there’s a real etymological crisis going with the word “keening.” It’s a noun that means “a wailing lament,” or the act of creating same, but many journalists — especially arts critics and the like — choose to brandish it…
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Phoenix surf-rock trio Thee Jaguar Sharks should change their name, like, yesterday. You can dick with the definitive article all you want — it doesn’t mitigate the fact that there are at least three other working American bands named after the…
Since Nickelback-bashing has become almost as clichéd as the band’s music, I decided to take a different approach. I registered at the band’s official message board, nickelbackforum.com, and asked some of Nickelback’s biggest fans why, exactly, they like Nickelback. Here are some of the replies: Russell, board moderator: “By incorporating…
It never hurts to have friends in high places — just ask The Thermals. The Portland, Oregon-based band got a career boost when Death Cab for Cutie lead singer Ben Gibbard got hold of their self-produced debut album, More Parts Per Million, and subsequently passed it along to Sub Pop…
Singer/songwriter John Vesely will bring more than his smoldering emo-boy looks to the Marquee Theatre this weekend. Vesely will be in Tempe with Secondhand Serenade, his acoustic pop-rock solo act, as part of his “Fast Times at Secondhand High” tour. We can’t help but wonder whether the tour’s moniker will…
When it comes to breakbeats, there’s no bigger fan of the EDM genre than DJ Louder. In fact, the 31-year-old spent most of the past decade sharing his love for pounding syncopated, polyrhythmic tracks at clubs and raves around the Valley, much as he’ll do this weekend during the Breakbeat Boutique…
Courtney Marie Andrews Painter’s Hands and a Seventh Son (River Jones Music Label) Grade: B+ Legend has it that Courtney Marie Andrews first tried her hand at songwriting when only 13 years old. Now 18, under the tutelage of River Jones and his music label Andrews has released two full-length…
Mondegreen is planning to take some time off of playing out to work on writign and recording a new record, but first they’re playing a show at what they’re calling “the only ‘cool’ bar in Scottsdale.” “No shiny shirts required!” they say.Now, we can disagree with Mondegreen on whether The…
Phoenix has been good to DJ Emile. Throughout a big chunk of the ’90s, the outspoken mixmaster amassed some hefty fame and fortune as one-third of the PHX’s notorious turntablism triumvirate, the Bombshelter DJs. Together with Z-Trip and Radar, the trio rocked many an underground party while working the wheels…
Upon hearing The Voodoo Organist for the first time, you can’t help but think, “Yup, that’s a voodoo organist, all right.” Unlike his colleagues in The Killers, Vampire Weekend, The New Pornographers, et al., lead singer and songwriter Scott Wexton is not one for ironic misnomers. Yes, Wexton’s preferred instrument…
With Ozzfest on hiatus this year as Ozzy Osbourne works on a new studio album, the summer festival circuit seemed ripe for a new entry in the heavy metal market. Unfortunately, the few festivals that have attempted to fill the void haven’t given fans much to get excited about. Last…
Writing about bands you like is easy. Writing about bands you hate is also easy and occasionally enjoyable, especially if it’s a band that everyone else seems to love. By contrast, coming up with 200 meaningful words about a band that no one cares about (including, apparently, the band itself)…
Bronx-based rapper Fat Joe is involved in a tense game of mudslinging due to his feud with the wife of deceased rapper Big Pun. The widow, Liza Rios, has alleged that Fat Joe failed to pay her family the royalties from the album released by her late husband Big Pun,…
Not too long into my first spin of Blood on the Dance Floor’s two full-length albums, Let’s Start a Riot and It’s Hard to Be a Diamond in a Rhinestone World, I have to admit I was feeling old. Because, seriously, when music frightens and confuses you, that’s probably the…
It’s sort of our job to attend any theme party in town so when we heard about the Sail Inn’s Toga Party, we figured it would be a slideshow-worthy night.And it was…if you’re into hippies and male nipples, that is (click here for the goods).The Tempe bar is tucked away…
