Bob Ravenscroft’s latest, Intersections I, finds the accomplished pianist resting comfortably in what intimidates so many jazz cats: space. This modern-jazz album begins with “Dreams,” a 14-minute tune that sets the moody formula for the Ravenscroft originals and rests between the stretched-out grooves of Keith Jarrett’s famed trio and free-jazz…
You ever have one of those days that just drip self-loathing and want? Since the doc told me to quit drinking, I’ve had many days — and nights — when I realized, “Hey, I think I really fucked up my life.” Phoenix seems to breed many of those dreaded evenings,…
At the ripe old age of 19, Adam Panic (né Kootman) has accumulated quite a discography, starting with his impressive one-man pop debut, The Vamp, in 2002. Since then, he’s released two EPs, both produced by Phoenix engineer (and Breakup Society drummer) Bob Hoag. Hoag’s back onboard for Panic’s second…
When Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman left the Byrds to start the Flying Burrito Brothers, they caused a seismic shift in the worlds of country music and rock. Until the Burritos, California country was Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and the Bakersfield sound. The Burritos’ first album, The Gilded Palace of…
Chris Brown is well known to screaming teenagers, but he broke out to a wider audience at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards. There, he perfectly parroted the Gloved One’s Moonwalk, prompting Justin Timberlake to tell the world he felt old. That indicated the torch had officially been passed. Brown…
System of a Down is one of the trickiest bands these days for one reason: its willingness to let its freak flag fly. Artier and politically sharper than its hard-rock contemporaries, SoaD infuses its songs with dashes of wit, grandeur, and bombast. Singer Serj Tankian delivers each and every proclamation…
It’s an interesting time for soul music czar Stevie Wonder to be out and about on a rare U.S. tour. Because, aside from some concealed gems here and there — such as Anthony Hamilton and Amp Fiddler — soul music has been a stagnating beast for the past five years…
“Say it to my face, look me in the eyes and say what you have to say,” Toryn Green sings on Fuel’s latest album, Angels and Devils. This has to rank right up there with Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney’s staged spat on “The Girl Is Mine” for all-time least-convincing…
Where do you go when the cute wears off? Lee’s teenage band, Noise Addict, overflowed with precocious charm epitomized by his humorous ode to Evan Dando, “I Wish I Were Him.” It earned the Beastie Boys’ patronage, and the Aussie teen recorded two solo albums for Grand Royal, the latter…
After his departure from the Byrds in the mid-’60s, late Americana icon Gram Parsons envisioned “Cosmic American Music,” a savory stew of traditional country with flavors of rock ‘n’ roll, Southern soul/R&B, and gospel. Though some bands striving to follow in GP’s boot prints get the country-twang aspect, too many…
For a while, it seemed as if the only hip-hop action going on in the PHX was being put on by the superfly soldiers of The Blunt Club or our boy Al Page at the Hidden House. Thankfully, the dearth of dopeness has been remedied, thanks in part to the…
We need some Quaaludes. We can’t stop listening to Phoenix rock trio Psych 101’s Attachment Disorder, and it’s totally messing with our heads. All of its danceable dirges are giving us delusions: that Joy Division brought Ian Curtis back from the dead and made a reunion record, that the Moody…
It took us a couple of days before we dragged our bloated bellies out in public after stuffing ourselves on Thanksgiving. Instead of hitting a hotspot with expectations of beautiful faces and flat tummies, we decided to hit a casual favorite, Papago Brewing Company in Scottsdale, on Saturday, November 24…
San Francisco trio The Kim Philbys has guts — don’t they realize bands these days are supposed to be predictable, either melodious or arty-abrasive, not both? In this manner, they recall (yet don’t sound like) the Meat Puppets, who encompassed brutal sonic assaults, lysergic twang, and ZZ Top-like boogie. The…
Where is R&B going these days? That is the question posed by this Philadelphia newcomer, whose self-titled CD features guest appearances from Lupe Fiasco, Q-Tip, and Wyclef Jean. The first track that grabs the listener’s attention is the anti-racist anthem “It Don’t Make Any Difference To Me,” which contains some…
It’s hard to know when, or whether, the Australian one-man dance act known as Muscles is being serious. Live, ensconced behind a tower of keyboards and contraptions, he’ll yell to his hipster crowd, “This is my trance song! Do you all like trance?!” Before anyone can respond, he’ll launch into…
Music scribes can appreciate the smart-ass lyrics of Vampire Weekend’s über-groovy song “Oxford Comma,” wherein singer and guitarist Ezra Koenig quips and croons, “Who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma?/I’ve seen those English dramas too-oo/They’re crue-ool” against a bopping sonic backdrop that sounds like a ’70s bubblegum commercial. Music…
Much like free-jazz pianist Cecil Taylor, who pioneered an unapologetic sound birthed from classical training, San Francisco-based Thollem McDonas manages to perform solo piano in a unique, powerfully creative way. And, like those unappreciated cats who lived in shabby tenements in New York City during the 1960s, McDonas once put…
It’s not for nothing that this legendary Japanese four-piece, which is largely ignored in its home country, gets greeted with hysterical, slack-jawed enthusiasm by its American and European fans when it tours every two or three years. Melt-Banana gets tagged as noise, punk, hardcore, indie rock, metal, no wave, art…
While Nashville’s Will Hoge may lack the smooth soul grooves of the John Mayer Trio or the witty charm of Ben Lee’s pop rock, Hoge’s soulful voice and introspective lyrics will appeal to many of the same adult-alternative fans. To be certain, there is a level of blue-eyed soul reminiscent…
This Minneapolis duo has been a team since their teens, when DJ Abilities left home, and Eyedea’s mom put him up in their basement, where their partnership flourished. Eyedea began competing in battle rap competitions, taking top honors in the ’99 Scribble Jam before he was 18, and winning the…
The dance floor funkheads behind Outside World Entertainment are always busy cooking up some kinda PLUR-heavy throwdowns for rave fans here in the PHX, whether it’s a shindig like Acid Reign, Diablo, or the annual Philter spectacular. Now you can add another EDM event to the pile, as they’re gearing…
