Phoenix DJs to Commemorate J Dilla at Tempe Tavern

There is no doubt that rapping dominates hip-hop. No matter how good a beat is, for the casual hip-hop fan, the bars being spit over it will almost always be more important. Even a mega-producer like Kanye West didn’t ascend to superstar status until he released The College Dropout and…

Band That Started Rebel Lounge Fire: “We Will Continue Rocking!”

Three Bad Jacks, the band that started the fire at Rebel Lounge that triggered the venue’s sprinkler systems, posted about the incident on Facebook Monday evening.  The band called the Saturday night accident an “unfortunate situation.” Instagram user evilchavo posted a pair of videos that showed bandleader Elvis Suissa starting a…

Phoenix Chorale Wins Grammy for Best Choral Performance

Phoenix is a musical hotbed for a lot of things: there’s an amazing indie scene here, folk is stronger than ever, the heat had bred some insanely talented metal bands, but choral music’s prevalence is not high on the average concertgoer’s list. However, tonight marked the third time that Phoenix…

The 10 Best Thrash Metal Records of All Time

Speed metal or thrash metal? The consensus seems to be that the terms are interchangeable and probably not even applicable in 2016, although the term “thrash” metal doesn’t elicit the groans that “speed” metal does when experts on the subject are asked. In fact, this list of the best speed/thrash…

Tons of Old Mason Jar Memorabilia Hits the Auction Block

The Mason Jar holds a special place in the minds of longtime rock fans in the Valley. Now, you can take a piece of the now-defunct legendary music venue home with you. Auction Nation is hosting almost 200 lots of memorabilia from the Mason Jar, including everything from unused concert…

Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra Highlighted in NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest

Phoenix Afrobeat Orchesta produces some of the most cohesive, full-bodied, and smooth grooves in the Valley. This is known. Looks like the rest of the country is starting to find out. The organizers of NPR’s much-watched Tiny Desk Contest have chosen Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra as to compete against five other…

How MC/DC Recorded an EP in One Night of Creativity

As he puts down his instrument case, we ask Tempe musician Daniel Suber, better known as MC/DC, if there are a lot of punk trombonists. “Not that I know of,” he responds with a laugh. “Everybody is like, ‘Play in my jazz band,’ and I don’t know how to do…

Couples Fight Turns Lovers’ Quarrels Into Songs

Supposedly, there is a war on Christmas, and Thanksgiving might bring about your family’s dark, alcoholic side. But no holiday divides the nation quite as bitterly as Valentine’s Day. In the red corner, you have those who must reluctantly conjure up greeting-card-style devotion to their indifferent significant other. And in…

Phoenix Bands to Feel the Bern at Fundraiser at Rebel Lounge

For those who want to “feel the Bern” with a veritable who’s who of local talent, Saturday, February 6, will be everything you could want and a little bit more as Sacred Reich and friends have a little fundraiser for the Presidential candidate from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, at the Rebel…

Vee Tha Rula Trades a Life of Crime for Hip-Hop Stardom

Sitting down with Christian Dion Dean, a.k.a. Vee Tha Rula, it’s clear he’s always had a vision. His foresight is how he got his name in the first place. “In the neighborhood, anything that would happen, my homeboys would always come to me and ask what’s going to happen,” Vee…

Diplo Buys Stake in Arizona United Soccer Club

Thomas Wesley Pentz, better known as five-time Grammy-nominated producer, DJ, and recording artist Diplo, has had many illustrious collaborators since his rise in the early 2000s — M.I.A., Shakira, Robyn, Kid Cudi, Bruno Mars, No Doubt, and Snoop Dogg, to name a few. Now to that list you can add —…