In the four-plus decades of punk’s angsty rule, it has become easy to get lost in a sea of band T-shirts, jeans, and flannel, not to mention the safety pins and hair glue maintained as the uniform of choice for so many #trupunx and fans of the Casualties. So, when…
San Francisco-based singer-songwriter Sean Hayes knows you heard about him from your folk-music-loving lady friend. He says he gets that a lot. “I feel like women are the gateway,” he jokes…
Despite anything you might’ve read online, Dillon Francis does not own a Taco Bell. That was just a clever April Fool’s prank. That said, the infamous dance-music producer seems to spend enough time patronizing the fast food chain and professing his love for its various menu items that one could…
In the 2013 mini-documentary chronicling the rise of the Mad Decent Block Party, über-producer and festival founder Diplo has a bit of advice for anyone who performs at the event: “If you’re an act, don’t play after Flosstradamus,” he says. “That’s really hard.” It’s a simple edict that illustrates not…
By Jesse Sendejas Jr. A couple weekends ago, word got out that an upcoming Ramones biopic would be helmed by one of America’s greatest living filmmakers, Martin Scorsese. The movie would be one of several band-related projects slated for 2016, the 40th anniversary of the bruddas’ debut album, Ramones. Scorsese…
Your dance music pals are most definitely going. Ditto for some of the hip-hop heads you see hanging out at an average Blunt Club, those indie kids who are always gushing over STRFKR or Phantogram outside of Jobot, and probably a good portion of Scottsdale’s club crowd, all of whom…
Back in April, we reported that Wayne Coyne had tapped beloved Phoenix weirdo-rockers Treasure MammaL to participate in a Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band cover album, called With a Little Help From My Fwends. It started after the Flaming Lips saw Treasure MammaL perform at Coyne’s Oklahoma City art…
By Liz Ohanesian You probably know Deadmau5 as the DJ who wears the giant mouse mask on his head. Lately, he’s been battling with another famous rodent — Mickey Mouse. Or, more specifically, Disney…
Elvin Bishop hasn’t always been about the blues, but he’s always been around the blues. His new CD Can’t Even Do Wrong Right personifies his career, which has usually focused on the blues, but often hit on many other genres of music. Bishop loved the blues early enough that he…
There must be something in the desert water. I’m not talking pesticides or Valley Fever — I’ll leave the exposé side to the news section. I’m talking heavy metal. But I’m okay with it…
Earlier this year, during the First Friday art walk, you would find a couple dozen people hanging out outside Palabra – Phoenix’s up-and-coming hair and art collective. It wasn’t that the people wanted to enjoy the fresh air (not with our weather), the former space simply couldn’t fit the rising…
On October 18 at Comerica Theatre, more than 80 Arizona MCs, DJs, and performers will get together for what must be the largest local hip-hop show ever thrown, Arizona Hip Hop Festival. This staggering undertaking is the brainchild of JustUs Samuel, the rapper and founder of Respect the Underground, which…
Ever known an ass you really, really loved to an unimaginable degree — a behind that spoke to you like no other? If so, Bob Log III has a doozy of a sales pitch for you. On his website, the semi-mysterious one-man band is now selling custom-written songs about butts,…
Mindy DuPonte sees the big picture. No matter what aspect of her life is in question, she’s prepped with an answer, a plan, or an approach, whether she’s talking about songwriting, one-year plans, or mixtape rollouts. It’s likely the best way to operate at the moment, as DuPonte’s hip-hop career…
Tim Showalter made his name as Strand of Oaks over three albums of dark folk music, a mysteriously enticing mix of dreamscape sci-fi lyrics and a simmering, powerful delivery. Unsatisfied, however, because of a key missing piece, Showalter turned everything upside down for Strand of Oaks’ fourth album, HEAL. “What…
Our desert summer is finally winding down; and really, it wasn’t so bad, now was it? It’s probably in part to the awesome parade of metal shows that came through our fair state since the music industry’s touring season was in full swing. Either way, at least the September nights…
Here’s some tasty new ear candy for you, all brought to you by Phoenix-based artists…
There were a lot of things both shiny and new making a debut in local nightlife during the month of August. Spots like The King or Cowboys and Whiskey in Scottsdale opened to the clubgoing public while a few new dance nights (such as Motown on Mondays at the Crescent…
When the Tempe History Museum unveils its long-awaited exhibition delving into the city’s storied live music past later this year, don’t be surprised if there’s little to no mention of Paul “PC” Cardone amongst the many displays doting on the Gin Blossoms, The Refreshments, or other local jangle-pop icons. By…
Remember Tomas Tovar Rascon, a.k.a. Tito Torbellino, the Phoenix-born banda singer who was brutally assassinated in a restaurant in Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, in late May? News came late July that Mexican police shot and killed one of the men responsible for the murder…
By Luke Winkie Why did you like Yeezus? Did you find it anarchic? Did you like how it challenged racial norms in a confrontational, blacked-out way? Did you like its minimalism? Or its maximalism? Did you find the songs to speak to a larger narrative of where Kanye West is…
Electrisad has had a very punctuated emergence as a fixture in the Phoenix scene. In the space of a few months, the band has opened up for several prominent acts in the national DIY indie scene such as Julie Byrne, Emperor X, and Your Heart Breaks. Saying that isn’t meant…
