If you’re bored and have access to the Interwebs, go to Amazon and type “string tribute to” in the search field and prepare to be blown away. Did you know there’s a string version of James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful” (because the original is too threatening)? How about Tool? How about…
Countless rock docs and tell-alls have confirmed it: Lead singers/songwriters are dictators. Call it an ego thing, but there’s no denying that those dudes know what they want, and if that doesn’t jibe with a band’s established democracy, well . . . tough. Don’t agree with the lead singer? You’ll…
Waka Flocka Flame has said he writes his lyrics as a way to express the emotions he’s feeling at a given time and that they’re usually tapped out on the fly on his BlackBerry, rather than in a meticulously curated notebook, as is the case with many rappers. Well, express…
“Fuck It, You Win” has to be one of the greatest, most hate-filled song titles ever penned to an ex who’s taken things too far. Add stinging guitars, ripped-from-the-gut vocals, and a driving, in-the-gutter beat (and captivatingly dark video imagery), and it’s not just a catchy title but a fucking…
Although it usually takes an hourlong drive to drag your ass all the way up to the Cowtown Event Venue in the Northwest Valley, EDM fans from across PHX will want to make the lengthy trek this weekend. That’s only because DJ Sam Groove and the members of Hades Entertainment…
Body-modification superstar Dani Danger is moving to Hollywood, but in gregarious fashion, freaky folks gathered to wish her well with a huge party. Tempe Mediterranean restaurant Olive Branch was transformed on Saturday, May 5, morphing into a sight-to-see circus. Pink-haired gals dressed as flappers and puffed on long, elegant cigarette…
Bet you didn’t expect to look at The Atlantic’s site yesterday and read an article about how LOLcats are making you smarter, did you?If the Internet is good for anything other than spyware and porn, it’s most certainly really funny pictures of cats doing . . . well, anything. The…
See also: OFF!’s Dimitri Coats Talks Phoenix Oil Theft Charges Years ago, I saw Nick Lowe (probably my favorite songwriter) at the Rhythm Room. Right before he played a devastating new song called “I Read a Lot,” he prefaced it with a warning, saying something like “This is a new…
See also: Metal Mondays: Phoenix Needs a Heavy Metal Strip Club A friend of mine brought up a very pertinent question the other day, questioning the validity of current heavy metal. Metal will always have fans, turned on by classic metal gods who’ve been around for decades or whatever crap…
If you stopped by new dance venue Monarch Theatre during its soft opening in late April and thought the place was pretty fly, we’ve got some news: It’s gonna get even better, considering it ain’t even half-done. Co-owner Pete “SuperMix” Salaz, who runs the joint along with Edson Madrigal and…
The phrase “big in Japan” is rife with negative connotations for American musicians. What does it mean when another nation is crazy for a band that remains a lesser-known act in their homeland? In the case of Phoenix indie-rock band Knesset, it simply means that the Japanese are ahead of…
Analog obsessives and audiophiles may bemoan the inevitable digitalization of music on the grounds that MP3s lack the sound quality of vinyl, but there’s been no greater victim of the download revolution than the album cover. Think about it — would those Frank Frazetta-painted Molly Hatchet records scream thunderous menace…
Looking back, it’s safe to say that the hyperbolic fervor surrounding the early 2000s’ “rock revival” was embarrassingly misplaced. Jack White certainly built a black-and-red empire, but The Strokes have been battling skepticism for their past three albums and The Vines barely made it out of the starting gate. In…
Although Cinco de Mayo is a more celebrated holiday in the United States than it is in Mexico, nothing marks the occasion like a little mariachi music. A traditional mariachi band combines trumpets, violins, a large five-string guitar called a jarana, a smaller guitar called a vilhuela, and the guitarrón,…
The trio of Pete “SuperMix” Salaz, Sean Badger, and Edson Madrigal admit they haven’t been getting much downtime (or even sleep) as of late. That’s because they’ve been working nonstop running two downtown Phoenix clubs, including the newly launched Monarch Theatre. Salaz says the trio pulled 24-hour shifts in the…
The year is flying by, and heating up as usual. As the days get hotter, the nights tend to get wilder in Phoenix and its surrounding burgs. We’ve culled a selection of our best nightlife photos in April, including hip bashes at American Junkie, Elevated Music Festival, the Sticky Fingers…
I’ve never been a fan of Texas, even though it’s the stomping ground for a wide range of heavy acts. From the Dallas Cowboys to the phrase “everything is bigger in Texas” to George Bush, everything about the state has always had a way of agitating the hell out of…
There was a time when Lucinda Williams wasn’t a famous country rock star. True. Back in 1998, just a few weeks before her Grammy-winning Car Wheels on a Gravel Road was released, I found Williams sitting alone in a Boulder, Colorado, bar next door to the venue where she had…
Local rockers can always count on KUPD to ring in the summer with UFest, coaxing thousands to spend one last day in the sun before temps (theoretically) hit triple digits. This year, the high-energy festival’s lineup is packed with hard-hitting acts that have new music in the mix, and a…
Michael “M2” McDowell is old school to the very core, as illustrated by his love of crate-digging for classic hip-hop vinyl and his use of the original Phoenix Suns logo in his professional insignia. He’s also got a serious penchant for the lost art of scratching, as does his pal…
What does it take to become a legend? In Ralph Stanley’s case, it’s being instrumental in the development of the modern bluegrass sound. Stanley, 85, got his first banjo about 70 years ago. Attempting to learn the popular clawhammer style, he instead created his now signature “Stanley Style” instead. With…
It’s not a new idea: Sex sells. Scottsdale-based hip-hop duo J Beam and Knawledg, known by their nom de rhyme Mathmadix, get it. The album cover of their long-awaited In a Class of Our Own, depicting the pair, a young lady in a short Catholic school skirt, and one foreboding-looking ruler,…
