Compiling year-end lists is an art form. Lucky for everyone, our own Michael Lopez understands that art very well. So does Consequence of Sound. The Associated Press, on the other hand… not so much, which is why the Houston Press, among others, famously and understandably shit all over AP’s 2009…
While it’s been more than two decades since Australia’s The Church were anywhere near the mainstream in the United States, the band made, and continues to make, terrific music both before and after “Under The Milky Way” became their only US Top 40 hit in 1988. Featuring the fantastic and…
Is it just me, or is anyone else completely shocked by Katy Perry’s nomination for Album of the Year for the 2011 Grammy Awards?I mean, don’t get me wrong. As a person, I adore her. She’s funny, sassy, confident and beautiful, and she really does have amazing vocal talent. Her…
Title: Life’s CaféBasics: Basics, you say? Where to start — Russell is on his fifth CD. He has also appeared in theatrical productions as Howard Bevins in William Inge’s Picnic and as Simon Stimson in Thorton Wilder’s Our Town and he is the owner of Desert Winds Development, Inc., a…
Ever wondered what a zombie Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer looks like? Take a gander at this flier. It was created for metal band Living Sacrifice for their A Very Metal Christmas Tour. Since the name of the tour has to do with Christmas, Tooth & Nail Records/Invisible Creature art director/designer…
It’s tough being one of hip-hop’s elder statesmen. Take Jay-Z’s spot on the recent Kanye West single “Monster,” for instance. It isn’t that Jay’s verse is terrible, but surrounded by Rick Ross, Kanye, and the unstoppable Nicki Minaj, Hova lacks vigor. Next to the other MCs, he comes across as…
You’ve heard of 2 Live Crew, and their famous “me so horny” refrain, but have you laid ears on Toubab Krewe? Admittedly, the groups don’t have much in common besides their names. The former: Miami-based dirty-rappers who excelled at pissing off censors. The latter: North Carolina-based white-boy Afro-rockers who excel…
Not quite the Dropkick Murphy-style fiddle jockeys their name vaguely depicts, Reckless Kelly has been making twangy alt-country roots-rock since they formed in Bend, Oregon, in the mid-’90s. Named after Australian bank robber Ned Kelly, the band later relocated to Austin and released a string of well-received country-charting albums, including…
When a band has to make up a genre name to describe its music, it’s easy to suspect said band lacks focus. Not so with Tempe-based band The VeraGroove, as their self-coined “desert reggae rock ‘n’ roll” label works pretty well. The band, which says it seeks to unite listeners…
As winter approaches, the nights will inevitably grow both colder and longer. If you’re looking for somewhere to simultaneously get both warm and wild, consider spending a few hours amidst the frenetic bodies gathered at the Madison Event Center, 441 West Madison Avenue, for the annual Hard Dance Nation on…
Another Friday, another debaucherously fun night at Philthy Phil’s (they serve drinks in plastic buckets for god’s sake). See the “Fu@% it Bucket” induced happenings for yourself in our slideshow!…
Nicki Minaj’s tell-all documentary, My Time Now, aired on MTV on Sunday night. She told even more in the new issue of Rolling Stone.In the documentary she discussed her crack addicted father and child abuse, and being raised by her grandparents for quite some time. In the article she talked…
Album: Fever DreamsBasics: Ryan Osterman — the man behind both Sownbones and Owl & Penny — is one of the more talented players on the River Jones Music roster.Osterman’s folk-tinged indie rock smacks of one of his admitted favorite artists, Ryan Adams.There’s also a hint of Bright Eyes-era Conor Oberst…
Wow, an R&B star singing about marriage and commitment and true love. You’re not dreaming it–it’s happened with Jason DeRulo’s “What If,” and it’s downright refreshing to hear a guy who’s already sung about dirty fantasies belt about something more meaningful…
When you’re born with the name Leon Blue, it’s hard to imagine life taking you down any path other than that of a badass boogie-woogie blues pianist. Blue — real name, natch — has racked up plenty of high-profile work as a sideman, manning the keys for The Ike &…
Call them “hyper,” “sugary,” “bouncy,” or just “too stoked to function,” and The Summer Set will totally thank you for the compliments. The young Scottsdale five-piece pop band knows its fan base is full of teenage girls and knows how to cater to them. Yes, these guys wear bright colors…
Most of the audience that discovered the screamo-metalcore act Atreyu in 2003 (via MySpace, of course) has gone on to college, where their musical tastes have likely matured into more sensitive indie-rock types like Sufjan Stevens or Conor Oberst. Yet Atreyu is still chugging along. As David Wooderson famously said…
For years, I was a pretty big fan of the ska-punk — a genre that aimed to marry punk’s energy to ska’s rocksteady vibe — until, at one point in my late teens, I decided that I detested ska and ska-punk and tossed out all my previous feelings for the…
Although the five-day Thanksgiving holiday technically doesn’t start until tonight, those in attendance at Martini Ranch’s Retox Sundays shindig this past weekend got a jump on the festivities. They drank down plenty of beer and booze, smoked flavorful shishas, danced to the sounds laid down by DJs, and witnessed the…
Kesha is bratty, she always looks a little dirty, and she performs live with Auto-Tune (see the American Music Awards).She would wear garbage bags as clothes if she could, and she’s been pictured with only semen covering her chest. She’s not exactly the classiest or most talented artist out there,…
In case you can’t guess by looking at this flier, local indie band Banana Gun really likes old science fiction movies. Besides adopting the style when it comes to designing their promotional materials, one of the first songs the band wrote together, “HAL,” was loosely based on the computer HAL…
: Static MarchTitle: All At Once, a six-song EP.Basics: Formerly known as Five High, this mellow Phoenix trio plays alternative/indie rock inspired by — according to to the band — Incubus, Muse, Death Cab for Cutie and Kings of Leon.Red flag!While the Kings may be personas non gratas with this…
