I have a modest proposal that I doubt many of you will cotton to: It’s time to critically re-evaluate nu metal. You remember nu metal, right? Chugging riffs. Grunted vocals. Big pants. Soul patches. It’s one of the last remaining mutations of rock that no one has bothered to pick…
It seemed like only a few years ago that dance music had a slow, dying pulse in the American scene. Boy, how times have changed. Since 2011, dance music has gone gangbusters with an estimated net worth in the U.S. that’s well into the billions of dollars. Someday, when our…
In June of this year, Robin Wilson of the Gin Blossoms quietly decided it was time to close the doors of Uranus Recording of Tempe, the small studio he’s operated for more than 20 years. In late 1994, the Gin Blossoms moved into the quiet, historical spot along Eighth Street…
Phoenix’s (and quite possibly the world’s) only klezmer funk band, Jerusafunk, is all about firsts in the summer of 2015. Not only will J-Funk put on the first great local show of the summer — along with the Stakes, the Hill in Mind, and Pro Teens on Thursday, July 2,…
Over the past five years, Slayer’s world has been turned inside out. But proudly displaying what they’re made of has always been the band’s strong suit—2015 might just mark one of the most raw, visceral and vulnerable transitions for the band in its 30-plus year career so far. Touring extensively…
Arizona has certainly provided a lot of fodder for cable television comedy shows and comedians over the past few years. In fact, we’ve been the butt of many a well-timed joke over the last decade or so from such Comedy Central yukksters as Daniel Tosh, Dave Attell, and outgoing host of…
Yo, you wanna smoke some weed? Chances are, this is the first thing you’ll hear from HotRock SupaJoint once he walks through the door. This particular Saturday night, he’s crashing through the gates of Chop N Wok, a Chinese takeout bar in North Scottsdale. The instant the tall, gangly rapper…
It’s a warm Wednesday night in Phoenix at Carly’s, and songwriter Lonna Kelley’s thoughts flow out in a steady stream, punctuated by sips from her Lumberyard IPA. She’s speaking about how life influenced her new EP of swooning noise pop, Take Me Home Spiderman: her desire to live honestly, being…
According to Phoenix hip-hop maven Mike Cosentino there aren’t enough hip-hop nights going on in the Valley on Friday nights, and when they do exist there is just too much “bull shit” attached. Whether it be a cover charge, dress codes, bad vibes, or bad music, something about the current…
Bassist Chris Squire of the seminal prog-rock band YES died Saturday night at a hospital in Phoenix. He was 67. “It’s with the heaviest of hearts and unbearable sadness that we must inform you of the passing of our dear friend and YES co-founder, Chris Squire,” read a post on…
Since its founding in 2008, Electric Forest has split the difference between jam bands and EDM. On Friday night Skrillex, playing a guitar, joined String Cheese for a medley of Doors’ songs “Break on Through (To the Other Side)” and “L.A. Woman.” It wasn’t as bad as it sounds! Though…
At big music festivals like Electric Forest, totems are critical for meeting up with your friends — just stick ’em in the sky and your people will stop wandering in circles. These decorated placards-on-sticks have become tremendously popular in recent years, and Electric Forest attendees had some definite winners. For…
We all know kids die at raves. It happens all the time, including most recently at EDC last weekend in Las Vegas. Usually, the cause is drugs. But not everyone who takes drugs die; those who know what they’re actually taking, stay hydrated and take other precautions have a better…
It’s July. In Phoenix. Which means that the streets are devoid of college students and snowbirds, and steering wheels are best handled with oven mitts. Days average around 110 degrees, which means that bands — at the peak of their summer touring schedules—probably dread heading our way. However, the rest…
Harper and The Moths – “Walk Through Fire” I would be hard pressed to admit that Harper and The Moths were not my favorite local band right now. Their 18-month old debut Love Songs For The Damned is still on daily rotation. Since February they have released a cavalcade of…
It’s difficult to get a dream off the ground. Valley native Seth Smades knows it as much as anyone. The 23-year-old singer-songwriter had fits and starts trying to steer his passion for music in the right direction, but none of them seemed right until he and a high school friend,…
Every Wednesday is Heritage Hump Day! That’s because every Wednesday from now to the end of the year or before someone really big stops us, Heritage Hump Records (a temporary subsidiary of Onus Records) and New Times will be bringing you a limited edition collector’s item of a much beloved…
Members of the local music scene are in mourning today after the sudden death of the owner of a prominent Valley music venue. Kim Commons, the owner and proprietor of Club Red in Mesa, passed away last night after suffering a major stroke over the weekend. He was 63. Commons,…
Ill Niño is a fitting name for a heavy metal act that has been whipping through festivals and speakers non-stop since the year 2000. It was in 2003 that the American Latin metal band garnered the attention of the mainstream with their second album Confession. Over the course of seven studio…
It’s a little past 11 o’clock on Friday and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway is pulsing with sound, lights and bodies. Polyester jellyfish and gigantic LED mushrooms hover above the crowd; the smell of funnel cakes and body odor wafts through the 100-degree air on this first night of EDC…
A few hours before Electric Daisy Carnival opens on Friday, Carl Cox sits near the pool at the Flamingo Hotel, ready to explain why he has remained so interested in electronic music after decades of DJing, producing and remixing. He pauses mid-sentence and motions towards the DJ booth in the…
It’s Friday night at EDC Las Vegas, and at the Circuit Grounds stage, as is the custom at all of today’s EDM events, the crowd is facing the DJ booth. There, high above the tightly packed dance floor, a Russian DJ named Arty builds the music to a frenetic crescendo,…
