Dissecting the Weird Raps of Swedish Teen Rapper Yung Lean

If you’ve ever wondered about the meaning or history of a specific online trend or concept –Doge, Bitcoin, Slender Man, or that creepy Nicolas Cage face — a remedy exists at Know Your Meme (www.knowyourmeme.com). The site dedicates thousands of pages to explaining the significance of famous Internet ideas, fads,…

Gilbert Band Lydia Returns for Pressroom Concert

Vocalist and guitarist Leighton Antelman’s musical career started early, when he and some friends from Gilbert’s Greenfield Junior High School got together and formed a band called Rolo 15. That band went through some changes, and ultimately it was Antelman and guitarist Steve McGraw who stayed together to create music,…

More Than 20 Metal Bands Put Differences Aside for Metal Frostover

Rock music and annoying egos go hand-in-hand. In fact, the pairing is almost as guaranteed as headbanging and mosh pits. Groupies and tour buses. Dimebag and a Black Tooth Grin shots. Revolting disgust and the Kardashian clan. You get the picture. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a huge national act,…

10 Best Bands and Musicians in Phoenix Under the Age of 21

Phoenix is on the cusp of something great, musically speaking. New festivals are popping up every year with big concepts and bigger headliners. As time progresses and the bands on top of the scene either blow up or fade away, it will be the younger acts out there stepping up…

25 Best Club Candids Photos of November

So, how was your November? You probably did the Thanksgiving thing with the family, watched tons of football, and got into it with other Black Friday shoppers in order to nab the biggest deals. As for the Club Candids crew, they spent the past month celebrating Day of the Dead,…

Bluesman Mike Presents Blues for a Good Cause at Rhythm Room

Blues will help kids and needy parents during the seventh annual Toy and Diaper Drive Sunday, December 7 at Rhythm Room in Phoenix. Bluesman Mike Anderson and the Blues Review Band will head up an all-star cast that includes Lucius Parr, the Sugar Thieves, Paul Cruize and Blues Crew, Sir…

No Band Looks Like It Has More Fun Than Red Fang

In 2008, a video surfaced of four Portland residents, clad in chain mail and medieval armor made solely of beer cans, going head-to-head with live-action role players. In 2011, the same four Portlanders appeared again, blowing a record label advance check on a beatup station wagon and a plethora of…

Phoenix’s Antique Scream Channels Kerouac Through Stoner Rock

The concept of living a Kerouac-inspired lifestyle will, at some point, seem attractive to even the most jaded readers of On the Road, a tome that extolls the virtues and pitfalls of years spent doing just that. For Chris Rutledge of Antique Scream, this nomadic spirit is less a passing…

Punk Band X Breaks Out the Vibraphone for Acoustic Tour

Members of the legendary punk band X will never “walk on down the road yelling hurry up” to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to be enshrined in its hallowed halls. It has never been their style to self-aggrandize, and yet while bands like the Clash, The Ramones, Talking…

11 Best Metal Concerts in Phoenix in December

It’s that time of year where I get to say “‘Tis the season to be metal.” The temperatures have finally fallen, and some of our favorite metal band’s touring schedules are still in full swing. It’s that time of year where we can leave those sweaty mosh pits and emerge…

Bob Margolin Reflects on Blues Lessons Learned from Muddy Waters

Claiming blues legend Muddy Waters as a teacher is something few musicians can do with a straight face. “Steady Rollin” Bob Margolin is one such musician. Already showing promise as an upstart blues musician following a short-lived foray into the psychedelic rock world with Boston’s Freeborne (the band’s lone album…

Thanksgiving with a Fan-ilow of the Manilow

The holidays are fast approaching, which means while you’re baking a ham, mashing potatoes, and putting those crispy onions on the green bean casserole, your mother is drunk on egg nog, and your father is going out of his way to push your buttons. My dad and I don’t generally…

25 Best Ravers and Ragers From Global Dance Festival

An estimated crowd of more than 7,000 people came to the Global Dance Festival at Tempe Beach Park this past weekend, most of whom were dressed both warmly and colorfully for the outdoor electronic music massive — including hordes of attendees in outrageous and over-the-top costumes. Others went with skimpier…

11 Best Places to Hear Music in Phoenix

Earlier this year, New Times celebrated the cream of the crop with our 36th annual Best of Phoenix edition. Here are our top picks for places to hear music in metro Phoenix. Best Venue for Local Acts: Crescent Ballroom Local bands aspire to perform at Crescent Ballroom, and when they…

Global Dance Festival: A Field Guide to Tonight’s Event

Downtown Tempe is in no danger of running low on electronic dance music or off-the-chain dance parties anytime soon, what with the clubs of Mill Avenue pumping out four-on-the-floor jams and killer drops most nights. The clamor of beats and bass coming from Tempe is going to get even louder…