Once upon a time, there was a city. It was not the largest city, or the smallest. It was not the richest or the poorest. But this city had a reputation, nonetheless. It was known throughout the land as dry and inhospitable — heated to unimaginable temperatures for several months…
Once upon a time, there was a city. It was not the largest city, or the smallest. It was not the richest or the poorest. But this city had a reputation, nonetheless. It was known throughout the land as dry and inhospitable — heated to unimaginable temperatures for several months…
Arizona State University film student Chris Calzada needed a subject for his final project. The 29-year-old Yuma native, who’s been a punk rock fan for years, initially reached out to The Venomous Pinks, who he had seen at Yucca Tap Room a few months ago. Calzada knew an all-female punk…
During the summer of 2013, Bret Bender and Maddie Miller of Bogan Via released their music video for “Kanye.” Directed by Freddie Paull of Electric Legend Pictures, this dark storyline portrays a Bonnie-and-Clyde-type duo who robs Phoenix’s own beloved Revolver Records of their register money and some unreleased Kanye West…
The Butcher Babies have been slaughtering their way through the Valley of the Sun as of late. In fact, the heavy metal band’s upcoming September 27 at PubRock Live will mark their third show in Phoenix during the past year and a half. After getting signed to Century Media, the…
Michael 23 is kind of what you’d call a survivor. Over the past several years, the enigmatic artist provocateur and co-founder of The Firehouse has endured personal tragedies, professional setbacks, financial hardships, stressful legal battles, and other such emotionally draining drama. Like anyone who’s faced such situations, he’s acquired loads…
Back in December, music streaming service Spotify offered students a discount on its premium service, offering college kids a rate ($5/month) half of what us older rubes pay. The company has crunched the numbers of the students who took advantage of that offer, and the results have Arizona State University…
Nowadays, the revival of bluesy psychedelic rock and soul from the 1960s and ’70s has found a strong following — maybe it’s the fuzzy twang of the guitar, the vocals that just drip with angst and passion. Either way, Rival Sons, founded in 2009, introduced its brand in the right…
A sense of time and place inhabits Houndmouth. Rippled with various shades of Americana, as much is evident in the song titles–“Houston Train,” “Come On, Illinois,” “On The Road,” “Halfway to Hardinsburg”–along with the telling locales–jail, lonesome highways, dark hovels, trains and buses–frequented by song characters. Given that Houndmouth hails…
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but in the world of music no one appreciates a copycat, especially those working for months and years to bring something new and original into the world. Tribute bands — that is, bands whose sole purpose is to cover…
The local nightlife scene can be a mess of wannabe DJs trying to make a name for themselves. There is some great local, innovative talent out there, but it’s hard for most aspiring DJs to stand out among the masses. Unless you have a friend who knows someone, most DJs…
Last time around, Foxygen proclaimed themselves “the 21st-century ambassadors of peace and magic.” The mischievous, fun-loving, experimental psych-rock band — formed and fronted by songwriting partners Jonathan Rado (guitar and keyboards) and Sam France (vocals) — sound well beyond the 22nd century on its new release …And Star Power…
On the heels of last Friday’s wild Mad Decent Block Party, Phoenix electronic dance music promoters Relentless Beats announced another huge EDM concert coming to Phoenix: Global Dance Festival. The Arizona iteration of the party is scheduled for Friday, November 21, at Tempe Beach Park…
This was supposed to just be an article about douche bags. It was supposed to highlight a sleazy rapper with a drug-addled party complex that mirrored the underbelly of the equally sleazy frat scene found just a few miles from Phoenix. See, Mickey Avalon has his dual lives: he’s a…
It is not often a review of a book is longer than the book itself, at least in number of words, but this is not just any book review and the book in question is not just any book. What Every Child Needs to Know About Punk Rock, by Valley…
Phoenix hip-hop duo Shining Soul say Canadian Border Services Agency recently stopped, detained, and heavily questioned them at Montréal-Trudeau International Airport. The duo was trying to get to a concert scheduled as part of its “Hometown Foreigners Tour.” This is the second time the pair — Franco Habre, a.k.a. Bronze…
Thousands upon thousands came to Rawhide Western Town in Chandler this past Friday, all of whom had pretty much the same goal in mind — partying their asses off at the Valley’s biggest electronic dance music event of the year, the Mad Decent Block Party. They came clad in off-kilter…
By the end of 2012, Godsmack’s concert album the band released that year,Live and Inspired, was the furthest thing from the band’s mind…
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…
