D-JR is the top party DJ in town, at least according to the Red Bull Thre3Style contest held at the Venue of Scottsdale Wednesday night. D-JR, who prides himself on his technical skills, won the local stop on the energy drink-sponsored 13-city tour, where he faced off against eight other…
There’s no shortage of strip club action in the Valley of the Sun. From high-end gentleman’s clubs like Christie’s Cabaret and Le Girls Cabaret to the low-rent flesh parlors of the West Valley’s skeezier industrial neighborhoods, Phoenix is definitely skin city.Despite what you might think, the buxom babes baring it…
This week’s music feature is about Antique Scream, who moved from the Valley to the Pacific Northwest over a year ago, and is now coming back on tour.Also in this week’s issue, you’ll find the lowdown on every Valley band headed out to Austin for SxSW in the coming week…
Everyone knows how difficult it is to raise the funds for a musical project you want to start. Josh Wise, a member of Brooklyn’s French Kicks, is working on a multi-faceted solo project.It’s ambitious. It involves limited-edition LPs, a video project, paintings, and live shows. The problem is, even though…
Artist: Black Rebel Motorcycle ClubTitle: Beat the Devil’s TattoosRelease date: March 9Label: Abstract Dragon/VagrantThere’s something kind of quaint about this new Black Rebel Motorcycle Club record. It isn’t bad, by any stretch, but it doesn’t sound nearly as dangerous as the band name and album title would have you believe…
It’s been almost a year since Antique Scream packed their gear, and little else, into their touring van, left Phoenix, and moved to Seattle. Back then, the band — singer/guitarist Chris Rutledge, bassist Stu Lasswell, and drummer Bill Fees — had just finished a three-month U.S. tour and signed with…
It’s an understatement to say that New Times music editor Martin Cizmar has the ability to piss people off. Everyone from Ted Nugent to Frankie Muniz has had harsh words for Martin. In January, Cizmar wrote a blog post with the rather innocent headline, “Do House Shows Matter?” expressing his…
Over the past decade, Xiu Xiu has released some pretty bleak tunes. The musical project of San Jose singer/guitarist Jamie Stewart and various collaborators has put out guaranteed party-stoppers like “Support Our Troops OH!”(“Did you know you were going to shoot off the top of a 4-year-old girl’s head?”) and…
Random If Random wanted to be any more the opposite of mainstream rap, he’d probably have to take up the banjo and start playing country music. A middle-school social studies teacher by day, Random writes hip-hop music that is devoid of profanity, misogyny, violence and (thankfully) Auto-Tune. Instead, Random’s hip-hop…
This week, New Times ran a box in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up On The Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts. Why did Howard Stern give Phoenix band The Heartless $5,000? Why is John Lennon Advertising cars?…
Artist: AcrassicaudaTitle: Only the Dead See the End of the WarRelease date: March 9Label: ViceI forget who said it (Ebert? Tarantino?) but someone once questioned whether a movie is really any better just because it’s “based on a true story.” Whomever said it was implying that no, it’s usually not…
It seems anything involving Blondie and Converse, the quintessential and iconic shoe of late-’70s punk rockers, would be a great idea.Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry wasn’t just known for her golden tresses and her take-charge attitude, but also for her sense of style. Many musicians who came after her followed her…
Artist: Titus AndronicusLabel: The MonitorRelease date: March 9Label: XLMy wife thinks this project is destroying my taste in music. I know she’s frustrated that we can’t play the hits around the house for another 9.5 months. Believe me, I’m not too thrilled about it, either. But what are you gonna…
Tonight ABC’s Nightline will feature a segment on killer Juggalos, including an interview with the Insane Clown Posse, which was conducted by anchor, Martin Bashir.Bashir, who is probably most famous for his series of Michael Jackson interviews, enters the Juggalo world through the story of a Pennsylvania man named Michael…
Give a hearty high-five to the members of the Haymarket Squares the next time you see them around town or performing at Lost Leaf, as the punkgrass/alt-folk act emerged victorious during the Train Tracks Grand Finale this past weekend…
With Lil Wayne’s imprisonment this morning, and T.I. still behind bars, the two greatest rappers of a generation are currently incarcerated. That’s pretty ridiculous, considering neither of them actually hurt anyone in any way. Only one person has ever had a number one record while in prison — Tupac –…
It took Wayne Coyne and The Flaming Lips seven years to complete their film, Christmas on Mars, but they’re already back hard at work on a new one.Front man Wayne Coyne says he hopes to use “real actors” this time, instead of using himself and his band mates to play…
[jump] What this critic says:Plastic Beach doesn’t have the touches of super-producers like Danger Mouse and Dan the Automator, yet it is the band’s most polished effort. Lead single “Stylo” is the perfect sample of what Plastic Beach feels like — grimey and subdued, yet plenty funky.”Stylo” has that widespread…
Mark Linkous, renowned and beloved singer/songwriter who released his music under the name Sparklehorse, took his own life this Saturday in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was 47 years old.With Sparklehorse, Linkous created a vivid, beloved alt-rock/alt-country sound adored by his fans for its earnest, yet dark, lyrics. Sparklehorse released its first…
Everyone wants to write a musical nowadays. And I don’t get it.Why musicians feel the need to write songs for musical theater is beyond me. I suppose it’s another creative outlet, but to harsh critics of musicals (like myself) it seems they’re nearly all watered-down versions of both song and…
Artist: Ted Leo and the PharmacistsTitle: The Brutalist BricksRelease date: March 9Label: MatadorDid any of you watch the Oscars last night? Judging by what I saw on the Facebook this morning, it would appear I was one of the few who didn’t tune in. I like movies, but I just…
Personally, I love seeing shows in Scottsdale. I’ve seen some amazing shit at Martini Ranch, and I’ve always loved The Rogue. However, I’m an East Valley guy. Always have been, probably always will be. What happens when you drop a West Sider into an awesome show at, say, Martini Ranch,…
