This week’s review is on the new CD from Native American pow-wow drum group Black Lodge. The group is signed to Canyon Records, the oldest and most successful record label in the state of Arizona, which specializes in Native American music.
By Thomas Bond The Dandy Warhols …Earth to The Dandy Warhols… (Beat the World) The sixth studio album from The Dandy Warhols returns them to the indie fold from whence they sprang in the mid-’90s, as it’s being released on their own Beat the World label today. It’s much less…
Matt Pryor and The Terrible Twos: Wednesday, August 20, at Modified Arts By Clay McNear Once upon a time, rock ’n’ roll was about bad dudes singing about bad shit, and it was very, very bad for you. One of my formative images was punk progenitor Iggy Pop stage-diving onto…
While I took the weekend off to run away to Sedona and celebrate my birthday, several stories unfolded in national music news. Read on for the skinny about Metallica’s upcoming Phoenix concert, Jackson Browne’s lawsuit against presidential hopeful John McCain, and more.
Timewave 2013: The Odyssey II: Friday through Sunday, August 15 through 17, at East West Exchange By Clay McNear Last month, I wrote a catty little blog about the quasi-documentary 2012: The Odyssey. In it, I cattily opined that nothing whatsoever will happen on December 21, 2012. That’s the End…
Music licensing corporations aren’t leaving a lot of elbow room for local venue owners(Illustration by Ed Piskor) By Steve Jansen License to Kill the Music On a recent weekday afternoon, I’m standing inside the Trunk Space with co-owner Stephanie Carrico. It’s about 110 degrees outside and a still-sweltering 95 inside…
In 1986, when I first tried to grow a beard, the consensus was that beards were for murderers and maniacs. Almost no one in mainstream America in the ’80s wore a beard; even in Alaska, a beard was a serious statement that the wearer ate cold beans from a can…
Two years after providing the haunting, gospel-tinged, and mighty crucial backing vocals on Rilo Kiley singer Jenny Lewis’ solo album, Rabbit Fur Coat, the Watson Twins — identical sisters Leigh and Chandra Watson — are back with their own full-length debut, Fire Songs. At home in Los Angeles while on…
Mark David Chapman was denied parole yesterday, for the fifth time. The man who murdered John Lennon on December 8, 1980 was sentenced to 20 years to life for his crime. The week before his parole hearing, the parole board received 50 letters and a petition signed by 1000 people opposing Chapman’s release. He had three letters of support.
Back in May, I launched this “You Asked for It” blog. There were so many Phoenix bands complaining that Phoenix New Times didn’t give them enough coverage, even while we’ve been covering local music extensively for more than a decade. The main reason I never reviewed EVERY local CD that came my way was because, quite frankly, many of them sucked and I didn’t feel like giving bad press to a struggling Valley band. Still, local musicians griped and moaned that we were covering all the wrong local bands (read: not their bands), so the original idea behind this blog was to review every single local CD sent to me, in the order it was received, regardless of whether or not I thought the album blew chunks. Surprisingly, I’ve only received a few CDs since the blog launch that I just wanted to melt in the microwave; many of the local CDs landing on my desk have been quite good. There’s still the occasional underwhelming effort (see this week’s review), but for the most part, I’m impressed and I want to hear more local CDs.
This weekend, I checked out a new weekly event and a groovy local music show, both in downtown Phoenix.
This week’s “Flier of the Week” comes (once again) from the local rave scene, which is known for its glossy, two-sided event fliers (perpetually hanging out at a Zia Record Exchange near you). The picture below is the front side of a themed event that pays homage to Stewie, that smart ass “baby” character from the animated TV series Family Guy.
UB40: Friday, August 8, at Fort McDowell Casino By Clay McNear Ah, what a tangled web Neil Diamond unwittingly wove when he wrote the song “Red Red Wine” back in ’67. For starters, it was a pretty un-Diamondlike tune, something borne out by what happened after Neil’s own raspy-throated version…
When discussing the Projekt Revolution tour, now in its fifth year, with this summer’s participating artists — like Linkin Park, The Bravery, and, most especially, Chris Cornell — it’s impossible to avoid the shadow the first and greatest festival tour (Lollapalooza) casts across space, time, and musical epochs. Lollapalooza was…
DJ Shane Kennedy stares intently at his laptop screen at Bikini Lounge, plotting his next play. It’s Friday night, and the dimly lit, tiki-style dive on Grand Avenue is packed with artsy types and rough-looking regulars pounding piss-quality pitchers of beer. Not many folks are actually listening to the music,…
“I don’t know why I didn’t think it was wrong,” says Dead Child guitarist Dave Pajo with a laugh, recalling how he used to steal metal albums from his local record store as a teenager in Louisville, Kentucky. Looking back, Pajo paints a hilarious picture of a slight, acne-ridden kid…
After a fruitful 40-year career, the legendary Steve Miller finally comes out with his first live DVD, Live from Chicago (Coming Home Media/Koch Records), a three-disc package that includes a full concert captured during last year at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago (to which he returned for its release); a…
The arrest of DJ Double-O, one half of East Coast hip-hop duo Kidz in the Hall on Saturday, July 26, has been the talk of the town this week. Double-O, whose real name is Michael Aguilar, was arrested in Tempe and charged with assault and disorderly conduct after a performance at Cherry Lounge & Pit. As reported in The Arizona Republic this week, Aguilar was walking around the venue with a bottle of Grey Goose vodka. When venue security tried to take the bottle from Aguilar, he held on to it. Video shot by witnesses shows Aguilar holding a bouncer on the floor, before several bouncers jumped in the fray and began punching Aguilar. The 29-year-old performer was taken to the hospital, where he underwent surgery for a broken eye socket.
By Jonathan McNamara That’s right, Phoenix! Have you checked out Weezer’s Web site today? If you had you’d know that the geeky foursome from california is coming to the Arizona State Fair on October 18. For the complete list of dates and locations (in text rather than cryptic picture collages…
By Jonathan McNamara Weezer loves YouTube. If the video for “Pork and Beans” wasn’t proof enough, there’s this latest offering from the band on their official YouTube channel that reveals the band’s upcoming tour route…through song. Did I hear “Phoenix” in there? The band says the concert will begin on…
I had already planned to review the new CD from local hip-hop icon Roca Dolla when I received a phone call from local MC Justus yesterday. Justus is a veteran of the Phoenix hip-hop scene, and he’s recently started doing a guest blog for us, called “Ear to the Street.” He asked if we were writing something on Roca’s new CD, because he said he felt it was “Arizona hip-hop” to the max and a really great record that’s representative of the best talent AZ has to offer.
This past weekend marked the Phoenix New Times Summer of Sound metal show. The event, on Saturday, August 2, was jam packed with bands. In addition to headliners Godhead and local SoS bands The AMPutatiONs, Malakai, The Human Condition, and Fracture Point in Club Red, the venue had four other Valley metal bands playing on the Red Owl side of the club.
