Who’s performing at tonight’s First Friday art walk

By Benjamin Leatherman The horror rockers of Calabrese The monthly First Friday extravaganza in downtown Phoenix always proves to be a massively chaotic mess of sound and art, with dozens of musicians and bands performing inside galleries, outside on sidewalks, and practically any other location they can think of. In…

A Q&A with Greeley Estates guitarist Brandon Hackeson

Valley post-hardcore/screamo band Greeley Estates is having a CD release party for their third full-length album, Go West Young Man, Let the Evil Go East (Science) on Saturday, June 7. In anticipation of the show, we recently caught up with Greeley Estates guitarist Brandon Hackeson.

Hey Bo, You Meant More Than Diddley

Back when I was a young ‘un, I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with a gentleman by the name of Ellas Otha Bates. Mr. Bates was a guitar player and singer of great repute, and when he pulled into town with his band for a gig, I decided to take a shot at interviewing him for the local weekly. I felt that I knew the guy’s groundbreaking music really well, and his history, too, so I was fairly comfortable when I called him up at his hotel room.

You Asked for It: Reign of Vengeance

Local bands who’ve complained that we’re not reviewing their CDs, take this challenge. I have vowed to review every local CD addressed to me (and marked “YAFI”) in the order it’s received. I’m still getting more gripes than CDs, however, so if you’re upset, please put your music where your mouth is and send it to me. I will be honest about my impressions of your music, for better (last week’s Underwater Getdown CD) or worse (this week’s Reign of Vengeance CD).

In-Stores for You Today: June 2

As much as it blows having to report to work after a weekend of fun, sometimes Mondays aren’t all that bad. Like this coming Monday (June 2, for all you calendar checkers out there) offers a couple cool-ass events to check out after you’ve clocked out for the day.

Jagermeister Music Tour at Marquee Theater

By Jonathan McNamara Type O Negative and Hatebreed joined forces to salute the gods of rock this weekend at the Marquee via the musical medium known as the Jagermeister Music Tour. Also on hand was 3 Inches of Blood just in case the headliners didn’t bring enough of the heavy…

Wanna be in a music video?

If you’ve always had a yen to be in a music video (and don’t have any plans tonight), L.A. pop songstress Lauren Briant will be holding an open casting call for her upcoming video tonight from 9 to 11 p.m. at Jackrabbit Supper Club, 4280 North Drinkwater Boulevard in Scottsdale.

Flier of the Week: Labor Party

This week’s “Flier of the Week” comes from Valley punk band Labor Party, who’re having a CD release show at J-Head’s on June 7. We dig the crazy “pulp” theme going on here.

Can the perfect pop song be calculated?

A few years ago, a psychology lecturer at a British college came up with the formula for the “perfect” mood-lifting pop song. Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic posited a certain equation involving pitch, positive lyrics, and serotonin levels that, when tweaked in precise amounts, would result in a vastly improved emotional state…

Robert Smith seeks a cure for what ails him

Young bands — New York’s Rapture, most notably and successfully — cite Robert Smith’s London outfit The Cure as a holy source, a development nobody apart from the Cure’s planet of black-clad fans might have guessed. The Cure sold records, claiming and saving lives during the ’80s, when Robert Smith…

Noise Boy journeys across the desert to hear Hanne Hukkelberg

It’s 4:30 on a windy Friday afternoon, and I’ve driven nearly 400 miles across the desert to see a musician no one I know has ever heard of. Norwegian artist Hanne Hukkelberg is performing the final gig on her first-ever U.S. tour at Hollywood’s Hotel Café, and I’m doing my…