Black Flag Is Coming to Tempe

Yep, you read that headline correctly. Punk legends Black Flag are making their way to Club Red on Thursday, July 11. It isn’t the classic lineup, though, and some fans may be disappointed by the lack of Keith Morris, Dez Cadena, Robo, and/or Henry Rollins. Greg Ginn, the band’s only…

Dave Andrea, What Are You Listening To?

Dave Andrea Andrea owns Brat Haus in Scottsdale. For more info, go here. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? Howard 100 on Sirius. What’s the first album you bought? Led Zeppelin, Houses of the Holy. What’s the…

Phoenix New Times Needs a New Music Editor

Dear readers, let’s get this out of the way: In nearly every possible way, being the music editor of Phoenix New Times/Up on the Sun has been my dream job. No joke: I’ve chatted with Brian Wilson (it was a terrible conversation, and my chat with Al Jardine was much…

Ron Hoon of Fox 10, What Are You Listening To?

Hoon is an anchor of FOX 10 Arizona Morning. He’ll be serving as emcee for the 2013 Phoenix Heart Walk on Saturday, March 23 at 8 a.m. at the Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza in Phoenix. Hoon was game to play a round of “What Are You Listening To?” with Up…

Austin Head: DJ/LGBT Advocate Is Running for City Council

As a deejay, Austin Head knows how to work a crowd. It takes finesse, and it takes being in touch. Those skills are coming in handy for the entertainer/LGBT advocate: He recently announced that he is running for a seat on Phoenix’s District 4 city council. It’s a very different…

Tempe’s Playboy Manbaby Are a Middle Finger to Hip Music

It’s been a good year for Tempe spazz-funk weirdos Playboy Manbaby, which in that time has morphed from an art-punk joke into something more concrete. “We’re actually a band,” singer Robbie Pfeffer says incredulously. “We practice and make new songs and show up to the shows relatively on time. Nobody’s…

Anti-Flag Finds Plenty of Machine to Rage Against in Obama Era

Every year, Flogging Molly storms into Tempe for St. Patrick’s Day, performing to a sea of drunken revelers primed to let loose to the sounds of the band’s Celtic punk. Flogging Molly never fails to bring a lineup of party-minded bands with them, and this year is no different: The…

How Matt Costa Went From Pro Skater Prospect to Soft-Focus Folkie

Locating the root of singer/guitarist Matt Costa’s passion for folk music means returning to the scene of a most gruesome injury. At age 18, the Orange County-bred Costa was a skateboarder on the verge of going pro. Then, during one skating session, he botched the landing of a staircase jump,…

Drunk Dial Wants to Take Over the Scottsdale EDM Scene

Steven “Slippe” Lueder and Jesse Hudson aren’t lacking for ambition. The duo, who come together to create EDM bangers under the name Drunk Dial — are quick to tout what makes their EDM different from most of what’s out there. “The way I like to describe it is like, ‘If…

What the Hell’s Going on With the Obscura Dance Night at Rips?

What exactly is going on with Rips’ monthly Britpop/’80s/new wave event, Obscura Dance Night? The party’s official Facebook page has vanished, followed by a flurry of subsequent “new” Obscura Facebook pages, which have all since been taken down. An event page for this month’s dance party, which features a live…

Chad Horstman, What Are You Listening To?

Chad HorstmanHorstman is the CEO of Yandy.com, an online lingerie and costume retailer.When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now?  The radio is pretty bad. I usually stream Pandora.What’s the first album you bought? Bon Jovi.What’s the first concert…

Christian Jacobs of Yo Gabba Gabba! Doesn’t Talk Down to Kids

Thom Yorke of Radiohead isn’t into doing interviews. He prefers to be the shadowed cock-eyed intellect behind the Radiohead machine or to spout spastic lines and moan over the twitchy glitch-pop of his Atoms for Peace project. He doesn’t have much time for promotional rigmarole. But Yorke has kids, and…

Parenthetical Girls Aren’t Lacking for Kinks

It’s not easy being beautiful. Just ask Zac Pennington, frontman of experimental pop group Parenthetical Girls, whose vocal strains fall halfway between those of Perfume Genius and Lightspeed Champion, complemented with the baroque pop stylings of Belle and Sebastian. Pennington, known for his gender-neutral lyrics and his Morrissey-borrowed wit, pens…