Rick PhillipsPhillips blogs on eateraz.com and owns the Tucson Taco Festival (Saturday, April 28) and the Arizona Barbecue Festival (Saturday, May 19 and Sunday, May 20.) When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? I listen to satellite radio, and…
Jamiroquai is one of the quintessential ’90s pop acts. And if you close your eyes and listen, you’ll hear that its music sounds as though it could have been released any time between the ’70s and today. The band’s acid jazz/funk may sound timeless, but the classic music video for…
There’s a new kind of rapper in town: compulsively stoned, inexhaustibly prolific, perpetually swagged-out. Rather than cloister themselves in VIP booths, they perfect their ground game in smaller clubs. They prefer the Internet to more traditional means of distribution. And unlike the Big Fucking Deals of three years ago (hi,…
I’m spending the afternoon with Joel Gion of The Brian Jonestown Massacre in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. You couldn’t ask for it any better: It’s like interviewing the Velvet Underground at Warhol’s Factory; Dylan in a Greenwich Village coffee shop; George Clinton on the proverbial Mother Ship. I…
When Mesa rock institution Hollywood Alley debuted in July 1988, Ross Wincek was there for the opening night. And pretty much every night that followed. For close to 25 years, the soft-spoken and curly-haired co-owner (dubbed “Ross the Boss” by many) has worked behind the scenes running the joint with…
This week, New Times ran a list 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. What is local rock luminary Jim Adkins working up with The Love Me Nots? What sounds…
See also: Echo Cloud Brings Actual Local Rock to Mill Avenue’s School of Rock See also: Behind the Scenes of Former Friends of Young Americans’ Practice Pad A couple of weeks ago, our own Anthony Sandoval penned a music feature about Phoenix-based shoegazers Former Friends of Young Americans. In the…
Sheriff Joe Arpaio has made a living off making sensational accusations and remarks. For better or worse, he has been a media darling who’s done his best over the past 20 years to prove that there’s no such thing as bad press (not that we don’t try). On Monday, April…
It hurt back in February, when we had to announce that The Beach Boys were visiting our lovely neighbors to the South (some weird town nobody had every heard of called Tucson. I suggested a road trip — and if you were into the idea you’re probably packing the car…
The Beatles are a tricky band to cover, but local gypsy rockers Dry River Yacht Club were up for the task. The group learned Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band for Cover the Crescent and played the songs as close to the original versions as possible. “Every time I’ve heard…
If there will ever be another hologram worth talking about this year, it’ll be Michael Jackson on this year’s Unity Tour. The Jacksons are hitting the road for their first tour together in nearly 30 years, and even though we’re joking about a glowing vision of Michael belting out Ben,…
See also: Comic Approach I look forward to adding my little commentary to Brad Dwyer’s strip each week. It gives me a chance to stretch out, touch on strange topics, or share some goofy insight I think I have about something. Not saying it always works, but I really hope…
Record Store Day is an exciting time for music geeks. What better way to celebrate than to get some free tunes? Local sci-fi electronic group Episodes is releasing Partir Kaylan as a cassette available at Stinkweeds and online at Bandcamp today. “Episodes is a science fiction comic group, so to…
There are a slew of reasons we dig Al Page. Not only does the cat have one of the most fly Afros in all of P-Town, he’s also one of the most laid-back and approachable DJs in this ‘berg. Every weekend, Page busts much ass on both the record decks…
If you find yourself stomping the grounds of Old Town Scottsdale next Thursday night you might want to heed the haunting melodies dwindling from the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. Inside you’ll find visual artist/vocalist Anna Vivette performing songs off of her debut album, Coloratura; a dark operatic take on…
Lady La Lady La is the morning show host for 101.5 JAMZ FM Monday-Friday from 6-10 a.m. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? KOOL 94.5 FM. What’s the first album you bought? Timbaland & Magoo. What’s the first…
It’s a classic scenario: Boy meets girl. Boy can’t have girl. Boy and girl build up a bunch of tension and hook up anyway, usually to some romantic acoustic song like “Save Tonight.” This song has been used to fit that scenario in shows like Daria, Felicity, and A Lot…
The Arizona music community lost a prominent figure and friend when Marco Holt from local rock group The Tremulants passed away this weekend following a bout with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Since 2003, Holt served as the indie rock band’s primary creative force and lone consistent member, doubling as guitarist and singer…
This week, New Times ran a list 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. What are our 10 favorite awkward dance moves at Coachella? How close does Dark Star Orchestra…
Brad Pfirrman listens to the radio. The gravel-voiced Pfirrman, better known to a loyal chunk of listeners in Tempe and Phoenix as Beef Vegan, host of KWSS 106.7’s The Morning Infidelity, is on the road en route to his day job, and he’s turned down the radio to answer my…
It’s “Emo Night” at Idle Hands, a dimly lit bar in Manhattan’s East Village. I’ve stumbled in with a some friends for a drink, unaware that the stereo system would be blaring angsty emo hits from the early 2000s. As I grab a seat, I hear a familiar sound, the…
Ever since its genesis with Chuck Berry and Elvis, the rock formula has consisted of three parts fun and one part danger. Proto-punkers like the MC5 and The Stooges gradually shifted the ratio a bit, but somewhere down the line, the guitar-based offspring of blues, rock ‘n’ roll, and punk…
