Clanging acoustic guitars, pitched somewhere between Led Zeppelin’s ballads and John Fahey’s American Primitivism, and then, a voice, singular and unmistakable. It is the voice of Lou Reed: “I would cut my legs and tits off when I think of Boris Karloff and Kinski / In the dark of the…
Catching the band at the Marquee will be an entirely different beast than getting sloppy at the Birds Nest at the Phoenix Open, where the band has played during the past two tournaments, but the Marquee show should definitely be sufficient for all of the local hippie chicks and jam…
I don’t want to get too hyperbolic here, but this year Jay-Z and Kanye teamed up for one of the year’s biggest albums, and I can’t help but make the comparison when I think about Phoenix emcees Mr. Miranda and Mega Ran hooking up for a combo album. Titled The…
A few months ago we brought you the story of Bryan Lightningrod, a 98- (38)-year-old vampire (dude) from Cairo (Chandler) who makes music (noise with titles like “I Want to Fuck Your Butt”) and creepy-ass music videos with young girls’ butts being (unknowingly?) taped at skate parks. …
There’s a glimmer of hope that Up On The Sun’s DMX Rap Sheet will finally be put on the back burner as the hip-hop artist returns to the music world, determined, reportedly sober, and with new management headed up by Jason Fowler of J Mike Management & Entertainment, based in…
Up on the Sun is proud to present the first installment of our new weekly comic strip, Record Heat, by Brad Dwyer. We’re pretty big fans of Dwyer around here, awarding his series Epic Tales of the Mundane a Best of Phoenix award last month. We love Dwyer’s dry jokes…
Turns out fans of post-hardcore band Eyes Set to Kill are pretty fanatical about their love for the band, so this week we’re bringing you FY [F**k Yeah] Eyes Set to Kill.More on what’s awesome about this week’s Tumblr of the Week after the jump…..
Holli Christensen The owner of Park Avenue Blow Dry and Beauty Bar is also a makeup artist and studio hair stylist who teaches a free class every first Friday of the month 6:00 p.m. at Park Avenue, demonstrating how to take the latest trends from the runway and translating them…
What exactly does a record label offer a musician in 2011? The internet has leveled the playing field in so many ways. No longer does it require a big machine to create awareness. But record labels can still be a big help; musicians can use them market and distribute their…
There’s so much to report and so little Internet to shove it in. First things first: the small bit of youth music we’ve witnessed in the Western United States convinces me thoroughly that my generation of American musicians has the studiousness and audacity to be emotionally unflinching in the face…
As much as ASU’s radio station The Blaze 1330AM still overplays the hell out of “The First Single,” The Format is still a lovable band that will always be in our hearts.One blogger has made it his or her mission to keep The Format’s spirit alive since the group broke…
In this week’s issue, Benjamin Leatherman takes a peak into the life of George Lindell, the motormouth Phoenix-based drummer who achieved internet stardom after a car accident yielded him a viral hit, “Reality Hits You Hard Bro.” Lindell could used some fortune to go along with that fame, he informed…
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 ten songs did we pick to soundtrack the Occupy protests? What legendary country stars are…
These days, women dominate what used to be the boys’ clubby rock scene. There is a strong scent of “girl power” predominant throughout the newest albums from kick-ass groups like Wild Flag and Warpaint. Björk, Lykke Li, and Katy B are the brains and brawn behind some of 2011’s boldest…
George Lindell never seems to stop talking. Loquacious doesn’t begin to describe the 46-year-old motormouth, who appears to be stuck at warp speed. When asked, the Valley resident will gladly (and energetically) inform you of his feelings about the state of the nation or the virtues of Prince versus Michael…
Tipped off from a friend over at Waved Rumor, we were alerted today that prominent music blog Brooklyn Vegan featured Phoenix’s own Landmine Marathon as part of the blog’s CMJ coverage. Well, kinda. Landmine didn’t play as part of the official CMJ Music Marathon, but that didn’t stop Brooklyn Vegan…
Phoenix alternative pop-rock trio Bad Lucy has been staying out of trouble by keeping a full schedule. After making an appearance on Channel 15 and performing at Downtown Phoenix Street Party last week, the band recently unveiled a new radio single and are gearing up for a free show tonight…
Talk about tying things together. We recently blogged about former-Korn guitarist Brian “Head” Welch dropping a new single and about Alice Cooper’s twisted maze in Hollywood. But now we can blog about The Coop and Head at the same time. That’s because Welch is scheduled to perform Saturday, December 17,…
As we announced last week, bearded angel Sam Beam of Iron & Wine will officially be gracing Phoenix with his presence at the beginning of December.Presumably he’ll be performing songs from his latest album, Kiss Each Other Clean, as well as classics from past albums including The Shepherd’s Dog and Our…
Okay, so Crescent Ballroom has been open two full weeks, which is long enough for us to review five shows there, eat one of Chris Bianco’s burritos, and listen as all the “cool kids” started calling the place “Crescent.”Stateside and Crescent owner Charlie Levy has enjoyed the past two weeks,…
Two of classic country’s baddest bad-boys, Merle “Hag” Haggard and Kris “That Dude From the First Blade Movie” Kristofferson, are headed to Phoenix this week, and they are not performing at a typically “country” place like Toby Keith’s I Love this Bar & Grill. No, the digs will be classier,…
Do you ever feel like you’re just not creeped out enough by the local music? Well, Tempe rocksters Tugboat intend to change that. A series of videos promoting their October Long Wong’s at The Firehouse residency shows the band in all of their glory. Their ballsy, ballsy glory. …
