Mates of State have been living the indie-rock life for over a decade. The husband and wife duo of Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner spin their sharp songwriting, harmonies, and dexterity with a suite of instruments (including piano, guitar, and drums, as well as Rhodes electric organ and glockenspiel) into…
Fresh off a weekend that found Paul McCartney, Leonard Cohen and Morrissey all play one of the biggest outdoor music festivals in the U.S. — in one day — we find ourselves, as a music-loving society, head over heels for live acts with a touch of gray. It doesn’t help…
Guadalupe’s streets were packed Saturday with Street Kings, Intruders, and Majestics — just a few of the car clubs represented at the greatest free lowrider car show in the Valley. Check out the hydraulics action, with rear bumpers kissing the ground, and headlights reaching for the sky. Even some of…
The Gaslight Anthem played their “’59 Sound” to a packed house last night at The Clubhouse. See shots of their performance in our slide show. Haven’t heard of The Gaslight Anthem? Here are a few links and their music video for “Great Expectaions” to get you started: The Gaslight Anthem…
In case you haven’t been following the comments on our previous post on the subject, it’s semi-official: Isle of Essence is the Best Band in Phoenix (according to the Arizona Republic).Now, I actually hate to pile on the Republic right now. They’re having a pretty rough week. First, The East…
So the boys over at Electric Mustache piqued my interest in the new Matt & Kim record yesterday by putting up this super cool new video for the first single “Lesson Learned.” Turns out the rest of the new record, Grand, is great top-to-bottom. Unlike the Brooklyn duo’s self-titled debut…
On Valentine’s Day, long-time New Times freelancer Serene Dominic had a heart attack after playing a show in Glendale. Don’t worry, folks, Dom recovered, and has found a little humor in the situation, as you can see from this video he filmed in the ICU at Arrowhead Hospital. Also check…
Dear and Beloved Readers,It’s been a few months since we had one of these little blog update posts, so I’ve got all sorts of Up on the Sun news to share with you.PHXmusic.com: First, I’m happy to alert you to our new re-directing web address. Starting this afternoon PHXmusic.com takes…
The RIAA has tried to sue those who download music illegally. They have labeled them pirates and criminals, even when they’re only 13. A better label for these people might have been to call them the biggest consumers of LEGAL music.”A report from the BI Norwegian School of Management has…
After relaying the news of expected Lollapalooza headliners, I am glad to say that the festival announced its official lineup this morning, to much aplomb. The lineup is bolstered by big-name acts Depeche Mode, Tool, the Killers, Jane’s Addition, Beastie Boys, and Kings of Leon. Lollapalooza 2009 will take place…
Earlier today we told you that X-Men Origins: Wolverine will be making its world premiere right here in Tempe Arizona on Monday, April 27, after local fans made it so by sending in their ZIP codes to the official web site. What we didn’t tell you is how pants-on-head excited…
That Format-size hole in the heart of Phoenix music fans is about to get a little healing. Fun, the new NYC-based project by The Format’s Nate Ruess, with ex-Anathallo multi-instrumentalist Andrew Dost and Steel Train’s Jack Antonoff, will embark on a 34-date tour with Manchester Orchestra tomorrow.Their first record isn’t…
Phoenix fans of the claw-sprouting bundle of anger that is Wolverine can rejoice. Fox has announced that the world premiere of X-Men Origins: Wolverine will happen on Monday, April 27 at Harkins Tempe Marketplace.Yes, the world premiere of one of the biggest movies of the summer is happening in Tempe,…
We’re pretty excited about The Flaming Lips at McDowell Mountain Music Festival this weekend. So excited, in fact, that we’re having a little shindig tonight to pre-game for the show. It’s our first tweetup (follow Phoenix New Times and me) but we’re also promoting it here, in case you’re not…
Green Day announced dates for their 21st Century Breakdown Tour this morning (full list on jump) but haven’t said where they’ll be playing in each city. They come to Phoenix on August 22. That could just be a hiccup — bands do sometimes announce dates before venues if one or…
Leave it to Wired to break the important music stories. My last two posts on Up On The Sun have both been on the bullshit that the Major labels have been wasting their time on, and the reports in Billboard on it. Well Wired is breaking a story about about…
Pop-rock AZ boys Good With Grenades will be playing an early show Friday at downtown Scottsdale’s Martini Ranch (7295 East Stetson Drive). The group will be playing with locals Hollywood Heartthrob, Idle Red and Lyra the Harp for this 21-and-older performance. The show starts at 8 p.m. Good With Grenades…
On Monday I wrote about a report from Billboard on the initial effects of iTunes increased prices. That report showed that the increased prices hurt a song’s chart positions on iTunes top 100 singles charts compared to those songs that did not see a price increase. Well Billboard has a new…
Catch AZ rockers Comfort For Change – before they take a hiatus – at Tempe’s new Nine Ten Club Saturday, May 9. The Nine Ten Club was live music haunt Boston’s way back when and Club Macarena more recently and is located at 910 N. McClintock Drive, hence the name…
International acclaim has been the death of too many bands to mention, but has the crash and burn of any group been as brutal as that endured by The Vines this decade? Rewind to 2002, and the Australian band was hailed as the saviors of rock on the cover of…
It’s not every day a band is born from a jam session, but, for The Bollox, it was the case. The Valley Celtic-rock band formed after Authority Zero singer Jason DeVore and former Last Action Zeroes drummer Keith Walker met up a little over a year ago to work together…
In case you’ve somehow missed the propaganda popping up around town and the Internets, Record Store Day is Saturday, April 18. In honor of the third-annual national event, New Times talked to owners and employees of local indie music businesses and compiled five reasons why you should give two poops…
