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…
Kottonmouth Kings are almost as serious about their music as they are about getting high. And you can expect plenty of music and smoke at Marquee Theatre in May to wrap up their tour. That’s right, they’ll be lighting up the stage (pun intended) with their stoner rap.Kottonmouth Kings, Caifanes,…
This month’s Cover the Crescent is drug-themed thanks to 4-20. The Love Me Nots are covering The Doors (check out their version of “Soul Kitchen” here) and The Necronauts decided to take on Nirvana. “I’ve known these guys [The Necronauts] for a while, and I think that’s one of the…
See also: Record Heat: I Feel Like Puking by Brad Dwyer Collecting comics is a lot like collecting records, only they are a little less strenuous to move (just a little). They take up a lot of space, a lot of folks wonder what the hell you’re doing with them,…
See also: Kelly Clarkson Nails Super Bowl 2012 National Anthem Maybe you’re a Carrie Underwood fan, but for my money, Kelly Clarkson is the best American Idol the show has given us yet. I should probably clarify — I’ve never been a big Idol watcher. I’ve always yay or ‘nayed…
Local spinster Rodrick Mullins typically performs under the spinster moniker DJ Babel (which is an acronym for Beyond All Beliefs Entertain Life). Frankly, he might as well change his nickname to DJ Jungle Boy, since the 34-year-old has a major yen for wild and chaotic variant of drum ‘n’ bass…
What music critic prophet could have predicted that in 2012 hip, indie songwriters like Los Angeles-based Ramona Gonzalez, who records haunting, danceable pop as Nite Jewel, would be compared to acts like Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam or Sade? But here we are, the year the Mayan calendar ends, and…
William Fucking ReedReed deejays Sticky Fingers every Friday night at Bar Smith. For more info, visit Sticky Fingers’ official website. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? Currently, my car radio defaults to KWSS 106.7-FM, which hosts my Friday/Saturday…
In case you couldn’t tell from my previous Throwback Thursday posts, I have a soft spot for the ’90s. I’m a millennial, so it’s easy for me to wax nostalgic over boy bands and raunchy comedies. Last weekend was quite the stroll down memory lane thanks to American Reunion, which…
As a music writer who is not musically inclined, it’s always fascinating to me to catch up with bands and musicians when they’re not on the stage. For this week’s issue of New Times, I hung out with Former Friends of Young Americans for a profile of the local shoegazers…
Dusk has barely begun her descent on downtown Phoenix when anti-genre conformists Former Friends of Young Americans gather for band practice at frontman Toby Fatzinger’s home in the historic Garfield neighborhood. The area is known not only for being one of the city’s oldest and largest historic districts but for…
There was once a time when the name M. Ward was reserved for only the hushiest kind of record collectors, the kind of dudes who scratched John Fahey and Leo Kottke records off their wish lists one by one, who didn’t think alt-country was a dirty word, the kind of…
One of the best moments of the current season of NBC’s Parks and Recreation (in a season full of great moments) was the show’s spot-on NPR spoof in the episode “Born and Raised.” Interviewing on a sort of a Fresh Air-meets-Talk of the Nation show hosted by Dan Castellaneta, Amy…
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 do you need to know before heading to Coachella? How did the Trunk Space’s 8th…
Numerous residents of Queen Creek and around the San Tan Valley have spent the past few days cleaning up a rash of grafitti and vandalism that was inflicted upon their homes and property by a pack of unknown hooligans. Here’s the kicker: The vandalism was likely inspired by weirdo rap…
See also: The Psychedelic Pop of Mike Condello Remembered With Two New Releases When we were working up our 100 Songs That Defined Arizona list, one name was mentioned more than any other by our readers and consultants, and that name was Mike Condello (1946-1995). Known best for his work…
Sometimes, the songwriting process itself is enough to inspire songs, which is how local pop-tinged rock band Crash Coordinates churned out their current single, “Repetition Compulsion.””(Vocalist/guitarist) Chris Kalla and I were inspired by the frustration of having to write a lot of songs for our upcoming full-length,” says guitarist Chris…
Guess who’s looking a lot older and more strung out than last time anyone saw him? Good ol’ Jason Mraz. You’d think that someone who has “the remedy” would easily be able to keep himself from looking like an aging schlub of a musician. Au contraire, mon frère. Simply observe…
See also: Fatigo Covers Depeche Mode The Love Me Nots’ Nicole Laurenne and Michael Johnny Walker have been married for four years, but if it wasn’t for The Doors, they may have never met. “That song, [“Soul Kitchen”], my old band used to cover it,” says Laurenne. “We used to…
See also: Laurie Notaro’s Eight Food(ie) Terms Past Their Expiration Dates We’re a music blog, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t passionate about our food, too. When we’re not blogging about music festivals and reviewing shows, we’re reading about farmers’ markets and edible grasshoppers at our sister blog, Chow Bella…
