Kendon Victor, 41, will help start 2006 off with a bang, or several hundred of them. As head pyrotechnician for Tempe-based Fireworks Productions of Arizona, he’ll coordinate the launching of skyrockets in flight over both Scottsdale and Tempe’s block parties, as well as at various casinos and country clubs Valleywide…
Robert Birmingham (a.k.a. Fun Bobby), 38, towers over the Valley nightclub scene. This 6-foot-6 beer-busting beanstalk is one of the Valley’s “StarTenders” — or celebrity bartenders — famous for his mixology mastery, suds-slinging, and affable nature. He’s seen many an Auld Lang Syne during his 12 years behind the sticker-laden…
It’s time to welcome ’06 here in the PHX, but you’ve got no idea where to go. New Year’s Eve is (arguably) the biggest hootenanny of the whole Gregorian calendar, so you definitely don’t want to wind up stuck at home while your friends are out living their champagne wishes…
You’re probably wanting to drain the lizard something fierce right now, brah, but try pinching things off. All of your beer buddies are here for a raucous, alcohol-fueled adventure at the weekly Bladder Buster Night, and they’d hate to see you piss it all away. For only $5 each (free…
Gosh, Pedro Sanchez must have some mad skills besides owning sweet bikes or hooking up with chicks, since the newly elected class president of Preston High School has been visiting dance clubs and discotheques across North America lately. Then again, indie film actor Efren Ramirez just might be trying to…
Uh, excuse us for a just a sec, but as the beyond-buxom breasts of one Candye Kane, the former porn star turned blueswoman, we’d like a word with you. We’re certain we’ve got your attention, due to the fact that your lecherous peepers have been riveted to us since our…
Keith Jackson, vocalist/guitarist for legendary local punk group Glass Heroes, wears his love for Joe Strummer on his sleeve — and then some. Not only has Jackson seemingly been grafted with the same old-school rough-and-tumble punk style of the late Clash singer, he’s penned poignant paeans to his “personal hero”…
SUN 12/11We need some advice. Godzilla’s 51st birthday is coming up, and we haven’t a clue as to what to get the big fella. Imagine the pressure involved with selecting the perfect gift for this ungodly creature that’s laid waste to numerous cities and battled everyone from Mothra to onetime…
Jada Pinkett Smith is quite the hyphenate. In addition to being the wife of rapper/movie star extraordinaire Will Smith, the mother of their three children, an investor in a cosmetics company (Carol’s Daughter), and a talented film actress in her own right (Collateral, The Matrix Reloaded), the 34-year-old superstar is…
SAT 11/26Jumpin’ Jesus, thought Aaron Burkey, I’m a friggin’ genius! The 35-year-old vocalist/guitarist was searching for the perfect name for his latest band, but the possibilities weren’t catchy or distasteful enough. He was considering Kiddiesnuff when he was struck by a revelation: Why not pair the Son of God with…
At first glance, Mando Rascon could easily be dismissed as just another tattoo artist. His arms are awash with numerous inked designs, half-covered by the nondescript black tee shirt he usually wears while slinging ink at No Regrets Tattoo Parlor in Tempe. But what most people wouldn’t suspect is that…
Grace Slick did it. So did Janis Joplin and Courtney Love. Shane MacGowan was notorious for doing it, as was David Yow. What’s this rocker roll call we’re assembling? It’s a tally of musicians from the pantheon of pop-culture history who’ve gotten shitfaced onstage. Admittedly, we’ve got our work cut…
THU 11/10To hell with Niagara Falls, we’ve got an even better location lined up for our impending nuptials: Hades. Sure, the guests might have a devil of a time trying to find transportation, but think about all the gory details: Instead of champagne, we’ll sip blood from bone goblets and…
Greetings, landcrawlers! Homarus americanus here — better known as the American lobster — to tell y’all that Neptune can kiss my bright, red thorax. I’m the real king of the sea, especially at this weekend’s Tempe Original Lobster Festival. Check it: Me and hundreds of my underwater crew are the…
You feel the chill in the air, that spooky tingle at the base of your spine, the growing sense of dread in the pit of your stomach. You know it’s coming, and your ass had better be prepared. We’re not talking about yet another numbskull Adam Sandler flick, pal. Nope,…
Great Xenu’s ghost! Didja know Beck Hansen’s a Scientologist? That’s correct, alt-rock’s favorite shabby-chic troubadour is a Dianetics-following, E-meter-reading Hubbardite — not that it factors into his music or anything. Nope, despite shout-outs to folks like Jenna Elfman or brother-in-law Giovanni Ribisi in the liner notes of Guero, his latest…
You feel the chill in the air, that ooky tingle at the base of your spine, the growing sense of dread in the pit of your stomach. You know it’s coming, and your ass had better be prepared. We’re not talking about yet another numbskull Adam Sandler flick, pal. Nope,…
10/22-10/23Critics of dodgeball consider the game a “dangerous sport,” but it’s really only as sadistic as the person chucking the ball at you. The main thing to remember is: A big rubber ball full of air is flying at your torso. So move. We know from experience that a rock-hard…
SAT 10/15You don’t need testosterone to make hardcore music hard. Though it’s always been implied that the ol’ punk-rock “oi” be sung by a boy, the sixth annual GoGirlsMusicFest 2005 tour dishes up acts that chuck tradition into a pile of discarded Britney Spears CDs. The music fest offers a…
SUN 10/16″Poetry readings are boring. This is a rock show compared to poetry readings,” says Mary “Bone Mama” McCann, who will perform her high-octane sound poems at the Noisy by Nature book-release party on Sunday, October 16, at Modified Arts, 407 East Roosevelt Street. This definitely ain’t your ordinary “I…
Smokin’ Joe Kubek sure lives up to his moniker, and not because this wild-haired, tattooed, guitar-slinging mountain of a man is often seen clutching a coffin nail in his meaty paw. Instead, the towering Dallas-based axeman regularly sets audiences ablaze with his blistering and bluesy guitar stylings, picking and pulling…
SAT 10/8If you’re a fan of mainstream, steak-and-potatoes Broadway shows — your Phantom, your Rent — then more power to you, frankly. But the latest offering in ASU’s “Beyond Broadway” series brings us something, well, beyond — in a gentle, lovely way. What else would you expect from a troupe…
