Should someone undertake a study of musical groups and the manner in which most dissolve, it is unlikely that many end amicably. Typically, internal friction, ego, death, or addiction causes band breakups. Anberlin has decided to take a different path despite differences making the band’s existence somewhat tenuous. “The decision…
Numerous significant events occurred in 1974: President Richard Nixon imposed the 55 mile per hour speed limit. The Six Million Dollar Man debuted on TV. The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnapped Patty Hearst, and Hank Aaron passed Babe Ruth as the all-time home run hitter. It also marked the first (and…
A sense of time and place inhabits Houndmouth. Rippled with various shades of Americana, as much is evident in the song titles–“Houston Train,” “Come On, Illinois,” “On The Road,” “Halfway to Hardinsburg”–along with the telling locales–jail, lonesome highways, dark hovels, trains and buses–frequented by song characters. Given that Houndmouth hails…
Never hurry beer drinkers. There’s a certain joy in slowly working one’s way through a fine malted beverage, savoring the subtle nuances that develop as said ale warms to a room. That’s what makes the inaugural Urban Ale Trail such a fantastic idea — there’s plenty of great beer and…
The Tempe Center for the Arts will burst with color and pageantry when the second annual El Puente Theatre Festival & Mask Procession takes place. The festival is a day or music, food, games, mask-making and assorted art activities. There will also be cultural performances from area acts such as…
Could erupting Icelandic volcanoes be the premise for Ian Anderson’s next concept album? “It could well be,” Anderson says with a laugh from his London home, noting that he must fly over Iceland on its way to the United States for the group’s upcoming tour. “We do have to pray…
Considering that the Phoenix area is the 13th largest metropolitan center in the United States (based on the 2010 census), it’s not at all surprising we have a vibrant theater community that presents everything from Neil Simon classics to Broadway (and off-) masterpieces to Shakespeare and kid-friendly productions, with plenty…
Has it really been 20 years since the Breeders pushed aside grunge with Last Splash, powered by the fuzz-fueled late-summer charmer “Cannonball”? Actually, it’s 21 years now, as the band spent most of the anniversary year on tour playing the album in its entirety. With all that behind them, the…
Award-winning nonfiction author David Laskin makes a stop at the Phoenix Changing Hands Bookstore location during his current to promoting his latest novel, The Family: Three Journeys Into the Heart of the Twentieth Century. Author of The Children’s Blizzard, whose writings have appeared in the New York Times and Smithsonian,…
Ever watched a World War II movie that includes a wild dance scene with insanely fast steps, lots of swinging about, and women flying around their partners? That’s the Lindy Hop, which gained popularity in the late 1930s and proved a welcome outlet for soldiers on leave. And it’s one…
It hardly seems dignified that powerhouse college football teams open their seasons against creampuffs. C’mon… Nebraska against Florida Central? Oregon vs. South Dakota? And closer to home, there’s ASU Sun Devils against Weber State, who went 2-10 last year in the paltry Big Sky Conference. These “games” seem simply set-up…
Though not obvious, the connection is strong between punk and country music. Both genres can be rough around the edges, feature bad-boy frontmen, and contain songs about societal woes. Hank Williams III has turned his country music into a thrashing, moshing affair. Less outwardly abrasive, but no less fun, is…
Isn’t every summer in the Valley a Summer of Brew? Given the prevalent heat index, cold beer is a daily right of passage for many. Now the Windsor, with its rotating Summer of Brew series, pairs good eats with quality beers. Highlighted breweries so far this summer — in which…
Few artists have fully captured the essence of the Chihuahua like the anonymous painter whose giant, colorful depiction hangs in the Ingleside Animal Hospital lobby. This small dog with a larger-than-life attitude jumps from the canvas. That big doggy attitude also provides the spark behind Herberger Theater’s Lunch Time Theater…
The old joke is to say one likes both types of music: country and Western. That’s not easy anymore. There still are two types, only now it’s run-of-the-mill, generic pop country, or cliché-free, from-the-heart-because-the-song-matters country. Texas singer-songwriter Bart Crow falls into the latter category. “I feel like I’ve got my…
At 72, Paul McCartney has had a long, illustrious career — most of it post-Beatles, though all too many forget that the Beatles lasted a mere 10 years. Still, Sir Paul’s history starts with the Quarrymen, which morphed into the Beatles, the most popular rock band, and one of the…
Fermented beverages played a large roll in the shaping of society and civilization. The quest for beer caused nomads to settle down and cultivate needed ingredients, like wheat and barley, to make beer. Societies sprung up where ingredients could be raised. It was similar in Egypt, where traces of fermented…
Seminal jazz trumpeter and vocalist Louis “Satch” Armstrong gets revitalized in 2014 thanks to New Orleans music maestro Dr. John. It’s not that Armstrong’s music isn’t forever popular; it’s just that the good Doctor has taken it upon himself to reinvent 13 Armstrong tracks — using funk to blues to…
Surfing in Phoenix? As good as that sounds, it also sounds fantastical. Wait, it’s true! Surfing on Central is all about enjoying a surfing-like adventure compliments of a cranking wave generation machine. Crazy it is — crazy cool, fun and thrilling. Get on your best surf shorts and head over…
In explaining the Hooten Hallers, it’s best to begin with what this three-piece is not. The band, despite frequent media references to the contrary, is not a hillbilly band. It is from Missouri, not Appalachia. “You know, I don’t know,” says drummer Andy Rehm by phone from a roadside pullout…
The irony is beyond compare, but oh so perfectly relatable for anyone who has ever been in love. After all, there’s that initial attraction that seemed so right, so, well, perfect, yet, something always needed tweaking — for betterment or folly. That’s the general premise behind the Rodgers and Hammerstein’s…
Nailing down Boris is no easy task. The Japanese band has released 19 albums in its 22-year career, all with varying material that shifts from doom metal, to prog rock, screamo to power pop, space to thrash–sometimes on the same album. That’s part of the band’s appeal, however, as the…
