Dee Snider fronted heavy metal act Twisted Sister in the ’70s and ’80s, but we’d forgive you for knowing him more for reality TV, radio, voice acting, screenwriting, and hanging out with Donald Trump. The dude likes to keep busy. Which is why it made sense to release a new…
See also: KUKQ Returns to Phoenix (Via the Internet) See also: KUKQ Phoenix Launches Online; We Speak With Nancy Stevens, Craven Moorehead, and Jonathan L KUKQ Phoenix — the Internet radio station bearing the classic call letters of a bygone Phoenix institution — launched in March, but as station director…
See also: Six Against Me! Songs We Can’t Wait to Hear Tom Gabel Sing as a Woman In an election year, it’s normal for the national conversation to get heated. “War on Women,” “War on Marriage,” “War on Healthcare” — you get the idea. Last week, Tom Gabel of Against…
Drake’s Club Paradise Tour featuring Meek Mill, 2 Chainz, French Montana, Waka Flocka Flame, J. Cole, and Drake Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion Thursday, May 10 See also: Drake’s Take Care Is a Conflicted, Compelling Statement Check out the complete Drake Club Paradise Tour slideshow There was a moment Thursday night…
See also: Up on the Sun: The Podcast, featuring Mitch Freedoms Soul Jam Selections Welcome to another episode of Up on the Sun’s weekly podcast. This week we’re joined by Tucson MC/tattooist/director Isaiah Toothtaker. We’ve featured a couple of videos from his upcoming EP with incarcerated rapper Max B (formerly…
See also: Musical Instrument Museum Debuts “I Am AZ Music” Exhibit See also: Alice Cooper: No More Mr. Bad Guy When Alice Cooper, Phoenix’s resident lord of the underworld/radio personality/Christian activist, pops up in the Tim Burton new flick, Dark Shadows, what he’s wearing should look mighty familiar. The duds,…
Greg Lake says he doesn’t have a whole lot of time to listen to music. He’s too busy playing it, as he’s done since the 1960s, doing time as a member of King Crimson, Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, The Gods, Asia, and Ringo Starr’s All-Star Band, effectively establishing himself as…
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 is Devo doing with instrument-maker Corey Busboom’s creations in their new video? Why are we…
Since the emergence of the term, “emo rap” has been a pejorative shunned by any artist to whom the tag was applied. But it’s a useful label nonetheless, aptly encompassing a particular brand of emotive, borderline-sensitive hip-hop that emerged full-force after Kanye West’s flawed but important 808s and Heartbreaks. Canadian…
With Arizona politics an ever-increasing mix of insanity and idiocy, it’s nice to know that some folks are still out there fighting the good fight. Alicia Porter, 24, is busy enough with her full-time job as outreach specialist at the Arizona Science Center and pursuing her master’s in museum studies…
If you’re bored and have access to the Interwebs, go to Amazon and type “string tribute to” in the search field and prepare to be blown away. Did you know there’s a string version of James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful” (because the original is too threatening)? How about Tool? How about…
See also: Record Heat: The Hangover by Brad Dwyer If you’ve ever purchased a vinyl record in Arizona, you’ve got at least one sob story about leaving a record in your car and having the brutal, unrelenting sun turning the thing into black vinyl bowl. The thing is, Arizona is…
See also: OFF!’s Dimitri Coats Talks Phoenix Oil Theft Charges Years ago, I saw Nick Lowe (probably my favorite songwriter) at the Rhythm Room. Right before he played a devastating new song called “I Read a Lot,” he prefaced it with a warning, saying something like “This is a new…
See also: Watch: Isaiah Toothtaker and Max B’s Weird, Swimsuit Model-Studded “Been Told” Last time we checked in with Tucson-based Isaiah Toothtaker and Max B, they were dropping the swimsuit-studded video for “Been Told,” a song featured on their upcoming record, Toothy Wavy. Turns out the grainy, sexy visuals were…
Beastie Boys aren’t supposed to die, and they certainly aren’t supposed to succumb to cancer when they’re only 47. But that’s what happened today: MCA has passed away. The Beastie Boys seemed eternally youthful — from their punky beginnings to their prank-rap stardom, to their string of genuine and soulful…
See also: Wooden Indian, Amen Dunes, and Entrance Band at Chasers I’ll admit it. I screwed up. I went out to Chasers to catch Wooden Indian, Amen Dunes, and Entrance Band, and while I was out, I planned to interview Mitch Freedom of Wooden Indian and indie-soul collective What Laura…
Marc Maron’s reputation precedes him. The comedian turned podcaster has a rep for digging deep with the guests on his podcast. New episodes are uploaded to his site twice per week, and no matter the guest — notorious joke thief Carlos Mencia, author/musician/L.A. Weekly columnist Henry Rollins, Wayne Coyne of…
Hip-hop superstar Nicki Minaj is bringing her “Pink Friday” tour to Phoenix on Tuesday, August 7, at Comerica Theatre. The 14-date North American tour finds her skipping some pretty big cities (L.A. and Philadelphia get radio shows) on her first headlining tour, but returning to Phoenix after supporting Britney Spears…
See also: Colorstore Brings Film and Rock Together at FilmBar With a Little Help From Their Friends Colorstore’s “My Life As a Beaver” starts with a fuzzy guitar, just like “Revolution” by The Beatles, then erupts into a blown-speaker pop opus. Whatever you do, don’t snicker at the title, though…
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. Does Phoenix need a heavy metal strip club? How did the “Real Coachella” festival compare to…
Analog obsessives and audiophiles may bemoan the inevitable digitalization of music on the grounds that MP3s lack the sound quality of vinyl, but there’s been no greater victim of the download revolution than the album cover. Think about it — would those Frank Frazetta-painted Molly Hatchet records scream thunderous menace…
The phrase “big in Japan” is rife with negative connotations for American musicians. What does it mean when another nation is crazy for a band that remains a lesser-known act in their homeland? In the case of Phoenix indie-rock band Knesset, it simply means that the Japanese are ahead of…
