We love the internet here at Up on the Sun — clearly. But there are moments when you need a break, when you’ve read too many disparaging anonymous comments, too many angry rants, or just stared at the screen too long. This comic is about those moments. Enjoy…
Friday the 13th is supposed to be unlucky, or at the very least, a little disturbing. Apparently the folks at the uber-hip Sticky Fingers dance party got the memo: tonight the crew of resident DJs host spastic noise-makers Melted Cassettes, described by the crew as being akin to “Aphex Twin,Skinny…
2012 is looking to be a comeback year for infamous Phoenix-born “deathrock” combo The Mighty Sphincter. The mythic band — part of the same Placebo Records scene that birthed JFA, International Language, and many, many more — has always been lead by songwriter Doug Clark, and he says that this…
Stephen Steinbrink is a pretty busy guy, but it looks like there will be one less thing on his plate at the end of the month: his venue/art-space Yellow Canary Dance Hall will be shutting its doors. We profiled the space as an example of how Kickstarter has helped fund…
The brand new issue of Phoenix New Times is on stands and online now. Here’s what we’ve got for your this week: Serene Dominic sits down at Harvey’s Wineburger with Snow Songs, one of Phoenix’s “most evocative and engaging bands” to discuss how bands will get their music out in…
When the news broke that X103.9 would be “shifting formats from alternative rock to a “by Gen-X, for Gen-X playlist,” the natural question was, “Will any of the X103.9 DJs be staying on in the transition?” My103.9 launched today, and the site’s website, My Phoenix Radio, has an answer, in…
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 albums sold the most copies at Hoodlums Music in 2011? What songs are easing our…
In 1970, Elton John released his self-titled sophomore album and Tumbleweed Connection. In 1974, Kiss released their eponymous debut and its followup, Hotter Than Hell, nine months later. In 2003, alt-country songwriter Ryan Adams released his most flippant album, Rock N’ Roll, the same day he released his darkest, Love…
Though the name Mighty Sphincter may sound like a stereotypical fictional punk band (say, the band that the mohawked goofus on the bus was jamming on his ghetto blaster in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home before Spock gave him the knockout pinch or whatever), the mythic Phoenix band was…
Welcome to the latest installment of our weekly feature, Sound Off, in which Jason P. Woodbury is joined by a different guest each week to listen to and discuss three tracks from local Phoenix artists. If you would like your songs to be considered for future Sound Off columns, please…
Phoenix music historian Johnny “D” Dixon has a way with words. He recently updated his Mostly Vinyl Facebook page (the official site of his Sunday evening anything-goes program on KWSS 106.7) with a cryptic message: “What can I say…..I can’t believe this has been sittin’ in the can for 40+…
This weekend sees two very different fitness events: Sunday’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon (with performances from a variety of bands, including The B-52s) and one day earlier at Mesa Proving Grounds, the Tough Mudder, described on the event’s official website as “a hardcore 10-12 mile obstacle courses designed by British…
After tweets yesterday from Dave Pratt Live co-host Kassi Jayde indicated yesterday that KEXX-FM (103.9) would be shifting to a “classic rock” format, a Facebook post by Gadger, a X103.9 jock, who hosts (or hosted) the station’s “Local Frequency” program, states that the format shift will be less “classic rock”…
Larkin Grimm’s infant son Otis is already more rock ‘n’ roll than you. From the safety of his car seat, the four-month-old interjected a couple times during my interview with Grimm. Larkin and Otis are on tour, headed in her Prius to Albuquerque, New Mexico for another gig. “I’m playing…
Update: Station DJ defines new format as “built for Gen-X , by Gen-X. Looks like big changes are headed to the Valley’s long-running X103.9 (those of us who have been around awhile still slip up and call it “The Edge” regularly). According to Kassi Jayde, the co-host of Dave Pratt…
The speculation is over. See the 2012 festival lineup. (Double weekend!)…
Though best known for her folk-pop ditty “Brand New Key,” (also known as “the roller skate song in Boogie Nights”) Melanie Safka hasn’t stopped making music over a four decade span. Her latest, Since You Never Heard of Me, is full of the wry, sturdy songs that have defined her…
We like to keep you updated on what’s moving off the shelves at Valley record stores with our weekly What’s Selling blog, but we’re also aware that after awhile, big stacks of records and CDs get to be a cumbersome haul. Seriously, moving with records is a special kind of…
Pickster One, Scottie Does, and Dumperfoo don’t unite as Crusher Sound System too often, but when they do, it’s worth catching. I saw the trio back in April, and the mixture of Pickster’s excellent song choices (“Rock With You”) and the heavy live drums of Does were irresistible. The supergroup…
So, the Radiohead thing felt pretty big, and Gun N’ Roses was positively surreal. So try this one on for size: Van Halen, featuring David Lee Roth and the Van Halens: Eddie, Alex, and Wolfgang, are headed to US Airways Center on Saturday, June 16. That’s right. Saturday night. With…
There’s a curious balance at work in the music of Oregon’s Starfucker (STRFKR, for the less profane), a mix of the dark and dancey, as evidenced on the band’s 2011 album Reptilians, and the track “Death as a Fetish” in particular. Over bouncy beats and buoyant synth, singer Josh Hodges…
British tabloid NME has a penchant for overstating it — you know, a new “savoir of rock” every couple weeks — but they’re right on the money with this one: the January 7 issue of the magazine spotlights Phoenix-based Otro Mundo as one of the 100 New Bands You Have…
