Is Torche a metal band? Depends on whom you ask. Despite their pop leanings and lead singer/guitarist Steve Brooks’ repeated claims that Torche is not a metal band, their fan base consists largely of stoner rock and post-metal fans. Why? Well, first, Torche is signed to Hydra Head Records, the…

Don’t look now, but there’s a revolution going on in the Valley music scene. No, not that kind of revolution — no dope, guns, and fucking in the streets. But, over the past few years, the Valley has quietly become a hotbed for young, Internet-savvy power-pop bands weaned on Jimmy…

If Kinch doesn’t become the next Phoenix band to earn national acclaim, it won’t be for lack of effort. The guys have been spending plenty of time on the road recently, and drummer Jake Malone confirms that the band members have essentially committed themselves to music full time. “I quit…

Every once in a while, a band comes along that breaks with so many conventions and pushes so many boundaries that music critics laud them with terms like “revolutionary,” “groundbreaking,” and “genre-defying.” The Summer Set is not one of those bands and, surprisingly, they’re not afraid to say so. Ask…

In rap music’s formative years of the 1980s and early ’90s, being a fan of hip-hop was often an all-or-nothing affair. Two decades ago, it wasn’t unusual for a rap fan to listen to gangsta rap pioneers N.W.A. or Ice-T one minute, then throw in a cassette by conscious rappers…

Describing Dry River Yacht Club’s sound is no easy task. Not only does the Tempe octet sound unlike any other local band, but thanks to their use of such unconventional instruments as the bassoon, French horn, and accordion, they really don’t sound like anyone else, period. Imagine Björk singing for…

With Wrestlemania coming to Glendale on Sunday, pro wrestling fever is taking the Valley by storm. In addition to the big event itself, there are numerous auxiliary events happening all weekend, including a Friday gig at Club Red by World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho’s heavy metal band, Fozzy. In honor…

Is it still the great American Rock ‘n’ Roll dream if the person living it wants to move back to Japan? Ask Masaki Murashita, the 24-year-old lead singer and guitarist of Phoenix thrashers Hemoptysis. Murashita has spent the past nine years in North America — attending high school in Canada…

It’s been almost a year since Antique Scream packed their gear, and little else, into their touring van, left Phoenix, and moved to Seattle. Back then, the band — singer/guitarist Chris Rutledge, bassist Stu Lasswell, and drummer Bill Fees — had just finished a three-month U.S. tour and signed with…

Random If Random wanted to be any more the opposite of mainstream rap, he’d probably have to take up the banjo and start playing country music. A middle-school social studies teacher by day, Random writes hip-hop music that is devoid of profanity, misogyny, violence and (thankfully) Auto-Tune. Instead, Random’s hip-hop…

It’s been just more than a year since Phoenix grindcore revivalists Landmine Marathon inked a deal with Prosthetic Records, so the first thing I wanted to hear about when we sat down for an interview recently was how their lives had changed since signing a record contract. Surely, there would…

“Uh, I think someone at our label talked to someone at their label. I’m not really sure.” Interview enough bands coming through town, and you’ll eventually just quit asking how a particular tour came together — it’s usually something lame involving an A&R dude. That’s what makes the upcoming tour…

It may not be terribly surprising to hear that the local musician performing regularly at the Trunk Space has a spacey, hip-hop/folk song about woodlice called “Grumpy Pill Bugs” on his new album. If anything, it sounds like just another night of lo-fi, indie-pop weirdness that downtown regulars have come…

It’s no secret that Phoenix is desperately seeking its first rap superstar. The commercial failure of Willy Northpole’s debut album this summer simply reinforced Phoenix’s status as the biggest U.S. city without a bona fide hip-hop success story. As smaller cities like Atlanta, St. Louis, Detroit, and Minneapolis continue to…

A lot of rappers call themselves teachers, but few have self-applied the title as accurately as Raheem Jarbo. For Jarbo — a.k.a. Random or Mega Ran — it’s no holier-than-thou, conscience-rap boast. He teaches middle school English and social studies at Omega Academy in west Phoenix. At Omega, Jarbo puts…

There’s an adage in the business world that goes something like this: You’ve got to spend money to make money. It’s a mantra Tempe metal band The Asylum has taken to heart, and so far, it appears to be working. “It’s dedication to quality product,” says guitarist and founding member…