If you have wanted to check out Phoenix-based Treasure Mammal, but aren’t ready for one of his longer efforts, listening to this 7-inch is the perfect way to ease yourself into his unique (if not slightly disturbed) sonic art. “Ain’t No Shame in My Game” features a sparse techno beat…
The scents of stale Old Style and white guy hang in the air. You just heard someone, for the third time today, singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” in a Harry Caray-like fashion. Some dude named Ronnie “Woo Woo” is standing outside of Chase Field chirping some inaudible…
We’re all about covering the scene, if you will, so does that make us scenesters? We hope not, because we totally want to attend the weekly Punk Nite at Q-Lounge, whose MySpace page proudly proclaims, “Scenesters need not apply.” Sun., July 20, 7 p.m., 2008…
Worried that the New Times Summer of Sound: Experimental/Eclectic show is no bang for your five bucks? Then let us break it down for you: Black Carl: White kids playing super-awesome and authentic soul/funk. Andrew Jackson Jihad: Once before a gig at a family bookstore, lead singer Sean Bonnette nearly…
What can you expect from Ubiquity Records artist and badass producer John Beltran’s first-ever performance out this way? Everything. You see, one never knows where a Beltran cut will meander. Some tunes lean toward a quiet-storm chill-out factor inspired by Radiohead’s Nigel Godrich and even some New Age elements. Others,…
It’s been a while since we devoted ink/digital pixels to NunZilla, the punk-rock darlings of New Times cover-story fame (“Bad Habits,” April 5, 2007, Niki D’Andrea) and the group that infamously pulled one of the most-documented punk-rock charades this town has even seen (“More Bad Habits,” August 2, 2007, Niki…
By Steve Jansen I risked my life for this. There was a point during yesterday’s monsoon that I thought my four-door sedan and I were about to be splattered on the median wall of the U.S. 60. During that moment, I wondered what would be written in my obit…
By Steve Jansen One microphone and, uh, one microphone. That’s the only thing used to record The Black Jacket’s self-titled debut. The result: A rock ‘n’ roll adventure in unmastered, lo-fi goodness. “Like Father, Like Daughter” is the album’s best song. Imagine if you could sprout wings and fly through…
What’s the most surprising characteristic about this DIY-sounding album? That it’s not just some dude holed up in his parents’ basement multi-tracking in the bathroom to achieve that just-so sound. Because it seriously sounds like that. However, The Black Jacket is a full band featuring a number of members from…
L.A. four-piece HEALTH sounds more suited to the hipster-tastic Rogue Bar than Trunk Space, where the band will be posting up tonight. We felt this especially after we listened to Health’s hit “Crimewave.” During certain movements of the dance-happy song, which is driven by palpitating, drum-circle-like beats, something screams at…
By Steve Jansen The one and only I’ve never understood the standing-in-line-to-buy-stuff phenomenon. Call me a selfish snob, but I absolutely relish my leisure time, plus I’m an extremely impatient person when it comes to queuing with other people. So why would I waste my time smelling some dude’s B.O…
By Steve Jansen A few weeks ago in a recent Noise Boy column, I wrote about Eric Graf and the fellows who front Carillons. Well, before they formed this epic electro-indie outfit, they had another just-as-epic group called Ecclesia. Here’s a song called “Screenery” from Ecclesia’s 2006 debut Birdsong Over…
The San Diego Padres. Ugh. What to say about these NL West cellar dwellers? [Insert enough white space here to fill up the article’s predetermined word count.] Aw, man. That ain’t going to fly with our editor. Plus, we want to keep our job, so we’ll gab as best we…
To call young stud tenor saxophonist Paul-Eirik Melhus the next John Coltrane or even in the vein of a contemporary jazz cat like Chris Speed would be premature and just plain stupid. But we do gotta say that this 16-year-old dude is one of the best players in town, regardless…
Where do you think the term “The Tempe Tornado” comes from? A reference to the loftification of University Drive or the Anywhereville-ing of Mill Avenue? Nope, the moniker belongs to the one and only Lealand McSpadden, one of Manzanita Speedway’s greatest racecar drivers. The Arizona Motorsports Hall of Fame member,…
By Steve Jansen Il Posto – the Sunnyslope-located Italian restaurant that used to be called Our Gang Cafe – got it right. What does “it” refer to? Well, first of the all, the ambiance, from the sharp looking inside dining area to the New York City-esque patio complete with misters…
By Steve Jansen My Feral Kin rocks the world music tip If you checked out my “Noise Boy” column on My Feral Kin a few months back, you probably gathered, at the very least, that I’m digging on their fusion of rock and world music. Like, big-time…
There’s a moment on The Blackened Flat Tax — a 30-minute effort by the rock-heavy, world-music-fortified Phoenix-based band — when we experience some serious chills (this is our body’s positive, uncontrolled reaction to music that really wows us). The goose bumps start to form at the beginning of “Long Sinner,”…
Man, say it ain’t so. One of our favorite dance clubs is closing? Yep, the rumors are true. So let’s cry and our beers and shake our booties off during the Glam Closing Party. Club regulars Bigie, Kevin the Makeout Bandit, Epidemic, and BC/AD will spin at the party. Sat.,…
By Steve Jansen One of my favorite drives in town, which I enjoyed yesterday afternoon, is Main Street Mesa. Despite gentrification and the encroachment of light rail, the old drag’s retro glory still remains intact. Many of the ‘60s era roadside motels are open for business. There’s the diveiest dive…
By Steve Jansen OnePlace — the downtown music venue that infamously doubles as a church — announced last night on MySpace that they are closing their doors. The 2006 Best of Phoenix winner will be holding their final show on July 31…
Patchwork tapestries glued together from trash, cityscapes made out of discarded glass bottles, and junk mail assembled into fancy wall collages are just some of the scavenger exhibits you may find at your local contemporary art gallery. While it’s a hot trend in visual art, the hunter-gatherer/assemblage spirit hasn’t caught…
