Arts & Culture

Get your ball cap, baseball, jersey, forehead . . . whatever you like signed when the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Eric Byrnes stops by Sports Collectibles to sign autographs. Sun., Nov. 2, 2008…

Americans suck at death. To us, mortality is so taboo that when it actually happens, we survivors emotionally crumble. We could learn a thing or two from our hermanos from Mexico, who aren’t afraid to face death straight on. A good place to start is the Dia de los Muertos…

Maricopa County Sheriff candidate Saban is the only dude standing between us and the prospect of another term by You-Know-Who. Now, we’d never tell you how to vote, but vote for this guy. We’re begging you. Please. Thu., Oct. 30, 6:30-8 p.m., 2008…

DJ Seduce, a local jock who has dedicated his life as a music enthusiast to searching for grand grooves that shuffle people’s feet while moving their souls, has really gone way out – specifically, Brazil – to collect music for his latest comp, Brazil:Sambossica. The album, which features grooves by…

DJ Seduce, a local jock who has dedicated his life as a music enthusiast to searching for grand grooves that shuffle people’s feet while moving their souls, has really gone way out – specifically, Brazil – to collect music for his latest comp, Brazil:Sambossica. The album, which features grooves by…

Oh, John, where did our love go? When first we met, you were dashing and dauntless, a young Turk fresh from the fight, a wounded Greek god. And how we loved you for it. Nowadays? Not so much. Take your things and get out, you old crank. You can have…

Phoenicians might as well accept the sad truth: There isn’t much indie cred to living in the Valley, with all of its strip malls, strip malls, and, well, you get the idea. Then there’s Local First AZ, an organization created by Stinkweeds/Modified Arts owner Kimber Lanning that recognizes and represents…

Marshall McLuhan, high priest of pop culture, is well known for his phrase “the medium is the message.” In a way, ASU’s ABBA (A Buncha Book Artists) has espoused this expression. The student-run organization of interdisciplinary artists and writers is dedicated to promoting the book as an art form in…

Okay, we fess up. We’re huge nerds, even in social settings. We’re the type who storm out of retail stores that cherry-pick certain songs from John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme instead of playing the entire 33-minute suite. We read post-apocalyptic magical realist fiction from sub-Saharan African novelists at crowded Mill…

Dre of OutKast, amid a chorus of East Coast boos during the 1995 Source Awards, defiantly declared, “The South got something to say.” Diplo bit, and he’s been weaving what his native South has to say into his mixes for years as one-half of Philadelphia’s Hollertronix and as a solo…

Phoenix may be overrun with strip malls, but we didn’t invent them. In fact, Los Angeles is considered the real home of the mini-mall, a place designed for urban automobility, for grabbing a quick snack and doing some speedy shopping. L.A. architect John Kaliski, author of Everyday Urbanism, will discuss…

Former New Times staffer Douglas Towne presents his altar/ode to defunct technology in conjunction with the gallery’s larger “Dia de los Muertos” exhibit. Towne’s construct features a still-working J.C. Penney 8-track player booming out stuff like the Fabulous Poodles, Jefferson Starship, and Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. Fri., Nov…

Retro’s been a fad for so long now that it, too, seems almost retro. But cool will always be cool, and Marco Polo Saldana, who sings and plays standup bass for local “psychobilly” band the Curse of the Pink Hearse, knows cool. He carries cool with him in an old…

A Starship Enterprise Tue., Nov. 4, 6 p.m., 2008…

If heavy metal cello group Apocalyptica is any indication, whatever’s in the water in Finland makes for a pretty heavy tonic. The band takes classical music instruments and sets them to epic renditions of metal songs, or melds them into their own booming, bottom-heavy compositions. While the group (consisting of…

Mickey Avalon’s been through some shit, man. His mom had him selling weed for her when he was just a teenager. She fired him a little while later, though, when she discovered he was shooting up smack at the age of 16. And things got only stickier and trickier from…

We were watching The Daily Show the other night when the comedy/news program’s corespondents screamed into the camera “Just End It!” And frankly, we’re inclined to agree. Witnessing this year’s race for the White House unfold is kind of like watching your favorite team in the seventh game of the…

After his son died, the Scottsdale-based author became a true believer in the controversial world of psychics and mediums. He wrote about his conversion in the new book Soul Shift: Finding Where the Dead Go, which documents his encounters with professional mediums Allison Dubois and Laurie Campbell. He discusses and…

Wikipedia has no information about the top speed of your average goldfish. But based on what we’ve seen every week at Giligin’s, they’ve darn gast little swimmers. Tuesdays, 10 p.m., 2008…

Nestling somewhere between metalcore and screamo/post-hardcore, From Dark sounds a lot like a bunch of other bands you’ve probably heard: The Used, Atreyu, Avenged Sevenfold, Underoath, Thrice, and Senses Fail, to name a few. The formula? Spiraling, melodic guitars; dissonant lyrics; steady drum rhythms; and vocals that alternate between singing…

The comedian who has made cameo appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! performs. Sat., Nov. 8, 8 p.m., 2008…

After two solo live albums, it’s easy to forget Jackson Browne’s versatility as a musician, which might be boiled down to one key characteristic: He’s a great listener. On his first new album in six years, Time the Conqueror, and on its tour, Browne features background vocalists Chavonne Morris and…