The writer in charge of FutureKind’s Facebook biography has a lot to say. This is not standard press-kit chatter; this is three-syllable-plus words that could put your everyday thesaurus user to shame, terms like “artisanal,” “amalgam,” and “visceral.” We’re not talking about the most-mind blowing cheese to ever hit your…
Most EDM producers cut their teeth in the club, gauging crowd reaction to discern the heaters from the vibe-killing missteps. The recently formed Phoenix-based electronic duo Pastries with Teeth has honed their craft on a decidedly different dance floor. Andrew “Hoodwink” Hood was approached by the Phoenix Contemporary Dance Company…
Alecia Beth Moore — better known by her pop culture handle Pink — has got a real mouth on her. In addition to being a powerhouse vocalist, Pink delights in saying exactly what’s on her mind, portraying the quientessential “tough broad” role to a tee. She sings her songs like…
Phoenix brought it hard in 2012. The year saw a flurry of excellent records and downloads come from the Valley’s hardcore, metal, and punk underbelly. Leading the charge was Sorrower, whose split 7-inch with Portland’s Violence of Humanity ended up on New Times’ music blog Up on the Sun’s year-end…
When Rebel Disco czar Jake Goldsmith got the call, he practically lost his shit. Psychemagik would, indeed, be coming to Phoenix to pull a guest gig at the local hepcat DJ collective’s Wednesday night party Push Push at Bar Smith, 130 East Washington Street. The 30-year-old’s enthusiasm was to be…
Maybe “two turntables and a microphone” used to be where it was at. But that was in 1996, when Beck released his iconic “Where It’s At,” with a chorus calling out the basic DJ setup. These days, thanks in no small part to people like Steve Aoki, DJs have become…
Think one-man band: cymbals on the elbows, drum on the back, horns under the arms, and tambourines on the knees creating a cacophony of sound designed to annoy passersby. Now, try to envision That 1 Guy, a.k.a. Mike Silverman, as he takes the one-man band concept to a whole new…
In case you haven’t set foot in a grocery store in the past week only to be assaulted by a red and pink barrage to the eyes, let us clue you in: Valentine’s Day is on the way. You’ve no doubt began prepping (or you’ve at least convinced yourself that…
Murs, The Insects, Fashawn, Prof @ Club Red|2/5/13It looks like it’s that time of the year again, as Murs gathers a select group of rappers to embark on a nationwise tour leading up to his annual “Paid Dues” festival in March. The endeavor this year, aptly titled “The Road to…
Last week we ran a list of Coachella bands headed to Phoenix around the festival’s dates. Well, since then the list has grown, including big name acts like Phoenix, The Postal Service, and Tegan and Sara. So allow us to fill you in with a comprehensive list of Coachella acts…
Among the many accomplishments baroque folk songwriter Michelle Blades achieved while she was in Phoenix was fronting the exuberant glee-punk trio North Dakota, which placed her normally taut voice in a virulent garage rock context facilitated by bandmates Mo Neuharth and Emily Hobeheidar…
Have you had you’re eyes glued to the psychedelic prog-rock message boards? If not, maybe you missed the news that The Mars Volta broke up, due in large part to lead guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s focus on his other band, Bosnian Rainbows. But you probably didn’t miss the news, because The…
For the excitable Generation Y character in all of us 20-somethings: Fall Out Boy has returned. With their 2005 mega-album From Under the Cork Tree, the Chicago-based four-piece put a poetically self-aware spin on the theme of pop-punk. They laced the album with ironic and lengthy song titles, true pop…
Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls’ Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to help you stop…
Besides being Black History Month, did you also know February as its much lesser known monthly monicker Heartworm Awareness Month? National Pet Dental Health Awareness Month? Termite Awareness Month? Sinus Pain Awareness Month? That last one was moved up from March, presumably because we needed those three less days to…
The Benefit Dinner Concert for Pueblo Band combines two goods — music and charity. Pueblo del Sol School will host performances by Field Tripp, Snake! Snake! Snakes!, Catfish Mustache, and A Life of Science so that the eighth-grade class can raise money to perform in a music showcase in Anaheim,…
Sami AnsariDave GrohlBy Whitney Friedlander The lobby of Dave Grohl’s Northridge-based 606 Studios has a Joan Jett book on the coffee table and a row of classic arcade games like Donkey Kong Jr. against one wall. On top of a photo booth sits an iconic “Moonman” MTV Video Music Award,…
Hey, Morrissey fans, you weren’t, like, really looking forward to the legendarily dour British indie icon performing on Sunday, February 10, at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe, were you? Because we’re bummed to report that Moz has rescheduled his date AGAIN, following a postponement in November 2012…
Daniel Johnston @ Crescent Ballroom | 2/3/13An enthusiastic young man in the crowd shouts: “We all love you, Daniel!” Daniel Johnston, the grizzled man onstage, backed by a selection of Phoenix all-star players from Jimmy Eat World, Reubens Accomplice, Dry River Yacht Club, Boxhead Ensemble, Limbeck, and Source Victoria, answers…
Once a week, Up on the Sun features a new comic strip from punk rocker, cartoonist, and full-time dad Brad Dwyer. See the New Times print edition to check out the strip in glorious, inky newsprint each Thursday…
I have always been one of those metal heads that claims to listen to all musical genres–except for country. But in the past year, I’ve realized that classic country songs, with their imagery and energy, are pretty hard to dislike. Take David Allan Coe’s “If That Ain’t Country” for example…
Despite cultivating an audience that includes both folk lovers and metalheads, the gorgeously downcast songwriting of Chelsea Wolfe has been mistakenly typecast: The stark cover of Wolfe’s feral, cacophonous 2011 album, Apokalypsis, showed a portrait of the California native with whited-out eyes, an image she has said was intended to…
