Maybe west side rapper FACES chose his moniker because that’s the place he’s most comfortable: in the faces of listeners. Along with his partner in grime, producer/percussionist YAWNING BOY, recently dropped a new record that continues to showcase an abrasive style and staccato deliver. With an aggressive flow and slow,…
When I called and spoke with Dan Deacon earlier this month, he was in the middle of his tour and didn’t know where he was (he guessed somewhere between Georgia and North Carolina). Deacon, who is known for many weird side projects and his bizarre, experimental music, has become a…
Leon Russell is the definition of the term “session man.” He’s played with Bob Dylan, Elton John, Ray Charles, Rolling Stones, Joe Cocker, The Beach Boys, George Harrison, and more. He’s a “musician’s musician,” admired by the guys you admire, and his solo albums have found him exploring the sounds…
The only thing scarier this Halloween than a Joe Arapio or Jan Brewer mask is Oculus Infernum: A Halloween Tale, a dark album of Halloween music devised by Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider. Anyone who has ever watched a horror film or felt the fear of walking alone at night…
Ten bucks if you can read this back to usBy Alee Karim Once upon a time, extreme metal bands opted to contort their logos into the most stylized mutations possible as a way to visually represent their music, and as a proud testament to the obscurity of their appeal. But…
By now you’ve probably grown accustomed to starting every other week with a dispatch from “Chicken Little” himself, Maynard James Keenan. Up on the Sun is proud to feature Keenan’s column twice a month, and you folks have responded in a big way to the the winemaker/multimedia artist/musician/actor’s musings. As…
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…
In the past I have definitely bitched about how the Southwest gets skipped over by a lot of metal festivals. But here’s some good news: our fair state is finally putting on one of its own. This weekend the Southwest Terror Fest goes down in Tucson, serving as a crazy-ass…
Yeah, yeah, yeah…we get it. Mondays suck (we’ve read Garfield). But it means the start of a new week, which means a bunch of killer shows in and around Phoenix. And here are a few of the coolest — our top five must-see shows this week…
The news waits for no one — at least that’s what we read somewhere — so it’s perfectly understandable that you, the reader, might have missed out on a musical tidbit, breaking news about your favorite venue, or one of our rants. So enjoy this digest-style sampling of some of…
Professional wrestler Jeff Hardy is a bit of a freak. Even the 35-year-old Total Nonstop Action superstar admits it. He’s also a pretty creative dude. Besides designing his own face paint and ring attire, the punky and funky grappler also recorded his own theme music with his band Peroxwhy?gen. Whenever…
Sam Dorko is pretty adept with a set of turntables, a laptop, and a few dozen tracks. Catch the 25-year-old when he performs either as DJ T.A.I. (shorthand for his mixmaster identity “The Asian Invasion”) or with his longtime partner Andrew Hood their local EDM band Pastries With Teeth, and…
Country artist Shelby Lynne became something of a household name in 1999 when her album I Am Shelby Lynne dropped to immediate critical acclaim. That she had already released five albums seemed not matter to Grammy Award voters who gave her the Best New Artist award. At this stage in…
Electronic artist Bassnectar (Lorin Ashton) is back on the road for his Fall Tour 2012 in support of his recentthe album Vava Voom. Influenced equally by metal, ambient, psychedelic, and hip-hop, his music defies expectations, and his fanbase reacts passionately. I spoke with Bassnectar about both of our Electric Forest…
1999 was a weird year. That June, George W. Bush announced his candidacy for President, people were partying like it was the year in question, and a prevalent fear of the Y2K bug spread like Ebola fever. Muse also released their debut album, Showbiz, instantly drawing comparisons to their British…
Jason Hildebrandt Hildebrandt is the executive sous chef for Ocotillo Golf Resort. Meet him Thursday, October 18 at San Tan Brewery for a beer dinner at 6 p.m. For more information, go here. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play…
Curious about what’s going on around town this weekend? Need some suggestions where to rock, dance, or krump in the Valley of the Sun? Don’t fret: These are our Five Shows to See This Weekend. Unable to get out of town and head to the massive Apache Lake Music Festival…
Ah, politics; that time-honored tradition of finger-pointing, polls, debates, rallies and rock ‘n’ roll. Now in the home stretch of campaigning, politicians everywhere are making their final push towards election night. For Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Rich Carmona, having one rockstar on his bill wasn’t enough, so he called in…
Violinist Lindsey Stirling has a little something for everyone, primarily mixing classical and electronic music together. She became a YouTube sensation thanks to her innovative covers. She even wore elf ears in her Zelda suite. Her music videos are just as beautiful as her music, traveling to locales like New…
Father John Misty @ Rhythm Room”I want to do what a stripper does, and in another way do what a carnival barker does, or a shaman, some kind of Pentecostal preacher,” Josh Tillman, the singer/songwriter known by his alter ego Father John Misty, said when we spoke in advance of…
Metric @ Marquee Theatre| 10/10/12The moment the word “escape” crossed Emily Haines’ lips, it’s hard to go back. In concert Wednesday, as it is on the band’s latest release Synthetica, “escape” comes in the first verse of the first song. If there’s a time to think about what that means,…
Downtown Phoenix regulars know Jeremiah Gratza — he’s that dapper guy with white-rimmed glasses and usually a snazzy hat — as Director of Operations of local promotion house Stateside Presents. But Gratza is looking to expand his resume by launching a brand new vinyl imprint. Gratza is celebrating the birth…
