This year, bands like Japandroids and JEFF the Brotherhood have offered varied flavors of back-to-basics rock, all of them commendable in their unselfconscious energy. But it comes at a time where some baldly question the relevance of the stadium rock ethos. Frenzied power-chord jammers The Henry Clay People, hailing from…
In 1998, pioneering hip-hoppers Mos Def and Talib Kweli teamed up for Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star. Call it conscious rap or backpack rap if you must; we prefer to call it one of the best hip-hop records of the ’90s. In the 14 years since the…
Don’t worry, Arizona hipsters: There still is time to get behind Kongos. I know how you fickle fans operate. You drop a band and put your faith in someone more obscure the minute a band you formerly championed begins headlining shows and making money, with thousands of fans shouting out…
With the zeitgeist celebrating any and all things EDM, trance has sort of fallen by the wayside in favor of more fashionable electro-house and dubstep. Europeans still go bonkers for the heart-pounding haywire style, born in German clubs in the early 1990s and championed by Armin van Buuren and Paul…
What would Jerry do? That’s a question posed by a bumper sticker, but it also adds context to this query: If a band exclusively plays the music of another person or group, whether dead or alive, shouldn’t that group then be considered a tribute band and have a name reflective…
Thursday 19 Afterlife: Throwback Thursdays (electronica, dance) Bobby Q’s: All-Star Thursdays with with DJ Phlava, MC Wolf Starr, DJ Dark Vader, & DJ Skoolboi (hip-hop, Top 40, R&B, reggae) Capitol Sports Lounge: DJ Danny Peru (old school, Latin, Top 40) Crescent Ballroom: Discothèque Thursdays Sean Watson, Hoodwink, & more (disco)…
Texan Hans Zimmerman started The Young — with its nearly-impossible-to-Google moniker — as a solo project, but it quickly blossomed into something else. 2010’s Voyagers of Legend (Mexican Summer Records) was a psychedelic masterpiece of pieced-together garage rock riffs, ramshackle drums, and distinct melodies, something like The Replacements lost in…
This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up on the Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts. What are the weirdest instruments we found in Phoenix thrift shops and on Craigslist? What’s the…
Bliss/ReBar is a great place to relax on the patio with a group of friends while people watching and sipping a fruity drink. The bar attracts a diverse, yet friendly crowd of folks who want to hang out, grab a bite, or perhaps dance if the right song is playing…
His major label debut, channel ORANGE, was only released digitally a week ago and physically yesterday, but I’m going to wager a guess: You’re sick of hearing about Frank Ocean. The singer/songwriter has been the subject of hundreds of insightful think-pieces, a talking point in the (necessary) discussion about hip-hop…
See also: We Spoke to Lamb of God’s Chris Adler Before the Band’s Future Was Up in the Air See also: Vintage Violence: TOAD’s Rotten Tide Oozes Analog Menace The arrest and detention of Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe in the Czech Republic has held the attention of metal…
See also: Club Candids: Calvin Harris at Myst See also: Sound Wave Music Festival 2012 Announced for September When Scottish electopop producer and vocalist Calvin Harris appeared in Scottsdale in January, he nearly caused a riot. Thousands of club kids and EDM fans jammed into the now-defunct Myst to watch…
See also: Zach Booher of Pop-Punk Band While We’re Up Killed in Car Accident Steven Rouk of Tempe acoustic pop-punk outfit While We’re Up, and Trevor McCoy have been released from the Luther Hospital in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, following the fatal accident that claimed the life of Mesa-native Zach Booher…
See also: You Ready for the State Fair? A Guide to the Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum Schedule (feat. Adam Lambert, Weezer, Jane’s Addiction, and More) See also: Joan Jett @ Talking Stick Resort I’ve always considered casino venues at the bottom of a musician’s career, just above the state fair circuit…
See also: Z-Trip Talks Growing Up in Phoenix, Johhny D., Crate-Digging, Mexican Food, Smite, and More See also: Up on the Sun’s Coachella 2012 Coverage Goldenvoice promised an announcement at 6 p.m. today, but looks like someone jumped the gun: Get ready for the S.S. Coachella cruise, which takes a…
Simon Joyner The Trunk Space Monday, July 16, 2012 See also: Songwriter Simon Joyner Chases Ghosts on His Latest Album Here’s why (like myself, a few weeks ago) you probably haven’t heard of Simon Joyner: He’s really not fond of fame. Despite collaborating with The Mountain Goats, impacting Beck in…
See also: The Young @ Yucca Tap Room The Young (Texas foursome guitarist/vocalist Hans Zimmerman, bassist John Costanzo, guitarist Kyle Edwards, and drummer Ryan Maloney) sneaked into underground pop consciousness with their stunning 2010 release, Voyagers of Legend (Mexican Summer), a breathless burst psychedelia that referenced The Replacements as much…
Legendary singer/songwriter Daniel Johnston is coming to Crescent Ballroom on Sunday, November 11. The mythic outsider artist and inspiration to Kurt Cobain (who famously wore a Johnston shirt), Beck, Bright Eyes, The Flaming Lips, more (see the tribute album The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered and Covered) was the subject…
See also: Soulfly and Fear Factory to Play The Gathering of the Juggalos See also: Seven Awesome Things About The Gathering of the Juggalos 2011 See also: FBI Report Officially Classifies Juggalos a Hybrid Gang; Arizona Boasts “Strong Juggalo Presence” Okay guys, so hear me out. I.C.P.’s The Gathering of…
See also: Span Phly Drops Third Free Album in Spy vs Spy Series See also: Phal Kilmer Talks Spy vs. Spy Collab, Set to Challenge in The Voicebox Battles Phoenix rapper Jose Alberdi, better known as Span Phly, continues his lyrical assault with the fourth release in his collaboration series,…
See also: Throwback Thursday: Green Day’s Dookie The evolution of Green Day has to be one of the strangest transformations in music history. Over the last 25 years the band has moved from angsty, power-pop tinged punk to politically-charged rock operas to Broadway musicals. So a return to their roots,…
See also: North Side Kings’ Legacy of Brutality See also: Danzig Says He Would Have Played Wolverine Less ‘Gay’ Than Hugh Jackman See also: Danzig @ Marquee Theatre See also: When Danny Punched Danzig by Serene Dominic Glenn Danzig, demonic rock-god and real-life comic character, has a way with words…
