March was filled with plenty of madness for Pickster One. The local turntablist whiz and moombahton specialist spent the month working different gigs around Austin during last month’s South by Southwest before jetting off to south Florida to perform for thousands at such parties as Hard Miami, during the annual…
There was once a time when the name M. Ward was reserved for only the hushiest kind of record collectors, the kind of dudes who scratched John Fahey and Leo Kottke records off their wish lists one by one, who didn’t think alt-country was a dirty word, the kind of…
One of the best moments of the current season of NBC’s Parks and Recreation (in a season full of great moments) was the show’s spot-on NPR spoof in the episode “Born and Raised.” Interviewing on a sort of a Fresh Air-meets-Talk of the Nation show hosted by Dan Castellaneta, Amy…
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 do you need to know before heading to Coachella? How did the Trunk Space’s 8th…
Numerous residents of Queen Creek and around the San Tan Valley have spent the past few days cleaning up a rash of grafitti and vandalism that was inflicted upon their homes and property by a pack of unknown hooligans. Here’s the kicker: The vandalism was likely inspired by weirdo rap…
Admit it, you saw the words “yoga” and “rave” and thought they were two mutually exclusive propositions. One involves healthy living and the other…uh, drugs and baby pacifiers is the first thing that springs to mind there. That thought has certainly crossed the mind of enterprising local rapper Will Glass…
See also: The Psychedelic Pop of Mike Condello Remembered With Two New Releases When we were working up our 100 Songs That Defined Arizona list, one name was mentioned more than any other by our readers and consultants, and that name was Mike Condello (1946-1995). Known best for his work…
For staunch practitioners of the Christian faith, the Friday before Easter is ordinarily devoted to worship and reflection. The heathens and hellions over at Scottsdale’s American Junkie, however, spent their Good Friday practicing some bad behavior. The Old Town sports bar and nightclub held a raucous Easter Egg Hunt on…
Coachella is a weird beast: In addition to hotly tipped acts like Avicii and Justice, big name standard bearers like Radiohead and The Black Keys, and holy-hell-they’re-reuniting bands like Refused and At the Drive In, there’s always a few bands that have just kept soldiering on, whose break-ups and hiatuses…
Latino hip-hop brothers Mob Fam were fresh off of signing with local legend MC Magic’s music label, Nastyboy Records the last time we caught up with the Phoenix-natives. Javi C., T.S., and S.C., had also just finished wrapping filming for their first music video on the label for the single,…
Sometimes, the songwriting process itself is enough to inspire songs, which is how local pop-tinged rock band Crash Coordinates churned out their current single, “Repetition Compulsion.””(Vocalist/guitarist) Chris Kalla and I were inspired by the frustration of having to write a lot of songs for our upcoming full-length,” says guitarist Chris…
See also: Miniature Tigers Get Sexy @ Crescent Ballroom We’ve documented the fact that Miniature Tigers’ new album, Mia Pharaoh has no shortage of totally sexy songs. The group’s latest video, “Sex on the Regular” furthers the vibe, featuring a fox lady with a singing vagina. You know, because nothing…
Guess who’s looking a lot older and more strung out than last time anyone saw him? Good ol’ Jason Mraz. You’d think that someone who has “the remedy” would easily be able to keep himself from looking like an aging schlub of a musician. Au contraire, mon frère. Simply observe…
Yeah, there’s that spectacle in the desert going on this weekend. And next weekend. And yeah, maybe there’s a lot of us that didn’t have enough skrilla to nab a couple of passes. Big deal. You still have a chance to catch the next big festival later this year, although…
See also: Fatigo Covers Depeche Mode The Love Me Nots’ Nicole Laurenne and Michael Johnny Walker have been married for four years, but if it wasn’t for The Doors, they may have never met. “That song, [“Soul Kitchen”], my old band used to cover it,” says Laurenne. “We used to…
It’s always a questionable thing when a long-gone band suddenly reappears on the musical landscape. Too often the motive is obvious–money–and the performances laughable. Yet, there are those bands with the integrity to come back and do it right. More often than not, these are punk bands. (Remember how awesome…
“Top of the Morning,” the 1966 single by Phoenix garage rockers The Hobbit starts off with a simple rhythm, the sound of a clamped high-hat tapping out a simple 4/4 beat. Then it blows up: white boy soul vocals, bobbing and weaving organ, clanging guitars, and racing bass, all the…
Jena ArdellIt’s going to be one crazy-ass weekend for music fans in the Valley and beyond. Your choices are many: You can head East to Florence for rustic western sounds at Country Thunder, to the grassy turfed parking lot of McDowell Mountain Music Festival’s for Compound Grill’s flower-powered jam scene,…
See also: Laurie Notaro’s Eight Food(ie) Terms Past Their Expiration Dates We’re a music blog, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t passionate about our food, too. When we’re not blogging about music festivals and reviewing shows, we’re reading about farmers’ markets and edible grasshoppers at our sister blog, Chow Bella…
Grupo Fantasma and Fayuca Crescent Ballroom Sunday, April 8 There can’t be too many places in the world where you can spend the first half of your day observing a certain notorious motorcycle club’s barbecue shindig with a bunch of tattooed, leather-clad pistoleros and the second half at some swingin’…
Jeez, was Mad Men strange last night or what? Last night’s episode was probably the closest the show has come to acting like a horror flick, with all the blurry, murderous details, and the blood splattered headlines (of course there was that moment with the John Deere tractor in season…
I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that The Devil’s Carnival showed up in Scottsdale on Easter Sunday. It was a perfect day for the gleeful underground horror/ rock musical freaks and geeks to get dressed up and go out to play while everyone else is decorating eggs and eating jellybeans?…
