There are certain artists whose appeal and popularity I could never seem to justify. To no avail, I’ve tried to be open-minded and give them a chance time and time again.I’ll never know why the whole world thinks Arcade Fire is the bee’s knees. Nor do I think Lana Del…
This week in Phoenix New Times (on stands and online now): Melissa Fossum catches up with Miniature Tigers, a band that’s lineup spans the distance from the OC to NYC. The band’s got a sexy new album, Mia Pharaoh, and returns to Phoenix tonight. Dan Gibson brings us a look…
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 kind of porn does sci-fi sex rapper Kool Keith dig? How do local indie rockers…
Y’all know what time it is. Yeahh, boii, it’s concert season. A time when up-and-coming buzz bands hit the Southwest en route to South by Southwest, Coachella, or any number of other music fests. And for those of us too broke to afford a trip to Austin or a Bro-chella…
Jugg-Fest 2012 is almost upon us. But what does that mean? Has the Gathering of the Juggalos come to Arizona? Will thousands of Insane Clown Posse faithful descend upon our fair valley with their hybrid gang-like ways? Well, actually, no. You see, Jugg-Fest is a Polynesian reggae festival. Following the…
Editor’s note: This show has been canceled. It has been painful to watch once-treasured New York rap duo Mobb Deep become a tawdry, self-implosive caricature. The makeover began in 2005, when Prodigy and Havoc were lured under 50 Cent’s G-Unit umbrella with promises of Ferraris and huge album sales. They…
As the song titles “Tuff Enough” and “Wrap It Up” suggest, you know what you’re going to get from a Thunderbirds show: straight-ahead, bluesy rock ‘n’ roll. Having emerged from the Texas blues scene over 30 years go, the T-birds are a throwback to a simple form of rock. No…
Do you remember the bad old days of MySpace, when bands had the option of listing influences along with their hometown, record label, members, etc.? Yes, MySpace still exists, but we’re talking about the halcyon days, in the midst of its former glories, when clever young bands would write just…
Plush Old Town Scottsdale dance parlor Wild Knight will take on more of a European flair this coming week, which should mesh well with all the vaguely Medieval décor that fills its walls. A pair of the continent’s biggest electronic dance music pioneers will be in the house over the…
Just because a band is from the South and rocks, that doesn’t make it a “Southern rock” band. This is a misnomer the Drive-By Truckers have been trying to shed practically since forming 16 years ago. Founding members Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley do admit a fondness for their home-state…
A helpful hint for anyone scheduled to interview Andrew W.K.: Don’t rely on trying to take notes. He’s going to start talking right away and go largely nonstop for the length of the conversation. This isn’t to say that W.K. is impolite, because he certainly isn’t. He listens and responds…
Thursday 8 16th Street Bar & Grill: Kickback Thursdays with DJ Cedric Ceballos (hip-hop, classics, neo-soul, reggae, R&B, Top 40, old school) Afterlife: Beat the Scene Thursdays (electronica, dance, remixes) Bar Smith: Double Vision Thursday with DJ Kyko, DJ Idenaty, & DJ Dario (Latin, hip-hop) Bobby Q’s: DJ Phlava, Judge…
See also: 2012 RPM Challenge: Five Valley Artists (And Yours Truly) Attempt to Record an Album in One Month With the extra day provided by leap year, four of the seven Valley artists we tracked for this year’s RPM Challenge were able to record an entire album from start to…
See also: Peter Case of The Nerves/Plimsouls, on the Blues, Powerpop and a Fixed Up Heart Maybe the name “The Nerves” doesn’t immediately strike a bell, but chances are “Hanging on the Telephone” will. A single from Blondie’s stone-cold classic 1978 LP Parallel Lines, the song was actually written by…
The life of a gigging band is pretty rough: Tempe-based alt-rockers Vinyl Station play eight gigs a week to make ends meet, populating Valley bars like the Rogue, Rosie McCaffery’s, and Kazimierz Wine Bar with their original tunes and alternative covers. On Sunday, March 25 the band is scheduled to…
In this week’s issue (on stands tomorrow and online later today) I spoke to Miniature Tigers frontman Charlie Brand about the new album, Mia Pharaoh. Call ’em a “Brooklyn band” if you must, but they’re showing Phoenix plenty of love: There’s that downtown mural, and they’re performing twice tomorrow, once…
The hustle and bustle of Mill Avenue makes it a fun place to be on a Friday night. There are plenty of bars for folks that are dressed to the nines and drenched in perfume and cologne, and countless opportunities to people watch. Rula Bula is located in an interesting…
Guitarist Donavon Frankenreiter shares more than just a surfy, breezy acoustic sound with Jack Johnson. He worked with Johnson’s label, Brushfire Records before signing to alt-country label Lost Highway. He split from them, too, starting his own label, Liquid Tambourine, to freely take his surf’s up, island-style chill vibe wherever…
See also: Odd Future Release New Video, to Play Marquee Theatre Friday (Probably NSFW) See also: Odd Future’s Most NSFW Videos Looks like L.A. hip-hoppers Odd Future will be bringing more than their mental sense of humor and imaginary therapy sessions with Dr. TC to Tempe this weekend: Popular skate…
See also: Sun Araw covers Teenage Fanclub’s Bandwagonesque at the Hard Rock Cafe in LA L.A.’s Sun Araw, the slow-rolling psych project of Cameron Stallones, is an ideal gateway into long-form music for those suspicious of epic jam territory. There is nary a Sun Araw tune shorter than six minutes,…
Gossip Girl fans looking to see Little J in action when Taylor Momsen and her band The Pretty Reckless come through town may not recognize the 18-year-old when she takes the stage at Martini Ranch this Saturday, March 10. The vibe will be more Courtney Love than CW fare, as Momsen is known to…
See also: Odd Future’s Most NSFW Videos See also: Odd Future Live at the Marquee Last year the hype machine was in full effect for the Los Angeles hip-hop collective Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, or just Odd Future for short. It seemed as if just about everywhere…
