If the New Year’s Eve block parties in Tempe and Scottsdale strike you as — waaaaait for it — “lamestream” alternatives to true ring-out-the-old revelry, why not try a little punk? The pride of Mesa’s Westwood High will headline a five-band show on the year’s biggest party day, presumably executing…
It’s an ordinary afternoon at Eastside Records, which usually means the following is happening: an obscure punk song is blasting way too loudly out of the tiny shop’s decrepit stereo (in this case, Television’s 1975 single “Little Johnny Jewel”) and Michael Pawlicki is hard at work behind the glass counter…
Christmas Eve happens to fall on a Friday this year, which can be a blessing and a curse if you’re a club promoter. It’s the start of the weekend, which means most everyone’s in the mood to party; but it’s also Christmas-frickin’-Eve, which means most cats are gonna be with…
Girl Talk’s audio tapestries — constructed entirely of sampled beats, verses, and hooks — are challenging the long-held definition of “musician.” With the recent release of Girl Talk’s latest album, All Day, Pittsburgh-based Gregg Gillis continues to skirt copyright issues, sampling other artists’ music without paying or asking permission, and…
The 20-year history of metal mainstay Fear Factory features more bickering, backstabbing, and fickle side-switching than an entire season of Flavor of Love. Following the band’s poorly received Digimortal disc in 2001, founding guitarist Dino Cazares jumped ship — ostensibly because the album’s more radio-friendly sound offended his hardcoredness. No…
THURSDAY 23 27th Avenue Bar: Tasty Thursdays with DJ Manage, & DJ Android (old school, R&B) Afterlife: Naughty ‘n’ Spice with DJ S6, & more (hip-hop, electro) AZ/88: Josh One (rare groove, urban funk) Bar Smith: Bass, Lettuce, & Techno with DJ Josh Lestis, & DJ OG (deep bass) Bobby…
The week leading up to Christmas has been a little light in shows overall, but with plenty of holiday-themed shows around the Valley.Fans of all genres enjoyed some killer awesome shows this past week, including Alice Cooper’s Christmas Pudding, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Infected Mushroom, The Judds, Sweet Pie, and Trapt.Read…
Something the owners of the soon-to-be-defunct Eastside Records in Tempe said in this week’s feature story has been bothering me all week:”And it got to the point in Tempe… that, yeah, we could stay open, but we would have to sell a bunch of shit we don’t like. None were…
This week’s print edition of Phoenix New Times ran a shortened version of an interview with Gregg Gillis, a.k.a Girl Talk, the mashup mastermind who will tear the Marquee Theatre apart brick by brick on March 23.As promised, here’s the full transcript of that interview — all 4,200 words of…
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 happens when a local band begs a music journalist to review their work via Craigslist?How bad…
Two men broke into 50 Cent’s Farmington, Connecticut mansion, according to MTV News.Clearly 50 Cent hasn’t had the best of luck lately. Last week he was sued for copyright infringement, and now this happens. Shit, man.Considering how stupid this story is, it might be one of my favorite stories of…
Over the last ten weekdays of 2010, Up On The Sun will be counting down the best live shows of 2010.Today we look at the #8 show of the year, Sigur Rós frontman and Icelandic man-boy Jónsi at Marquee Theatre…
Without being too hyperbolic, New Year’s Eve is a major night when it comes to revelry. Besides the endless amounts of nightclub events and parties that will take place in an around the PHX, some big name band and music acts will be in town to bid farewell to 2010…
Song: The Whisperlights, “Until Then”Context: This song from The Whisperlights excellent album Wake Up Dead is definitely one of the very best recorded by any Phoenix band this year. The Whisperlights – Until Then by mmcizmar…
The joy and delight of the holiday season is something you either absolutely love, tolerate to a certain degree or loathe with all your being.Those who take the latter stance probably blame the season’s music for their hatred, and who can blame them? A lot, if not all, of Christmas/holiday music is…
Phoenix indie band Kinch has an ambitious plan to promote their new record: residencies in three cities.Starting in January the band will play Monday nights at the Silverlake Lounge in Los Angeles, Tuesday nights at the Soda Bar in San Diego, and Saturday nights at the Rogue Bar in Scottsdale…
The Holiday season can be a stressful time. While it’s meant to be the one time in the whole year that everyone is a little bit nicer and a little bit happier, certain things can make you just the opposite. If you’re anything like me, you’ve procrastinated all year long…
Guitarist and drummer Josh and Zac Farro have amicably split from Paramore, according to Rolling Stone.The band posted an official statement on their website in which the remaining members of the band express their understanding and sadness for Josh and Zac’s departure from Paramore.The Farros had given the rest of…
Welcome to Obscuro, a weekly feature where Up on the Sun dives deep into the world of vinyl oddities: private press jobs, major label cast-offs, and general thrift shop clutter that’s thus far escaped anyone’s attention. These LPs have been hiding out, collecting dust, until we come along, investigate, probe…
Over the last ten weekdays of 2010 Up On The Sun will be counting down the best live shows of 2010.Today we look at the #9 show of the year, outlaw country legend Merle Haggard at Mesa Arts Center…
Song: Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, “Bright Lit Blue Skies”Context: Reading Michael Lopez’s analysis of the Pitchfork top albums list makes me feel like I should like this Ariel Pink record. So I listened again today. Still not doing much for me, though I like this song, “Bright Lit Blue Skies,”…
What could Ghostface do for an encore with his 9th album? One would think the man has tapped out all his resources by now, but Ghostface is no ordinary member of the Wu. Every new album feels like Ghostface has reinvented himself and his enthusiasm is unmatched by most everyone…
