When an artist’s repertoire is as wide and varied as Elvis Costello’s, it’s hard to know exactly what one will get when attending his concert. Last night’s show at Scottsdale Civic Center Amphitheater had all the trappings of a toned-down affair: The amphitheater’s lush lawn was covered in blankets and…
If you’ve been smart enough to squirrel away your simoleons lately, you probably have enough green in the bank account to afford trip to the Elvis Costello or Muse concerts later tonight. If so, consider yourself smart and enjoy said performances. If not, however, then fear not, as our usual…
Title: The EdgeBasics: The eight-song cowboyfied debut from metal man Prophet celebrates all things Arizona while also featuring songs written with some substance — a rarity in this YAFI game. Prophet (who leads a band called St. Madness that was ripped by Martin Cizmar in YAFI nearly a year ago,…
Welcome to The Grand Tour, a regular feature where PHXmusic.com takes you inside practice spaces, tour vans and seedy apartments occupied by Phoenix-area bands. This week we give you a look inside the vintage movie-poster adorned practice space of Tempe/Yuma post-punk band Earthmen & Strangers. If you would like your…
I had a really good time talking to writer/director/actor/unrivaled geek icon Kevin Smith for this week’s music section. Such a good time, in fact, that I couldn’t fit all of the worthwhile, oft-profane, tidbits from our 90-minute chat with the Clerks and Cop Out auteur into one measly 1,200-word story.So…
Artist: Murder by DeathTitle: Good Morning, MagpieRelease date: April 6Label: VagrantWhat would you expect a band called Murder by Death to sound like? I figured these guys were gonna be among the new breed of “punk” bands in which one dude sort of croons while another screams his lungs out…
Names: Mike Dwyer & Jake Brennan AKA: Beat Mass Current club nights: Guest appearances at fauxShow at Club Sanctum and Ransom and Philthy Phil’s. Preferred genres: Electro, disco, funk and a dash of old school hip-hop. What is Beat Mass? It’s kind of like a going to a church service…
Over the past decade, TheShizz has gradually grown into one of the most popular local music websites in the Valley. This month, The Shizz is launching its own record label, starting with a 17-track compilation of songs from Arizona bands called The Shizz Presents: AM or PM? I Don’t Know…The…
Greg Taylor, an ace local photographer whose work we have featured here at PHXmusic.com, has an ambitious new venture. Taylor started the Music Matters Project in the hopes of collecting some great concert photography for a full-color soft- cover book made up of 50 to 60 pages on glossy stock…
Candye Kane is a flamboyant, unabashed, over-the-top blues singer with bright costumes and a vibrant, extroverted personality.She’s well known among her fans not only for her voice, but also for her style. They love going to her shows for all sorts of different reasons, but they’ll all tell you that…
Did I call it or did I call it? I might not be able to predict the lottery numbers or who’s gonna win American Idol every year, but I was definitely on the money with my prognostication a few months ago that PHX concert promoter Mantooth Group would re-open the…
Factory Made Future is reporting that What Laura Says will release a new album called Bloom Cheek on June 8.FMF also predicts it’ll be big: “While the band has already started to garner some national attention, I have a feeling this will be the album that helps them break out on…
If you’ve ever doubted Kanye West’s place in the music game consider this: The man is now scrapping with legendary Death Row Records founder Suge Knight. You know, Suge. The guy who broke up N.W.A, dangled Vanilla Ice off a hotel balcony and stole Dr. Dre’s long time lady.Though seemingly…
The future of KJZZ has been a hot topic for a week or so now. The debate started with a Facebook group called “Bring Independent Music to KJZZ” which now racked up 1,000+ fans and continued when the station’s music director, Blaise Lantana, chimed in to defend her jazz-only programming.This…
Artist: HarlemLabel: HippiesRelease date: April 6Label: MatadorWhatever happened to the 10-inch record? Do they still make those things? I always thought they were a great way to listen to music because they had no room for filler. I’ve got some killer 10-inches by Pavement, The Drags, Urge Overkill, Lazy Cowgirls,…
You can’t listen to more than 30 seconds of Sand Rubies’ 1990 single “We Don’t Do That Anymore” before it become obvious that the Gin Blossoms weren’t the first Arizona band doing the jangle-pop thing.Tucson’s Sand Rubies — originally called The Side Winders before a North Carolina cover band sued…
You can’t help but feel a little dirty when looking at this flier for Honey Pistol’s show at Long Wong’s this Saturday, April 10.Ladybugs are supposed to be pretty and sweet–not insects you’d expect to see banging each other. But hey, at least they’re doing it on a flower, and…
Cypress Hill, Passafire, Annuals, Patti LaBelle and Michael Bolton (yep, Michael Bolton) round out the rest of this week’s show announcements…
Darkness Dear Boy play Bro Rock. What’s Bro Rock? To paraphrase Justice Potter Stewart’s words about hardcore pornography, “bro rock is hard to define, but I know it when I hear it.” What exactly constitutes Bro Rock is, indeed, tough to pin down, because Bro Rock encompasses many genres, spanning…
Only a few days before British prog-rockers Muse are scheduled to headline the second night of Coachella, they’ll make a stop in Phoenix to play the US Airways Center. The band is on tour in support of its 2009 album, Resistance, their most ambitious record to date. The fifth album…
The musical merit of Owl City is a hot topic of debate among fans and critics. Most critics would say that the music of Owl City, the solo project of Adam Young, is pretty much a clone of the electro-pop by The Postal Service. It’s impossible not to hear the…
If they gave awards for living, Vince Neil would have to get a (somewhat-redundant) lifetime achievement award. He’s the singer of one of the hardest-living bands of all time, has been married four times, made sex tapes with both a porn star and a model, released three solo albums, did…
