At the risk of offending CMT viewers or people who still watch the Grammys, I wasn’t all that familiar with the Zac Brown Band when I was assigned this piece. I had seen his album in record stores (he looks like he needs a shower), and I think I had…
This week, New Times ran a small box 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. Is Anthony “Hartbreaks” Hart the new king of Phoenix’s hipster DJs? How was the first show at…
Artist: Shout Out LoudsTitle: WorkRelease date: February 23Label: MergeThe album’s title and no-nonsense cover art and design belie the breezy indie pop contained inside. Mind you, it’s not the wimpy and boring indie pop in the vein of, say, Vampire Weekend. The band’s crystaline sound may seem fragile, but there’s…
Fearless prediction: McDowell Mountain Music Festival 2010 will not be on par with MMMF 2009.The 2009 festival, which took place at Scottsdale’s WestWorld and featured The Flaming Lips and Matisyahu, impressed the hell out of me. In fact, we named it Best Music Festival in our annual “Best of Phoenix”…
So it seems that The Who singer Roger Daltrey made a statement to the BBC recently that he would be interested in working with former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page on a new album. He may be putting the proverbial cart in front of the horse, though, as this is…
Frankie Muniz, the former Malcolm in the Middle star who’s now playing drums for Phoenix band You Hang Up has granted an interview to Popeater where he discusses how he got together with You Hang Up. Unfortunately, Popeater asked stupid questions like “How does the L.A.-based star end up behind…
Get to the Chopper…John’s that is. If our photographs are any evidence, that’s exactly what the beer-swilling Thursday night bar crowd in this week’s “Club Candids” had in mind. Check out the shots in our slide show and remember that the next time you go out for drinks, it could…
[jump] What this critic says: “Past Lives — lead by enigmatic lead singer Jordan Billie — have crafted an album that constantly shifts tempos, often playing things on the more slower, serious side. Gone are Billie’s days of relentless screaming over punk-laden guitars, replaced with a more subtle approach to his…
[jump] First up we have VW Trainwreck and the video for their song “VW ThemeWreck:”And the plucky upstarts Final Placement with their video for “Shine:””Shine” by Final Placement from sharity world on Vimeo.VW Trainwreck’s video is like listening to someone laugh at their own bad joke for three and a…
American Idol judge Simon Cowell recently told a teleconference he predicted a woman would win this season of the show (his last), and judging by Tuesday’s night’s performances of the top 12 ladies, the talent was definitely there.What stood out besides the 12 females’ vocal chops was how sickeningly sweet…
Artist: Brian Jonestown MassacreTitle: Who Killed Sgt. Pepper?Release date: February 23Label: A. RecordsMy only exposure to Brian Jonestown Massacre was in that rock documentary DiG!, which followed the rise in popularity of BJM and kindred spirits/rivals The Dandy Warhols. The latter band eventually achieved some mainstream success while the former sabotaged…
Carly Simon taught me not to be so vain, and not to assume this song — or three-day festival of local and international DIY indie/punk acts — was about me. However, I’m going to go ahead and assume that the “Cizmarch Madness” festival at YOBS has something to do with…
Every band has its set of problems. Feuding guitarists, trouble getting gigs, issues with scraping up enough money to record a record or go on tour.Few American bands face the same struggles as Acrassicauda — an Iraqi metal band that recently moved to Brooklyn. They were the subject of the…
New Times singled Radio Phoenix out in our annual Best Of Phoenix issue as the “Best Online Music Station That Should Be a Radio Station.”Actually, in addition to being too-indie-for-the-airwaves the station spins a few things that aren’t even topping the charts at the Valley’s record stores. Check out their…
The goal of Jay Bennett’s ambitious Nothing Not New project is to avoid slipping into a state of “aesthetic atrophy.” That’s why Jay is listening only to brand-new music for one year. I, for one, believe some people have the opposite problem. It seems to me that a lot of hipsters are unaware…
Despite being best known by most as a member of The Raconteurs, Brendan Benson has not given up on his solo career.In 2009 Benson released his fourth LP My Old, Familiar Friend on ATO Records. While most of the songs on the album are about romantic woes you’d never really…
The radio station formerly known as “The Edge,” X103.9, will host the new singer of “Sublime” on Friday. Rome Ramirez, a chubby 21-year-old California kid who was in elementary school when Brad Nowell died of a heroin overdose, will perform with The Dirty Heads in an “intimate acoustic session” at…
This spring, nature meets music and booze as the Desert Botanical Garden once again hosts Spiked! Thursday’s. The eclectic event features a different band and featured cocktail every week, making for rare opportunities to rock out in a beautiful desert landscape.Kicking off the series March 4 is garage rock band…
Remember VW Trainwreck? Sure you do. I told you about how much the Tempe punk band sucks in our You Asked For It column last March only to field a bunch of angry comments from the band and its supporters.The ‘Wreck later claimed to be starting a “revolution” in the…
Apparently, Chris Martin and his record label, EMI, are not on the same page when it comes to news about when Coldplay’s new album coming is out. Martin says it will hopefully be released by Christmas of this year, but EMI says that isn’t true. Apparently, when asked whether Coldplay’s…
It wasn’t quite Beatlemania, but that didn’t seem to matter to the female underclassman crowding around the dorm common room windows to get a peak at Story of the Year. The band, whose album The Constant was released less than a week ago, warmed up their pipes prior to Friday’s…
Rihanna reportedly celebrated her 22nd birthday in metro Phoenix over the weekend, at a party put together by her rumored boyfriend, LA Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp. TMZ says Rihanna got a lap dance from a midget porn star at the Scottsdale bash (video here), which also featured Sprinkles cupcakes and…
