DJ William Reed Moves To NYC This Spring

The stylish 32-year-old DJ has apparently had his fill of being a Phoenician and will become a Gothamite after his moves to the Big Apple in April. The renowned hipster spinster (who ended his long-running Shake! night on Halloween) made the announcement on his MySpace blog on Christmas Day looking for…

Top 10 Albums of 2009: Mike R. Meyer

10. Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked VulturesThere was pretty much no way that the debut album by Them Crooked Vultures could possibly live up to the hype (and expectations) that preceded it. After all, the principles involved – Josh Homme (Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age), Dave Grohl (Nirvana,…

Top Ten of 2009: Michael Lopez

Up on the Sun is counting down the days until the unveiling of music editor Martin Cizmar’s personal Best of 2009 list with some other lists from Phoenix New Times’ stable of excellent freelancers. Today we bring you a list from Michael Lopez, a New Times contributor, and regular blogger…

Incoming: Never Shout Never on the AP Tour

Clear your calendars now for what’s likely to be a pop music fan’s wet dream when cutie pie Christofer Ingle, aka Never Shout Never, comes to town and brings a bevy of sugary acts along with him.Ready for the line-up?It includes Decaydance vets The Cab and Hey Monday, along with…

You Say Party! We Say Die! Set to Play the Rhythm Room (!)

​You know who loves finding out about just announced shows in the Valley? This guy. I, however, understand how this time of year is painfully slow for any real music news. That is why everyone and their mother — myself, included —  trots out their best of/year end lists of…

Vic Chesnutt Tributes Pour in from Musicians, Journalists, Fans

It’s been a slooow news week around the music-oriented blogosphere. In fact, several blogs, like our friends at Electric Mustache, have just taken the rest of the year off. We’re soldiering on and reading over some of the many funny and fascinating pieces on wheel chair-bound indie-folk scion Vic Chesnutt,…

Club Candids: Hulkmania Holiday Hoedown Fest

When throwing oneself a birthday party, you can’t go wrong with a Hulkster theme (of course, having 20-ish DJs, live art, a bike expo and a secret downtown location don’t hurt either). Ali Karim and crew put their party planning skills to the test this Saturday, and passed with flying…

Timbaland Quits Hip-Hop, Scores with Pop

With Missy Elliott missing in action the past few years (fyi, she has a new album coming out in January), her producer Timbaland’s been busy working with Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake and…Miley Cyrus. It sure would have been fun to have been in the studio then. The teen pop star’s…

Akmal Shaikh’s Hit Single: “Come Little Rabbit”

This isn’t really the place to discuss global politics and/or the death penalty, but, for those of you following the case of Akmal Shaikh, the Briton (of Pakistani descent) who is scheduled to be executed for carrying a suitcase of heroin into China, it’ll probably be very interesting. Shaikh claims…

Fare Thee Well, Miniature Tigers

Miniature Tigers will hold a low-key goodbye show at Trunk Space tomorrow night. The band, which we’ve written about approximately eleventy billion times over the past two years, is moving to Brooklyn for reasons I won’t hazard a guess about. I’m sure I speak for everyone here at New Times…

Top Ten of 2009: Jason P. Woodbury

Up on the Sun is counting down the days until the unveiling of music editor Martin Cizmar’s personal Best of 2009 list with some other lists from Phoenix New Times’ stable of excellent freelancers. Today we bring you a list from Jason P. Woodbury, a New Times contributor, a staff…

Jeff Tweedy of Wilco at the Orpheum Theatre

I will not hope Wilco breaks up.I will not hope Wilco breaks up.I will not hope Wilco breaks up.I will not hope Wilco breaks up.I will not hope Wilco breaks up.Perhaps it’s pathetic that any music critic would have to re-affirm his interest in seeing his favorite band stay together…

Concert Review: Trunk Space Fest

Mercifully, it appears as though reports of downtown Phoenix art space and performance venue’s impending demise are prove to be mildly exaggerated, as co-owners JRC and Stephanie Carrico believe their establishment has been weathering a recent financial nightmare and will continue to exist in the coming months. And such a…

7 Video Game Predictions for 2010 and Beyond

As we near the end of the aughts, most of the bright minds in gaming are focusing on what was. They’re all over the best games of 2009 and the best games of the decade. Well that’s fine, but we’re looking forward. Whether Uncharted 2 was the best game of…

Hulkamania Holiday Hoedown

To paraphrase legendary professional wrestler Hulk Hogan: Watcha gonna do, brotha, when an energy drink company wants to support a dance party put on by you? Such is the situation with DJ Bigie, who claims a certain local beverage company (we ain’t naming names) supplied him with several large posters…

Seven Nights of DJs & Dancing

THURSDAY 24 Bunkhouse: DJ Doom (Top 40, dance) Bobby Qs: All-Star Thursdays X-Mas Eve Mistletoe Party with DJ 4Play, & DJ Skilzz (hip-hop, R&B, reggae, old school) Marc’s Sports Grill: DJ and dancing (Top 40, rock, hip-hop) FRIDAY 25 27th Avenue Bar & Grill: Club Night with DJ Ariez (old…

Patti Smith Through an Arizonan’s Eyes

Patti Smith, in her own words, is “an American artist . . . [who has] no guilt.” Though she has been making music for over 35 years, her thick, unapologetic voice can still stir you to the core. In each note is her every experience. Her joys, her sorrows. Her…

My Name Is Jay Bennett, and I’m a Guitarist From Chicago

Would the “real” Jay Bennett have been disappointed in me? The late guitarist was, by all accounts, a free-spirited soul who appreciated mischief and who didn’t shy away from good-natured troublemaking. He might’ve gotten a laugh out my misrepresenting myself — had I taken my many chances. The real Jay…

Coats & Villa

Wayne Coats and Nicholas Villa are Phoenix-based musical confederates whose surnames happen to sound really classy together — suggesting, perhaps, a high-end home furnishings boutique or a Jean Renoir flick. As it turns out, they make damn handsome music, too. The pair, which once formed half of the Mesa-based folk…

The DelRayz

Let’s hear it for gender diversity in the workplace. After tearing up Valley gin joints for the better part of two decades in mainly all-female bands, blueswomen Rochelle Raya and Nancy Dalessandro have relaxed their ladies-only policy and launched a new group with some help from the less-fair sex. Not…