Few things symbolize summertime in the Valley better than a raucous pool party. Many a scorched Phoenician has found relief from the triple-digit temps while lounging around the ol’ swimming hole with a few friends and a case or two of brews. But your average beer-soaked backyard bash pales in…
Garage-rock gal pals Rachel Nagy and Mary Ramirez have gone through a lot of men in their day. Drummers. Guitarists. Bassists. All kinds. When an interviewer makes light of the fact, Ramirez playfully props her legs open, as if to receive yet another session-musician servicing. Nagy, her fellow creative principal…
So lovely. So talented. So appallingly young. Can there be any doubt that Taylor Swift was sent to Earth to make the planet’s collective over-20 population feel like a bunch of aging fuck-ups? Though more than a year shy of her first legal white-wine spritzer, the ethereal pop goddess has…
Are you “down with the clown?” Which is to say, are you the slightest bit interested in watching five sugar-crazed Midwesterners don face paint and rap about ax murder? If so, there’s a really strong chance that this Insane Clown Posse-fronted horrorcore supergroup is already figuring prominently in your weekend…
Back when I used to write for another Valley weekly that shall remain nameless, we used to play a game called “Nickelback Or . . . ?” The object was to determine what concerts, if any, could possibly be worse than a Nickelback show. One of the only rules of the game was…
Two things about The Thermals: The Portland, Oregon indie-punk band made its first album, 2003’s More Parts Per Million, for approximately $6 (they recorded it at home on six $1 cassettes) and it was released virtually as-is by Sub Pop; and before forming the group, Thermals principals Hutch Harris and…
Ho-hum. Another week, another militant vegan band comes to town. If you didn’t get your fill (pun intended) at last week’s Earth Crisis show, the lovable “veganarchists” in Propagandhi are stopping in Tempe this weekend to spread the gospel of iodine deficiency to the masses. For a band that professes…
Sunny pop music and summertime are made for each other like two soulmates holding hands on an oceanside stroll. With the weather heating up here in the Valley of the Sun, let’s take a look at some great summer music… Tinted Windows Tinted Windows (S-Curve Records) A power pop supergroup…
Last summer, one of the coolest (and indeed, hottest) places to be seen was at the Hotel San Carlos for the weekly Star Swim pool party. An absolute throng of hundreds of hepcats and kittens crowded the tiny swimming area at the vintage auberge in downtown Phoenix for several weekends…
So Much Silence: Incoming: Gift of Gab, May 28, Blunt ClubRolling Stone: On the Charts: Green Day Sprint to Number One With “Breakdown”Idolator: Somehow, I Don’t Really Mind The Ubiquity Of “Don’t Stop Believing” All That MuchWaved Rumor: Pandora! Pandora! Profit!NME: Eminem makes live comeback in Detroit…
So, my American Idol-watching comrades, after several months (it feels longer though, doesn’t it?) of the hard work and dedication it takes to be glued to our television sets for at least three hours every week, we finally get the proverbial money shot: Adam Lambert vs. Kris Allen, or, as…
AZ pop-punkers The Maine, who have quickly hit the national circuit, will appear at Hot Topic at Tempe Marketplace Sunday, May 29 for a meet and greet with fans.Fans are invited to purchase any Maine CD or shirt before the event at the Tempe Marketplace Hot Topic prior to the…
Though music and comedy may seem suitable bedfellows, the marriage of the two is often a mangled mess of bad puns and crappy guitar playing. One concept is, more often than not, more polished than the other — the comedian sucks at playing guitar or the musician tells super lame…
We don’t have to tell you that the event listings for Phoenix shrivel in the summer heat. As the calendar rolls from May to June to July and the thermometer raises from hot to hotter to “oh, crap, the mercury exploded,” locals literally head for the hills. Of course, the upside to…
If the George W. Bush presidency taught us anything, its that uppity rednecks are bad for America. Not that I want to compare last night’s Kings of Leon concert at Mesa Amphitheatre to the national nightmare that was Dubya’s reign — exactly. But the cockiness of these two Southern-bred powers…
J.D. Stooks says it best himself on his MySpace: “I play slow sad bastard music.”For all intents and purposes he does, though there’s an occasional buoyancy to Stooks new record, Women & Gold that’ll appeal to most fans of acoustic folk-rock, even the ones who prefer the more upbeat offering…
Summer has unceremoniously slapped us Valley residents in the face, making us long for those sub-100 degree days that October will eventually bring. Thank goodness there are bands like Passion Pit releasing albums that make for the perfect summer soundtrack. The quintet, based out of Cambridge, Massachusetts, have crafted a…
Well, it happened. Cheap Thrills is going weekly.Much to the rejoice of Valley scenesters, there’s now a weekly spot to head to for strong drinks, dancing, loud music and general debauchery. Black Forest Mill restaurant-turned-dance club is the prefect venue for this kind of night. They’ve got a big dance…
Imagine a rap war, ala Biggie and Tupac. But it takes place in the 1930s. And instead of being rappers, the two men involved are kiddie film animators. And instead of shooting at each other, they just say mean things about each other behind the other’s back.A little less sexy…
So Much Silence: The Walkmen on WOXY.com’s Lounge ActRolling Stone: Aerosmith’s Joe Perry Hints At Walmart Deal For New AlbumNME: ABBA-penned musical to get English language debut in NYCNME: Libertines reunion: Carl Barat speaks about more gigsIdolator: A Quick Guide To Your “American Idol” Pre-Finale ControversiesNME: Jennifer Love Hewitt to…
True to it’s name, local blog AZOverload has done a ton of legwork to compile a huge list of Arizona bands on Twitter. Check it out here. Oh, and if you’re not following me (twitter.com/martincizmar) you really should be…
This week marks the start of the most illustrious film festival of all, the Cannes Film Festival, held yearly in the lovely French town of Cannes. Other movies not selected to the festival itself are everywhere in the city for the duration of the festival, which kicked off May 13…
