In the 1950s, along with Ray Charles, singer Napoleon “Nappy” Brown was one of the transitional performers between blues and rhythm & blues (the latter in the ’60s transmuted to “soul music”). Proceeding from a blues foundation, Brown worked gospel, pop, and jump-blues (i.e., Louis Jordan) into the mix. That,…
Eagles Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmit may all love music, but they don’t make it collectively unless there’s a mammoth payday involved. Maybe that’s why this set, which is being released through a profit-maximizing deal with Wal-Mart, seems inspired more by commerce than art. The…
A cross between the melodic punk of Lawrence Arms and the churning hardcore of Rise Against, AWS combine a high quotient of both heft and hooks. Original drummer Nicholas Pasquale Angelini is the beast’s backbone, driving tempo like Jeff Gordon, and keying a thick bottom end worthy of J.Lo. Atop…
Dutch DJ Tom Holkenborg, better known as Junkie XL or JXL, provides the equivalent of an audio aphrodisiac with his latest album, Booming Back at You, a collection of electro-sexy songs filled with throbbing bass, swooning synths, pumping drums, and hormonal harmonies — suggestive, yes, but not as direct as…
Conjuring up a cool-sounding name for your record-spinning gig ain’t the easiest thing. It’s gotta be catchy and clever enough to draw in the hipsters, without seeming too hokey. Such is the struggle for Fatigo vocalist/guitarist Mike Montoya and Shizz scenester DJ mig50, who’ve yet to create a moniker for…
After more than 25 years in the music business, Johnette Napolitano has made her masterpiece. From the haunting synth programming on “Amazing” to the poignant ballad “The Scientist” to her deep ‘n’ doomy cover of Lou Reed’s “All Tomorrow’s Parties,” Scarred is a sonic portrait of an artist who has…
Christmas cheer can be found in the oddest of places. We stumbled upon it in the midst of clothing and knick-knacks (most likely acquired from the dead) at Retro Redux’s Kitschy Christmas Party on Saturday, December 8. As with any vintage clothing and antique shop, the 7th Avenue store was…
There’s nothing new going on here, just straight-up, raging metal. We didn’t bother to read Body of Scars’ list of influences (if they have one), because we can clearly hear them. The dual guitars churn out the high-pitched, racing-scale solos mastered by Iron Maiden and — more prominently for BoS…
There can be little question that Stanley Clarke is one of the greatest jazz-fusion bassists alive today. He continues to make inspirational work both live and in the studio, as heard on this new disc. He opens the proceedings with the four-part suite that gives the CD its title. The…
Wu-Tang Clan’s fifth album comes at a time of strife within the group. Ghostface Killah and Raekwon have laid into Wu ringleader and beat maker RZA for the album’s creative direction. Calling Wu a sinking ship and RZA a “hip-hop hippie,” Raekwon says the beats on 8 Diagrams are too…
Shows to see before I die:
Björk
Led Zeppelin
Radiohead
Stevie Wonder (check)
When I was a fourth grader at Tempe’s Curry Elementary, a couple of kids cornered me on the playground. Their agenda? They wanted to let me know how they truly felt about me.
I love a good rock show, but one of my complaints about modern rock “concerts” is that there aren’t enough spontaneous jams. If a “surprise guest” comes out at a rock concert, it’s usually only a surprise to the audience, and the singer’s not gonna just hand the microphone to whomever jumps onstage while the band maintains some extemporaneous groove behind it all. Everything is so planned out, so meticulously calculated, that the rush of a “surprise” is almost impossible for rock.
Not so for hip-hop. What I witnessed at the KRS-One show tonight brought music back to its source – the people. The former front man of Boogie Down Productions performed for almost two hours, and capped off his set with a freestyle jam that included Phoenix’s own Grime and Cut Throat Logic, as well as a surprise (for everybody) appearance by Luckyiam of the Living Legends. Quite frankly, it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen at a local hip-hop show. Or any hip-hop show, period.
When we heard about Yacht Rock Sundays, we just about had a heart attack from sheer joy. On Sunday, December 2, we boarded at the Ruby Room Lounge for an evening of smooth sounds — for our second time around — and will definitely make it for the third journey,…
THURSDAY 6 Axis/Radius: Crystal Thursdays Ladies Night (hip-hop, rock, dance) Baja Tilly’s: DJ Adrian (old school, R&B, cumbia, reggaeton) Bikini Lounge: Sophisticated Boom Boom with DJ HFE (rockabilly, surf, jazz, classic country, indie, obscuro, R&B) The Blooze: DJ (rockabilly) Bobby C’s: Willy B. (old-school R&B) Bunkhouse: DJ Doom (dance) Crown…
One lament you’d never expect to hear about the local punk scene is that there’s no sense of community. Punk, by its very nature, champions apathy, an I-could-give-a-shit belief system and do-it-yourself work ethic. But truth be told, punk’s nihilistic front just ensures that you’re not listening to music made…
James Mulhern, guitarist/vocalist of local indie band What Laura Says Thinks and Feels, speaks of his first concert experience with pride. It was a Bon Jovi show, Mulhern was in the ninth row, and it was “pretty badass.” The rest of the band has no qualms about listing the “skin…
Greg Pritchard is a consummate multi-tasker. On an early November afternoon, the Minnesota-bred musician is conducting a telephone interview with a reporter from an Oakland coffeehouse while sipping java and using his “mobile dubbing station” to make cassette copies of Shards, a release that his psychedelic prog-thrash band, Clipd Beaks,…
Chief among the reasons Deftones is one of the most compelling hard-rock acts of the past 15 years is Chino Moreno’s gripping vocals, which often act as a moody, atmospheric foil to the band’s raging guitar riffs. But with Team Sleep — Moreno’s long-running side project — pretty much everything…
Bob Ravenscroft’s latest, Intersections I, finds the accomplished pianist resting comfortably in what intimidates so many jazz cats: space. This modern-jazz album begins with “Dreams,” a 14-minute tune that sets the moody formula for the Ravenscroft originals and rests between the stretched-out grooves of Keith Jarrett’s famed trio and free-jazz…
You ever have one of those days that just drip self-loathing and want? Since the doc told me to quit drinking, I’ve had many days — and nights — when I realized, “Hey, I think I really fucked up my life.” Phoenix seems to breed many of those dreaded evenings,…
At the ripe old age of 19, Adam Panic (né Kootman) has accumulated quite a discography, starting with his impressive one-man pop debut, The Vamp, in 2002. Since then, he’s released two EPs, both produced by Phoenix engineer (and Breakup Society drummer) Bob Hoag. Hoag’s back onboard for Panic’s second…
When Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman left the Byrds to start the Flying Burrito Brothers, they caused a seismic shift in the worlds of country music and rock. Until the Burritos, California country was Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and the Bakersfield sound. The Burritos’ first album, The Gilded Palace of…
