After signing a three- million dollar record deal with Sony Music in 2011, A$AP Rocky, the 24-year-old Harlem-based emcee had a hell of a 2012. Already considered to be on front line of the new wave of hip-hop artists, A$AP lived a life that many aspiring musicians only dream about…
By Andy Hermann As the Hollywood-based casting guru behind Jersey Shore and A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, Doron Ofir knows how the lowbrow culture game is played. But even the man who gave the world Snooki might have been caught off-guard by the outrage over one of his…
Rebellious personas are to rock ‘n’ roll what cocaine was to the eighties: in high demand, deliciously indulgent, and a way to catch a buzz that makes it okay for men to rock garishly colored neon outfits. Stage names are a huge part of those heavy metal, punk, and rock…
Orange County punk legends Social Distortion have always been generous about performing in Arizona. The band usually plays a double-header at Marquee Theatre early in the year, and once again, Social D will return to the Marquee on January 22 and 23. The Tempe dates are part of a string…
Not everyone has the luxury of having an auxiliary jack in their car stereo. With the amount of leaks, holes, and weird noises coming from my engine, I’m lucky my beat-up truck still runs period. I can’t be asking for a decent stereo. So my commuting music consists entirely of…
Psych fans and math-rock devotees both enjoy technical drum feats and guitar pyrotechnics, but each group has its preferred flavors of jam. Mathletes tend to like riffs that show the science at work, geometric patterns that confound in exciting ways. Psych rockers like their technical proficiency to offer an escape,…
There is a Nashville-style knock-knock joke going around that lets you make any what-the-hell-ever-happened-to country singer of the past the punchline. Because Clint Black is hitting town, we’ll use him. It goes like this: “Knock knock. Who’s there? Clint Black. Clint Black who? Hmmmph, tough town.” Nashville radio is known…
In our cyclical pop culture, fads give way to other fads — which often recycle looks and vibes of the past — every couple of years. Rockabilly has bubbled up to the pop culture mainstream over and over again since the 1950s, but for Phoenix-based rockabilly aces Voodoo Swing, the…
Aging well is remarkably difficult in the world of punk rock. Can you imagine Sid Vicious in his 50s? But Mike Ness of Social Distortion still has it going on. Ness continues to win the hearts of pompadour-sporting gals because he is a textbook example of the sensitive bad boy…
Be forewarned: The grim reaper shall cometh to the East Valley forthwith, and when thine angel of death heaves the mighty blade of the scythe, it shall collect the life of Monsterland. The hybrid haunted house, eatery, and nightclub at 18 West Main Street in Mesa will head for the…
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s child is bound to be the most narcisstic tot to walk the face of the earth. Let’s just hope that Baby Kimye ends up innocent and adorable and doesn’t go the way of his or her sex tape-making parents. The media is already critical of…
West Phoenix gets too much flack. Really, it’s not so bad: housing is cheap, movie theaters are everywhere, and sporting events are actually well planned and executed. Case in point– think about how much easier it is to leave a Coyotes game than a Suns game. See also: Club Candids:…
As a metal head, I often face lots of people who assume I don’t listen to anything else. Of course, I’m guilty of it too. It’s the first agitated thought I have when douche bags roll up next to my car blasting Soulja Boy and all I want to do…
Texas-based thrash metallers Warbeast thrive off meat-grinding riffs, jackhammer double bass, a range of lyrical topics, and 180-degree hooks. Made up of veteran rockers that have been creating music for decades –the members’ resumes include Rigor Mortis, Gammacide, and Demonseed– Warbeast formed in 2006, and in 2010 released its debut,…
Editor’s Note: We’d like to welcome local hip-hop artist and writer Jaron Ikner to Up on the Sun. You’re probably familiar with his Black One project, and now he’s bringing his voice to the music blog here at New Times. Salute! Longevity and consistency are two things that are considered…
A quick question: Is it possible for a rock ‘n’ roll song to feature bells — those chiming, ringing things — without plunging to the depths of saccharine “twee-ness”? We’re not talking booming “For Whom the Bell Tolls”-by-Metallica bells. We’re talking street-performer, Christmas-caroling bells. Is it possible to employ the…
Singer-songwriter and folk troubadour Greg Brown is more than just another guy with a guitar and resonant voice. Brown’s ability to forge a musical style that melds Appalachia, folk, and blues with lyrics that capture the spirit of the land and the people who live and work on it has…
Mergence is one of those Phoenix bands that garners incredible local hype for its talents while simultaneously admitting that such popularity would be considerably less likely in New York or Los Angeles. While the plaudits of the critics generally are a bit over the top, the band really does have…
If you aren’t already envious of Matan Zohar, who performs as Mat Zo, you’ve got every right to be nothing but helly jelly. At the tender age of 22, the London-born trance and house producer already has collaborated with Porter Robinson (on last year’s epic progressive track “Easy”) as well…
Editor’s Note: In an eerie (and downright unlucky) twist of fate, the freaky folks at Monsterland announced the impending closure of the Mesa spot this afternoon within hours of this blog’s publication. See below for more info. Editor’s Note #2: In an even more bizarre twist, whoever’s in charge decided…
Even though it’s only about two hours away, Tucson and the musical happenings within it can seem distant and obscure to a Phoenix resident like myself. For instance, I only found out about Tucson metal act Godhunter today — despite the fact that it appears that they have been consistently…
A band with genuine mystery is hard to come by in the Internet age, but Tempe scrap-pop outfit The Cigs had it: Not much is known about the short-lived project, but last week, the band posthumously released its second full-length, Marble Red, on Bandcamp. The band started in January 2012…
