Noise is a relative concept — for many, it is what interferes with what we’d prefer to hear. For others, noise is a means to an end, a catharsis, or an inverse of what’s known as “harmony.” The Who, Velvet Underground, and the Beatles pioneered the inspired use of noise…
Picture some of the most in-demand NYC-based musicians with a bent toward jazz forming a band. Now, imagine that the group stays together for more than a decade without rotating guest musicians (not atypical for, say, a rock outfit, but quite unusual in jazz). Think of how awesome the music…
In their chart-topping single “You! Me! Dancing!” the indie Britpoppers of Los Campesinos! describe how a raucous club night in their native Wales is filled with much dancing and debauchery, singing, “The beats, yeah, they were coming out the speakers/And were winding up straight in your sneakers.” And from what…
Aside from the fact that many of the Derby Dames physically resemble Wendy O. Williams, the late Mohawk-sporting, scantily clad singer of the Plasmatics, derby girls also share a love of extreme adventure with Williams, who performed all her own stunts, from jumping off the top of a moving school…
Cherry Bomb!’s April Pre-Pride party at the Rogue on Thursday, April 3rd.
Mill Avenue saw its fair share of action over the weekend with the Tempe Arts Festival and the Tempe Music Festival at the lake. But we decided to see what kind of crew rolled in after all the main events were over. So we headed down to Mill Avenue Cue…
Local singer/guitarist Brian Chartrand has his fingers in lots of stuff — he plays in local jam band Ten Dollar Outfit, and he’s also a member of Phoenix group RGB. But more than anything, Chartrand has his fingers in heavy-handed acoustic guitar plucking, especially on his solo EP, Sleeping With…
On this Canada-based trio’s debut, the eclectic talents of Peru’s Silvana Kane and Canadian musicians Adam Popowitz and Toby Peter come together on a disc that goes in various musical directions, ranging from flamenco to electronica with a touch of Latin and indie pop in between. “Libertad” is a mellow…
Call ’em retro, sans cheesy affectation for 1960s pop/folk-rock classicists, but don’t call ’em late for dinner — Elf Power is back with another in a series of classy, winsomely tuneful albums wherein engaging melodies and sweet harmoniousness unquestionably rule. Elf Power is an offspring of pre-White Album Beatles, Searchers,…
Let’s get real here — lots of what makes the “country” charts (in case you haven’t noticed) sounds like watered-down power-pop with some vague twang added for “authenticity.” Most of these pretty boys/girls wouldn’t know Buck Owens from Buck Rogers — but this Justin Townes Earle knows, I’ll wager. If…
“The Jicks is funky music. They is a powerhouse.” So it says in the artwork that accompanies this third offering from Stephen Malkmus’ post-Pavement outfit. On first glance at said artwork, with its nonsensical collages — not to mention the beginning of opening number “Dragonfly Pie,” which drips with midtempo…
Rob Kwik has a whole lotta reasons to be celebrating on Friday, April 4. The ultra-ill turntablist is commemorating not only his 29th birthday but also the release of his latest remix CD, and the ninth anniversary of the Dirt Assasinz Crew — the eight-member DJ collective that’s been rocking…
Metal-core band Bullet for My Valentine takes the best of British heavy metal (tap-frenzy twin guitar harmonies, rapid-fire rhythms) and combines it with the worst of American emo (harmonic choruses that border on whininess). But we’ll forgive them because: 1) they’re British; 2) they don’t wear girls’ jeans; and 3)…
It has to be said: The AZ music scene suffers from a severe lack of spookiness. Perhaps it’s the overabundance of sunshine or scarcity of graveyards, but in the greater Phoenix metro area, it’s hard to get rocked in that “this music could very well be sucking the blood from…
Watching Hiroshima perform is akin to witnessing two cultures come together through music. Formed almost 30 years ago by saxophonist Dan Kuramoto and master koto player June Kuramoto, the six-piece band bridges the gap between traditional Japanese music and modern jazz by incorporating sounds from both cultures, resulting in a…
It’s fitting that Muppet Show creator Jim Henson based his Dr. Teeth character on pianist Dr. John, who has served as unofficial mascot-ambassador for the city of New Orleans and its indigenous musical forms for a good 50 years now, arguably filling the shoes of none other than Louis Armstrong…
It seemed every hipster-artist type with a little extra cash was heading to “SMoCA Nights: Drive” on Thursday, March 20. The car-inspired theme was arguably the best we’ve seen from the think tank responsible for these seasonal parties, and the accompanying lowrider car show was just the right touch to…
It’s Friday and it’s raining — as if we live in the grungy Emerald City of Seattle. Naturally, I throw on my flannel, itching for a drink when I receive a text from my buddy Guano (really, he goes by Guano). It reads, “I’m done with work pay day wanna…
Some people believe that chakra, a Sanskrit word meaning “circle,” refers to an energy center, a place where the physical body and the “mind” meet as one, where things like aural sensations become visceral stimulations in certain parts of our bodies. If that all sounds like a bunch of seduce-you-spiel,…
Long before hitmakers like Kelis sampled Mozart and Mike Skinner borrowed from Bartok, a ’60s girl group called The Toys layered exquisite teen harmonies over Bach finger exercises and launched a pop-music revolution. Led by Barbara Harris, The Toys brought sonatas to sock hops around the country when their million-selling…
On a Friday or Saturday night, sliding into a nightspot as hot as Taste Ultra Lounge, 6910 East Shea Boulevard in Scottsdale, ain’t too easy, playa. Usually, the super-swanky, Asian-style drinkery is so swarmed with top-shelf trim and bar stars during prime time that the doormen ain’t gonna let your $30K-millionaire…
Three-quarters of the way through a compilation that’s been billed as a locals-only/females-only album, a voice that’s clearly not a girl’s appears. That voice belongs to Chris Corwin (no, Chris is not short for Christina), who, last time we checked, is totally a guy. We didn’t investigate to see whether…
