Phoenix is on the cusp of something great, musically speaking. New festivals are popping up every year with big concepts and bigger headliners. As time progresses and the bands on top of the scene either blow up or fade away, it will be the younger acts out there stepping up…
O.T. Genasis’ “CoCo” is one of those songs that blows up, and no one really knows why. It’s a somewhat repetitive beat with a dumbed-down chorus that somehow worms its way into your ear a takes up permanent residence. For every song like “CoCo” that makes it big, there are…
So, how was your November? You probably did the Thanksgiving thing with the family, watched tons of football, and got into it with other Black Friday shoppers in order to nab the biggest deals. As for the Club Candids crew, they spent the past month celebrating Day of the Dead,…
Blues will help kids and needy parents during the seventh annual Toy and Diaper Drive Sunday, December 7 at Rhythm Room in Phoenix. Bluesman Mike Anderson and the Blues Review Band will head up an all-star cast that includes Lucius Parr, the Sugar Thieves, Paul Cruize and Blues Crew, Sir…
In 2008, a video surfaced of four Portland residents, clad in chain mail and medieval armor made solely of beer cans, going head-to-head with live-action role players. In 2011, the same four Portlanders appeared again, blowing a record label advance check on a beatup station wagon and a plethora of…
The concept of living a Kerouac-inspired lifestyle will, at some point, seem attractive to even the most jaded readers of On the Road, a tome that extolls the virtues and pitfalls of years spent doing just that. For Chris Rutledge of Antique Scream, this nomadic spirit is less a passing…
According to Harry Nilsson, one is the loneliest number. But for singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Keller Williams, one is more than enough. Unlike one-man bands of old, Williams doesn’t have cymbals on his knees, horns under his arms, taps on his toes, or a drum on his back. Rather, Williams has propelled the…
Members of the legendary punk band X will never “walk on down the road yelling hurry up” to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to be enshrined in its hallowed halls. It has never been their style to self-aggrandize, and yet while bands like the Clash, The Ramones, Talking…
It’s that time of year where I get to say “‘Tis the season to be metal.” The temperatures have finally fallen, and some of our favorite metal band’s touring schedules are still in full swing. It’s that time of year where we can leave those sweaty mosh pits and emerge…
Local blues harmonica player — and Rhythm Room owner — Bob Corritore could not have picked a better title for his latest release. That Taboo is an all-instrumental album is rare enough these days in the blues world, but one fronted by a harp blower makes the outing even rarer…
Claiming blues legend Muddy Waters as a teacher is something few musicians can do with a straight face. “Steady Rollin” Bob Margolin is one such musician. Already showing promise as an upstart blues musician following a short-lived foray into the psychedelic rock world with Boston’s Freeborne (the band’s lone album…
The holidays are fast approaching, which means while you’re baking a ham, mashing potatoes, and putting those crispy onions on the green bean casserole, your mother is drunk on egg nog, and your father is going out of his way to push your buttons. My dad and I don’t generally…
A fledgling online radio station that launched in early August with a focus on local music is losing support quickly after its general manager and registrar of the station’s website, allegedly posted a racism-laced rant on Facebook in the wake of the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri. After New Times contributor…
Being the torchbearer of the modern American doom metal movement can be a tough job, especially when you list Kansas as one of your favorite bands. But it makes sense, according to Pallbearer bass player and vocalist Joseph D. Rowland, who says the band’s progressive tendencies are just as important…
An estimated crowd of more than 7,000 people came to the Global Dance Festival at Tempe Beach Park this past weekend, most of whom were dressed both warmly and colorfully for the outdoor electronic music massive — including hordes of attendees in outrageous and over-the-top costumes. Others went with skimpier…
In late October, we introduced The 10 Most Influential Punk Records of Arizona. Over the next few weeks, we will reveal how we’ve ranked each record, and we will take an in-depth look at the people and circumstance behind each album’s creation. When I was a young’un, we would often…
I have personal issues with Black Friday. I just don’t get it. Why would you leave your house after a perfectly good day of football and feasting to embark on a wild goose chase for yet another flat-screen television or deep fryer, no matter how deeply discounted they are? Rabid…
Earlier this year, New Times celebrated the cream of the crop with our 36th annual Best of Phoenix edition. Here are our top picks for places to hear music in metro Phoenix. Best Venue for Local Acts: Crescent Ballroom Local bands aspire to perform at Crescent Ballroom, and when they…
Downtown Tempe is in no danger of running low on electronic dance music or off-the-chain dance parties anytime soon, what with the clubs of Mill Avenue pumping out four-on-the-floor jams and killer drops most nights. The clamor of beats and bass coming from Tempe is going to get even louder…
By Gabriel San Roman It was no coincidence that Rage Against the Machine released The Battle of Los Angeles on what’s traditionally observed as Election Day in the United States in 1999. The 2000 election season was already in gear, with Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore setting…
“A monthly exploration into Latin Rhythms across genres” reads the subtitle of Clandestino!, a highly rumored and now-realized Latin night at Crescent Ballroom. Does Phoenix have a “Latin Alternative” audience big enough to sustain a monthly party at the most relevant music venue in town? El Nico, curator and mastermind…
Walking through the back rooms of the Tempe History Museum, it’s easy to get distracted by the various artifacts of the city’s lore. Boxes are stacked like in the last scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark; one clumsy turn could result in someone accidentally getting his face melted. Navigating…
