Heavy metal and hip-hop hybrid outfit Animus Divine (AD) is one of many low-profile and yet highly talented bands operating in the scorching deserts of Arizona. Based out of Tucson, the streetcore musicians have their eye on the prize to master the entertainment industry, but AD lead singer Chuck Clark…
More than anything musically, it could be said that Sun Bones’ primary influence is Newton’s laws of motion. A continuum of momentum and velocity is everything to the Tucson-based, self described “chamber punk” band. Establishing themselves immediately with their 2013 self released debut, Sentinel Peak, their relentless touring, songwriting and…
There is a freckled Playmobil figure on the cover of East Valley musician Jeff Gonzales’ 2013 six-track EP The Lights Just Went Out. His eyebrows are raised upward and his mouth is in the shape of a frown. Is this disappointed-looking childhood toy meant to represent the 32-year-old songwriter? “That’s…
For more than 40 years, Judas Priest has embodied all that is exhilarating, innovative, ridiculous, and wonderful in heavy metal. From their beginnings as a blues-influenced hard rock ensemble in Birmingham, England, through a string of genre-defining albums, surviving both the ’80s and what can only be known as the…
By Chris Walker Charlie “Bird” Parker has been called the greatest saxophonist who ever lived, a jazz legend who not only spearheaded the bebop movement but also laid the foundations of modern jazz. He was also a party animal. In 1952, Los Angeles would play host to one of Parker’s…
Poncho Sanchez has cancelled his Friday, July 11, show at the Musical Instrument Museum Theater due to personal issues. Sanchez also canceled a show in Las Vegas as well. MIM is looking at rescheduling the show…
Phoenix hardcore band Gay Kiss released Fault in December 2012, and some consider it to one of the better heavy albums to come out of Phoenix in recent memory. Now, the quartet’s work has paid off in the form of an opening slot touring for punk supergroup Off! — a…
In the video for Yellow Ostrich’s “Mary,” a young girl dashes through woods, then trips and falls in slow motion. The cover for Ostrich’s fifth album, Cosmos, features a still from videographer Bas Jan Ader tilting sideways, ready to fall. Likewise, the album features a track called “Things Are Fallin’.”…
It’s been slightly more than eight years since Body Count’s last speed/thrash metal assault on the world’s eardrums. The lengthy delay doesn’t come from a lack of desire, but rather the day job that keeps founder and frontman Ice-T out of the recording studio and on the production set. “I’ve…
Sean Carey’s Range of Light begins like the still quiet of a forest morning. “Glass/Film,” the opening song of Carey’s second full-length album, comes with the distinct sense of an awakening, starting with a heart-beat drum and slowly building, a soft guitar, a flash of horn. Carey says the album…
Bob Corritore’s new CD Taboo, which was released earlier this year, is unique. Why? The master harp-player’s album is all-harmonica. Not a single voice appears anywhere on the album. In place of vocals are the sounds of Corritore’s harmonicas…
A few weeks back we brought you a list of our favorite heavy metal charities. Here’s one that we saved for this week, since Phoenix metal lovers can interact with this one as part of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival this Friday, July 11, at Ak-Chin Pavilion. That’s because…
What’s a kid to do when caught between the world’s of psychedelic rock, surf music, bebop, rhythm and blues, and Cha Cha? If you’re Poncho Sanchez, you combine them in giant soul stew on the way to becoming the leading purveyor of funky, grooving music with a deeply soulful edge…
The United States can’t tell Cannibal Corpse what to do. (I mean, if you ever came across anything with that name, would you want to mess with it anyways?). Other countries can – in fact, Germany has tried to regulate the hell out of them over the years, and an…
Skalloween, Ska Prom, Ska-turday, Skanksgiving. For at least the duration of its third wave, the upbeat-heavy, horn-driven sound of ska has enjoyed giving its own spin to holidays and special occasions. This Sunday, after a three-year hiatus, Ska Prom returns to Pub Rock Live in Scottsdale. Headlined by rising Las…
As the temperatures rise in the Valley, the turnout at local bars and clubs tends to drop, for the most part. Some nightlife spots still attract a crowd despite the killer heat, like the place that Club Candids visited in June. Whether it was costumed partiers at Apollo’s Lounge, college…
Todd OwyoungBruce!Bruce Dickinson rules. He’s the greatest singer for one of the greatest bands of all time, Iron Maiden. But recently, he unleashed some pretty charged words in an interview with the Guardian. In addition to dropping one of the most incredible quotations ever, “fame is the excrement of creativity,”…
Earlier today, metal band Upon A Burning Body posted that their singer, Danny Leal, is missing and was last seen June 30. According to the band’s label, Sumerian Records, it was a hoax…
Look no further for proof of Bob Marley’s legacy than the vast number of bands influenced by his work and the multitude of Marley posters that adorn dorm-room walls. More than 30 years after his death in 1981, Bob Marley and the Wailers touch people of all ages. Mostly because…
See also: How Bob Marley Was Sold to the Suburbs At the time of his death, in May 1981, Bob Marley was 36 years old, reggae’s biggest star, and the father of at least 11 children. He was not, however, a big seller. For Dave Robinson, this presented an opportunity…
“Runnin,” Scattered Melodies Scattered Melodies is a unique Valley band in that the drum/bass duo uses a variety of singers on their albums and at their live shows. The duo is aiming to finish their second album by early next year to take it to South By Southwest in Austin,…
It’s 111 degrees outside, and the Valley of the Sun is deserted. Summer is upon us — which also means that the music industry-touring slowdown is, as well. While the rest of the country delights in sunny breezy festival days, our prime time for outdoor shows is during winter. But…
