At one point in their career, the North Carolina trio The Avett Brothers (brothers Scott and Seth Avett, along with Bob Crawford), were better suited to perform at an old fashioned hootenanny than at a classy place like Mesa Arts Center. But though the band started out playing old-timey bluegrass,…
The great “could have been” story is a tired tale in the music business. Anyone with more than a casual relationship with popular music can remember a band that should have been huge, likely an act similar to another act that did hit it big. Mine: Christian pop geniuses, the…
Two types of jazz singing inspired this piece. First, the good: Norah Jones at Tempe’s Red River Opry (now the Marquee Theatre) in July 2002. At the time of this show, Come Away With Me, Jones’ jazz-ish debut, had yet to hit suburbia stereos en masse. However, after blow-me-away interpretations…
The Musical Instrument Museum — which debuts to the public this weekend and will showcase instruments from every single country in the world — is, honest to goodness, to die for. Seriously. Somebody perished in the act of instrument procuring. As you can imagine, stocking and displaying multiple instruments from…
Artist: The Apples in StereoTitle: Travellers in Space and TimeRelease date: April 20Label: SimianI’d remembered seeing The Apples in Stereo open for Luna at Chicago’s Metro in 1997 and was looking forward to hearing the band’s new record, Travellers in Space and Time. At that show, they played guitar-based, mid-tempo,…
According to NME, Adam Ant has publicly stated that he’s made his first album in 15 years, and that you’ll be able to hear an ex-Oasis member on it.If you’re anything like me, and you were totally and completely devastated when you found out that Noel Gallagher had finally had…
Just when you thought it was safe, we have three more Coachella 2010 slides shows courtesy of LA Weekly for you to take a gander at. Long live the ‘Chella. Top 25 Coachella Tattoos The 40 Most Memorable People at Coachella Coachella: Hippies or Hipsters?…
With Swim, Snaith has found his stride rather brilliantly, combining radio-friendly beats (“Odessa”) with funky, subdued jams (“Kaili,” “Leave House”). The resulting product is one of the year’s best albums — one that will be difficult to top for its ambitious and experimental nature.What the critics are saying: …
Artist: Jakob DylanTitle: Women + CountryRelease date: April 6Label: Columbia”That ain’t country in their voice / They ain’t no local boys,” Jakob Dylan sings in “We Don’t Live Here Anymore.” He could very easily being singing about himself on his new Women + Country record. Dylan’s a pop star by…
Forget the same old music you’ve always gotten high to this 4/20 holiday. Why don’t you consider Anarbor, a Phoenix-based band who’s releasing their debut full-length album, The Words You Don’t Swallow, today. It’s no coincidence the group, signed to Hopeless Records, decided to drop the album today. In fact,…
Welcome to 21 Questions, a regular feature where PHXmusic.com goes to the favorite hangout of a notable Phoenician and asks the “big” questions. This week we met up with Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World at the trail along the canal that runs by the Arizona Biltmore.Lately Adkins has been…
Just like back in junior high school, when gobbling up biographies of Hanson and Jonathan Taylor Thomas was the norm, there’s a new book all about Lady Gaga on bookstore shelves–Lady Gaga: Behind the Fame.It’s definitely unauthorized, and Gaga, or Stefani Germanotta, as she was born, didn’t give the author…
It takes some serious guts to laugh at yourself whilst fighting a debilitating disease, and that’s exactly what you’ll get from Sharon Kha, a former veep from the University of Arizona who is now suffering from Parkinsons, the progressive wasting disease that also afflicts Michael J. Fox. As Tucson’s newspaper,…
So if you weren’t fortunate enough to make it to Coachella this year — I along with several of my fellow disappointed New Times staffers fall into that category — and you’re not too broken up about it to find out how it actually went, Spin offers up the high…
Artist: CornershopTitle: Judy Sucks a Lemon for BreakfastRelease date: April 20Label: Ample PlayHave you seen Esquire’s list of “50 Songs Every Man Should Be Listening To”? It’s not bad. I totally agree with them about Eels’ “End Times,” Johnny Cash’s “Ain’t No Grave,” She & Him’s “In the Sun,” Soft Pack’s…
Considering he was famously knocked the fuck out by a Scottsdale band after an Arizona gig, you might expect Glenn Danzig to avoid Arizona. Nope. The ex-Misfit will appear at Atomic Comics on Country Club Drive in Mesa Saturday, signing his new book from 2 to 3 p.m.Danzig’s new book,…
Tonight’s Beach House show has been moved to the Clubhouse in Tempe. Japandroids will be at Rhythm Room instead.Meanwhile, Frightened Rabbit’s local show is officially a casualty of the Iceland volcano, as the band can’t get in from Europe and has canceled their local show. The Middle East will open…
Just when you thought Trey Parker and Matt Stone couldn’t get any more offensive, they did it. According to TwentyFourBit, Parker and Stone are making a Broadway musical about Mormonism.”Growing up in Colorado, a lot of our friends were Mormons and we always thought their book would make a great…
Back in the day, the only thing a DJ needed to rock the house was a couple of turntables a few dozen records, and some serious scratching skills. Nowadays, it’s de rigueur for wanna-be beatmixers to own a Macbook, a copy of Serato Scratch Live, and hundreds of MP3s downloaded…
AKA: DJ Steel Current club nights: Monday nights, Crown Room; Wednesday nights, American Junkie; Thursday nights, Pussycat Lounge; Friday nights, American Junkie; Saturday, The Cathouse at the Luxor in Las Vegas. Preferred genres: I really don’t prefer any genre over another. I’ve been lucky enough at this point to have…
Artist: Frightened RabbitTitle: The Winter of Mixed DrinksRelease date: March 9Label: Fat CatIs Frightened Rabbit the next U2? If they’re not, it’s not for lack of trying. Like early U2, this Scottish band is quite adept at making a lot out of very little. That is to say, they have…
What local bands do you book for a 4/20 festival? Headquarters has tapped Fred Green, The Plainfield Butchers, Masters of the Universe and SAF will perform at Tempe’s 910 Live as part of The Headquarters festival. Yup, seems about right.In that lineup, which will be broadcast live on KWSS 106.7FM,…
