Everyone wants to write a musical nowadays. And I don’t get it.Why musicians feel the need to write songs for musical theater is beyond me. I suppose it’s another creative outlet, but to harsh critics of musicals (like myself) it seems they’re nearly all watered-down versions of both song and…
Artist: Ted Leo and the PharmacistsTitle: The Brutalist BricksRelease date: March 9Label: MatadorDid any of you watch the Oscars last night? Judging by what I saw on the Facebook this morning, it would appear I was one of the few who didn’t tune in. I like movies, but I just…
Personally, I love seeing shows in Scottsdale. I’ve seen some amazing shit at Martini Ranch, and I’ve always loved The Rogue. However, I’m an East Valley guy. Always have been, probably always will be. What happens when you drop a West Sider into an awesome show at, say, Martini Ranch,…
This past weekend was a busy one for local bands and fans, with bands like The Love Me Nots and Kinch packing Martini Ranch and Killswitch Engage rocking the sold-out Marquee Theatre. And, if you’ve been wondering where Digital Summer (the band with a sticker plastered on just about every…
Name: Michael Johnson AKA: DJ Phlava Current club nights: Right now I’m doing every Friday night at Myst for Dream Fridays, and on Wednesdays at Bar Smith. During the week it kinda varies. Preferred genres: You can catch me anywhere doing hip-hop, but I also spin everything else. I spin…
British electro musician Matthew Herbert’s latest artistic endeavor involves documenting the life cycle of a pig, and turning those sounds into music.The animal rights organization PETA condemned his efforts, Pitchfork reports, claiming that recording these sounds would mean recording the pig’s life in preparation to be killed, and ultimately recording…
Satellite radio personality Howard Stern had a little fun with Phoenix pop-punkers The Heartless earlier this week.Lead singer Abe Schmidt and guitarist Jeff Tretta played the song “Just to Be” on Stern’s show to win a $5,000 prize. It wasn’t quite that simple, of course. Stern attached a microphone to…
Artist: LiarsTitle: SisterworldRelease date: March 9Label: MuteThe liner notes to Liars new album indicates the trio recorded these 11 songs at 11 different locations. Ten spots in the Los Angeles area, the remaining song set to wax in Prague. The concept is kinda contrived, but whatever: They got a good…
Bonnaroo announced the addition of Ween, Galactic and Umphrey’s McGee, singer/songwriter Brandi Carlisle and The Gossip this morning. Tucson’s Calexico is still the only Arizona band in the four-day Tennessee festival’s full lineup, which can be found below…
While the boys of Hopeless Records-signed Phoenix band Anarbor compete this week for a spot on mtvU’s rotation, they’re also building anticipation for their debut full-length with a new track, “Gypsy Woman,” available for your listening pleasure on their website. The track will be found on the album The Words…
Ke$ha grills Ke$ha on the topic of the Hollywood sign, the Grammys, Ke$ha’s album Animal and some of her favorite artists, among them Bob Dylan, the Beastie Boys and Arizona’s own Alice Cooper. Prepare yourself for the video after the jump…
It seems Yoko Ono is allowing French automaker Citroën to use footage of John Lennon for the purposes of advertising a new “anti-retro” car. Needless to say, there’s a slew of people who are up in arms. The footage is of Lennon discussing the creative process, and nostalgia as a…
Artist: GorillazTitle: Plastic BeachRelease date: March 9Label: Parlophone/VirginThe cartoon band Gorillaz have a new record called Plastic Beach, and it’s pretty darn good. My only previous exposure to the band was the song “Feel Good Inc.,” which I really liked for its Ray Davies-esque chorus and cool bass line. Come…
This week’s music feature looks at the musical career of the Phoenix music blogger, Dfactor. A frequent contributor of comments to Up On The Sun, he’s also seeking a band to collaborate with.”Current solo artist seeks drummer, bassist, perhaps keyboard player. Must be into early-period Guided by Voices, adore Strummer,…
Glendale’s Independence High School has pulled the plug on this weekend’s Gospel Rap Extravaganza, which DMZ was set to perform at, says TMZ.Apparently a $1 million insurance policy wasn’t enough to allow DMX to lose his mind “Up In [T]here.” The show had been scheduled for Saturday and was hosted…
Kinch is planning to play four new songs during their set at Friday’s release party for the latest Flying Blanket compilation CD.The band goes on early, just before 8 p.m., so arrive at Martini Ranch early if you want to hear the new stuff.”All four new songs are guitar songs,…
“Current solo artist seeks drummer, bassist, perhaps keyboard player. Must be into early-period Guided by Voices, adore Strummer, Westerberg, Weller, Richman. Must be interested in rocking out un-ironically. Hipster douchebags and scene kids need not apply. If interested, contact Dfactor at his music blog, www.WavedRumor.com.” Talking with David Murrow, the…
It’s been a busy year for Kirkwood Dellinger. Since their last record, an eight-song EP titled Miniature Stallion, dropped in the summer of 2008, the band has been signed to a label, toured twice, and cut a new album. Their latest project, Gold, set to be released this Saturday, is…
Why would the frontman/guitarist of a successful indie-rock group switch to bass for his solo work? Ask David Bazan, the songwriter who formerly fronted the indie-rock band Pedro the Lion and released his solo debut, Curse Your Branches, last fall. “So much of the time I spend really loathing myself…
It’s been just more than a year since Phoenix grindcore revivalists Landmine Marathon inked a deal with Prosthetic Records, so the first thing I wanted to hear about when we sat down for an interview recently was how their lives had changed since signing a record contract. Surely, there would…
So we’re a little late with this. Yeah, we know Christmas was over two months ago, but the constant rush of this day-to-day journalistic lifestyle has left us with little time for gift-giving…or sun light. Anywho, we hope you’ll accept our late X-mas gift: the brand-spankin’-new “Happy Hours” app for…
Artist: Johnny CashTitle: American VI: Ain’t No GraveRelease date: February 23Label: American RecordingsI approached this new record from Johnny Cash with some skepticism. By the time these tracks were recorded, J.C. simply wasn’t singing very well anymore. The songs on “Ain’t No Grave” were recorded during the same sessions as the…
