Artist: Vitamin String QuartetTitle: VSQ Performs Lady GagaRelease date: July 27Label: Vitamin RecordsFile under: Profoundly unnecessary.I thought this might be a one-off record by some slumming symphony folks, but, no, this highfalutin foursome have recorded similar tributes to AC/DC, Alice in Chains, Guitar Hero, and, um, 30 Seconds to Mars…
This week’s music feature about the Black Cactus Records clique has been causing a little stir, mostly because of a few quotes aimed at various local movers-and-shakers the Cacti aren’t big fans of. Chief among them is Hooves, a band notorious for their drunken antics (read Jason Woodbury’s feature on…
This week’s music feature is on the new, local, DIY, cooperative record label called Black Cactus Records.They’re borderline socialists, and they take their business seriously. Oh yeah, and they’re releasing a comp album featuring their catalog of local artists on Friday, July 23.Have you ever wondered just how, (or why)…
Song: Grizzly Bear, “Knife” (Girl Talk Remix)Context: Just thinking about how lucky Tucson is to have that super sweet Girl Talk show coming in September. Knife [Girl Talk Remix]–Grizzly Bear by purpulus…
This week, New Times ran a list in our print publication highlighting some of the most interesting posts published at Up On The Sun over the past week. Here are links to those posts. Why do indie bands skip Phoenix to play Tucson? Can MP3s of binaural beats really get…
Girl Talk is [what’s the right verb here: playing, performing, spinning?] in Tucson on September 9. Prodigal Phoenicians Silver Medallion open the show, called the N9ne Fest at Tucson Electric Park. Tickets are only $25 and on sale here.Sounds pretty awesome, right? It gets better.Here’s what organizers are saying about…
en Deveroux is nothing if not persistent. The pixie-like party princess, who’s built a reputation in the Valley for such scintillating shindigs as Kung Pao Radio and Tune in Tokyo, has spent the past two years launching dance nights in Scottsdale, only to see them eventually go kaput. For instance,…
Artist: The BooksTitle: The Way OutRelease date: July 20Label: Temporary Residence LimitedI left work early yesterday because I realized I’d taken only one day off so far this year, and that was back in February. I came home and turned on a baseball game (TV volume down, because the Cubs…
Song: The Melodians, “Rivers of Babylon”Context: Arizona isn’t the only place facing a boycott — Palestinians are now asking artists to boycott Israel. So far Elvis Costello and The Pixies have signed on. The Palestinians also asked that Boney M’s famous cover of The Melodians’ “Rivers of Babylon” song not…
Was I the only one in the world who was shocked and a little horrified when Russell Brand and Katy Perry got engaged? Either way, the London Evening Standard has reported that Brand will be selling his premarital home, worth about £2.5 million, since Perry is jealous that he slept…
The Black Cactus Records gang is fed up. They’re annoyed by the brash young hotheads who fancy themselves rock stars. They hate the dudes given to asinine behavior on stage and off. They’re done with excessive drinking and drug use. They’ve had enough of bands flaking out on gigs, showing…
You’ve heard of Justin Bieber. Duh. You know that he’s huge on Twitter (more than 3.3 million followers at last check) and you know that he’s the biggest teen idol since — at least! — the boy bands of the late ’90s. You may have read that he somewhat inexplicably…
1983: Steven Page and Ed Robertson meet at the Peter Puck Memorial School for Creatively Deficient Boys and Chronic Bedwetters, where they bond over their love of “Weird Al” Yankovic and their hatred of getting beaten up by the other children every day after lunch. 1988: At a “Weird Al”…
Artist: Francis and the LightsTitle: It’ll Be BetterRelease date: July 20Label: CantoraIn 2010, a lot of artists have tipped their musical hats to the hitmakers of the 1980s, but none that I’ve heard has paid homage to Peter Gabriel, who was as big a star as nearly anybody from that…
As news of the Tempe Town Lake dam bursting broke last night, many were reminded of the song “When the Levee Breaks,” by Led Zeppelin. How approriate, then, that the band’s front man Robert Plant was across town, playing Phoenix’s Dodge Theatre for a solo show. While some may be…
Tucson’s alt-weekly — which is in no way affiliated with New Times, despite what people seem to think — has a really nice feature about Sergio Mendoza y la Orkesta’s Salvador Duran in this week’s issue.Duran is the intense man in black who helps Sergio with singing duties and speaks…
Song: Led Zeppelin, “When The Levee Breaks”Context: In memory of that giant lake Tempe used to have. Turns out holding nearly 1 billion gallons of water back with what basically amounted to a big balloon was a bad idea. When The Levee Breaks – Led Zeppelin…
Artist: Secret CitiesTitle: Pink GraffitiRelease date: July 20Label: Western VinylGood lord, when is it going to rain around here? I’m getting antsy for a cloudy, rainy day. I spent the first 35 years of my life in the Midwest, where it rains plenty during the summer. This is my sixth…
Our Nothing Not New columnist Jay Bennett — who gave up his record collection and has been listening to and writing about only brand new music since January 1 — was a guest on local NPR affiliate KJZZ’s Here and Now. He was interviewed by Nick Blumberg for a great…
As good as the band’s debut album Tell it to the Volcano was, Fortress could not have existed had the band stuck it out in Phoenix. I’m not trying to rag on PHX — it just can’t hold a candle to the multitude of other, like-minded artists and musicians that…
Built To Spill fans rejoice! You don’t have to pay for Kings of Leon tickets to see your favorite band come this October. You do, however, have to go to the Marquee Theatre to watch them play. Well, absolutely anything is better than having to watch Kings of Leon at…
Guns N’ Roses is playing their first show in four years and only U.S. show of the year at the Sturgis motorcycle rally in South Dakota.Never have I wanted to go to a motorcycle rally — or to South Dakota — more.Sadly, Daughtry will also be playing. I guess motorcycle…
