Nirvana means absolutely nothing to me. I’m sorry to have to be so blunt, but that’s the only way to put it. As much as I enjoy the songs, and as much as I can intellectually recognize the influence he had on the next decade of popular music, Kurt Cobain…
After five years of fun, memorable shows, The Whisperlights are calling it quits. Like most people in long-distance relationships, the band members tried to make it work by getting together once a year or so and rekindling the magic, but they had the added problem of trying to get eight…
Thursday 9 AZ/88: Black Out Thursdays with Josh 1 (soulful house, lounge) Bar Smith: Ladies Night with DJ AL3 (hip-hop, Latin) Bobby Q’s: All Star Thursdays with DJ Freshmaker, DJ Phlava, DJ Dark Vader, & DJ Skoolboi (hip-hop, Top 40, reggae) Dos Gringos (Scottsdale): DJ Switch (rock, Top 40, remixes)…
It feels as though about once a month the Crescent Ballroom puts on a free show that could make you think, “Are you sure we weren’t supposed to pay for this?” And January 7 was definitely one of those nights. The evening kicked off at 8 with D.G. Scherrer backed…
After five years of fun and memorable shows, The Whisperlights are calling it quits. Like all veterans of long-distance relationships, the band members tried to make it work by getting together once a year or so and rekindling the magic, but they had the added problem of trying to get…
SheaEditor’s Note: Shea Serrano is an award-winning music writer and goofball whose recent exploits include Bun B’s Rapper Coloring and Activity Book. Right now, Pitbull’s “Timber,” featuring Ke$ha, is number two on Billboard and number one on my GTFOH chart. I don’t remember the first time I heard — it seems…
If you have a lot of music critic buddies, you’ve probably noticed that they’re just now getting back to their usual neurotic selves. That’s because they’re finally done with year-end lists. Going from genre to genre can be especially difficult — how does an up-and-coming pop punk band that wrote…
“I think there’s a big misconception of EyeHateGod,” says Jimmy Bower. “People see the name, think, maybe these guys are Satanists, maybe they’re just stupid.” I first heard EyeHateGod back in 1992 when In the Name of Suffering came out. Admittedly, I was as enthused by their name as much…
Robert Bejil, FlickrMost people regard metal music as an anti-intellectual, chest-beating, noisy fit for cavemen. Despite this being 100 percent true, there are a few positive things that result from having an intense dedication toward one of the most juvenile forms of music out there. While listening to metal may…
Are you still writing 2013 on your checks? Are you still writing checks? If the first full week of the year has you a little jet-lagged, it might not seem like a good idea to go to a probably loud show that goes until probably very late at night. But…
Last night, metal god Rob Halford from Judas Priest made a guest voice appearance on an episode of The Simpsons called “Steal This Episode.” In a nutshell, Homer became annoyed with movie theaters, so Bart taught him how to download movies illegally. Of course, Homer thinks this revelation kicks ass…
The post-holiday hangover is in full effect and it’s more than a little funky. We’re still finishing off the last of our Christmas leftover, trashing the remainder of the decorations and festive miscellanies, and trying to get our brainpans back into a normal schedule after all these mid-week holidays and…
After five years of fun and memorable shows, The Whisperlights are calling it quits. Like many in long-distance relationships, the band members tried to make it work by getting together once a year or so. With members living on both coasts, it’s difficult to get the full eight-piece band together…
Be Yourself . You are never going to be Joe Strummer. Joe Strummer was Joe Strummer and you are you, which is not a bad thing. The most attractive thing you have to offer as a bandmate, as a performer, and as someone an audience wants to watch (more than…
Cold Shott and the Hurricane Horns brought in the new year with a stellar performance at the Tempe Block Party on New Year’s Eve. Cold Shott and the Hurricane Horns may be the Arizona version of the nationally known group Roomful of Blues. Both bands have been around for decades…
William Michael Smith (left, photo by Chris Knight) and David ThorpeThe 11 alternative weeklies of Voice Media Group are responsible for a tremendous amount of music writing: This year, we produced thousands of pages of printed stories and tens of thousands of blog posts. We’re proud to present the very…
Shea Note: in his column Serrano Time, award-winning writer and goofball Shea Serrano writes about his life and times. Dear 2013, Oh, man. So you’re officially over. That’s kind of sad. You were mostly a very dope year — at least for me, anyway, and truth be told, that’s all…
Wally Boudway of Wooden Indian isn’t sure about the word psychedelic. “I don’t like it when people call our music psychedelic because I don’t like the idea of making music to do drugs to. It’s the opposite of what I’m trying to do. I like to make music that gives…
Buckle your safety belts, because you’re about to trip through a time warp. We’re setting the Wayback Machine to a quarter-century ago — 1989, to be exact — when a small radio station called KUKQ was the blasting out alternative, underground, and indie rock tunes over Valley airwaves via 1060…
Thursday 2 AZ/88: Black Out Thursdays with Josh 1 (soulful house, lounge) Bar Smith: Ladies Night with DJ AL3 (hip-hop, Latin) Bobby Q’s: All Star Thursdays with DJ Freshmaker, DJ Phlava, DJ Dark Vader, & DJ Skoolboi (hip-hop, Top 40, reggae) Crescent Ballroom: DJ Smite (funk, soul, R&B, rare vinyl,…
Party guru and artist Quincy Ross has earned a certain legendary status in the downtown Phoenix scene from his late-night underground affairs, which tend to feature a slew of DJ talent and turn into major ragers that last until well after dawn. And said status might get a little more…
For anyone who has ever made the claim that Phoenix has no music scene, I direct you to Robbie Pfeffer, Gage Olesen, and Rubber Brother Records. Since June, the partners have been running their successful cassette tape label and providing Phoenix with some of the most eclectic, community-based, do-it-yourself shows…
