This Saturday’s Splash party, presented by Fuze and Psyko Steve, will be the first of a summer series. This gig will feature What Laura Says, Gospel Claws, Mondegreen, and special guest DJ Mr. Coon.It’s a 21-and-up event, and the party begins at 7 p.m. at the pool at the Lexington…
Sacha LevineThe sous chef of FnB says, “I don’t just love food, I effing heart music as well.” When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? It’s kinda always set to NPR. Occasionally, there are really fantastic interviews with…
Being a musician usually entails playing an instrument, but there are downsides to having a drum set or a six-string, especially when lugging one’s own equipment on tour.But there are a handful of musicians whose instruments are always with them. They are called vocal instrumentalists, and they use their voices…
I suppose it’s a testament to Devonté Hynes — that he can pull the wool over one of his biggest fans’ eyes, effectively tricking me into thinking I had stumbled upon yet another brilliant British indie rock band…
Do you want a copy of DJ Element’s new mixtape, FreeStyle Session Japan? It’s been hailed as a “funk odyssey” by no less than, um, the Phoenix New Times. For real though, the first 50 peeps in the door tonight at tonight’s Blunt Club installment at The Yucca Tap Room…
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. What are the eight best local records of 2011 so far? What are the best and…
Headlines struck familiar tones on June 16. The Diamondbacks defeated the San Francisco Giants 3-2, after Justin Upton nailed a 10th inning walk-off home run. Broadway Road was closed between Rural Road and Mill Avenue. A Glendale woman was arrested on charges of pimping out a 17-year-old girl. And a…
The Raconteurs have announced that they will be performing at the inaugural MI Fest in Brooklyn, Michigan on September 17.The band, which consists of Jack White, Brendan Benson, Jack Lawrence of the Greenhornes and Dead Weather, and Patrick Keeler, has not yet revealed any information about any potential additional tour dates…
When it comes to crooners, they don’t get any cooler than Frank Sinatra. Over the course of his 60-year career, “Old Blue Eyes” won a dozen Grammy Awards, three Academy Awards, and recorded 297 singles, including hits like “Theme from New York, New York,” “My Way,” and “Strangers in the…
You might have read about local electro pop band Super Stereo in this week’s music feature in Phoenix New Times. While you’ll get the details of how the group came together there, you’ll also notice the band is a bit into fantasy and myth-building — so much so, the group…
This is not the first time the Valley has met with an unruly haboob, nor will it be the last. In my infinite wisdom, I figured why not ride the dust wave and make a list of the top ten songs about dust. You can even make a nice little…
Finding success with two different bands puts you in some pretty rarefied company. But just like Dave Grohl, Eric Clapton, and everyone in Joy Division not named Ian Curtis, Louisiana singer-guitarists Grant Widmer and Ted Joyner — the core of upstart indie-pop outfit Generationals — have managed to pull off…
Being in a touring rock band is challenging enough without internal conflicts, but when two members of the group are separating/divorcing each other, there are only two paths to take: 1) the Fleetwood Mac route, in which all the trauma is poured into an album for the whole world to…
If teeny-bopper rap sounds like something Method Man’s nightmares would be made of, it’s not. The Closer to My Dreams Tour, headlined by Young Money labelmates Tyga and Lil Twist (with opener Diggy Simmons, son of Rev Run of Run-D.M.C.), is proof that teeny-bopper not only lives, but that it…
Sometimes, metal bands sound like teenagers screaming over a wall of doomy, spiraling guitar chords. Sometimes, metal bands sound like a demon orgy in a thunderstorm. And occasionally, a good metal band sounds like both. One of the things that make Phoenix band Sicmonic notable is musical diversity. The quintet’s…
It’s a Friday night at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, and local electro-pop band Super Stereo is getting ready to take the stage. The five 20-somethings (two gals and three guys) in the group are wearing sunglasses and coordinated gray-and-white outfits. They look crisp, clean, and cool, as…
Don’t let that mask scare you. DJ Raccoon doesn’t want to dig through your trash; he wants to get your ass moving. “I stray far, far away from Top 40,” Raccoon, a.k.a. Jake Brennan, says via e-mail. Raccoon is more into indie, dance, house, and dub, which he’ll be playing…
After he released Curse Your Branches in 2009, an album frequently called his “breakup letter with Christianity,” you’d think that former Pedro the Lion frontman David Bazan would be done answering questions about his faith. But, inevitably, his wrestling match with Christianity still comes up in nearly every interview with…
Pete Townshend once claimed, “I have terrible hearing trouble. I have unwittingly helped to invent and refine a type of music that makes its principal proponents deaf.” But there’s a drummer/singer out there right now who was born deaf but learned to hear. He’s performed more than 2,500 concerts for…
Third-wave ska peaked sometime in the late 1990s, when bands like The Toasters, Save Ferris, and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones achieved mainstream recognition. Times change and people move on, and now we’re left with Rihanna searching for a rude boy. Thankfully, Streetlight Manifesto has been providing a fresh take on…
THURSDAY 7 27th Avenue Bar: DJ Manage, & DJ Android (Top 40, dance) Afterlife: Thumpin Thurzdays (various) AZ/88: Josh One (rare groove, urban funk) Bar Smith: Splash Thursday (reggae, dancehall, Top 40, house) Bikini Lounge: DJ Shane Kennedy (jazz, blues, country, R&B) Blue Martini: Rewind Thursday with DJ Mendez (various)…
A name like Summer Massive sets high expectations for a party. All the components were in place — an impressive line up featuring Designer Drugs, Le Castle Vania, and local talent, a large venue (bonus points for cool décor at The Venue of Scottsdale), cheap drinks, and lots of interesting…
