Seven Suggested Songs For the Morning Commute

​The morning commute can be a drag. A lack of sleep, caffeine or motivation can take its toll on a person. Luckily, there’s music to at least help make the trip to work/school more bearable. Up on the Sun threw together a list of songs to kick off the day…

Morning Light Rail Commuters Share Their Tunes With NewTimes

​These days, people are plugged in like The Matrix — only they’re plugged into their iPods, smart phones, and mp3 players rather than machines on an underground ship. Our detachment from the real world is never as obvious as when strangers are jumbled together in a public space. And this…

Flier of the Week: The Water Fox

The Water Fox is reuniting for the summer. The group is a hardcore band that formed during their high school days at Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix.Also sharing the stage for this gig will be Owl & Penny, Living in Black & White, Something Went Awry, and Daniel &…

Whisperlights’ “Ulna Habenaha,” Explained by the Band

The Whisperlights have released plenty of catchy songs between their debut EP, Wake up Dead, and their upcoming full-length album, Surfaces. The new album explores new sounds with violinist/singer Tobie Milford picking up a guitar on tracks that shift away from themes of death to subtle love songs. What makes…

This Week in Music History: June 20 through 26

Music and musicians have been around for centuries, and every day, new music news breaks. Every Monday, we’re going to take a look back at the notable music stories, births, and deaths that took place that week. This week was a doozy: Columbia Records introduced the LP, Brian Wilson of…

The Donkeys at Yucca Tap Room, 6/18/11

The DonkeysYucca Tap RoomSaturday, June 18The past few shows I have been to — Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Givers — have wound up being pretty low-key, unassuming affairs. Crowds at either show have been modest at best and each set turned out to be a tight, enjoyable hour or so…

Panic! at the Disco at Marquee Theatre, 6/17/11 (VIDEO)

Panic! at the Disco June 17, 2011 Marquee Theatre Brendon Urie sure seems happy these days.At last night’s Panic! at the Disco show at Marquee Theatre, the frontman seemed more comfortable than ever, hitting high notes his fans haven’t been used to, screaming and growling with urgency, and even smoking…

Foo Fighters Release Humorous Coloring Book Tour Rider

, according to Rolling Stone.The rider was made by Gus Brandt, the Foo Fighters’ tour manager. A section of the rider entitled Catering Visual Enhancement & Activities depicts the differences between a lame entree and an awesome entree, the differences between a good salad and a bad salad, what constitutes…

A Salute to Hip, Rock ‘N’ Roll Dads for Father’s Day

Like everyone else on the Internet, we here at Up on the Sun have a serious thing for the hilarious and wonderful Tumblr blog, Dads are the Original Hipsters. On the blog, fantastic vintage photos, all submitted by fans of the site, are coupled with exquisitely snarky captions that detail…

Kara Roschi, What Are You Listening To?

​Kara Roschi The local artist is co-owner of Practical Art. When you put your key in the ignition and turn on the radio, what station would play right now? I am proud to be car-free! But when I did have one, it was NPR in the afternoons, KSLX in the…

Fate of the Galaxies Bring Gloomy Local Synth-Pop to Club 910

The dreamy, danceable, synth-heavy music of Fate of the Galaxies sounds more like something that would come out of early-to-mid ’80s England (The Cure, Joy Division) than downtown Phoenix. But that’s where the trio that makes up Fate of the Galaxies — Mandel Moreno, Oompa Pavone, and Chris McClay –…

Mavis Staples and Dr. John at Celebrity Theatre 6-16-11

Mavis Staples and Dr. JohnCelebrity TheatreThursday, June 16″Joyful noise.” That’s how Mavis Staples described what her and her band create onstage. It’s an apt characterization, one that is appropriately loaded with gospel history, and one that connotes how the 71-year-old singer approaches performing. It can be summed up by another…

Rush at US Airways Center 6/16/11

Rush US Airways Center Thursday, June 16 It’s always exciting when a band pays tribute to their most successful album by playing it from beginning to end. It was no surprise that US Airways Center was nearly sold out last night, packed with thousands of Rush fans singing and air-drumming…

The Top Ten Pop Punk Songs That Got Me Through Those Awkward Teenage Years

But someone did understand. Someone knew exactly what to say to get us through. From the anthems of loneliness to the uplifting reminders that things would get better, pop-punk kept our little hearts ticking through it all.

To this day, these songs still cause little prickly twinges of nostalgia to dance around in our chests when they pop up in our headphones.

Elvis Presley’s Guitar on Display at the Musical Instrument Museum

The Musical Instrument Museum already boasts some cool rock ‘n’ roll relics, including an Eric Clapton guitar and John Lennon’s piano. But on Sunday, June 19, the museum will unveil perhaps its most iconic instrument yet: a 1975 Martin D28 acoustic guitar that belonged to Elvis Presley.Presley played the guitar…

From Print: Blogs Teased in Our June 16 Issue

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 happened back in 1971, when Alice Cooper says Elvis asked him to put a gun…

Your New Favorite Band: The Donkeys

​I will be the first to admit that I had no clue about San Diego garage/folk rockers The Donkeys until someone dutifully pointed them out for me. You see, The Donkeys have a show this Saturday at the Yucca Tap Room and I was asked if I wanted to catch…

Sit Down with Saddles

“Homegrown” and “organic” are not words normally associated with Phoenix. After all, what the hell could possibly grow from soil that rivals the sun in heat? How about “acoustic-driven indie folk” artist Charles Barth from local band Saddles. Barth, 24, is something of a one-man army of musical talent. All…