by Carly Schorman – Some people think that Reno is the world’s biggest little city , but that’s a lie. It’s Phoenix and anyone who’s lived...
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An Insider’s Introduction: Adam Townsend
by Mark Anderson
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Persistence is the key.
Just ask about that with Tucson singer-songwriter Adam Townsend whose new album, All My Fires, is essentially a decade in the making. Produced by Grammy-nominated Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Langhorne Slim, Benjamin Booker), with both indie-rock and soul overtones, All My Fires caught my ear immediately and is one my favorite Tuscon albums of 2019.
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For the Record: ‘The End Is Dear’ by Assembly of Arsonists [interview + review]
by Carly Schorman
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If you haven’t spent much time contemplating your own mortality, I suggest you take a moment to look toward that looming abyss before entering the dark circus that is The End is Dear, the new album from Phoenix’s Assembly of Arsonists…
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Tapedeck.art Hosts ‘It’s A Party, Why Not?’ at StokedHaus
by Logan Lowrey-Rasmussen
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I’m always game for a good house-show, and while I attend them quite frequently, there was a low-key feeling of exuberance I had for the May 4th edition of “It’s A Party, Why Not?”…
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Music Video Premiere: “Burnin Grass” by decker. [premiere + interview]
Exclusive premiere of the music video, “Burnin Grass”, from decker + interview with songwriter, Brandon Decker…
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Bassist Ali Dean on Architects’ Latest Album ‘Holy Hell’ [interview]
by Jacob Unterreiner
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At its height, music is a monument to emotion.
You can use words to express powerful emotions, but a sentence or two can never capture the scope of a feeling. Language alone, to some degree, is always minimizing the intensity of an emotion. Music, however, can capture how big a feeling feels–it’s a large part of the reason we make it. We say to ourselves, “My feelings are so big, that they deserve more than words, they deserve a song.”
Architects’ new album, Holy Hell, is a monument to a pain too large to simply be talked about. It is a a monument to a pain that needs to be screamed into microphones and battered into drums.
I spoke with bass player, Ali Dean, about the new album and how the band has moved forward after the death of founding member Tom Searle…
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For the Record: Ultraviolet Idiot by Bindi-Eye
by Carly Schorman
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Zachary Wubbena is the prolific songwriter behind the stoner-rock sounds of Tempe’s Bindi-Eye. His new album, Ultraviolet Idiot, is the latest in a string of dreamy, lofi, prosaic releases to emerge from the artist and just might prove his best work to date…
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For the Record: ‘Where You Are’ by R. Ariel
by Carly Schorman
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Phoenix songwriter/author and world traveler, r.ariel, is off on a whirlwind musical adventure that has taken her across continents and, as one of her avid social media followers, I love being taken around the globe as she brings her art and music to new listeners and new locales.
R.Ariel recently released her new album, Where You Are, earlier this year and her new book, No One Likes Us, on the SAME DAY. Either one of those artistic undertakings seems like it could be inordinately consuming, but R.Ariel seems to exist in a perpetual cycle of creation…
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Arizonans for Children Seeks Mentors for Foster Children
by Carly Schorman
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Arizonans for Children is a Phoenix-based organization that helps foster children and their families in a multitude of ways from providing cozy visitation space to organizing classes and workshops. But perhaps their most impressive organizational effort, beyond the facility itself, is the mentorship program offered through Arizonans for Children…
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Social Savvy: Matthew Slusser of Getting Stoked
If there is someone who has changed the Podcast game in the Valley of the Sun, it is Matthew Slusser.
A former member of the now-defunct surf-rock band Phantom Party, Slusser started his Podcast “Getting Stoked” in 2017, which has quickly become a channel for frank, open discussions with local bands with topics ranging from mental illness and getting real about the entertainment industry. Slusser’s earnest and accessible candor has also landed him interviews with nationally-known artists, such as Culture Abuse…
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Good Question: Brother Teresa Wants to Make You Dance with ‘Jam Chill Slam’ [interview]
by Jacob Unterreiner
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Brother Teresa really wants you to dance, but they don’t want to make it easy for you. The band’s acrobatic, boogie-inducing riffs are infectious, but sometimes they come in irregular time signatures; forcing the audience to think before they groove.
The band is fronted by a pair of singer-guitarists in Joe Allie and Salah Moharram, and is rounded out by bassist Bailey Stewart and drummer Dom Crooks. I sat down with the whole confounding crew in order to discuss their evolution as a band and their debut record: Jam Chill Slam…
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