Blogs

By: Sarah Ventre

The Meat Puppets’ long awaited return after more than a decade of absence from the valley brought fans old and new to the man-made shores of Tempe Town Lake. While any homecoming for a nationally recognized band is a big deal, this one in particular meant more than your run of the mill show as the Meat Puppets hadn't reunited since their mid-nineties split until two years ago.

Since joining forces once again, Cris and Curt Kirkwood have played SXSW, gone on two tours and released a new record. Bassist Cris Kirkwood sat down with the New Times and reflected on a new generation of Kirkwood music, smelly cheese food spread and poop pellets.

New Times: How was it to be back in town?

Cris Kirkwood: It was alright. It was fun. You know, there wasn’t enough crap blowin’ up onstage. I like to have a lot of explosions going on when I’m playing. It was fun. What did you think?

NT: I thought it was great. I had seen you guys in L.A. last summer, and I thought you sounded better last night than when I saw you in L.A.

K: Well, you know, in L.A. we were playing for a club full of people that were coming there specifically to see us, you know. And I don’t give a fuck. I don’t care what people think of me, you know? Fuck ‘em.

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By: Saby Reyes-Kulkarni

If you listen to frontman/bandleader Justin Sullivan tell it, it’s a surprise that New Model Army is still around at all. Formed in 1980 with the intention of playing just two pub gigs in the band’s hometown of Bradford, England, NMA is still heralded today for its politically engaging lyrics and the passionate fury underlying its acoustic guitar-based attack. 28 years later, the band endures in spite of numerous personnel shifts, VISA problems and flagrant stylistic changes. New Times caught up with Sullivan just as he was leaving a Neil Young show. Highlights from that conversation follow:

New Times: How was the show?

Sullivan: It’s the first time I’ve seen him, and he’s one of those people that’s been with me since I was 13 or so. Wonderful. He just is what he is. I think he’s my favorite guitar player now.

NT: After seeing him tonight, you mean?

S: Well, he’s been creeping up my guitar player’s charts over the years.

NT: Many Americans aren’t especially aware of British politics. Most of us know little, if anything, about Oliver Cromwell.

S: Well, with the band name, I don’t suppose people outside Britain know anything about it at all. Why should they? Much more embarrassing to me is that lots of British people don’t know anything about it either. Basically, we had a revolution in the 17th century, and the New Model Army was the army that won against the king. From that army came all the first ideas about democracy. It’s actually a very important part of American history as well. But the name, for instance, in Ireland, means something completely different, because Cromwell later took the army to Ireland and committed all sorts of atrocities.

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By: Aja Viafora

Eve 6 rocked their hits and tried out a few new songs for the audience at Tempe Music Festival on Saturday at Tempe Beach Park. Their set lasted over and hour and featured hits such as “Inside Out” and “Here’s to the Night.” The band just recently started touring again with a new addition to the band. Guitarist Matt Bair joined vocalist and bassist Max Collins and drummer Tony Fagenson.

To see some shots of Eve 6 rockin' out at Tempe Music Festival, check out our slide show: Eve 6 at Tempe Music Festival.

Fagenson took time out before the concert to reveal his thoughts on playing Tempe Music Festival and his appreciation for Phoenician ladies.

New Times: How many times have you performed in Arizona and is this your first time performing at Tempe Beach Park?

Fagenson: We have played in Phoenix in Ariz. many, many times. I don’t know if we’ve actually played this part of Tempe on the water like this, it’s never seemed this beautiful before. You know we actually just played Tempe about two months ago at Tempe Market Place.

NT: How do you like Phoenix?
F: Phoenix is pretty close to home for us. We’re from L.A. so we come here a lot and we always love it. It helps that girls and weather are both pretty here. Some shows are like off the hook and amazing and others the crowd just isn’t that into it, but in general I’d say they’ve always been pretty good shows here.

NT: What size crowd do you normally play for?
F: Over they years it’s gone anywhere from five people in the opening bands to, you know, we played to a festival of over 100,000 people in Atlanta. So it’s all over the place. Our headlining shows we are playing from 500-1000 people every night. We’ve really kind of run the gamut.

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