​KWSS's The Morning Infidelity ran a funny segment on Frankie Muniz's publicist/girlfriend, Elycia Marie, earlier this week.

Now, of course my own tangle with Elycia is well documented, but I'm not the only Phoenix media type who has run afoul of Ms. Marie. KWSS DJ Tatty Talia has her own tale of woe stemming from a blog comment in which she questioned how people would perceive Frankie's band, You Hang Up (which sent out a press release announcing Frankie had joined before ever practicing with him or hearing him play in person), in the local music scene were it not for his waning starpower.

Like others who dissed the former Malcolm in the Middle star on the interwebs, Talia found herself the target of anonymous comments calling her fat and digging into her personal life.

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​It's been a tumultuous year for Phoenix-area venues. Kicking off with Modified Arts' move from indie rock venue to straight-up gallery, things have been shifting and sliding and opening and closing like gangbusters.

Downtown all-ages venue Phix is the latest casualty, with Scottsdale's Chyro Arts following in a matter of days. Meanwhile, Mesa will soon have both an all-ages club (The Underground) and a small theater (The Nile) within walking distance of large indoor and outdoor venues (Mesa Arts Center and Mesa Ampitheatre).

Where does this leave local music lovers searching for cool shows? Honestly, neither local concert promoter Steve Chilton or myself, New Times music editor Martin Cizmar, know for sure.

I tend to hope Mesa's Mormon-controlled city government will finally support the liquor licenses needed to turn the quaint and totally walkable suburban downtown into an arts Mecca.

Steve thinks Phoenix's much more progressive city government positions the capital's downtown for a resurgence when commercial real estate prices finally take the expected plunge, making it feasible to open a low-margin music venue.

Listen to the full discussion in today's podcast here.

Lincoln and Douglas: You decide which is Steve and which is Martin.

​The future of KJZZ has been a hot topic for a week or so now. The debate started with a Facebook group called "Bring Independent Music to KJZZ" which now racked up 1,000+ fans and continued when the station's music director, Blaise Lantana, chimed in to defend her jazz-only programming.

This topic seems like a perfect place to hit "record" on the long-running series of debates between local promoter "Psyko" Steve Chilton and me, music editor Martin Cizmar, a.k.a the guy who said "Downtown is Ovah."

While Steve and I both care a lot about local music, and are on (mostly) friendly terms, we almost always disagree about important topics. We then end up talking for hours and hours about it. This, we think, could be the genesis of a quality Phoenix-focused podcast.

Here's the crib version:

Martin: Give me indie rock or just shut that shitty station down.

Steve: "I would love to see an indie rock station here. I would like that. I just don't want to see it come at the expense of jazz."

Click here to open the podcast.

(Also, you'll notice the audio quality dramatically improves after the first minute or so, so hang in there. We'll make it even better next time...)

By Steve Jansen

I’m pretty sure that I don’t know a more interesting cat than James Roemer, the Tempe-based sound artist behind Glochids (pronounced "Glow-kids").

Last year, Roemer worked and lived in the wilds of Nevada. Now, at the moment, he is stationed in Antarctica, where he will be working as a carpenter for six months. (Gotta check out his GLO Blog. There are some amazing photos of the South Pole.)

Glochids’ music reflects Roemer’s non-traditional lifestyle. A just-released album on Distant-Colony Records showcases all sorts of ambient interesting-ness, such as field recordings of “bats pitched down to birds” and solo vocal performances used in the Mr. Fishsticks Shadow Puppet Theatre.

Here’s a short track from the disc called "GGGTTTRRR."

And one of the backing tracks used in Mr. Fishsticks, which was constructed with Roemer’s voice only.

By Yvonne Zusel

Eastern European-gypsy-punk band Gogol Bordello might think they have the market cornered on the gypsy-punk genre. But mustachioed frontman Eugene Hutz & Co. had better think again. New York-based Mad Juana have taken Bordello's formula and put their own twist on it, led by sultry blues-voiced lead singer Karmen Guy and her husband, ex-Hanoi Rocks and current New York Dolls bassist Sami Yaffa. The band draws on jazz and flamenco influences to create their unique sound, which seems like it would lend itself to kick-ass live shows.

The Valley will get the opportunity to find out for itself when Mad Juana makes a stop at the Rogue in Scottsdale on Sept. 6, touring behind their recently released album "Bruja on the Corner."

Because we at Up on the Sun are a bunch of nice guys (we swear) here are not one but two tracks from Mad Juana: "Valhalla" and "Domingo."

By Steve Jansen

Cover art for What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Have you ever wished you had recorded that epic drunken conversation from the night before? Well, that's just one goal of local label onewordlong's What I Did On My Summer Vacation.

Listening to this album, which was only available by download until recently, is like losing yourself in one of those cerebral radio shows on NPR, UbuWeb, or Transom. The focus of What I Did On My Summer Vacation is to document "found sound" through interviews and recorded oddities. The record pulls it off beautifully with audio musings from local personalities such as Jacki O, Pete Petrisko, Archbishop Jason Polland, and Jacob Smigel as well as a haunting track by Lost Media Archive founder B.C. Sterrett.

JRC, who also co-runs the Trunk Space and fronts the Pillowfort performance art project, is the brainchild behind onewordlong, a Best Of Phoenix winner in 2007 whose first release was Hi My Name Is Ryan - Live From The MTC (Remixed).

To listen to a track from What I Did On My Summer Vacation featuring local drunk Kevin Patterson talking his usual nonsense at Grand Avenue's Bikini Lounge, click on the button below. And be sure to pick up a copy of the physical CD featuring the artwork of Camilla Taylor, who sewed a CD jacket using vintage-looking red and white fabric.

By Jonathan McNamara

If you thought Phoenix rockers Juicy Newt gleaned their name from Juicy Newton, you'd be wrong. The name has nothing to do with the Grammy award-winning singer and guitar player. This band name has "a long and not very lady like story" says Juicy Newt drummer Sarah Bingham.

"Suffice it to say Juicy Newt is a nickname for an acquaintance who was very friendly with the boys. She would love you dirty and long but couldn't verbalize any of it. "Newt" is how she referred to her not so private area," she said.

You can hear Juicy Newt's track "To Be So Young" right here on Up on the Sun.

To hear Juicy Newt live, check out their Hollywood Alley show (and CD release party tomorrow night or catch them at The Ruby Room on August 23.

By Steve Jansen

The above flier does indeed say that Foot Ox's new album, It's Like Our Little Machine, isn't out for a few more weeks. But, lucky me, I have it, heard it, and even reviewed it.

In-person, Foot Ox is Teague Cullen's solo singer-songwriter project. On this album, it's Cullen's singer-songwriter and friends project, some who have also released (or will soon be releasing) albums on the Tempe-based Distant Colony label.

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By Jonathan McNamara

Last week Music Editor Niki D'Andrea tossed her opinion built on years of musical immersion into the ring of Phoenix-based Slut Sister's newest album Raw Meat. She stated that the album "sounds epic and violent, but it’s the lurching, creepy, stalk-you kind of malevolence, rather than the battering-ram-to-the-eardrums approach."

Consider the torch passed to you, dear reader.

Take in Slut Sister's "Dank Lord" and decide for yourself if these macabre musicians are epically over the top or just skulking around in the shadows.

By Steve Jansen

Art by Rachelle Arbellar

I remember being 21 years old. Staying up really late. Sleeping. Swimming.

That's all I can remember.

Miss Franberry is 21 right now, and though I'm unaware of her daily schedule, I do know that she goes to a ton of shows, plays a bunch of shows, and writes about shows.

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