By Caleb Haley

For nearly two decades, Cody Canada has been a driving force in the musical sound blowing out of Oklahoma, like the dust bowls before it, known as Red Dirt music -- a raw combination of southern jazzy blues, folk, country, and rock 'n' roll.

For the first 16 years of his career, Canada spread his homegrown musical styling out of Stillwater with the band Cross Canadian Ragweed. Now, with that behind him, he's fronting his newest act, The Departed, alongside fellow Ragweed member Jeremy Plato and longtime friends Seth James, Steve Littleton, and Chris Doege.

The Departed are scheduled to perform Friday, May 17, at Martini Ranch in Scottsdale.

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Billions

Surf rock space oddities Man or Astro-Man? will touch down tonight at Crescent Ballroom.

Like certain cosmological phenomena streaking through the infinite heavens above, a chance to see Man of Astro-man? pulling a live gig in Phoenix is a rare occurance. It wasn't always that way; the science fiction-obsessed surf-rock space oddities used to set course for renowned local rock bars like Boston's (now as defunct as the shuttle program) with great regularity during their heyday in the heart of the 1990s.

Then the jumpsuit-clad band went their separate ways for the better part of a decade before relaunching in 2010, leaving their fervent fanbase here in Arizona with nothing but old flyers and memories of a legendarily crazy and packed concert in the parking lot of Eastside Records' original Tempe location in 1995. That all changes tonight, when Man of Astro-man? touches down at Crescent Ballroom as a part of the second night of Du Hot Club De Bizarre.

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By Chris Parker

Syracuse's Ra Ra Riot -- set to play Du Hot Club De Bizarre Thursday night -- began playing college parties, and before long they'd found a strange, intoxicating sweet spot between spiky Pixies-inflected post-punk and chamber pop that earned them comparisons to fellow emerging New Yorkers Vampire Weekend. Elegant yet propulsive, they suffered a huge loss when drummer John Pike drowned after a gig just before the release of 2007's amazing eponymous debut.

They forged on, scored a label deal from V2 before the label collapsed. They escaped with the tapes and landed at Barsuk Records. Several songs from the debut were renovated for their fine 2008 full-length debut, The Rhumb Line, which was followed by 2010's even more ornate The Orchard. Prior to recording their latest, Beta Love, cellist Alexandra Lawn departed and wasn't replaced with a full-time member. In her absence, there are more synthesizers and fewer strings; the album bites a particularly dance-y, darkwave sound not so removed from the last couple of albums from The Rosebuds. There's also a thematically linked, futuristic song series about a robot that discovers love and self-awareness.

We caught up with lead singer Wes Miles at a tour stop in El Paso, Texas and talked to him about Blade Runner, being "in the moment" musically, and the Ra Ra Riot's musical direction.

Up on the Sun: I understand the new album, Beta Love, is informed by thoughts on the nature and evolution of technology and humanity.

Wes Miles: Yeah, a lot of it comes from a book that Matt [Santos, bassist] started reading first when we were recording The Orchard, Ray Kurzweil's The Singularity Is Near. At that point, we started talking more about it and thinking about what the singularity would mean for us.

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Markus Schulz, the winner of 2012's America's Best DJ will be making a return appearance to Scottsdale, his old stomping grounds, on May 10 at The Venue. After residing for some time in Arizona as a resident DJ, Schulz plans to bring the party back home for his North American Scream bus tour.

Lots of DJs have stories worth telling, but not many begin in a breakdance crew. Up On The Sun spoke with Markus Schulz about that, his rise in the U.S., and how Scottsdale still holds a big place in his heart.

Up On The Sun: I understand Germany had a huge breakdance scene back in the day, and lots of people transitioned into EDM from it. I've heard you got into the scene that way, is that true?

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By Caleb Haley

Usually it happens this way in the music industry: A band comes together based on its talent and, eventually, drugs and alcohol get in the way, tour dates get canceled, and members go their separate ways into substance-abuse rehabilitation and counseling. Rock/hip-hop group Rehab took the opposite route; they were formed inside a rehab center.

Led by singer Danny Boone, Rehab has played music they love (and some they hate) across multiple genres for more than a decade, finding success with jukebox sing-along anthems that support deeper, more personal stories. Their upcoming tour and album, Whore, looks to hook the next generation of Rehab fans. In the meantime, we talked to Boone about the band's new album, his current state of mind, and how he manages to keep his music fresh.

Rehab is scheduled to play Tuesday, May 7, at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe.

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Polish DJ Tom Swoon will help El Santo in Scottsdale celebrate Cinco de Mayo on Sunday, taking to the DJ booth prior to Porter Robinson. From the beginning of his career, only a few years ago, Swoon has emerged rapidly into the EDM scene and is now making himself known throughout North America.

We got together with Tom Swoon to talk about his recent success and what he expects during his first Cinco de Mayo experience ever.

Up on the Sun: I understand you're super busy lately, thanks to your North American tour. How are things going?

That is correct, indeed! The last months have been really busy for me. I'm going from one tour to another and in between I'm in my studio, working on my upcoming singles.

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Stone Sour and Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor is pulling double duty this year in more ways than one. Stone Sour is putting out its second album in as many years; the first was House of Gold & Bones Part 1, which dropped last year, and the second, House of Gold & Bones Part 2, came out in April.

Later this year, Stone Sour and Slipknot will be performing the same weekend, as part of Ozzfest Japan and the Download Festival. On top of that, Taylor just released a comic book to coincide with House of Gold & Bones.

Up on the Sun talked with Corey Taylor about the differences between House of Gold & Bones Parts 1 and 2, his bucket-list collaboration with Dave Grohl, and new music from Slipknot.

Stone Sour is scheduled to play U-Fiesta in Mesa on Saturday, May 4.

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Rob Zombie is now a force to be reckoned with in the world of heavy metal and cinema, and his footing is only growing stronger. Starting with White Zombie and solo albums like Hellbilly Deluxe and Educated Horses and continuing with his decade as a film director and screenwriter, Rob Zombie has thrilled and influenced fans and fellow artists since the '80s.

His newest album, Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor, was released on April 23, right alongside his newest film (and book), Lords of Salem, which hit theaters April 19. Recently we were able to talk to him about both.

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Alkaline Trio's songwriting formula works -- Matt Skiba and Dan Andriano share vocal duties in a Jekyll-and-Hyde-like fashion, singing songs about heartache and the macabre. The band has progressed quite a bit from the tongue-in-cheek breakup anthem "Stupid Kid" from 2001's From Here to Infirmary.

The band's latest album, My Shame Is True, takes a very personal look at Skiba's recent breakup. "[The relationship] just didn't work out and it was really sad, and I wrote a record about it, and now it's getting better," Skiba says on the cathartic songwriting process.

We recently caught up with Matt Skiba to discuss My Shame Is True, what it's like working with Milla Jovovich, and the meaning behind the song "5-3-10-4." Check it out after the jump.

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Pamela Lopez Grant/Otep Facebook

Get ready for Hydra

Imagine taking a demonic ride through a girl's mind, filled with fantastic illusions, haunting, heavy melodies, and vengeance against a world that has forgotten her.

To get there, you could spend an evening with Otep, one of the most prolific female-fronted bands of the past decade -- or have a listen to their newest album, Hydra, which was released in late January.

Based on a short story by frontwoman Otep Shamaya, the album evolved into a graphic novel based around a character named Hydra. Eventually, Otep realized that Hydra had become a creature all her own, and her story a vast musical excursion. But Hydra isn't just Otep Shamaya's latest work -- it's also her farewell to the music world.

Otep is playing with One-Eyed Doll at Joe's Grotto tonight.

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