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Logic Ali (left) and Adolfo "Dolfz" Salazar of TrapZillas.

It's a recent Friday night and the interior of the TrapZillas house is a busy and chaotic hurricane of noise and activity. As vintage NBA playoff game plays loudly on a gigantic HDTV in the background, at least a half-dozen people are busying themselves with bongs and blowtorches in the kitchen, crafting beats on banks of synthesizers in the den, or just hanging out.

Sitting in the middle of this hullabaloo at a dining room table cluttered with sports trading cards, a pair of new Nikes, and a mason jar containing premium buds are Adolfo "Dolfz" Salazar and Logic Ali, the DJ and producer at the heart of the Phoenix-based trap music act. The hectic and often-busy tumult of their North Scottsdale residence is apropos, considering their busy schedules - including performing at Trapfest on Saturday at the Monarch Theatre -- and TrapZillas' frenzied rise to prominence over the past year.

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Dawn Laureen

The International Swingers: Clem Burke, Gary Twinn, James Stevenson, and Glen Matlock.

Last night, the International Swingers rolled into 910 Live in Tempe and blasted out some big hits from rock 'n' roll lore, which is apropos, considering the punk supergroup's stature and history. Sex Pistols/Iggy Pop alumni and bassist Glen Matlock, guitarist/vocalist Gary Twinn of Supernaut fame, and onetime Generation X/Gene Loves Jezebel member James Stevenson took the crowd on a time warp into rock yesteryear on Wednesday night with covers of their former bands' hits, including "God Save the Queen" and "No Fun."

They also performed a number of International Swingers originals, like the politically motivated "Gun Control," perfectly illustrating how the band goes betwixt polemic and entertainment, pop overtones and punk rancor. The bandmates discussed whether the music they'd created with their most famous bands was about politics and protest or just plain old rock 'n' roll during a sitdown interview with Up on the Sun at English pub George and Dragon on Tuesday, the night before their concert. Matlock, for instance, told us, "It depends on how serious you take [the music]," since "at the end of the day, I'm an entertainer."

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Dawn Laureen

The International Swingers (from left): Glen Matlock, Gary Twinn, James Stevenson, and Clem Burke.

Four punk legends walked into a bar. That's not the setup to some lame knee-slapper, but rather a precise description of what transpired Tuesday night in downtown Phoenix. The bar in question is renowned English pub the George and Dragon, and the aforementioned punk icons are exponentially more famous, having been a part of some of the more influential bands in rock 'n' roll history, like the Sex Pistols, Blondie, The Eurythmics, and Generation X.

They're Glen Matlock, Clem Burke, James Stevenson, and Gary Twinn, and right now they're more interested in talking about their current band, The International Swingers, that's brought them to Phoenix (in a van) for a show tonight at 910 Live in Tempe. "We're not on a big tour," one of them says. "We're on a little big tour." Up on the Sun was granted an audience with these members of rock royalty last night at the G&D. In the first of a two-part interview, they spoke about what it is they have left to prove, what punk means to them, and Matlock's previous gig as a guest DJ at a William Fucking Reed dance night.

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Baseball Cap

Christian Filardo is a local fixture in some ways. The 21-year-old is known as a noise musician, currently under the moniker Baseball Cap, and as an intermedia artist. He also is the founder of Holy Page Records, a record label that mostly releases cassettes of any music he finds interesting, ranging from indie pop to harsh noise to black metal. More recently, he's gained recognition as a curator of a DIY museum housed in two sheds in his backyard. In his not-so-distant past, he was known for his experimentations with "Dunkwave."

I say that he's only a local fixture in some ways because he'll be leaving Phoenix this summer to pursue new opportunities in Baltimore. I talked with him recently about his current projects, his past works, and the future.

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The Berlin-based DJ Thomas Gold will be visiting Maya, one of Scottsdale's newest hosts for EDM artists and events, this Friday.

Up on the Sun spoke with Gold about his upbringing in music, how his touring and festival schedules have been going, and what we can possibly expect to see from him at Maya Day and Night Club on Friday, May 24.

Up on the Sun: You've been super-busy lately, whether it's Ultra, Coachella, or your most recent North American tour. From what I hear, this was your first Coachella. How did everything turn out for you?

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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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