!!!!!!!!!!!!!MORE AZ MUSIC VIDEOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bryant Vazquez
"Gossamer Wump (I'm-a Man)"



Playboy Manbaby
"Funeral Pizza"

Wolvves

"Live Forever"

Mickey & the Mountains
"Sexy Saloon"

Saddles

"Whisky Summer"

Miss Missconstrued Answers the YabYum Seven

Photos courtesy of Miss Missconstrued - for photo credits and additional images head here.

1. Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Reanna, known as Miss Missconstrued. I am a fashion designer, and I also own Missconstrued Boutique & Gallery in Downtown Phoenix which houses almost 60 local artists, and also has a salon known as "Hair or Dye" where clients have a one-on-one comfortable atmosphere to get their beauty on!

2. How did you get your start?

A lot of struggles, really! It took a long time of networking, creating and motivation. I also have a VERY strong support system of friends and co-artists that I owe a huge thank you to. I started painting hats and now I'm here.

3. What inspires you?

Everything and anything. I'm deeply inspired by the dark arts.

4. What do you like about Arizona?

I love it here because there is so much rich talent that has pretty much been untouched. We also have awesome weather. I hate the cold!

5. Where can people see you(r) work?

They can find us online at missconstrued.com, at our physical location at Missconstrued Boutique and Gallery and can also find us on Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter and Model Mayhem. Google us, we are EVERYWHERE!



6. What would you like to accomplish before you die?

I want to take my fashion and my artists to a global scale. I would love for Missconstrued to become a staple name in the underground artists community.

7. What’s your mantra?

I always say that I like to keep it fun and wearable. "Wearable Art" is the trendy statement used more today.

~

4 Super New Albums

Saddles

Shell Art

It's been almost two years since Saddles' last release and the duo has stepped up their game. Considering Saddles always made quality music decidedly worth listening to, this is really saying something. Pop melodies blend into the thoughtfully textured, synthesizer-heavy instrumentals following more of the nu-gaze style of bands like Blonde Redhead with, of course, a very different vocal application. Songs like "Holes in Our Throats" veer more toward folk-infused indie pop with heavy stylizing on the production side, compliments of George White, adding to the solid base built by the music and lyrics of Charles Barth. The music on Shell Art is often inviting, uplifting even, while the lyrics gravitate toward darker themes.

Midnight Vitals

Midnight Vitals EP

The softly lit electro-pop of Midnight Vitals has a more European feel than most of the desert pop that comes our way. Airy, synthesized sounds have an effervescent quality, enlivening the listener. The opening track "Levi" reverberates with heart and warmth, the perfect prelude for the recordings to come. "Gloves Off" might be my favorite song on the six-track EP with its echoing vocal layers woven together over catchy, upbeat pop. Songs like "Way Out" and "Eyes Shout" achieve a discotronica-tinged indiepop so full of energy, listeners are compelled to get up and dance.  I suggest checking out Midnight Vitals' self-titled EP today. You can listen here. That way you can learn all the words before the release show on May 31st at Last Exit Live in Phoenix!

Mickey & the Mountains

Creepy Martini

Experimental Americana? Count me in. Strange as it might sound, experimental Americana is exactly what you get with Mickey & the Mountains freshman release Creepy Martini. Good ol' fashioned garage rock meet with post-rock texturing and surf-punk style on a grimy street corner and that's where you'll find Mickey & the Mountains. "Sexy Saloon", the first single off Creepy Martini, has a lounge feel... a lounge I would imagine to be something like the afterlife waiting room from Beetlejuice, but with cocktails. And, for those of you who might not be too sure what I mean by that, it means I love it. Mickey & the Mountains makes fun experimental, post-rock punk. None of that boring, drone-y, angst-y  music here. This is my new jam album. You should listen to it bunches. Start right now, here.

Sundressed

Whiskey with Milk

It's been almost a couple of months since Sundressed dropped the first two singles from their upcoming album Whiskey with Milk. And, since that time, we've been left waiting. Well, folks, the time has come. The album is ready for its May 21st release and it is worth the wait. Youthful timbre of Trevor Hedges voice combined with the stripped down, but not lo-fi, sound of Sundressed's rocknroll creates an aura of innocence around the entire album. Songs like "Golden Boy" and "XXX" really epitomize this guileless feeling one gets from the band's music. "Holy Ghost" is already an old favorite since I first heard it back in early March. Like many tracks on the album, the sweet and sorrowful are intelligently paired. Listen to the early tracks from Whiskey with Milk here and join in the wait for the full release this Tuesday at the Crescent Ballroom!

Show Picks of the Week!!!

Holy smokes there are a ton of sweet shows happening this week! Plan your week now, it's gonna' be a doozy! For more shows, make sure to check our Upcoming Shows page.

Are you an Arizona musician/band? Email your flyer to yymeditors@gmail.com

Show Your Support!!

We're not just about good music here, we're also about good causes. Although, sometimes good music is the good cause... whatever. Tossing in some financial support - even if it's just a couple dollars - can have a big impact when you're working with a community. Pick your cause and give what you can. Or, at the very least, learn about some interesting projects or worthy causes happening around you!

Hinges in Print

Artist, writer, and comic creator Meredith McClaren is ready to take Hinges from the blog-o-sphere to print! With less than a week to go, it looks like Meredith can make her goal with just a little more help and you can score some really awesome swag as an added bonus! Check out her Kickstarter Campaign here. Some rat bastards apparently created a fake Indiegogo page mimicking McClaren's fundraising efforts - how terrible is that?! Don't let this instance of abused internet powers prevent this talented AZ artist from reaching her goals! 

Help Fund Captain Squeegee's Next Album

To the Bardos, the impending album from Captain Squeegee, needs a little help to get the recording underway. The modge-podged band that counts 10 years since its initial and not-entirely-known incarnation has signed up with Bob Hoag's Flying Blanket Studios for this new undertaking. Not only do you get to be part of something potentially historic, Squeegee fans can also earn some cool rewards for their show of generosity like early copies of the album or a car wash from Captain Squeegee using, yes, squeegees... Learn more and contribute here.

Help send Black Bottom Lighters on Tour

For a band with seven members, touring can be an extremely costly venture. The Black Bottom Lighters are set to embark on their Oregon Trail Tour this summer but they could use a little help. Some rad bonuses are available for those who contribute including your name in a BBL song! Find out more and contribute here!

Support Dane Rossman!!

Okay, so Dane Rossman was arrested on February 21st by U.S. Marshals for his participation in the G20 Summit protests in Canada. Although Dane was initially arrested, along with more than 1,100 other protesters, and released without charges he now faces extradition orders back to Canada (really, Canada?) for charges related to destruction of property. To say this is appalling is an unfathomable understatement. Dane is about to celebrate his 26th birthday from the federal Corrections Corporation of America facility in Florence, AZ while awaiting extradition to Canada. Show him some love by sending him a birthday card or letter. Or, better yet, contribute a little something-something to his defense fund. Learn more about Dane Rossman and stay up to date on his case here. 

Intriguing Instrumentals

Instrumental albums can say so much without saying a word. For this special Instrumental-Only album post, we decided to bring you four very different examples from four different Arizona artists from four different cities. And while it is true that instrumental music sometimes fits perfectly in the background while studying or writing, these particular albums seem to leap forth, demanding to be heard. Find your new favorite here.


Sleep Like Trees

You're Alright

Buoyant and playful, Tucson band Sleep Like Trees creates spirited instrumentals for your listening pleasure. While the songs on You're Alright are swell and worth your attention, the names of the songs are outstanding. "Fear it! Fear the smiling banana" and "Building a snowman and then kicking its ass" are both tracks on the album. You're Alright opens with "Nice Scissors, Chief" - a mellifluous canter through an electronically invoked pastoral scene. The album is frolicsome with some occasionally turbid, but no less friendly, moments. Songs approach modulation at certain moments, like on "The sun through green things", but then they suddenly veer away from the slowly transforming repetition into some alternate, slightly varied soundscape. The longest track on the album, "Wow, I totally went all RPG for a second there", enters trance territory with its softly shifting patterns. Check out You're Alright by Sleep Like Trees. The album was released on cassette tape but, thankfully, the band also made the release digitally available here.

Ursus Colossus

Stand By, Stay Calm

The ambient music of Ursus Colossus approaches more of a dynamic indie-rock feel on their album Stand By, Stay Calm and achieves a similar listen-ability while maintaining the disembodied sound of post-rock. Extended tracks move seamlessly into one another while maintaining enough variance to keep the album interesting throughout its entirety. The Phoenix trio comprised of Roddy Nikpour on guitar, Austin Reeves on drums, and Thomas Bross on bass capture emotive melodies without lyrical overlay. Ursus Colossus experiments with sounds, not indulging dissonance in any way but keeping the music on the verge of chaos at all times. The music remains structured, but maintains that constant threat of discordance. Released in February Stand By, Stay Calm provides the perfect textured background for your thoughts. Listen here.

Post Modern Dead Era

6 Twenty 4

Straight outta Flagstaff, the Post Modern Dead Era has already racked up an amazing number of releases in a relatively short amount of time. The latest, 6 Twenty 4, dropped on fans just last week. The music of Post Modern Dead Era is a strange and striking mixture of rock, indie, and even industrial all rolled up into one unique electronica fusion. There is a considerable amount of variance within this overarching sound that is 6 Twenty 4. Songs like "The Revisionist" really drive home the rocknroll sound, even touching upon some tinges of metal with its driving guitars. Other tracks push the sound to the level of experimentation as can be heard in the variety of noises and controlled bedlam. On the track "Conspiracy Theories & Metaphors" the presence of industrial influences really comes across. The album 6 Twenty 4 conveys a calm and structured pandemonium. Rather than trying to get your mind around that statement, just listen for yourself here.

Toasty

This Isn't Even My Final Form EP

This kid is so fresh on the scene he still only has a working title for his EP. Then again, if you've had any direct interactions with Tempe's Toasty himself you can never be entirely sure when he's being serious and when he's joking. That might just actually be the intended final name for his first EP (and definitely a DBZ reference). For a person who doesn't "really listen to music" he seems to have a concrete understanding of how a song should be constructed. Creating a playful, slightly mellowed dubstep, This Isn't Even My Final Form EP carries the listener easily from beginning to end. Way more fun than Fun (I really couldn't stop myself), this short EP  from Toasty is a must hear. I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed listening to these tracks. I've listened to "Powdered Toast" a dozen times in a row today and I don't think I'm quite done. Listen here.

Graduates Ready to Tackle the World from Arizona!

A Claire Slattery holds her degree.

There's always a little apprehension as graduation day approaches. So many young upstarts capture our attention while in college. Then they graduate. And, sometimes they leave. Or, worse, they put their art on the back-burner so they can focus their attention on earning their white picket fence. Excuse me while I vomit. No, really, to each her own, but what I really love are the artists who emerge from academia committed to their creative vision. I say fucking go for it. Live fiercely and make art everywhere... especially here. Arizona can be changed for the better. Such a beautiful weird visionary place deserves beautiful weird visionary people. Stake your claim.

This year, I was particularly excited to hear that many graduates are doing just that: continuing to make art right here in Arizona. Every year it seems as if our arts community grows a little bit more and a little bit more. Direction is everything and we are definitely moving in the right one. I am very excited to see what some of this year's graduates will do over a lifetime of artistic endeavors. Sometimes, it takes an entire lifetime, but for these graduates in particular, the potential is there and we should all be watching... not to add to the already debilitating sense of pressure in the face of the almost-inevitable post-graduate depression. It's why the film is called The Graduate. We've all been there. Persevere. We're all with you.

_

Graduate: Robbie Pfeffer

Degree: Global Studies with a focus on community development in post-conflict regions

Everyone's favorite junior art crusader is setting up his game and going pro now that he has that degree in hand. We've been following Robbie since forever (or, a while, if you take issue with specificity). This young man upheld so many projects while pursuing that fancy degree, I can't even imagine what he'll be able to do without school to interrupt his other endeavors. To begin, he's starting his own record label featuring "weird desert art" called Rubber Brothers Records and he'll be interning with Burger Records out of California. Add to that two bands, Playboy Manbaby and Fun Dungeon, and this kid has overachiever written all over him. We love it. 

Mo Neuharth

Graduate: Mo Neuharth

Degree: Photography

Whatever she's working on, whether in photography or music or whatever, chances are I'm going to be impressed. She's just one of those people. You know, they have that ineffable quality that knows good art. They might not even realize they have it. They just think they like what they like but they always veer toward the intrinsically artistic. They see the special in the sea of ordinary and point it out to others, the coolhunters, if you'll forgive the term. Mo does that with her photography which can be seen here. She also nails that same quality in her music, both with the NUMB BATS and North Dakota. And, if that wasn't enough, she has sick fashion sense she extends to others through her vintage resale shop SOUTH DIAMOND. If I didn't think she was awesome, I might be hostile.

Graduate: Daniel Mills
Degree: English Literature & a Certificate in the Environmental Humanities

Daniel photographed by Niba Del Castillo, an amazing
AZ artist we discovered through PhxTaco!

The graduation of the man behind Phoenix Taco, one of our favorite blogs around town, might have us in a tizzy if we were more concerned about being the best blog in town and less concerned with helping to make Arizona the place to be for art. Thankfully, we have our priorities straight so we can celebrate with Daniel Mills as he embarks on new projects post-graduation. Phoenix Taco is one of  the best places to learn about the art that happens around the state. Most of you out there have no idea what goes into making a successful and informative blog. We do. For years now, Daniel has managed to keep up with art and artists scattered throughout the state and, in doing so, he has proven himself an invaluable resource to the AZ arts community. Phoenix Taco is not just about gallery shows or who's at First Friday either. Daniel digs up the artists obscured from the vision of mainstream media and brings those folks to light. Whether an artists' work appears in galleries, on city walls, or even wheat-pasted to the side of trailer on the Navajo Nation in Tuba City, he will find you if your work merits attention. With classes over and the world waiting, Daniel plans to begin a new online publication focusing on Arizona arts and culture with the addition of sustainability-related issues. We can't wait for the unveiling.


Graduate: A Claire Slattery

Degree: English (Creative Writing)

A Claire Slattery doesn't necessarily make art, she is art. A living, walking, breathing, ever-changing amalgamation of strange and strangely artistic ideas sun-brewed with a hefty scoop of sugary pop culture  kitsch. What's not to love? I first encountered the workings of A Claire when I was walking my dog around the Mitchell Park neighborhood in Tempe. Stickers that simply read "A Claire Slattery" were here and there. At first, I thought it might be some local band but then, to my confusion and ultimate fascination, I found out it was a person. I saw her name everywhere. At the places I went to hear bands, at the places I went to eat dinner, everywhere. She was a fan to many and she left her name behind where she went. It became a follow-along-adventure. She addresses such looming present-day concepts as fan-adoration, self-creation, and the nature of art in the hyper self-conscious era just by being herself. I'm not sure how to tell you how to check out her work, even though I have word that her recent graduation means that more social projects/experiments are about to get underway. In the meantime, you can always check her out performing with Treasure MammaL. And, I suggest following her on faceyspace or tumblr just to keep tabs on what she's up to. You'll probably learn about something interesting going on around you.

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Evan Bisbee (left) at the School of Public Performance.

Graduate: Evan Bisbee

Degree: English Literature (with a certificate in writing)

I don't know what's more exciting: that Evan Bisbee's graduation means he'll be able to focus more on making music or that by including him in this post I get to take a break from listening to the albums I'm actually reviewing this week to listen to Good Friends Great Enemies' self-titled debut named YabYum's Best Album of 2012 once again. It seems as if most contemporary artists choose to diversify their efforts rather than committing to a singular enterprise. Sorta like the more lines you have in the water, the more likely you are to catch that proverbial fish. Heidegger, however, said think one thought and one thought only. If we distribute ourselves among several projects, it becomes all the harder to achieve real greatness of any one thing. Evan Bisbee ascribes to this philosophy and is a one-band-man. Perhaps for this reason, and many many others, Good Friends Great Enemies stands out above many other local acts, musically and lyrically. Just listen to "Forgotten Offspring" or "Darkness" or any of the other tracks on their album here.