Phoenix Archive

  • I”ve been pretty clear about my adoration and affection for Zero Zero since the start. Actually, very nearly since before the start–I fell in love with a demo I heard over a cell phone at The Sail Inn. Granted, it was an easy sell, I’ve loved the Love Me Nots since the beginning and to hear the two founders of that band apply themselves to a completely different sound immediately caught my attention. It’s been well over half a year since I heard that demo of “Drug”, since then they released Mayday, three amazing videos, and continue to introduce new...

    Vote Zero Zero for Hard Rock Rising!!!

    Posted on April 29, 2013 | No Comments
    I”ve been pretty clear about my adoration and affection for Zero Zero since the start. Actually, very nearly since before the start–I fell in love with a demo I heard over a cell phone at The Sail Inn. Granted, it was an easy sell, I’ve loved the Love Me Nots since the beginning and to hear the two founders of that band apply themselves to a completely different sound immediately caught my attention. It’s been well over half a year since I heard that demo of “Drug”, since then they released Mayday, three amazing videos, and continue to introduce new...

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  • Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very special presentation today. Though it has been a year since this footage was documented, I have waited with eager anticipation for this twelve minutes of film to be released. My former intern and Sounds Around Town partner in crime Sara Dalton has been instrumental in a number of things concerning this blog over the last year for which I can never thank her enough. One of the things we talked about early on was editing the footage and making a short film from her time with Future Loves Past on the road and...

    SXSW Is Over, But The Memories Will Always Remain…

    Posted on March 20, 2013 | No Comments
    Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very special presentation today. Though it has been a year since this footage was documented, I have waited with eager anticipation for this twelve minutes of film to be released. My former intern and Sounds Around Town partner in crime Sara Dalton has been instrumental in a number of things concerning this blog over the last year for which I can never thank her enough. One of the things we talked about early on was editing the footage and making a short film from her time with Future Loves Past on the road and...

    Continue Reading...

  • Many years ago, when I was coming to terms with my musical illness and my compulsion to write about everything I heard that turned me on, I was just starting to get published outside the realm of my college newspaper, underground  publications and philosophy magazines. When I began writing, I had never intended to become a music journalist of any sort–I was way into politics and social issues, but as time would have it, the two loves of my life became entwined and  when my writing started to concern the music I loved there was no stopping it. It also...

    The International Pop Overthrow Phoenix!!!

    Posted on March 13, 2013 | 2 Comments
    Many years ago, when I was coming to terms with my musical illness and my compulsion to write about everything I heard that turned me on, I was just starting to get published outside the realm of my college newspaper, underground  publications and philosophy magazines. When I began writing, I had never intended to become a music journalist of any sort–I was way into politics and social issues, but as time would have it, the two loves of my life became entwined and  when my writing started to concern the music I loved there was no stopping it. It also...

    Continue Reading...

  • Throughout the summer, I found myself looking forward to Autumnal events–not for any lack of amazing events during those heated days and sweltering nights, not even in the least. No, it was because as the summer progressed, more and more events began to stack up in store for September, October, November and well into the New Year–critical, amazing, mindblowing events. Events like the Tempe Rockstar Gold Festival this past weekend at Sail Inn, the upcoming Apache Lake Music Festival or Kongos homecoming show. Another one of these events I’ve been looking forward to for months is the album release show...

    Zero Zero’s Live Debut and Album Release

    Posted on October 2, 2012 | 1 Comment
    Throughout the summer, I found myself looking forward to Autumnal events–not for any lack of amazing events during those heated days and sweltering nights, not even in the least. No, it was because as the summer progressed, more and more events began to stack up in store for September, October, November and well into the New Year–critical, amazing, mindblowing events. Events like the Tempe Rockstar Gold Festival this past weekend at Sail Inn, the upcoming Apache Lake Music Festival or Kongos homecoming show. Another one of these events I’ve been looking forward to for months is the album release show...

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  •   (Editor’s Note: This past weekend Phoenix lost an amazing artist in the death of Mark Erickson. His band, Colorstore, was the first local band in Phoenix that I wrote about in the pages of JAVA magazine. If it wasn’t for Erickson hand delivering BONEfish: The Legend of Mahogany Cass to my door one Saturday afternoon in February 2008, I would not have known about the amazing music scene I have watched develop over the last four years. The moment Erickson handed that album to me, though I didn’t know it at the time, he changed my life forever. I...

    In Memory Of Mark Erickson: This Album Wants To Sleep With You Tonight

    Posted on September 3, 2012 | No Comments
      (Editor’s Note: This past weekend Phoenix lost an amazing artist in the death of Mark Erickson. His band, Colorstore, was the first local band in Phoenix that I wrote about in the pages of JAVA magazine. If it wasn’t for Erickson hand delivering BONEfish: The Legend of Mahogany Cass to my door one Saturday afternoon in February 2008, I would not have known about the amazing music scene I have watched develop over the last four years. The moment Erickson handed that album to me, though I didn’t know it at the time, he changed my life forever. I...

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  • Photo By Andrea Calo Ladylike releases Ladylike: An Aural Odyssey In American Music Everyone that knows me, knows I like Ladylike, knows that Ladylike is one of my top five favorite bands in the Phoenix scene, knows that I will preach their gospel to anyone that will listen no matter where I go, knows that I truly enjoy everything they are about from their entire catalog of originals to their carefully selected covers in their live show. Though since their inception they’ve only had a three song EP and a recent two song single to help me prove my point,...

    Ladylike’s Debut Album Astounds

    Posted on April 30, 2012 | No Comments
    Photo By Andrea Calo Ladylike releases Ladylike: An Aural Odyssey In American Music Everyone that knows me, knows I like Ladylike, knows that Ladylike is one of my top five favorite bands in the Phoenix scene, knows that I will preach their gospel to anyone that will listen no matter where I go, knows that I truly enjoy everything they are about from their entire catalog of originals to their carefully selected covers in their live show. Though since their inception they’ve only had a three song EP and a recent two song single to help me prove my point,...

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  •   I’m actually surprised there isn’t more of this going around this year with the amazing music community we have–granted I’m not one for Christmas tunes, but leave it to Peachcake to step out and do it right, in their own brilliant, uniquely Peachcake way. Okay, now don’t get me wrong, Sundawg Records put out a great little weird EP called Electric Holiday, taking on the standards in a whole new light–which is brilliant in and of itself, but Peachcake wrote their own original Christmas song! That’s just impressive. I’d love to see a whole Christmas album like this from...

    Happy Holidays From Peachcake!!!

    Posted on December 23, 2011 | No Comments
      I’m actually surprised there isn’t more of this going around this year with the amazing music community we have–granted I’m not one for Christmas tunes, but leave it to Peachcake to step out and do it right, in their own brilliant, uniquely Peachcake way. Okay, now don’t get me wrong, Sundawg Records put out a great little weird EP called Electric Holiday, taking on the standards in a whole new light–which is brilliant in and of itself, but Peachcake wrote their own original Christmas song! That’s just impressive. I’d love to see a whole Christmas album like this from...

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  • There are some evenings where, for the local music enthusiast, life is simply not fair. This often occurs on Friday and Saturday nights, but lately it’s been happening on Thursdays, Wednesdays and random Tuesdays. This Friday, November 11, 2011-yes, 11.11.11–is such a night where most people I know wish they could be in two places at once. Especially this Friday. There are two shows going on in this metro area of such astonishing power that I have to talk, at length, about them both–and it’s not like they are near each other, not like you could bounce back and forth between venues...

    11.11.11 The Question Is…Where Will You Be?

    Posted on November 8, 2011 | 2 Comments
    There are some evenings where, for the local music enthusiast, life is simply not fair. This often occurs on Friday and Saturday nights, but lately it’s been happening on Thursdays, Wednesdays and random Tuesdays. This Friday, November 11, 2011-yes, 11.11.11–is such a night where most people I know wish they could be in two places at once. Especially this Friday. There are two shows going on in this metro area of such astonishing power that I have to talk, at length, about them both–and it’s not like they are near each other, not like you could bounce back and forth between venues...

    Continue Reading...

  • Greetings, This is a very primitive start to soundsaroundtown.net, in the coming weeks this blog will quickly fill with expanded articles from what I write in JAVA Magazine, reviews of recent live shows, posters of upcoming gigs that are utterly fantastic and with a little help from some bands, some videos and audio tracks for everyone to enjoy. Be sure to check back frequently as this site will grow quickly and be in a state of constant transformation over the weeks to come. I hope you enjoy it! Cheers, Mitchell L. Hillman May 1, 2011

    Welcome To SoundsAroundTown.Net…

    Posted on May 1, 2011 | No Comments
    Greetings, This is a very primitive start to soundsaroundtown.net, in the coming weeks this blog will quickly fill with expanded articles from what I write in JAVA Magazine, reviews of recent live shows, posters of upcoming gigs that are utterly fantastic and with a little help from some bands, some videos and audio tracks for everyone to enjoy. Be sure to check back frequently as this site will grow quickly and be in a state of constant transformation over the weeks to come. I hope you enjoy it! Cheers, Mitchell L. Hillman May 1, 2011

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