Cover Story
Goddamn, That DJ Made My Day!
It was like being struck by lightning. It was 1990, maybe 1991, and a music-loving adolescent named Randy Williams had just moved from Los Angeles to Orlando, Fla. Homesick and already enamored of so-called “Daisy Age” rap acts like A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul, he was fiddling around with the radio dial…
Let’s Watch the UA Marching Band Blast Beatles Tunes
As we here the Weekly wind down our Wednesday and get ready for tonight’s Tucson Weekly App launch party at Sky Bar (You’re coming to that, right? There will be drink specials and shot glasses! You can meet your favorite Weekly staffers and also me!), we think it’s time to relax to the soothing sounds…
Spooky Halloween Shindigs Happening Tonight
So you went to Party City or some temporary Halloween store and bought your costume that you will wear for one night of costume contests and debautury. Now what? There will be an all ages show at The Rock, 136 N. Park Ave. The headliner of the evening will be Kill Devil Hill. They will be joined…
Majority of Arizonans Think U.S. is “On the Road to Ruin”
Congrats, Arizona: It turns out that we’re cynical as all hell in this state now! According to a release sent out today from Behavior Research Center’s Rocky Mountain Poll, just more than half of Arizonans surveyed believe that the United States is “On the Road to Ruin,” which I assume means a failure of our…
Buddy Guy: The Legend Lingers
C. Elliott Buddy Guy Folks are still talking about Buddy Guy’s set at the Rialto Theatre last Friday, Oct. 25. Guy is among the pioneers of the Chicago style of electric blues, stolen outright by rock bands of the 60s and 70s, and played to this day in local clubs and bars throughout the world.…
Food Truck Diaries, Volume 34: Robdogs, Hotdogs and More
I frequent a lot of the drinking establishments and there’s always one place where I can get my drunk food fix: Rob Dogs. You might have seen this giant pink food drunk parked at the Creative Village parking lot alongside Bumsteds Diner. Eating at Robdogs has become a routine since I started performing stand up on…
You’re Invited to The Tucson Weekly App Launch Party!
We are going to launch our brand spanking new Best of Tucson app next Wednesday, October 30 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Sky Bar on 536 North Fourth Avenue. There will be drink specials for people that download the app on their smartphone or tablet, and the first 100 lucky people that show up will get…
Poet Slams Man on The Bus For Offensive Rape Comment
An overheard, ignorant statement inspired the profound performance above by Pages Matam at the 2013 National Poetry Slam in August. While riding the bus Matam overheard a man say to woman, “you’re too ugly to be raped.” In the poem, Matam asks the man he overheard to tell the one rape victim out of every…
Have You Joined #TeamKaDeem Yet?
UA athletics Web site If you’re not aware of what #TeamKaDeem is, it means you’ve either not been checking your Twitter feed lately or have avoided the University of Arizona athletics department Web site. Or you’re just wondering why there’s a pound sign in the front of that word, in which case you should probably…
Ryan Clark Moves to Agustin Kitchen
Noelle Haro-Gomez Ryan Clark The guy who seemingly wins all of Tucson’s culinary competitions, Ryan Clark, is leaving the Lodge on the Desert to take over Agustin Kitchen (formerly Agustin Brasserie, which answers the question “What on earth is going on with that place?”). Clark, who also has a cookbook coming out this week, will…
HB 2305: Referendum Appears Bound for 2014 Ballot
It appears that voters will have a chance to decide the fate of the HB 2305, the omnibus election overhaul passed by the Arizona Legislature in the final days of the session. (You can find details on the law here.) Opponents of the bill turned in about 146,000 signatures last month to force a referendum…
Tucson City Election: Dems Dominating in Ballot Returns
One of the sleepiest election cycles in recent memory is coming to an end next Tuesday, Nov. 5, as city voters decide the Ward 3 race between incumbent Democrat Karin Uhlich and GOP challenger Ben Buehler-Garcia, and the Ward 5 race between incumbent Democrat Richard Fimbres and GOP challenger Mike Polak. It’s the second election…
Local Comedians Pay Tribute to The Late Greats of Stand Up
Happy Tuesdays presents a special show honoring dead famous stand up comedians at The Loft Cinema in Mooney’s Back Lot behind screen #3. In the spirit of the Day of Dead and Halloween, tonight’s show is titled “ComeDia de los Muertos.” Local comedians are going to cover jokes by Sam Kinison, Phyllis Diller, Patrice O’Neal, Richard Jeni,…
‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ Trailer Feels Like ‘Back to The Future’ on Steroids
Today 20th Century Fox released the first full trailer for the latest instalment in the X-Men franchise. I’m excited for X-Men: Days of Future Past despite my sad, fanboy rambling. It’s been 13 years since the first movie was released, and a lot has changed since the first movie. The 2011 X-Men: First Class might…
Retour A Sonora: A Tucson Music Celebration of a French Graphic Novel, and Vice Versa
C. Elliott Howe Gelb, Brian Lopez, Gabriel Sullivan We love it when arts converge! Continents, politics … even better. So we dispatched C. Elliott to bring you photographs of a French-flavored graphic novel’s debut set in a concert by some of Tucson’s most Tucson-y musicians: Howe Gelb, of course, plus Gabriel Sullivan, Brian Lopez, William…
U of A Seniors Launch Kickstarter Project That Will Change How You Party Forever
Don’t shotgun a beer like a D.A.B., bro. Scott Arellanno and Wyatt Thurston of Raging Mammoth launched a new Kickstarter project that will change the world of shotgunning beer, forever. It’s called the Beer Tusk. Arellanno and Thurston are both seniors at the University of Arizona and want to help you party harder than Andrew…
Jessica Chobot to Host Nerdist News Show
The former IGN Show host Jessica Chobot is going to host a thrice-weekly Nerdist news show that premieres next Monday, November 4 on the Nerdist Youtube Channel. Chobot was born for this job. After hosting IGN Chobot became a regular on various G4 television shows, Maxmin radio and voiced the news reporter Diana Allers in…
Don’t Miss KRS-One, Jivin Scientists and Big Meridox at The Rialto
KRS-One will be in the 520 tomorrow, October 29 with local hip hop artists at the Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress Street. The opening acts are some of Tucson’s most prolific rappers: Jivin Scientists and Big Meridox. Here’s one of my favorite video by Ox. It’s full of downtown Tucson easter eggs: Jivin Scientist dropped this stellar…
Rubio Bails on Gang of Eight’s Immigration-Reform Plan
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who saw his poll numbers plummet after signing onto the Gang of Eight’s immigration-reform proposal earlier this year, is now openly deriding the idea of comprehensive reform. Talking Points Memo reports: The most prominent conservative supporter of sweeping immigration reform is calling on Congress to dial back the effort and instead…
AZ Illustrated Politics: Kozachik Condemns SB 1070
On last Friday’s AZ Illustrated Politics, Tucson City Councilman called for the repeal of SB 1070 because it was creating problems between Tucson police officers and the Latino community. He said that the Tucson City Council may take some steps to create a new policy limiting how long Tucson cops will detain people they suspect…
Special Screening of ‘The Undocumented’ PBS Documentary at The Loft
The Border Action Network, Coalicion de Derechos Humanos, and Humane Borders is screening The Undocumented at 7 p.m. tonight at The Loft Cinema, 1103 N. Camilla Blvd. This film takes you to the unforgiving US-Mexican border. You will see a local mortuary where skulls and bodies of the men, women, children that weren’t fortunate enough to experience…
Thoughts on Lou Reed, 1942-2013
Lou Reed died at age 71 yesterday. As of this writing, an official cause of death hasn’t been confirmed. The circumstances of his death are certainly less important than the achievements of his life, because without Lou Reed, the worlds of popular music and culture would be very, very different, even today. Everyone’s heard the…
What To Do with the Soil in my Really Big Pot
One of the most often asked questions I receive about potted gardens is “How often do I need to change the soil in my pots?” As in the case of many questions concerning potted gardens, it is not a simple answer. As I write this and see the length of these instructions, please do not…
Satellite’s Gone: Lou Reed Dead at 71
Lou Reed died today. Although the cause of death has not been released, the musician underwent a liver transplant in May: With the Velvet Underground in the late Sixties, Reed fused street-level urgency with elements of European avant-garde music, marrying beauty and noise, while bringing a whole new lyrical honesty to rock & roll poetry.…
What’s Going on This Weekend, Bro?
Here’s what’s going on this weekend: There’s going to be a big Monster Mash at Hotel Congress tomorrow starting at 8 p.m. There’s going to be fun games, prizes and live music. Click here to buy your tickets. Here’s your chance to get a $31 dollar tattoo from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. by the…
Missing The Misfits
Courtesy of the Misfits Facebook page My brother Tyler wore his Misfits shirt until it, literally, fell to pieces. The skull became more and more tattered with each wash and still he wore it at least three times a week, much to my mom’s displeasure. I’m sure that’s where my love for the music started.…
Prescription Drug Drop-Off Collection Set For Saturday
By Aaron Granillo Cronkite News Service Originally published: Oct 25, 2013 – 8:46 am PHOENIX — Arizona residents are encouraged to drop off their expired, unused, or unwanted prescription drugs at sites across the state on Saturday. It’s a part of national campaign sponsored by the DEA to curb prescription drug abuse. Many health officials…
Russell Brand Attempts to Incite Revolution by Not Really Saying Anything
British comedian, breakout star of Forgetting Sarah Marshall and generally entertaining person Russell Brand made millions of fans on the Internet when he figuratively knocked a well-respected British journalist across the goddamn room with revolutionary rhetoric. Most impressively, he did so without saying anything new at all. Brand, who recently did a guest editor stint…
Catch-Up on Rockin’ With C. Elliott
C. Elliott Stevie Vai at the Rialto Theatre, Oct. 22 Girl gets around! When we can catch our breath, looking at all the fun C. Elliott’s having, we’re reminded of what we’ve missed, and determined to do better this weekend! Check out tucsonweekly.getn2.it for all the music in town, every night of the week. Herewith,…
The Gambler’s Week 8 NFL Spread
I know you’re sitting at your desk going over the office betting pool. That’s one of the benefits of working in a maze of cubicles. Everyone around you likes to gamble money they don’t have. I have participated in many pools, and lost. I don’t want you to lose like I did. I’m here to…
Win Tickets To See Tom Clark at Laffs Comedy Caffe
Up and coming Hollywood comedian Tom Clark will be in town this weekend at Laffs Comedy Caffe, 2900 East Broadway. You might have seen Clark on TNT’s The Closer, or Outsourced or the hotdog vendor at this year’s Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2013. I know him because of his voiceover work on the Blade II video game…
Pedersen Prep Football Preview
It was some famous person (doesn’t really matter who; since I can’t really remember right now) who once said, “it ain’t how you start, it’s how you finish.” Or something like that. This is a blog post, rampant historical accuracy is not absolutely necessary. Anyway, when it comes to sports, there are many documented cases…
Bone Dry Brewing to Debut Tonight at Fini’s Landing
We’ve seen a glut of quality craft beer roll through these parts in recent months, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon as Bone Dry Brewery starts landing on tap handles across the city. Bone Dry is the brainchild of Frank Naughton (yes, of that Naughton company, though he’s making an effort…
Happy Birthday Jim Nintzel!
I know what you’re asking yourself right now: Who’s Jim Nintzel? Nintzel has been with the Tucson Weekly longer than anyone currently employed. He reminds me daily. I look up to Jim, and not just because he’s taller than me. He’s full of wisdom and wisecracks, and that’s why we get along. Happy 48th Birthday,…
Sahuarita Pecan Festival Makes Dreams Come True With Pie Contest Announcement
Pecan pie lovers should clear their calendar for the fifth annual Sahuarita Pecan Festival on Saturday, November 9, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at The Green Valley Pecan Company, 1625 E. Sahuarita Road. The Sahuarita Pecan Festival website announced it’s first ever first-ever pecan pie contest and Facebook scavenger hunt. Here’s the instructions and prizes…
World of Beer Grand Opening on Halloween
Here’s your chance to find out if World Beer Tucson is a trick or treat. The new franchise is opening it’s doors at 9 a.m. Thursday, October 31, Halloween night. World of Beer is located at 350 E. Congress St. on the bottom floor of the Cadence property next door to the Rialto Theatre. The Facebook…
Tucson’s Giant George, The World’s Largest Dog, Is Dead, Encouraging Charity from ‘The Rainbow Bridge’
Brace yourselves, Tucson: Giant George, the Guinness World Record-confirmed World’s Largest Dog, has died. His family announced his death last week, Oct. 18, via Facebook: It is with a heavy heart that we announce Giant George died last night. George passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones; one month before his eighth birthday. We appreciate…
The Maker House is Playing ‘Sunset Boulevard’ Tonight
The good folks over at Maker House are playing the film noir classic Sunset Boulevard tonight 7 p.m. According to their Facebook page, they’ve built a 20-foot movie screen for the occasion! The film stars Gloria Swanson as a washed-up, delusional actress and William Holden as an eager screenwriter/gigolo, and in my opinion, is one…
Check Out The ‘Captain America Movie: Winter Soldier’ Trailers
Marvel/Disney finally released the Captain America trailers today, and I’m going to start camping out right now. I caught most of the comic book references because I read the Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting Winter Soldier comics. Chris Evans is decked out in the Secret Agent Steve Rogers uniform from the Marvel Heroic Age era…
Danehy
A few media nuggets: • Besides, slavery probably wasn’t all that bad, anyway. Dr. Benjamin Carson is the right wing’s latest Black Guy Du Jour (think Herman Cain without the sordid past … so far). Last week, he said, “Obamacare is really, I think, the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery.…
Remade, but Why?
If you’ve read the 1974 Stephen King novel, Carrie, and you’ve seen the 1976 Brian De Palma film of that novel, you know that the book and that film are very different. If you see the new 2013 version of Carrie starring Chloë Grace Moretz in the role that netted original star Sissy Spacek an…
Serraglio
Did you notice? The federal government returned to work. You could tell the shutdown duel was over when that weirdly waxy-looking guy with the orange tan and hang-dog beagle face—you know, the one who always looks like he’s about to burst into tears—relinquished his pistol to the smirking, mummified senator from Nevada. And thence did…
True TV
Friday, Oct. 25 (NBC) Season Premiere: When last we left Law & Order: Special Wesen Unit, supernatural profiler Nick had been zombie-fied, stuffed into a coffin and about to be FedExed to Europe, leaving his friends to fight off a rising horde of Portland’s walking dead—any wonder why NBC waited until Halloween weekend to bring…
Media Watch
CARR TRANSITIONS FROM NEWS DIRECTOR TO AUTHOR They say authors should write what they know, and Forrest Carr certainly knows television news. In a career that spanned 33 years, roughly half of that as a news director, Carr was on the front lines of a number of issues that shaped the medium, for good and…
Lost in Translation
Word on the street is that Jun Dynasty, in a midtown strip mall that has been home to numerous restaurants over the years (most recently a very popular Italian spot) serves “authentic” Chinese food. That may be so. We found the place relatively empty for a midweek dinner but were happy to see that the…
Candid Camera Conflict
The candidates vying for a seat on the Tucson City Council in the Nov. 5 election are split when it comes to cameras that nab speeders and red-light runners. The Democrats support photo-radar enforcement, while the Republicans generally oppose it. The cameras, are a controversial law enforcement tool. The city uses them in two ways:…
Noshing Around
It’s What’s Shakin’ The World Margarita Championship starts at 6 p.m. this Friday, Oct. 25, at the Tucson Museum of Art, and 19 of the Tucson Originals restaurants will be offering chow to go with tequila concoctions created by 15 mixologists. The attendees get to sample all of the drinks and food, and also vote…
The Skinny
BEATEN PATH Shortly after our deadline last week, the cooler heads among congressional Republicans struck a deal with Democrats to reopen the federal government and raise the debt ceiling. While we know some on the right are delusional enough to call the government shutdown a Republican win, the polling numbers we’ve seen show that it…
Everything Has Changed
A lot has changed for the rock band the Cliks and their charismatic frontman, Lucas Silveira, since the band’s formation nine years ago in Toronto. The Cliks began as a quartet, led by transgendered singer, songwriter and guitarist Silveira, playing alternative rock that was compared to the music of David Bowie and the White Stripes.…
Hands Loosely Tied
An upcoming Nov. 13 study session won’t the be the first time the Tucson City Council has discussed its SB 1070 policies or provided advice on possible constitutional violations by the Tucson Police Department on how the agency continues to interpret the controversial state law. Veronica Lopez, ACLU of Arizona program director, spoke to the…
Soundbites
IN THE WEE WEE HOURS Where does the time go, people? It seems like just a few days ago I was prepping you for the insanity of the busy fall concert season, and now here we are, smack-dab in the middle of it. Rocktober (sorry!) is almost over, and we all know what that means:…
Police Dispatch
SHE’S PISSED THAT HE PISSED FOOTHILLS AREA SEPT. 20, 5:27 P.M. A woman apparently angered her ex-boyfriend so much that he sliced up her blouse and peed on it, according to a Pima County Sheriff’s Department report. The woman told deputies that when she came home, she found one of her blouses slashed to pieces…
Gone Too Soon
What happens when creators die? The part of us that subconsciously relied on their creativity to better express our own emotions takes a jarring, painful hit. This was my experience last week when I heard of Amy and Derrick Ross’s tragic passing. A one-two punch to the gut. A torn heart, twice over. A painful…
Pedersen on Sports
There’s a sort of poetic irony that my first college beer was facilitated by a guy named Bruschi. It was freshman orientation, June 1994. Another newbie and I had wandered away from the Manzanita-Mohave dorm on the Arizona campus where we were staying. The goal was to do a little nighttime exploring, see what we…
Nine Questions
Conqueror Worm, and their charismatic lead singer Ian Guernsey, have performed just a handful of shows since forming earlier this year, including a slot at the Southwest Terrorfest, but have quickly gained a reputation as a band to watch with their heavy, minimalistic songs. When Guernsey isn’t conducting séances onstage over his band’s self-described “southern-fried…
Produce Problems
The Tucson and Sierra Vista areas are scheduled to have Market on the Move events on Nov. 2, the first since the program was temporarily halted in August. For a $10 donation, supporters receive up to 60 pounds of produce that has been “rescued” from being sent to landfills because it has blemishes or doesn’t…
Live
BRYAN DEAN TRIO BOONDOCKS LOUNGE Monday, Oct. 21 Walking into the long back entrance hallway at Boondocks, the first thing I heard was the sound of a Hammond organ being crucified. A few footsteps later, it became apparent that there was no organ on the stage. It was the Bryan Dean Trio, accompanied by percussionist…
Pearl Jam: Lightning Bolt
The problem facing Pearl Jam is that for every good song on Lightning Bolt, there lurks a great one somewhere in the band’s past. That the band is reinvigorated for a second time in four years after reuniting with producer Brendan O’Brien is a welcome surprise in itself. But the inescapable fact is that each…
Pick of The Week
This may be the biggest social event of the year—for your dog, that is. But don’t worry, you’re invited, too. This year’s Dogtoberfest, on Sunday, Oct. 27, is a gathering of dogs and their people for a day of socializing, games, contests, food and fun. Dogtoberfest “is very much a celebration of the human-dog bond,”…
Zodiac: A Hiding Place
The appealing anachronism of this second album by the German band is not fueled by sentimentalism or nostalgia. It’s just a damn good heavy rock album—infused with blues and funk grooves—with flashes of Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, James Gang and maybe even some Blue Oyster Cult in there for good measure. A little glam-rock strut…
T Q & A
Jonathan Goldman founded the Sound Healers Association, dedicated to the education of the uses of sound and music for healing. He has studied sound healing for more than 30 years and has written several books, including The 7 Secrets of Sound Healing. He has also released more than 25 CDs, one of which was nominated…
Ask A Mexican!
Dear Mexican: I was surprised, on a trip to Mexico earlier this month, that I only ever found the holiday referred to as ‘Dia de Muertos”, whereas in the States, I’ve only ever heard it referred to as “Dia de los Muertos.” I’m really curious as to WHY there’s a difference north/south of the border.…
Screenwriter’s Blues
What seems to us to be the dual nature of our lives has bemused and befuddled us, nurtured and terrorized us throughout our history. We feel it on personal, cultural and spiritual levels. Some imagine angels on one shoulder debating with the devils on the other, and that in a heavenly world, the angels would…
New Rules
It might surprise you to know that despite the hard-right leanings of Arizona’s state political power structure, there are actually forces for freedom at work in the Red Valley that is our state capitol, even where cannabis is concerned. Will Humble, director of the state Department of Health Services, came out against the Arizona Medical…
Landscapes, Limned
Masao Yamamoto routinely flies ’round the world setting up one-of-a-kind installations of his mixed-media photos. In the last few years he’s had solo shows in the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, New York, Brazil, China and his native Japan. Tucson is the latest to get one of his sought-after hand-created installations: Yamamoto was in town last month…
Golden Gangsters
I can’t help but feel that the recent spate of novels featuring middling protagonists pushed to commit criminal acts can be blamed on Breaking Bad. Surviving extreme financial pressures has always been good plot fuel. But the recently-concluded AMC series, about a cancer-ravaged high school chemistry teacher cooking meth to leave something financially for his…
Editor’s Note
When you think about it, the amount of effort it takes to be thought of as a truly terrible public official in this state is significant. You’d think Fife Symington, governor from 1991 to 1997, who was convicted of a bank fraud, forcing him to resign his office, would probably be remembered in some sort…
Comedic Value Only
Know this going in: Dario Argento’s Dracula 3D is a really bad movie. Really bad. Criminally inferior for someone who co-wrote Once Upon a Time in the West and made one of the high watermarks of bizarro horror, the legendary Suspiria. This is a pure B-movie in every sense of the word, lacking any sense…
You Can Apply to Be Someone Important at H20 Discotec (If That’s Your Thing)
H20 Discotec, located at 61 E. Congress Street and brought to you by the folks behind Zen Rock and Sapphire, has been in the works for awhile and is seemingly opening soon with dazzling neon-light bathrooms, a LED ceiling and very expensive water features. Apparently, if you want to fully experience the bottle-service glamour of…
