By M. Tekel,on January 18th,2012% 
Arizona’s Authority Zero have become international icons while staying true to their roots
By Troy Farah
Published on 01/12/2012 in Flag Live With hit singles like “One More Minute,” “Revolution,” and the Wall of Voodoo cover “Mexican Radio,” Authority Zero are arguably the most popular band to come out of Mesa—and they’re especially familiar with any kid who got into skateboarding or punk around the turn of the century. Noted for their mix of reggae,ska-punk and their Spanish and Portuguese inspirations,the four-piece admit a deep admiration for Sublime,Pennywise and Bad Religion,making them a distinct and flavorful semi-local act. Read More By M. Tekel,on January 18th,2012% 
A conversation with the eclectic Tempe nine-piece Dry River Yacht Club By Troy Farah
Published on 12/15/2011 in Flag Live Recently reunited in August,Dry River Yacht Club’s nine members embody the indie creed that “more is more” and band mates are there for more than just back-up vocals. Keeping in spirit with Gogol Bordello or DeVotchKa,the band plays their unique blend of gypsy tunes,a self-described mix of “acoustic symphony indie-rock on a dancin’ pirate’s rusty yacht”—and the nonet dress the part. Now the Tempe-based band are taking their gig more places than ever. Flag Livesat down to speak to Henri Bernard (percussionist,) Kristilyn Woods (bassoon) and Megyn Neff (violinist) about their new EP and the musical atmosphere in Arizona. Read More By M. Tekel,on May 5th,2011%  Soundtrack to the Working Life
Irish-American punks Flogging Molly are taking their vision much further than they ever imagined possible
By Troy Farah
Published on 05/05/2011
They’re Irish. They’re punk. They’re Irish-punk. You know,they’re Flogging Molly. For 14 years,Flogging Molly have circled the globe on a nearly endless tour playing intense,intoxicated tunes evoking the Dead Kennedys and the Dubliners. Only Dave King,lead singer and guitarist,is actually from Ireland. The band itself was formed in Los Angeles around the Irish pub Molly Malone’s,where the seven-piece band played so often they felt like they were flogging the bar to death. Now the name makes sense,doesn’t it? Read More By M. Tekel,on March 28th,2011% By Troy Farah
Published on 03/10/2011 Their name was torn from the pages of a magazine—not the Herman Melville classic,but the members of the Devil Whale are still well versed in literature from Carl Sandburg to Theodore Roethke,blending smarts with rock. According to lead singer Brinton Jones,a lot of their influences are “the kind of generic ones”—the Beatles,the Kinks,the Velvet Underground. But the band throws in plenty of modern influence from Destroyer to Dear Hunter to Guided by Voices. The result is good old-fashioned,multi-layered indie-pop—a bit melancholy,but rife with sharp lyrics like on the track “Underwater”:“If you wanna be rich like them/don’t rob them—become their friend/but don’t give them your middle name.” Read More By M. Tekel,on March 3rd,2011%  Much like the controversial law SB 1070,a new piece of legislation dealing with immigration,SB 1611,has drawn some angry critics. Protesters gathered outside Flagstaff City Hall Wednesday evening waving signs and chanting “Si se puede” at traffic. Students and citizens,young and old,stood together and later took turns giving speeches through a bullhorn. If passed,SB 1611 will tighten identification requirements on every level from school enrollment to hospital visits to getting a job to driving a car. It would be illegal for an undocumented immigrant to enroll in university,to drive,to get treatment from a hospital or talk to a police officer. Russell Pearce,the bill’s main supporter,says this is just to stop taxpayers from paying for illegal immigrants and the bill is merely “cleaning up.” Read More By M. Tekel,on February 23rd,2011%  photo courtesy of Pato Banton Reggae legend Pato Banton shares his music and a message of faith
By Troy Farah
Published on 02/17/2011 In his 30-year career,Pato Banton has been active in reggae and DJ circles,has worked alongside UB40,Sting and Peter Gabriel and made his mark on top 40 charts around the world,popular for songs such as “Don’t Sniff Coke,” “Settle Satan” and “Handsworth Riot.” His positive attitude and love of spirituality make him approachable and permeate his live shows with an air of community and shared humanity. Read More By M. Tekel,on December 26th,2010%  It’s so crowded at Stab Mountain that people are pressed up against the door. Someone accidentally hit the tap on a keg of PBR,and now everyone is wading in a puddle of beer. Local hardcore punk band,This Runs On Blood,is playing like a group of escaped lunatics,and lead singer Josh Williams has thrown himself into the chaos,screaming so hard you can almost feel his lungs exploding. In the middle of all this is Jason Moore,a pseudo-pop artist from L.A. who has thrived on Flagstaff’s underground art and punk scene. He still makes it out to the mountain town on occasion because his friends and family are here. This is where his home is. Read More By M. Tekel,on November 1st,2010%  So every September,Breda,a little town in Holland,plays host to Redheadday when the city fills with succulent freckle-faced gingers. This year,4,000 strawberry blondies from 36 different countries showed up to flaunt their sexy,genetic disposition. Cursed with a brunette mop,I decided to investigate what RoodHarigeDag is all about. Read More
By M. Tekel,on August 19th,2010% by Troy Farah on April 23,2009 at 4:00 am under A&E Shawn Skabelund,a professor of Figure Drawing,stands in his Flagstaff home with an art piece from a 2004 project titled “Drawing On Nature.” On Saturday,Skabelund had a new art piece placed near the Communication building. - Seth Eisner/ The Lumberjack Professor Shawn Skabelund is perhaps NAU’s most controversial artist. His installation pieces (a type of sculpture art) are large,intricate and invoke a lot of symbolism. For example,“The Gift From Joseph Beuys,” a stuffed coyote in a box,was threatened with censorship during last year’s Faculty Art Show. “Whenever you use materials like that,people want to censor you,” Skabelund said. “It can get to that point,because they don’t understand what the art is.” Annette McGivney,a journalism professor,became friends with Skabelund because their sons went to the same school. “As an artist Shawn is very committed to exposing truth,whether people like it or not,” McGivney said. Read More By M. Tekel,on August 1st,2010% Last spring,I interviewed two people who have sold drugs in the past —psilocybin mushrooms and Adderall respectively —for my capstone project,which you can learn more about here. What follows is my attempt at imitating This American Life with some music that I hope I don’t get sued over. Enjoy. Read More | A sample text widgetEtiam pulvinar consectetur dolor sed malesuada. Ut convallis euismod dolor nec pretium. Nunc ut tristique massa. Nam sodales mi vitae dolor ullamcorper et vulputate enim accumsan. Morbi orci magna,tincidunt vitae molestie nec,molestie at mi. Nulla nulla lorem,suscipit in posuere in,interdum non magna. | Specialty Gunk Runner- Punk Heaven
Arizona’s Authority Zero have become international icons while staying true to their roots By Troy Farah Published on 01/12/2012 in Flag Live With hit singles like “One More Minute,” “Revolution,” and the Wall of Voodoo cover “Mexican Radio,” Authority Zero are arguably the most popular band to come out of Mesa—and they’re especially familiar with any kid who got into skateboarding or punk around the turn of the century. Noted for their mix of reggae,ska-punk and their Spanish and Portuguese inspirations,the four-piece admit a deep admiration for Sublime,Pennywise and Bad Religion,making them a distinct . . . →Read More:Punk Heaven - Love,travel,murder,music with Amy LaVere
The confessional style and restless spirit of songstress Amy LaVere By Troy Farah Published on 09/01/2011 in Flag Live Soft-spoken,with a voice like a Midwestern version of Fiona Apple,Amy LaVere wields an upright bass almost bigger than she is when playing her Americana tunes about falling in love,falling out and,sometimes,murder. LaVere’s third album, Stranger Me,was written over four years while LaVere dealt with the deterioration of a long-term relationship and the death of friend and producer Jim Dickinson. Filled with bitterness,confusion and LaVere’s trademark self-sufficiency for coping with loss, Stranger Me was lauded by Spin magazine . . . →Read More:Love,travel,murder,music with Amy LaVere - Flogging Molly’s Soundtrack to the Working Life
Soundtrack to the Working Life Irish-American punks Flogging Molly are taking their vision much further than they ever imagined possible By Troy Farah Published on 05/05/2011 They’re Irish. They’re punk. They’re Irish-punk. You know,they’re Flogging Molly. For 14 years,Flogging Molly have circled the globe on a nearly endless tour playing intense,intoxicated tunes evoking the Dead Kennedys and the Dubliners. Only Dave King,lead singer and guitarist,is actually from Ireland. The band itself was formed in Los Angeles around the Irish pub Molly Malone’s,where the seven-piece band played so often they felt like they were flogging . . . →Read More:Flogging Molly’s Soundtrack to the Working Life - Protesters pissed about impending police state
Much like the controversial law SB 1070,a new piece of legislation dealing with immigration,SB 1611,has drawn some angry critics. Protesters gathered outside Flagstaff City Hall Wednesday evening waving signs and chanting “Si se puede” at traffic. Students and citizens,young and old,stood together and later took turns giving speeches through a bullhorn. If passed,SB 1611 will tighten identification requirements on every level from school enrollment to hospital visits to getting a job to driving a car. It would be illegal for an undocumented immigrant to enroll in university,to drive,to get treatment from a . . . →Read More:Protesters pissed about impending police state - Slightly Drunk at NAU’s Drinking Age Debate
Well,NAU hosted a debate about lowering the drinking age and with all the graphs and statistics thrown around like t-shirts at a Wildcats game,it was hard to concentrate,but I did learn one important thing tonight – debates are some of the most boring places,next to doctor’s offices and graduation ceremonies,to show up to drunk as fuck. I only had four vodka shots in the “Mountain Dew” bottle I snuck in and only suckled down two beers and three additional shots before stumbling into this event,but I sat quietly and listened intently to some argument . . . →Read More:Slightly Drunk at NAU’s Drinking Age Debate
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