Ed Masley

The Republic | azcentral.com

A number of the Valley's finest will be celebrating new releases in November, from Okilly Dokilly, America's leading practitioners of Ned Flanders-themed metal, to No Volcano and the long-awaited first release from Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra. Here's a look at those highlights and more.

11/19: Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra album release party

They’ve been among the Valley’s more exciting live attractions from their earliest performances. Now, you can finally hear what they would sound like on a proper full-length studio recording in the privacy of your own home (or car or workspace). And they’ve done an amazing job of capturing the energy of those performances in the course of five expansive tracks that make up “PAO!,” including “Blossom,” “Push” and “Oppression Scatter.” They recorded mostly live at 513 Analog in Tempe, which took some doing for 16 musicians. As PAO founder and bassist David Marquez says, “We utilized both live rooms, a living room, the bedrooms and isolation booths. The biggest challenge was probably not seeing each other while tracking, but at that point you have to trust in each other and listen to your brother or sister to either side and just breathe with it and lose yourself inside the rhythm. It's what I hope happens to the listener.”

Coco Tabasco says, “We were 20-plus people deep at 513 recording studio, including the engineers. It was cramped and definitely funky but we captured the authenticity of recording Afrobeat music.” Tabasco says he’s “relieved and happily poised because it’s been a long road coming, a lot of time and hard work but a huge labor of love and piecework, turning conversations into physical reality.”

Camille Sledge adds, “I feel superb to have an album with you all. It’s the people who are in this band who make it PAO-erful to me. And to capture what we do LIVE…. No can do in the studio. The spiritual aspects of PAO cannot be packaged up and shipped to you. Sorry, Afrobeat is a living breathing thing.”

Also playing: Harriet Brown, Vox Urbana, Mariachi de Grand Ave.

Details: 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19. Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave., Phoenix. $10. 602-716-2222, crescentphx.com.

11/19: Third Annual Arizona Hip Hop Festival

This is the event that led to Mayor Greg Stanton declaring Hip Hop Day for Phoenix. Last year's event featured more than 100 local hip-hop artists in a single day. The mayor explained his support to azcentral.com: "I love the fact that an ambitious guy like Justus (Samuel) has put this all together and he's starting to build more community support, more business support. It's a really positive thing for downtown Phoenix and the city.... And he really likes to help young up-and-coming artists, undiscovered artists, give them a shot. I love the fact that it's a hip-hop festival where there's gonna be an open mic. There's gonna be competitions at various local high schools, offering talented kids an opportunity to show their art. I want to see him and the festival succeed."

Details: 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 19. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $17. 602-379-2800, comericatheatre.com.

11/19: Dave Vitagliano release party

Vitagliano named his latest album "Grey" because he hoped it would convey "the wisdom that comes from navigating the waters of a Southwestern adulthood. It's also a tribute album of sorts, including one song honoring the memory of the late Doug Hopkins of the Gin Blossoms.

When the guitarist shared the tribute, the bittersweet "Early December Air," last year, he wrote, "I started strumming the cords to 'Hey Jealousy' one day and then began playing the cords backwards, descending instead of ascending, I developed that... The words came flowing in just a few minutes.... I tried to capture a bit of his style of arranging and even give a music remembrance to him at the very end of the song. I know the reality of who he was is much more complicated than the romantic version that's easy to conjure in the years since he passed. But I just wanted to honor his art, his songwriting, how much he truly influenced all the music that came after him in this town.​"

Vitagliano will be backed at the release show by a band made up of familiar faces from the local music scene, with an opening set by Nolan McKelvey.

Details: 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19. Tempe History Museum, 809 E. Southern Ave. Free. 480-350-5100, facebook.com/TempeHistoryMuseum.

11/19: Semi-Social Round Robin

This is exactly the sort of event we thought we may have lost forever when the Trunk Space closed its doors. But they’re reopened in a new location.

There are two rounds, each consisting of four acts who set up at the same time and take turns playing as they go around the room – no openers, no closers, non-stop music. Of course, that means somebody has to consistently follow the manic intensity that is a Playboy Manbaby performance not once but a number of times in the course of a single night. But that happens. Or it happens here at least. Playboy Manbaby, whose forthcoming album is destined to blow you away when you finally hear it, are in Round 2 with Sonoran Chorus, the Expos and, from New York City, the Mad Doctors. Round 1 features kolezanka, Willetta, Herbert Walker and Nick Perkins.

Details: 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19. Trunk Space, 1124 N. Third St., Phoenix. $10; $8 in advance. thetrunkspace.com.

11/19: Dreams and Doorways release show

When bassist/guitarist Keaton Bongiorno drummer Charles Christian met in the spring of 2011 through a flyer Bongiorno had posted at Milano’s Music, they instantly “felt a connection and knew we wanted to do music together. We also knew we never wanted to be put into just one genre but wanted to incorporate numerous styles of music into our work.”

In 2014, while performing as UFN, they won first prize at Alice Cooper’s Proof is in the Pudding contest, opening the Christmas Pudding concert as one of their prizes.

Dreams and Doorways is the next step in the evolution, the lineup now including Chris Marchant on guitar and sax and newest members Jeremiah Sweeney on keyboards. They’re releasing an album called “Hidden Reflections.”

Also playing: The Sink or Swim and Breakup Shoes.

Details: 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19. Joe's Grotto, 13825 N. 32nd St., Phoenix. $16. 602-992-1007, joesgrotto.com.

11/21: Austin Harshman

Harshman doesn’t live here anymore, but when he did he was in Emby Alexander. And the psychedelic indie-folk of “Serf Gawd” should speak volumes to potential fans whose interest in his music is primarily rooted in the "former Emby Alexander member" angle, especially in the album's more experimental moments. "Serf Gawd" also features new recordings of two tracks he wrote with Mandi Kimes for their folk project Painted Faces. Harshman will be joined at Valley Bar by Flower Cult, a new ambient folk project featuring members of Harrision Fjord, and Blake Mitchem’s Speak Easy.

Details: 8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 21. Valley Bar, 130 N. Central Ave., Phoenix. $5. valleybarphx.com.

11/21: El West

El West recently released a self-titled EP of soaring, emotionally heartfelt indie-rock, citing Broken Social Scene, Radiohead and Elbow as inspirations. And they've put together quite a bill for the occasion. The Real Fits (formerly the Fits) have released a string of infectious alt-pop songs, making the most of the commanding vocal presence of Raquel Willand, from the wistful charms of "Take a While" to the haunting, almost post-rock-flavored "Sundown." And speaking of commanding vocal presences, they're joined by alternative-rockers Jane 'N' the Jungle, whose Jordan White can whisper as well as she rages, pout with attitude and wail with authority.

Details: 8 p.m. Monday, Nov. 21. Rebel Lounge, 2303 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix. $10; $8 in advance. 602-296-7013, therebellounge.com.

11/23: Lydia

These ethereal indie-scene veterans from Gilbert are touring with strings for the first time ever. And guitar-playing vocalist Leighton Antelman is stoked. “We’ve never had strings on stage for a tour, so with that comes some really interesting song-part adjusting,” he says. “It also brings such a cool feel to the room in general. It’s quite peaceful, actually. It’s been some of the coolest rehearsals we’ve done for a tour that I can remember.”

The tour is in continued support of last year’s “Run Wild,” from which they just premiered a beautifully filmed and evocative video for “Georgia” shot by Cole Kiburz in an Arizona border town. "It's more or less a kind of counter culture town tucked away from the world," Antelman says. "The people that lived there were beyond nice and talked about the place like it was something magical. It was really fun day of hanging out there and shooting."

Details: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 23. Mesa Arts Center, 1 E. Main St., Mesa. $23-$28; $20-$25 in advance. 480-644-6500, mesaartscenter.com.

11/23: Pistoleros/Dead Hot Workshop

Give thanks for the days of yore when Tempe’s music scene was being looked to as some kind of Next Seattle when the Pistoleros share a stage with Dead Hot Workshop, a co-headlining situation that’s to speak directly to the heart of anyone who spent too much time getting drunk on Mill Avenue back in the ‘90s. Lawrence Zubia of Pistoleros was clearly born to captivate a crowd and last year brought a great new album, aptly titled “Shine.” They’re joined here by a relatively new addition to the Tempe scene, Banana Gun.

Details: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 23. Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave., Phoenix. $10; $8 in advance. 602-716-2222, crescentphx.com.

11/24: Blunt Club

Arizona’s longest-running hip-hop party has gone underground, joining the Valley Bar lineup after 14 years of entertaining local hip-hop fans. The bill is topped by DJ Pickster One with art by Dumperfoo and special guests.

Details: 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 24. Valley Bar, 130 N. Central Ave., Phoenix. Free. valleybarphx.com.

11/25: Meat Puppets

Led by Curt and Cris Kirkwood, the Valley's own Meat Puppets were plucked from the ranks of respected cult icons in the early '90s by Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, who had them join him on the set of "MTV Unplugged" to dust off three songs from "Meat Puppets II." The Kirkwoods went their separate ways in 2002 but reunited in 2006 and have since released four albums, most recently "Rat Farm," on which they effortlessly live up to their legend. I have no idea where the Kirkwood brothers live at this point. Maybe Austin? Or did they move back? It doesn't matter, really. They're too much a part of the cultural fabric here to bother checking state IDs. And this time, they’re sharing the bill with Mike Watt of the Minutemen and Firehose, a towering legend of post-punk bass, with an opening set by the Exterminators.

Details: 8:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 25. Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave., Phoenix. $10; $8 in advance. 602-716-2222, crescentphx.com.

11/26: No Volcano release party

They hit the ground running in early 2015 with a debut called “Who Saved the Party,” on which they effortlessly lived up to the promise of their previous experiences. Guitar-playing front man Jim Andreas and drummer Chris Kennedy came to the table from Trunk Federation, joining bassist Jake Sevier (with whom they also played in Letdownright) and guitar-playing organist Jeremy Randall of Colorstore. So what do they do for an encore? “Dead Horse Power” was preceded by a video for “Blackout,” a track that was hailed as the third best single anyone came up with for October by lesser an authority than me. And they’re topping a really good bill at this release show with Less Pain Forever and Scorpion Vs. Tarantula, with DJ Todd Joseph.

This album was recorded, like the first, at Kennedy's house. As Andreas recalls the recording process, “We had written about half of the songs on the record by the time our first one came out so we have had time to play those songs live and dial them in. The other half we sort of worked out in the process of recording which I think drove Chris nuts. We took a break from playing shows this summer to finish writing and recording.”

Andreas says this CD is “a little heavier and maybe a bit darker than our first and I think more cohesive."

Details: 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26. Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave., Phoenix. $10; $8 in advance. 602-716-2222, crescentphx.com.

11/26: Dry River Yacht Club

Among the more intriguing staples of the local music scene, Dry River Yacht Club have been known to sum up what they do as "acoustic symphony indie rock on a dancin' pirate's rusty yacht." But their music is probably closer in spirit to what Henri Benard, their percussionist, calls it: "Gypsy Western folk-rock." And they do it with viola, violin, trombone, bass clarinet, bassoon and accordion, the last of which is wielded by a singer whose voice is that rare blend of quirky and soulful that makes Fiona Apple so intriguing. Plus, they're always just ridiculously entertaining live. And on record. "El Tigre" is a must for any self-respecting fan of Valley music. Also playing: Qais and Qosmonauts, Arch Iris and Daddy I$$ues.

Details: 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26. Rebel Lounge, 2303 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix. $12; $10 in advance. 602-296-7013, therebellounge.com.

11/27: Valley Bar Jazz Series

The Dan Doyle Quintet will perform at the latest installment of Round About Midnight, paying tribute to the legendary sax work of Cannonball Adderley, along with his brother Nat Adderley and their famous quintet. Doyle is on trumpet, joined by some of Arizona's most imaginative jazz performers, including Emerson Laffey on drums, Sean Brogan on bass, Shea Marshall on keyboards and Dan Puccio on sax.

Details: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 27. Valley Bar, 130 N. Central Ave., Phoenix. $7. valleybarphx.com.

11/27: Hip Hop IV

Taking place a week after the third annual Arizona Hip-Hop Festival, the Rogue Bar’s Hip Hop IV is a much smaller gathering putting the spotlight on local and regional talent, from Flagstaff’s Boom Box Bros to Cornville’s Mental Cases and locals DaDadoh (an alternative hip-hop act whose “Radical” is among the more inspired local albums of the year) and nerdcore duo Snailmate (whose “Dine N’ Dash would also earn a spot on my best-local-album list). Kus Rasme is from Salem, Oregon, but that’s no reason not to be there when he kicks things off at 8 p.m.

Details: 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 27. Rogue Bar, 423 N. Scottsdale Road. Free.

These show already happened but you would to track down music by these artists.

11/2: Citrus Clouds release show

These guys have made my singles-of-the-month list twice with songs from the release they’re celebrating at this show. I’m pretty this is the first time that has happened with a local record.

Their sound recalls the golden age of dream-pop, from a title track that comes on like the soundtrack to some great lost John Hughes film to “Make a Life,” casting a spell with its blend of ethereal vocals and hazy, distorted guitars.

“With ‘Imagination,’ the goal was to evolve as a band,” says guitar-playing vocalist Erick Pineda. “Where ‘In Time I Am’ was songs I had written previously, ‘Imagination’ was written in 6 months and we all collaborated and shared ideas.”

“Imagination” was recorded at Audioconfusion with Jalipaz, who Pineda feels “was able to capture what our live show sounds like and we are elated with the final product.”

As elated as they are, though, they’re already working on a full-length followup titled “Heliocentric,” which they’re hoping to release next year.

Details: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2. Valley Bar, 130 N. Central Ave., Phoenix. $7. valleybarphx.com.

11/5: The Pubes release show

Billing themselves as the perfect combo of queercore and comedy, Baretta, Ivana and Roc of the Pubes are releasing a CD titled “better Better BETTER.” I haven’t heard the album, but this message on their Facebook page suggests that you should see them in their natural environment and grab a CD while you’re there: “Notorious for playing their ‘last show ever’ every time they're on stage, the PÜBES always TAKE IT BEYOND ELEVEN with their screaming guitars, hard bass lines, and thundering rhythm...they will leave you begging for MORE.”

Also playing: The Haymarket Squares and the Lefty Loosies.

Details: 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5. Last Exit Live, 717 S. Central Ave., Phoenix. $7. 602-271-7000, lastexitlive.com.

11/5: Eleven Forties release show

If you like your punk rock mixed with classic hard rock and delivered with the showmanship of a born entertainer who understands the inherent appeal of a shirtless madman throwing imitation money to the crowd, there is no better place for you to be this month than this release show.

As they sum up the seeds of their very existence in their Facebook bio: “Mental illness. Very loud amplifiers. Vindictive name-calling. Broken drumsticks. Bad breath. These things and more characterize the history of the Eleven Forties -- a rock-n-roll band from Tempe, Arizona. Guitarist T-Bone D Stretch Macadocious Sweetwater III, vocalist Jonny Bionic, and bass player P.J. Heartgrave shared two things in the year 2004: a house near several liquor stores and a deep love for the Rolling Stones, the New York Dolls, AC/DC and the Ramones. Okay, that's five things...but the crucial factor in their otherwise dead-end existence was an enormous band room contained within their mutual dwelling.”

That was enough to get them through a single five-song EP before the whole thing went south in 2008 as near as any bandmate can recall. But absence having made the heart grow fonder, they renewed their vow to rock last year and now they’re releasing their first proper album, which rocks the way you might expect from anyone who cites the Rolling Stones, the New York Dolls, AC/DC and the Ramones as handy frames of reference to rock (although I hear more Stooges in my headphones if we’re being honest). Just don’t call it a reunion record. It was done before the breakup.

As Heartgrave explains, “We originally intended to remix a couple songs, but had a series of setbacks, which I can't keep straight in my memory anymore except the worst one, which was one of us getting locked up for a few years (not me) which meant there was no band at that point. When we got the original band back together last year we decided to release it ‘as is’- not remix or rerecord anything because we really can't top the performances that are on there.”

It feels great to get it out there, Heartgrave says, “because we can put that early chapter of the band to bed and focus on new songs and new recordings. We have 4 or 5 new songs written for a new record next year and we're doing those songs in our live set.”

Details: 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5. Rips Bar, 3045 N. 16th St., Phoenix. 602-266-0015, facebook.com/rips.bar.7.

MORE MUSIC:Phoenix concert news: The Weeknd, Kings of Leon, Brian Wilson | Best October singles: Solange, Amber Coffman, No Volcano | Yuridia, on moving to Phoenix, fans and fame, in concert 11/5

11/10: Baseline release show

Remember senior year of high school? Chances are, you did not put a record out. But no fewer than four of the members of Baseline are seniors. The other member graduated last year.

They’ve been playing together for more than a year now and "Not in the World, But Inside My Head” is their first offering, an EP boasting five contagious tracks, “all of which center around breakups and other struggles that everyone faces in high school and just in their youth in general,” this according to lead singer Michael Schuster.

Their sound is on the emo side of pop-punk and Schuster’s delivery is the right blend of earnest and urgent to convey the heartache of a song like “Downside,” the EP’s first video, which finds Schuster reminding the girl who broke his heart, “You made me a space by your side but now it's gone / And you're gone.”

Also playing: Summaries, Welcome Home, Westbrook and Expiration Date.

Details: 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10. Pub Rock, 8005 E. Roosevelt St., Phoenix. $12; $10 in advance. 480-945-4985, pubrocklive.com.

[NSFW language in the following video.]

11/11: Futuristic

Futuristic, AKA Zachary Beck, is a mainstream-friendly hip-hop act whose latest album, “As Seen On the Internet,” is his sixth release in five years. That’s exactly the sort of determination it takes to be seen on the internet. And he’s working it hard. This is his third release to hit the Top 10 on the Billboard rap charts. The first was “Rise,” on which the first words out of Futuristic’s mouth were “Yo, I’m the most underrated,” which he followed with “XXL, man, I want the cover / There’s no way that I’m not in the conversation.” The conversation continues on this year’s model, which features guest appearances by Hopsin, Devvon Terrell, Karmin, Goody Grace and Shia LaBeouf.

Also playing: Beez, J. Rob the Chief and Ali Tomineek.

Details: 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11. Livewire, 7320 E. Indian Plaza, Scottsdale. $15. 480-361-9783, livewireaz.com.

11/11: Okilly Dokilly album release show

Remember when these guys blew up the internet, earning a feature on Entertainment Weekly's website, EW.com, and the Independent, a London-based national newspaper, after giving an interview to Rip It Up, an Australian publication? That's the power of Ned Flanders, the "Simpsons" character that inspired the formation of the world's first – and so far only – Ned Flanders-themed metal band.

And now that they have your attention? An album, which, of course, they’ve named “Howdilly Doodilly.”

As lead singer Head Ned recalls, "When we started recording ‘Howdilly Doodilly,’ we set out to make a record that was really brutalino. We recorded in costume and drank white wine spritzers to really capture the essence of Ned."

Were they nervous at all about having to live up to the hype?

"Getting all the attention we got was a huge surprise,” Head Ned recalls. “We did feel a little bit of pressure to step up and give it some extra diddly, but at the end of the day, we started the band for a laugh and we've had plenty. Everything beyond that is more than we could ask for. We had fun making ‘Howdilly Doodilly’ and if people enjoy listening to it then everything is okilly dokilly."

Recorded by Jalipaz at Audioconfusion, the album features 13 tracks, including all four songs that caused a stir in demo form last summer. They’ll support the album on a tour that starts in March with kindred spirits Mac Sabbath and Metalachi. In the meantime, they’ll be joined at this release show by American Standards and the Oxford Coma.

Details: 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11. Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave., Phoenix. $12. 602-716-2222, crescentphx.com.

11/11-12: Mesa Music Festival

The Mesa Music Festival will return with Fuel set to headline a free outdoor concert in downtown Mesa at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12. Fuel hit the airwaves with their first album "Sunburn" and hit single “Shimmer” in 1998. Their second album "Something Like Human" followed in 2000 and went multi-platinum with the singles “Hemorrhage (In My Hands)” and “Innocent."

The festival is designed for up and coming bands to network with industry professionals, trade ideas and play a free festival together on the final day of the conference. More than 100 bands from across the country and beyond have been selected to perform in downtown Mesa businesses and on outdoor stage. Among the local artists taking part are Doll Skin, Weslynn, the Sink or Swim, Honeygirl, Steff & the Articles, Christopher Shayne, Vintage Wednesday, the Zubia Brothers, Hans Olsen, Matrix, Jam, Sunset Voodoo and Monagahans Dixon.

Details: 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11; noon, Saturday, Nov. 12. Downtown Mesa.

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11/11-13: Sidepony Express Music Festival

Is Bisbee local? Well, it does entail some driving. But much like the recent Apache Lake Music Festival, it’s become a destination festival for local-music fans and artists– a three-day showcase of emerging independent artists, nearly 70 of which are from here in the Valley, in one of the quirkier places on earth. The 5th annual Sidepony festival features 101 artists playing in multiple venues in Bisbee, all for free.

Among the local acts performing are Fairy Bones, the Hourglass Cats, Treasurefruit, Jerusafunk, the Haymarket Squares, the Pubes, DaDaDoh, Fatigo, the Stakes, the Lonesome Wilderness, the Bittersweet Way, Andy Warpigs, Manic Monkeys, Mill’s End and Carol Pacey and the Honey Shakers.

Details: Noon, Friday, Nov. 11-Sunday, Nov. 13. Bisbee.

11/12: Lindsey Stirling

The electronic violinist brings her Brave Enough Tour to town. And she's promised an all-new stage show. Stirling grew up in Gilbert and graduated from Mesquite High School, rising to fame in 2010 after making the quarter-finals on "America's Got Talent," where Piers Morgan sniffed, "You're not untalented, but you're not good enough to get away with flying through the air and trying to play the violin at the same time." Six years later, she's a viral video sensation whose "Crystallize" was the eighth most-watched YouTube video of 2012 and now has more than 152 million views.

Details: 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 12. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $29.50-$58.50. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.

11/12: 2 in the Chest release show

Now, anytime you claim to be the world’s only anything, it’s bound to raise some eyebrows if not questions. But “the world’s only rustic outlaw Southern hard rock/metal band?” Sounds pretty reasonable – especially if you throw in one last qualifier: “whose new release consists entirely of songs based on actual stories from or otherwise related to the Wild West of the 1800s.” As their Facebook bio puts it, “When you go see a show, it’s way more than just the music, it’s like busting open the swinging doors of some 18th-century saloon.” But wait, you say, the 1800s are the 19th century.

Don’t be that guy.

As guitar-playing vocalist Reverend Black Jack McBride says, “We are a full concept band head to toe, from lyrics to logo.”

They’ve been playing in the Valley since 2009. The CD they’re releasing at this Yucca Tap Room show was a year and a half in the making, recording at Steampunk Audio Labs in Glendale by producer Casey Weaver.

The Reverend and Velvet De Blonko, their drummer, are married and have a child with extreme autism. They formed 2 in the Chest in part to raise autism awareness.

Details: 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12. Yucca Tap Room, 29 W. Southern Ave., Tempe. $10. 480-967-4777, yuccatap.com.

11/13: The Darts

With the Love Me Nots on what Nicole Laurenne is labeling a semi-permanent hiatus, the Farfisa-playing frontwoman has launched the Darts, an all-female garage-rock revival with Christina Nunez (also of the Love Me Nots) on bass, Michelle Balderrama of Brainspoon on guitar and vocals, and Rikki Styxx on drums. They've recorded a raucous first EP that more than lives up to the sum of their assorted reputations. Laurenne says this is "kind of what I always wanted to do, with the people I want to do it with, and it has been so awesome so far."

Because Balderrama and Styxx are based in California and the former Love Me Nots are based here in the Valley, the drums, guitars and backup vocals were recorded in LA with Laurenne and Nunez tracking their parts here, and Love Me Nots producer Bob Hoag mixing the results of their interstate collaboration in his Mesa studio. The single “Running Through Your Lies” enjoyed instant radio airplay, and “Take What I Need” was selected by Sirius/XM’s Underground Garage channel as “The Coolest Song In The World" for obvious reasons.

Also playing: Harper & the Moths and Shovel.

Details: 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13. Valley Bar, 130 N. Central Ave., Phoenix. $8; $6 in advance. valleybarphx.com.

11/16: House of Stairs

The short description on their Facebook page calls them "a jazz-based collective that draw from funk, soul and pop influences to create a distinct progressive soundscape." That's all true. But what it fails to mention is that they top those soundscapes with the sultry vocal stylings of Holly Pyle, whose presence on their "Step One" album frequently recalls the early work of Erykah Badu. The singer claims to be "keeping the 'verb' of jazz alive by incorporating improvisation and continual music evolution into as many different genres as possible." They're joined at the Crescent by Hello Dollface and Shining Soul.

Details: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16. Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave., Phoenix. $7; $5 in advance. 602-716-2222, crescentphx.com.

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Reach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495. Twitter.com/EdMasley.