Some things go together because it just feels right. Sir Mix-a-Lot is still riding the never ending fascination that "Baby's Got Back" induces, and finds new ways to make it appealing. Chief Boot Knocka's performed his celebrated hit with the help of the Seattle Symphony on Friday. 

Sir Mix-a-Lot asked some lovely ladies in the audience to join him onstage, of course:

Occasional Tucson Weekly contributor Jason Woodbury has compiled the second volume of his series of Arizona music rarities for the blog Aquarium Drunkard. Give the mix a download and bask in the "sunbaked soul, psych, country, garage, and folk," including Roy & the Dew Drops (above) from 1967.

The Philadelphia band with the not-super-easy-to-Google name, Nothing, is coming to 191 Toole on Thursday, July 31 opening for Ceremony.

I find myself getting excited about shows all the time (example, another one), but in the case of Nothing, I've probably listened to their debut album, Guilty of Everything, more than anything else that's come out this year. However, that might also be due to the fact that Nothing seem to sound like three or four of my favorite bands all at one time, combining the shoegazey melodies of Slowdive, the ear-shaking volume of My Bloody Valentine and the "I don't know what this guy is saying, but it sounds meaningful" aspect of Starflyer 59.

Basically, if you like you music pretty and still incredibly loud, like you want to cry a little bit inside but still seem sort of metal (or what guitarist Brandon Setta called "a big, pretty-ass sad sound"), Nothing might be the band for you.

Even better, the other bands on the bill (headliner Ceremony and fellow openers, the Coathangers) are worth seeing as well. I haven't heard much from locals Man Bites Dog, but let's assume they're good as well.

Tickets for the July 31 all-ages show at 191 Toole are $12 in advance and on sale now.

The video you're about to watch is not safe for work, so turn those speakers up.

Isaiah Toothtaker, local hip-hop artist and tattooist, received some coverage from music magazine SPIN on Tuesday. Toothtaker debuted his latest music video for "La Mer" off the 2013 Nine Inch Nails "Frankenstein" album, ИOTHING.


Apparently, the new gold chain draped over Toothtaker's shoulders weighs over 30 pounds.

From SPIN:

The video above not only gives second life to ИOTHING standout "La Mer" — it also offers an enthralling window in the mind of Toothy, a self-described "true-to-life thug" who here examines his unsavory ways while posing in a starkly clean environment. "I got no progress, I just got problems / I can't solve 'em, won't solve 'em / Pops gone, killed by cops, a lot of blood loss / I'm a parent now, yo, where do I stop?" It's an intimately distressing portrait of the man with music that wants to be bright, yet seems ever dragged back into the shadows. 

La Mer from Isaiah Toothtaker on Vimeo.

The article states that Toothtaker is working on couple of projects with Meaty Ogre and Steel Tipped Dove, and a emoji book titled That's Not Relevant. Toothtaker never ceases to shock and confuse us. You should read Casey Dewey's 2013 controversial cover story of the self proclaimed "true-to-life-thug" to truly appreciate the genius. 

The one-man- band Al Foul is back to his old tricks. This time, the wandering honky tonk blues traveler released his new music video for "Call Me When You Get to DudleyVille" on Sunday. Click here to buy the song off his 2012 self-titled album.

Prom Body has a busy summer ahead of them. The four-man "wavves-y stoner punk" band are going to tour along the west coast through August. 

You already heard "My Paradise" from their upcoming album Naughty by Natural on The Range. Today, SPIN shared "Pretty Flowers". If you haven't heard Creep the Strange already, click here to read Joshua Levine's review.

But for every ounce of snot-nosed Wavves-y stoner punk in this quartet's music, there's another of No Age's lo-fi-for-art's-sake, and maybe another still of Jay Reatard's early and weird fist-pumping aggression.

Here's the band's correct current tour schedule:

July 29th - Tour Kick-off at Topaz, in Tucson AZ w/ Katterwaul & Kid Puto
July 31st - San Diego - w/ Heavy Hawaii & Heaven @ The Hideout
August 2nd - Los Angeles - w/ Heaven & Heavy Hawaii @ The Smell
August 3rd - Oakland - w/ Meat Market @ House Show
August 5th - Stockton - w/ MLTD @ The Bus Stop
August 6th - Portland - w/ Feel Young and TBA @ The Know
August 7th - Olympia - w/ The San Onofre Lizards & Clayface @ The Hot Tub House
August 8th - Seattle - w/ Dude York & Pony Time @ Cairo
August 9th - Vancouver, BC - w/ WEED @ the Red Gate
August 11th - Boise - w/ TBA @ the Crux
More dates TBA.

Go here to pre-order the Naughty by Natural  LP or cassette from Temple of Cairo.

Sometimes musicians make music, and it inspires others to cover it if you're lucky. Someone filmed Jesse Stewart cover Donnie Dumphy's "Cry Tunes." Stewart does such a great job speeding it up and belt out the lyrics like he wrote it. I found this on Reddit, and one commenter linked the original, so you can compare and contrast.

Calexico has been posting photos from Mexico, and it looks like they're back in the Old Pueblo to start recording their follow-up to Algiers.

Here's a photo from their Facebook page:

It's not a KFMA Day Festival if there isn't a controversy before the headliner hits the stage. My news feed was full of friends and family snapping selfies and grumbling about weather conditions on Saturday, May 24, at the outdoor music Fest in the Kino Stadium. The enthusiastic tone took an abrupt turn when Rome Ramirez, Sublime's lead singer, started tweeting from the event.

Rome accused Linkin Park of calling the cops on the band for smoking marijuana, so the authorities confiscated their drug paraphernalia. There's a rumor that the band was "allergic to pot." Stranger things have happened?

So, naturally Rome took his pent-up aggression to Twitter:

Linkin Park called the cops on us and said that they were allergic to pot. cops came and took all our weed while we on stage. Bitch shit

— Rome (@RomeMusica) May 25, 2014

The Tucson Jazz Institute "Concord" Combo started Monday's windy launch party on the Playground Bar & Lounge rooftop. The jazz band recently took first place in the High School Open Combo Division at this year's Next Generation Jazz Festival, and recently crowdfunded $11,000 to embark on a 7-day tour through Europe. The unofficial host of the evening was local attorney Elliot Glicksman, and he couldn't be more excited to announce the ambitious news. Glicksman is one of the many driving forces and sponsors in next year's HSL Properties: Tucson Jazz Festival.



The Jazz Fest will be a 10-day celebration starting on Friday, Jan. 16, until Sunday, Jan. 25. There will be a free outdoor concert on Martin Luther King Day, Jan. 19, tentatively located at the Mercado San Agustin. The intention is to bring thousands of people downtown, increase use of the streetcar and attract tourism during the winter season. "We are bringing some hot jazz under our winter sun," Mayor Jonathan Rothschild said at the press conference. 

The Fox Tucson Theatre, Rialto and Hotel Congress will be the primary locations for the predominantly downtown family event. The Festival's executive director Yvonne Ervin said that  Dianne Reeves and the Hot Sardines are the only confirmed act at this time. "January in Tucson is the perfect time to enjoy and celebrate jazz music," Ervin said.

Ervin was the founding director of the Tucson Jazz Society and marketing director for the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. She coordinated the Mingus Festival in 1993, and organized the world's longest running women's jazz celebration: Primavera Jazz Fest. Ervin told me that she was the Weekly's first Jazz columnist. The Jazz Festival's artistic directors are L.A. Emmy Award-winning vocalist Jeff Haskell and managing director of Modern Works Music Publishing, Dan Coleman.


The event sponsors include Jim Click Automotive, Holualoa Companies, Tucson Jazz Society, Sinfonia HealthCare Corp., Law Office of JoJene Mills, P.C., Northern Trust Company and more.

Ervin says that offers have been made for some notable musicians, but plans on booking local and regional talent, to perform and open for the major acts.

For more information go to tucsonjazz.org and like the Facebook page for updates.