Music of Arizona

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Music of the United States
Local music
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Arizona's musical history has been heavily influenced by Mexican immigrants. Banda, corridos, mariachi and conjunto became very popular in Arizona in the 20th century and innovative scenes popped up in immigrant communities across the state.

Other major influences come from styles popular throughout the rest of the United States.

Contents

[edit] Flagstaff

Flagstaff has a community (non-professional) orchestra, the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra. The FSO includes both townspeople and faculty and students from Northern Arizona University. The Orpheum Theater is the biggest performing venue in northern Arizona. The city hosts two music festivals, the Flagstaff Folk Festival and the Flagstaff Music Festival.

[edit] Phoenix

Phoenix is a center for musical innovation, and has been called a rock mecca by Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World [1]. Jimmy Eat World, which gained fame as an emo rock group, is one of the most popular band to come from Phoenix in recent years.

Tempe (home of Arizona State University) and Mesa also coexist with Phoenix as part of the musical scene.

The nickname "Phoenix Rock City" has caught on with some in the area, and there is local pride based on even such things as area codes (i.e. the 4-HATE-0 crew, the chanting of "602" at hardcore shows in the early 1990s, etc.)

In the 1960s, rock and R&B bands inspired by British Invasion groups like The Beatles appeared in Phoenix. The most famous musician to emerge from this era was Alice Cooper, along with Bill Spooner (most famously of The Tubes); local stars included The Superfine Dandelion, Mike Condello, The Grapes of Wrath, Phil & the Frantics and Floyd & Jerry.

The group Pages was formed by Phoenix residents Richard Page and Steve George, who later formed the nucleus of the pop-rock group Mr. Mister.

The 1980s rock band Flotsam and Jetsam were also prominent.

CeCe Peniston is among the best-known Black musical performers from this area. Hip-hop groups frequently visit and there is also local talent.

Phoenix boasts a renowned orchestra, the Phoenix Symphony.

Prominent venues have included Compton Terrace (a large stage area in the desert), Dodge Theater, the Mason Jar, Modified Arts, the Paper Heart Gallery, The Trunk Space, Four White Walls, The Willow House, The Marquee Theatre, Club Rio, Long Wong's (also famous for its chicken wings), Nita's Hideaway, the Sun Club, and other smaller locations. Several independent promotion companies have started operating, giving the Phoenix musicgoer many choices any given night for entertainment. These include Lucky Man Productions, SceneIsDead Concerts, Copperstate Productions, The Good Shows, The Shizz, Modest Proposal Music, and Fizzle Productions.

Dance clubs in Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tempe are active, especially with students. For many years, Phoenix was a common place for "raves", dance parties hosted in typically isolated locations.

Hispanic/Latino music has a large following, and numerous import stores exist throughout the city for it. There are also several Spanish-language music radio stations. The annual "Fiestas Patrias" celebration brings many Mexican musicians to town, with groups such as Los Tigres del Norte.

Dolan Ellis has lived in Phoenix most of his adult life. He moved to LA in the early 1960s, where he achieved national fame as an original member of the Grammy-winning folk group, the New Christy Minstrels. Dolan returned to Phoenix after a whirlwind success, while the group was still on top. In February 1966, Governor Sam Goddard appointed Dolan as Arizona's Official State Balladeer. Now Dolan has served 10 governors in that capacity, with no break in service. His work has earned him many awards, including selection as the first Arizona Culture Keeper, and having Senator John McCain read his accomplishments into the Congressional Record. Dolan spent a few years away from Phoenix from about 1993 through 2003, to found the Arizona Folklore Preserve in Ramsey Canyon. He still commutes to the AFP, where he continues to serve as Artist-in-Residence, about twice a month. He maintains a website, [dolanellis.net http://www.dolanellis.net].

Joe Bethancourt is another long-time resident that has achieved fame with his music.

Chester Bennington, lead singer for Linkin Park, is from Phoenix. Another prominent Phoenix musician, a musician with whom Chester Bennington has collaborated, is DJ Z-Trip.

The downtown Phoenix arts scene has flourished, bringing more venues and artists based on Grand Avenue, such as peformers Haunted Cologne, Sweet Bleeders, Colorstore, Back Ted N Ted, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Ryan Avery, Brodie Foster Hubbard, Treasure Mammal, Fatigo, etc., and places like Trunk Space, Modified, and Paper Heart Gallery.

[edit] Phoenix 1980s hardcore

Main article: Phoenix hardcore

In the early 1980s, Phoenix saw a vibrant hardcore punk scene. The biggest bands included the Feederz, Jody Foster's Army and Meat Puppets, the latter of which combined country influences and became a major influence on grunge music.

[edit] Tucson

The city of Tucson, Arizona, has an Official Troubador position, currently Ted Ramirez. Ramirez is a singer and songwriter who uses both English and Spanish lyrics, as well as singing in O’odham; he is also an Arizona Culture Keeper. The city of Tucson also produced the Ronstadt family, which most famously includes Linda Ronstadt; her brother, Michael Ronstadt, is a popular local musician.

Tucson's music festivals include the Norteño Music Festival & Street Fair, which celebrates the Mexican-American style of norteño. Tucson supports an orchestra called the Tucson Symphony Orchestra.

The first weekend in May each year, the Tucson Kitchen Musicians Association, host the Tucson Folk Festival, a huge 2-day event on four stages, with about 100 acoustic music acts. The first festival was held in 1986.

Tucson boasts some of the best musicians, including several who have achieved national fame and recognition. Lalo Guerrero, known as the Father of Chicano Music and a recipient of the National Medal of Arts among many other awards, was born in Tucson, where he lived until his early 20s. But his heart was always in Tucson, and he returned there as often as possible, whether he was living in San Diego, Los Angeles, or, as in the last decades of his life, Palm Springs. Lalo died on March 17, 2005, at the age of 89. After services in Palm Springs, his ashes were returned to Tucson where a beautiful memorial tribute was held. On April 17, 2005, Lalo was one of the first inductees in the Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame.

Travis Edmonson was named Tucson's Singing Ambassador of Goodwill in 1975, a mayoral appointment that still stands today. Lalo Guerrero was an inspiration to Travis, a musician of Anglo descent who grew up in Nogales and spent a lot of time across the border absorbing the culture and developing a unique ability for singing and playing the native music of Mexico. Travis and his friend Roger Moore (who later became a famous actor before marrying an even more famous actress, Ann-Margret) were well-known at the University of Arizona for serenading women on campus. Travis went on to fame as a member of the Gateway Singers and especially as half of the Bud & Travis folk (and Mexican music) duo that was together off an on from about 1958 to 1965, producing 10 albums that continue to thrill their fans today. Read more about Travis and his current activities, and listen to his phenomenal voice at www.travisedmonson.com.

Travis was inducted as an Arizona Culture Keeper in September 2005. There is now a portrait of the handsome Travis and his beautiful guitar at the Westin Kierland Resort in Scottsdale. His citation includes these words: "Edmonson has been at the vanguard of the movement to bring Latin music north of the border."

Tim Wiedenkeller has only lived in Tucson for 5 or 6 years, but he has made a huge impression as a musician. Tim has been referred to accurately as "a musical explorer." He can be entirely down to earth with bluegrass music (such as his original "Long Tom") or otherworldly (as with the duet of his original classical banjo song, "Lama" with world-renowned sarod master, Stephen James). As a composer, singer (with a beautiful tenor voice), instrumentalist (focusing primarily on guitar, banjo, and mandolin), Tim embraces genres as diverse as the aforementioned bluegrass, classic country, jazz, classical, and more. And at all, he is wonderful! As a new Tucsonan, a favorite musical style of Tim's is something he refers to as "Sonoran." Tim himself wrote a song that fits the special category of music of Southern Arizona and North-Central Mexico, that wonderful desert region. His song is a tribute to Tucson, a universal lament to dying traditions. The title is "New Old Pueblo." At www.timwiedenkeller.com, you can check his schedule, listen to classical banjo numbers from Milagros, and watch for his long-awaited release of his vocal songs on the "Soul House" CD.

Some other famous Tucson musicians include Bob Nolan, Katie Lee, and Rex Allen. Bob Nolan, a founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and the composer of classics such as "Cool Water" and "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," is a Tucson High graduate and is said to have written "Cool Water" while still in school.

Katie Lee moved to Tucson around the age of 1, and is also a Tucson High grad. This beautiful woman has enjoyed a successful career as an actress and folk singer. She is also an activist, and her cause is well-explained in her book, "All My Rivers Are Gone": Glen Canyon never should have been flooded to create Lake Powell, and the lake should now be drained so her beautiful canyon can be reclaimed. Katie also wrote a book about cowboy music and recorded a double LP (with Travis Edmonson) by the same name: "Ten Thousand Goddam Cattle."

Rex Allen was the singing cowboy who replaced Roy Rogers in the waning years of that golden era. A native of Willcox, Arizona, he lived in Tucson in his later years.

Tucson enjoys a vital music community, with organizations dedicated to bluegrass, blues, folk (general), jazz, and numerous other genres.

At the age of 11, John Denver received his first guitar from his grandmother while living in Tucson.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

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