by Joshua B. Hoe

Today's playlist was (kind of) a collaborative effort that happened in an odd way.  I was reading my daily dump of news stories from Google Alerts and I got to to a great article by a fellow named Jason P. Woodbury about Protomartyr (one of my favorite bands). 

It is a tribute to the music of Arizona from the 90's to now.

Now, I write and tweet a ton of stuff about Protomartyr in hopes it is helpful to getting more people to their shows or to their great album The Agent Intellect. Because of this, I have read a ton of articles about the band. This was the best article I have read about Protomartyr this year.  So, in the spirit of credit where credit is due, I looked Mr. Woodbury up on Twitter and sent him a complement.

Now, the article was about Protomartyr playing shows in Arizona, and I used to live in the Tempe area. Strangely enough, he wrote me back  and we got in a Twitter conversation about Arizona bands from the 90's to now. 

This playlist comes from that discussion (it includes several current Arizona bands that he recommended). So, thanks to Mr. Woodbury for the great album and the great suggestions!

1. Vows, Ohioan, American Spirit Blues

2. Amen, Slow Moses, Charity Binge

3. Witchdoctor, Sidewinders, Witchdoctor (formerly Sand Rubies FYI)

4. Helen Reddy, The Piersons,  Humbucker

5. Salvation, Destruction Unit, Negative Feedback Resistor

6.  Killer, XIXA, Bloodline

7. Agua Fria, Trans Van Santos, Moon Mirage

8. Hanging Out With Ray, Dead Hot Workshop, Karma Covered Apple

9. Backwater, Meat Puppets, Too High To Die

10. Somehow, Someway, The Pistoleros, Hang On To Nothing

11. Cheatin', Gin Blossoms,  New Miserable Experience

Well, that was nostalgic, I have had drinks with a ton of the older bands on that playlist (used to hang out with Dead Hot and Pierson's all the time). Thanks again to  Jason Woodbury for the conversation and the recommendations!

I should probably give two important shout outs here. First, for decades, the heart of Arizona music was a guy named Doug Hopkins who committed suicide in 1993. Hopkins was one of the co-founders of the Gin Blossom's and wrote many of their biggest hits. He also played with the Zubia brothers who are represented in the playlist (The Pistoleros).

Another important shout out goes to a bar whose symbol was Hopkins iconic Gibson guitar. Long Wong's was "the bar" for upcoming and new music acts in Tempe, Arizona and the home base for bands like Dead Hot Workshop, Gin Blossoms, Satellite, Pistoleros, Gloritone, and many others. Long Wong's became one of the casualties when the big money folks realized that Mill Avenue (adjacent to the central campus for Arizona State University) was a potential gold mine. 

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the playlist!

Did you enjoy the playlist? What are your favorite Arizona bands? Who did I leave out? Let me know, leave a comment!