The 2013 Southwest Terror Fest is approaching and the new (full) poster is available and with one quick glance you can tell it will be an event to be reckoned with. In fact, it is double the mayhem of last year's inaugural event, featuring 65 bands over the course of four days at the Rock, Thursday, Oct. 10 through Sunday, Oct. 13. A limited amount (only 50) of the 4-day VIP passes are available at a reasonable price of $55, and single day passes are available at the door.

David Rodgers might be one of the harder working people in Arizona when it comes to the metal music scene, and he has been able to build this event into what it is now, which is a marathon of metal madness. It would fantastic to see this continue to grow and become a mainstay of Arizona music.

Any local music fan should consider attending at least one night, if not two, or better yet, all four nights.

Check for updates here. Also, the poster:

So call in sick or take a vacation day on Monday, Oct. 14th, because the 2013 Southwest Terror Fest is coming and it's all out of bubblegum.

Although there were many fantastic acts last year, and the local bands were some of the highlights. Most of the local bands played on the second stage, letting the out-of-towners play on the main stage. The second stage is is on the floor, and the experience can be both intimate and chaotic. Having the band so close is a nice touch, but at the same time on some heavier songs the crowd can get a bit rowdy and even mosh into the band members.

Powered Wig Machine was the first band that really moved the crowd on the second stage. They played as if they were on the main stage and commanded the room with hard and unique anthems and genuinely put the room in order. This is a band that should be looked at in the coming future. They represent a cross-section between groovy funk-metal and a sludgy desert rock. They didn't necessarily play for the crowd but still managed to own it.

In all fairness, I'm a huge fan of Anakim and that was my personal highlight of the Friday show. In this respect I'd like to say that they need to play a bit more around town and tour past the state line with another act. Instead of being a prog-metal band, they're more of a metal band with some progressive hints. The sound is very straight forward and hits you in the gut and the head at the same time. Anakim has a phenominal tension-building intro in "Calling the Wind" that keeps the momentum building until a heavy burst of energy hits with the main part of the song, at which point it sends the crowd into a rampage.

The second night's highlight was, for me personally, again, the second stage. I'd always prefer to see local acts, and Godhunter was the headline of choice. With an LP release on the horizon, they are fully capable of playing for a full set and have played enough to always entertain the crowd. One can tell immediately that this band has enough experience that they know how to jump around the stage, keep the audience engaged beyond really acceptable limits, but yet still play amidst the chaos. At least twice someone fell over a mic or an amp and was pulled back into the crowd. They know how to let their roadies (and friends) pick up the fallen equipment and play on. David Rodgers, the guitarist and occasional singer, is the one that really put the work into making the Southwest Terrorfest happen. He is extremely dedicated to the craft and the scene, and his passion echoes through the band. Never missing a beat, they played with all-out and dominated the second stage of the second night.

I'm looking forward to many years of this showcase of music. I'd hope that it can expand to include outside stages or, perhaps even, downtown venues and alleyways. Tucson has always been a known underground scene for great music on all levels and types of music. This has the making to become a desitination point for metla fans everywhere.

From 6 to 10 p.m., and most likely a little later, you can take in some great bands for a good reason. Whiskey Tango,140 S Kolb Road, hosts a benefit for AmoSphere drummer James Hunt, who was recently diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer.

Hunt's news arrived around the same time his mother passed away. To get home, AmoSphere held a fundraiser for their drummer at a Chicago Bar gig on Friday, April 12. Band leader AmoChip Dabney told the Range that fundraiser raised about $3,000 to send their friend home and help pay for Hunt's mother's funeral expenses.

The fundraiser tonight is for Hunt's medical treatment with one goal in mind — helping the drummer with med expenses that can possibly shrink his tumor, which is preventing Hunt from being able to have surgery. The goal tonight is $7,000.

Thirteen bands are scheduled to play tonight including AmoSphere, known for getting a crowd on the dance floor. Other bands include Neon Prophet, Crosscut Saw, Railbirdz, Bryan Dean Trio, Corey Spector, Nod Squad, Top Dead Center, AC Greenlaw and Lodestar, Midnight Blues Band, Tall Paul Band, Chilli Willi, Heart to Heart, comic Dan Wilkins, belly dancers and more.

"We plan to squeeze out every dollar like a Jerry Lewis Telethon thing," Dabney said. "What's wonderful is that the bar is open until 2 a.m., so we'll be playing into the night. I think the even will easily run until 11:30 (p.m.)."

Dabney added that the number of bands who stepped forward to help out didn't surprise him. First, "Tucson is a very empathetic city."

"But James is also a very loved friend and musician. He's a good guy and one of the top six drummers in town and people really just like the guy."

Dabney said he Hunt began playing together around 2004. His drummer at the time had passed away, and he asked Hunt if he wanted to play with him. "He wasn't playing around that much. That sure changed once we started playing together. A lot of bands would have him. He's a profession and a great person."

AmoSphere plays a variety of music — reggae, blues, rock and zydeco. Dabney said Hunt's experience was obvious from the beginning as he easily moved from style to style.

While Hunt is unable to keep working while receiving treatment, he still wants to play with the band as much as possible. "He said to me, 'It's one of the very few things I have left that I really enjoy.'" So, a few drummers are read to give him breaks as needed, and Dabney said he's happy to keep his friend playing with them as long as Hunt wants to be at every gig.

Can't make it to the show tonight? Would be a shame, but there's the James Hunt Fund accessed through a PayPal account. It's posted on Dabney's web page, but only accessed by Dabney's partner.

• Courtesy of the Sun Bones Facebook Page

This week we’ve been introducing you to the bands playing at this year’s Festival en el Barrio, and local act Sun Bones (formerly known as Boreas) is one tenth of the significant talent slated to take the stage on March 24.

It’s clear that Sun Bones already have their hometown’s endorsement - they won Up-and-Coming Artists of the Year at the 2012 TAMMIES - but members Evan Casler, Sam Golden, Bob Hanshaw and Seth Vietti have musical influences that extend far beyond the borders of the Old Pueblo, naming Radiohead, Paul Simon, Animal Collective and the Beach Boys as musical muses on their website.

Services for Jesus Acedo, the guitarist for Black Sun Ensemble who passed away on March 4, have been announced.

There is also a new online tribute page here, where you can leave your thought and memories about Jesus and which has all the details. From that page:

The Cordials, a Tucson supergroup of sorts, will celebrate the release of their debut album this Saturday at the Whistle Stop Depot.

The band—Laura Kepner-Adney (Silver Thread Trio), Courtney Robbins (Seashell Radio), Cristina Williams (the Modeens) and Winston Watson (Greyhound Soul, Saint Maybe)—got together in 2011 and recorded an eclectic pop-rock album that reflects the band members' accumulated experience as well as a desire to strike out for somewhere new.

At 127 W. Fifth St., the Whistle Stop Depot is an old warehouse converted to a performance space. Doors for the $5 show open at 8, with Sun Bones (formerly Boreas) opening at 9, The Cordials performing at 10 and the Andrew Collberg Band playing at 11. Local draft beer, specialty cocktails and The Chef’s Kitchen food truck will be available.

The Weekly talked to the band for this week's music feature, but also got the rundown of Not Like Yesterday:

1. State of the Union
“It was the first (Cordials) one I wrote,” says Kepner-Adney, the band's singer-guitarist.
“It’s about relationships, between human beings on the planet Earth,” she says, laughing.
Lead guitarist Robbins says the song includes a “delay freakout” that charges at the listener.

2. Lemonade
“‘Lemonade’ is a strange little ditty I came up with a couple years ago,” says singer-bassist Williams, also of the Modeens. “I didn’t really think anything of it. It was just this weird song. I couldn’t get the Modeens interested in it. I played it for the Cordials and it worked. It’s about the heat in Tucson. It’s totally tongue in cheek, a ridiculous little song I never thought would be played, then it turned into this punk song that’s a whole lot of fun to play.”

• Jesus Acedo

It saddens us to report that local musician Jesus Acedo passed away on Sunday, March 3. No cause of death is known at this time.

Acedo, a masterful and unique guitarist, performed with his on-and-off psychedelic rock band Black Sun Ensemble (or Black Sun Legion, as it was sometimes called) since its formation in the mid-1980s. Black Sun Ensemble's releases received fervent praise in magazines such as Rolling Stone and by tastemakers like famed music critic and musicologist Byron Coley, who wrote the liner notes for the 2001 reissue of the band's 1985 self-titled debut album. The band opened for Camper Van Beethoven on its Key Lime Pie tour in 1989 and performed at showcases at South by Southwest several times.

But, despite his band's innovative music and the loyal cult-fandom it inspired, Acedo — who often identified himself by an ever-changing list of monikers: Bolt of Apollo, Psycho Master El, Prince Master Blaster, Dada Gaga, etc. — suffered from mental illness that led to substance abuse and landed him in and out of jail and psych wards repeatedly, all of which was difficult to witness for anyone who knew him to be the kind, sensitive soul he was.

These episodes were largely responsible for the on/off nature of Black Sun Ensemble, but longtime fans were encouraged by a recent band reunion. On Saturday, Feb. 23, Black Sun Ensemble performed its last show as part of an art opening at Solar Culture Gallery. Steven Eye, the arts space's proprietor, who describes Acedo as "a true visionary," says it was "a magical night" and recounted that one attendee, who was seeing the band for the first time, asked him, "Do these guys know how good they are?!"

Reportedly, Black Sun Ensemble had also recently been working on a new song for which Acedo had already finished his parts. The band plans to finish the recording.

Service arrangements are currently being conducted, and there will, no doubt, be benefits held for the family. We'll keep you posted about these details as we get them.

In the meantime, at the request of his family, a Facebook page called Jesus Acedo Memorial has been set up for his friends and loved ones to leave their thoughts and memories about Jesus. Please do so, as his family can use the support right now.

We at the Tucson Weekly offer his family our sincerest condolences at this difficult time.

Several links to articles and videos are below the jump.

I must confess, I'm a bit of a movie soundtrack geek. The first album I ever bought with my own hard-earned allowance was the A View to a Kill soundtrack, the James Bond movie with Duran Duran performing the theme song. I was a junior Duranie, I had to have it.

Beyond the theme song was the film score, composed by the legendary John Barry. I fell in love with the tone and mood of the music, and afterwards my ears perked open every time I watched any movie, always taking note of the score and how it matched the action on screen. A soundtrack aficionado was born.

I love soundtracks so much I have a show on 91.3 KXCI dedicated to them.

Imagine my delight when I found out the Loft Cinema is having a spaghetti western triple feature this Saturday, Feb. 2. Not just any spaghetti western triple feature, this is the Holy Trinity of spaghetti westerns, the "Man with No Name" trilogy: A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. All three of them are directed by Sergio Leone, starring Clint Eastwood and with music by the king-daddy film composer of all time, Ennio Morricone.

The award-winning maestro has well over 500 credits to his name, but it's the innovative spaghetti western scores he'll always be most well known for. Taking the "kitchen sink" approach to the films, Morricone threw in gunshots, whip cracks, whistles, music boxes, shouts, church bells, horror movie organs and surf guitar along with a sparse orchestra. The music, rather than being listless background fodder or cues for stock horse chases, gets first billing in the films. Morricone's score is always in the forefront, punctuating action or ratcheting up tension. Who can forget the scene in the graveyard at the end of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly with Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach and Eastwood in a Mexican standoff while "The Ecstasy of Gold" builds up the momentum to dizzying heights? It's no surprise that Leone actually directed the films to Morricone's scores, choreographing the actors every move to the whims of the music.

While I'm super excited to watch these great films on the big screen, I'm even more excited to simply listen.

The triple feature kicks off appropriately at High Noon. Ticket prices, individual show times and other information can be found at the Loft Cinema's website.

Tucson's The Resonars, recently the subject of a Weekly profile by Gene Armstrong, get some love from Spin in a brief piece posted on the no-longer-in-print mag's website today.

Burger Records, which will be releasing the band's new album Crummy Desert Sound on Jan. 29, is putting out a new cassette tape every day in the month of January, and Spin posted preview tracks from three of them: Detroit's The Go; Peach Kelli Pop, who will return to Tucson on March 12 to play a show with The Resonars at Tucson Live Music Space on the way out to SXSW; and The Resonars themselves.

Check out the songs here.

Anakim has been added to the Feb. 6 show at the Rock to round a night that will include a few of my current favorite bands in the area. Find some Super Bowl hangover cures in time for this event because it will be loud and heavy.

Meanwhile, Godhunter seems to be one of the harder working bands out and about right now with a tour, an upcoming album, "City Of Dust," promoting the scene and metal events, and now they have released a new video that can be seen at Metal Injection:

I know I just wrote about the first Iron Maiden, but the band that's coming to Tucson next week will not be playing any of their material. Instead, they will be covering material from the NWBHM Iron Maiden. The Iron Maidens, an all-female tribute band, will be coming to Casino del Sol next Thursday, January 17th. I've seen them before at the same venue and they are phenomenal when it comes to capturing the essence of the Maiden show and music, albeit, on a much, much smaller stage.

The funny thing is, every once in a while, I'll give a listen to their recorded material because it's interesting hearing a female vocal scream out Bruce Dickinson's parts (not to be confused with the cowbell Bruce Dickinson). The guitars are nearly dead-on against the original in most instances, and the drums are kept tight, and the very admirable Wanda keeps the Steve Harris bass gallop. They, at times, take a few liberties, but all in all, I would have never thought I would listen to a tribute band as an alternative to the original more than once. The band travels extensively around the world, much like the original Maiden, so I'm pleased to be able to see them once again.

Aces High: