WELCOME TO HOMEGROWN!

A Local Music Segment airing every Monday through Friday at 11pm w/ Mo! These next few weeks, our Homegrown bands are battling it out to play Tempe Oktoberfest by Four Peaks Brewing @ Tempe Town Lake. Check out the bands competing this week and vote for your favorite, if you wanna see ’em play LIVE at Oktoberfest October 13th-15th.

Monday:

“For over half a decade Japhy’s Descent has been rocking out in every local venue throughout the Phoenix metro area. Their combination of blues, hard rock and classic rock comes is an electrifying sound whether it’s found on record or in their stunning live show. If Japhy’s Descent first record was Just A Peak (2011), everything since then has been the entire mountain range, it seems everything they do is a blues drenched, psychedelic, rock odyssey and keeps going. Japhy’s Descent consists of Travis (lead vocals/guitar), Martin (lead guitar), Brian (bass), and James (drums). Together they have crafted an amazing sound that has garnered a loyal and fervent fan base. Their shows are always an amazing experience that attract more interest with each passing gig.

The band itself was started by Travis when he was doing solo acoustic shows, and their name was inspired by the pinnacle moment in Jack Kerouac’s Dharma Bums. It’s the moment where Jack Kerouac realizes that anything is possible with the support of the people he surrounded. This sentiment has guided Japhy’s Descent from the beginning and because of that they keep making great records, each one surpassing its predecessor. The first great record Japhy’s Descent released was the Feedback EP, which was a four song affair previewing their following release. This led to their stunning double album Moon Noon, featuring one disc of acoustic tracks joined by their fellow artists in the community and the other disc featuring the raw rock’n’roll of Japhy’s Descent. Both of these releases were produced by Brian and they stood out as a clear sign that Japhy’s Descent had truly come in to their own.

This fall Japhy’s Descent released their newest masterpiece and highly anticipated new record, Christopher Robin an album inspired by Benjamin Hoff’s book The Tao of Pooh. Featuring singles like “The Owl” and “Bounce” it is their best work to date. It far surpasses their previous releases in scope, vision and sheer brilliance. In concept, execution and delivery Christopher Robin is one of the finest full length album of the year. They celebrated its release with a massive block party on Mill Avenue in Tempe which featured local legends Dead Hot Workshop. Clearly, Japhy’s Descent is on a roll and their music seems to get better with each show, each recording and each passing day.”
courtesy of Mitchell Hillman of Phoenix New Times.

You can catch Japhy’s Decent on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Preview their song “The Pocket” below, then vote to see them play at Four Peaks Oktoberfest in Tempe at the bottom of the page!

Tuesday:

Divided Minds is a four-piece alternative band consisting of Sean Collins (vocals), Ethan Cottor (bass), Deven Palay (drums) and Josh Peters (guitar). They have risen quickly in the music scene to open for such nationals as The Summer Set, Austin Jones, Slaves, Capture the Crown, Ice Nine Kills, and Wage War to name a few. They have performed at many major venues including Camelback Ranch Stadium, Tempe Marketplace, Desert Ridge Entertainment District, and the Nile Theater.

Seasoned way beyond their years, teen band Divided Minds, has toured the regional circuit interviewing on several radio stations along the way, including iHeart Radio Mix 96.9, the Q 102.9 (KQST), KWSS 103.9 and ALT AZ 93.3, to name a few.

Just named in the Top 10 Best Metro Phoenix Bands under 21 by the New Times, this energetic 4-piece pop punk band has been featured at iHeart’s star-studded event, Battle of the Burbs and has opened for such major artists as Ice Nine Kills, The Summer Set, Capture the Crown, Wage War and many more. Their music has appeared on Fox 10 news, and they have received major press in the Phoenix New Times, applauding their music video “Fine With It”.

Divided Minds released their five-song EP, Perception in April 2016, featuring their two singles “Ch. 1 Pg. 14” and “Fine With It”. Music videos for these singles, as well as their track “Time Goes On” are streaming on their website, dividedmindsband.com.

Currently, the band is preparing for a summer tour to promote the release of their new EP, which they are now in the studio recording.

 You can find Divided Minds on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. Preview their new song “Take My Hand” below, if you love it, vote to hear it again for the Friday replay, below!

 

Wednesday:

Girl Repellent’s been a kick ass band since 1997 and still continue to rock the local scene in Arizona. They’re a pop-punk band outta Gilbert, AZ. They don’t get together and play as much as they used to, but when they do, they kill it! You can see Girl Repellent live this Friday at The Nile/Underground in Mesa and on Facebook and Bandcamp. Check out their song “Thanks But No Thanks” below and if you wanna see em play Tempe Oktoberfest, vote for Girl Repellent at the bottom of the page!

 

Thursday:

Panic Baby is a 4 piece band formally known as The Real Fits. Raquel Willand (vocals), Nick Smith (Bass), Jared Wood (Guitar) and Devin Russell (Drums) all wanted turning point, for them as a band, in a way defining who they are stylistically and where they wanted to go. Their new and first song as Panic Baby is “Heavy”, engineered and produced by Dominic Armstrong at Fivethirteen Recording Studios and Mastered by Neato Mastering. You can catch Panic Baby live at the Valley Bar, October 3rd and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Preview their track “Heavy” below, then if you feel they deserve to play Four Peak’s Oktoberfest, October 13th – 15th, give them your vote at the bottom of the page!