Tempe History Museum
Zia Records, the beloved local record chain, celebrated its 40th anniversary this year, so it was the perfect time to look back at the history of one of Phoenix s enduring businesses. From its humble beginnings, when founder Brad Singer stocked the first store with records from his own collection, to its present-day status as a Valley mainstay, Zia has had a colorful history, one that is recorded in Benjamin Leatherman s feature.
Eddy Detroit has lived a life few would believe.
Jim Louvau
It s hard to describe Eddy Detroit, but Robrt Pela manages in his cover feature on the longtime fixture of the Phoenix music scene. Pela takes us through the artist s beginnings in Michigan to his life today, including gigs in London, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas; his stint as a tarot reader, and the impact he s made on the local community. You have to read it to believe it.
The evening of January 2, 1993, was a chaotic shitshow at the Silver Dollar. Two inches of toilet water from a stopped-up men’s room toilet had flooded out onto the middle of the dance floor. In the mosh pit, countless pairs of Chucks were getting drenched. Mohawks were mussed. Performing onstage to the crowd of about 400 was Green Day, less than one year from the release of
Dookie, the breakthrough album that would catapult the Bay Area punk act to superstardom. Many of the songs in the band’s setlist that night would eventually become radio anthems.
The show was also the final hurrah for the Silver Dollar. Starting in December 1990 30 years ago this month the now-legendary downtown Phoenix venue burned bright for two years, hosting underground shows and dance parties at a dive bar near Fourth and Madison streets. In those days, downtown Phoenix was a nightlife wasteland with a reputation for being a ghost town after sundown.