![Front cover of the February issue of the Tempe Starving Artist zine. Photo courtesy Tempe Starving Artist Facebook](http://www.statepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/4-194x300.jpg)
Saturday night, after experiencing the shenanigans that are the Idiotarod, I headed to Long Wong’s in Tempe for Tempe Starving Artist’s February zine release party.
The event featured five bands: Nathan Rose, Kachina, Sundressed (who was also at The Underground Foundation house show I covered a month ago), Instructions and Huckleberry.
The first two-man act at 9 p.m. was Nathan Rose, comprised of lead singer and acoustic guitarist Nathan Rose and guest drummer Matt Tanner. The style was folky with just the right amount of grit and I loved it. The best part, though, was probably their last song, a soft rendition of the song “Stand By Me,” originally performed by Ben E. King. Some of the lyrics were forgotten, others were switched around, but you know what? A for effort, Nathan Rose! I truly enjoyed it.
As we established in the last post I am (unfortunately) still under 21, and because the show was held at a bar, I was promptly kicked out at 10 p.m. when the second band, Kachina, went on . . . OK, so not promptly. I stayed only for a few minutes longer to hear Kachina start their set and grab a photo, but then I left — I swear!
![Nathan Rose and Matt Tanner were the first to go on. Photo by Alexandria Conrad](http://www.statepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/115-300x225.jpg)
Kachina is comprised of six members, only five of whom were there. The drummer, Mike Spero, couldn’t make it to the show so Bradley Cluff, who plays the keys, improvised with some drum effects on his keyboard. During set up, I also saw lead singer and guitarist Cole Kiburz place a big drum in front of him. Lead guitarist Zachary Fischenich had tambourines within reach. Obviously the band is great at improvisation. Oh, and Adam Morgan on viola and Matthew Gilbert on bass were also present.
Anyway, the TSA February zine features some really great art. If you’re not familiar with this organization, let me fill you in. Tempe Starving Artist puts out a monthly local art and music zine, as well as organizes community art and music events such as this one.
![I only got to catch a few minutes of Kachina, unfortunately. Photo by Alexandria Conrad](http://www.statepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/31-300x225.jpg)
I would check out their zine if I were you. It’s packed with event dates, comics, photography, art, poems, reviews and more. Also, a few months ago I had the pleasure of interviewing one of the founders, Robbie Pfeffer, and he’s a really cool dude who puts a lot of work into everything he does. So support him in all his endeavors . . . or at least this one. Also, the zine is free, so there’s another plus.
If you’d like to reach me with comments, concerns or suggestions, you can email me at anconrad13@gmail.com or tweet me at @alliectersely