18 June 6th-June 12th, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | goes every year. This multigenerational appeal has helped expand the fan base for RCPM and other bands that play Circus Mexicus. To encourage a younger audience, a decade ago it began offering a deeply discounted “student” ticket for ages 14 to 24. “We did that so parents who are into live music can afford to expose their kids to a live music show,” Ross says. Student ticket sales have increased 10 years in a row, he adds. “That’s one of the things I’m most proud of,” Ross notes. “You can say with confidence that it spawned the next generation of live music in Phoenix.” One of those performers is singer/song- writer Natalie Merrill of Scottsdale. This is the 10th year she’s been to Circus Mexicus; she started going at age 18 and in 2018, started performing at the show. “Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers and Circus Mexicus have opened so many doors for me,” she says. This year, Merrill is playing a solo set at Leo’s Bar on Thursday and with an all-star backing band on Friday made up of Curtis Grippe (Dead Hot Workshop) and Scott Andrews and Thomas Laufenberg (both of Ghetto Cowgirl and Hit the Earth). “Fun fact: Thomas actually taught me how to play guitar when I was 13,” Merrill recalls. She adds, “Going there for so long and being in the crowd for so long and then now being on the stage and seeing the crowd, it’s the coolest full-circle thing.” She also credits The Black Moods for helping her navigate the music business. Naffah says he’s impressed by the new generation of musicians because they know more technically and are gravitating away from backing tracks in favor of playing their own instruments. His son, Miles, 17, is in a band called Prefect and opened for RCPM last December at the Van Buren. They might play a future Circus Mexicus. “We’re in a really good place musically with this generation,” Naffah says. “They’re just rocking again, and it’s really nice to see.” Here’s to life Even though RCPM has been instrumental in providing platforms for other acts and in cultivating a new generation of musicians, don’t look for it to give up its headline spot anytime soon. When asked if he hopes to play another 25 years, like one of his favorite bands, The Rolling Stones, Naffah says, “I’ll play till my arms fall off. It’s my catharsis. It makes me feel human in every capacity. ... I’d either be dead or in prison if I didn’t have the drums.” Part of the recipe for Circus Mexicus’ success, he says, is the energy the bands bring. “I don’t leave anything on the table,” says Naffah. “I go out there and play as hard as I can and as passionately as I can because that’s the only way I know how to do it. Yeah, it’s exhausting and we play three-, four-hour shows and I’m totally exhausted, but I get up and do it all over again.” In addition, Clyne said the esprit de corps among the performers, managers, venues, crew and more keep crowds coming back to Circus Mexicus. “We give a shit,” he says. “We care about our fans and our performances and our community. We always put forth our best and made sure it was fun.” Naffah adds, “We’ve created the community, and it’s become more than the music. It’s become a soundtrack for people’s lives … The music has been a connector between fans, between bands, between families, between generations.” Circus Mexicus tickets are available online at circusmexicus.net. Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers rock out at Circus Mexicus. (Photo by Blushing Cactus Photography) Down Mexico Way from p 16
