Search Results for: plague vendor

Janky Smooth Top 10 ALBUMS of 2019 Rated by Contributors

Janky Smooth Central Command December 24, 2019

2019 was a year full of fresh faces releasing undeniable breakout albums and veterans making their returns to grace. Even though it may seem like singles are the logical way to release music in 2019, it would turn out that people want full and cohesive artistic statements with emotional twists and turns. Don’t believe the hype, all the devices we’ve surrounded ourselves with and all the information flooding our minds, we’re still human, the nature of our hearts has not changed much. Artists like Lingua Ignota with Caligula and FKA Twigs with Magdelene bore their souls onto record and the reception reciprocated their love and passion because this was their year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2j4vJWLz2E As much as our current culture emphasizes the importance of youth and the irrelevance of the old, a few veterans showed they had so much more fuel left in the tank. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds came back with a vengeance with Ghosteen, a return to the mournfulness that made him a goth God in the first place. Leonard Cohen released Thanks For The Dance posthumously, haunting us from the grave as if he can’t rest until we’ve really, truly learned everything we can form the old poet.

Janky Smooth Top 10 SHOWS of 2019 Rated by Contributors

Janky Smooth Central Command December 23, 2019

This decade saw numerous paradigm shifts that laid the groundwork for a future where people basically become some form of android. That’s nothing to fear, though…we’re still safe….Many predict we’re seeing the fall of the American empire or some kind of apocalypse…hopefully they only mean in the sense that we’re entering a new chapter in humanity’s being….Still, no sweat, right?…We can handle this….In 2019 Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” become the most successful song of all time….Code red! Abandon ship! Get your kicks in before the whole shit house goes down in flames! related content: Janky Smooth Top 10 Shows of 2018 Rated by Contributors Every genre of music saw scene defining moments but I guess that ought to happen every year. What was special about 2019 though, was all the reunions that went down. It’s as if when a band decides to get back together, Los Angeles is the first place they think to play just so all their artist friends can attend the show. A few examples of such reunions were: Bauhaus at the Hollywood Palladium, Heart to Heart at Sound and Fury, Stereolab at Desert Daze, The Locust at Desert Daze, Limp Bizkit at the Troubadour

Tearing Down the Orange Curtain: Social Distortion at Five Point Amphitheatre

Dave Unbuckled November 7, 2019

It has been forty years since Social Distortion burst onto Orange County’s rising punk scene, originating out of Fullerton house parties and small, legendary clubs such as The Cuckoos Nest and Safari Sams, but tonight they headlined the Five Point Amphitheatre in Irvine, CA. There’s something to be said about a ‘punk show’ in Irvine, one of the nation’s wealthiest zip codes, with no indication of a punk scene anywhere in sight. For one, a ‘punk show’ in Orange County is usually limited to a 200 person capacity club or bar, with a small stage. If you’re a veteran band, maybe you’ll be fortunate enough to share the stage at the Observatory. However, when you’re Social Distortion, one of the genres most successful and longest lasting groups, and you’re back in Orange County, you play the largest venue available — and bring a lot of your legendary friends to open up. The lineup for the show was respectable, but a little excessive, considering bands like Bully and Mannequin Pussy who opened the show, barely had anyone in attendance. It could also be that the capacity for the venue was up to 12,000 and there was roughly only 8,000 people day

Offspring is in the Air: Sabroso Taco & Music Fest

Dave Unbuckled April 24, 2019

We arrived in Dana Point to swarms of sunburnt bros in Black Flag tees just in time for the Adolescents to take the stage. The festival’s audience was starting to accumulate and the free ‘sampler’ beer glasses riddled the grass to indicate festival-goers had already switched to larger cups. It was early and the taco lines started to get backed up, so we hustled to Holy Smoke and got BBQ before we jumped in the pit. It should be noted that after attending at least 20 of these large punk festivals in the past five years, I get as impressed by the food as I do by the performances, and am probably more critical. related content: The Adolescents & The Dickies: Peckerwoods Gone Wild In Orange County Holy Smokes did not disappoint, I’m going to keep an eye out for them next summer. The Adolescents didn’t disappoint either. They’ve had a major resurgence in the past year, bookended by some of their strongest touring in decades and the tragic passing of long time Bassist Steve Soto. Highlights of the Adolescents’ set were their performances of “Who is Who”, which will be turning 40 soon, “Queen of Denial”, and a rare performance

Take This: Win 2 Tix & Goodie Bag to Dirty Penni Fest 2 at Echo+Plex

Janky Smooth Central Command June 14, 2017

Last year, Janky Smooth was smart enough to send a team over to the first installment of Dirty Penni Fest. We had Paige Vreede out to review the fledgling festival, Josh Allen out to shoot the bands and the people and Danny Baraz threw down a DJ set outside on patio of The Echo. But it’s not about us- it’s about the bands that played the fest which was a collaboration between the laundro-maniacs over at Dirty Laundry TV and the whiz kids at Penniback Records. Bands like Sloppy Jane, No Parents, Guantanamo Baywatch, Cherry Glazerr, our boys in Death Hymn… and of course, no event involving Dirty Laundry TV would be complete without the presence of the great Mike Watt and whatever battery of musicians accompany him- whether it be the “Secondmen” or in this case, the “Jom and Terry Show.” related content: Dirty Penni Fest- A Rock n Roll Romper Room for Young & Old “So whether you’re 14, 26, or 60 I think it’s safe to say we all found ‘home’ this past weekend. So let’s keep the DIY scene alive. These kids are our future.” – Paige Vreede This year, Dirty Penni Fest returns for

Punk Rock Bowling 2017: You Can’t Be What You Were…

Danny Baraz June 9, 2017

Looking out into the sea of people in the expanses that sprawl out from the upgraded festival stage at Punk Rock Bowling’s virgin location in the booming district of Downtown Las Vegas was a seismic life experience. Not just because of how fucking rad Punk Rock Bowling was this year but because all the events of the weekend set to the music of the festival served as a soundtrack to life’s highlight reel in my head. A series of events culminated into the bitter-sweetest regression of lonerism one could ever celebrate, as I stood alone, backstage, watching The Adicts play the best set I’d ever seen from them. Being 2 months out of knee surgery, that familiar human turbine engine of 7,k people dancing and swirling in front of the stage like a pack of bats taking flight at sun down or a school of fish changing direction in unison was unfamiliar from this vantage point- I’ve always preferred being IN the engine instead of being a spectator. Because when you’re in the pit, you’re dealing directly with any physical manifestation of frustration or anger that might have built up through the grind of life and you aren’t really thinking

The Janky New Year Top 10 SONGS of 2016 Rated by Contributors

Janky Smooth Central Command January 5, 2017

We don’t care what people say about you, 2016; Janky Smooth loves you. Sure, you skull fucked the country with a culturally divisive presidential election that scrambled our brains, pitted us against each other and made propaganda the norm. Yes, we were able to normalize the images of police gunning down unarmed civilians in the street and forced us to redefine the word “justified”. Granted, almost half of our country believes that global warming is either a hoax or overstated as the polar ice caps and ancient sea shelf melts and breaks off into the ocean at a rate more rapid than anyone could’ve dreamed or climate scientists had calculated. Sure, you took a massive amount of musicians, actors, artists, leaders and athletes that basically everyone on the planet loves the most. But you know what? At least you gave us some of the best independent hip hop, metal, electronic, punk and straight forward rock songs than any of your younger brother and sister centuries have sounded in quite some time. So we forgive you but now, We The People of Janky Smooth have to make some decisions on our favorites from the best songs of 2016. We’re up for

Ty Segall and The Muggers shot by Taylor Wong

The Janky New Year Top 10 Albums of 2016 Rated by Contributors

Janky Smooth Central Command January 2, 2017

What the fuck is up with publications that post their best of, year end lists of favorite records, songs and shows at the beginning of December? What’s more important- getting it out first or getting it “right”? RTJ3 dropped on Xmas Day, hardly enough time to absorb an entire album, much less rank it toward the top for top records of the year. But I would be pulling my own hair out if I missed acknowledging El-P as one of the best producers of this era, (sans the ghost writers that have become customary at his level). El-P is one of the most underrated rappers in hip hop, maybe because of the un-equaled political and social rhyme and flow of Killer Mike, who probably SHOULD crush Kanye in the 2020 Democratic Primary for president, not to mention the vocal booth but would bet most pure hip hop publications would favor Life of Pablo over the 3rd album by two middle aged guys who were probably pretty close to looking for a day job before their self titled debut album dropped in 2013. Day For Night Fest: Futurists of Audio & Visual Converge in Houston In my research to

How Riot Fest Chicago 2016 Survived The Misfits Subpar Performance

Danny Baraz September 28, 2016

I’ve been to A LOT of music festivals this year and last. Truth is, I’m getting kind of burned on them. I almost always end up having a great time but the enthusiasm I used to feel the weeks building up to them is almost gone. I wasn’t planning on attending Riot Fest again this year but once it was announced that The Misfits would be reuniting at the festival along with Dave Mother fucking Lombardo on drums, I knew I COULDN’T miss it. The Misfits are my favorite band of all time and if this festival set affects me anything like Doyle joining the Danzig Legacy Tour a few years back, then I was sure to find the perfect combination of tears of joy and the blood of strangers soaking my clothes. I died a little on the inside seeing some of the footy of The Misfits from the Denver stop of Riot Fest 2016. Not entirely because I missed their first show back but that was definitely a factor. I’m not sure if knowing what to expect from the stage props, the set list and the performance was a good or a bad thing. This year’s Riot Fest

Mish of White Lung at The Teragram shot by Johan Ramos

White Lung and Plague Vendor Whip Crowd Into Frenzy at Teragram Ballroom

Michelle Hernandez July 11, 2016

On Friday night at The Teragram Ballroom, fans swerved right into the impulsive energy of Whitter, California’s own, Plague Vendor, opening for badasses, White Lung. The band kicked their tour off right in the pit of Downtown Los Angeles, serving up the tastiest tracks from Plague Vendor’s new album, Bloodsweat. There was no blood in sight but there was plenty of sweat splattered on stage. I still get euphoric flashbacks of singer Brandon Blaine’s performance, shaking his chest, thrusting his hips and whipping his hair around. No doubt he is a mad and sexy genius. Plague Vendor was opening for the almighty White Lung but I was there to see PV. High Functioning Flesh also played and are included in our gallery below. I took a look around at the crowd and noted that there was a majority in the audience; T-shirts with the Bloodsweat album cover on them, spread out in the cluster of people. And if they weren’t already fans then they sure as hell left that night new fans. The lights transitioned to red. Brandon Blaine entered and a score of applause welcomed him. With no words exchanged between band mates, drummer Luke Perine started the show with the

Janky Smooth’s Top 20 Artists to Watch in 2016

Danny Baraz January 15, 2016

In identifying Janky Smooth’s Artists to Watch in 2016, there were a number of factors to take into consideration. There are different levels and plateaus musicians can ascend to in their careers. There is the release of their first EP/7”. There is the release of their debut album and of course, the all-important sophomore LP. Any predicted success after those milestones is hardly a prediction unless it involves a comeback. When we define our artists to watch in 2016, it is using any and all of these criteria to identify buzz worthy bands. We want to help our readers get the jump on artists before corporate money corrupts their artistic process too much. While there are bands in this list based in cities other than Los Angeles, LA is our home base and seeing these bands live is a part of the process of selection. If you can’t do it live, you can’t do it! This is Janky Smooth’s List of Artists to Watch in 2016 20. Cavanaugh- Collaboration between Open Mike Eagle and Serengeti Time & Materials by Cavanaugh (Open Mike Eagle & Serengeti) 19. So Pitted- Punk/Post Punk Seattle Group on Sub Pop Records neo by

No Parents and Plague Vendor Drop In To The Echo for Joint Mini Tour

Johann A. Ramos November 30, 2015

No Parents, Plague Vendor, No Win and Melted. Its been a while since I’ve covered a show with a line up that actually made sense – not saying that I don’t appreciate a good diverse line up, it’s just been a while. The Echo was the second stop of a mini west coast tour shared by No Parents and Plague Vendor and it was the perfect fit. No Win is the brainchild of Danny Nogueiras, who you might recognize from his important percussion role in the earlier days of a little band you might’ve heard before- FIDLAR. That is as far as their association goes though because their sound is quite different, less aggressive, a little more sad? Comparing bands is counterproductive in my honest opinion so lets move on.. I found myself wanting to sing along to “After Your Legs” by No Win, even though I had never even heard it, prior to that night. They played a catchy and chill set and prepared for what was about to take place the following sets. The calm before the storm, if you will. As Melted set up, I noticed that there was a “new Sam” on the drums. I later found out that the

No Parents Make the Top 10 Songs of 2015 across a number of our contributors

Take This: No Parents/Plague Vendor Ticket Giveaway

Janky Smooth Central Command November 20, 2015

No Parents and Plague Vendor: Two of our favorite, young bands are playing The Echo on Friday November 27th and Janky Smooth is giving away 2 tickets to one winner. No Parents with their hardcore, punk rock arrangements and hilarious approach to the theme and lyrical content of their songs, are one of the most fun and exciting bands in Los Angeles right now. Plague Vendor with their dark themes and haunting rhythms are one of the tightest band in the scene. Lead singer, Brandon Blaine is a rhythmic contortionist and vocal pugilist. The buzz around putting these two bands together is a testament to the diverse musical palette of Los Angeles. SoCal punk band Melted are also on the bill for this mini tour. Additional dates below. Janky Smooth is giving away two tickets to one winner. You can enter our Plague Vendor/No Parents Ticket Giveaway or you can: Purchase Tickets Here This event is 18 and over. Contest Rules: Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Share and Retweet our Plague Vendor/No Parents Ticket Giveaway posts Leave a comment on this post telling us what you are most thankful for this year. Winner will be announced on Wednesday, November 25th at 11am pacific.

Beach Goth 4: The Party of The Year

Danny Baraz October 28, 2015

The freaks, stoners, hipsters, bloggers, vegans, photographers, rockers, punkers, pukers, trippers, hippies and seemingly every beautiful woman from Southern California to Vancouver attended The Growlers annual trademark event, Beach Goth 4 this past weekend. They came to celebrate the best thing in their lives- music. I talked to a unicorn from Australia, I smoked a joint with a fairy from Mexico City and got my nipple twisted by a witch from Westminster. It seemed as if all inhibition was lost as everyone’s freak flag flew sky high and more spit was swapped than at a mouth swabbing clinic. And there was music. Oh lord was there music. With little touches and surprises like The 5678’s serving as the house band on a small stage on day 1, The Selena Impersonators and G-Funk pioneer, Warren G randomly performing a song near the end of Day 2, Beach Goth 4 had one of the most exciting lineups since Woodstock (if you love independent music). The scheduling issues which plagued the festival last year were a distant memory. Then again, after riding the snake all weekend, this past yesterday seems like an eon of a couple lifetimes ago. Sure, the ticket price has

Radkey Play The Echo and Make Me a Believer

Taylor Wong September 23, 2015

It has been about a month since I have been out to cover any thing and I was jonesin’ for a good show. FYF was my last assignment and that is entirely too long. I was sent out to The Echo, one of my most frequented and favorite venues to check out the brothers, Radkey. I got there right when the doors opened like a freshman at Junior Prom. The month away from shows had me acting like a newbie. Since I got there early, I grabbed a beer and sat down as I took in my surroundings. As I sat there I took a deep breath of the musty venue air. The venue was quite empty, “but that’s ok since it’s still early”, I thought to myself. Gentle Pony took the stage first. This duo had a sound that I would describe as a grown up Cherry Glazerr. This band was the perfect start to the evening as Steve and Lena both thrashed around the stage from start to end of their set. The odd thing was that this was probably the largest the crowd ever got during the course of the entire show. The next band up was Prettiest Eyes. A 3-piece band that had its own horny cowboy. This

Desert Daze Video Recap- Dazed in the Daylight/Evening Shade

Danny Baraz June 4, 2015

Janky Smooth presents a video collage from the Desert Daze Festival this past May. This two part series let’s the music and imagery speak for itself. Shot and edited by Travis Moore. Part 1, Dazed in the Daylight features the music of Kim and the Created and beautifully captures the sights and sounds of the day time hours of Desert Daze in the unrelenting Desert sun. Along with KATC, Part 1 features footage of White Lung, Plague Vendor, Wyatt Blair and Feels. Part 2, Evening Shade features the music of DIIV and captures the relief and freedom from the punishing solar onslaught of the cruel desert daylight. Along with DIIV, Travis captured footage of Warpaint, Deap Vally, Chelsea Wolfe and Mr Elevator and the Brain Hotel. Check out our complete review of Desert Daze 2015 Desert Daze 2015: Festival for the 21st Century Check out our intimate interview with the founders of Desert Daze/Moon Block and the founders of the bands Deap Vally and JJUUJJUU Janky Smooth Sessions: Deap Vally and Moon Block Family Photo gallery shot by Taylor Wong

Desert Daze 2015: The Festival for the 21st Century

Danny Baraz May 5, 2015

It was 4:30am on Saturday morning. I pulled the Janky Smooth RV into a dusty parking lot. I had been driving this carbon spewing behemoth since 1am, after the hour it took to load it up with instruments, sound equipment and beer- The essentials that would push me through a crazy 36 hours in the Mojave Desert for Desert Daze 2015. There were hints of blue shading the dark desert sky at the edge of the horizon that peaked over some sleepy mountains. A sense of dread washed over me at the sight of this beautiful event. It meant I only had a few hours to get a little bit of sleep before setting up the DNA Vapor sponsored, Janky Smooth Jam Lounge in preparation for our open jam after party. I knew I shouldn’t have taken that dab before loading up all that gear. After being led to our lakeside cabana by a sleepy eyed angel named Art, it became clear that we were the first ones to plant our flag in this particular patch of land. By the time I woke up a few hours later, the deserted road I parked our camper on was swarming with

Marmozets Move The Crowd at the Echoplex

Taylor Wong April 8, 2015

I’m about to get a little personal with all of you, probably to the point where you may want to just punch me in the face. This past week has been one of the most hectic weeks of the year for me. Between covering shows almost every other day, one of which was the 2 day, Burgerama festival and moving from Redondo out to Hollywood; I also work at a bar 5 days a week. Just writing that made me exhausted. During this hectic week, I ran into my buddy Brandon Blaine from Plague Vendor at Burgerama on my way out of the festival. I grabbed his photo and caught up for a bit. During our little conversation, he mentioned that his girl friend, Becca Macintyre would be playing The Echoplex with her band, Marmozets that Thursday of that gnarly week. Not realizing how beat up I would be by then, I told him that I would come check them out. Boy, was I glad I did that. It was a much needed break from moving boxes. Marmozets have been playing shows since 2007 and have played in the past with such bands as Funeral For a Friend, The Used,

An insane lineup for another Moon Block event at the Echo

Taylor Wong January 25, 2015

The Echo is on a fuckin roll these days. Friday January 23, Moon Block put on one of the most amazing shows I have seen in a long time. Even though they were competing with the FIDLAR show at the Regent Theater, It seems Mitchell Frank is only competing against himself now because The Echo was a packed house also. The line up was made up of some amazing LA artists. The bill was L.A. Witch, Death Hymn Number 9, Plague Vendor, Kim And The Created, and last minute add on, Sad Girl. With a diverse line up came a diverse crowd, young and old, people of different ethnic origins, and people of different Cliques. Moon Block knows how to put a show together. L.A. Witch opened up the show with an already packed house. I had seen these ladies once before a year or two ago and I remember being blown away. This night at The Echo was no different from the last time. In fact they got even better with the new material that they have been coming out with. The band was very quiet between songs, and as much as I love banter, nothing beats a dark

Seahaven Headlines The Glass House, Plague Vendor Steals the Show

Taylor Wong December 6, 2014

It’s Friday night and teenage angst is in full effect. I made my way out to Pomona for what seemed like a high school reunion. The scene was The Glass House for an all ages show featuring Plague Vendor and Seahaven. I was mainly out there to see Plague Vendor, but because I was born and raised in the South Bay and Seahaven comes from Torrance, I was put in the awkward high school reunion scenario. I ran into multiple old buddies from high school who I lost touch with for multiple reasons, and they all seamed to be happier or doing better than me. Great. The first band, Warm Thoughts (formerly Dad Punchers), reminded me of just that. There isn’t a name for their genre but I gave it the name South Bay Punk which, according to the history of Taylor Wong, started in a backyard in Hawthorne, California where, bands such as Joyce Manor and Touche Amore would play before they became who they are now. These kids were legit because they gave me that warm nostalgic feeling which is rare to come by these days. The frontman, Eliot Babin thrashed around the stage singing out of tune