Category: FEATURES
- HOME
- Category: FEATURES
Nick Urata of DeVotchka Interview: Man on the Street
Robert Cohen
September 19, 2018
DeVotchka are hot off the heels of finishing their newest album This Night Falls Forever and touring. This interview with the band’s leader Nick Urata covers everything from film scores to World War 2. RC: At this stage in your career, you and the band have had several successful albums, created or have contributed to several fantastic film soundtracks, and have gained a high levels of regard within both indie and mainstream circles. Despite all of this though, you haven’t been put under the magnifying glass and can still live a more or less normal life doing what you love. In short, have you reached the happy medium of fame? And if so, is it as fulfilling as you hoped it would be? NU: Yes, I feel lucky in this regard. We’ve come to realize that the actual work, is the only thing that is fulfilling. The thrill of fanning a little spark of an idea into a giant fire is what really gets you out of bed. When you’re practicing in your room as a kid you want nothing more than to be famous, but the reality is quite complicated. In my case, I learned how to write from a
Read More
Gary Numan Interview: Art in the Age of Savages
Audrey Kemp
September 18, 2018
I was fortunate enough to submit the probing questions of past, present and current audiophiles to synthesizer pioneer Mr. Gary Numan by means of cyberspace. We discussed his 18th studio album Savage, the current global state of affairs and the unforeseeable future. related content: Millennial Matchmaking: Gary Numan & Ugly God At The Observatory AK: These days, synthesizers are as common as a guitars in a song. Being a pioneer of the computerized world, would you care to share your thoughts on the proliferation of synthesized music? GN: I think it adds a level of sonic interest to music to see them widely used. However, it would be a mistake to think that synthesizers are all there is to electronic music. On my albums synths account for some of the sounds but not all of them by any means. Much of it comes from recording all manner of noises from the environment and then manipulating them to make them work musically. It’s not really about synths, it’s about sound, noise, whatever you can find that makes an interesting addition to a song. AK: Tubeway Army was one of the first bands of your time to break away from what was
Read More
James Chance Interview: A New York Original
Audrey Kemp
September 17, 2018
Following the Contortions’ stirring performance at Zebulon in Los Angeles Friday night, I had the honor to sit down with one of the most influential pioneers in experimental music: a saxophonist, keyboard player, songwriter and singer from New York City, Mr. James Chance. People may affiliate his music with the 1979 No New York compilation and other no wave acts, but Mr. Chance would vehemently protest and describe himself as an original before any other label. AK: You’ve had many different projects: The Contortions, The Flaming Demonics, James White and the Blacks and Teenage Jesus and the Jerks. What compelled you to revisit the Contortions in recent years, versus the others? JC: I took a break from the music business in the early ‘90s for a few years because there was just nothing happening. I got sick of the business aspect of it. When I came back, Henry Rollins started this reissue label and reissued all of this stuff from 1980, which made me decide which name I wanted to use and I just decided. I’ve been using James White and the Blacks throughout the 80s, so I decided to go back to the Contortions and I’ve been using that for 20 years,
Read More
Neil Fallon of Clutch Interview: Dog Ears in the Book of Bad Decisions
Rob Shepyer
September 13, 2018
Having just released their 12th studio album with Book of Bad Decisions, Clutch is back on the road to bring their hard rock boogie to a city near you. I spoke to Neil Fallon from the band to get his take on the record and ask him a few questions about the current state of the union. Rob: The fifth track on the new album Book of Bad Decisions is “In Walks Barbarella”. Can you comment on what specifically about that movie inspired you to write a song about it? What other films have inspired your music in the past? Do you consider yourself a movie buff? Neil: I would consider myself a movie buff. That song I wrote as part 3 after “X-Ray Visions” and “Firebirds”. To me one of the most iconic female sci-fi figures is Barbarella. Yeah, it’s a campy movie but growing up in the 70’s and 80’s reading Heavy Metal magazine, that’s sort of a preoccupation of mine that I’ve carried on into later-life. Rob: You mention “Weaponized funk” in the song and I was wondering with George Clinton retiring from touring this year and because I’ve seen you wearing Parliament Funkadelic shirts, how has
Read More
Featured Song: Luke Top “I May Never Leave”
Janky Smooth Central Command
September 11, 2018
Serving up the dreamiest surf maladies you’ve ever heard, Luke Top has a new track to serenade us with. Balancing sad lyrics and a cool-cat vocal cadence, “I May Never Leave” is perfect for crying in a dark bars, frolicing on the beach, or film scores. As a member of Fool’s Gold, Luke was able to meld styles such as pop, African, and Middle Eastern music to create a sound that was both cinematic and low key. He’s now taken this same approach to blend surf rock with a troubadour folk feel that harkens greats like Leonard Cohen or Nick Cave. “I May Never Leave” is the first single of Luke’s upcoming EP “The Dumb Show” set to be released October 19th.
Read More
Song Premiere: Microwaves “Via Weightlessness” Janky Smooth Exclusive
Janky Smooth Central Command
August 28, 2018
Are you a fan of spazzcore? Do you like instrumentation and arrangements that are as obscure and wildly creative as they are musically brilliant? Well, do we at Janky Smooth have your latest obsession to fix you up with: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s Microwaves makes music that takes you places, only they use the most jagged and bumpy roads to get you there. Their winding guitars are enough to make a feeble-minded, casual music fan wind up in a straight-jacket, but I’m sure if you’re reading this, you must now be thinking, “finally… a cure!“. The band is comprised of drummer John Roman (formerly of The 1985 and currently Night Vapor and Brown Angel), guitarist/vocalist David Kuzy, and bassist/vocalist Johnny Arlett. Microwaves’ new track, “Via Weightlessness” exemplifies the radioactive noise sound that has always made the band a force to be reckoned with. Combining Prog precision with No Wave impulsiveness and Thrash riffage, this track will override your nervous system until your feet mosh at the music’s will, not your mind’s. Gone are the effects-heavy sounds on previous records and introduced is a cleaner, heavier Microwaves than ever before. Microwaves’ newest LP “Via Weightlessness” is being released by Three One G Records on
Read More
New Name, New Video – ZOOLUXX (Formerly Solar Sons) Release “Finally Be”
Janky Smooth Central Command
August 24, 2018
For years, ZOOLUXX, formerly known as Solar Sons, has been the quintessential soundtrack for night’s out in Los Angeles. From their residency at Good Times at Davey Wayne’s to being a fixture in all the best underground house parties, everybody in L.A. knows these guys. You’ve thrown back beers to their music, hooked up to their music, danced to their music, and now, with a new name and an EP produced by legendary saxophonist Karl Denson, they’re stepping into a new era in their musical tenure. Denson, who’s played with everyone from The Rolling Stones to Lenny Kravitz, produced ZOOLUXX’s 2017 debut EP and their single “Finally Be”. ZOOLUXX has always had the uncanny ability to transport any room they play straight into boogie town. With awesome grooves and psychedelic landscapes, the band makes every party feel like a funky sci-fi exploitation movie. Consisting of vocalist and guitarist Troy Vincent, bassist Ned Casual, percussionist Bertie Paradise, and drummer Princess Frank, each member contributes to a sound that is infectious, magnetic, and undeniably primal at its core. All thought is lost to dance when a ZOOLUXX tune grabs you and has its way with your feet. I liken ZOOLUXX’s place in
Read More
New Song Premiere: The Dividing Line – “Deadbeat”
Janky Smooth Central Command
August 20, 2018
We all know that special someone that drags down the group and sometimes those people need to learn their lesson the hard way, or rather in this case, the hardcore way. if there was ever a song to get someone to reform there ways it would be The Dividing Line‘s “Deadbeat”. New Age Records’ The Dividing Line create some of the most aggressive and unhinged hardcore you can hear in 2018 and their latest banger “Deadbeat” brings the pain on every level. The slam dance part is crushing and filled with plenty of bounce for you to get those punches and kicks flying. This is the kind of confrontational songwriting that gave hardcore it’s reputation as both music with balls and music for the people by the people about real shit. The Dividing Line just finished recording their 7″ to be released on New Age Records in late summer 2018 called Turn my Back on the World.
Read More
Janky Smooth Exclusive: A Scene from The Icarus Line Must Die
Janky Smooth Central Command
July 25, 2018
The Icarus Line were an unique and quintessential Los Angeles band filled with much internal conflict and turmoil that inspired the creation of great rock and roll. Filmmaker Michael Grodner set out to capture the band’s history and its member’s personal journeys of death and taxes through Los Angeles in his film The Icarus Line Must Die. In this exclusive scene, Icarus Line lead singer Joe Cardomone finds himself in a struggle that every musician must be familiar with and that’s trying to make good money making music. It feels like a conversation we’ve all had, in a place we’ve all been, only Joe seems totally original. The Icarus Line Must Die is now available on VOD from Google Play, Youtube, iTunes, and Amazon. You can watch the film’s trailer here: Joe Cardamone released his first album as a solo artist this year. Holy War delves into the world of dark electronics to make what some people are calling “industrial soul”. Utilizing a powerful array of symbols and a dangerous singing style, the mystery to this artist seems to thicken the more we learn about him. You can check out Joe Cardamone’s solo album Holy War here:
Read More
Smokin’ Grooves Spotlight Artist: Lion Babe
Aria Silva-Espinosa
June 29, 2018
One of the first and most anticipated acts we caught was Lion Babe, comprised of vocalist Jillian Hervey and producer Lucas Goodman. Since the success of their 2012 hit ‘Treat Me Like Fire’, the NYC-based duo has developed a unique formula for creating music together. We caught up with Jillian and Lucas right on the waterfront for a quick interview later in the afternoon following their performance. related content: Black Is Beautiful: Smokin’ Grooves Festival At The Queen Mary “Post-Coachella, we’ve just been getting into the festival season so we have a couple shows coming up but they’re all kind of spread out,” says Jillian of their next two scheduled stops on the East Coast. Lion Babe will be playing the Merriweather Post Pavillion along with Nas, Anderson .Paak and Method Man in the beginning of August before circling back up to New York for a show in Brooklyn at the end of August. After their collaboration with international chart-topping U.K. artists Disclosure, Lion Babe found themselves on the U.K. top 100 charts with their song ‘Hour Glass’. Since they’ve been so well received overseas, I was interested to see if Lion Babe would be aiming to play more shows
Read More
Video Premiere: Plasmic “Validation Nation” Janky Smooth Exclusive
Janky Smooth Central Command
April 17, 2018
Ever since she tore the house down at El Rey for Sex Cells’ Divine Ball, we here at Janky Smooth have developed a deep fondness for the Orange County sparkle-queen known as Plasmic. Her take on pop brings to mind greats from Cyndi Lauper to Ariel Pink to Devo and by the sound of her latest music video for “Validation Nation” it seems she’s got just as much style as those greats but perhaps even more substance and depth. It’s so damn refreshing to hear good pop songwriting in 2018. related content: Sex Cells’ Divine Ball At El Rey: The Filthiest People On Earth With imagery that harkens the upbringings of so many American girls, the video feels like if Harmony Korine directed a Tonya Harding movie. With music that has just as much jazzy swagger in the vocals as dream pop and electro-glitter-punk trash in the production, the song feels like a beautiful monster of sorts and from the song’s main lyric: “I don’t want to be a person anymore“, this might be exactly what Plasmic’s going for. The image of her swiveling on one figure skate while holding her keyboard in slow motion, as her hot-pink hair flows
Read More
Video Premiere: Baronen & Satan “Why Does The Blood Never Stick To Your Teeth” Janky Smooth Exclusive
Janky Smooth Central Command
March 9, 2018
Calling all garage punks, psych rockers, and Luciferian Satanists, we have a band from you straight out of the gothic darkness of Gothenburg, Sweden. The Swedish have always given the world some of the most insane music, think Brainbombs and Bathroy, and Baronen & Satan are no exception. Melding psych rock and garage punk with ear-splitting distortion and reverb that harkens bands like Destruction Unit, this band’s latest video for the single “Why Does The Blood Never Stick To Your Teeth” is sure to make you sharpen your fangs. related content: Berserktown 3: The Craziest Festival On Earth This quartet led by Phillippe Sainz and Linda Rydellius is signed to Dirty Water Records and is ready to invade the divide consciousness of the United States. With music produced by Detroit Legend Jim Diamond, the buzz on this band is only beginning. Check out the video, if you Kenneth Anger films, liquid light, and altered states of mind you’re sure to like the visuals. If you like heavy rock with soul then you’re sure to like the music.
Read More