Category: FEATURES

The Top 10 Artists/Bands of PCW Ultra and Anniversary Show Giveaway

Janky Smooth Central Command January 12, 2019

Los Angeles is the country’s best music scene but wrestling is soon becoming another trademark of Southern California culture thanks to promotions like PCW Ultra. Featuring the indie scene’s next big darlings and underground wrestling’s most dangerous, death-defying, and high-flying athletes, PCW Ultra is going to pull out all the stops for their upcoming anniversary show on Friday January 18th 2019 at ILWU Memorial Hall in Wilmington. Before the show goes down and history is made, we wanted to find out which bands and artists these wrestlers love to listen to. Father Josef Machete (WARBEAST) CLUTCH Black Sabbath Down Church Of The Cosmic Skull The Meatmen The Pietasters Dax Riggs Father John Misty The Modern Lovers Thin Lizzy Sami Callihan (Death Machines) Prince Michael Jackson Queen Childish Gambino The Misfits Bowling for Soup Van Halen Beastie Boys A Day to Remember AFI PJ Black (Worldwide Underground) Parov Stelar Max the Sax Kungs Kamasi Washington G-Easy Eminem Krewella XXXtentacion Skrillex Logic Post Malone Johnny Ultra (Worldwide Underground) Phantogram Flight of the Concords Kanye West Eminem Metallica Elton John Grateful Dead Elvis Presley Red Hot Chili Peppers Guns n’ Roses Brian Cage Kid Rock Linkin Park Jimmy Eart World Johnny Cash Coldplay

Janky Smooth Top 25 Artists to Watch in 2019

Janky Smooth Central Command December 29, 2018

Ah, the much anticipated and revered artists to watch article, how we’ve awaited you. The artists on this list vary in genre, age, ethnicity, region, and popularity. What they all have in common though, is that between January and December of 2019, something special is expected to happen to each of them. This list is not just to identify the smaller bands you need to know about but also to point out the bands you know and should be watching closely. Think of these artists and bands as heroes in their own stories, in the year 2019, a pivotal narrative moment will occur in each story. The Manx The Manx put on a show you couldn’t forget if you tried. Combining all sorts of styles from rock, to zydeco and polka, The Manx stir this musical stew until its reduction doesn’t resemble any of the ingredients used to create it, winding up with a mutant sound that’s totally original and shocking. With oddball instrumentation that utilizes banjo and accordion, the Manx don’t have any problem getting nude and covering themselves in multi-colored slime so that the show is a off-the-wall as the sound. This band is so strange that the

Janky Smooth Top 10 SHOWS of 2018 Rated by Contributors

Janky Smooth Central Command December 27, 2018

What a year for shows in Los Angeles 2018 was. This is undoubtably the best city in the world for live music, so consider each list by our contributors 10 reasons why. Reunion shows alone were off the chain, Burger Boogaloo featured two comeback sets, Devo and Le Shok. Both performances were wild and unforgettable, making much deserved appearances below. Lets not forget about Stray Cats reuniting at Viva Las Vegas or Helloween’s epic Pumpkins United at the Palladium or Bleeding Through at the Observatory or My Bloody Valentine at The Shrine either. related content: The De-Evolution of Burger Boogaloo So many promoters delivered the goods in 2018. Das Bunker brought Covenant to 1720, Part Time Punks gave us Jay Aston’s Gene Loves Jezebel at the Echoplex, Church of the 8th Day sold out the Teragram with Napalm Death, and Lethal Amounts sold sex at Sex Cells with Hercules and Love Affair. Each of these shows are among the many these promoters held that were rare highlights of the year. related content: Groveling Before The Gods Of Grind: Napalm Death At The Teragram Punk rock represented hard, especially out of the Latin sector of Angelino culture. Club Scum held an

Janky Smooth Top 10 ALBUMS of 2018 Rated by Contributors

Janky Smooth Central Command December 26, 2018

Many truths bubbled up to the surface during 2018. The once hidden greatness of certain artists revealed itself in the work they released this year. With streaming services diminishing the significance of full albums with every year that goes by, these artists were able to fight the good fight on behalf of “the album” and prove some things never change. All the work listed below is worthy of your record collection. related content: Janky Smooth Top 10 SHOWS of 2018 Rated By Contributors Kanye West, for all the controversy and political ignorance he was a part of, produced 5 albums beginning with Pusha T’s Daytona and ending with Teyana’s K.T.S.E. All 5 albums featured 7 tracks, pushed boundaries, and were in this humble editor’s opinion, brilliant. Kanye produced Nas’ best album, Nasir, since God’s Son in 2002. Expect to see more than one Kanye produced album on any blog’s year-end lists. 2018 was one of the most dramatic years hip hop has had in awhile with beef between Pusha T and Drake reaching a fever pitch that culminated in Pusha T’s check-mate move, “The Story of Adidon”. Eminem resurrected Slim Shady and dropped Kamikazi, an album that reminded people he wasn’t just

Gimme Gimmes for Christmas: Interview with Spike Slawson and Joey Cape

Dave Unbuckled December 13, 2018

Before Me First and the Gimme Gimmes took the stage at the Fonda to perform an epic set for the Holiday season, I had the chance to sit down with Spike Slawson and Joey Cape from the band and discuss everything under the sun. related content: Me First & The Gimme Gimmes Janky Smooth Sessions W/ Spike Slawson Dave: Hey guys. We’re sitting down with Joey Cape and Spike Slawson from Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Welcome back to LA. “Santa Baby” came out today…we heard it on the way over. Joey: I saw the link but I don’t do the social networking thing anymore. I think someone sent me a link to it. Spike: I took Facebook off my phone…it was getting aggravating. Dave: Is this a single song drop…is there a Christmas album in the future? Are you going to start doing this stuff more? Spike: For now, just the song… maybe a few more (songs) to play live. I don’t know if there are that many Christmas songs that I would want to do. Joey: This is an obvious thing that a cover band should do, and it’s come up over the years a few times.

Redbull Music Festival 2019: An Experiment in Concert-Going

Janky Smooth Central Command December 4, 2018

Redbull Music Festival always provides a lineup that lets you see interesting artists ininteresting settings. This year in particular gives audiences the chance to see artists in venues that perfectly act like conduits to that artist’s music. San Cha in Viviana church will be an emotionally religious experience for all those that attend. Heartbeats: A Night With Rae Sremmurd and guests will be a stellar evening of trap wildin’, the likes of which Los Angeles has yet to see and with a venue like The Reserve hosting, it will feel like an elegant, VIP experience gone a-wall. And what I’m most personally excited for, Illegal Civ‘s Pink Motel Skate and Music event will be absolutely insane. I already see it in my head, a motel pool filled with drunk and insane skaters while Show Me The Body is tearing up the stage. This one will go off the rails without question. Tickets for Red Bull Music Festival Los Angeles go on sale tomorrow, Wednesday, December 5th at 12pm PT via www.redbullmusic.com/los-angeles. Stay tuned for more programming announcements and festival details to be shared in early 2019.

Soft Kill Interview: Addiction, Loss, Gloom, and Doom

Audrey Kemp October 9, 2018

A truthful and cathartic conversation with Tobias Grave of Soft Kill will open your eyes to the hardship of addiction, loss and triumph, and demonstrate what it takes and what it is to create music in today’s society. AK: Your atmospheric melodies hark back to post-punk and dream pop of the early ‘80s and ‘90s. As a result of this, do you attract a broad age range of listeners? TG: We do seem to have a diverse range of people into what we’re doing. I think something that gets overlooked is how big some of those bands got and that we foolishly look at the core fan base of any genre as kids in black boots, jeans and band tees. It’s cool to have people of all ages, backgrounds and walks of life appreciate what you do, especially since we aren’t goths or punks in the corny aesthetic sense of the word. AK: Although your influences are countless, some being The Chameleons U.K., The Sound and Spacemen 3, your musical constitution is precise and concise. What qualities and themes are you the most allured to as listeners, and thus interested in creating? TG: A couple things draw us to music

Adult. Interview: Warriors for Weird

Rob Shepyer October 6, 2018

I remember the first time I saw Adult. live at Echoplex for their Detroit House Guests tour. It was one of the most insane and exciting shows I’ve ever seen. With various guest performers, obscure stage antics, and the hardest off-beats, they were truly avant-garde. It was weird to its core but I danced so hard, the weirdness absorbed into me and I didn’t puzzle over it. I fell in love with the duo’s music that night and getting the chance to interview Adam Lee Miller and Nicola Kuperus before their Zebulon show with Plack Blague only intensified my admiration. They were well spoken, intelligent, and unlike many artists with more direct and obvious messaging, they showed a deep understanding of what they stand for and who they are. related content: Different Shades of Black: Adult. And Plack Blague At Soda Bar RS: The latest album is This Behavior. A few of the songs seem to reference human sexuality. What is the album’s title symbolic of? NK: I dunno if I would say it’s symbolic of human sexuality. I think it’s poignant for the moment we’re in with how insane the world is. The process for writing this record was very

Food Sounds Good: Music Tastes Good Food Review

Rob Shepyer October 2, 2018

Music Tastes Good returned to Marina Green Park and that means its cavalcade of gourmet chefs came with it to hold two days of tastings. Inside the glorious Taste Tent you could see gourmet chefs hard at work trying to meet the demands of these hungry festival-heads and the long lines were worth it, even for samples as small as two bites because these foods weren’t just good or gourmet, they were artisan crafted. They also offered cocktail mixing tutorials like the Mezcal mixing tutorial that was taking place while I toured the tent. First among the artisan chefs I visited on Sunday was Cameron Hanin of Seattle’s Ma’ono, who was serving a delicious Hawaiian style Fried chicken drumstick with a Daikon pickle slice on the side. The drumstick’s skin was crispy and sweet while the meat was succulent, juicy, and delicious. The pickle slice then complimented the chicken perfectly with a sweet, salty kick. I walked right over to Ryan Ososky‘s booth next. As the chef of Los Angeles’ Yardbird Southern Table, Ryan is bringing new spins to classic Southern food and recipes. Such was the case for his brisket on a biscuit tasting option, which featured the most tender,

Lil B interview: Favorite Foods of the Based God

Rob Shepyer September 28, 2018

With Music Tastes Good right around the corner and Lil B taking the stage to preach the Based philosophy to Long Beach, I wanted to ask the Based God anything and everything about food and its connection to spirituality. RS: What are your favorite foods to eat? Are there foods that are more “Based” than others? if so, what are they? What specific ingredients do you consider “Based”? LB: I love natural grown veggies. Those are pretty Based to me. RS: Do you have any favorite chefs? LB: Yeah. I love any of the chefs I met recently. I can’t really tell you by name but I’m gonna start making that my thing. The way I know different musicians, I’m gonna know different chefs. RS: With “Wonton Soup” being one of your most notable songs, are there any other foods you might be inspired to write a song about one day? LB: Yeah, it is very possible. I love food. RS: What are some of your favorite restaurants in Nor Cal and in So Cal? LB: I love restaurants in Berkeley, California. Piedmont, California. Oakland, California. San Francisco, California. The Lettuce Inn in Concord. RS: What do you see as

Music Video Premiere: The Grinning Ghosts “I’ve Been Tired” – Janky Smooth Exclusive

Janky Smooth Central Command September 26, 2018

Orange County’s underground The Grinning Ghosts are here to cheer you up with the gift of punk rock’s three great virtues, apathy, ennui, and angst. The band is made up of Thomas from Melted, Dan from Jurassic Shark, Brandi from MoonFuzz, Leo from Casual Friday, and Daryl from Eggy Pop. Little known fact, Thomas and Daryl attended the same elementary school where they were instructed in music by a man that played an ewok in Return of the Jedi. The Grinning Ghosts may be comprised of members from various bands but take a listen for yourself and see this is a different sound than all their other projects. Their music video for “I’ve Been Tired”, a cover of a Pixies song, gives the audience the chance to voyeur in on the aftermath of one wild apartment party. This gang of friends all sleep in precarious situations and every time the camera makes a pass through the apartment, everyone seems to have somehow changed positions without ever having woken up. The quirky punk surrealism of Michael Haight‘s directing perfectly matches the song’s upbeat and catchy dissidence. Throughout the video, you can spot various easter eggs and cameos from Southern California music scene heroes.

Rafael Reyes of Prayers Interview: On Fatherhood

Rob Shepyer September 21, 2018

With a baby on the way and a two shows in So-Cal announced, Prayers are back to spellbind audiences with their unique Cholo-goth music and movement. I got to ask singer, Rafael Reyes about fatherhood, new music, and more. RS: Now that you’re about to begin the journey of fatherhood, what values do you want to instill in your son? What things that you love do you look forward to introducing him to? RR: Like most parents, I hope our son will be a compassionate, respectful, patient and courageous individual – basically everything that my wife embodies. I look forward to introducing our son Leafar to Mother Nature, music and reading. RS: What do you hope your son will inherit from you and your side of the family? What do you hope he will inherit from Kat? RR: In all honesty, I’m aware I have my own set of issues I wouldn’t want to pass on to my son. But with that being said, I’ve learned a lot through my struggles, and I wanna be able to pass down some of my life experiences. Because of my upbringing, I learned from an early age how to take care of myself and my

Category: FEATURES

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