Brent Smith, Author at Jankysmooth

Brent Smith

Savages Ravage the Roxy Theater

Brent Smith August 29, 2015

On a muggy L.A. summer night, Savages fans crammed into an even muggier sold-out Roxy Theatre to bear witness to yet another phenomenal west coast performance by the all-female postpunk band from across the pond. Just last weekend, Savages took over Exposition Park at FYF, and gave Angelenos something to remember them by. Last night’s performance at The Roxy sealed the deal, and at the same time, got us excited about the promises of their new album. It’s true, kids. Despite Beverly Hills’ attempt at annexing West Hollywood, awesome shows are still going off in WeHo. I entered and the floor, VIP area, and bar were already packed. Crowded and hot—the smell of B.O. and spilt beer growing exponentially by the minute—an army of black shirts and neon drink bracelets waited in hushed elation under the smoky blue lights of the famed venue on the even more famed Sunset Blvd. (Which only seems real after being so uncannily rendered in GTA V). Needless to say, the smell of ganja in the bathroom (and whoever shared it with me) was a godsend. As we heard the instruments being tested in the pitch dark of the stage, the guest DJ spun some

Eagles of Death Metal Release New Music For the First Time in 7 Years

Brent Smith August 28, 2015

Queens of the Stone Ager and one half of Eagles of Death Metal, Josh Homme, had the other half of Eagles of Death Metal, Jesse Hughes, on his Beats 1 radio show, “The Alligator Hour”. They riffed music and moustaches and dropped the single “Got A Woman” along with the video to “Complexity”, both due out on their new album Zipper Down in October on T-Boy Records. The arty and tongue-in-cheeky “Complexity” video is as playful as its track; a riff-heavy, desert rock dance number. The video has people screaming everything from ‘Mike Meyers’ ‘Sprocket’ to ‘Hamlet, why the big glasses?’ All through the lens of a drab new wave video that eventually turns into an iTunes visualizer. Enjoy the eargasm below. Check out the Eagles of Death Metal new track, Complexity Listen to the Beats 1 episode to hear “Got A Woman” (46:30 mark). Zipper Down Track List Complexity Silverlake (KSOFM) Got a Woman I Love You All The Time Oh Girl Got The Power Skin Tight Boogie Got A Woman (Slight Return) The Deuce Save A Prayer (Duran Duran cover) The Reverend Eagles of Death Metal 2015 Tour Dates: 06/17 – London, UK @ KOKO 06/19 –

Jason Finazzo of The Birth Defects at The Troubadour

Birth Defects Unleash Debut Album at the Troubadour alongside Fuzz and Carletta Sue Kay

Brent Smith July 21, 2015

Sandwiched between killer sets by Carletta Sue Kay and Fuzz, The Birth Defects album release bash for “First 8 Mistakes” at the Troubadour was one for the books. Everyone who was in the sold-out, jam-packed, iconic venue got slapped with an array of musical talent many, or just I, wouldn’t expect from a West Hollywood show on another Thursday night. It’s an endangered time for relics of bygone eras like the Troubadour—an attic-like setting that incubated the legendary statuses of Jim Morrison and Axl Rose alike (even Cheech and Chong were discovered there by Lou Adler). Nudged between the border of Beverly Hills and where Ron Jeremy and Bret Easton Ellis were eating dinner next door at Dan Tana’s, the Troub stands like an old ruin among the gated anti-communities of WeHo; a stark juxtaposition to the Laurel Canyon days of magical hills, liquor corner store blues, and free-lovin’ gutter artists. If this were the 80s, I would’ve hated it for being such a glam rock establishment whore house (and I probably would’ve lived in New York anyway). But in 2015, I’m just happy the Troubadour is still around, and not yet in the hands of some ‘starchictect’ like Thom

Alice Glass Drops First Solo Single “Stillbirth”

Brent Smith July 19, 2015

Get giddy, kids. Bad ass, sharp-tonged former Crystal Castles front woman Alice Glass just released her first solo jam “Stillbirth”. In collaboration with L.A. noise rocker Jupiter Keyes from HEALTH (recall this 2007 gem), Alice Glass has crafted a darkly metal neo-psychedelia track, featuring her signature sylphine cooing over some very crunchy industrial beats (that’s just a lot of words for saying it’s rad). The 26 year old, Alice Glass explained via social media and her website the genesis for “Stillbirth” came from getting herself away from an abusive relationship she’s been involved in since she was in her teens. This, along with her recent not-so-smooth split from her CC cohort Ethan Kath, points to Alice Glass processing a lot of smashing and crashing lately. But alas, such is life in your 20s. We just hope she continues to keep on keepin’ on while busting balls and taking names. At least we can selfishly admit that we’re all benefiting from her expressive output. “Stillbirth” is now available to stream and buy digitally. All proceeds benefit organizations that help survivors of domestic abuse, sexual violence, and incest. Apparently there’s a sister track soon to follow. Stay tuned, glitch heads!

New Album Review: Jacco Gardner- Hypnophobia

Brent Smith June 30, 2015

I could talk about the baroque baroqueness of the Jacco Gardner electro-prog aesthetic. I could talk about how his sound puts you in Kubrick’s psychedelic record store scene from A Clockwork Orange. I could talk about how his near-prodigious use of retro, ornate, and esoteric instruments like Wurlitzer electric/Steinway upright pianos, harpsichords, Optigans, and Mellotrons would send anyone over 60 into a kaleidoscope time-warp back to the ‘Me Decade’ that flaunted things like paisley shirts, shag cuts, hip-huggers, mood rings, and bunk weed. Sure, I could talk about all that 10-Reasons-Why-Some-Particular-Decade-Is-Back drivel you read on popular sites, but truth be told, the Jacco Gardner sound is his own, and his time is now. His new LP Hypnophobia out on Polyvinyl Records is more than just a cool word about fear of sleeping. It’s a trip with anesthetic effect. I don’t mean anesthetic like physical numbing, I mean like what anesthesia does to the mind—puts you into a tripped-out state between waking and sleeping. Its 10-track reverie doesn’t veer off on tangents. Your mind may wander, but the sound stays true to its whimsical between-space. Don’t confuse that with the recent sleep paralysis horror that’s spreading across the internet. The first track

Ho99o9 at Mystery Box photo by David Evanko

Ho99o9 EP Release Party at Mystery Box: An Initiation

Brent Smith June 20, 2015

What began as a harmless Ho99o9 show at Mystery Box in the outskirt bowels of DTLA ended in orgiastic ritual sacrifice, which will ensure ultimate hegemony of their newly-dropped EP Horrors of 1999. (free download) Okay, nothing about Ho99o9 is really harmless to begin with—the experimental punk rap group who have lit the underground on fire, and who recently proved far too bloodcurdling for Warped Tour. There’s a reason shows like these, hosted by i Heart Comix and Family Artists, are thrown in L.A.’s industrial limbo, which didn’t seem to drive fans away. In fact, the line was already down the block when I arrived. I entered the massive space, complete with foyer, main room with a sick stage, and spacious outdoor smoking patio where the bar was. I met up with Danny, Taylor, and David of Minivan who was snapping pics; and the four of us were met with inflatable sex dolls strung with nooses, graffiti, barbed wire, and most horrifically of all, only two porta-potties (It got ugly pretty quick). The opening band No Parents didn’t come on until close to midnight, along with the laser lights, black lights, strobe lights, and fog machines. For the next few hours, our

New Album Review: Deaf Rhino – Dirt, Rust, Chaos

Brent Smith June 10, 2015

New Jersey bro rock band Deaf Rhino has released their debut LP Dirt, Rust, Chaos. If you’re an east-coaster, you may have caught them at Arlene’s Grocery or Webster Hall sharing bills with bands like The Ataris and Teenage Kicks. I say bro rock, but I mean inclusive bro rock with a little soul you can dance to, not self-masturbatory bro rock like Creed or Nickelback who ruined radio and were single-handedly responsible for every teen suicide when I was in high school. (Okay, maybe not, but radio is still trying to recover.) Also, unlike Creed or Nickelback, Deaf Rhino is rambunctious, they kick any moral authority to the curb, and they like to have fun. Rhino’s definitely the first likable bro rock band ever, or at least the first likable bro band since, like, Metallica (even though I don’t like them), and on par with mainstream acts like Queens of the Stone Age, Arctic Monkeys, and Eagles of Death Metal. An Ernest-Hemingway-staring-down-the-double-barrel- of-a-shotgun-at-a-charging-Rhino analogy is in there somewhere, but evoking Hemingway in any sense isn’t something I do lightly. Dirt, Rust, Chaos oscillates between whimsical and agro. There’s as much distortion as there is emotion, and it demonstrates Deaf

Cosmic Creek Surf Contest and Music Fest in Dana Point

Brent Smith June 3, 2015

Akaw! What’s probably the hippest and most utopic small-town-beach-party in the entire universe was held last weekend at Salt Creek Beach in Dana Point. What’s always been known as a feel-good, retro-style surf contest among locals and pros, Cosmic Creek has emerged from a new metamorphosis in its 14th year. Cosmic Creek seemed to have been a long-time Billabong event, sponsored by Subaru, with all the airs and frenetic energy of an up-and-coming, bona-fide surf tournament, culminating with drum circles on the grass and Donavon Frankenrieter playing live tunes. But this year, the event underwent a radical and aesthetic rebranding, now presented by Vissla, and sponsored by D’Blanc and What Youth. The new partnerships, though, didn’t make way for some more ramped-up spectacle. On the contrary, it seems to have receded back to its grassroots. Admittedly, I had never heard of Cosmic Creek—that is (thanks to my Instagram feed) until the night before it was about to go off. That day, fortuitously, I had received my DVD copy of North Shore (1987) in the mail. For some reason I had been itching to watch it, and, as it turns out, it’s so cool that not even the Internet has it. I

DISTURBING THE PEACE Exhibit Jumpstarts Punk Rock Bowling

Brent Smith May 7, 2015

T-Minus two weeks until the Punk Rock Bowling music festival ‘n other mischiefs goes down in Downtown Las Vegas from May 22-25. Beyond all the pool party glean of the Strip, Punk Rock Bowling puts on its annual proto-punk spectacle, which includes: 3 days of outdoor festivals, 4 nights of club shows, a 2 day bowling tournament, hotel pool parties, a poker tournament and even some comedy shows. What is stealing the show for me at the moment is the art exhibit Disturbing the Peace – Punk at its Core 1969-2002. Presenters Juxtapoz, PRB, and L.A.’s own Lethal Amounts Gallery will showcase the art and photography of punk abettors Leee Black Childers, Edward Colver, Mad Marc Rude, and Jesse Fischer. Disturbing the Peace provides a visual timeline for the chronicled ethos of the Punk aesthetic (before fashion whores shit all over it), which took shape in America and England beginning in the 1960s. If none of those four names shake you, they should; they were key players in documenting each era of the punk evolution. (1969-1977) Childers was Andy Warhol’s assistant and personal photographer in the Factory. He was hired by David Bowie during his Ziggy Stardust salad days and

New Album Review: Metz II

Brent Smith April 30, 2015

Every time I think I’ve heard the best of what today’s rock has to offer, I get sucker-punched by a band like METZ. If you haven’t heard their 2012 self-titled debut album, then Spotify that shit right now and relish in true noise band glory. With the axiomatic smashing and crashing of the ‘music industry’—that oxymoron that continues insisting upon itself—we’re getting exposure to a lot more bands who no longer have to compromise their sounds for vanilla marketing schemes, and who now have the freedom to continue pushing boundaries and challenging their audiences. METZ’s sophomore album, II no doubt attests, and convinces me that I’m going to be keeping tabs on these Toronto-based hellcats—doing the Canadian image justice in the destructive wake of Bieber Fever. Sub Pop, that label “up there” where it’s always wet, that label that’s kept us radicalized and on our toes for the last three decades, has done it again. They’ve given a great rock band the space and the faith necessary to maintain and cultivate their own vision, which is as loud and unwavering as any fan could hope. Like the preceding album, there are no frills, no bullshit, they don’t let up. No

The Replacements at The Palladium- Shot by David Evanko

The Replacements: Alt-Heads, Why the Palladium sucks and Whole Foods Blues

Brent Smith April 18, 2015

Words: Brent Smith Photos: David Evanko I typically bemoan the fact that kids and grownups are listening to the same music nowadays. Where that’s not annoying is in the case of seeing The Replacements live—that notoriously ‘unpopular’ no-band band. They’re hard to pin down. I mean what do you call The Replacements? They’re a formidable mix of hard rock, punk, blues, maybe a hint of new wave, etc. which is why they were ultimately pigeon-holed as the godfathers of ‘alternative rock’ and opened the door for the bands that dominated the 90s. I attended the ‘Mats second consecutive sold out show at the Hollywood Palladium, the fourth pit stop on their 2015 Back By Unpopular Demand tour, wedged between both weekends of that big festival thingy happening in the desert (those of you who caught it last year know they rocked it on Day 1 to a scanty crowd). I arrived dodging traffic and bad noise. 7pm is an ugly time to get anywhere in Los Angeles, especially Hollywood, where they’re currently building L.A.’s New Great Slums in the form of corporate-living skyscrapers with shopping malls for lobbies. The last time I saw a show at the Palladium, embarrassingly enough,