Dillon Vaughn, Author at Jankysmooth

Los Angeles Strikefest at the Regent: By Die-hards, For Die-hards

Dillon Vaughn July 6, 2018

Festival season is here and California has no shortage of options for niche entertainment seekers; from Arroyo Seco Weekend and Smokin’ Grooves to Burger Boogaloo and Summertime in LB, whatever musical religion you subscribe to has it’s fair share of representation. Delving into the true deep-cut side of things, there’s one fest that stands out as the real assembly for die-hards: Los Angeles Strikefest. Created and lovingly curated by the heavy hitting Church of the 8th Day and Nightforce Productions (a new face in the LA metal scene) version 1.0 of Strike Fest didn’t pull any punches and delivered three nights of bucket-list worthy acts. related content: The De-Evolution of Burger Boogaloo The first evening was the shortest of the three but remained far from being a pre-show. Fans were treated to sets from Los Angeles’ own media darlings Dread and Blade Killer, Matt Harvey (of Exhumed) performing in both Pounder and the reunion of Dekapitator, and a very hyped and rare performance by Detroit’s Demon Bitch. Closing out the night was Nasty Savage, the band serving one of the most direct examples of bleeding for the art. Warned by security to watch for “flying glass and metal and shit”

Silver Linings to Sorrowful Tales: Laura Veirs at The Echo

Dillon Vaughn June 2, 2018

Touring in support of her new album The Lookout, Laura Veirs performed an intimate show at The Echo to a crowd composed of some of the most engaged fans I’ve seen for any artist at the venue; a level of energy not entirely surprising considering her previous performance in LA was with case/lang/veirs (the singer-songwriter supergroup consisting of Veirs, Neko Case, and K.D. Lang) at the Greek Theatre in 2016. Those in attendance this time around were treated to live performances of a bulk of the songs from The Lookout as well as fan favorites from July Flame, Year of Meteors and more. related content: Erika Wennerstrom Brings The Bootleg Closer To Nature A live setting for her work is an excellent opportunity to see how far Veirs’ strengths extend beyond her songwriting capabilities. Her vocal range easily exceeds the (already satisfying) levels reached in her recordings and viewers are given a glimpse of how technically proficient she is with both guitar and keys. Veirs can shred without hesitation but she knows what works for her music and how important the use of restraint really is. An additional highlight of the night was the performance by Alex Guy (of Led

Crushed at Communion: Cough and Grime at Union

Dillon Vaughn May 25, 2018

Union is a weird venue (and I say that entirely with love.) The range of genres and performers you can see there within any given three day period is unparalleled; multiple rooms and the willingness to take risks and work with promoters and musicians from vastly different scenes gives many acts a proper home beyond DIYs and dives – often juxtaposing seemingly alien niches on a single patio on the busiest nights. This lack of pretension has allowed some of the most intimate and (truly) stacked metal lineups to flourish here over the month of May – all beginning with Cough and Grime. related content: Satyricon’s Final Los Angeles Show At The Regent: A Night Too Blackened To Forget A quick glance at Midnite Collective’s past events reveals a finely curated selection of some of the most forward thinking and refined artists in doom and sludge – bands more than capable of exceeding the expectations set by the buzz and hype surrounding them: Cough and Grime being no exception to the standard. The night began with support from Midnight Collective favorites Trapped Within Burning Machinery and -(16)-, each delivering charged performances that set the tone perfectly. -(16)- has grown on

Finding the Funk: Birocratic at Union

Dillon Vaughn May 20, 2018

I’d like to begin by getting one very important thing out of the way: I’m a transplant here, as I’m sure a solid 95% of those reading this are too. I’m not as far from my home (Arizona) or my home before that (New Mexico – fuck it, I’m a child of the southwest after all) as most of you are, but I’m sure one thing is common among all of us: moving to Los Angeles represented a pivotal moment in which we were all allowed to explore and pursue every desire and interest we’d ever had, regardless of the cultural taboos and expectations placed upon us by those who raised us and sent us out into this mess (often unwillingly.) I was brought up in a very “metal” family; my parents owned a record store in New Mexico throughout my childhood called The Dragon’s Lair and our family road trips (which were almost exclusively planned around concerts) were soundtracked by the big four or Iron Maiden with sprinkles of what would become a growing obsession of mine: funk. Those deep, catchy grooves encouraged me to dig through every soul section I came across in a record store by the