Danny Baraz, Author at Jankysmooth

Danny Baraz

Drab Majesty- Dais 15 Year Anniversary at Belasco

DAIS Records Celebrates 15 Years Of Seminal Releases At The Belasco

Danny Baraz February 22, 2023

In the last 15 years, DAIS Records has had an output of quality music that should be the envy of any independent record label. From alumni such as Psychic TV, Cold Cave, Youth Code and Pink Turns Blue to current artists such as Drab Majesty, Adult., Choir Boy and Riki– DAIS records is a veritable cornucopia of post punk, experimental music and a great soundtrack to any Samhain celebration. On this night 2 of 2 of the anniversary celebration at The Belasco Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, it was the aforementioned list of current artists that headlined the night. I missed almost everyone else including Death Bells, which I hate but was overcome with dark, sad vibes that made me happy with what I did witness. We missed Night 1 of 2 at Zebulon that featured VR Sex, Tempers, Cold Showers and more. I missed a lot but we’ll fill you in on what we did see. related: DAIS Records 10 Year Anniversary Party: The Dark Fruits of Persistence Choir Boy- Honeysuckle sweetened notes wrung out of the body of Adam Klopp with each twist and ache; his muscles contracted and his stomach wrenched violently as glossolalia possessed the Choir

Janky Smooth Sessions: INVA//ID at Bar Sinister

Danny Baraz February 5, 2023

Goth, Industrial, EBM, Dark Wave, Post Punk, et al, born in the shadows, is having it’s moment in the sun- to the dismay of some of its denizens. But to Industrial acts like INVA//ID, the spotlight is deserved and somewhat welcome. After all, bands want people at their shows. On this Saturday night at Bar Sinister in Hollywood, there was no lack of patrons. Janky Smooth got a chance to speak with Christopher Rivera and and Krz Greenhaw of INVA//ID about their music, the state of the scene and the sounds and places that have influenced them. One of those influential places is Boardners/Bar Sinister and it’s constant presence in Los Angeles post punk and other scenes and genres cannot be understated. So it was fitting that this was the setting for both the show and our interview. Keep an eye out for the next single from INVA//ID dropping on Feb. 14th with the full length expected in July 2023. INVA//ID: Bandcamp Instagram Videographer: Chris Shaibi Video Editing and Words: Danny Baraz Photos: Jessica Moncrief

Desert Daze 2022: 10 Years In The Evolution Of A Music Scene

Danny Baraz November 8, 2022

Walking into Lake Perris Recreational Center took on new meanings this year after last year’s Desert Daze served to exorcize the ghosts of a global pandemic, to teach us that “Nothing that has happened so far has been anything we could control” and heal our mind, body and souls with drum soul-os. While 2021’s pared down Desert Daze was a cautious delight in a sea of dreck on earth, Desert Daze 2022 was a perfectly curated reckless abandon of people having sex in the lake again and breathing all over each other- in through the nose, out through the mouth. The headliners captured 10 years in the evolution of a music scene, the ascent of previously buzzworthy bands into icons celebrating a decade of seminal albums and a new wave of artists that might also one day celebrate the recently released albums they are currently touring on. For some people, Iggy Pop pulling out of the festival before he could impregnate us with music was a deal breaker but luckily, I received so much Iggy sperm the last 6 years that I was ready to bear my Beach House baby. related: Desert Daze 2021- Music, Magick and Medicine 2022 was

Porno For Pyros at Belasco- A Time Capsule of Sound and Cultural Concepts

Danny Baraz July 20, 2022

When I saw Porno for Pyros pop up on a concert calendar for the Belasco on July 7th, my heart skipped a beat. Not quite as prolific or ingrained in the American pop culture psyche as Janes Addiction, this pure, West Side of L.A. band and their iconic first album came out when I was 17 years old and offered something different but just as sacred to me as Nothing’s Shocking- and I had yet to see them live. Perry Farrel, Peter Distefano, Stephen Perkins and Martyn LeNoble created a unique, percussive, groove oriented and angsty soundtrack from a band in a decade that didn’t exactly fly under the radar but certainly not given their proper due in a decade filled with legends. related: Heaven on Earth: Perry Farrel’s Kind Heaven Orchestra at Teragram Ballroom So how has the world changed since 1993 and subsequently, the narrative in the concepts of their songs. Porno For Pyros offered commentary on gender roles, depression, humanity, the female orgasm, war, politics and cultural divide- all topics that are timeless but many that have been defined and redefined since the beginning of time. In the vast legacy that is still being built by Perry

Pixel Grip at Das Bunker by Rossellini Rogel

Pixel Grip, Spike Hellis and Black Light Odyssey find refuge at Das Bunker

Danny Baraz April 2, 2022

Two words: Das Bunker. Yes, it was that time again for your most militant music mixer. Catch One was the vessel- the living, breathing historic Los Angeles structure acting like a Viet Cong tunnel bunker, hiding nooks and crannies of DJ’s and bands dropping bombs from behind velvet ropes on the various multitudes of creatures of the night. It has been awhile since my last Das Bunker and as a result, my mental health has suffered but the combination of Pixel Grip and Spike Hellis on the line up had me fucked up. Adorning myself in the blackest of the black, I traveled toward the lights. A Yang looking for it’s Yin and all the stunning mutants littered through this character filled venue were beautiful, aloof and might’ve been searching for connection, sex and/or cocaine and other substances to fuel whatever was going to happen on this night. Das Bunker archives at Janky Smooth And what happened was significant. First off, I was here to see Pixel Grip. Their early evening performance at Substance in December was understated in the line-up but revelatory and I dove into them head first after that show. Unwillingly born into the defunct but never

Turnstile “Shake it Up” at the Novo

Danny Baraz March 11, 2022

As I stood in the Novo vaxx card checkpoint line that wrapped around the block and took an hour to traverse, I found myself wondering what it would be like to see Turnstile in such a controlled environment, with a barrier and many different obstacles blocking the way between the stage and the floor. While I was waiting outside lamenting, I missed openers Citizen, Coco and Clair Clair. Sorry guys. It’s hard to believe Turnstile released Pressure to Succeed 11 years ago. While Turnstile have ruled the hardcore scene, to a large degree, to simply call Turnstile a hardcore band would be missing the mark on the massive mutt of music that spawned them. But even with the hints of hardcore punk and most recently, emo (don’t hate me) laced into their songs and albums, make no mistake, they are a hardcore band. Related Content: The Most Complete Sound and Fury 2017 Review on Earth It had been a few years since I saw Turnstile live at Nature World Night Out and the first time since their album, Glow On hit most hipster top 10 albums of 2021- no small feat for a hardcore band from Baltimore. And with that

And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Death Valley Girls at Lodge Room

Danny Baraz December 29, 2021

I discovered … and You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead from their Relative Ways EP less than 30 days after the attacks on the World Trade Center and subsequently their first 2 releases on Interscope Records, in a newly, Post 9/11 world. As hard as the Source Tags and Codes album hit me, it was dwarfed by 2005’s Worlds Apart in how close to my heart a record could be. So when Trail of Dead played “Will You Smile Again?” toward the end of their set at the Lodge Room, I had quite the mixed emotional response of crying and headbanging. On top of all this, Death Valley Girls were opening for Trail of Dead on this tour and their 2020 album, Under the Spell of Joy got me through the dystopian days of a post quarantine, pre vaccine landscape. Death Valley Girls Glow in the Dark at The Echo Record Release Party So here I was, at the Lodge Room, about to intersect past trauma and current disillusioned malaise with the magick that helped me through them both. It also happened to be the first time I was seeing Death Valley Girls with a new battery.

Desert Daze 2021: Music, Magick and Medicine

Danny Baraz December 17, 2021

The road to Desert Daze 2021 was a long and winding way that spanned greater than the material distances of the 10, 60 and 215 highways between Lake Perris and Los Angeles. Everyone’s road was different, from festival organizers, Moonblock and co. and those in attendance. Not everyone’s road was paved with isolation and misery since the last installment of Desert Daze in 2019 but certainly everyone can agree that there has been a paradigm shift in the dynamic of living, or the collective consciousness, or whatever you want to call it, on Planet Earth. related content: Desert Daze 2016- Quantifying the Physics of a Good Time Music, Magick and Medicine beckoned far and wide but intimate attendance (low ticket sales) and a revamped vibe in the typical Desert Daze lineup brought only the most loyal and adventurous of past attendees and in my own conversations in the camp site, many first timers. It shrunk the festival grounds to a one stage operation on the banks of lovely lake Perris, in one of the most beautiful weekends to grace this Fall season in Southern California. Nevertheless, vibrations reverberated like signature sitar tones, like a butterflies wings, causing ripples across space

Chicano Batman Bring a Crumb Home to the Shrine

Danny Baraz November 12, 2021

Chicano Batman must’ve hit such an intense crescendo on their current tour when they reached the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov 10th to play night 1 of 2 sold out dates for their proud, gushing home town crowd. I have to be honest, after opening band Crumb finished their set, I thought I was going to make the word count in this review tilt toward the psych-rock outfit from New York but silly rabbit, Chicano Batman reign supreme in L.A. related content: Texis Or Treats: Sleigh Bells At Teragram Ballroom It was a case of one of the best bands in indie music opening for one of the best bands in indie music. A classic gorge fest of immaculate songwriting meets prodigious musicianship and the line to get through security was still around the block by the time Los Retros took the stage. I wasn’t there to see it for myself but I heard Mauri Tapia of Los Retros broke a guitar string and with no back up, he made the best of it with his wurlitzer tone on keys and classic retro rock croons-manship. I was inside and well placed while the changeover crew set Crumb

Texis or Treats: Sleigh Bells at Teragram Ballroom

Danny Baraz November 3, 2021

Sleigh Bells guitarist and arranger in chief, Derek E. Miller has come a long way from Poison the Well to meeting Alexis Krauss while waiting on her at a restaurant- and an even longer way from Treats to Texis. A wave of nostalgia came over me as Krauss referenced playing El Rey in 2011, because it was one of the shows that got me back into going to shows. Of course, at El Rey, it was just Miller, Krause, some hardware and a literal wall of Marshall cabinets that stretched from the floor of the stage to the rafters. On Thursday, Oct 21st at The Teragram Ballroom, Miller ditched the wall of cabinets but his affinity for tube amps remained in the form of a one piece Marshall. There was plenty of room for Krauss and Miller to add a live drummer, Chris Maggio and synth/ backup singer, Kate Steinberg. My feelings on the changes were mixed, along with the arrival of new album, Texis but before I get into all that, it is crucial for me to give opening band, Kills Birds a proper spot in this review- because they are a revelation. related content: This Ain’t No Reset,

Love in the Time of Covid: Baltra at Don Quixote

Danny Baraz September 24, 2021

It seems like nothing can stop humanity’s innate compulsion to connect, to converge, to coalesce. Nothing has solidified this to me more than those of us that did so the Friday night of August 6th 2021 at Don Quixote to do the Delta variant dance for Minty Boi’s presentation of Baltra. The masked, unmasked, vaxxed and un-vaxxed came together as one writhing, collective consciousness in the midst of the polarization found on any platform that sends and/or receives a signal. This “new normal” gives people watching an entire pre-programmed context that has taken on new dimensions since the global pandemic began. One thing was clear the moment I walked into the missionary-esque celebration hall known as Don Quixote while Miley Serious were throwing down her set: People were ready to de-program, de-contextualize and connect with others or even better still, with themselves. With the lockdown of live, non-streaming music looming on the horizon once again, people hurled themselves onto the dance floor with reckless abandon- and at each other. French DJ and 99cts Records label owner, Miley Serious threw down a high energy, set of electro-magnetic music that moved the collective. Breakdowns were aplenty and beat drops were always

Ty in Morning, Ty in the Evening: Ty Segall at Teragram Ballroom

Danny Baraz September 22, 2021

Words by: Danny Baraz Photos by: Albert Licano On Monday night, Sept 13th, I went to see night 3 of 4 of Ty Segall’s stand at The Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles. Monday day I skated up to the Venice Skatepark, blasting Ty Segall on my Bluetooth speaker, and ran into… Ty Segall. WTF? What can we at Janky Smooth say about Ty Segall that myself and many other contributors haven’t said before? How about this- Ty Segall and his incredible band of wizards spanned their entire, lengthy set list, didn’t play one song that I absolutely “had to hear” and it was still one of the best shows I’ve seen in while. Forget the songs- just the intro to songs, the spatial feedback vibrating the perfect acoustics of the Teragram Ballroom and everyone in it were enough of a show on their own. No small feat for a song writer. But Ty Segall dispels the myth that I’ve heard many espouse, that good song writers aren’t usually prodigious musicians, into the recycle bin of conventional wisdom. Ty’s latest studio effort, “Harmonizer” was touted as a surprise album but how could it surprise anyone who has followed his massive catalog