Danny Baraz, Author at Jankysmooth

Danny Baraz

Time is an Illusion: The Circle Jerks at Pappy and Harriet’s

Danny Baraz September 9, 2021

When you think of punk rock you don’t automatically think of Pioneertown, California or Pappy and Harriet’s–at least, you didn’t until Sunday night when the Circle Jerks played their first gig in over a decade, supported by Negative Approach. related content: Keith Morris Speaks Freely On Lawsuits, Politics & Punk Rock It was a new moon in the Yucca Valley. There was a translucent, blue glow on the edges of the horizon when I pulled up to Pappy and Harriet’s at dusk. Seemingly a few moments later, the sky was dark and you could see the edges of the galaxy in the night sky. I could almost make out the ghosts of Darby Crash and GG Allin in the distance, floating up above us like Obi-wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. What a setting for Keith Morris, Greg Hetson, Zander Schloss and the latest addition to The Circle Jerks-the hard hitting, perfectly metered percussive Jedi Master, Joey Castillo. The buildup to this show was palpable. Not only had it been over 10 years since the Circle Jerks played a show but up until recently, it had been awhile since ANYONE had played a show. This reunion was scheduled for 2020 but

Trash as a Virtue: Surfbort at the Lodge Room

Danny Baraz August 31, 2021

Dani Miller, lead singer of the band Surfbort walked along the line to admit ticket holders into the Lodge Room moments before the doors opened and the words, “Rainbow Vampires” flashed in my mind. She walked the length of the line, glowing with gratitude, admiring and complimenting people’s mullets, liberty spikes and band t-shirts. A seemingly accidental but extremely willing ambassador to an underground garage/trash punk music scene that lives in venues, on vinyl and is powered by the internet. related content: Surfbort Shake-Up Dave’s Shit Show At Resident This was my second time seeing Surfbort. I knew what to expect and I was excited to see it at the Lodge Room. Not only did Surfbort exceed every expectation with a powerfully energetic, command performance but every band on the bill was well rehearsed and the energy in the room was kinetic, cathartic and joyful. First up was was Shamon Cassette, a departure from the punk vibes of the rest of the evening…or was it? The eccentric MC vibes of Shamon Cassette smacked of Kool Keith/Dr Octagon, both in vocal cadence and eccentricity. The band was more difficult to pigeonhole but no less formidable. People who came to slam dance began

JPEGMAFIA, Vince Staples, the Novo, the music blogger, liberals and the CIA ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Danny Baraz April 17, 2019

I’m worried about JPEGMAFIA. Not as a person but more as a concept. See, I’ve spent the last 2 years obsessing on the Black Ben Carson album, almost exclusively. His beats are terrifyingly delicious with almost never a single one of them achieving “banger” status. That would be too cute. No, his sound is one of political and social homicide, with techno kick drums that devour 808’s with distorted resonance, with even bigger promises than that of Bernie Sanders in both the horrifically ambient intros and outros, to single handedly promising to be the pied piper that leads hip hop out of the Drake era. The level of shit talking Peggy achieves on this album is unrivaled in any genre and any medium and even by other JPEGMAFIA albums EP’s or singles. Some have come close or even peaked somewhere near the same point but using his latest and most widely ingested release as an example, the first 4 tracks are straight throwaways that would’ve been better served being used hidden tracks or some other gimmick that allows the listener to focus on a message that seems to be contradicting what both he and critics claim is the meat of

Enter Freedom’s Goblin- Has Ty Segall Finally Jumped the Shark?

Danny Baraz February 8, 2018

In 2017, Ty Segall dropped his 9th solo album which was the second album in his catalog to be self titled and a continuation of what I first felt when absorbing Emotional Mugger- PTFS- Post Ty Fatigue Syndrome- I mean, it seemed like a second self titled album might have hinted that the man himself was tiring. His winning song writing formula began to feel formulaic. There seemed to be a concerted effort on Emotional Mugger to redefine himself- and I stress the word effort! The baby mask, the multiple anecdotal accounts of those who would bear witness told tales of Segall licking his finger like a lollipop and sticking it down people’s throats… but more than that… the music, the songs on Emotional Mugger just didn’t grab me like every fucking album he had put out prior. I thought to myself, “that’s ok that this one album didn’t grab me because all 8 albums prior to this grabbed me by the dick!” Besides, I knew there would be a new album to follow in no longer than 12 months that would once again touch my genitals. Enter album 9- Ty Segall. Ty Segall songs played live with whichever configuration

Jawbreaker At Riot Fest: The Moment I Stopped Hating Pop Punk

Danny Baraz September 21, 2017

Sometimes, a live music moment catches you off guard and hits you so hard that you are overcome with the feels- a band or a song that summons a moment in time, a relationship, a victory or a defeat- you are instantly transported to that time and place with a chord, or a riff or a melody. As a reliable concert crier, I typically have a pretty good idea when that moment is coming. Before the show starts, before I get to the venue and even before tickets go on sale, as soon as a show is announced, I know. But The Misfits as the marquee headliners of Riot Fest 2016 and up to this past Sunday when Jawbreaker were the belles of the ball known as Riot Fest 2017, it redefined the criteria for the eligibility of what makes those moments and what don’t and redefined how I reconciled my musical identity- yeah, Jawbreaker were that good. related content: The Misfits At Riot Fest Chicago 2016: Bats In The Press Tent I was 14 In 1990 when Jawbreaker’s first album, Unfun was released. It was the same year the *greatest speed metal album of all time was unleashed and

Thee Oh Sees And The Practical Applications of Quantum Physics

Danny Baraz September 7, 2017

John Dwyer is a man living the dream- at least from the outside looking in. From that view he embodies a stereotypical but rarely achieved archetype of success as an independent artist. Every fledgling rocker that ever existed since Sid Vicious has sketched out a similar blueprint for themselves on how they would make the music they want, on their terms, on their own label, with an increasingly popular side project to keep themselves artistically satisfied THEIR way. Well, the latest Thee Oh Sees, or Oh Sees, or OCS release on Castle Face Records paired well with a concurrent release of Dwyer solo side project, Damaged Bug, creating a full bodied bouquet of screeching fuzz, juxtaposed with thunderous synth analogs for your ear holes. As is becoming tradition in these moments, Oh Sees played a gig at the Teragram Ballroom with the usual slate of opening acts that would make any headliner have to rise to the challenge of having to follow a band like Zig Zags, to get the double drummer dynamic chops in post season form as they embark on a headlining tour of clubs packed with the most rabid fans in independent music- John Dwyer, along with

Ministry Make Bid To Be Official ANTIFA House Band At San Diego Show

Danny Baraz August 6, 2017

It was FYF weekend in Los Angeles- a weekend in the summer in which Los Angeles is the center of the summer music festival world. Not to mention the swarming packs of virgins in San Diego for Comicon. So why then am I at the San Diego House of Blues, of all places, on the Friday of the first night of the festival in which one of my favorite musicians on the small list of all time greats that I have yet to see is performing? Well, Bjork IS a genius but seeing the Ho99o9 boys open for Ministry in one of my most cherished cities was just too good and intimate to pass up. So I hit up Eaddy, aka YetiBones a couple of weeks beforehand to see what was up and found out that it would also be his birthday on Friday, July 21st. It was so on. related content: FYF 2017 Steals Coachella’s Throne As So-Cal’s Premiere Festival related content: Ministry Make Ears Bleed at Punk Rock Bowling Club Show There were multiple story lines at play this evening. Aside from one of my well documented, favorite new bands playing with one of my favorite all time

Model/Actriz at The Hi Hat by Cameron Pagett

The Next Wave of Sound: Girl Pusher & Model/Actriz at The Hi Hat

Danny Baraz July 21, 2017

Great things happen when you’re motivated to support and be of service to your fellow wo/man. When Julian and Luis of Penniback Records asked that I come to The Hi Hat to check out their new band, Matter Room this past Sunday, I felt the need to move the obstacles which stood in the way of my attendance to their show. God damn was I rewarded for that. I was rewarded by seeing two bands I had yet to see live- Girl Pusher and Model/Actriz. I had no idea what to expect from any of these bands and I LOVE that. Kind of like seeing a movie and never having seen the trailer. My brain is on some kind of default because I seem to always assume that new bands are part of the never ending psych/garage rock revival that seems to be happening in every city in the world right now. It’s not that I’m sick of the psych- it’s that I’m less interested in things that are predictable and formulaic. So many people create or consume art based on what’s popular or common and I’m always looking for the uncommon. Example: Meatbodies first album = unpredictable

Janky Smooth Sessions Interview w/ The Side Eyes

Danny Baraz July 12, 2017

When you see The Side Eyes live or just sit down and talk to them for a spell, it becomes clear pretty quickly that their genealogy and punk rock pedigree have little to do with the rate in which their star is rising- but it certainly doesn’t hurt them, either. related content: Beach Goth Blackout- Janky Smooth Sessions We caught up w/ the band after they opened for Redd Kross at The Echo in our latest Janky Smooth Sessions Interview w/ The Side Eyes. Astrid McDonald, Kevin & Chris Devine and newest addition, drummer Sam Mankinen (Melted) seem to be quite loving- a supportive band of punks in a genre built on cynicism and frustration. Punk rock being just like any other microcosm, we explore the ways in which the world has changed by noting the ways punk rock and it’s faithful approach “the scene” and subsequently, the world. related content: Steve McDonald Assembles All of His Family and Paid Gigs to Commemorate Teen Babes from Monsanto We discuss what having Charlotte Caffey as your mom, Jeff McDonald as your dad and Steve McDonald playing in Melvins, OFF! and Redd Kross as your uncle does to a kid’s sense

Black Lips Vandalize L.A. w/ Satan’s Graffiti at The Regent Theater

Danny Baraz July 6, 2017

Yes, your favorite garage rockin’, junked out beatniks, the Black Lips have a new album and are currently on tour. And just like the many indie anti-hero demi-gods that have gone before them, they have their eyes on the prize of scaling their operations onto the tape and record players and bluetooth audio speakers of music civilians that don’t take this shit as seriously as some of us do. You know, the ones that send you into the largely undefined, next level of this nebulous blob forming in the place where the music industry used to be. So, because of my deep affection for the bad kid rockers and the fact that I don’t hate their latest album, Satan’s Graffiti or God’s Art? like I’ve heard from a handful of Black Lips purists upon it’s release, the most important task for determining it’s value to my music portfolio was to see them do it live… besides, maybe Yoko Ono would show up at The Regent Theater as a guest to perform on the song she’s featured on the new album her son Sean produced, “Occidental Front”… related content: Snapshot Of A New Music Industry- White Fang, No Parents & The

Punk Rock Bowling 2017: You Can’t Be What You Were…

Danny Baraz June 9, 2017

Looking out into the sea of people in the expanses that sprawl out from the upgraded festival stage at Punk Rock Bowling’s virgin location in the booming district of Downtown Las Vegas was a seismic life experience. Not just because of how fucking rad Punk Rock Bowling was this year but because all the events of the weekend set to the music of the festival served as a soundtrack to life’s highlight reel in my head. A series of events culminated into the bitter-sweetest regression of lonerism one could ever celebrate, as I stood alone, backstage, watching The Adicts play the best set I’d ever seen from them. Being 2 months out of knee surgery, that familiar human turbine engine of 7,k people dancing and swirling in front of the stage like a pack of bats taking flight at sun down or a school of fish changing direction in unison was unfamiliar from this vantage point- I’ve always preferred being IN the engine instead of being a spectator. Because when you’re in the pit, you’re dealing directly with any physical manifestation of frustration or anger that might have built up through the grind of life and you aren’t really thinking

Take This: Win 2 Tix To See Pallbearer at The Echoplex on 5/18

Danny Baraz May 16, 2017

Pallbearer dropped a MASSIVE 3rd doom metal album this past March and they are showing why it’s perfect timing for Metal to make a comeback- right here, right now. With the hard rock resurgence the past couple years, the endless stream of pop punk and garage rock proliferating out of every shitty amp in America are being incinerated. It’s perfect timing for Pallbearer to throwdown like they have with their album Heartless released by Profound Lore records and catch them while in the midst of their current tour.. Janky Smooth is giving away 2 Tickets to see Pallbearer this Thursday, May 18th at The Echoplex in Los Angeles. You can BUY TICKETS NOW or Complete These Two Steps to Enter to Win Join our Newsletter. A subscription box pops up anytime you visit our site. Fill out three fields and hit submit. If you subscribe and the box disappears you are entered to win. No newsletter confirmation will be sent. Share or Retweet the Pallbearer Ticket giveaway post on either FB or Twitter. Tag a friend in our ticket giveaway post on Instagram. That’s it. Winner will be announced on Thursday morning, 11am pacific time. Winner will be contacted