Rob Shepyer, Author at Jankysmooth

Rob Shepyer

122 Hours of Adult. at the Lodge Room

Rob Shepyer May 14, 2022

We here at Jankysmooth consider Adult. a must-see show every time they swing into Los Angeles. We follow their career closely, always giving them credit and props for every step on this avant-garde journey to push the boundaries of music. They make artistic moves beyond anything anyone else is doing, totally devoted to their music and legacy over seemingly everything. Every music new music video is a slice of imagination from another dimension that no one thought of before them. It’s freshness personified, even if no gets it. What makes them great, is that usually, everyone gets it no matter how weird it is. Adult. makes art in the simplest, most inspiring terms. Without boundaries, full of riddles, and able to be interpreted ad infinitum. Their show at the Lodge Room was much anticipated, this is a venue I knew the band should play for the longest time, thinking that stage and its epic backdrop would suit their music and audience perfectly. The Lodge Room has always hosted the most cutting-edge artists that the underground adores. related content: Adult. Interview: Warriors For Weird The evening’s lineup was filled with such powerful artists beginning with industrial’s freshest young duo: Spike Hellis.

In Amyl We Trust: Amyl and the Sniffers at Teragram

Rob Shepyer May 10, 2022

I feel a bit late to the party. By now, Amyl and the Sniffers aren’t underground punk darlings from Australia anymore. At this point, the band hasn’t just cemented themselves as one of the most dynamic and electric acts in the entire genre, they’ve gone on to influence numerous bands and a whole damn scene within punk to boot. I’m lucky enough to be early to a different party though, that one hosted by C.O.F.F.I.N. the Aussie rockers that Amyl brought on tour with them. These guys rip in undeniable fashion, harkening back the sonic sex appeal of AC/DC but with a harder edge. It’s through a band like C.O.F.F.I.N. that AC/DC will go in history as proto-punk someday. related content: Amyl and the Sniffers at the Teragram Ballroom Amyl and the Sniffers have been getting incredible praise for a long while now. People were saying this band resurrected the classic punk sound but with a hint of glam. The sort of punk or hardcore shows I frequent are usually devoid of the feminine energy that Amyl has in loads. And I don’t point that out because Amy is a woman, I mean the sound itself balances masculine and feminine

Return to Reign: Sound and Fury Presents Terror and Strife at 1720

Rob Shepyer May 4, 2022

How crazy is it that it’s been three years since the last Sound and Fury? Here was this festival that acted as a living metaphor for eternal youth and summer love, and then it got suspended by lockdowns that in essence froze people’s minds from maturing while their bodies very much got three or five or ten years older over the pandemic. Still though, the relevance of the bands that made Sound and Fury so special haven’t been diminished one bit since they demolished the Belasco. Mindforce and Dead Heat are still the young princes in this kingdom. Meanwhile, Terror and Strife are still kings. related content: L.A.’s Best Festival is Sound And Fury (imo). Here’s Why: Dead Heat opening a hardcore show must mean there’s some kind of killer lineup ahead. Usually, this band is either the closer or direct support, brought out as some kind of secret weapon to really get the festivities popping off, but this show was almost a mini-festival, and the pits needed to be wild right from the jump, so who better than Ventura County’s own nardcore royalty, Dead Heat? Nobody’s better, that’s who. related content: Boston Calling: Sound And Fury 2019 Legendary New

Love, Pain, Sorrow, Joy: An Evening with Dakhabrakha at the Theatre at the Ace Hotel

Rob Shepyer May 2, 2022

It’s not often that world music becomes popular among the LA indie scene to the point a band can sell out the majestic Theatre at the Ace Hotel. This hallowed space, made sacred by the art decorating its interior up to the heavenly portal in the ceiling, has hosted many special moments in LA music history. Dakhabrakha, the Ukrainian psychedelic band, performing here to aid their countrymen during a brutal war, was unforgettable. What made it so memorable was the grandiosity of the show. A massive stage with giant screens inside a huge theatre all for this one foreign quartet. In this space, the complexity of the music could deliver its message simply and perfectly, all for the sake of saving Ukraine and Ukrainians. Dakhabrakha plays in so many musical and thematic spaces, with songs about everything from love, to war, to tragedy, and to spring time. They sing in numerous languages form Ukrainian to Italian or to pantomiming the sounds of nature itself. related content: Analysis of a Slavic Heart: Molchat Doma at The Roxy As a half-Russian/half-Ukrainian, I could feel the Eastern European hearts beating around me. There were also a large psych scene presence there, needing to

Drugs Music: The Brian Jonestown Massacre at the Wiltern

Rob Shepyer April 27, 2022

“Drugs Music” is the umbrella term for the sounds created by The Brian Jonestown Massacre in Anton Newcombe’s own words. He didn’t specify whether this meant the music was the drug or that the music was meant to be enjoyed on drugs, but both are true. Seeing the Brian Jonestown Massacre live is like barreling down a tunnel of infinite and psychedelic love with kaleidoscope colors changing like LSD-friendly chameleons as flower petals shower you in hippie kisses. They’ve harnessed some kind of psych rock induced hypnosis that transports you back in time (or rather through dimensions) to a place sorta like the 60’s where there’s boundless amounts of free love and exquisite weed, friendly vagabonds and outlaws roam about and warmly say hello to everyone they encounter, but it’s a 60’s without all the bloated pontification, the vibe here is much more real. Just go with the flow, that’s the mantra of the music. This show made me feel loose and always connected to that Godly flow instead of being caught in a mental web by useless thoughts that restrict one’s actions and worldview. Someone who just lets the flow dictate their actions all the time without the weight

Two Nights of Emotional Body Music: Boy Harsher at the Belasco

Rob Shepyer April 26, 2022

Boy Harsher‘s rise from underground dance music phenoms to one of the most in-demand goth duos in music, is not just a tale of triumph over cookie-cutter culture, but also a testament to the power of pure emotion and sensuality over pop, glamour, and the mainstream. Boy Harsher’s music is coined Emotional Body Music, a play on Nitzer Ebb’s Electronic Body Music which is a play on Electronic Dance Music. The three of these acronyms dance around each other in a story that has Boy Harsher, Jae Matthews and Augustus Miller, as its protagonists. On the softer side of taste that industrial and goth fans usually enjoy, Boy Harsher appeals to everyone that wants to spend the night losing themselves to irrational movement. To become a total extension of your emotions, to let your body lose control for the sake of release and resurrection by the end of a set, it’s hard not to care how you appear but if you can start moving incrementally harder, you may be able to redefine yourself as the person thats surpassed your previous self’s problems. related content: The Sound Of Sex: Boy Harsher Seduces The Echoplex I remember seeing Boy Harsher at Substance

Analysis of a Slavic Heart: Molchat Doma at the Roxy

Rob Shepyer April 21, 2022

It is my personal mission to spread the creed of Molchat Doma far and wide across the So-Cal internet airwaves. I feel so compelled because like me, these three men are of Slavic descent, them from Belarus and myself, the child of Russian-Ukrainian immigrants. More than that though, my father was a Ukrainian musician that immigrated to America, hoping to make it in the music industry. He never accomplished this dream but Molchat Doma’s success is a vicarious victory. If they can break out through the (former) iron curtain and into the international mainstream to play Coachella then it’s almost like they fulfilled my father’s dream and so, I will do whatever I can to uplift these three dreamers. related content: Super Saiyan Sasami At The Teragram Ballroom My background doesn’t just make me empathize with and root for this band, it helps me understand them. I understand what elements make a Slavic heart and the textures of Slavic emotion. Much of this is hard to put into words but for the length of this article, I will do my best. Eastern Europeans feel melodrama in a way Americans simply don’t, at least not on the surface. We might be

Super Saiyan Sasami at the Teragram Ballroom

Rob Shepyer April 19, 2022

Those who attended Desert Daze’s legendary 2019 installment will never forget Sasami‘s set. It was sweet, tender and psychedelic. Sprinkled with her signature screeches, the band separated themselves into a different league than the rest of the lineup. It was clear to me that Sasami Ashworth was willing to take risks the rest of the LA indie scenesters weren’t dabbling with. That was in a different world though, now, after so much global turmoil, Sasami has evolved into a different artist altogether. Her latest album, Squeeze, has heavy metal, industrial and hardcore moments that are so potent, that instead of being the outlier of the LA indie scene, the scene changes to the music. The Nagas serpent woman that adorns the cover represents Sasami’s anime-esque character arc where a hero or villain needs to show their true form to stand a chance in battle. Slithering, coiling, and constricting with four arms on each side of her serpentine tail, Sasami reminds me of the light version of Naruto’s Orochimaru mixed with a bit of Takashi Miike cinema. related content: Silver Lake Perris: Desert Daze 2019 The concert in question at the Teragram Ballroom was the last stop on Sasami’s tour. This

How to Wage Class Warfare: D.O.A. at the Roxy

Rob Shepyer April 17, 2022

“Listen to your elders”, though punk rock is eternally young, the timeless adage applies to this rebel art form. Since D.O.A.‘s groundbreaking 2nd album, Hardcore ’81, the genre they helped create has gone through many evolutions and branching-offs until it doesn’t quite resemble its original sonic or thematic mold. Hardcore doesn’t need to change their sounds, but it wouldn’t hurt to listen to Godfather punk bands like D.O.A. more, not just to be inspired by that original, tested and proven sound, but to relearn what the true ethos and political/existential stance punk is supposed to stand for. related content: Sacred Vibration: Guided By Voices At Teragram The moment D.O.A. broke into “Class War”, off the band’s third album, War on 45, introducing the song by saying “the only war worth fighting is a class war” I knew all bets were off. D.O.A. and bands from their era never failed to mince words, opting to make songs with straight forward messaging, striking metaphor, ruthless aggression and artistic bravery that also get the party and pit going full speed. Hardcore these days is much more interested in brutality. There’s nothing wrong with that but in times like these when we can’t quite

Dungeon Demon: Hulder at Don Quixote

Rob Shepyer April 16, 2022

Black metal is like black caviar, a rare and special treat not to be consumed everyday for every meal but on those much needed occasions when you need to feel truly alive. Grizzly, noisy, hazy, and atmospheric are the usual descriptors the mind shuffles through trying to synthesize the experience of listening to this purely underground genre. However, when seeing Hulder live, my mind was more consumed with the thought of power, in awe of how much she was able to harness when performing on stage. It’s not just in her demonic vocals or the way she wields a black guitar, or even a sword for that matter, it’s the entirety of her presence. You sense that this person has integrated the genre so deeply into their core, that they’ve become an actual warrior. As if there’s some kind of medieval mitochondria the black metal injected into her cells to give her the fortitude to be Hulder. related content: Satyricon’s Final Los Angeles Show At The Regent: A Night Too Blackened To Forget Women in black metal isn’t common. It’s not unheard of but it’s certainly not the reason Hulder is special. Hulder is special because she commands an audience,

Take This: Win Two Tickets to Ho99o9 at the Echoplex

Rob Shepyer April 12, 2022

Our favorite dynamic duo are back in Los Angeles to kick your ass and play songs off their latest album SKIN. Ho99o9 never disappoints and neither do we. We’re giving away two ticket to see them at the Echoplex for y’all to fight over. YOU CAN BUY TICKETS HERE or ENTER TO WIN 2 TICKETS TO HO99O9 APRIL 15TH AT THE ECHOPLEX Step 1- Join Our Newsletter (look for pop up every time you arrive at jankysmooth.com) Step 2 – Tag a Friend in the comment section of our INSTAGRAM or FACEBOOK HO99O9 Ticket Giveaway Post WINNER WILL BE SELECTED ON APRIL 14TH AT 1PM PST VIA EMAIL CONFIRMATION

Take This: Win Two Tickets to Sasami at Teragram

Rob Shepyer April 11, 2022

Sasami has always been a darling of the indie and psych scenes but with her most recent album, Squeeze, we expect the metal kids to start digging her too. We’re giving away two tickets to her upcoming Teragram show and can’t wait to see you there. YOU CAN BUY TICKETS HERE or ENTER TO WIN 2 TICKETS TO SASAMI APRIL 13TH AT THE TERAGRAM BALLROOM Step 1- Join Our Newsletter (look for pop up every time you arrive at jankysmooth.com) Step 2 – Tag a Friend in the comment section of our INSTAGRAM or FACEBOOK SASAMI Ticket Giveaway Post WINNER WILL BE SELECTED ON APRIL 12TH AT 1PM PST VIA EMAIL CONFIRMATION