Taylor Wong, Author at Jankysmooth

Taylor Wong

Moon Block Uses Third Eye To Bring Rock and Roll Circus To Teragram

Taylor Wong January 18, 2016

Saturday night rolled up and LA was popping with amazing shows all around town. I made my way down to one of my new favorite venues, The Teragram Ballroom. Our friends at Moon Block were hosting their “Rock n’ Roll Circus”. Yeah I didn’t know what that meant either. The Rock N’ Roll Circus was a line up that consisted of Fever the Ghost, JJUUJJUU, Hott MT, Morgan Delt, and Vinyl Williams. The circus aspect came into play with the fact that it was one long continuous set where members of all acts would switch out over the course of the set. It was broken up into two parts with a “snack time” intermission in-between. The stage was decorated with Chinese lanterns that were made too look like neon eyeballs. The lighting ranged between super intense to non-existent. This factored into the shooting of photos but I just brushed it off and bounced around the room, messing around with different settings. I could barely keep track of who was on stage but it seemed that Phil Pirrone of JJUUJJUU and Moon Block general contributed to a majority of the set. Also, we were graced with Jeffertiti’s presence through various points throughout the set.

Mike Watt & Dirty Laundry TV: South Bay Slam Fest at Harvard and Stone

Taylor Wong January 14, 2016

It has been quite some time since I have been to Harvard and Stone specifically for music. Don’t get me wrong, I am there at least once a week because it is by far the best bar with the best bartenders in LA. But ever since Andrew Huggy stopped booking the shows, the nights have been kind of meh. Luckily, Adam Mayes took over the Thursday night bookings and has helped book some amazing shows like the New Years show with Jesse Hughes of Eagles of Death Metal. Tonight, we were graced with an epic Dirty Laundry TV show with Mid-Coitus, Mike Watt and the Missingmen, Death Hymn Number 9, and Zig Zags. I unfortunately did not make it for Mid-Coitus due to being misinformed on the start time of the show. I made it to Harvard and Stone and immediately was amazed by the size of the line. I get inside to Mike Watt and The Missingmen already playing and the house was packed to the brim. I fought my way to the front to grab some shots. Oh yeah, if you didn’t catch that, Mike Watt (headliner of the night) played second. Apparently he can do that and

Ty Segall and the Muggers Secret Show at Silverlake Lounge

Ty Segall And The Muggers Play Secret Warm Up Gig at Silverlake Lounge

Taylor Wong January 6, 2016

“Secret shows” are not a rare thing in LA. Ty Segall seems to have one every few months. Previously, Segall had been booking the secret, Monday shows at the Griffin with Jason Finazzo of The Birth Defects. Last night I had the pleasure of attending a secret show with Ty Segall and his new band, The Muggers. I heard about this show last minute and rushed over to the Silverlake Lounge. I thought I was on time when I got there at 8:50 and got a parking spot right in front of the bar. There was a line of about 10 people so again, I thought I had won. I soon realized the line was a result of the show already reaching capacity from all the ticket sales. Secret shows are never actually a secret here in LA. I got lucky and met a guy who’s girl friend bailed so I bought him a beer in exchange for his ticket. I got in just in time to catch the end of the opening band by the name of “the band”. “The Band”, in fact, turned out to be none other than shredder Charles Moothart’s outfit, CFM and will be joining

Disclosure at The Sports Arena: Seizures, Car Crashes and Beer Stashes

Taylor Wong October 3, 2015

It was about two years ago to the day that Disclosure did two back to back, sold out shows at The Fonda in Hollywood. A couple nights ago, Disclosure kicked off their European and American tour here in Los Angeles at the LA Sports Arena. Not only was it their first show of the tour but it was also the first ever stadium concert. I was lucky enough to be invited over to shoot archival photos for the Coliseum and Sports Arena, once again. The call came in about an hour before the doors opened. I was over near LAX while my camera was all the way over in Hollywood and rush hour had just started. I raced home to grab my camera, well aware I would never make it for opening act Lion Babe. I made it to my apartment just in time, even after watching a car hurling down the street, crashing right into a storefront. I ran into my apartment, got my camera gear in order and step out the door locking the door behind me. Oh, what’s this? My car keys are now locked inside my apartment? At this point I have come to terms with

Mosquitto and Sand Babes at Footsies: The Soundtrack for my Blackout

Taylor Wong October 2, 2015

Sunday night I made my way over to Footsies after downing half a bottle of tequila. Mosquitto and Sand Babes were set to play in the small dive bar in Highland Park. The bar was filled with familiar faces and unfamiliar faces, alike. Every one was beautiful and under the influence of something, mostly whiskey but others maybe had a little extra something, something. I only managed to put down 1 more beer during the course of the show. Actually, I take that back I was in some alley at some point drinking whiskey out of a brown paper bag with Mosquitto before their set but I’ll get back to that later. The night started pretty early with Ned Casual DJ’ing some tunes for the early arrivals. Around 11pm Sand Babes went on. At least I think it was 11, like I said the night’s a little blurry for me. They had the room packed with girls grooving to their, well, groovy tunes. I even caught myself wiggling around during their set. After Sand Babes I met up with Kevin Compton of Mosquitto and at that point that half a bottle of tequila had hit me. We made our way

Radkey Play The Echo and Make Me a Believer

Taylor Wong September 23, 2015

It has been about a month since I have been out to cover any thing and I was jonesin’ for a good show. FYF was my last assignment and that is entirely too long. I was sent out to The Echo, one of my most frequented and favorite venues to check out the brothers, Radkey. I got there right when the doors opened like a freshman at Junior Prom. The month away from shows had me acting like a newbie. Since I got there early, I grabbed a beer and sat down as I took in my surroundings. As I sat there I took a deep breath of the musty venue air. The venue was quite empty, “but that’s ok since it’s still early”, I thought to myself. Gentle Pony took the stage first. This duo had a sound that I would describe as a grown up Cherry Glazerr. This band was the perfect start to the evening as Steve and Lena both thrashed around the stage from start to end of their set. The odd thing was that this was probably the largest the crowd ever got during the course of the entire show. The next band up was Prettiest Eyes. A 3-piece band that had its own horny cowboy. This

No Parents pose at Echo Park Rising by Taylor Wong

Echo Park Rising 2015: Rising and Rising and Rising…

Taylor Wong August 20, 2015

In it’s 5th year, Echo Park Rising has become a barometer of culture in Eastern Los Angeles. 20 years ago, the music scene in L.A. was way further west on Sunset Blvd on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. Most of the music lovers that attended Echo Park Rising 2015 this past weekend wouldn’t have felt safe crossing the street in this part of L.A. 20 years ago. 20 years ago, the club now called The Satellite was purchased by a man named Mitchell Frank (and partners) and transformed from a gay disco called Dreams of L.A. and rebranded into an alternative music club they named, Dreams and Spaceland. That one event proved to be one of the most important events in the history and future of the city of Los Angeles. That one event was a catalyst to the complete transformation of everything between Los Feliz to Downtown L.A. Significant events like the building of Staples Center in 1998 and the collapse of the music industry at the turn of the century contributed to the transformation but Mitchell Frank might just go down as one of the most important figures of modern history in L.A. There aren’t many examples of gentrification

Them Howling Bones Vinyl Release Party at Harvard and Stone

Vinyl Release Party with Them Howling Bones at Harvard and Stone

Taylor Wong June 1, 2015

We love Them Howling Bones over here at Janky Smooth and we have been super hyped on this upcoming vinyl release of Them Howling Bones tracks: Follow You Home and Left For Dead. The release party had an awesome line up at an awesome bar with awesome people. What I’m trying to say is the party was awesome. The line up consisted of Sand Babes and Cutty Flam, two awesome Los Angeles bands and was brought to you by Pizza Party Music, A Pint of Cacophony, Cretin Hop and Janky Smooth. The night also consisted of Roger Mars from Cretin Hop providing some dancy tracks between sets. Sand Babes has that very psychedelic/surf vibe that’s been catching on here in LA. and all over the world. They remind me of Mystic Braves and The Growlers. They have a great sound but to be honest it’s starting to get very repetitive to me and becomes very difficult to stand out. Cutty Flam classify themselves as Prom Punk which I believe The Muffs classified themselves as that at Punk Rock Bowling. I’ve heard great things about Cutty Flam and was extremely excited to catch their set for the first time. I also

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion Detonate at The Echoplex

Taylor Wong May 8, 2015

It was a rainy Thursday night out here in Echo Park. I could imagine no other acceptable way to spend this rainy evening than at the John Spencer Blues Explosion show at The Echoplex. Now I’m a noob when it come to Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, but what I have heard is that they put on an explosive show. Pun intended. So a little fact about me- I’m compulsively early to almost everything I do. This came in handy this specific evening. There were only 2 bands scheduled to play this last night. Opening for Jon Spencer Blues Explosion was a band by the name We Are Hex. About 15 minutes before they went on I realized, being human and all, I had forgotten something necessary to cover the show. I was able to rush home and back by the time they were 2 songs into their set. I was extremely glad I made it back in time, not only because I still had a job to do but because We Are Hex were simply incredible. Front woman Jilly Weiss reminds me of a grungier Exene Cervenka of X mixed with a little Brody Dalle of the Distillers. She awkwardly/adorably danced around

Chet Faker, White People and Masturbation at Club Nokia

Taylor Wong April 16, 2015

Words and Photos: Taylor Wong The other night I got the chance to cover a show that I normally wouldn’t attend but I was blessed enough to witness Nicholas James Murphy aka, Chet Faker’s second show of two that were sandwiched between two performances at Coachella. Now i’m not saying I wouldn’t cover it because he sucks, because that’s just not true. I am just not that into electronic music. The only way I would be down to see something electronic is if it were something bass-y like Chet Faker or Flume. Those kinds of acts take the electronic production and mix it with live music in the most fascinating way. I am writing this review from the perspective of some one who had no expectations. Aside from listening to him briefly on Spotify the day of the show and stumbling upon him at Fyf Fest last year, I was in the dark. Even before arriving at the Club Nokia, I assumed Chet Faker had a predominantly white, female demographic- around the age of 20 to be specific. As soon as I entered the venue I took not of how empty it was for a sold out show. I’ve noticed over the course of this year that it seems like people

Marmozets Move The Crowd at the Echoplex

Taylor Wong April 8, 2015

I’m about to get a little personal with all of you, probably to the point where you may want to just punch me in the face. This past week has been one of the most hectic weeks of the year for me. Between covering shows almost every other day, one of which was the 2 day, Burgerama festival and moving from Redondo out to Hollywood; I also work at a bar 5 days a week. Just writing that made me exhausted. During this hectic week, I ran into my buddy Brandon Blaine from Plague Vendor at Burgerama on my way out of the festival. I grabbed his photo and caught up for a bit. During our little conversation, he mentioned that his girl friend, Becca Macintyre would be playing The Echoplex with her band, Marmozets that Thursday of that gnarly week. Not realizing how beat up I would be by then, I told him that I would come check them out. Boy, was I glad I did that. It was a much needed break from moving boxes. Marmozets have been playing shows since 2007 and have played in the past with such bands as Funeral For a Friend, The Used,

The Shrine and Dirty Fences Support Olivia Jaffe’s Obey Collab

Taylor Wong April 7, 2015

Friday night- Olivia Jaffe had a photo gallery that was over run with bikers and rock n’ roll vixens that could make a grown man cry. The show was backed by sponsors such as Pabst Blue Ribbon, Sailor Jerry, Obey, Dice Magazine, Rolling Heavy Magazine, Death Lens, Ashbury, and L.A. records, making this one epic party. Oh, did I also mention Dirty Fences and The Shrine played as well? Andrew Huggy wasn’t fucking around when he put this one together. In the past, Huggy has brought us some fantastic free shows with fantastic open bars, some of those previous shows had headliners such as Restavrant, Divola, and Jesus Sons. Although these parties are usually hosted at some secret motorcycle garage between DTLA and Echo Park, this specific show moved locations to a place called The Paper Agency. The Paper Agency is an awesome little art studio a couple shops over from The Well. With a line up like this and free booze you could only expect one thing, Bikers, babes, and a shit ton of hair. The street in front of the venue was lined with motorcycles and vans straight out of the 70’s. This was my kind of show.