Category: FEATURES

Death Valley Girls at The Echo Record Release Party

Death Valley Girls Glow In The Dark At The Echo Record Release Party

Danny Baraz July 6, 2016

There is something different emerging from the Los Angeles music scene. It’s not nice. Or sweet. Or candy-bar-bubble gum. Or a drunken teenage blackout filled with mild regret. And I like it. Death Valley Girls aren’t like your typical Burger Records band. You can’t simply attach the punk, psychedelic or garage rock label to them and be done with it. They aren’t your standard, soft balled psych rockers seeking some type of enlightenment through their experiments with hallucinogens. They are what happens when the acid turns and the faces around you become deranged and unfriendly; surrounded by deeply troubled individuals slipping further and further away from society with each hit of blotter. Death Valley Girls’ second album, “Glow in the Dark” summons the seventies more than it summons the summer of love. When America was in the midst of an identity crisis, amidst events such as the Nixon resignation, Patty Hearst and Jonestown. And even though the Manson murders occurred in 1969, the events surrounding the high profile slayings in the Hollywood Hills reverberated across the forthcoming decade and dispelled the image of hippies as harmless, peace loving druggies. Trust no one. But singer/songwriter Bonnie Bloomgarden insists that, “you can

Memoirs of a Bernie Bro

Danny Baraz June 23, 2016

After every prolonged and pointless online battle, I knew I wasn’t handling this correctly or even, well and I promised to just let it go the next time someone posted the photo of Bernie Sanders in a Lamborghini or when the average voter proclaimed Hillary Clinton to be a progressive; not for any other reason but hanging onto my own sanity. But there I was, wasting all day the next day having the same arguments with different people (and sometimes the same people), unable to let even one opportunity pass to deliver my most money comment, (“incremental change is the new trickle down economics”). All those “likes” I experienced on my Sanders posts in December of 2015 turned into proverbial “crickets” in May of 2016. Those who condescendingly used to say they “liked Bernie but…” were starting to turn, calling him an ego maniac and claiming he was actually hurting his supporters by staying in this race. I started to soothe myself by reminding me that they just hadn’t been unplugged from the Matrix, yet and they were just suckling at the cable news teat. I wasn’t a #neverhillary but the DNC and the #voteblue demo pushed me, a life long Democrat close

The Blank Tapes in London shot by Sheva Kafai

Yankee Smooth: A Day in the U.K. With The Blank Tapes

Paige Vreede May 26, 2016

It’s been quite a journey being in London. There are 8,539,000 people living here, yet it is one of the loneliest cities I have ever been to. Upon discovering that The Blank Tapes were coming to town, I was exuberant with joy knowing I would finally get the chance to see some familiar faces. It was a Tuesday evening and they were playing at a venue, The Shacklewell Arms, which is conveniently just down the street from where I currently reside. I couldn’t count the minutes fast enough for when I’d be able to see them. Their show started at 9:45pm and at approximately 9:00pm, I heard American accents emerging from my kitchen. A tall, shaggy blonde haired dude walked up to me and got half way through an introduction before he realized, he in fact, definitely knew me. Oh Mr. Matt Adams was just living up to his stoner persona. Ironically, my housemate was invited to fill in on the drums mid-way through the blank tapes tour, and they had made already made arrangements for the band to stay at ours. It was a pleasant surprise seeing Adams walk through the door of my place and it only furthered my excitement in seeing them perform. Once entering the venue, I was

New Sound Alliance Bernie Sanders Fundraiser at Regent Theater

NSA Fundraiser and Launch w/ The Garden & Punk Rock Karaoke

Danny Baraz May 25, 2016

On Wednesday, May 18th, the New Sound Alliance held it’s very first event at The Regent Theater in Downtown Los Angeles; A Fundraiser for Senator Bernie Sanders. And while raising funds for Sanders to insure a significant showing in the California Primary to make legitimate claims to storm the floor at the DNC Convention in Philly this July was the primary purpose of our party, introducing the New Sound Alliance to the Los Angeles music community was just as important. There is always a fear in art, business and activism when attempting to launch a new project. While there is always a risk of bearing your heart to attract like minded people to join you in a quest for understanding and action, there is little more exhilarating in life when your passion is validated by sparking the passion in others. Young and old fans and key figures in the L.A. music scene turned out in droves to support Senator Sanders and check out some of the best, young talent in L.A., as well as to sing live Karaoke with legends of punk rock like Greg Hetson, Stan Lee, Steve Soto and Darryn Pheiffer aka Punk Rock Karaoke. We only had

Inter-Review With Charles Moothart on Eve of CFM Release

Brent Smith April 8, 2016

CFM – Still Life of Citrus and Slime: An Interview with Charles Moothart “He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man.” -Samuel L. Johnson That famed opening axiom is no less true with CFM’s Still Life of Citrus and Slime, in which Charles Moothart goes full wolfman to transmit a bubbly, thick, and no doubt, arresting solo debut. For Moothart—the proper Lennon to Ty Segall’s McCartney—his new LP (In The Red Records) is an analog sigil for some gnarly soul searching. For the rest of us lucky bastards, it’s an incendiary trip of sour neon rock ‘n’ roll that, without it, immediately leaves your record collection wanting. It was more of a vision quest than an attempt to make a rock album. “There was no timetable to worry about,” he told me over the phone. “It was nice to go into a room and shut the door and forget about time and just let it happen as it needed to happen.” Moothart took a piecemeal approach, channeling sounds strung together spontaneously as he jumped from one instrument to the next; any scheming be damned. Though the album was composed as more extemporaneous

David “Minivan” Evanko & His Long Journey For Inspiration

Brent Smith March 30, 2016

Photographers are crucial to any underground music scene. “Only a rare eye can make such intense people doing intense things on sticky floors so unforgettable, even decades later,” said Jello Biafra, speaking of those like Ed Colver and Glen E. Friedman, those who braved the violence of the pit to capture the California punk explosion, and whose images still remain embedded in the hearts and minds of diehards and true believers. People someday may be saying the same about David Evanko, aka Minivan Photography, who has snapped every band across the fuzzy spectrum (you’ve definitely caught some of his work here on Janky Smooth) with a cool intimacy that not only puts you there, but makes you feel what there was like. His work has done nothing short of elating the local scene, so much so that you sense his spry, exploratory lens extends far beyond the walls of sweaty basements and hyped music fests. Before embarking on a recent South American odyssey, he was shooting up to four shows a week, driving up to L.A. as often as he could from his east San Diego barrio—a city that’s been a big, fat music void for far too long. Eventually,

My First SXSW: Confessions of Fanboy Posing As Music Critic

Danny Baraz March 26, 2016

Last week was my first time attending SXSW in Austin. This allows me to offer an opinion on this massive institution that is completely untainted by past experience. Like most institutions that sprouted from an independent spirit into a behemoth of industry, SXSW has detractors that begrudge the success it has achieved. Given that this was my first time attending, I could see it for what it really is without the skewed vision of what it was. Austin, Texas is one of my favorite cities in the world. Not because it has epic landscapes or white sand beaches but for it’s artisan spirit and wonderful people. I have visited it’s streets and venues a number of times in my life but for whatever reason, I had yet to attend this event. Walking down 6th or any of the adjacent streets reveals a band, DJ or singer/songwriter embedded in every doorway, venue, café and every square foot in every direction you look. Like an infestation of joy and expression, SXSW is a complete takeover of a city that is already overflowing with music. We here at Janky Smooth are fans first and that is what motivates every show we cover, every

L.A. Hustle at SXSW 2016: Bands, Labels, Promoters & Publications

Danny Baraz March 23, 2016

Artists, agents, publicists and partiers come from far and wide to take part in one of the largest music and networking events in the world. Fans attending SXSW in Austin ,Texas view it as a diverse display of music in which they can recreationally party and enjoy bands they love and bands they discover throughout the week long musical portion of the conference. The aforementioned groups of art producers and opportunists view the conference much differently than the fans or even the way they themselves typically view playing a regular show or festival. With a somewhat intimate knowledge of the bands in Southern California and their proxies, it was fascinating to watch it all unfold in front of me. From Burger Records to Lolipop Records, iHeartcomix to Desert Daze, the Los Angeles and greater Southern California area musicians and business’ were very well represented at SXSW 2016. Janky Smooth was proud to see the members of our scene thriving in such a competitive environment and of course, to make our own stamp on the events surrounding the conference in our very first SXSW experience as a publication. On the band side, there were L.A. bands like one of our low

Millennials- Is The World Right About You?

Danny Baraz March 4, 2016

Entitled, lazy, over sensitive, under ambitious- These are just a few of the adjectives used to brand the generation labeled Millennials. Anytime you see a segment on TV or read something online or in print about Millennials, these are the themes used to attribute to this emerging generation that is coming of age at such a crucial time for this planet. What do you think? Are they right about you? I, for one have had your back from the beginning. Your generation is facing unprecedented challenges in the opportunities available to you and your friends. Unless mommy and daddy are well off, you can no longer get a higher education without graduating in a mountain of debt. Once you graduate, the opportunities available to you are mediocre, at best. Forget college- you can no longer work a labor job and make it to the middle class. Believe it or not, that used to be possible. You could work a job or two for $1o an hour and buy a house within a few years. They won’t even raise the minimum wage as they have everytime inflation dictated that they do so. We are in a completely fucked situation right now

Buzz Bait: Bonnie of Death Valley Girls On Music, Magic and Metaphysics

Brent Smith February 16, 2016

High noon. Under the stark, blue February sky I encounter Bonnie Bloomgarden standing at the entrance of the Red Lion Tavern in Echo Park. The singer/guitarist of the doom rock outfit Death Valley Girls greets me in green sparkly eye makeup with a big smile and gifts in the form of a limited edition 7” and a live singles cassette wrapped in caution tape. I rejoice and accept like it’s the Holy Communion. After slipping into the dark of the ancient Germanic pub, we head to the upstairs bar. Death Valley Girls have popped up on the indie map like a baffling string of UFO sightings, ever since their Street Venom debut. Some may remember Bloomgarden’s exploits in the NY band The Witnesses, or maybe her cameo in King Tuff’s third album Black Moon Spell. Though perhaps nothing was as enthralling as DVG’s performance last October at the Natural History Museum’s mummy exhibit, which served more as a necromantic rock séance to communicate in peace with the Egyptian dead. The new Death Valley Girls LP Glow in the Dark is due June 10th via Burger Records, just in time for Burger Boogaloo. It’s unlike anything we’ve heard from them before. Though the

Small Talk With JS Aurelius of Destruction Unit

Danny Baraz December 17, 2015

JS Aurelius, highly experimental guitarist of Destruction Unit has brought a rageful and introspective creativity to the psychedelic hardcore punk outfit, Destruction Unit. Since the addition of himself and Nick Nappa to the Destruction Unit, unit, the band has blossomed into their highly unique sound like a parasitic plant. I was able to find out more about the Destruction Unit creative process and what motivates Aurelius in our next installment of Small Talk. Danny Baraz: In September, you played your record release party for Negative Feedback Resistor at the Teragram in Los Angeles. The Critical Resistance organization was present to help spread the word about their movement which seeks to dismantle the “prison industrial complex”. It made me very happy to see a contemporary band taking part in political activism. Rock bands have always pushed the political conversation forward to new generations of fans/kids. Why do you think that such a few amount of up and coming and established bands are interested in getting political and why is it important to you and Destruction Unit? JS Aurelius: I think being political is unappealing because politics as a whole are so unappealing. It’s all so far beyond broken that even

Buzz Bait: An Interview with The Gooch Palms

Paige Vreede December 5, 2015

It was an ordinary Wednesday night at the Cambridge hotel in Newcastle, Australia when vivacious musician Leroy McQueen first met mega babe, Kat Friend. Four years after meeting, the power couple decided they wanted to make music together. What started with just a bucket, a tambourine, and a guitar soon evolved into The Gooch Palms- multiple Australian tours, two American tours (with slots at places such at SxSW) and a forthcoming tape with Burger Records. The small-town duo blew up quickly and their infectious tunes certainly deserve to be well known. If you haven’t had the chance to catch them on their tour, do not fret, you can still catch one of their action packed shows (which usually results in nudity) TONIGHT, Dec 5th at The Echo for The Gooch Palms Burger tape release, alongside The Memories and The High Curbs. The Gooch Palms play their buoyant tunes with great enthusiasm and they are definitely a band not to miss. I had the pleasure of sitting at Echo Park Lake with them and a pack of Coopers and Tim Tams (if you haven’t experienced the pleasures of these Australian delicacies then I feel bad for you, son) to discuss their US tour, their upcoming