Category: FEATURES

Makaha Bowl Jam and Food Drive 2014: Charging hard at Venice Skatepark

Danny Baraz January 4, 2015

Janky Smooth was proud to sponsor this year’s annual Makaha/Vans Bowl Jam and Food Drive at the Venice Skatepark. There is nothing like the community spirit that is displayed in Venice whenever surfing, skating and outreach are involved. The last time the neighborhood got together was for the Jay Adams Memorial which assembled all the the original, remaining Z-Boys and the next event on the schedule is National Go Skateboarding Day, scheduled for Jun 21st 2015. This years Makaha Bowl Jam was originally scheduled to take place before Xmas on December 13th to get hungry folks a helping hand before the holiday. The event had to be rescheduled for Sunday, Dec 28th due to wet concrete in the bowls which is common this time of year. Unfortunately, there are hungry people all year round so feeding them is just as important before and after the holidays. You can donate, year round at the Makaha Skateboards website. The day started at 9am with the 10 and under division. The groms charged right out of the gate and shit didn’t stop until sunset when the 16 and older heads broke off stylish, clean lines throughout the snake run and the minibowl. The

Josh Schwartz benefit at the Echoplex: L.A.’s Feel Good Moment

Lawrence Rengert December 23, 2014

A few weeks ago I was in Highland Park and stopped by Brent Rademaker’s house. He gave me the low down on his new project, Gospel Beach but casually dropped that there was an unannounced benefit planned to aid an ailing local music legend, Josh Schwartz, who had been diagnosed with ALS. It was going to be a reunion of sorts, bands whose heyday had come and gone would perform just this one show to raise money for Josh’s out-of-the-country treatments, an experimental hope that his debilitating condition could somehow be stopped, healed, cured or reversed. Several of these bands hadn’t played in years, but the names are familiar: Beachwood Sparks, Summer Hits w/ Ariel Pink, The Tyde. Josh had some hand in the creation or promotion of each one, was a mentor or added his guitar parts. In fact, Josh had been a magnet for several people and they would speak of him at the concert as “the only meaningful person they met in LA” or “the guy who recorded my first album” or “the best guitar player in Los Angeles.” There would also be a select few newer bands playing. Mostly very young garage types from Orange County;

Death From Above 1979 at The Regent Theater

Two Nights of Death From Above 1979 and MSTRKRFT in L.A. and The O.C.

Danny Baraz November 16, 2014

Death from Above 1979/MSTRKRFT: Night 2 in LA. Within the 20 minutes between opener, Hustle & Drone leaving the stage and Death From Above 1979 taking it, the house went from sparse to capacity. The night was filled with false fire alarms and a few sound issues of the newly opened and opulent Regent Theater in Downtown Los Angeles- A gorgeous venue that is still working out the kinks. The P.A. was filled with the sounds of Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and other old country classics as a surprisingly eclectic and beautiful crowd filed in to witness a show by the experimental thrashers from Toronto. I myself discovered DFA in 2008- a good 2 years after they had already broken up. O.G. DFA fans love to separate their fan base into a B.C and A.D. category- a snobbishness I have been guilty of myself on many occasions. Now it appears there is a third category of fans that have discovered the band after their more, commercially friendly, reunion release of The Physical World in September of this year. This was my first time seeing DFA live after devouring the catalog for the past 6 years with no satisfaction or release

Run The Jewels: Taking Hip Hop Back at The Echoplex

Danny Baraz November 14, 2014

It’s been years since anyone in hip hop has released an entire album of “destined to be classic” tracks, much less two. Over the last couple years rappers like Danny Brown, Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q have released some classic tracks but the entire body of work leaves much to be desired. Weak beats and lazy lyrics dominate the landscape in the mainstream and the underground. B-boys have all but disappeared in this era of club bangers. Graffiti is now called “street art” and dance crews now have large shows in Las Vegas. Then on April 9th, 2013 a self-titled album called “Run the Jewels” dropped and changed the game. Jaime Meline, a.k.a. El-P is not only a dope M.C. but the beats he produced with Little Shalimar and Wilder Zoby are the foundation of not one but two instant classics- Run The Jewels and Run The Jewels 2. On Thursday, November 13 El-P and Killer Mike played the Echoplex as Run the Jewels for Day 13 of Red Bull Sound Select’s, 30 Days in LA. The anticipation was thick moments before Run The Jewels took the stage. There was a buzz of speculation on some special guests and the Echoplex

Reignwolf at the Mint: Madman of Rock ‘n Roll

Danny Baraz November 13, 2014

Jordan Cook sat on a drum throne with a drum stick in his picking hand, a guitar in his other and the mic chord wrapped around his neck. Just minutes earlier he moved the entire drum kit from the stage to the middle of the floor at The Mint in Los Angeles. The time it took to set this up was inconsequential to everyone but the sound guy because when Reignwolf plays your venue, you should be prepared for every boundary of your audio system to be stretched to it’s limits. Microphones rubbing against guitar strings that are boosted by overdrive, sustain pedals, octave pedals, body parts and sweat. Foot on the kick pedal, pumping rhythms, one hand on the fret board playing licks and the other tapping the snare as an audience member unwraps the microphone chord from his neck and hold it up to Cook’s lips. Then he gets antsy again and stands on top of the kick drum and makes way for drummer, Joseph Braley and all-around utility man, Stitcx. In an instant, the entire band is melting faces again, surrounded like Baptist preachers on a soapbox in the middle of a barren swampland, surrounded by congregants.

Warpaint at the Echoplex: Bringing Grown Men to Tears

Danny Baraz November 9, 2014

I need to write a review but I want to write a love letter. I can hardly think straight. My head is still spinning from Warpaint’s two hour set last night at The Echoplex. I am completely infatuated with the ladies of this band. Not just because they are all beautiful but because nothing is more attractive than women that are in command of their craft. Powerful, mesmerizing and unbearably sexy, Warpaint were coming off an extended tour and were effortlessly locked in with each other and their songs. Bass player, Jenny Lee Lindberg and Drummer, Stella Mozgawa start on the 1 with a just a quick look and one bar into the song, they smile and make eye contact, understandably proud of themselves. I’m not sure I witnessed Stella count in even once throughout the entire set and I never saw the band miss a beat the entire night. This is the best show I’ve seen the band play and I’ve seen them play quite a few times. Warpaint cannot simply be described as chick rockers because that would be minimizing the extent of their greatness. One cannot remove that aspect, though, because for women, they are an inspiration

The Julie Ruin at The Troubadour: Vagina’s and Surprises.

Danny Baraz November 7, 2014

Kathleen Hanna is an icon. She is the nut crushing, vagina wielding, punk singing, ear ringing legend of a once, DIY militant feminism. A militancy that was absolutely necessary in a 90’s era of violent, male dominated, testosterone injected dominance of the American punk scene. Her band, Bikini Kill, not only gave girls a voice in that void of misogynistic obliviousness but insisted on “Girls to the Front!”. On Thursday, November 6th, her band The Julie Ruin headlined night 6 of Red Bull’s 30 Days in L.A. at the Troubadour. The irony of looking at the big, corporate Red Bull logo behind Hanna all night was not lost on me but if Nirvana could start from the Kill Rockstars record label, to Sub Pop and eventually end up on Geffen, then The Julie Ruin could certainly play a gig with Red Bull Sound Select and retain their integrity. Bookings like this give Red Bull’s music division more and more street cred every day. I arrived at The Troubadour just before Red Bull band Bad Girlfriend took the stage. I was in a foul mood. I was fucking exhausted after covering 5 out of 6 of the 30 Red Bull dates

Courtney Barnett and San Fermin Find Magic and Common Ground at the El Rey

Danny Baraz November 6, 2014

Last night at the El Rey might’ve been the best night of Red Bull Sound Select’s, 30 days in LA, so far. Even though the lineup was a bit mismatched, Courtney Barnett, San Fermin and Phox all brought something beautiful and completely different to the table. Phox, from Baraboo, Wisconsin not only brought all the small town charm and quick wit that lead singer Monica Martin could muster but they also brought some complex arrangements and made them seamless. There is a great chemistry in this 6 piece band that undoubtedly comes from their long time connection to each other. They attended the same high school and now all live together in the same house in Madison, Wisconsin. Fresh off a performance on the Conan O’Brien show and a trip to Disneyland, they were the first band to take the stage on Tuesday night and showed us all why comparisons of the band range from Feist to Fever Ray. Any band on this bill could’ve easily headlined the night, including Phox. Next up was San Fermin. Just wow. San Fermin is the brainchild of composer and keyboardist Ellis Ludwig-Leone; A true prodigy. I didn’t know much about this band

Red Bull Sound Select- Corporate Music With Soul?

Danny Baraz October 29, 2014

Dear Red Bull, Thank you for everything you are doing for music. It would be easy for you to sponsor a bunch of festivals and the next Beyonce tour but instead you choose to hire a group of hungry individuals to scour the planet for new and up and coming talent with no promise of Return on Investment. Your Red Bull Sound Select events are surprisingly hip and I wonder if any of this is about making money. If this money being spent to book, promote, record, release and showcase new bands is about further building a lifestyle brand then I”m ok with that. It’s better than hiring a douchey celebrity to peddle your brand and you are really giving us something that lasts a lot longer than a momentary burst of energy. Best Regards, Janky Smooth We at Janky Smooth are really looking forward to 30 Days in L.A. It’s one of the most impressive and massive undertakings in music we’ve seen in quite some time. The sheer audacity and patience it must take to deal with 30 different L.A. venues on 30 consecutive nights is enough to make my eyes bleed. Throw in 60 different bands/artists and their

Eugene Hutz of Gogol Bordello: An interview and a spiritual experience

Danny Baraz October 28, 2014

Eugene Hutz, the gasoline in the Gogol Bordello engine wants to look in your eyes during their shows. During our interview we discussed the transformational energy that is sweeping the globe, the transfer of energy between artist and fan, writing a new album over the course of one night and what it means to be punk rock. He gives a lot of himself but feels it’s worth it for all he gets in return. This interview is from October 19th, 2013. Eugene: What ís up? Daniel: Glad to talk to you; glad we could make it happen. Eugene: Me too. Just finished playing a bunch of shows in LA Daniel: I know; I saw you at 2 of the shows Eugene: Yeah it was good. Daniel: A lot of you guys are living out here now? Eugene: The universe is expanding and so are we baby. Daniel: Always good to broaden your horizons. Where are you right now? Eugene: Right now I am in New York city. Daniel: Cool; what is your favorite destination on this planet? Eugene: Well I have a bunch. Daniel: You have a bunch; what are your top 3? Eugene: Top 3; that is easy. That

An Interview with Zac Carper from FIDLAR

Danny Baraz October 28, 2014

It’s a rare thing that NEW music can make you feel nostalgic; That an album that you’ve had for a couple years can take you back in time to when you were a kid. It can only be described as authenticity. That’s the best way to describe the band FIDLAR; Authentic. I’m not filthy, on drugs, hopeless or confused anymore. I’m nowhere near as angry as I used to be but listening to FIDLAR takes me to that place where I don’t give a fuck, again. I wanted to talk to Zac Carper to see if the son of a world class surfboard shaper and brothers who’s dad was part of a Southern California Punk Rock Pantheon actually walked the walk. After this conversation, I need no further convincing. This interview was conducted on October 21st 2013 Danny: Zac what’s going on bud? Zac: What’s up my dude? Danny: How are you? Zac: Good how is California right now? Danny: Pretty steady as usual, gorgeous day except now that the kids are back in school the beaches aren’t crowded so that is always nice. Zac: Stoked. Danny: