Category: FEATURES

Desert Daze Video Recap- Dazed in the Daylight/Evening Shade

Danny Baraz June 4, 2015

Janky Smooth presents a video collage from the Desert Daze Festival this past May. This two part series let’s the music and imagery speak for itself. Shot and edited by Travis Moore. Part 1, Dazed in the Daylight features the music of Kim and the Created and beautifully captures the sights and sounds of the day time hours of Desert Daze in the unrelenting Desert sun. Along with KATC, Part 1 features footage of White Lung, Plague Vendor, Wyatt Blair and Feels. Part 2, Evening Shade features the music of DIIV and captures the relief and freedom from the punishing solar onslaught of the cruel desert daylight. Along with DIIV, Travis captured footage of Warpaint, Deap Vally, Chelsea Wolfe and Mr Elevator and the Brain Hotel. Check out our complete review of Desert Daze 2015 Desert Daze 2015: Festival for the 21st Century Check out our intimate interview with the founders of Desert Daze/Moon Block and the founders of the bands Deap Vally and JJUUJJUU Janky Smooth Sessions: Deap Vally and Moon Block Family Photo gallery shot by Taylor Wong

Jello Biafra & GSOM at Punk Rock Bowling

Punk Rock Bowling 2015 and What Is Punk Rock, Poser?

Danny Baraz May 28, 2015

Words: Danny Baraz Photos: Taylor Wong The word punk is one that is thrown around and has many different uses. It can be used as an adjective or a verb. There has been much discussion around it’s usage as an adjective to describe music and people. It has sparked passionate and sometimes violent debate. The spirit behind what the word actually means has existed since time itself and once the word became marketable and defined by a specific sound, the word changed from describing a frame of mind and into describing a genre… or… a product, if you will. And there are very few individuals or businessmen that handle the legacy of this product better than Mark and Shawn Stern at BYO Records, specifically through their record label and of course, the annual summit called Punk Rock Bowling. Very few statements sound sillier than someone stating “That’s not punk”. Because once punk has been defined through a specific paradigm, it ceases to be the thing that it was when Iggy first bent over backwards or Darby first watched people move in a circle or Joey put on his first leather jacket. The cultural resistance that spawned the punk scene stops

A Backyard Interview with Deap Vally- Janky Smooth Sessions part 2

Danny Baraz April 8, 2015

Part 1 of our debut segment of Janky Smooth Sessions with Deap Vally/Moon Block explored the production and process of putting an event like Desert Daze together. Co-founders Phil and Julie Pirrone, along with Deap Vally vocal vixen Lindsey Troy, discussed the inner workings of the Moon Block family. Part 2 is all things Deap Vally as they put the finishing touches on their Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs/Head Wound City) produced, 2nd album. The ladies discuss the difference between recording their debut LP, Sistrionix and how that differed from working with Nick. It was refreshing and inspirational to see the independent spirit of Deap Vally and it’s easy to see how they Make Their Own Money. The ladies from Deap Vally are currently at the tail end of their tour with Marilyn Manson and getting geared up to play Desert Daze. If you haven’t entered our Desert Daze ticket giveaway then you can do so here: Win 2 tickets to Desert Daze 2015 and enter another dimension Shot by: Travis Moore Edited by: Fishscales Interview by: Danny Baraz Music by: Deap Vally Still Photos: David Evanko Date Venue Location Tickets Apr 09 MTS Centre w/ Marilyn Manson Winnipeg, Canada Tickets

Jello Biafra Talks Politics, Music and The Music Business

Danny Baraz April 7, 2015

Interview and intro by Danny Baraz Getting some people to open up in an interview is like pulling teeth. That is not the case with Jello Biafra. It was about 20 minutes into our conversation before I even asked one of my pre-planned questions. That made the nerves I had before interviewing one of my ideological heroes dissipate instantly, so that our conversation about politics, music, the music business and the upcoming gig for Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine at Punk Rock Bowling feel like a casual conversation with a friend. I realized quickly why Jello has become such an icon of dissent. His ability to verbalize, crystalize and satirize pre-meditated confusion surrounding pop-culture, popular disinformation and the status quo make you feel sane in an insane world. One thing that surprised me was that he’s not buying into any far-reaching conspiracy theories that involve a small group of people controlling the world stage, either. He is an honest, intelligent and steadfast beacon of integrity and a lexicon of information. (Jello Biafra portraits shot by Elizabeth Sloan. Guantanamo school of medicine photo by Curtis Stankalis) “I was informed that I should be spending my high school years

Janky Smooth Sessions- Deap Vally & Moon Block Family part 1

Danny Baraz March 26, 2015

Welcome to our first installment of Janky Smooth Sessions. Janky Smooth was invited to the home of Julie and Phil Pirrone, the father and mother of the Moon Block collective. Moon Block is a group of musicians and artists that are responsible for events like Desert Daze and Moon Block Party, amongst others. We were also joined by Lindsey Troy, who along with Julie, make up the supremely talented rock and roll duo called Deap Vally. Deap Vally vibrated the world with the buzz they generated through their 2013 album, Sistrionix. It was a lovely day sitting in the Pirrone’s back yard and discussing Desert Daze, Deap Vally’s upcoming new record that was produced by Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Head Wound City) and the dynamics behind the love and friendship that fuels both Moon Block and Deap Vally. Part 1 of our interview features a behind the scenes look at what it takes to run Moon Block, the harsh reality’s/sweet victory’s of chasing your dreams and the logistics behind an event like Desert Daze which will take place on May 2nd, 2015 in Mecca California and will feature bands like Warpaint, Deap Vally, Failure, RJD2, Minus the Bear, DIIV, The Budos

The LA Art/Book Fair with Thurston Moore and Ho99o9

Danny Baraz February 4, 2015

Los Angeles- our Art, Literature, Music, Culture and Tacos Can No Longer Be Easily Dismissed L.A. is in the midst of a renaissance. While most might call it gentrification, those people are not in the trenches that are being filled with artists, students, activists, authors and poets. While Manhattan and even Brooklyn are becoming more inaccessible to artists without extensive investment portfolios, the geography of Los Angeles allows those with small bank accounts and big ideas to fan out east and still be within the city and county limits of L.A. While the former glory, grit, angst, junkies, music scenes and yes, stank of Hollywood and The Sunset Strip have been replaced with chain night clubs, over priced eateries, spruced up sceneries and former botox beauty queens, Echo and Highland Park, East L.A., Boyle Heights and even the former toilet bowl known as Downtown Los Angeles are overflowing with housing, lockout rehearsal studios and concrete, commercial structures that house painters and nihilistic youth. Idealism abounds and there is even more real estate further east that can support small budgets and big dreams, at least until the day that LA is swallowed by the Pacific Ocean. Los Angeles has always gotten a bad

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