Category: FEATURES

Janky Smooth Top 25 Artists to Watch in 2020

Janky Smooth Central Command December 28, 2019

We have reached the end of the decade and to usher in this new epoch, we have chosen 25 artists that can be your guiding light through the darkness and confusion. We might reach catastrophe but with this soundtrack, we can at least ease your nerves to make the trip a little more enjoyable. We’ve picked something for everyone, from the dark to the light, from the heavy to the soft, the happy to the sad, and every sound and emotion in between. Some artists are based in LA, some are international, but all 25 artists should be watched closely because they will make a mark on 2020. related content: Janky Smooth Top 25 Artists To Watch In 2019 Acrylics Ever since we first covered their set at Home Sick, we’ve had high hopes for Nor-Cal hardcore outfit, Acrylics. They might have the most vigor of any young band out there. The music exhibits much more nuance than typical hardcore though, with a garage sensibility beneath the steamrolling core. This is made clear on their 2019 release Sinking In. The music is just as off-balance, thrilling, and a roller coaster on record as it is live. Acrylics is underground and

Janky Smooth Top 10 ALBUMS of 2019 Rated by Contributors

Janky Smooth Central Command December 24, 2019

2019 was a year full of fresh faces releasing undeniable breakout albums and veterans making their returns to grace. Even though it may seem like singles are the logical way to release music in 2019, it would turn out that people want full and cohesive artistic statements with emotional twists and turns. Don’t believe the hype, all the devices we’ve surrounded ourselves with and all the information flooding our minds, we’re still human, the nature of our hearts has not changed much. Artists like Lingua Ignota with Caligula and FKA Twigs with Magdelene bore their souls onto record and the reception reciprocated their love and passion because this was their year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2j4vJWLz2E As much as our current culture emphasizes the importance of youth and the irrelevance of the old, a few veterans showed they had so much more fuel left in the tank. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds came back with a vengeance with Ghosteen, a return to the mournfulness that made him a goth God in the first place. Leonard Cohen released Thanks For The Dance posthumously, haunting us from the grave as if he can’t rest until we’ve really, truly learned everything we can form the old poet.

Janky Smooth Top 10 SHOWS of 2019 Rated by Contributors

Janky Smooth Central Command December 23, 2019

This decade saw numerous paradigm shifts that laid the groundwork for a future where people basically become some form of android. That’s nothing to fear, though…we’re still safe….Many predict we’re seeing the fall of the American empire or some kind of apocalypse…hopefully they only mean in the sense that we’re entering a new chapter in humanity’s being….Still, no sweat, right?…We can handle this….In 2019 Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” become the most successful song of all time….Code red! Abandon ship! Get your kicks in before the whole shit house goes down in flames! related content: Janky Smooth Top 10 Shows of 2018 Rated by Contributors Every genre of music saw scene defining moments but I guess that ought to happen every year. What was special about 2019 though, was all the reunions that went down. It’s as if when a band decides to get back together, Los Angeles is the first place they think to play just so all their artist friends can attend the show. A few examples of such reunions were: Bauhaus at the Hollywood Palladium, Heart to Heart at Sound and Fury, Stereolab at Desert Daze, The Locust at Desert Daze, Limp Bizkit at the Troubadour

For $20,000 Haley Dahl of Sloppy Jane Will Eat Her Favorite Suit: An Interview

Rob Shepyer August 22, 2019

Haley Dahl of Sloppy Jane has launched a Go Fund Me campaign in an attempt to raise $20,000 to eat her own suit. You can donate to the campaign here. Every contribution of $30 will earn you a custom shirt. It’s almost like she’s goading us, seeing if we have the balls to contribute to this “madness”. Is it really mad though? As wild as Haley’s music is, is her mind just as out of this world? The intimate and potent answers she provided herein paint a different picture than what I assumed going in. Her realness and openness to speak about her experiences and emotions made this interview something any artist could be inspired by. Read for yourself and you’ll see, she walks the walk and talks the talk. With a new album in the works, Haley also discussed her ambitions of recording inside a cave with 30 musicians. As far as making dreams like these come true, Haley has a good track record, so be expecting something very special coming soon. related content: Haley Dahl, Queen Of Rock In 2019: Sloppy Jane At The Bootleg Theater RS: Tell me about your favorite suit. How did you acquire it?

Preview: Austin Music Video Festival Presents “Video Swim Night” at the W Hollywood

Janky Smooth Central Command August 19, 2019

Austin Music Video Festival is throwing a party at the W Hotel on August 22nd and you’re all invited. Party with some of the coolest and most talented artists in both music and film while enjoying world premieres of music videos, Q + A’s with directors and artists, cocktails by Jagermeister, a CAPYAC DJ set and vintage videos curated by the one and only Dana Boulos. This event is free with RSVP so sign up here before it’s too late. This is the ultimate event for networking if you’re interested in making music videos. You might even find your way to Austin for the actual festival December 10th-14th. In fact, you can submit your music videos to the festival here. Also, make sure to check out highlights from last year’s festival.

Concert Film Premiere: Ember & His Orchestra’s “The Disappointment Cowboy”

Janky Smooth Central Command August 14, 2019

Ember Knight is a visionary Los Angeles artist and her band, Ember & His Orchestra have released a live concert film entitled “The Disappointment Cowboy”. This is one of the most imaginative, magical, and adventurous live sets ever captured by a young artist. The world created by her avant-garde and original sound takes the watcher to many places emotionally. It’s almost a sonic representation of Ray Bradbury’s The Veldt, in which the many worlds imagined by children are realized for them to play in, lions and all. Taking place at the The Lyric Hyperion Theatre and directed by Bobby McCoy, this concert is like nothing else you’ve ever seen. You can watch it below: In Ember’s own words: “When I first started staging the ‘The Disappointment Cowboy’ for live performance, the concept was to create a possessed wind-up toy that would mechanically deliver a perfect bedtime story. Lo and behold, barely a year after our first gig you get this insanely composed show, with every human emotion articulated in fast succession and 3-part harmony. The set itself is a true story I think many of us can relate to – feeling like a feral animal, alone and out of place

Deb Demure’s Modern Mirror: Drab Majesty Interview

Audrey Kemp July 26, 2019

David Hume once said, “Beauty is no quality in things themselves: it exists merely in the mind which contemplates them.” For Deb Demure, founder of the impeccably designed duo Drab Majesty, beauty exists primarily in the complicated, nuanced and precious relationships between individuals. On the first night of their North American tour, Deb took some time to muse about the individuals whose beauty he and Mona D. channeled into their third full-length album, Modern Mirror, which was released on Dais records on July 12, and some will surely come as a surprise, whether it be the unrequited love between Echo and Narcissus, their community of unfaltering friends and fans, or even Deb’s influentially bodacious grandmother. Audrey: It’s July 24th. You’re kick-starting your North American tour tonight in San Diego and you’ve just found out your third full-length album, Modern Mirror, is currently ranking number 6 on Billboard. How does it feel? Deb: In theory, it’s cool. Has my life been drastically changed? Probably not. I’ve never really been one to look at the Billboards or anything like that. I know, I kind of live under a rock, but I understand historically what that means. For me, reception is important on an emotional level but as

Video Premiere: ZOOLUXX – “Anything & Everything” (LIVE) feat. Angelo Moore

Janky Smooth Central Command May 31, 2019

ZOOLUXX has just released a new live video of their song “Anything & Everything” from a performance at The Satellite that features a saxophone solo from legendary ska artist and Fishbone frontman, Angelo Moore. The video was shot and edited by filmmaker and skate videographer Mike Manzoori. The funky swagger and psychedelic riffing that people have come to love from ZOOLUXX is in full effect in this video with supernaturally beautiful videography and editing to really drive the live experience of this band home. I can’t help but imagine 70’s exploitation films whenever I listen to ZOOLUXX but this song sets the dream in space. ZOOLUXX’s next show is at the Satellite for their EP release party on June 23rd with Oozelles and Stonechild. Tickets on sale now, you can buy them here.

Music Video Premiere: Kali Kazoo Band’s “Take A Dive”

Janky Smooth Central Command May 14, 2019

Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill, step to the side, there’s a new voice bringing the sweet sounds of alternative rock and she’s a turquoise haired animator and brilliant songwriter from El Segundo, California. Kali Kazoo band‘s latest single and music video, “Take a Dive”, give us a glimpse into the mind of Kali Kazoo. The video, directed by Ben Pluimer, uses strong splashes of vibrant color and sun-kissed imagery to bring a psychedelic element to the song and video. A forest full of ordinary people wearing cultists robes really brings out a central theme in Kali’s work: uncovering the mythological in the banal. It’s no wonder she’s been compared to existentialist and insect king, Franz Kafka in the past. I suppose this is what one should expect when cartoonists pick up guitars. Kali Kazoo band’s third album Bleed Darker & Deeper Than The Sea Of Hell, produced by Toshi Kasai (Melvins, Tool), comes out today, May 14th and can be purchased here. The band’s next Los Angeles show will be at Zebulon on July 1st.

Featured Festival: Northwest Terror Fest 2019

Janky Smooth Central Command April 11, 2019

Whatever part of the country chooses to host a Terror Fest, flocks of metalheads will follow. These lineups always feature diverse lineups of some of the most extreme bands ranging from grind to doom to death to power metal. Such is the case with Terror Fest’s North Western incarnation, Northwest Terror fest, presented by No Clean Singing, which will host four nights of heavy metal madness with the likes of American power metal legends Cirith Ungol, hailing from Ventura County, one of the best classic metal scenes this country, let alone Southern California has to offer; Pig Destroyer, one of the most socially conscious and unrelenting grind bands for the last decade, and also a pick on our publisher Danny B’s top albums of 2018 with Head Cage; Last of the headliners, legendary Swedish hardcore/crust punks Wolfbrigade are howling into the USA and rounding out this lineup to represent of every kind of extreme music. Northwest Terror Fest takes place May 30th, 31st, and June 1st at three different venues, Neumos, Barboza, and Highline in Seattle, Washington. Tickets for shows at Neumos and Barboza are available here and tickets for after shows at Highline are available for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and Wedensday‘s

R.I.P. Nipsey Hussle 8/15/85 – 3/31/19

Janky Smooth Central Command April 1, 2019

Words and Photos by: Maggie St. Thomas I arrived at Nipsey Hussle‘s vigil shortly after 9pm, and miraculously found parking just a block away. Fans gathered to honor and show respect to their fatally lost loved one with dance, blunts, and blue drinking cups outside the Marathon Store parking lot and Shell Gas station on the corner of Crenshaw and Slauson. “Last Time That I Checc’d” was bumping loud in the parking lot, it was a full dance party going down. “We in mourning, this is our loved one please give us our respect,” one fan stated as LAPD kept asking everyone to get back while they called for additional back up and as a helicopter circled above with the spotlight on the parking lot. The late Nipsey’s brother, Black Sam, stood behind the yellow caution tape and told fans “when they clear this tape you’re all welcome to bring your candles, do whatever ya’ll wanna do. We about keeping it peaceful and showing support my brother cause rest in peace.” Slamming his fist to his chest, “we know who the killer is, we know everything. Don’t take your anger out on the Police you feel me this time they with us

Wesley Eisold of Cold Cave Interview: Love & Pain One & the Same

Rob Shepyer January 26, 2019

Wesley Eisold of Cold Cave and American Nightmare has proven to be a significant artist in my life as someone I’m inspired by and whose music finds its way into real moments of my life. With his focus on the gothic dance music he makes as Cold Cave, he’s playing two sold out shows at Hollywood Forever for Valentine’s Day and his birthday the following night then embarking on a tour with Adult. and Sextile ending with their Los Angeles date at the Theatre at the Ace Hotel. There was so much I wanted to ask Wesley because he represents two genres of music and thus two states of mind to make art from. Of all the interviews I’ve done, Wesley’s experience as a writer and avid reader made his answers precise, articulate, powerful, and deep. related content: Cloak & Dagger Fest: The Heart Of Los Angeles Bled From Dusk Till Dawn RS: Your two upcoming sold out Los Angeles shows fall on Valentine’s Day then your birthday. What’s it been like having to celebrate those holidays consecutively? WE: Not to sound overdramatic but I always had a negative connotation with Valentine’s Day. I was expecting to experience this high in

Category: FEATURES

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