Tag: burger records

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

Burger Records and the Observatory: 5 Years of Fun in Orange County

Danny Baraz March 7, 2016

With Burger Records postponing their annual Burgerama festival, Sean and Lee have opted to honor their partnership with the Observatory in Orange County. For 5 years, Burger and The Observatory have conspired to bring the audiophiles of Orange County some of the best lineups in all of Southern California. To commemorate the milestone, Burger Records and their headquarters to showcase the bands on their label, The Observatory, have put together a show for every day this week that features some of the best talent in indie music today. This post will serve as a running update and review of shows that Janky Smooth attends. The headliners and supporting acts on the lineup aren’t just Burger bands but feature acts like Slowdive and Crystal Castles for one of their first live performances without iconic vocalist, Alice Glass. Angry Samoans headline the Wednesday, March 9th show and includes Orange County punk icon, Rikk Agnew along with Golden (shower) Boys of emerging pop punk, No Parents. The anniversary week kicks off tonight with a few bands that we’ve spent a lot of time covering over the past year; Shannon and the Clams, Death Valley Girls and The Gooch Palms and features Guantanamo Baywatch

The New S.A.- The New Sound Alliance- art by Joey Feldman

The New S. A.- The New Sound Alliance Voter Registration Org

Danny Baraz February 3, 2016

Janky Smooth is proud to launch The New S.A.- The New Sound Alliance. We endorse no candidates. We are Americans. We support a more responsible version of capitalism. Our only mission is to register first time voters to insure that only candidates that represent “the People” of The United States of America receive sufficient representation in US Government. Please; Register to Vote now and JOIN THE NEW SOUND ALLIANCE. Our first event will take place in late May, 2016. We will be well past Super Tuesday, with a much clearer picture of the General Election. Full lineup, location and special guests announced soon. Join our newsletter and you will be informed of everything we are involved in and it will act as your RSVP to all our free events. Please share this post if you are interested in registering first time voters. WE stand at a crossroads. We can no longer talk about how much we care about this issue or that issue and then say “Someone else will take up the fight but right now, we have to worry about our own thang”. Time to decide where we stand in all this before The United States of America is unlivable for

together PANGEA End Tour With A Bang At The Echoplex

Jai Chebaia December 9, 2015

Since stumbling into the LA music scene a few years ago, I’ve probably seen together Pangea more times than I’ve smoked a cigarette in The Smell alleyway, and I’m not complaining, about either really. There’s something so synonymous with the LA garage rock pandemic and Pangea – half the burgeoning bands you see out want to sound like them, the other half want to embody their punk ass lifestyle. Regardless, whether you’re a fan or not, a together Pangea show is always bound to be crazy. Simply put, there’s too much hook driven, toe tappin, bass thumpin songs for a group of 200 kids not to mosh, and that’s exactly what went down at The Echoplex on Friday night. together Pangea’s debut album, ‘Night of the Living Dummy’, was a lo-fi garage punk masterpiece; with a coherent concept that threaded its way throughout the album, and some of the most original songs I’ve heard in a long time. The band went from releasing their first album on cult label Burger Records, to signing with major label imprint Harvest Records and releasing the ‘Badillac’ LP. Earlier this year, the group returned to Burger with the Phage EP, a slew of six

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

Beach Goth 4: The Party of The Year

Danny Baraz October 28, 2015

The freaks, stoners, hipsters, bloggers, vegans, photographers, rockers, punkers, pukers, trippers, hippies and seemingly every beautiful woman from Southern California to Vancouver attended The Growlers annual trademark event, Beach Goth 4 this past weekend. They came to celebrate the best thing in their lives- music. I talked to a unicorn from Australia, I smoked a joint with a fairy from Mexico City and got my nipple twisted by a witch from Westminster. It seemed as if all inhibition was lost as everyone’s freak flag flew sky high and more spit was swapped than at a mouth swabbing clinic. And there was music. Oh lord was there music. With little touches and surprises like The 5678’s serving as the house band on a small stage on day 1, The Selena Impersonators and G-Funk pioneer, Warren G randomly performing a song near the end of Day 2, Beach Goth 4 had one of the most exciting lineups since Woodstock (if you love independent music). The scheduling issues which plagued the festival last year were a distant memory. Then again, after riding the snake all weekend, this past yesterday seems like an eon of a couple lifetimes ago. Sure, the ticket price has

Burger-a-go-go 2015: Feminism in Rock reviewed by “Some Guy”

Danny Baraz September 8, 2015

Rock music has been a catalyst for social and political change since it’s inception. It’s not just three chords and a back beat. It’s poetry. It’s a manifesto and it not only serves as an individual expression but has also served as commentary for entire generations, as only great art can. The revered blues and country origins of rock music broke race barriers in popular music but it was largely a boys club until Janis Joplin completely upended not only the gender roles in rock but rock and roll itself. In the decades that followed, women have been responsible for some of the biggest leaps in rock and roll and it’s continuing evolution. Joplin, Grace Slick, Heart, Patti Smith, Suzi Quatro, Joan Jett, Chrissie Hynde and Debbie Harry. Those women traveled a road which at the time was bumpy, rocky, sexist and fueled by testosterone. I was careful not to wear my G.G. Allin shirt to this event and I am going to attempt to stay away from too much “Commentary on Feminism, written by ‘some dumb guy’” in this review. Let’s just say that, for all intents and purposes, this tumultuous road for women in rock has led us

Lolipalooza Reloads for it’s Second Year at The Echo

Danny Baraz June 30, 2015

This time last year, I attended the first annual Lolipalooza at The Echo and The Echoplex. I was blown away by the amount of cool, young bands that are coming to and out of L.A. It’s the most amount of fresh, young new music I’ve seen in this city in my entire lifetime, (I wasn’t around for the late 70’s/early 80’s). In the 365 days that have passed since attending their inaugural event, Lolipop Records have not slowed down one bit. The buildings which house The Echo/Echoplex and Lolipop Records have turned into an incubator of fresh, young talent. In this small corner of Echo Park, bands are discovered, recorded, showcased and packaged, all within a 100 yard radius and are subsequently dispersed throughout the globe to show why Los Angeles is the epicenter for music. Wyatt Blair, owner of Lolipop and accomplished musician saw an immense opportunity and took it upon himself to execute his vision and Los Angeles and indeed, the world are a better place for it. I passed through the gates and through the Echoplex driveway early on in the day. It was muggy and nasty out. The sky opened up a couple times during festival

Ticket Giveaway: Lolipalooza 2 at The Echo 6/27

Danny Baraz June 11, 2015

If you are you music lover and live in Los Angeles and did not attend last years inaugural installment of Lolipalooza, then you missed something truly special. If you miss this years showcase of Lolipalooza 2 then you should seriously reconsider your life. Lolipop Records is onto something unique. While it is nothing new for a DIY record label to scout, develop and release music by both fresh, young and established talent, the way Lolipop is approaching this is something to admire. Taking their queue from Burger Records in Fullerton, Lolipop Records is the Los Angeles version of Burger. Janky Smooth is giving away 2 pairs (4 tickets) to Lolipalooza 2 happening at the both The Echo and Echoplex on Saturday June 27th, to 2 lucky individuals. To enter you must complete ALL the steps below. Winners will be selected on Friday, June 26th at 11am. 1. Share or retweet our contest posts on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and tag @jankysmooth – You must share from our posts, not create your own. 2. Comment in the comment section of the post on our website stating you completed this step and give us a reason why we should pick you.. 3. Like us

Burgerama 4: Burger Food Poisoning

Danny Baraz April 2, 2015

Almost every place in the world now breeds the type of angsty teens that pick up guitars to butcher some out of tune power chords. What is it about Orange County, California that continuously, for the last three generations in a row, forms and re forms these amazing scenes that surround dozens of good local bands? Many bands that eventually rise to international fame or at least, notoriety. Decade after decade the youth of Orange County reject the status quo, vandalize their strip malls, piss in their pools and rock the fuck out. Once the music industry crashed and burned, you would think that those kick-pedal-carrying kids would remain in anonymity in the solitude of their own bedrooms, never to move out of their parents homes. Rising from the smoke and the ash of a music industry unwilling to adapt to the digital age comes Burger Records bearing, of all things, cassette tapes. They are here to service this generations’ insatiable thirst for angst, sex and adolescence. Burger Records was formed in 2007 by Sean Bohrman and Lee Rickard. They allowed all their artists to retain complete control of their works and primarily, all of their releases have been on cassette.

FIDLAR return and play one of their best shows ever at The Regent

Danny Baraz January 25, 2015

We all know FIDLAR as the beer swilling, vagina drilling, fun poking, nose coking blacked out voice of this generation. Proof that art imitates life and not the other way around. They are history repeating itself without being boring or predictable but rather, a reinforcement that the youth of today are still angry, sad and depressed enough to change this world if they are able to survive the chaos of coming of age. Zac Carper took a deep breath as he scanned the audience and began to formulate his thoughts. “This is fuckin me up. The Smell, this place, everything.” It reminded me of a statement from a man who has been on his best behavior for an extended amount of time, trying not to succumb to requests like, “C’mon, one hit won’t kill you”. And then they started playing Cheap Beer and the place exploded. The Regent Theater was combustible all night and why not? I’m pretty sure the last show FIDLAR played was headlining Burgerama 3 last year and they were not in their best form at that gig. Zac could hardly form a sentence and the band was not tight. Flash forward 10 months later and FIDLAR

King Tuff and fam- Burger-raucous at the Constellation room

Danny Baraz January 9, 2015

The Observatory has become a sanctuary for Orange County’s Burger youth, being the proud host of almost every artist to grace the Burger Records label. It’s Constellation Room offers the musty, humid, sardine can ambiance synonymous with garage punk, making it the perfect place to catch a lineup like King Tuff, White Fang and Feels. As expected, the room was packed before Feels had a chance to open the bill. A sweaty mix of septum piercings, Doc Martins and kids straight off the Zephyr skate team invaded the dance floor as the walls were lined with the older crowd. I was especially excited to see Feels. They’ve changed a lot over the last year, altering everything from their name and lineup to their sound and it has been for the better, on all counts. They’ve figured out a way to be melodic yet rough as well as musically talented but raw. Laena’s voice is downright beautiful and she performs with so much elegance. She has a Bowie-esque grace on stage which she is able to compliment with some pretty filthy guitar work. When her and guitarist Shannon Lay trade off vocals during songs expect goosebumps. The new addition to the