Tag: diiv

Desert Daze 2021: Music, Magick and Medicine

Danny Baraz December 17, 2021

The road to Desert Daze 2021 was a long and winding way that spanned greater than the material distances of the 10, 60 and 215 highways between Lake Perris and Los Angeles. Everyone’s road was different, from festival organizers, Moonblock and co. and those in attendance. Not everyone’s road was paved with isolation and misery since the last installment of Desert Daze in 2019 but certainly everyone can agree that there has been a paradigm shift in the dynamic of living, or the collective consciousness, or whatever you want to call it, on Planet Earth. related content: Desert Daze 2016- Quantifying the Physics of a Good Time Music, Magick and Medicine beckoned far and wide but intimate attendance (low ticket sales) and a revamped vibe in the typical Desert Daze lineup brought only the most loyal and adventurous of past attendees and in my own conversations in the camp site, many first timers. It shrunk the festival grounds to a one stage operation on the banks of lovely lake Perris, in one of the most beautiful weekends to grace this Fall season in Southern California. Nevertheless, vibrations reverberated like signature sitar tones, like a butterflies wings, causing ripples across space

Silver Lake Perris: Desert Daze 2019

Rob Shepyer October 25, 2019

“Do you think Silver Lake is a ghost town right now?” I heard someone ask during my three day camping trip at Desert Daze. The thought made me laugh, I’m sure they meant it mockingly, as this festival is LA’s annual scenester oasis, still though, upon really thinking about it, even though I don’t consider myself a part of Los Angeles’ elite hipster psych and garage rock circle, I am an admirer. Those are the people that make East Los Angeles such a beautiful destination to bar hop and hear live music. And who knows what came first, the people or the music. If you really ask yourself that question, you’ll have to reflect on the importance of Moon Block and how they nurtured, fostered, and straight up created a scene, a sound, a fashion, a mode of thinking, and a state of being that is positively Los Angeles. related content: Janky Smooth Sessions – Deap Valley & Moon Block Family Part 1 Desert Daze celebrates musical diversity but emphasizes psych rock both sonically and visually. Bands that aren’t psych can slide right into the mold with a little bit of liquid light and satisfy the needs of any tripper thirsty

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

Desert Daze 2015: The Festival for the 21st Century

Danny Baraz May 5, 2015

It was 4:30am on Saturday morning. I pulled the Janky Smooth RV into a dusty parking lot. I had been driving this carbon spewing behemoth since 1am, after the hour it took to load it up with instruments, sound equipment and beer- The essentials that would push me through a crazy 36 hours in the Mojave Desert for Desert Daze 2015. There were hints of blue shading the dark desert sky at the edge of the horizon that peaked over some sleepy mountains. A sense of dread washed over me at the sight of this beautiful event. It meant I only had a few hours to get a little bit of sleep before setting up the DNA Vapor sponsored, Janky Smooth Jam Lounge in preparation for our open jam after party. I knew I shouldn’t have taken that dab before loading up all that gear. After being led to our lakeside cabana by a sleepy eyed angel named Art, it became clear that we were the first ones to plant our flag in this particular patch of land. By the time I woke up a few hours later, the deserted road I parked our camper on was swarming with