Tag: featured

A Chorus of Disapproval

Photo Recap: New Age Records 30th Anniversary at Garden Amphitheater

Legendary Southern California hardcore record label New Age Records held their 30th anniversary show at Garden Amphitheatre where landmark alumni and current bands of the label played insane sets. Bands like Trial, Mouthpiece, Strife, and A Chorus of Disapproval played to name a few. New Age Records is what hardcore is all about, keeping it real, tried and true, for thirty fucking years. Here are some photos from the anniversary: Photos by: Albert Licano Trial Mouthpiece Strife Mean Season A Chorus of Disapproval Safe and Sound Countervail Drug Control Decline Crow Killer Last of the Believers One Choice Walk Proud Hellfire Trigger RedBait Collateral Damage

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Toody Cole and John Tyree

Dead Moon Night: A Tribute to Fred Cole at the Echo

Metal-heads, goths, rock-n-rollers and cowboys young and old packed in like sardines before a stage festooned in funerary flowers and a dead man in the moon under a dim red haze. The chemistry that bonded them? A common love and appreciation for Dead Moon and the late Frederick Lee Cole. Toody Cole, co-founder and bassist of DIY rock-n-roll band Dead Moon, hand-picked her entourage of unique L.A. musicians, including former guitarist of Cat Power Gregg Foreman, Warren Thomas of The Abigails, Zumi Rosow and Cole Alexander of the Black Lips, Cheap Tissue, Sons of the Southwest, Sharif Dumani of the Alice Bag band and others, for a special night at the Echo in Los Angeles to honor Fred Cole and to commemorate the release of the new Dead Moon art book on his would-have-been 70th birthday. related content: Berserktown II: Music Fringe Binge At The Observatory The groups covered some highlights from Fred’s vast repertoire of work, including that from bands such as The Lollipop Shoppe and Dead Moon. The festivities began with a screening of Kate Fix and Jason Summer’s documentary, Unknown Passage: the Dead Moon Story (2004), a story Warren Thomas of the satanic Outlaw Country band the

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Take This: Win 2 Tickets to The Aquabats Super Kickstarter at El Rey

After a long journey fighting intergalactic evil-doers, righting wrongs, and saving women tied to train tracks and falling from burning buildings, The Aquabats have returned to El Rey for what is being billed as their biggest shows of all time: The Aquabats Super Kickstarter! There will be special guests, thrills, chills, old members of the band, Puddles Pity Party, Thomas Lennon from Reno 911. It’s going to be insane. More insane than any Aquabats show you’ve ever seen or crowd surfed on an inflatable pizza slice at. Janky Smooth is assuming our duty as good and moral citizens and aiding the band in getting your ass to the show by giving away two tickets to the show! YOU CAN BUY TICKETS HERE OR. ENTER TO WIN 2 TICKETS TO THE AQUABATS SEPTEMBER 1st AT THE EL REY Step 1- Join Our Newsletter (look for pop up everytime you arrive at jankysmooth.com) Step 2- Share or RT this giveaway post or Tag a Friend in the comment section of any of our INSTAGRAM Aquabts Giveaway Post WINNER WILL BE WILL BE SELECTED ON FRIDAY AUGUST 31st AT 11AM PST VIA EMAIL CONFIRMATION

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Six Organs of Admittance

Unplugged and Undying: Six Organs of Admittance, Wino, and Xasthur at Resident

When Bob Dylan first plugged in and went electric at the Newport Folk Festival in 1963, he was harangued, mocked, and shit on by the same followers that professed their total devotion to him as a folk singer. Similarly, when metal goes acoustic, there are always detractors. Yet, with the talent exhibited by the artists Church of the 8th Day booked to play The Resident, Xasthur, Wino, and Six Organs of Admittance, the voices of those detractors seemed to shrink under the monumental weight of the emotions in these folk songs. Proving that Kansas can be just as dark as Darkthrone, Alhambra’s Xasthur was once a one-man black metal machine, pumping out the haziest, most brutal black metal in California. Having soaked in all of isolation’s inspiration, Scott Conner knew there were muses he had to follow beyond the boundaries of electric music. Startling the purist following he had garnered, Xasthur went acoustic and the fans that once battled his skeptics, became skeptics themselves. related content: Satyricon’s Final Los Angeles Show: A Night Too Blackened To Forget Taking the stage as a three-piece, all on acoustic guitars, Xashur wore a bandana to cover his face while Christopher sang his lyrics and

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David Byrne

Ahead of his Timelessness: David Byrne at The Shrine Auditorium

A lone brain sits on a fold out table complete with a wooden chair directly under a spotlight. This abstract scene of living art set the stage perfectly for a journey into the psyche and imagination of the legendary David Byrne. With bare feet, white disheveled hair, and a cool gray retro suit to boot, Byrne looked like a mad scientist or guru to a new age religious cult, the church of Byrne. He walked out onto the stage, sat in the chair and picked up the brain. While solemnly singing into his headpiece, a glittery beaded curtain raised from the floor. From there, the production went full psychedelic with a marching band of smiling, dancing, barefoot instrumentalists and back up singers, all uniformly dressed in the same retro grey suits. They gracefully emerged from the curtain in what would be the beginning of a fully choreographed spectacular production that was completely wireless. No amps on stage, no cords dangling from instruments to step over, the drums were attached to their player’s bodies instead of fixed on a kit. related content: Finally Admitting It’s Real: Portugal. The Man At The Shrine This had to be the most avant-garde concert tour

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Take This: Win 2 Tickets to The The at the Hollywood Palladium

The UK’s legendary post punk band The The has reunited for a tour across the states and they’ll be hitting Los Angeles on September 25th for what is sure to be a memorable performance at the Hollywood Palladium. Janky Smooth is giving away a pair of tickets to this monumental return performance. Matt Johnson brings his unique and splendorous talents as a songwriter to L.A. to channel his inner-most fears, hopes, and anguishes through the classic songs of The The. Expect to hear songs like “This is the Day” and “Uncertain Smile”, cuts off definitive albums like Soul Mining and Infected, expect to laugh and cry and dance. For nearly two decades, Johnson and The The stayed out of the spotlight but now, after the death of his older brother Andrew in 2016, Matt has been inspired to keep The spirit of The The alive and thrill audience’s worldwide once again. You don’t want to miss this opportunity to see this legendary band play songs that are sure to touch your heart.  YOU CAN BUY TICKETS HERE OR. ENTER TO WIN 2 TICKETS TO THE THE SEPTEMBER 25TH AT THE HOLLYWOOD PALLADIUM Step 1- Join Our Newsletter (look for pop up everytime

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Song Premiere: Microwaves “Via Weightlessness” Janky Smooth Exclusive

Are you a fan of spazzcore? Do you like instrumentation and arrangements that are as obscure and wildly creative as they are musically brilliant? Well, do we at Janky Smooth have your latest obsession to fix you up with: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s Microwaves makes music that takes you places, only they use the most jagged and bumpy roads to get you there. Their winding guitars are enough to make a feeble-minded, casual music fan wind up in a straight-jacket, but I’m sure if you’re reading this, you must now be thinking, “finally… a cure!“. The band is comprised of drummer John Roman (formerly of The 1985 and currently Night Vapor and Brown Angel), guitarist/vocalist David Kuzy, and bassist/vocalist Johnny Arlett. Microwaves’ new track, “Via Weightlessness” exemplifies the radioactive noise sound that has always made the band a force to be reckoned with. Combining Prog precision with No Wave impulsiveness and Thrash riffage, this track will override your nervous system until your feet mosh at the music’s will, not your mind’s. Gone are the effects-heavy sounds on previous records and introduced is a cleaner, heavier Microwaves than ever before. Microwaves’ newest LP “Via Weightlessness” is being released by Three One G Records on

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Kanga

The Industrial Virus is Spreading: Das Bunker Presents Kanga at Resident

Das Bunker has returned, this time out of the post-apocalyptic brick humidifier that is Los Globos’ crumbling upstairs bomb shelter to the posh but mosh-approved Resident for a Kanga and Cyanotic duel-headlining show. The horror on the faces of those yuppies that were trying to peacefully go about their networking on the patio was a beautiful thing for us creeps to behold. We blackened the Resident like a flock of crows descending upon hipster carrion. related content: One Friday Night In Hell Part 2: Das Ich At Los Globos Coming from Toronto and exhibiting that same sappy Canadian authenticity that seems so easy to be cynical against, For All The Emptiness, began the show. His songs were desperate pleas for change out of a numb and uncaring world and though this translates well on his records, over his catchy industrial dance beats, live the combination of fast-paced music, overly-dramatic singing, forgettable stage antics, and lyric-videos plastered on the backdrop via projection, didn’t quite hit the mark. Digital music and lyric videos just scream karaoke no matter how good the performance. In his favor, I will say the his album art and music video for “Hearts Against Minds” have top notch aesthetics

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Timber Timbre

Cinema of Sound: Timber Timbre at The Moroccan Lounge

Timber Timbre‘s unbelievably cinematic sound conjures some of the most distinct imagery with ease; thankfully they were able to bring that experience to fans at the Moroccan Lounge in DTLA last week for two sold out nights. Embedded in their music is an intimacy fitting for the most tense moments of desolation; compositions that harken to a lovesick killer brooding in the most remote diner in the Nevada desert late at night. (Interestingly enough, the group so capable of capturing the classic sound of the American west hails from Ontario, Canada.) Deceptive softness and melancholy shroud what’s truly music for a bad man (in a Coen Brother’s sense) and the beauty translates perfectly to a live setting. The well-earned hype and buzz surrounding this group will only continue to grow. related content: How To Trip Off Volume: Elder At The Roxy related content: Too Heavy to Die: Boris’ 25th Anniversary With Melvins At Echoplex Opening both performances was Thor and Friends, the avant-garde project fronted by former Swans associate and percussionist Thor Harris. Unassuming at first, the ensemble quickly captivated those in attendance with hypnotic swells and some of the most lush instrumentation to grace the Moroccan. They’ve performed around town frequently

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Strife

The Hardest So-Cal Has to Offer, Strife Plays “In This Defiance” at The Roxy

Southern California has always been a hotbed for hardcore punk from Black Flag to The Circle Jerks but carrying on the torch into the 90’s was a band from Thousand Oaks, California called Strife. Exhibiting that classic straight edge, beat down character, Strife was a band that from the get go, had the feel like they belonged on a stage with a pit belonging right in front of them. Their second album, In This Defiance, with its many guest appearances by Dino Cazares, Chino Mareno, and Igor Cavalera, became the band’s definitive album. They were a band that could get hardcore kids to dog-pile and sing together songs so undeniably powerful and demanding of an audience, that they became essential to the Southern California hardcore canon. related content: For The Children 2017 At The Echoplex: Hardcore Is The Gift That Keeps On Giving Strife’s impact resonated beyond their sound though. Each band that would perform on this evening at The Roxy had a connection to the band. Beginning first with Fixation from Philadelphia, who even though are in the early stages of their career, played a set that was cohesive and powerful enough to make you envision a long and

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ZOOLUXX

New Name, New Video – ZOOLUXX (Formerly Solar Sons) Release “Finally Be”

For years, ZOOLUXX, formerly known as Solar Sons, has been the quintessential soundtrack for night’s out in Los Angeles. From their residency at Good Times at Davey Wayne’s to being a fixture in all the best underground house parties, everybody in L.A. knows these guys. You’ve thrown back beers to their music, hooked up to their music, danced to their music, and now, with a new name and an EP produced by legendary saxophonist Karl Denson, they’re stepping into a new era in their musical tenure. Denson, who’s played with everyone from The Rolling Stones to Lenny Kravitz, produced ZOOLUXX’s 2017 debut EP and their single “Finally Be”. ZOOLUXX has always had the uncanny ability to transport any room they play straight into boogie town. With awesome grooves and psychedelic landscapes, the band makes every party feel like a funky sci-fi exploitation movie. Consisting of vocalist and guitarist Troy Vincent, bassist Ned Casual, percussionist Bertie Paradise, and drummer Princess Frank, each member contributes to a sound that is infectious, magnetic, and undeniably primal at its core. All thought is lost to dance when a ZOOLUXX tune grabs you and has its way with your feet. I liken ZOOLUXX’s place in

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