Tag: featured

How to Trip Off Volume: Elder at The Roxy

Rob Shepyer August 23, 2018

How do you get high? Flower? Shrooms? Synthetics? Running? There are many ways. Some of them led me to this style of stoner/doom metal in the first place but once I had first began frequenting those concerts and stood among other trippers before a stage where a high was induced through music, I realized not every method can be found on erowid.com. Volume can get you high. Walls of sound can break you through sobriety’s ceiling and beyond that threshold is an especially consciousness-shaking altered state. Few bands build walls of sound so high and holy as the ones featured at The Roxy at this show with progressive doom virtuosos Elder. related content: Earthless Liquified My Face At Teragram With Third Circle Visuals behind the projector’s eye, shooting liquid light on stage as if spitting venom like a Dilophosaurus on LSD, the stage was set for Los Angeles’ best kept stoner secret Yidhra to take the stage. Combining heavy, vibrating doom riffs with hallowed, commanding growls, and a theremin’s whirling alien essence, Yidhra’s sound is original and soul-stirring. Like if Sleep slept with Kenneth Anger’s Technicolor skull, this is dark-side of your trip black light metal to the bone. This

Bastard Rap: Lil Ugly Mane and Bastard Noise at The Locker Room

Rob Shepyer August 22, 2018

Well what do ya know… it looks like Garden Grove has a lot more going for it than forever being relegated to Sublime references. The quaint Orange County town has a new outdoor/indoor venue in Garden Amphitheater and the smaller, Locker Room within it. The Amphitheater is hosting two amazing hardcore festivals in 2018 so having scoped out the space, I can say for a fact these shows will be completely insane. related content: 1Fest-Los Angeles at Los Globos: Noise As Music As Force Is Farce The Locker Room, which is decorated with yellow lockers along the back of the stage, would host Lil Ugly Mane’s Orange County show on a tour that he billed with diverse bands for every date. Mane assembled trap, death rock, and legendary vocalist of Man is the Bastard, Eric Wood, who with an array of machines, creates sonic insanity under the banner: Bastard Noise. The first band to play the evening was a crusty hip hop artist known as Death Rattle. They performed as a duo consisting of a mad-dog vocalist that duel wields microphones, one filtered, one not, and a live drummer. Opening his set with the command that all nazis get the fuck

The Queens Converge at Outside Lands 2018

Janky Smooth Central Command August 21, 2018

Admittedly, what brought me to Outside Lands Music Festival at the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco this year was LP, Florence + The Machine, and legendary pop star Janet Jackson. A first in the festival’s history: featuring a female fronted headliner, and this year we had two. Outside Lands featured a superb lineup of music and DJ’s to enjoy for all age groups. The art installations and props went above and beyond including a psychedelic wooded wonderland with glow-in-the-dark mushrooms, rugs, couches, and chairs creating the ultimate experience. With an accentuated vibe of relaxation, there were different flavors of tea served by the Mad Hatter himself. In addition to the ultimate in variety of excellent food choices, Outside Lands served up a large cannabis education section creatively called Grass Lands, beer, wine, and comedy, surrounded by luscious, towering forest greens all around. Outside Lands is massive, with over 200,000 concert goers during the 3-day weekend. The main stage displayed a massive Golden Gate Bridge made up of blue lights, while white lights pointed up, reaching to the high heavens when the sun went down, it was truly a sight to behold. related content: The Headliners Rule At Outside Lands 2016 Day 1 When I first arrived at the

New Song Premiere: The Dividing Line – “Deadbeat”

Janky Smooth Central Command August 20, 2018

We all know that special someone that drags down the group and sometimes those people need to learn their lesson the hard way, or rather in this case, the hardcore way. if there was ever a song to get someone to reform there ways it would be The Dividing Line‘s “Deadbeat”. New Age Records’ The Dividing Line create some of the most aggressive and unhinged hardcore you can hear in 2018 and their latest banger “Deadbeat” brings the pain on every level. The slam dance part is crushing and filled with plenty of bounce for you to get those punches and kicks flying. This is the kind of confrontational songwriting that gave hardcore it’s reputation as both music with balls and music for the people by the people about real shit. The Dividing Line just finished recording their 7″ to be released on New Age Records in late summer 2018 called Turn my Back on the World.

Alison Wonderland Uplifts L.A. at the Shrine

Aria Silva-Espinosa August 20, 2018

Every EDM festival lineup, every mainstream festival EDM selection, year after year is an exhausting shirtless sausage fest. It’s totally true, look it up. Prior to 2014-ish, very few female acts graced the lineups of dance music-focused shows and festivals. Alison Wonderland was the woman who worked her way to the main stage of some of the largest festivals in the world and for the past three years she has toured the world bringing her unique blend of original vocals and electrifying dance music to her massive international fan base. Born Alexandra Sholler in New South Wales, she’s certainly come a long way from playing classical cello in the Sydney Youth Opera for those who want to argue that electronic artists aren’t real musicians. She played bass for a while too before being inspired to go in a different direction by Swedish avant garde electro-pop duo The Knife. The rest is kind of history. She began working as a mixer and began touring in her native Australia as Alison Wonderland in 2012 and released her debut single ‘Get Ready’ in 2013. related content: Overcoming Fear With Fever Ray At The Palladium Dance music festivals are big business for a lot

Take This: Win 2 Tickets to George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic at OC Observatory

Janky Smooth Central Command August 17, 2018

You wanted the funk, well the Observatory is bringing it with George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic on October 3oth. Experience the Mothership Connection for their final tour because after this George is off to a galaxy far, far away for who knows how long. Janky Smooth is proud to give you the chance to catch this icon and musical genius perform funk classics with his legendary band. Bow wow wow yippee yo yippe yay. YOU CAN BUY TICKETS HERE OR. ENTER TO WIN 2 TICKETS TO GEORGE CLINTON & PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC AUGUST 30th at The Observatory Step 1- Join Our Newsletter (look for pop up everytime you arrive at jankysmooth.com) Step 2- Share or RT this or giveaway post or Tag a Friend in the comment section of any of our INSTAGRAM George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic Giveaway Post WINNER WILL BE WILL BE SELECTED ON MONDAY AUGUST 20th AT 11AM PST VIA EMAIL CONFIRMATION

Jerry Lives Forever: Grateful Shred at Teragram

Rob Shepyer August 16, 2018

For half my life, I’ve been a diehard fan of the most hippie-slaying bands you could ever hear but throughout that time, working in contrast to that was my love of The Grateful Dead. The Grateful Dead were spawned out of Ken Kesey’s Acid Tests where they played as the house band and got so high that they had to improvise their sounds and obey the psychedelic flow running through them. It gave them the most original feel and song structure of any band from their era and garnered them the most cult following in the history of music. I’m sure had I been around at the time of the Grateful Dead, I would’ve been a “Dead Head” and if that undermines my punk credibility, allow me to share what I witnessed at a recent Dead and Company show at Dodgers Stadium: Dirty hippies, one wardrobe change away from crust punks, snorting cocaine right in front of sixty year old couples. Women flashing and everyone choosing their own seats with no care what was assigned to them on their tickets. Captured by The Dead’s music this month, seeing Grateful Shred perform at the Teragram Ballroom was my way of celebrating Jerry

Take This: Win 2 Tickets to Cold Waves LA

Janky Smooth Central Command August 15, 2018

Cold Waves is Chicago’s annual industrial festival that showcases the artists that are leading the way in the world of dark electronic music. For the second year in a row, Cold Waves is coming to Los Angeles for three days of dancing and black clothing. Headlining the festival which takes place at 1720 warehouse is OhGr, Nivek OhGr’s band (of Skinny Puppy fame); The Black Queen, Greg Puciato’s industrial group after The Dillinger Escape Plan, and Canadian industrial legends Front Line Assembly. Cold Waves LA takes place Thursday September 27th-29th at 1720 Warehouse with a kick-off show at the Echo with Ruby. YOU CAN BUY TICKETS HERE OR. ENTER TO WIN 2 TICKETS FOR COLD WAVES LA+KICK OFF SHOW SEPTEMBER 26th AT THE ECHO + SEPTEMBER 27th-29th AT 1720 WAREHOUSE Step 1- Join Our Newsletter (look for pop up everytime you arrive at jankysmooth.com) Step 2- Share or RT this or any Cold Waves LA Artist Spotlight post on FB or Twitter or Tag a Friend in the comment section of any of our INSTAGRAM Cold Waves LA Giveaway or Artist Spotlight Posts WINNER WILL BE WILL BE SELECTED ON WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 5th AT 11AM PST VIA EMAIL CONFIRMATION

Finally Admitting it’s Real: Portugal. The Man at The Shrine

Robert Cohen August 14, 2018

For everything pop culture as a whole has done to convince us that the best humanity has to offer comes out of relationships and love, outside of shitty rom coms, the weird and winding paths that people take to get into them often go unacknowledged. People often go months or years without expressing their true feelings; and when they do, the time and place is not always as cookie cutter perfect as it’s made out to be in the popular imagination. In my opinion, Portugal. The Man is characteristic of the many angles of this scenario in the context of a fan’s relationship with a band. Once upon a time, they were the new kid in school: a little band from Alaska whose songs would show up occasionally on a mix CD someone gave you of cool new music that had flown under the radar. A few years later after they’d earned more cred with the local kids, they start hanging out with one of the cool seniors who brings them to the next level: auteur producer Danger Mouse who produced their 2013 album Evil Friends. Their insider status secured, after a few years away they come home from college

From The Garage to The Forum, it’s Weezer and Pixies!

Rob Shepyer August 13, 2018

When you see a tour flyer for Pixies and Weezer, who do you expect to be headlining? At first thought, my money’s on Pixies, considering their contribution to creating the alternative genre, mixing low-key melody with bombastic explosions of noise. But then again, coming to find that Weezer was closing out the night, ultimately made sense. For anyone in their 30’s, Weezer IS their youth. If you’re anywhere between 30 and 40, think about how much you heard Weezer growing up. Whatever genre you gravitate towards, you know the lyrics to at least one Weezer song, probably a gang of them. You probably know their music videos and the faces of band members that aren’t the frontman. Their songs were catchy, anthemic, and genuinely powerful. All coming from four guys that exemplify American rock and roll, as both fan and musician. So hell, if Weezer and Metallica go on tour next, I could imagine Weezer going on last. This tour was all about paying homage to the bands and forces that shaped Weezer while also having enough fun on stage to prove they were masters of the craft in their own right. The audience was filled with people that had Weezer

Luna 13 G.O.A.T. Witch Record Release Party at the Viper Room

Janky Smooth Central Command August 11, 2018

Luna 13 had their G.O.A.T Witch record release party at the Viper Room last Sunday, Aug. 5, 2018. The album was put out by LA’s iconic post-punk label Cleopatra Records. The group consisted of Lilith Bathory and Dr. Luna, which together created a dark visual black-metal bass theatrical experience. Other bands playing as part of the record release party included; The Audio Virus, Artifact Corruption, and Midnight Nightmare. Words and Photos by: Abraham Preciado

The Growlers Reclaim Castle Beach Goth and all is Right with the World Again

Rob Shepyer August 10, 2018

I love Beach Goth because The Growlers know how to book a festival better than anyone blessed enough to have their own festival. In the age of mixed bills, Beach Goth offers the total package every summer, with hip hop, hardcore, punk, metal, garage, goth, and everything in between. These artists then get presented on stages decorated like nothing you’ve ever seen, this year we celebrated “The Death of a Rat” on a stinky, burning garbage heap of a stage where bands and drag queens put on memorable and boundary pushing performances. related content: Beach Goth 4: The Party Of The Year Beach Goth had to scale back this year. Usually, the festival would be two days with headliners that you could opt to see instead of the Growlers each night. This was partly due to the ambition of last year’s festival. Last year was artistically a massive success, with the Geto Boys, Bad Brains, and even a Butthole Surfers reunion. It’s also important to mention that last year, the festival was called “The Growlers 6” because someone had the audacity to try and claim ownership of the name. Call it whatever you’d like, Growlers or Beach Goth, it was

Tag: featured

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