Tag: featured
Crusty Anthems and Salty Sing-alongs: The Distillers Return to Orange County
Rob Shepyer
May 1, 2018
I remember The Distillers as a band on the periphery of my hesher upbringing in the early 2000’s. They were on MTV back when pop-punk was still sweeping the airwaves and amassed a large following even though their music wasn’t your run-of-the-mall, American Pie movie soundtrack drek. The Distillers were dirtier, more raw, in both sound and image. Like if Hole was supped up with a hotrod engine and covered in prison tatts. And Brody Homme, then and still Brody Dalle, was a role-model for punks and normies, men and women, simply based on the merits of her talent. That was then. And close to 10 years later, seemingly everything, sans the band, has changed. MTV is long-past relevant, pop punk is almost shameful to enjoy, and nostalgia for what came out of that decade is often laughed at. And yet, after only seeing them once, I know that The Distillers are not part of that bygone decade. It became quite obvious to me and virtually everyone in attendance at this particular show, that the band and music were timeless. Distillers songs still sound fresh, with songwriting so good, that it could only come from a time before we all
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Heaven or Coachella?: Django Django And Tank And The Bangas At The Fonda
Aria Silva-Espinosa
April 30, 2018
Much like the eye of a tropical storm, Los Angeles enjoyed a few days of eerie tranquility in the weekdays between the first and second weekend of Coachella. If you don’t have the patience to deal with drunk teenagers and a few thousand dollars worth of disposable income to make your way out to Indio for one of the two festival weekends, it’s easy to succumb to the gnawing fear of missing out. Knowing all your favorite artists and even more new artists you didn’t know you would love are playing so tantalizingly close to you but you’re poor, impatient or maybe just disinterested. As a Coachella virgin but an avid adversary of frivolous spending, the outdoors and idiots, I take comfort in the knowledge that every act worth seeing will roll through Los Angeles in this quiet span of five days between the conclusion of the first week and the incitation of the second. related content: Between Coachella, Brazilian Boogarins At The Echo With the promise of a rousing performance from Django Django, a staple in the indie pop scene since time immemorial. Formed in 2009, Django Django has been making the festival circuit and touring internationally and have
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Between Coachellas, Brazilian Boogarins At The Echo
Rob Shepyer
April 24, 2018
As I continue my education in psych rock, I start seeing these shows as lectures and the artists as professors in preparation for my “thesis” at this year’s Desert Daze. That said, it was refreshing to get an international take on the genre with Boogarins, a band that hails from Brazil and played the Echo as an off-shoot show between their Coachella sets. They were actually the best psych band of the few I’ve seen and drew me closer to understanding and liking the genre more than the other shows I’ve been to. related content: Desert Daze 2016: Quantifying The Physics Of A Good Time The first band was another non-American band, Señor Kino, from Sonora, Mexico. Their songs are in Spanish, though that doesn’t deter anyone from reading the feel and joy and changes in tone in their songs. Señor Kino are a surf rock band with a pinch of 90’s alternative and I mean that as a total compliment, like the best kind of 90’s rock. Although the band is rather young, they seem to be emotionally intelligent beyond their years and I sense this solely from seeing them live and never talking to them or understanding their lyrics.
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From The Bay To L.A. Classic Metal Burns Bright: Hell Fire At Echoplex
Rob Shepyer
April 20, 2018
With my recent concert-going escapades seemingly devoted to punk, in all its forms, it felt like I had forgotten my first love: heavy fucking metal. And, in attending the Echoplex’s Metal Monday showcase, it was as if the prodigal son had returned to church. In a sense, I mean this literally because the show was booked by Church of the 8th Day, Los Angeles’ most prolific metal promoter. On this, the day after the Christian sabbath, once the religious had gotten their fill of rest and ritual, it was time for the devils to come out and play; and those devils were Hell Fire. The opening band originated and hit close to home, Blade Killer, is a gem in the Los Angeles metal scene. Immediately, the frantic guitar-work of Jay Vazquez and Jonathan Rubio kicked in, backed by a pummeling flying V bass of Kelsey Wilson and the lighting fast, swagger-filled drumming of Peter Lemieux. The singer of the band, Carlos Gutierrez, harkens the greatest metal singers you can think of, both Iron Maiden singers Bruce Dickinson and Paul Dianno, at times. Seeing as the lead guitarist, Jonathan Rubio, was celebrating his birthday on this night, he didn’t hold back
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The Murder City Devils at Teragram or: How Spencer Moody Learned to Love The Stooges
Rob Shepyer
April 19, 2018
After seeing The Murder City Devils for the 2nd time on Sunday at the Teragram Ballroom, I spent a great deal of time contemplating the band’s sound and impact. During one especially thrilling interlude, lead singer Spencer Moody told the story of how he was born in existential crisis, wondering what his purpose would be. Then, one day, he skated to the record store and flipped through vinyl until fatefully landing upon a Stooges record. In his own words, it changed his life. Iggy and The Stooges made him feel like he wasn’t alone, that there were other people in this crazy world that thought like him. The Stooges gave him purpose. Dwelling on this point and correlating it to the band’s sound, I feel like I have an easier time comparing The Murder City Devils to the godfathers of punk like The Stooges, The New York Dolls, The Dictators, or The MC5 than I do fitting them into today’s slew of garage rock bands. That organ they employ, most prominently in songs like “Press Gang” harnesses a throwback sound but it’s not just the music that feels old, it’s the entirety of the band’s presentation. You feel that swinging saloon
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In the City of Sad Angels: Loma and Jess Williamson At The Bootleg Theater
Aria Silva-Espinosa
April 17, 2018
Jess Williamson brought a brand new album and a newly-assembled band to The Bootleg on Sunday evening. Originally from Texas, singer/songwriter Jess Williamson recently made the move to Los Angeles. Her forlorn and sorrowful music has a bit of a country feel, an obvious product of her Texas roots. Her breathy delivery and use of organ sounds on the keyboard had the room rapt and attentive, swaying along with Jess’ voice. As she has formerly cited, sadness and heartbreak has a definitive influence and a prominent theme in the lyricism. Her set concluded to appreciative applause from the audience. related content: A Softly Harsh Friday The 13th W/ The Soft Moon and Boy Harsher At Teragram The sound of chirping birds brought the attention of the milling crowd as Loma began their set. The stage now prominently featured an easel with a drawing pad at the foreground. Emily Cross has a uniquely fragile vocal style and when manipulated, conjures the image of a chorus of sad angels. She didn’t look quite comfortable in the performance space as she paced with clasped hands and turned her back to the audience. It enhanced the effect of Loma’s sound, which is tender and
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Video Premiere: Plasmic “Validation Nation” Janky Smooth Exclusive
Janky Smooth Central Command
April 17, 2018
Ever since she tore the house down at El Rey for Sex Cells’ Divine Ball, we here at Janky Smooth have developed a deep fondness for the Orange County sparkle-queen known as Plasmic. Her take on pop brings to mind greats from Cyndi Lauper to Ariel Pink to Devo and by the sound of her latest music video for “Validation Nation” it seems she’s got just as much style as those greats but perhaps even more substance and depth. It’s so damn refreshing to hear good pop songwriting in 2018. related content: Sex Cells’ Divine Ball At El Rey: The Filthiest People On Earth With imagery that harkens the upbringings of so many American girls, the video feels like if Harmony Korine directed a Tonya Harding movie. With music that has just as much jazzy swagger in the vocals as dream pop and electro-glitter-punk trash in the production, the song feels like a beautiful monster of sorts and from the song’s main lyric: “I don’t want to be a person anymore“, this might be exactly what Plasmic’s going for. The image of her swiveling on one figure skate while holding her keyboard in slow motion, as her hot-pink hair flows
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A Softly Harsh Friday The 13th W/The Soft Moon and Boy Harsher At Teragram
Rob Shepyer
April 16, 2018
Friday the 13th should be celebrated with blood… with killing… with a haunting of your soul. That might not require a weapon unless of course, you mean music and in this case, The Soft Moon‘s post punk is the sharpest knife. Selling out show after show on his tour, Luis Vasquez’s trio from Oakland, CA, has created a new sound in an old form. Lethal Amounts brought together three musical acts, each dwelling in the same realm of dark music but from completely different approaches. Drenched in blue lights and dense shadows, Liebestod is a one man show that uses noise to disjoint and sever your connection to anything familiar in music. He’s a noise performer with an industrial edge that uses electronics to make every show a completely new and original thing. Improvising with every fidget of his wires, I’m not even sure if he knows what sonic monster, he’ll end up spawning even so, it was pleasurable to the eyes, the ears, and with the foundation shaking bass, to the skin and bones too. Based in L.A. but hailing from St. Louis, the rust belt, one can imagine what sort of industrial upbringing fueled his current line of
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Hooliganism Trumps Hate: Pussy Riot At The Echo
Aria Silva-Espinosa
April 10, 2018
In terms of global affairs, Pussy Riot came to us when we needed them most. Building political tensions between the United States and basically everyone else seem to be constantly in the foreground of conversations and news briefings.Gaining notoriety for activism in their home country of Russia, Pussy Riot made a name for themselves by speaking out against Vladimir Putin and his anti-LGBT, anti-Feminist agenda. Similarly, we seem to be struggling with our own self-important leader with a relatively corrupt agenda ourselves. Three founding members of the band were arrested, tried and convicted in 2012 for “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred”, including Nadya Tolokonnikova who actually served a sentence of over a year. The inciting incident for the arrest of the members of Pussy Riot came in the form of a demonstration held inside a Moscow church, the congregants of which did not take kindly to the women donning neon ski masks and dresses who stormed the altar to recite a “punk prayer” before being detained by relatively unenthusiastic authority figures. This was all caught on video and was widely distributed by media sources when news of the arrest spread and caught the attention of Amnesty International, who named the
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Spring Break Can’t Last Forever: Riff Raff At Los Globos
Aria Silva-Espinosa
April 4, 2018
It’s something about the impulsive “Spring Break Forever” mentality that carries this fitting sponsorship between the Four Loko brand and Riff Raff’s highly stylized personal brand. For those who haven’t had the misfortune of a lengthy relationship with the canned malt liquor beverage, to try to offer an explanation of the Four Loko Experience might prove difficult in an objective light. When I was a senior in high school, Four Loko was available for $2.50 a can and to this day, I have never been as drunk in my life as I could get off ¾ of a Blue Raspberry-ish flavored drink. Lovingly referred to as “blackout in a can” on the ever-trustworthy Urban Dictionary, the beverage’s original recipe was banned in a number of states due to the severe health risks it posed to those who consumed it. The company has since reformulated the drink to remove some of the stimulatory ingredients, since being accused of marketing to underage drinkers with bright colors, fruit flavors and boasting energy drink-like properties. Still, it has always been my experience that underaged drinkers will literally drink anything, regardless of flavor or the promised effects. related content: Beach Goth 4: The Party Of
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Fierce Fiesta: Scum’s 2 Year Anniversary W/ Limp Wrist At The Echoplex
Rob Shepyer
March 28, 2018
There was something queer about March. Even the month’s name conjures up the image of boys with chiseled jaws in uniforms and leather boots. Or maybe it was the number 3 that was symbolic; of a third chromosome? A third gender? Or a third nipple or partner? Whatever it was, this merry month’s man-on-man madness began with me seeing Fischerspooner at the Fonda, where myself as a straight, life-long fan of queer cinema and music, got to see a myriad of males half naked on stage, sweaty and throbbing. Then after attending sCUM’s 2 year anniversary show at the Echoplex with Limp Wrist headlining, I got the sense that East Los could be the new Weho and that LGBTQ punks have ideas to express, verbal and non-verbal, that straight punks can neither access nor fathom. With Lethal Amount’s Sex Cells Divine Ball approaching on the 31st, who knows, I might start behaving in ways I never thought possible in February. I don’t think I’ll be going cruising but hell, I might try to suck my own. related content: Los Crudos Play The Echoplex Right When L.A. Needed It Most sCUM is a party for queerdos of color at Club Chico created
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