Tag: featured

Børn in the U.S.H.-United States of Horror

Danny Baraz May 5, 2017

Last night in a back yard on Echo Park Ave, there was a call to arms. Last night, Jean Lebrun and Eaddy Lawrz aka HO99O9 launched a movement and moved forward in spreading the spores of the United States of Horror. Oh, you thought it was just music? The new album from HO99O9 is the single biggest step forward I’ve seen from a band in over a decade. After their tactical assault of EP’s over the past 2 years, the first full length album from the deacons of the death kult shows an incredible amount of maturation in musicality. I was nervous about how much more polished the production sounded on USoH, intially. But the clean production delivers a clear message and makes it easier to discern the mission being delivered in subject matter, a message that should make the programming directors and editors of Fox News and Breitbart beat the drums of white fragility- which, despite what the scumbag media ratings analysts attempt to depict, is growing more and more out of rhythm with the direction this country is headed. Reminder: Kill your TV and anyone that tries to divide us- Kill ’em all. White America should be

Bullies or Buddies: Los Angeles Music Blogs and the Scenes They Cover

Janky Smooth Central Command May 3, 2017

A solid three years into the game, COOL TITE bring it fresher and bigger than ever. Crystal, Mat, and Sergio are all about keeping it D.I.Y. and Janky Smooth wants to acknowledge and participate in how local music blogs in LA, like CT, contribute to and enrich the community, stay connected to share what music we’re all digging at the moment and to tell music fans more about when the music from that band you love is set to be played at a show, at your favorite venue nearby, or when they are releasing new music. Without confirming with COOL TITE directly that they feel the same way, I know the people at Janky Smooth feel like they are an extension of the sounds emitting from the city and collaborators of sorts that prop up the scene and some of the bands in it. When I use the word “collaborate” it’s not to insinuate that the BEST blogs work in conjunction with bands as a promotional arm- no. Leave that to Pitchfork or COS. related: Mind Meld Mondays at The Echo Continue Bringing Highest Value The collaboration is to relay the straight dope, raw dog like a conversation with

Folk Sensibilities w/ Larry and His Flask & Flatfoot 56 at The Echo

Jessica Moncrief April 28, 2017

Larry and His Flask recently embarked on a tour with Chicago natives Flatfoot 56. While both bands differ stylistically, the light-hearted attitudes and instrumental diversity of both bands have served as key components in their compatibility. This is one of those line-ups where you aren’t sure who should be headlining because they both have an equal amount of talent and clout. I had the chance to catch them on the Southern California leg of their tour at The Echo and I am certainly glad that I did. The show was an early one, and even though Flatfoot 56 had some serious issues with their tour van the day before, the show started promptly at 6pm, as scheduled. Generally speaking (from personal experience), when a gig starts that early, one could expect a light crowd for the opening bands. However, that was not the case for this show. I was pleasantly surprised upon arrival to see the ample amount of people that turned out early to catch their set; it speaks volumes for the fan base that Flatfoot 56 has built over the years. Flatfoot 56 incorporates instruments like the mandolin and bagpipes, giving them a distinct Celtic sound with a serious

Punk Rock Bowling Transforms BYO Boys Into Wisdom Brigade

Danny Baraz April 28, 2017

This past Monday, April 24th I interviewed members of an iconic, first wave California skate punk band, the owners of a record label and the brain trust of a popular annual cultural event that completely consumes every hotel room, a dozen bars and music venues and every beer coozy in Downtown Las Vegas- and I did them all in the span of an hour and a half. Like a wise man once said, “Let’s do the whole fuckin village, man.” Bunny from the movie, Platoon. Sometimes, people make the mistake of thinking wisdom and maturity are the same concept but Confucius say, “enjoying or telling of a fart joke, occasionally, does not preclude you from being able to call on experience to make the right decision’” -from Confucius’ early, more obscure teachings- the more underground stuff. Some people have an inherent, child like disposition. On the latest Janky Smooth Sessions, it’s hard to tell with the Stern brothers if it’s the brother dynamic that brings out the towel snapping, one-ups-manship and verbal noogies because I’ve never spent a moment with them while attending a tax seminar to witness how they conduct themselves amongst the squares. But fortunate for all of

Keith Morris Speaks Freely On Lawsuits, Politics & Punk Rock

Danny Baraz April 25, 2017

Not a lot needs to be said about Keith Morris and his contributions, not only to punk rock music but to the entire culture of “art” itself. I could easily get too wordy in this intro, to this transcript, of a bucket list interview with Morris for the temporarily defunct Janky Smooth and the NSA radio show from this time last year, but why? Everything I could say is in the archives of this interview and in his biography, My Damage I imagine there aren’t too many icons in the world who have remained as authentic and right sized as Keith and the fact that he gave a smaller publication like Janky Smooth one of his first, post lawsuit gag order interviews just speaks volumes about what this man values as an artist. Authenticity can not be feigned in art as easily as it can be in life and it’s rare to talk to someone in any capacity and get the vibe that what you see is what you get- especially when they’re talking about themselves. Most Recent on topic: Redd Kross, OFF! & Melvins Commemorate Teen Babes From Monsanto This interview took place in April of 2016 as one of

Coachella to The Smell: Are Downtown Boys The Voice We’ve Been Waiting For?

Rob Shepyer April 25, 2017

My love for punk saxophone brought me to downtown Los Angeles on April 18th to see the mighty Downtown Boys pack The Smell. I had heard about the band from the same Rolling Stone article so many seem to have read that claimed this band was something special in a sudden sea of punk and having experienced their show, I find myself agreeing. Coming from the East Coast, Downtown Boys are a rarity to catch on this side of the country but as fate would have it, Coachella brought them out to punk-up that bland-ass lineup and pop the brand-new Sonora tent’s cherry. Downtown Boys are a political punk band of twenty somethings that embody all the good and bad things about the millennial generation. Hailing from Providence Rhode Island, the band started out of the collaboration between Victoria Ruiz and Joey La Neve DeFrancesco from What Cheer? Brigade. Downtown Boys signify something far greater than the new face of punk- I see their political beliefs becoming the core ideology of the “new left”, making the Smell the perfect venue to host the band. Downtown Boys’ LP is named Full Communism, as if Slavoj Zizek himself had a writing credit.

A Psych & Synth History w/ Silver Apples For The New Acid Test in SF

Janky Smooth Central Command April 23, 2017

For all the hate and bad press that San Francisco gets about the infiltration of tech-bro-douchebags ruining its wacky culture and alternative nightlife, its still the only city in the world that can throw a “psychedelic freak-out party” as authentic and trippy as The Acid Test SF’s most recent party featuring the experimental electronic pioneer Simeon Coxe of Silver Apples at The Rickshaw Stop. The Acid Test SF has been organizing these crazy, consciousness-expanding parties around the city since 2015. Of course, its namesake is inspired by Ken Kesey and the Merry Prankser’s famous Acid Test parties in Haight-Ashbury during the summer of love era. The organizers book 1960s, LSD-inspired artists such as San Jose’s garage rock outfit Chocolate Watchband and the LA-born acid rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock. This particular event was at Rickshaw Stop, a quirky venue in the lower Haight with a cozy atmosphere marked by huge red velvet curtains and vintage rickshaws. As soon as I entered the venue, I felt like I’d time-travelled back to a time when the city was still overwhelmed by long-haired hippies with flowers in their hair. The groovy looking crowd had dressed the part so well that I couldn’t tell if

Fear and Loathing With King Gizzard and Pond at The Hard Rock

Lindsay Krause April 21, 2017

There’s not much about Las Vegas that ever really appealed to me. Even one with a deep appreciation for the book/film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas has to remember that Hunter S. Thompson himself acknowledged the city’s role in the abrupt shift during the spread of the 1960’s San Franciscan counterculture. In his famous “wave speech”, he recalled Sin City as “that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.” However, when the Hard Rock Las Vegas announced an Australian trifecta of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, POND, and ORB at their poolside stage, I determined the possible waves from an epic whirlpool/moshpit/portal would be more than enough to lure me from Austin out to the desert. Sandwiched between first time Coachella sets for both King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and POND, the Las Vegas double headliner event comes at a time when both acts are beginning to creep onto a wider world stage. Formed in 2010, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard reportedly chose their name “as a joke”, however, the work ethic of the 7-piece is anything but that. Since their inception, the Melbourne natives have released 9 full lengths, with reported intentions on

When We Were Young Festival’s Most Dominant Demographic: Mine

Janky Smooth Central Command April 19, 2017

When We Were Young- We Became Experts at Sneaking In & Cutting Lines I was still hungover from Choking Victim’s secret set in Long Beach at Freebirds Salon twelve hours before, and already running forty minutes late to the festival, when I remembered that I needed to stop at Target and pick up sunscreen and vitamin C. These are the indicators I observe as I age year to year. Chalk it up to experience but the last thing I wanted was to be sun burned and hungover for day two of a very long weekend. My urgency for arrival was based solely on watching The Getup Kids play the soundtrack to my early adolescence and I was not going to let the naivety of Orange County’s ‘Surf Goth’ youth hold me up. I waited in the main entrance line for the When We Were Young festival and watched cigarette packs get emptied out onto the wooden tables, and a barrage of drug paraphernalia get confiscated and disposed of while the newly minted team of hired security guards emptied pockets. It became apparent within minutes that I was going to have to find an alternative entry if I wanted to get in

Risking Life and Limb to Cover HORSE the band at Union Los Angeles

Taylor Wong April 14, 2017

A lot of the bands we were listening to in high school are just now hitting their 10-20 year anniversary on their hit albums. There has been a resurgence of bands that many left for dead- but isn’t that the case for almost all popular art? This weekend was a major festival (When We Were Young) who’s entire line up consisted of people I thought were dead or working at Starbucks. The one comeback (although to be honest they may have never left) I was super stoked for was the night before this shit show of a festival, HORSE the Band at Union Night Club. Upon arriving, I instantly ran into Nathan Winneke, singer of HORSE the Band, just hanging out, drinking beers at the merch table, talking with fans and hanging out with his wife. I got the chance to chat with him for a bit before the first band. We somehow got on the topic of Fartbarf playing the show. Nathan told me that apparently, for the last 3 years people have been telling him to book Fartbarf and finally it just happened to work out. We talked about their sound and masks a bit which then took us

Subhumans On Sunset: Young, Old, Punks, Posers Pay Homage at Los Globos

Todd Anderson April 13, 2017

On an ordinary Monday night, I walk down East Sunset Blvd with my camera. I dip into the tattoo shop to say hello to a friend as I make my way down the street in the early evening, Los Angeles “magic hour.” There are a few teenage gutter-punk kids smattered randomly around the boulevard as I walk up to Club Los Globos to document the Subhumans gig- there’s no line… I’m early. I stake my position to the right of the stage on a small riser with a column that reaches up to the celling, which proves invaluable later, and I people watch as the crowd fills in through the opening bands. The frantic buzz, the electric anticipation, it all begins to crackle as the notable Oakland band, The Love Songs, finish their set. The club is a mix of every kind of fan imaginable- young, old, punk and the ones that the highly dogmatic call “posers”- just open minded, intellectually curious folks, is all. Even though they know not, they are open to a historic moment when their more well versed friends tell em one is coming- even if they aren’t able to sing along to songs written by

Sleaford Mods Hit The Echoplex On Last Date Of First Ever U.S. Tour

Rob Shepyer April 12, 2017

Part Time Punks, Sleaford Mods And Accidental Pop Music What makes a concert special and superior to the rest? It takes more than just the band playing well. Sometimes a bit of coincidence has to be involved to bring all the karmic forces together. On Sunday April 9th, a drunk veered his truck into a bunch of construction vehicles across from the line at The Echoplex. It was omen for the chaos to come. Before I get into the meat of this article and make any pretentious observations about Sleaford Mods, opening bands, punk rock or culture in general, let me begin with writing out the chant that follows the subject of this article everywhere they play. A chant that was repeated over and over by drunken middle-aged men that listen to this band on the car stereo as soon as they drop their kids off at school. Ahem… Sleaford Mods! Sleaford Mods! Sleaford Sleaford Sleaford Mods! Over and over again, I heard this…. Sleaford Mods! Sleaford Mods! Sleaford Sleaford Sleaford Mods! It could drive you a bit loony…. Sleaford Mods! Sleaford Mods! Sleaford Sleaford Sleaford Mods! Right until it gets stuck in your fuckin’ head… Sleaford Mods! Sleaford Mods! Sleaford

Tag: featured

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