Tag: featured
New Album Review: CCR Headcleaner- Tear Down the Wall
Brent Smith
June 20, 2016
Tear Down the Wall is something else. That’s not an empty idiom. The San Francisco mind-ravaging outfit CCR Headcleaner gives us its strangest trip yet, and in today’s saturation of garage racket, it’s not easy to make such a conspicuous deviation. In only 8 tracks, the hardcore psych noise of Tear Down the Wall is heavy enough to leave you with a biting LSD hangover, but still terse enough to be hungry for more. Taking more hits is a given. Tear Down the Wall is out via In The Red Records June 17th, though I figured at first it was something coming out of the Sacred Bones camp, which would’ve been just as well, as CCR has toured with Fuzz, Human Eye, and Destruction Unit alike. I was reminded a bit of Metz, just more unhinged (if you can buy it), or the heady savagery of the Butthole Surfers, just more revved up on the thrash. All the songs are inhabited by ominous melodies and minor vocals that could score a Jim Jarmusch film set in decrepit Detroit. Though chaos is the name of the game, the songs are nonetheless stitched together with keen methodology; short bursts of crunchy insanity, and long,
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Take This: 2 Tickets & Record Label Swag For Dirty Penni Fest at The Echo
Janky Smooth Central Command
June 16, 2016
On July 23rd, Dirty Laundry TV and local Los Angeles independent record label, Penniback Records are taking over the Echo and Echoplex to showcase both the bands on their label and other, prominent L.A. up and comers; Dirty Penni Fest is born. As the epidemic of DIY music biz entrepreneurs spreads across Southern California, legions of young punks and prodigies hustle hard to expose the world to their neighborhood bands. Featuring artists such as Wild Wing, Jurassic Shark, Super Lunch and Tongues, Penniback Records is drawing attention for their contributions to the ever expanding universe of bands in L.A. Some of the headliners include No Parents, Guantanamo Baywatch, The legendary Mike Watt, Death Hymn Number 9, Lovely Bad Things. A couple other bands we’re excited about are French Vanilla, one of the best bands you’ve never heard of and the almighty Meat Market. There is also a SUPER SECRET GUEST that they are unable to announce yet so expect a nice surprise at the top of this festival. You Can Buy Tickets Here or Janky Smooth and Penniback Records are giving away 2 tickets to Dirty Penni Fest and label swag that includes 2 cassettes, 3 CD’s and a T-shirt to one winner that will
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Sound and Fury Hardcore Festival Comes of Age All Across Los Angeles
Rob Shepyer
June 16, 2016
I am not a hardcore kid. I do love plenty of hardcore bands but I’m a metal kid that found his way to punk. So by virtue of that, what I really seek out in music is extremes and as soon as I discovered Sound and Fury, I could tell it was the most extreme 2 day fest Los Angeles offers. Sound and Fury is a home for the hardcore kids, the truest of which as Nails front man Todd Jones pointed out, come from broken homes. The west coast and east coast have constantly been trading influences since the dawning of punk and as the east coast created hardcore and nurtured it with festivals like Philadelphia’s This is Hardcore, Sound and Fury Fest became the West Coast’s rebuttal. Sound and Fury’s history was all about showcasing rising bands and staying in low key venues around Ventura County for a DIY, homely feel that would foster brutal moments of pure letting go. Now having moved to the Regent Theater as its home base, the festival is bigger than ever with a lineup that crossed every flavor of hardcore punk. I bought my ticket the moment I saw Ceremony and Nails
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New Album Review: GOGGS is Damn Good Gravy on The Ty Segall Catalog
Danny Baraz
June 13, 2016
Ty Segall’s new project GØGGS doesn’t feel like a side project. GOGGS is being touted as “Ty’s new Punk Album” by many publicists and suits and probably just relayed simply that way by frontman, Chris Shaw in a non ambiguous and lyrical manner. And it’s punk. Not like Bad Brains or Black Flag punk but it’s punk rock like Fugazi and Parquet Courts; It dares you to put a label on what they do. When you attach the punk moniker to your music, authenticity is the single biggest pre requisite and that comes from the purity of your intentions with your music. GOGGS innovate in the increasingly nebulous punk rock genre by experimenting with and finding a unique and original guitar and production tone and organizing the bands thoughts into an appropriately confrontational demeanor. Charles Moothart went vintage effect pedal shopping and created something special. Sharp guitar tones with jagged, distorted edges and high mid range. It has an “early catalog Ty Segall” tonal vibe ala Melted and Twins but it’s more abrasive and percussive. It is the most prominent feature on this album and I say that in a good way. The bulbous bottom end bass guitar by committee, (Segall, Moothart,
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Punk Rock Bowling 2016: 18 Years of Limping Las Vegas
Janky Smooth Central Command
June 9, 2016
Don’t’ let the fights fool you; Punk Rock Bowling is a pure, unabashed, hippie love fest. Anthropologists should study the dynamics of a slam pit to understand a punk in his natural habitat because there is so much love in that stew that a few fists flying could never dampen the warm feelings we have for each other. That’s what terrified parents watching expose’s on the terrors of the punk scene in the late 70’s and early 80’s never understood. A jumper on the roof of The Golden Nugget? Doesn’t matter. Sporadic loneliness and bad acid aside, It’s one of the few times a year when MOST attendees feel like they are a part of something bigger. Because under the spikes, tattoos and snarls are a group of individuals who are overflowing with sensitivity and love. They party hard. They fight hard. They dress hard and they look hard, despite the whiskey dick. For the past 18 years, Punk Rock Bowling has served the punk community during both boom and busts of the scene. When NuMetal was hammering the last nail in the coffin of the music industry, Punk Rock Bowling was being born and punks kept sticking to their
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Ty Segall And The Secret Show: A New Tradition in Los Angeles
Brent Smith
June 1, 2016
I caught wind of the secret—and free—Ty Segall and the Muggers show at the Griffin from a Mikal Cronin tweet around 10pm. It turned out being a hushed triumph for the community, the local scene—now largely represented in the hip enclave of working class L.A. artists that arches across Los Feliz, Atwater Village, Eagle Rock, Highland Park, and Mt. Washington. Luckily I don’t live too far, otherwise I would’ve just as easily succumbed to the old Angeleno proverb of “I’m staying in tonight.” I’m glad I decided to go, it provided some much needed reenergizing, and highlighted our special moment of L.A. music history. Even L.A. Weekly (that old, tired whore of a culture rag) was sage enough (however contrived) to dub Segall “L.A.’s most prolific and enigmatic rock star”—which would put him in the running for such a tag worldwide—and he doesn’t need ticket sales to prove it. I showed up to the Griffin maybe 5 or 10 minutes late, tops, sauntering to the back of a line that was definitely sizeable for a Wednesday night, and the Muggers were already wellinto their set. This was my view for a good portion of it. As it turned out, never
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Wild Nothing At The Regent: Tight Jams And Tantrums Abound
Johann A. Ramos
June 1, 2016
Wild Nothing sold out The Regent Theater in Downtown Los Angeles Friday night along side dream-pop queen Charlie Hilton on their Life Of Pause world tour. Both are very special acts with consistent demographics that have been getting a lot buzz in the media lately, particularly Wild Nothing after their new record “The Life Of Pause” (No, not the life of pablo) dropped. Frontman Jack Tatum carries a bag-full of influence with every record he puts out – krautrock, shoe gaze, post rock – not unusual for indie rock acts now a days. What sets him apart from other dream pop acts in the market (see: diiv, blouse, beach fossils, etc) is his singing versatility and his blisteringly catchy, lush, modulated guitar progressions that’ll have the crowd spending $70 on Stub Hub resold GA pit tickets. Damn you ticket scalpers! “Nocturne”, released in 2012 paved the way for many indie rockers yet to come. Charlie Hilton opened up the gig at a much slower pace than I expected and I mean that in a good way. She set the vibe of the show and chilled me out with her whispy, quiet vocals – which I appreciated because I drank one
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The Brian Jonestown Massacre Play 3 1/2 Hour Set For Night 1 at Teragram
Natalie Somekh
May 30, 2016
Sunday nights in downtown LA can be magical but particularly so when seeing ‘60s psychedelic rock outfit The Brian Jonestown Massacre is playing a gig. The band is an eclectic mixture of ‘60s British Invasion, ’80s dream pop and shoegaze, as well jangly folk thanks to Anton Newcombe’s talent to tailor-make genre-specific sounds into his own. The first night of three sold-out shows at the Teragram Ballroom consisted of organs, tambourines, and loads of sass from The Brian Jonestown Massacre percussionist, Joel Gion. Opening up for the iconic band was Los Angeles’ very own Mystic Braves, who will be embarking on a national tour with Dream Ride this September in support of their newest album Days of Yesteryear. At one point during the Mystic Braves’ set, the band invited Rob Campanella, Brian Jonestown Massacre keyboardist, to accompany them on a few songs. Definitely a crowd pleaser.The Mystic Braves have been dominating the Los Angeles music scene with their psychedelic tunes and charisma since 2011. This showed last night when Julian Ducatenzeiler (guitar & vocals), Tony Malacara (bass & vocals), Shane Stotsenberg (guitar & vocals), Cameron Gartung (drums), and Ignacio Gonzalez (organ/tambourine) effortlessly captivated the Teragram Ballroom with their psychedelic aura
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Ministry Make Ears Bleed at Punk Rock Bowling Club Show
Danny Baraz
May 27, 2016
I was on the fence about attending Punk Rock Bowling this year. It’s been 4 years in a row and when you have a wife and kids, it’s an exercise of manipulation and selfishness to leave your family every Memorial Day weekend. “Honey, but it’s work!” So as I was leaning towards a “no”, Punk Rock Bowling 2016 unveiled it’s club shows and there it was; Thursday, May 26th Ministry/Excel at the Fremont Country Club. Fuck my kids. Fuck my wife. Fuck my business and everyday life. What twisted individual thought of this lineup for a punk rock festival? A couple weeks later I found out that our friends from Death Hymn Number 9 were ALSO on the bill. “See you in a few days, kids! Daddy loves you!” In 1990, Ministry released a live album called, “In Case You Didn’t Feel Like Showing Up”. I discovered it 2 years after it was released. I was 16. To this day I consider it my favorite Ministry album and THE BEST LIVE ALBUM OF ALL TIME. On my drive out to Vegas I listened to it 2 times, all the way through. I had visions of Ministry playing this album from
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Yankee Smooth: A Day in the U.K. With The Blank Tapes
Paige Vreede
May 26, 2016
It’s been quite a journey being in London. There are 8,539,000 people living here, yet it is one of the loneliest cities I have ever been to. Upon discovering that The Blank Tapes were coming to town, I was exuberant with joy knowing I would finally get the chance to see some familiar faces. It was a Tuesday evening and they were playing at a venue, The Shacklewell Arms, which is conveniently just down the street from where I currently reside. I couldn’t count the minutes fast enough for when I’d be able to see them. Their show started at 9:45pm and at approximately 9:00pm, I heard American accents emerging from my kitchen. A tall, shaggy blonde haired dude walked up to me and got half way through an introduction before he realized, he in fact, definitely knew me. Oh Mr. Matt Adams was just living up to his stoner persona. Ironically, my housemate was invited to fill in on the drums mid-way through the blank tapes tour, and they had made already made arrangements for the band to stay at ours. It was a pleasant surprise seeing Adams walk through the door of my place and it only furthered my excitement in seeing them perform. Once entering the venue, I was
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NSA Fundraiser and Launch w/ The Garden & Punk Rock Karaoke
Danny Baraz
May 25, 2016
On Wednesday, May 18th, the New Sound Alliance held it’s very first event at The Regent Theater in Downtown Los Angeles; A Fundraiser for Senator Bernie Sanders. And while raising funds for Sanders to insure a significant showing in the California Primary to make legitimate claims to storm the floor at the DNC Convention in Philly this July was the primary purpose of our party, introducing the New Sound Alliance to the Los Angeles music community was just as important. There is always a fear in art, business and activism when attempting to launch a new project. While there is always a risk of bearing your heart to attract like minded people to join you in a quest for understanding and action, there is little more exhilarating in life when your passion is validated by sparking the passion in others. Young and old fans and key figures in the L.A. music scene turned out in droves to support Senator Sanders and check out some of the best, young talent in L.A., as well as to sing live Karaoke with legends of punk rock like Greg Hetson, Stan Lee, Steve Soto and Darryn Pheiffer aka Punk Rock Karaoke. We only had
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Desert Daze 2016 Announces Lineup And New Location
Rob Shepyer
May 25, 2016
Desert Daze is back and bigger than ever in its fifth year. This groovy happening has moved to the Institute of Mentalphysics in Joshua Tree for three days and nights of music in the hallucinatory high desert and what better music to hear in that dry, barren landscape than exactly what this lineup offers. Proto punk, avant garde legends Suicide will perform for their first West Coast show in over a decade and one can only imagine how perfectly their electronic hum will marry the desert night’s vibration. Other acts include the Brian Jonestown Massacre, garage rock veterans The Sonics, Deerhunter, The Black Angels performing their album Passover, Thee Oh Sees, Deafheaven, and many more and this is just the first wave of announcements. Phase two of the lineup will be announced in June. Desert Daze will feature three outdoor stages for bands, an indoor stage for alternative programming, vendors, bars, food trucks and more. Tickets for Desert Daze go on sale this Friday 5/27, capacity is limited so scoop your tickets up while you can. Attendees will be able to stay in onsite cottages designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, standard camping and RV packages are also available. Check out
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