Tag: goth
Janky Smooth Sessions: INVA//ID at Bar Sinister
Danny Baraz
February 5, 2023
Goth, Industrial, EBM, Dark Wave, Post Punk, et al, born in the shadows, is having it’s moment in the sun- to the dismay of some of its denizens. But to Industrial acts like INVA//ID, the spotlight is deserved and somewhat welcome. After all, bands want people at their shows. On this Saturday night at Bar Sinister in Hollywood, there was no lack of patrons. Janky Smooth got a chance to speak with Christopher Rivera and and Krz Greenhaw of INVA//ID about their music, the state of the scene and the sounds and places that have influenced them. One of those influential places is Boardners/Bar Sinister and it’s constant presence in Los Angeles post punk and other scenes and genres cannot be understated. So it was fitting that this was the setting for both the show and our interview. Keep an eye out for the next single from INVA//ID dropping on Feb. 14th with the full length expected in July 2023. INVA//ID: Bandcamp Instagram Videographer: Chris Shaibi Video Editing and Words: Danny Baraz Photos: Jessica Moncrief
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Creatures of the Night: Substance LA 2021
Rob Shepyer
December 15, 2021
Substance has always been Los Angeles’ premiere post-punk festival. Celebrating all things goth and clad in black, the scene wouldn’t be quite the same without it. No festival embodies the true spirit of “LA” more than Substance. There’s something urban and dreamy about the whole episode. You get such a range of feels, some bands appeal to your heart then others purely to the body. Spanning all night, the fest goes late into the evening to make you feel like the real nightcrawler that LA is supposed to make you feel like. I came to see Nitzer Ebb but my greatest takeaways were the smaller bands who’s performances left a mark. Here are my five favorites from each day. Day 1 Pixel Grip Chicago-based industrial dance music is a beast of its own breed. Pixel Grip began the festival for my gang and might’ve left the biggest impression of any band for the entire three nights. They commanded their audience with so much attitude, mystique and power, they could’ve headlined the day purely based on the merits of their charismatic performing. Listening to them on records, many of the songs expanded my idea of what an industrial band ought to
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Morning Stars Over Lodge Room: King Woman’s “Celestial Blues” Release Party
Janky Smooth Central Command
August 4, 2021
You’ve never heard an album more Chthonian than King Woman’s Celestial Blues What do I mean by that? I don’t mean this is the most raw, underground punk sounding album ever. What I’m saying is that with “Celestial Blues” King Woman has lent a voice and story to all the mysteries working beneath the surface layers of reality around us, be they the internal workings of the body, the mysterious processes of the Earth, the unfathomable cycles of birth and destruction in the cosmos, or the interplay of good and evil magic with everyday life. When King Woman closed out their Sunday night Celestial Blues album release party with a cover of the Stone Roses’ “I Wanna Be Adored”, I thought some kind of mind reading must’ve been at play because after seeing a full set of Kris Esfandiari’s doomy siren songs, my main takeaway was being genuinely impressed with how much she is utterly adored by her fans. They seemed to have her back unconditionally and after every song when the band let it all hang loose, the audience was there to catch them in rounds of applause, whistles and cheers. All that was missing from the evening was a
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Punx Undead: Phantoms Book Launch: The Rise of L.A. Deathrock Presented by Lethal Amounts
Rob Shepyer
February 26, 2020
Los Angeles has always had an obsession with death. Our city’s celebrities and socialites have a habit of perishing in the most dramatic and mysterious fashion, Rozz Williams of course being no exception. It’s no surprise that from out of punk rock would come a death obsessed, black clad, sorrowful, mournful form of expression and rebellion known as deathrock. To celebrate the launch of Mikey Bean’s new 600 page encyclopedia of deathrock called Phantoms: The Rise of Deathrock From The LA Punk Scene, Lethal Amounts and Release the Bats held a photo exhibit and concert celebrating the genre’s Los Angeles heyday. You need this bad boy on your coffee table. related content: Sex Cells’ Divine Ball At El Rey: The Filthiest People Alive Among the attendants at the gallery showing and concert were the likes of 45 Grave singer Dinah Cancer, LA experimental artist Ron Athey, Don Bolles, and many more. With walls adorned with Rozz’s likeness as well as all the show flyers of the scene, the gallery captured a mood, a time, and a place that were quintessentially gothic, dark, and exploding with creativity. Following the book signing, the gathering moved to Monty Bar where numerous bands took
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Light Within Darkness: Endless Night Vampire Ball at the Globe Theatre
Janky Smooth Central Command
February 23, 2019
Words and Photos by: Abraham Preciado The Endless Night Los Angeles Vampire Ball took over the iconic Globe Theatre, hosted by Father Sebastiaan and the Sabretooth Clan (founded in 1995 as a fang club back east in New York) President’s Day Weekend. The Vampire Ball, which is also held throughout multiple cities across the nation and select international locations, brings Vampire culture together each year. related content: Black Baptism Prayers At The Fonda Attendees of the Ball prepare for the event months in advance and arrived in dark elegant wear the night of which ranges from Victorian to Edwardian dress. Dress code is strictly enforced to provide an immersive night for patrons and the community alike. related content: Cold Waves LA: Heaven For Industrial Kids Endless Night brings burlesque performances, light fetish play, live band acts, and more underworld delights to create a night filled with energy and ‘Endless’ fun. This year the patrons were treated with a special musical guest, The Cruxshadows. The band made its first LA appearance in 10 years to a packed house of fans awaiting their return. In short, the crowd was not disappointed by their consuming performance. related content: Luna 13 G.O.A.T. Witch Record Release
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Black Baptism: Prayers at the Fonda
Rob Shepyer
November 1, 2018
When I think deeply about the music and impact of Cholo goth duo Prayers, I come up with great memories of enjoying their music and many questions regarding the band’s place in music. 2018 seemed to be a pause in the band’s momentum, a break after 2017’s Baptism of Thieves. With Rafael Reyes getting married to Kat Von D and becoming a father for the second time, an outsider would think the band was stepping back from the spotlight to pursue their lives. This would be an error though, Prayers has multiple albums just waiting to be released but still, lets take this introspective moment in the Prayers’ career at face-value. related content: Rafael Reyes of Prayers Interview: On Fatherhood When the duo first released SD Killwave in 2013 and then their LP Gothic Summer in 2014, they burst onto the scene with such a powerful splash that not only did their sound take-off but they created a new genre of two seemingly clashing aesthetics, Cholo and Goth. These two records were filled with bangers and genuine underground hits. They captured the punks, the goths, and even the hip hop heads. Enter Travis Barker, who produced their next full length, Young Gods,
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Goths Go Metal: Tribulation at the Lodge Room
Rob Shepyer
October 10, 2018
You don’t usually see goth boys and girls embrace extreme metal but in the case of Swedish melodic death metal band, Tribulation, the goths have found a band that represents their heart and soul and lets their dark fantasies play out on a stage. Tribulation doesn’t really incorperate the sound of goth in their music though. It’s this melodic death metal monster combined with glam/hard rock rhythm and jamming that makes for a show any fan of rock and roll can understand. Solos of every stripe, virtuosity from every player, I see Tribulation as the Guns and Roses of death metal. I was lucky enough to meet the whole band before the show as I waited in line to get tacos across the street. All of them without their signature makeup, they were incredibly friendly and even gave me the compliment of calling me their groupie! The Lodge Room usually doesn’t host metal, with its regal interior and the delicious paintings that decorate its walls, the venue seems more inclined hosting jazz or you know, decent varieties of music. This show fit just fine in the Lodge Room though and I expect more metal there to come. related content: The
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Who’s The Better Brother? Jay Aston’s Gene Loves Jezebel at Echoplex
Rob Shepyer
September 28, 2018
I love Gene Loves Jezebel. I love Jay Aston and I love Michael Aston. So, I will do my best to contribute to this band’s legacy by casting judgement on which twin brother’s band is the better Gene Loves Jezebel. Along with seeing a rare L.A. show by Jay Aston performing their favorite songs, many in attendance came to compare the two Gene Loves. Most likely looking to Michael Aston’s Part Time Punks show from years previous which I attended and enjoyed. Check out my review of that show below: related content: Gene Loves Jezebel Play Immigrant In Entirety At Part Time Punks Gig If you don’t know the band’s history, Michael and Jay Aston are twin brothers that each have their own version of Gene Loves Jezebel. Michael’s is based in the U.S., Jay’s is based in the U.K. Michael was the lead singer and Jay was the guitarist, back-up vocalist, and songwriter. After a tumultuous breakup resulting in a legal battle to see who gets to tour under the name Gene Loves Jezebel, they both play the same banner. It’s an interesting question to ponder. How do you cement ownership of a song? Is it the writer or
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Color Me Punk: Rubella Ballet Plays First L.A. Show Since 1985 at Echoplex
Rob Shepyer
September 20, 2018
Rubella Ballet comes from a time when there weren’t as many boxes for you to cram bands into. There was punk, metal, and a few subgenres in between. They were associated with the anarcho movement, namely Crass, in England in the late 70’s and 80’s but musically, their albums show more diversity than any label could commit them to. Their songs and look represented the essence of anarchy. Rebellion, even against itself. When everyone wore black, they wore Day-Glo. When everyone played fast, short songs, they experimented with slower rhythms and more nuanced arrangements. Singer Zilla Minx and guitarist Sid Ation still know how to get weird. For all these young kids born after Rubella Ballet’s heyday, this was a show unlike anything they had ever seen. Rubella Ballet’s latest album, Danger of Death, brought them back to Los Angeles to play Part Time Punks at the Echoplex for the first time since 1985. Along with a few death rock, anarcho, and post punk bands, their combined effort made for a very special night of music. related content: Gene Loves Jezebel Play Immigrant In Its Entirety At Part Time Punks Gig Spain’s Fatamorgana was the first to take the stage. Made
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Magick Man: Killing Joke at the Regent
Rob Shepyer
September 7, 2018
Killing Joke is a band that cannot be pigeon-holed. The moment you call them a post-punk band, they put out an industrial album. But within either camp, they were always the misfits of the bunch. Their post-punk was more rhythmic and off-kilter than their peers and their industrial was more lyrical and poetic than the average black leather electro act. Then you have a lead singer like Jaz Coleman, a true enigma. Most singers paint pictures from their own personal experiences but often times with Killing Joke, their songs take on the perspective of eternity. And what I mean by that is, Jaz would step out of his shoes and trousers and into the shoes of time itself, watching human history and making connections we can’t see through his lyrics. related content: The Growlers Reclaim Castle Beach Goth And All Is Right With The World Again One of the rarest acts you could ever see play in America, these English gentleman of the dark arts came out with an album called Pylon in 2015, which they planned to tour in the US, playing the Regent. As fate would have it though, Illness befell the band and they cancelled all their American
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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
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Cloak & Dagger Fest: The Heart Of Los Angeles Bled From Dusk Till Dawn
Rob Shepyer
October 27, 2017
Good “dark” music should come from a damaged yet open heart because it’s those damages that make all the styles of dark music involved in Cloak And Dagger Festival beautiful to those that wear black late at night- or during the day, for that matter. Whether it was dark wave, new wave, post punk, goth/death rock, industrial, EBM, or shoegaze, every shade of black was represented on those two cold October nights. Right from the first lineup announcement, it was understood that this would be like no other festival. With three stages at the Globe and Tower theaters, an all black dress code, and local brand recognition, I was sure the siamese evenings would play out like a movie, think Eyes Wide Shut meets Gimme Shelter. The lineup hosted plenty of bands that are Janky Smooth favorites like Ho99o9, Health, Moon Duo, and Uniform. Iconic artists like KMFDM, OhGr, and The Jesus and Mary Chain were set to share the two stages with future headliners like Cold Cave, The Soft Moon, and Lust For Youth. So any goth kid, let alone this one, would be awestruck and elated at the chance to partake in the affair. Night 1: Black is the absence of
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