Tag: indie

Video Premiere: The Slippery Lips- Someone You Love

Danny Baraz November 11, 2015

Janky Smooth would like to present to you, the worldwide premiere of the “Someone You Love” music video by The Slippery Lips. It’s rare that a virtually unknown band from the mid west gets on the Janky Smooth radar but The Slippery Lips from Cincinnati are hard to miss. With their new video for Someone You Love, The Slippery Lips join the “party band” circuit. In a sea of melodic discontent, they are a wave that washes away the mundane and repetitive flood of music emanating from countless American garages. Having opened for the likes of White Reaper and Twin Peaks and also FIDLAR and Dune Rats on their latest tour, Janky Smooth are not the first to discover this mid western gem but we hope to expose our readers to the raw power of this band. Their motto is “Punch Life in the Dick”. With lead singer, Jesse Fox, The Slippery Lips have an ambassador that is deeply entrenched in the American garage rock music scene. As an editorial and concert photographer, artist and musician, she gives to the scene just as much as she takes but leaves all of it on stage, including her liver and her pride.

Timmy’s Organism at The Satellite- Fuzz, Fireworks and Fun

Alfonso Contreras November 10, 2015

So I end up in the land of the hipster, the trickster, and the club going fiend Friday Nov the 6th – Where did this adventure take me do you ask? The good old Satellite, a longtime LA hotspot that has been hosting killer acts across many genres for many years now. On this fine evening, my next assignment was to be a band by the name of Timmy’s Organism– A three piece hard rocking machine, full of earth shattering fuzz guitars, growling bass tones, and superb, technically heavy drums. If you dig on explosive bands that deliver with authority then Timmy’s Organism would’ve been the perfect stop for an exciting start to a weekend. If not, then I don’t know what to prescribe to you, my friends. I arrive ready to take on the night armed with a camera, a set of hungry ears, and a close friend to help me battle the evening with an endless and unstoppable tank of energy (thanks Katie). I stepped into the Satellite right at the beginning of the Timmy’s Organism set and prepared myself for the gorgeous noise that was to come. The vibe reminded me of the old punk shows from my

The Frights Frenzy At The Echo

Janky Smooth Central Command October 16, 2015

I first saw The Frights almost two years ago in a dingy Pomona basement where I dodged flying beer cans and flailing limbs to watch their high-octane set of surfy pop-punk anthems. When The Frights lead-singer/guitarist/principal songwriter Mikey Carnevale’s guitar cut-out during the intro of their live staple “Melissa,” rather than stopping and fiddling with his cable or the power supply, Carnevale dropped his guitar altogether to deliver the song’s “fuck you, fuck you” refrain while letting the small but enthusiastic house-show crowd envelop him until he briefly disappeared into the sea of bodies. Despite line-up changes (a different drummer and a second-guitarist) and spots on huge lineups (opening for FIDLAR) The Fright’s party-boy, escapist ethos and aesthetic still seemed perfectly intact, with an appropriate amount of polish to justify a packed, headlining set at The Echo. After a raucous and dynamic set from The Buttertones, The Frights walked onto the stage to be greeted by a very warmed-up and excitable audience, launching into a one-two-punch of a set featuring standout tracks from their debut album with a few new songs seamlessly mixed in. Carnevale and and bassist Richard Dotson have their frat-boy live personas down to a science, expanding

Death Valley Girls at Lolipalooza shot by Taylor Wong

Death Valley Girls Drop New Limited 7″-Stream Death Valley Boogie

Brent Smith October 7, 2015

Death Valley Girls has something witchy for us this week. With what may be their most meta track yet, a new 7” is being released featuring the new single, “Death Valley Boogie”. From French label April 77, and distributed by Cobraside here in L.A., a limited press of 20 records was made, 15 of which will go on Death Valley Girls bandcamp store starting Wednesday, October 6th at 7:30. The remaining 5 will be sold during Sunday night’s show at Echoplex. Not ten seconds into “Death Valley Boogie” and it’s easy to see how it stands on its own. The intro riff is the real refrain of the song, like a hook right out of Poison Ivy’s tackle box. The distorted hums and drums crescendo into dystopic dance rock with tambourine beats. Bonnie Wandgarden’s voice parallels the likes of Karen O. and Kathleen Hanna, but sets itself apart as a disembodied echo of a Post-Summer of Love world, when vice and grimy glam ruled the streets of Hollywood, and Dr. Gonzo was off eating acid in Vegas sputtering diatribes about the Death of the American Dream. Though playful on the surface, “Death Valley Boogie” digs deep into our eastern desert valleys,

Mosquitto and Sand Babes at Footsies: The Soundtrack for my Blackout

Taylor Wong October 2, 2015

Sunday night I made my way over to Footsies after downing half a bottle of tequila. Mosquitto and Sand Babes were set to play in the small dive bar in Highland Park. The bar was filled with familiar faces and unfamiliar faces, alike. Every one was beautiful and under the influence of something, mostly whiskey but others maybe had a little extra something, something. I only managed to put down 1 more beer during the course of the show. Actually, I take that back I was in some alley at some point drinking whiskey out of a brown paper bag with Mosquitto before their set but I’ll get back to that later. The night started pretty early with Ned Casual DJ’ing some tunes for the early arrivals. Around 11pm Sand Babes went on. At least I think it was 11, like I said the night’s a little blurry for me. They had the room packed with girls grooving to their, well, groovy tunes. I even caught myself wiggling around during their set. After Sand Babes I met up with Kevin Compton of Mosquitto and at that point that half a bottle of tequila had hit me. We made our way

Veronica Bianqui and Friends Live Up to The Hype at Harvard and Stone

Brent Smith September 11, 2015

The second night of Veronica Bianqui’s September residency at Harvard & Stone, presented by Grimy Goods, was a dancy, boozy trip through space and time—like lounging on the beach and soaking it up with Coppertone on the edge of the Milky Way galaxy. Featuring brain melting sets by Vox Waves and Rudy De Anda, Tuesday night’s show attested why people are showing up in droves to see the new L.A. indie rock it-girl. “I wanted all the bands to be friends of mine who I know are badass performers,” Bianqui said of the residency when interviewed. “That’s basically it.” I like seeing shows in the middle of the week, when all the decent folk are tucking themselves into bed and there’s no line stretched down Hollywood Boulevard in Thai Town. Harvard & Stone (despite all the bitching you read about on YELP) is the best small stage venue in Hollywood, and, other than making some of the best drinks in town (Baby’s First Bourbon is a new classic), it has played humble host to a crazy amount of L.A.’s bourgeoning talent like Dead Sara, L.A. Witch, Death Valley Girls, Tashaki Miyaki, Cherry Glazerr, and a billion others. It’s the WWII

No Parents pose at Echo Park Rising by Taylor Wong

Echo Park Rising 2015: Rising and Rising and Rising…

Taylor Wong August 20, 2015

In it’s 5th year, Echo Park Rising has become a barometer of culture in Eastern Los Angeles. 20 years ago, the music scene in L.A. was way further west on Sunset Blvd on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood. Most of the music lovers that attended Echo Park Rising 2015 this past weekend wouldn’t have felt safe crossing the street in this part of L.A. 20 years ago. 20 years ago, the club now called The Satellite was purchased by a man named Mitchell Frank (and partners) and transformed from a gay disco called Dreams of L.A. and rebranded into an alternative music club they named, Dreams and Spaceland. That one event proved to be one of the most important events in the history and future of the city of Los Angeles. That one event was a catalyst to the complete transformation of everything between Los Feliz to Downtown L.A. Significant events like the building of Staples Center in 1998 and the collapse of the music industry at the turn of the century contributed to the transformation but Mitchell Frank might just go down as one of the most important figures of modern history in L.A. There aren’t many examples of gentrification

Django Django Fit Their Big Sound Into The Constellation Room

Danny Baraz August 10, 2015

To state that the self titled, debut album by Django Django was a success would be an understatement. It was one of my favorites of 2012. I saw them live for the first time at a sold out show at The Fonda Theatre in Hollywood in 2013. It was their first show in Los Angeles and the venue was bursting with a capacity crowd. Flash forward to 2015 and a valiant effort at a follow up called, Born Under Saturn. Nowhere near as powerful as their first release but still, some great tracks on the new album. With a previous engagement the night of their Thursday night show at the El Rey in Los Angeles, I decided Django Django were worth the drive down to Orange County to check them out at The Observatory. The night was full of surprises. Surprise 1: Django Django were playing in the smaller, low capacity room inside the Observatory called the Constellation Room. How is it possible that a band with one of the best albums of just a few years ago is not playing the biggest stage at The Observatory? I was happy for myself and the other patrons that we would be

The Kills Come to Los Angeles and Burn It To The Ground

Danny Baraz July 29, 2015

The duo of Allison Mosshart and Jamie Hince, aka, The Kills, played back to back, sold out L.A. shows at the El Rey and Glasshouse this week and it was my first time seeing them live, along with Baby in Vain. I am a HUGE fan of Mosshart with the Dead Weather and my love of that band rolled into a deep appreciation for The Kills. I’ve heard many people comparing The Kills to The White Stripes, over the years. That is one of the laziest and uninventive comparisons to pigeon hole a unique and creative collaboration such as The Kills, that I’ve heard in quite a long time. The Kills don’t sound like anyone else and rarely can one find the type of talent, sex appeal and presence that Allison Mosshart displays on stage. The Kills took the stage to a packed and exuberant house in Pomona. They wasted no time drawing the audience in by kicking the show off with “U.R.A. Fever” and instantly, it was on. With a battery of accompanying musicians in the background triggering samples and beating on drum modules, Mosshart and Hince stayed up front and were free from the past multi-tasking performances in which

Ty Segall Performs as Henry Rollins Observes

Ty Segall and The Birth Defects Play a Gig In a Tiny Room

Janky Smooth Central Command July 29, 2015

It was a real treat to attend a secret Ty Segall show this past Monday- you feel privileged to have stepped into some well-guarded party. The show was at The Griffin and I wondered how these other people knew about it? Are they personal friends of the bands? I could not find any information about the show on social media and I couldn’t help but wonder how long these Mondays at the Griffin are gonna stay a secret. Last night, The Birth Defects and Ty Segall performed in front of a few happy people. The last time Segall did a show at The Satellite, I was not fast enough to get a ticket. However, I managed to see him with his band, Fuzz at the Troubadour two weeks ago and now, this show at the Griffin! It was completely unexpected and a lot of fun. Birth Defects started the show a bit after 10 pm and, as they did when they opened for Fuzz at the Troubadour. They slaughtered the place, raising a monster at each song with their propulsive, raw and very loud sound. Their album ‘First 8 Mistakes’ was produced by Ty Segall, which explains the connection, and whatever they put

Meatbodies Lay Waste to The Echo With Spectacular Theatrics

Jai Chebaia July 25, 2015

Around five minutes before the Meatbodies took the stage, I realized it was all about to go down. There was a mysterious Ty Segall in the corner, suiting up in god knows what, who seemed to be reading lines off his phone. Chad Ubovich, head honcho at the Meatbodies, wearing an epic red cape and face paint to match, gave Ty a pat on the back as he walked onstage to put his guitar down. Onstage, there were two drum kits. Which was weird, because as far as I knew, the Meatbodies only had one drummer. The Echo started to fill out as the crowd slowly came to the realization that they were about to witness something different, and hopefully, something memorable. The Meatbodies, who released their debut album earlier this year to critical acclaim, had obviously been planning this tour kick off for a little bit. Like any band that faces rampant success, the pressure to step up their game is always on, as the audience expects a little something more each time. As always, the Meatbodies seemed up to the challenge, and likewise, the crowd was roaring to go, laying waste to each other before the band even

A Show and a Chat with Built To Spill at The Troubadour

Paige Vreede July 18, 2015

Very seldom do bands remain popular after 23 years of producing music, let alone go on tour and sell out shows. This however, has not been the case for Built to Spill – a band that has been releasing consistently impressive albums since 1993. Over the years, musical maestro, Doug Martsche (singer and guitarist) has experimented with various album concepts, sounds, and even band members, yet has remained undeniably relevant since day one. To this you might reply with something like, “Rolling Stones” but we are talking about an indie band, not a worldwide musical phenomenon that are a household name. After a six-year hiatus, Built to Spill released a new album “Untethered Moon” this past April. With their recent release, the Idaho natives announced a world tour. Yes, a band that premiered their first album when I was only three years old, has been selling out shows on a world tour; and I was fortunate enough to be among one of the attendees. Slam Dunk, who were partially responsible in inspiring “Untethered Moon,” graced us with their presence before Built To Spill took the stage. As I peered over the balcony above, I noticed a sea of bopping heads flood