Tag: punk
One Friday Night in Hell Part 3: Lethal Amounts Presents The Zeros at El Cid
Rob Shepyer
July 13, 2018
Let me give you a bit of advice, when Pure Trash is booked, you attend. The bands start late, around midnight when most of the shows throughout the city have already ended. Then with bands like The Zeros playing, you’d have to be a fucking idiot to miss out. It’s the ultimate goto destination for nights you never want to end. That’s where I wound up on this especially hellish Friday last week. After Show Me The Body, Twitching Tongues, and Vein then after Das Bunker’s Das Ich show at Los Globos. related content: One Friday Night In Hell Part 1: Show Me The Body, Twitching Tongues, And Vein At The Regent I made Downtown and Echo Park my bitch that night, cruising for a bruising and testing myself to see how hard I can party. After hardcore and industrial, the Zeros were the relief I needed, loose, raw and most of all fun punk rock that didn’t take itself too serious. Perfect tunes for Pure Trash. related content: One Friday Night In Hell Part 2: Das Ich At Los Globos The Flytraps opened up the night, more happily unhinged than they usually are, like they had a license to
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Voluntary Electrocution: Le Shok at Alex’s Bar
Jessica Moncrief
July 9, 2018
Le Shok has sent shock waves along the California coast since playing a secret show at Zebulon, performing at their official reunion at Burger Boogaloo and most recently, with a home town show at Alex’s Bar in Long Beach last Friday. The show was announced in conjunction with the “We Are Electrocution” group art show at 4th Street Vine, as well as a Burger Records repressing of their seminal album. With an all-star support line-up of local favorites such as Terminal A, The Tissues, and Assquatch, it’s no wonder many fans, myself included, were left scrambling on social media event threads trying to get our grubby hands on a ticket after the show sold out in a cool 4 hours. Promises of blow jobs and death threats for tickets littered the event page in the days leading up to the show, proving the loyalty and lengths people were willing to go to relive the punk nostalgia of nearly 2 decades past. For all of you that were fortunate enough to cop a ticket, enjoy relieving the joy and insanity of the night and if you are one of the sad fucks that didn’t make it in (like I almost was), here are some photos of
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Who Needs Pins When You’ve Got Spikes? GBH at the Observatory
Janky Smooth Central Command
May 31, 2018
It’s 8pm in Southern California, the night before Punk Rock Bowling kicks off in Las Vegas: do you know where the local punks are? You might assume they’re all somewhere between another vegan straight-edge food stop and pure Barstow bat country; in reality, a number of them are sticking close to home and swimming in the perks of perfect proximity. related content: Against Me! Stuns At The Observatory Before Punk Rock Bowling It’s this crowd I thoroughly appreciated sharing time with on a just right Friday night at Santa Ana’s OC Observatory. I haven’t nailed down my theory on why they stayed: maybe some got a late start and headed out after, maybe this is where the class lines are drawn (PRB ain’t cheap), maybe they just don’t fucking care about the festival. Either way, staying home didn’t mean losing out, as this lineup brought out a healthy and hyped crowd, ready to catch some PRB acts without having to dive into Las Vegas decadence, depravity, and possible debt. Unfortunately for the opener, Spain’s CRIM, who deserved a bigger audience, the crowd came out in a slow trickle. CRIM has a compelling, if confusing, take on Oi!—the influence is so
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Take This: Show Us Your Scars: Win a Pair of Tickets to 3 Shows: GBH, Subhumans, and Fear
Janky Smooth Central Command
May 16, 2018
Celebrate hump day with the highlight of Janky Smooth’s giveaway week: The Show Us Your Scars: OC Punk Ticket Package giveaway! This once in a lifetime opportunity offers you the chance to win A PAIR of tickets to not one, not two, BUT THREE shows at The Orange County Observatory. These shows include GBH on May 25th, The Subhumans on May 29th, and Fear on June 29th. And what did we at Janky Smooth think was the best way to find a winner to attend these three punk shows in Orange County? By showing us your battle scars. That’s right, punks that got a fist to the lip at a show or broke their legs skating, this is your opportunity to cash-in on your injury. YOU CAN BUY TICKETS TO GBH HERE TICKETS TO SUBHUMANS HERE AND TICKETS TO FEAR HERE OR ENTER TO WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO ALL 3 SHOWS IN OUR SHOW US YOUR SCARS GIVEAWAY MAY 25TH, 29TH AND JUNE 29TH, 2018, THE OC OBSERVATORY Step 1- Like one of our social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram) Step 2- Direct Message us a picture of your gnarliest scar The gnarliest of the gnarly wins WINNER WILL
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Shred And Sensitivity: The Smoking Popes At The Viper Room
Rob Shepyer
May 2, 2018
The week leading up to The Smoking Popes‘ return to Los Angeles at the Viper Room was filled by my reacquainting myself with their music. I remember the first time I heard of the Popes, from a friend who described them as pop punk meets big band, which is a description I dispute after having seen them, but still it made me curious enough to investigate the band. I had been listening to their cover of Gene Wilder’s “Pure Imagination” nonstop and was willing to see them as many times as it would take to hear that cover live. The Smoking Popes had hung up their papal pipes for a few years but with the twenty year anniversary of their seminal album Destination Failure, the band decided to get back on the road to celebrate. The last time they were in Los Angeles was 2012, when they played the Knitting Room (RIP). related content: Heaven Or Coachella?: Django Django And Tank & The Bangas At The Fonda Entering the Viper Room, which was already filling up, I got to the front of the crowd to watch the opening band Bad Cop/Bad Cop, a band that I’ve been hearing and seeing
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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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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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Subhumans At The Observatory: Old Songs, New Decade, Same Problems
Jessica Moncrief
September 20, 2016
If you think punk’s dead, then you don’t know Dick! From Wiltshire pubs in 1980 to present day Southern California clubs, Subhumans have been consistent with inciting anarchy and pushing their non-conformist ideals for over 36 years. Friday night’s packed Subhumans show at The Observatory was a great representation of this, with a multi generational crowd ranging from 2 to 70 years of age. Seeing the varying age groups really put the Subhuman’s history into perspective. The elders of the punk scene seemed to be rehashing teenage nostalgia while newcomers simultaneously were experiencing this punk rock rite of passage for the first time. Subhumans were also joined by Kicker and Raukuous on this tour. related content: OG’s, Toddlers and Whiskey for The Weirdos and Adolescents With all the perils of the world and an exceptionally ridiculous election season, so many feel like the world is more fucked now than it ever has been. Truth is, it’s always been fucked! As Dick Lucas segways his songs through short political rants covering everything from wage inequality, animal rights, racism, and of course the evil two party system governing America, I couldn’t help but think how his shows were probably very much the
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Pussy Bang Bang Grindhouse Burlesque Show Grinds On Harvelle’s Long Beach
Jessica Moncrief
September 8, 2016
The first night of a 3 part residency at Harvelle’s in Long Beach went off with a BANG! A Pussy Bang Bang that is! The Pussy Bang Bang Grindhouse Burlesque Show is the brainchild of performer/model/actress/producer Olivia Bellafontaine. She has incorporated cult classic grindhouse movies, punk rock, sin and beautiful women to create a tantalizing and visually stimulating experience. Each sexy act throughout the night was inspired by movies such as Planet Terror, Death Proof, Jackie Brown and more. Clips from classic and more recent grindhouse films were projected on screen in the background while the performers danced to The Misfits, The Stooges and other bad ass punk bands. One stand out performance was “nunsploitation” inspired, where the performer brilliantly executes the story of a nun who succumbs to the temptations of sin. During a brief intermission, audience members were blown away by a guest appearance by Heather Henderson, as she belted out a stellar rendition of “96 Tears” by Question Mark and the Mysterians. And then it was back to the gyrations, gesticulations and anatomical manipulations. I wouldn’t call this feminism but then again, it seemed quite empowering for the women on the stage. Harvelle’s is a speakeasy style
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Janky Smooth’s Top 20 Artists to Watch in 2016
Danny Baraz
January 15, 2016
In identifying Janky Smooth’s Artists to Watch in 2016, there were a number of factors to take into consideration. There are different levels and plateaus musicians can ascend to in their careers. There is the release of their first EP/7”. There is the release of their debut album and of course, the all-important sophomore LP. Any predicted success after those milestones is hardly a prediction unless it involves a comeback. When we define our artists to watch in 2016, it is using any and all of these criteria to identify buzz worthy bands. We want to help our readers get the jump on artists before corporate money corrupts their artistic process too much. While there are bands in this list based in cities other than Los Angeles, LA is our home base and seeing these bands live is a part of the process of selection. If you can’t do it live, you can’t do it! This is Janky Smooth’s List of Artists to Watch in 2016 20. Cavanaugh- Collaboration between Open Mike Eagle and Serengeti Time & Materials by Cavanaugh (Open Mike Eagle & Serengeti) 19. So Pitted- Punk/Post Punk Seattle Group on Sub Pop Records neo by
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Year in Review: Top 10 Albums of 2015 Rated by Contributors
Danny Baraz
December 14, 2015
10 years from now, we might look back at the Top 10 Albums of 2015 as the year the “new music industry” became a viable business model. As the battle rages to fine tune some of the sticky points around streaming services, vinyl sales soar at the same time bands and artists offer free downloads, surrendering the traditional model and entrusting their legacy to future generations. With so many different ways to deliver musical products to consumers, our Top 10 Albums of 2015 list will include LP’s, EP’s and Mixtapes. We are not a hive mind at Janky Smooth so you will find albums we didn’t publish favorable reviews on in our contributors top 10 list. We here at Janky Smooth feel blessed to stand on the precipice with you and gaze upon the vast landscape of music that is exploding from all corners of the world. Top 10 Albums/EP’s/Mixtapes of 2015 Johnny Ramos- Photographer: Top 10 Albums of 2015 Tame Impala – Currents Beach House – Depression Cherry Alabama Shakes – Sound & Color Death Grips – The Powers That B Toro Y Moi – What For? Turnover – Peripheral Vision Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Multi-Love Hot Chip –
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Birth Defects Unleash Debut Album at the Troubadour alongside Fuzz and Carletta Sue Kay
Brent Smith
July 21, 2015
Sandwiched between killer sets by Carletta Sue Kay and Fuzz, The Birth Defects album release bash for “First 8 Mistakes” at the Troubadour was one for the books. Everyone who was in the sold-out, jam-packed, iconic venue got slapped with an array of musical talent many, or just I, wouldn’t expect from a West Hollywood show on another Thursday night. It’s an endangered time for relics of bygone eras like the Troubadour—an attic-like setting that incubated the legendary statuses of Jim Morrison and Axl Rose alike (even Cheech and Chong were discovered there by Lou Adler). Nudged between the border of Beverly Hills and where Ron Jeremy and Bret Easton Ellis were eating dinner next door at Dan Tana’s, the Troub stands like an old ruin among the gated anti-communities of WeHo; a stark juxtaposition to the Laurel Canyon days of magical hills, liquor corner store blues, and free-lovin’ gutter artists. If this were the 80s, I would’ve hated it for being such a glam rock establishment whore house (and I probably would’ve lived in New York anyway). But in 2015, I’m just happy the Troubadour is still around, and not yet in the hands of some ‘starchictect’ like Thom
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