Tag: shannon and the clams

All Hallow’s Melt: Halloween Meltdown 2022

Janky Smooth Central Command November 11, 2022

Words by: Gloria Velez Photos by: Workhorse Studios Halloween Meltdown spin-off to its summer time counterpart, “Mosswood Meltdown” (Formally Burger Boogaloo), thrown by Total Trash Productions and hosted by the “Pope of Trash” him self, John Waters, returned to Oakland’s Mosswood Park to kick off October with some spooky punk festivities. related content: Glorious Leader, Kim John Kill: Mosswood Meltdown 2022 The two day music festival with a halloween twist and a D.I.Y. feel, served up a stellar line up with headlining acts like Amyl and the Sniffers, Shannon and The Clams, The Spits, Lydia Lunch and Kid Congo Powers. The festival also featured a Haunted House designed by local musician and horror artist, Rob Fletcher and costume contest where attendees got a chance to win a $500 prize. Keeping in the Halloween Meltdown spirit all weekend, festival-goers and local music lovers stayed busy with a series of perfectly curated afterparties that sold out night after night. The afterparties, lead by Bay Area lo-fi garage punk legends The Mummies, and thrown at Oakland’s historic dive The Stork Club, where the perfect add on to the already fun weekend of Halloween Meltdown. Excited to be back in Oakland with fellow music

Spooky Psych Sounds: Levitation 2021

Grace Dunn November 24, 2021

Words by: Scott Urian and Grace Dunn Photos by: Grace Dunn I had no idea what to expect on my way to Levitation 2021. It was my first Levitation experience. Damn – it was also the first time I had been on an airplane, travelled out of state, or seen a single show with a crowd of more than a hundred people in the past two years of surprises and confusion. My overall takeaway from this experience was more surprises, more confusion, and absolutely no doubt that I will be back next year. My navigator of all things bizarre in Austin was none other than Grace Suzette. Photographer of the psychotic, Levitation veteran, and devout member of all things loud. With her confidence and my wide eyes began a four day melee of music at various venues in the Red River District that would have killed me had I not been having so much fun. related content: Psych & Fury: Levitation 2019 Thursday Angelica Garcia at Stubb’s Angelica’s deserved a much denser crowd. Those who planned their night around Crumb can’t be blamed, but missed out on a showcase of pure talent that started the momentum of the whole weekend.

Birthday Boogaloo: Burger Boogaloo 2019

Nicole Verto July 31, 2019

Words by: Nicole Verto Photos by: Workhorse Studios I’m supposed to be starting this with some glorious cliche about how Burger Boogaloo is “bigger and better” as it celebrates ten years of weird punk fun but I can’t because it wasn’t those things. related content: The De-Evolution of Burger Boogaloo First of all, it was held in the same space but a smaller portion of it. This year, the festival downgraded from two stages to one and closed off access to the amphitheater. Rumors swirled on rays of sunlight. “It’s probably because of low attendance. That’s the only reason it could be, right?” “I heard it was so they wouldn’t displace folks living here.” Whatever the reason, there was one stage and some people did not love that. I am not one of those people — the stage was positioned such that you could hear and see from everywhere. This enabled groups to hunker down in one spot all day and it made the festival seem more intimate — from more conversations to strangers to feeling like you were always close to the music. Basically, for their tenth birthday, the folks behind Boogaloo chose to quietly pull the crowd in

Virtually No Dust: Desert Daze 2018

Dillon Vaughn October 23, 2018

It’s impossible to talk about Desert Daze 2018 without discussing the previous year at it’s former location in the high desert. My personal experience as a visitor to DD 17 is unmatched by any other festival I’ve ever attended. The lineup was insane, the installations were engaging, and the location truly felt like it held some kind of spectacular aura. I’ve never understood the appeal of the Joshua Tree getaways Angelenos fiend for and I’m absolutely disgusted by the false bohemian ideology perpetuated by burners (and Burning Man as a whole) but for a brief three days in the high desert it all clicked for me. related content: Desert Daze 2017 Headline Here: Some Variation’s Of Rock’s Not Dead The Institute of Mentalphysics was a challenging place for some because of the of its sporadic dust storms and painfully low temperatures at night, so it seemed like a great idea to find a location closer to the city that still maintained a sense of the desert – minus the harsh elements. Cue the announcement of DD 2018 staking its new home alongside the manmade reservoir Lake Perris: a location touted as an oasis with “virtually no dust” tucked quietly on

Burger Boogaloo 2017: The Ballad of John and Iggy

Rob Shepyer July 10, 2017

This Burger Boogaloo 2017 review is X-rated, so if your kids are reading it, Janky Smooth apologizes if they develop a foot fetish. Like your baby sister’s pretty pink switchblade, the marriage of legendary filmmaker and filth peddler, John Waters and atomic boy, Iggy Pop, cut the Bay Area deep till it bled out all the outlaws, shrimp pimps, gamblers, hipsters, hippies, hyphys, crust punks, trust-fund punks, rockabillies, rockabetties, and freakazoids to gather at Burger Boogaloo 2017 at Mosswood Park. Two whole beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on an acid infused bun. The trip up the 5 freeway was long and arduous but upon entering the burger’s third eye vortex, the camaraderie of San Francis-folk mellowed me out as straight as a noodle. That’s just how us So-Cal kids see Bay Area babies: hella mellow. This year, the festival’s theme was Shrimpin’ which is fiend’s slang for toe sucking. Four giant legs kicking up from the stage to the sky were inflated behind the Gone Shrimpin’ stage, which became the alter of our collective foot worship. I’m talking about high heels and low-life, sweaty soles and pedicured puppies. related content: Burger Boogaloo 2016- Bringing Rare Vinyl Back To

Shannon and the Clams shot by Julien Kelly

Shannon and The Clams Debut “Gone By The Dawn” at The El Rey

Jai Chebaia September 26, 2015

Retro rock band Shannon and The Clams are no strangers to Los Angeles. The Oakland band has dropped three previous albums in the garage rock mecca, so when they returned last Wednesday night to mid-city hipster haven the El Rey for the record release of their 4th album, they were welcomed with warm arms and adoring fans. Opening for the headliners were fellow bay area band Cool Ghouls, who’s LP, “A Swirling Fire Burning Through The Rye”, was in my opinion one of the best albums of 2014. Consequently, watching these guys was incredible, especially on such a big stage, with even more impressive sound to match. However, what makes Cool Ghouls more unique than most garage bands, is the fact that ALL of them can sing, and not just belt out a few notes – they can fucking sing. This means not only are the harmonies crazy, but also each individual voice when alone, brings something different to the song, both emotionally and tonally. The crowd was a little thin to begin for the touring band, but there was no shortage of happy-go-lucky dancing. At times the band would break down into straight-up country punk, which by the way

Shannon and the Clams shot by Lester Guijarro

Shannon and the Clams: Case of the Mondays at The Griffin

Paige Vreede May 20, 2015

When mastermind Jason Finazzo (singer of The Birth Defects and manager of The Griffin) began brainstorming with musical genius, Ty Segall, they decided Monday nights will no longer serve as a night of post-weekend blues, but as a night of prodigious talent. With previous acts such as Thee Oh Sees, Wand and The Coathangers making appearances at The Griffin in Atwater Village, it was no surprise that the raw talent of Shannon And The Clams were invited to immerse us in their tasty tunes this past Monday. Upon entering The Griffin for the first time, I immediately felt as though I had stepped into a different era. With candle lit tables and exposed brick arches, I felt as though I was meeting me mate William Johnson for a few lagers at our favorite pub. I was extremely curious as to how the night would proceed given the context of the genre amongst the seemingly intimate backdrop that surrounded it. To my surprise the room presented itself as nearly empty – something that made absolutely no sense to me considering the extraordinary talent that was to come. In a state of boredom, I decided to walk to the neighboring liquor store

Burgerama 4: Burger Food Poisoning

Danny Baraz April 2, 2015

Almost every place in the world now breeds the type of angsty teens that pick up guitars to butcher some out of tune power chords. What is it about Orange County, California that continuously, for the last three generations in a row, forms and re forms these amazing scenes that surround dozens of good local bands? Many bands that eventually rise to international fame or at least, notoriety. Decade after decade the youth of Orange County reject the status quo, vandalize their strip malls, piss in their pools and rock the fuck out. Once the music industry crashed and burned, you would think that those kick-pedal-carrying kids would remain in anonymity in the solitude of their own bedrooms, never to move out of their parents homes. Rising from the smoke and the ash of a music industry unwilling to adapt to the digital age comes Burger Records bearing, of all things, cassette tapes. They are here to service this generations’ insatiable thirst for angst, sex and adolescence. Burger Records was formed in 2007 by Sean Bohrman and Lee Rickard. They allowed all their artists to retain complete control of their works and primarily, all of their releases have been on cassette.