Tag: ska

Dirty Reggae, Smooth Ska: Hepcat and the Aggrolites at House of Blues Anaheim

Janky Smooth Central Command October 29, 2018

Words and Photos by: Maggie St. Thomas On a late October’s evening at the Anaheim House of Blues, generations gathered to witness a high energy night packed with great ska classics by The Aggrolites and Hepcat, with Jessie Wagner killing it on guitar and vocals during both sets and sustaining the momentum for the entire night. The dirty reggae style of The Aggrolites began as they opened their set with a mixture of songs led by organ player Roger Rivas (also a member of Long Beach Dub All Stars). They played “Pound for Pound,” a new song off their upcoming album, ‘“Right on Time’’, “Countryman Fiddle,” and ‘Don’t Let Me Down,” and delivered plenty of hits with precision and beats to a jam-packed house. related content: Make America Green Again: The Great American Smokeout Hepcat performed a full 90 minute set sharing the same energy onstage with Alex Désert and Greg Lee singing and dancing the night away, looking sharp and sounding as good as ever. Hepcat’s sound was warm and lively as they kept their live show refreshing, much to the delight of the actively engaged crowd. During songs, Greg Lee began, “We’ve lost some brothers. We’ve lost some family

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones See The Next Wave Coming at the Regent

Janky Smooth Central Command July 7, 2018

Halfway through The Mighty Mighty Bosstones set at the Regent in Los Angeles, California, vocalist Dicky Barrett boasted that the band had booked two “new” ska bands as openers for the gig from two different countries- Mexico and the U.K. He went on to remark that we are now entering a “Fourth Wave of Ska Music.” This follow up commentary begged two questions: the first being whether or not we truly experiencing a “Fourth Wave” and, secondly, if so, is this something we should be celebrating? related content: Finally, A Ska Review: Less Than Jake At Teragram “The Fourth Wave of Ska” is indeed a terminology which is beginning to be thrown around lately. In fact, Angel City Records recently released a compilation of 24 current ska groups titled “Birth Of the Fourth Wave of Ska,” with a heavy emphasis on bands who pay homage to the soul, R&B, and Motown roots of the First Wave of ska born in the 60’s in Jamaica. If the Fourth Wave is to be defined by a return to ska’s 60’s roots, neither of the Bosstones’ opening bands would truly fit into the category. Mexico’s Los Kung Fu Monkeys would not only be disqualified by the

Arroyo Seco: The Nostalgic, the Timeless, and the Real

Rob Shepyer June 27, 2018

Read this in the voice of Paul Mooney: Arroyo Seco is so white that it makes Stagecoach look like Smokin’ Grooves Festival. related content: Black Is Beautiful: Smokin’ Grooves Festival At The Queen Mary All kidding aside, this festival gave me more food for thought and introspection than any concert I had been to all year. The music add me think about getting old and how to stay eternally young. Neil Young made me think that humanity, as a whole, has lost some vital realness. Day 1 Arriving too early on Saturday, I moseyed onto the festival grounds under a burning white sun that would turn all of Los Angeles a brittle pink. Dipping my feet into the music, I wandered about the stages catching glimpses of Maxim Ludwig, who sounded as close to adult/dad rock as I’m ever willing to listen to or Typhoon, a band from Portland that sounds and looks exactly what I imagine most bands from Portland sound and look like: Fiddles, beards, tattoos, and beanies. I enjoyed the bands, just not enough to stay at a stage until I found a nice shady spot under a tree to watch some good, ol’ fashioned rock and roll

Finally, A Ska Review: Less Than Jake At The Teragram

Rob Shepyer October 14, 2017

We here at Janky Smooth cover every genre of rock and hip hop but sometimes, certain styles of music slip between the cracks and don’t get their due. This year I’ve seen everything from “New German Death Art” to “Brass House” to “Trap Jazz” to “Metal Gaze”, so I felt like a huge piece of music would be missing if I didn’t go to a ska show. Less Than Jake might be a little more pop punk fusion than just straight ska, but still, I got my fix of horns, fedoras, checkers, and skanking. Pop punk gets a lot of hate from raw punk fanatics but as a former frat boy, I see the charm in pop punk. I might’ve hated those bands in high school when Pantera and Slayer was all I listened to but now, give me a beer and some friends, and I’ll happily indulge in nostalgia. Not to mention, all the pop punk musicians and fans that I know can out-drink and out-fight most of the “real” punk fans and musicians I know. Pop punk kids are usually blue collar, down home, cool mother fuckers. related content: Jawbreaker At Riot Fest: The Moment I Stopped Hating Pop

Reel Big Fish and Suburban Legends: Ska Skank Redemption at The Observatory

Justin Cornwall January 21, 2016

The Observatory in Santa Ana had to have been built for local ska shows. The layout, the locals, everything about it fell perfectly into place for Reel Big Fish and Suburban Legends to absolutely kill at their hometown show. The all ages crowd was rowdy the whole night, feeding off the high speed energy the bands were channeling effortlessly. This was the perfect jolt back into my high school ska phase. Suburban Legends didn’t have any trouble getting the crowd moving. The part-time Disneyland resident band were able to be themselves and kick back, no Mouse watching over them. Every other time I’ve seen them has been at Tomorrowland in Disneyland, everything very G rated and kosher. However, on their home turf, without restriction, you could feel the change in energy Suburban Legends shifted into. They definitely weren’t ‘working’, they were having the time of their lives. The 6 piece had synchronized dance moves, Disney cover songs, and a devoted fanbase which enhanced the entire performance. A circle pit was moving the entire set and their young fans knew every word. They sang of the friend-zone, high-fiveing their friends and partying – exactly what ska should be about. Their frontman,

Fishbone at the Troubadour-The greatest live band of all time

Danny Baraz December 21, 2014

I’ve been trying to think of the right words to use to describe what I saw last night at The Troubadour. It’s not like it was my first time seeing Fishbone. Far from it. I’ve seen them on every size and kind of stage you can imagine from The Malibu Inn, Coachella, The Hollywood Palladium and dating as far back as Lollapalooza 1993 when they completely stole the show from all the headliners. It was almost humorous to see Dinosaur Jr take the stage after Fishbone finished their set that year. What could J Mascis have possibly done to follow Angelo Moore swimming the length of the festival audience, climbing the highest light tower and diving into that crowd during Subliminal Fascism? To date it is one of my most vivid concert memories. So how could seeing Fishbone at The Troubadour on a Friday night in 2014 compare to the times I’ve seen Fishbone co-headline shows with Primus in the 90’s or anywhere else along this journey of theirs which started as junior high schoolers in 1979? I can safely say that it was as good as any Fishbone show I’ve ever seen. How is that possible? How can 49