
Tag: the garden

The Garden Summon Ghosts at The Observatory For One Strange Night In Orange County
“One Strange Night in Orange County” wasn’t just a festival facilitated by The Garden, an experimental rock duo of twin brothers from Orange County. It was a flashback to a time not that long ago when The Observatory was overrun by Burgeramas and Beach Goths and other festivals past. The Garden certainly were not headlining those days but they were stealing the show. Now, here they are- the last vestige of a canceled culture. 2 boys turned elder statesmen who survived the purge by not letting their erupting hormones and exploding status lead them down the path of personal and professional ruin. But on this One Strange Night in Orange County, the spirit of those days was in the air. Not to haunt us but to honor the magic of both the music of that time and the diversity of music that came before and after they died. related: Beach Goth 4- The Party of the Year The festival started by honoring the past 45 Grave are a four piece, goth/death rock band from the 80’s. They opened the festival and couldn’t have done a better job at setting the tone for what seemed like Halloween all night long.

… And We’ll Pretend it’s Christmas Day at the Roxy with the Garden
The Garden‘s popularity with Los Angeles’ young and woke is a phenomenon that cannot be understated. I had yet to see the band before this 2nd show they held at the Roxy to close out the venue’s Jingle Bell Roxy series. I knew though, that this was a band I had to see if I wanted to understand the scope of rock music in this decade. The line was thick, long, and underage, running down Sunset boulevard as I approached. They all dressed and dyed their hair within the subtle mythology ascribed to the woke philosophy. The way wokeness is a deconstruction of normalcy, the Garden’s music is a deconstruction of rock and roll. Twin brothers, Wyatt and Fletcher Shears play instruments but often find themselves rabble-rousing all over the stage, prancing around violently, dramatically, and without a care. The music doesn’t stop when the playing stops though, the band realizes grabbing onto true freedom on stage supersedes actually playing at any given moment. That’s not to devalue their instruments though, when Fletcher’s behind his kit, he’s an absolute beast. When Wyatt’s on strings, he grabs an audience and doesn’t let go. related content: NSA Fundraiser and Launch w/The Garden

POC OC: Tropicalia Music and Taco Fest at the Queen Mary
If the crowd of over 10,000 mostly white attendees at Surf City Blitz in Huntington Beach was anyone’s attempt to portray the demographic of Orange County’s aging local hero music scene, Long Beach’s Tropicalia Festival certainly flipped that turtle on its back. Tropicalia, now in it’s second year, has usurped the beach goth crowd from its predecessors, and has established itself as Southern California’s premier Latino influenced music festival, with one of the most diverse lineups I’ve ever seen. The mostly early twenty-something Latino-American crowd sold out the two-day weekend fest’s $200+ ticket capacity and brought an energy with them that recent Southern California festivals have been lacking. related content: The Growlers Reclaim Castle Beach Goth And All Is Right With The World Again With a lineup that boasted Morrissey and Mazzy Star, in addition to The Strokes’ Albert Hammond Jr. and Kali Uchis, Tropicalia presented a full day’s worth of entertainment for its attendees. Younger crowds showed up early to watch local favorites Tropa Magica, The Hurricanes, and Jurassic Shark play on much larger stages than the bands usually get the opportunity to perform on, and each enjoyed a well-received set. related content: Janky Meets Marty: The Dwarves At

NSA Fundraiser and Launch w/ The Garden & Punk Rock Karaoke
On Wednesday, May 18th, the New Sound Alliance held it’s very first event at The Regent Theater in Downtown Los Angeles; A Fundraiser for Senator Bernie Sanders. And while raising funds for Sanders to insure a significant showing in the California Primary to make legitimate claims to storm the floor at the DNC Convention in Philly this July was the primary purpose of our party, introducing the New Sound Alliance to the Los Angeles music community was just as important. There is always a fear in art, business and activism when attempting to launch a new project. While there is always a risk of bearing your heart to attract like minded people to join you in a quest for understanding and action, there is little more exhilarating in life when your passion is validated by sparking the passion in others. Young and old fans and key figures in the L.A. music scene turned out in droves to support Senator Sanders and check out some of the best, young talent in L.A., as well as to sing live Karaoke with legends of punk rock like Greg Hetson, Stan Lee, Steve Soto and Darryn Pheiffer aka Punk Rock Karaoke. We only had

The NSA Announces May 18th Sanders Fundraiser at Regent Theater
New Sound Alliance and Janky Smooth are proud to announce A Fundraiser for Bernie Sanders on May 18th at The Regent Theater. The show will take place just a couple weeks prior to the California primary on June 7th. This is the first event by the newly launched political action group, The New Sound Alliance. The NSA seeks to unite the music community in organizing bands, labels, promoters, managers and publicists to organize our voices in an effort to engage young voters and activists. The fundraiser for Senator Sanders will feature The Garden, Kim and the Created, Death Hymn Number 9, The Birth Defects and all star punk rock legends, Punk Rock Karaoke that features members of Circle Jerks/Bad Religion, The Dickies and Adolescents as YOUR backing band while you sing punk rock classics on the stage of The Regent Theater in Downtown L.A. There is also a super special secret guest that we can’t announce until the beginning of May! All profits will be donated to the Sanders campaign. Purchase Tickets Here It is sure to be a fun and meaningful night as we raise money for Bernie Sanders in his quest for a political revolution just weeks before the

The Garden “Haha” Record Release Party at The Teragram Ballroom
On Thursday, October 15th, nouveau punks, The Garden held their record release party for “Haha” at The Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles. The VadaVada Vaudevillians, Wyatt and Fletcher Shears opted for a setting that reflected their art- fresh, bombastic, chemically imbalanced and extremely vivid, rather than the sterilized and homogenized stronghold that spawned it- Orange County. But even with such guests as Tyler, the Creator in attendance, The Teragram Ballroom still only reached 2/3rds capacity by the time The Garden took the stage, thus critically challenging my proclamations of L.A. being the epicenter of music in America. Afterall, if Angeleno’s aren’t swarming to see The Garden then my braggadocios proclamations about L.A. being the center of the music universe are somewhat unfounded. Joining The Garden at The Teragram Ballroom and setting the tone for the evening was ex Murder City Devils frontman, Spencer Moody and young rockers, Slow Hollows. We walked into the Teragram and Spencer Moody was already on stage. Toward the beginning of his set, Moody reminded me of a mix between Tom Waits and Lemmy Kilmister. He was quite intriguing. Moody was joined on stage by a Fender Telecaster and the most bored drummer in the world. He

Runaway Festival Rewind and Music Video w/ Death Hymn Number 9
Left in the wake and aftermath of the first installment of the Runaway Festival at Los Globos is a slue of sound and imagery. While it would’ve been impossible to capture the entire vibe of the festival, Sunshine Mind drummer and Janky Smooth’s very own, Travis Moore has put together this edit which features a live track of the Death Hymn Number 9 performance of their song “Swamp $”. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for more exclusive content. Cut together with performances by Retox, The Garden, Part Time and No Age, Death Hymn Number 9’s song “Swamp $” is the perfect, psychedelic soundtrack to capture the high energy of the Runaway Festival. Did you see yourself in the pit? Did you see Kim House throwing elbows and spinning around the circle with glamorous aggression? Our entire recap of the day features two reviews and an incredible photo gallery. Are you in any of the photos? Full Review and Photo Gallery of Runaway Festival 2015

Runaway Fest: Double Reviewed & Fiercely Photographed
Runaway Fest Review 1: Paige Vreede When I was 18 years old I thought I was cool drinking cheap vodka out of a plastic bottle at a friends house whose parents were out of town. However, the dudes at Danger Collective Records are actually the epitome of “cool kids.” This past weekend I faced a sad reality upon realizing I have now become “old as fuck,” among the new emerging music scene stemming from teenagers in Los Angeles. In collaboration with Michael Morin of &? Productions, Danger Collective hosted Runaway 2015. Even after being plagued with a last minute venue change at Los Globos, this group of High schoolers presented a show with over 35 acts including some of L.A.’s most impressive bands. Though I saw more “Xs’” on hands here than I would have at a vegan hardcore show; half a personal pizza and 17 shots of tequila later, I felt cool enough to hang with the kiddos. As I sat in a corner completely exhausted, I felt a very confrontational moment of “you look like a fucking chaperone” and realized, given the contagiously rousing environment, I needed to get my ass up. While there were many noteworthy acts

Warpaint and The Garden Mesmerize at YAAAASS! benefit show
Brett Boyd is a music teacher at John Marshall High School who has taken a simple guitar class and turned it into a program that not only teaches students the basics in music, but the ins and outs of production, sound, and the business itself. The “Youth in Rock” program not only gives students a head start in various music careers, but provides the extra motivation that so many of us needed in our high school years. Unfortunately, California’s never ending education budget crisis threatens to put an end to this because for some reason (without making this review too political) lawmakers believe arts and education should be the first thing to go amidst financial shortage. With that being said, Boyd reached out to friend Theresa Wayman of Warpaint to see what could be done to save his class. The result was the first ever “Warpaint Presents” event at Fais Do-Do Saturday night that featured local heros like L.A. Witch, The Garden, and Warpaint themselves. The sold out fundraiser reflected the sheer magnitude of the importance of music to the Los Angeles youth and was an impressive rebuttal to those who believe music education is unnecessary. The night began with

Friday the 13th with Joyce Manor and The Garden in Pomona
It was the first night of the 2 day affair that landed on Friday the 13th at The Glass House in Pomona. I arrived in beautiful downtown Pomona just in time to grab a bite at one of their many establishments near the venue before doors opened. The opening band, Upset is an all-girl punk rock band from Los Angeles CA. They played songs from their debut album She’s Gone as fans were getting settled in to see The Garden and Joyce Manor. Up next came the twin brothers, Wyatt & Fletcher Shears better known as The Garden, from Orange CA. The Garden uses a minimal approach of vocals, bass, and drums to create a sound that is both exciting and thrilling. This neo punk duo amped up the crowd with their fast, engaging, and unique style. Wyatt took the stage in faded blue jeans, a black dress shirt, and a brown cowboy hat. In contrast Fletcher appeared in black skinny jeans, and in a red flower blouse. I really did not know what to expect as this was my first time seeing The Garden, but had heard great things from fellow music lovers. It didn’t take long to find out what