Search Results for: burger records – Page 4

New Sound Alliance Bernie Sanders Fundraiser at Regent Theater

NSA Fundraiser and Launch w/ The Garden & Punk Rock Karaoke

Danny Baraz May 25, 2016

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

My First SXSW: Confessions of Fanboy Posing As Music Critic

Danny Baraz March 26, 2016

Last week was my first time attending SXSW in Austin. This allows me to offer an opinion on this massive institution that is completely untainted by past experience. Like most institutions that sprouted from an independent spirit into a behemoth of industry, SXSW has detractors that begrudge the success it has achieved. Given that this was my first time attending, I could see it for what it really is without the skewed vision of what it was. Austin, Texas is one of my favorite cities in the world. Not because it has epic landscapes or white sand beaches but for it’s artisan spirit and wonderful people. I have visited it’s streets and venues a number of times in my life but for whatever reason, I had yet to attend this event. Walking down 6th or any of the adjacent streets reveals a band, DJ or singer/songwriter embedded in every doorway, venue, café and every square foot in every direction you look. Like an infestation of joy and expression, SXSW is a complete takeover of a city that is already overflowing with music. We here at Janky Smooth are fans first and that is what motivates every show we cover, every

L.A. Hustle at SXSW 2016: Bands, Labels, Promoters & Publications

Danny Baraz March 23, 2016

Artists, agents, publicists and partiers come from far and wide to take part in one of the largest music and networking events in the world. Fans attending SXSW in Austin ,Texas view it as a diverse display of music in which they can recreationally party and enjoy bands they love and bands they discover throughout the week long musical portion of the conference. The aforementioned groups of art producers and opportunists view the conference much differently than the fans or even the way they themselves typically view playing a regular show or festival. With a somewhat intimate knowledge of the bands in Southern California and their proxies, it was fascinating to watch it all unfold in front of me. From Burger Records to Lolipop Records, iHeartcomix to Desert Daze, the Los Angeles and greater Southern California area musicians and business’ were very well represented at SXSW 2016. Janky Smooth was proud to see the members of our scene thriving in such a competitive environment and of course, to make our own stamp on the events surrounding the conference in our very first SXSW experience as a publication. On the band side, there were L.A. bands like one of our low

Buzz Bait: Bonnie of Death Valley Girls On Music, Magic and Metaphysics

Brent Smith February 16, 2016

High noon. Under the stark, blue February sky I encounter Bonnie Bloomgarden standing at the entrance of the Red Lion Tavern in Echo Park. The singer/guitarist of the doom rock outfit Death Valley Girls greets me in green sparkly eye makeup with a big smile and gifts in the form of a limited edition 7” and a live singles cassette wrapped in caution tape. I rejoice and accept like it’s the Holy Communion. After slipping into the dark of the ancient Germanic pub, we head to the upstairs bar. Death Valley Girls have popped up on the indie map like a baffling string of UFO sightings, ever since their Street Venom debut. Some may remember Bloomgarden’s exploits in the NY band The Witnesses, or maybe her cameo in King Tuff’s third album Black Moon Spell. Though perhaps nothing was as enthralling as DVG’s performance last October at the Natural History Museum’s mummy exhibit, which served more as a necromantic rock séance to communicate in peace with the Egyptian dead. The new Death Valley Girls LP Glow in the Dark is due June 10th via Burger Records, just in time for Burger Boogaloo. It’s unlike anything we’ve heard from them before. Though the

The New S.A.- The New Sound Alliance- art by Joey Feldman

The New S. A.- The New Sound Alliance Voter Registration Org

Danny Baraz February 3, 2016

Janky Smooth is proud to launch The New S.A.- The New Sound Alliance. We endorse no candidates. We are Americans. We support a more responsible version of capitalism. Our only mission is to register first time voters to insure that only candidates that represent “the People” of The United States of America receive sufficient representation in US Government. Please; Register to Vote now and JOIN THE NEW SOUND ALLIANCE. Our first event will take place in late May, 2016. We will be well past Super Tuesday, with a much clearer picture of the General Election. Full lineup, location and special guests announced soon. Join our newsletter and you will be informed of everything we are involved in and it will act as your RSVP to all our free events. Please share this post if you are interested in registering first time voters. WE stand at a crossroads. We can no longer talk about how much we care about this issue or that issue and then say “Someone else will take up the fight but right now, we have to worry about our own thang”. Time to decide where we stand in all this before The United States of America is unlivable for

Death Hymn Number 9 at Alex's Bar 16 Year Anniversary

Opening Bands Shine as OFF! Plays Alex’s Bar 16 Year Anniversary

Danny Baraz February 3, 2016

Alex’s Bar in Long Beach knows how to celebrate their milestones.. In their 16th year, Alex’s Bar has managed to survive the early years of the many obstacles put in their path by the city of Long Beach to become the most important music venue in the city. Maybe it’s because of this that the celebrations they put together to mark their anniversaries are so notable. It’s always predicated on making sure it’s twice as fun by making it a two night affair. Last year, it was two nights of Rocket From The Crypt This year, for their 16 year anniversary, they booked Keith Morris’ OFF! to play two consecutive nights. Alex’s Bar: 15 Years of Punk Gratitude w/ Rocket from the Crypt What’s left to say about OFF!? I wrote about OFF! in great detail after their show at The Echo. Keith Morris, Dimitri Coats, Steven McDonald and Mario Rubalcaba deserve every word of praise they get for their achievement of making honest, hardcore punk music in this world of corporate numbers crunching. Please check out my piece on OFF! playing The Echo last year. OFF! Transform The Echo From Peaceful Indie Venue To House of Raw Aggression No.

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

together PANGEA End Tour With A Bang At The Echoplex

Jai Chebaia December 9, 2015

Since stumbling into the LA music scene a few years ago, I’ve probably seen together Pangea more times than I’ve smoked a cigarette in The Smell alleyway, and I’m not complaining, about either really. There’s something so synonymous with the LA garage rock pandemic and Pangea – half the burgeoning bands you see out want to sound like them, the other half want to embody their punk ass lifestyle. Regardless, whether you’re a fan or not, a together Pangea show is always bound to be crazy. Simply put, there’s too much hook driven, toe tappin, bass thumpin songs for a group of 200 kids not to mosh, and that’s exactly what went down at The Echoplex on Friday night. together Pangea’s debut album, ‘Night of the Living Dummy’, was a lo-fi garage punk masterpiece; with a coherent concept that threaded its way throughout the album, and some of the most original songs I’ve heard in a long time. The band went from releasing their first album on cult label Burger Records, to signing with major label imprint Harvest Records and releasing the ‘Badillac’ LP. Earlier this year, the group returned to Burger with the Phage EP, a slew of six

Buzz Bait: An Interview with The Gooch Palms

Paige Vreede December 5, 2015

It was an ordinary Wednesday night at the Cambridge hotel in Newcastle, Australia when vivacious musician Leroy McQueen first met mega babe, Kat Friend. Four years after meeting, the power couple decided they wanted to make music together. What started with just a bucket, a tambourine, and a guitar soon evolved into The Gooch Palms- multiple Australian tours, two American tours (with slots at places such at SxSW) and a forthcoming tape with Burger Records. The small-town duo blew up quickly and their infectious tunes certainly deserve to be well known. If you haven’t had the chance to catch them on their tour, do not fret, you can still catch one of their action packed shows (which usually results in nudity) TONIGHT, Dec 5th at The Echo for The Gooch Palms Burger tape release, alongside The Memories and The High Curbs. The Gooch Palms play their buoyant tunes with great enthusiasm and they are definitely a band not to miss. I had the pleasure of sitting at Echo Park Lake with them and a pack of Coopers and Tim Tams (if you haven’t experienced the pleasures of these Australian delicacies then I feel bad for you, son) to discuss their US tour, their upcoming

Beach Goth 4: The Party of The Year

Danny Baraz October 28, 2015

The freaks, stoners, hipsters, bloggers, vegans, photographers, rockers, punkers, pukers, trippers, hippies and seemingly every beautiful woman from Southern California to Vancouver attended The Growlers annual trademark event, Beach Goth 4 this past weekend. They came to celebrate the best thing in their lives- music. I talked to a unicorn from Australia, I smoked a joint with a fairy from Mexico City and got my nipple twisted by a witch from Westminster. It seemed as if all inhibition was lost as everyone’s freak flag flew sky high and more spit was swapped than at a mouth swabbing clinic. And there was music. Oh lord was there music. With little touches and surprises like The 5678’s serving as the house band on a small stage on day 1, The Selena Impersonators and G-Funk pioneer, Warren G randomly performing a song near the end of Day 2, Beach Goth 4 had one of the most exciting lineups since Woodstock (if you love independent music). The scheduling issues which plagued the festival last year were a distant memory. Then again, after riding the snake all weekend, this past yesterday seems like an eon of a couple lifetimes ago. Sure, the ticket price has