Tag: featured
Millennials- Is The World Right About You?
Danny Baraz
March 4, 2016
Entitled, lazy, over sensitive, under ambitious- These are just a few of the adjectives used to brand the generation labeled Millennials. Anytime you see a segment on TV or read something online or in print about Millennials, these are the themes used to attribute to this emerging generation that is coming of age at such a crucial time for this planet. What do you think? Are they right about you? I, for one have had your back from the beginning. Your generation is facing unprecedented challenges in the opportunities available to you and your friends. Unless mommy and daddy are well off, you can no longer get a higher education without graduating in a mountain of debt. Once you graduate, the opportunities available to you are mediocre, at best. Forget college- you can no longer work a labor job and make it to the middle class. Believe it or not, that used to be possible. You could work a job or two for $1o an hour and buy a house within a few years. They won’t even raise the minimum wage as they have everytime inflation dictated that they do so. We are in a completely fucked situation right now
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New Album Review: 1 Week With FEELS Debut LP from Castle Face Records
Danny Baraz
March 1, 2016
Last Wednesday night I got an advanced copy of FEELS self titled LP from Castle Face Records. Last Thursday night I went to the FEELS record release party at a Downtown DIY venue called Basic Flowers. I hate the unfairness of reviewing a living, breathing work of art in one or two listens. That will not be the case here. FEELS hard work and countless shows and supporting slots on various tours in 2015 ingrained them in the rock and roll ecosystem in Los Angeles and in my head. So when I heard rumblings of a forthcoming full length, I was ready when it dropped in my lap. In rock and roll, the live show separates the bad bands from the good bands and the great bands from the rest. FEELS puts on a GREAT live show and now I can confirm that FEELS makes GREAT albums. Well, at least one so far. I have spent enough time with the new FEELS record now to know that the love is real. I’ve gotten past the butterfly stage in this relationship and gotten completely comfortable with the material and it’s depth. This album is a master blend of growing musicianship and
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The Gaslamp Killer Leaves Blood on Questlove’s Stage at The Globe
Danny Baraz
February 25, 2016
On Saturday night, music and cultural icon Questlove was slated to headline the Globe Theatre in Downtown L.A. Ticket sales were surely based on his name and legacy but when everything was said and done, opening DJ, Low End Theory resident and beat ambassador The Gaslamp Killer left a pool of his own blood on stage. Attendees were splattered with digital plasma and the image of the Killer’s wild mane flopping around his face in wild, rhythmic spasms and gesticulations was something to behold. Sound issues plagued the end of The Gaslamp Killer’s time and delayed and shortened Questlove’s set to the point of being anti climatic. Questlove was able to recover with most of the audience in tact. During GLK I just thought to myself maybe this wasn’t a dancing crowd but the dancing during Questlove’s set showed me it just wasn’t an experimental crowd. I have always been resistant to the idea of putting a DJ on a big stage with a big spotlight shining on him/her. In a perfect world, DJ’s would be in a dark corner and we would be looking at each other or closing our eyes during their set. As I looked up into
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New Song Premiere: Sunshine Mind- Synchronize
Brent Smith
February 24, 2016
Are you like me in that you’re jonesing for some more jangly, shoegazey surf rock in your life? Along with the launch of the Janky Smooth Soundcloud, L.A.’s own cosmic thrashers Sunshine Mind premiere with us just that with their new single “Synchronize.” Coming off of last year’s self-titled EP (Lolipop Records), the band’s back at it with their soon-to-be-released follow up, mixed by none other than mutant pop mastermind Dante White of Dante vs. Zombies. Judging from the sounds of “Synchronize”, it’s sure to motivate your true dream of becoming a beach bum, and send you so far into your headphones you’re going to pop out on the other side pitted in a sun-glazed, overhead swell. “Don’t you worry/ You’re on your way…” Though on the surface it appears a harmless, catchy 2 min. 18 sec. pop song, you’ll soon find yourself in distorted spacetime on a psychedelic carpet ride, boogying down on the dark side of the moon. (Haven’t you heard? There’s music there now!) This ditty is jam-packed and no piece is absent. After the rad opening riff, the first things that hit me were the swift, heavy bass and crashing cymbals. Singer Henry Lopez’s drawn out, introspective crooning
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Black Sabbath And A Weeping Manboy at The Forum in L.A.
Danny Baraz
February 23, 2016
At a time when hippie kids were forming bands to sing about peace, love and flower power, Black Sabbath explored the occult, addiction and delivered the antithesis of popular culture. In the process, they gave so many marginalized outcasts of society a voice that spoke to their own disenfranchised existence. Freaks and misfits united under a common flag and scared the shit out of those who had always fit in. Can you imagine the bravery and despair required to write about the devil in a firmly Judeo-Christian world? Well before Kardashians wore Slayer t-shirts, skulls and black magic were a taboo topic amongst the proletariat. In the moments before Black Sabbath took the stage at The Forum in Los Angeles, I found myself fantasizing about being in my early 20’s in Birmingham in the late 60’s, resigned to a life in a factory for the next 40 years, going to a bar to drink my weight one pint at a time and seeing those neighborhood blokes Tony, Ozzy, Bill and Geezer playing a kind of music I had never heard before. Music NO ONE had heard before. Of course, once the music broke it REALLY broke and their seemingly nefarious
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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
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Lolipop Your Heart Out Festival Was Like Sex and Pizza
Paige Vreede
February 10, 2016
Ever have sex with someone and after about ten minutes in you realize both parties are only continuing the sexual activity purely based on the hope that the other person might find slight enjoyment out of it? Realistically, you both want to just high five and call it a good attempt but you go through the motions in hopes that one of you MIGHT climax? Yeah, that’s sort of how Lolipop Your Heart Out went at The Teragram Ballroom. I’m still unsure as to whether the energy and outcome was so low due to the 5pm start time- primetime to still be recovering from Friday nights hangover. Or perhaps it was because the entrance price was $26, which can be a lot for a starving artist who’s living in a city that is gentrifying and going up in rental price at an absurdly rapid rate. Maybe it could’ve even been because the One Oh freakin’ One was closed on a Saturday afternoon (I call shenanigans!). Whatever the reason for the small crowd, it was mildly disappointing to see such a small turn out for what should’ve been an epic evening brought to you by Lolipop Records. Janky Smooth did a series
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The First Friday of First Fridays 2016 at Natural History Museum
Danny Baraz
February 9, 2016
It’s baaaaack. First Friday’s at The Natural History Museum returned this week for it’s first installment of the season. I’ve been wanting to go the past few years but had yet to make it to Exposition Park to check out one of the events that test the conventional wisdom that Los Angeles is devoid of culture in the mainstream. And yes, even though independent entities such as KCRW, LA Weekly and Spaceland Presents are at the helm, you could hardly call those established institutions alternative, anymore. Those institutions are still tastemakers but more geared towards well rounded, functioning adults than they are towards angsty teens lost in a drug psychosis. There is always an educational aspect to First Friday musical lineups. Not sure if the education compliments the entertainment or vice versa. This week, the Natural History Museum hosted a spotlight on science in movies with a tour led by Lisa Gonzales, Assistant Collections Manager of Entomology. The musical itinerary was highlighted by headliners, The Hood Internet, along with funk band, Boulevards and electro producer, Spazzkid. The side room DJ’s Aaron Byrd and Anthony Valadez harnessed an impressive energy amongst the Friday night crowd and definitely got the crowd moving.
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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
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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.
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The Shrine: Mongrels of Rock Unleash “Rare Breed” on L.A.
Danny Baraz
January 25, 2016
There is something filthy growing and developing in the city of Los Angeles. Amongst all the PC, progressive, sensitive and compassionate artists and musicians, there is a misogynistic, self destructive, self promoting beast of rock and roll forming. In recent years, amongst all the amazing indie rock acts that vary between psych and garage punk, there is a thick layer of sensitivity acting as a buffer and protecting the youth against it’s rough edges. With a large share of NorCal guitar heroes trying to escape the tech gentrification of the Bay Area, underground icons like Ty Segall and John Dwyer have relocated their base of operations to the slightly less prohibitive cost of living in L.A. With their intense, yet sensitive aesthetics, their vibe is a completely non offensive one. All the past imagery of the rock and roll lifestyle, which included the objectification of women and an unapologetic personal excess have all but disappeared from the rock and roll narrative. Enter, The Shrine. The LA born trio of rockers led by Josh Landau draw on the rejected modalities of rock music and Americana as hot, trampy women gyrate on stage to guitar riffs that conjure Slayer more than they
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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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