Tag: featured
United Kingdom, United Scene: Basement at the Hi Hat
Rob Shepyer
October 17, 2018
When you listen to Basement, you hear so many different styles of rock converging into one sweeping underground sound that whether you’re into alternative, emo, or hardcore, you feel pain, pleasure, and everything in between. These young chaps from the United Kingdom call themselves melodic hardcore but hardcore is the least of what you hear if you span the Basement catalogue. They’ve recorded a song for every scene but don’t alienate anyone in those scenes. It’s no wonder all these different people came together to sell out Basement’s Hi Hat show the same day tickets were made available. Basement could draw at a much larger venue at this point so this show was something of a rare treat. related content: Nirvana Leads To Nothing… At The Regent Basement’s 2018 North American West Coast tour featured San Francisco’s Pllush as the opening band. A sweet and meaningful shoe-gaze experience, Pllush plays long, drawn out riffs that seemingly come straight from the heart. Featuring three women on strings and a guy on the kit, every member of Pllush balances a delicate sound with a mean punch. Pleasant Hill’s Elder Brother plays an emo that could’ve only been spawned in Nor Cal. It’s got chill vibrations
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For Boy George, Anything: Culture Club at the Big Fresno Fair
Janky Smooth Central Command
October 16, 2018
Words and Photos: Maggie St. Thomas At the turn of the century, I had the honor of being Culture Club’s only photographer at their San Diego show. It was an absolute delight having the entire photo pit to myself for the first three songs. Boy George walked onstage and right up to me as the band began with the opening notes of “Church of The Poison Mind.” George knelt down with style and grace as he positioned his right hand delicately below his chin with his left hand holding the microphone. As soon as the shutter button was pressed twice for good luck, George gave me a wink and got up to begin the show. I have included a handful of these very photographs for this article, shot on 35mm film, and never before published until now. related content: Kick Out The Jams: MC50 At The Observatory One thing is for sure, Boy George and Culture Club know how to dazzle and have been doing so since the bands inception in London 1981. Their third single, a Jamaican infused pop melody released in 1982 titled “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me,” is described by George as his DNA, and went
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Take This: Win 2 Tickets to Black Moth Super Rainbow at Lodge Room
Rob Shepyer
October 16, 2018
Are you guys ready to trip? The Lodge Room is waiting for you and their hall of Halloween horrors comes in the form of some of the craziest, most visionary psych rock you could ever hear. That being the music of Black Moth Super Rainbow. With two shows back to back at the venue, and the first sold out, Janky Smooth is happy to be giving away two pairs of tickets. YOU CAN BUY TICKETS HERE OR. ENTER TO WIN 2 TICKETS TO BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW OCTOBER 27TH AT THE LODGE ROOM Step 1- Join Our Newsletter (look for pop up every time you arrive at jankysmooth.com) Step 2- Tag a Friend in the comment section of our Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook Black Moth Super Rainbow Posts WINNER WILL BE WILL BE SELECTED ON MONDAY OCTOBER 22ND AT 11AM PST VIA EMAIL CONFIRMATION
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Kick Out The Jams: MC50 at the Observatory
Maggie St. Thomas
October 14, 2018
Words and Photos by: Maggie St. Thomas The innovators of punk were the Motor City 5, known for their high energy live performances, being aggressive revolutionaries of the 1960’s and the house band of the White Panther Party. The MC5 recorded their first album Kick Out The Jams live on October 30th and 31st 1968 at Detroit’s Grande Ballroom. In May 2018, Brother Wayne Kramer announced the MC50 tour to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Kick Out the Jams across the world with a supergroup line-up including himself, and his partner of this guitar army Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Billy Gould on bass (Faith No More), pounding drum beats by original MC5 drummer Dennis “Machine Gun” Thompson and joining him to his right was drummer Brendan Canty (Fugazi). Replacing Rob Tyner on vocals with the towering 6’7’’ frame and image reminiscent of the late lead singer stood Marcus Durant (Zen Guerrilla), and Billy Gould on bass lines (Faith No More). related content: Teen Angst Never Dies: Alkaline Trio At The Observatory Nearly 50 years to the date of recording, Saturday October 6th, 2018 in Santa Ana, we paid tribute to this all star line-up that sounded rude and unhinged as ever with domination firing off notes like rockets within the walls of the OC Observatory. Brother Wayne Kramer delivered
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Don’t Slander Me: Roky Erickson at Teragram
Janky Smooth Central Command
October 13, 2018
Photos by: Dillon Vaughn Very few performers have lived lives as hard as Roky Erickson. A godfather of psych rock and garage, Roky’s history is almost unbelievable. A musical prodigy from childhood to a genre defining songwriter at age 19, it’s hard to believe the scope and impact of his work hasn’t made him a staple among Venice Beach type stencil paintings and graphic tees at Urban Outfitters. (His story’s much cooler than that.) related content: Halloween At The Roxy With The Evil Ones: Roky Erikson & Death Valley Girls Finally having the chance to see a performance was something I made my heart drop the moment he walked on stage – not from anticipation, but from fear that the hints of mental illness and the very visible mark of time on this man would lead to a performance that would make it hard to listen to the music again. Sitting on stage in front of everyone was an older man that seemed somewhat lost and nearly puppeteered by his much younger backing band nearly hiding in the shadows. The moment the music began my fears were crushed; applause and screams from the audience fueled something in Roky. His eyes gained some
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Take This: Win 2 Tickets To Tune-Yards and U.S. Girls at the Mayan
Janky Smooth Central Command
October 12, 2018
Goldenvoice and 4AD records have come together to bring you one of the best concert bills all year with Tune-Yards and U.S. Girls gracing the stage at the beautiful Mayan Nightclub. Having just collaborated on a few tracks, the two bands are sure to put on powerful and unique performances. 4AD’s legacy as a label that brought the world loads of amazing post punk, will be cemented for a new generation at this show. Both bands, Tune-Yards and U.S. Girls are impossible to pigeon hole, blending together so many influences but mainly making music from the heart, this is not a show you want to miss. Janky Smooth is proud to be giving away two tickets to the show. YOU CAN BUY TICKETS HERE OR. ENTER TO WIN 2 TICKETS TO TUNE-YARDS AND U.S. GIRLS OCTOBER 18TH AT THE MAYAN THEATRE Step 1- Join Our Newsletter (look for pop up every time you arrive at jankysmooth.com) Step 2- Tag a Friend in the comment section of our Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook Tune-Yards/U.S. Girls Giveaway Posts WINNER WILL BE WILL BE SELECTED ON MONDAY OCTOBER 15TH AT 11AM PST VIA EMAIL CONFIRMATION
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Return of the Old School: Kingdom Come at the Whisky
Rob Shepyer
October 11, 2018
It’s my contention that if 80’s metal and grunge were to duke it out today, 80’s metal would come out victorious. I once read about a book called “The Pendulum” that theorized every forty years, people’s attitudes change from collectivist thinking to independent thinking. Grunge swung more like an axe, not a pendulum, to behead metal and change American rock music forever more. Now, in the Trump era, where collectivist notions don’t connect the same way they once did and hyper-masculinity seems to be the means to reclaim male identity, I think 80’s metal would prevail. We’ve had too many years of bands playing shoegaze without any charisma. We want spectacle. We want solos. And most of all, we want balls. You sense this when you see a great 80’s metal band live. I did when I saw Kingdom Come on their reunion tour where they celebrated their 30 year anniversary. related content: Soulfly And Nile: From The Amazon To The Whisky Kingdom Come were one of the original monsters of rock. Straight out of Germany, these guys had an incredibly powerful, soaring hard rock, metal sound that gained plenty of praise and comparison to Led Zeppelin. They were yesterday’s
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Teen Angst Never Dies: Alkaline Trio at the Observatory
Dave Unbuckled
October 11, 2018
There’s really no point in beating around the fact that the average age of attendees at the shows I look forward to has well surpassed their mid-20s hipster cred and are slowly blending in with the crowds of parents — most are looking for a safe night out that can reinvigorate some of their teenage angst. Tonight, however, was a culminating difference in the obviousness of this dilemma, made apparent by the leagues of mothers rushing outside in between sets, to call babysitters, and make sure everyone at home finished their homework and chores. On Thursday, October 4th, Alkaline Trio headlined their second sold out night at the Observatory OC, with openers Sharp/Shock and Together Pangea falling mostly onto deaf ears. Though there might have been a few in the audience who closely follow lead singer Matt Skiba’s personal endeavors to recognize Sharp/Shock as one of the few bands on Skiba’s Heart & Skull label, most waited patiently for the headliners to show their face on the main stage. related content: When We Were Young Festival’s Most Dominant Demographic: Mine Sharp/Shock held their own with Together Pangea, and have cemented a worthy ability to share the stage with many of
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Goths Go Metal: Tribulation at the Lodge Room
Rob Shepyer
October 10, 2018
You don’t usually see goth boys and girls embrace extreme metal but in the case of Swedish melodic death metal band, Tribulation, the goths have found a band that represents their heart and soul and lets their dark fantasies play out on a stage. Tribulation doesn’t really incorperate the sound of goth in their music though. It’s this melodic death metal monster combined with glam/hard rock rhythm and jamming that makes for a show any fan of rock and roll can understand. Solos of every stripe, virtuosity from every player, I see Tribulation as the Guns and Roses of death metal. I was lucky enough to meet the whole band before the show as I waited in line to get tacos across the street. All of them without their signature makeup, they were incredibly friendly and even gave me the compliment of calling me their groupie! The Lodge Room usually doesn’t host metal, with its regal interior and the delicious paintings that decorate its walls, the venue seems more inclined hosting jazz or you know, decent varieties of music. This show fit just fine in the Lodge Room though and I expect more metal there to come. related content: The
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Cal Jam Blooms in 2018
Rob Shepyer
October 10, 2018
The duality of Dave Grohl is something to ponder. Simultaneously Rock God and fan, perhaps the latter is a prerequisite to the former. After 30 years of piloting the Foo Fighters, not to mention a stint in a little band called Nirvana, his place in the annals of rock history are upon a throne similar to the one he once sat upon while touring with a broken leg. His festival, Cal Jam, is merely one example in hundreds as to how he’s still in love with music just like you and I. To revive a festival, one that is part of California’s rock and roll history, is very different than creating an original one. He wants to pay homage and not just push a brand. So, the festival that once hosted the likes of Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Emerson, Lake, and Lake, and Ted Nugent, was revived for the second year to host Foo Fighters, Iggy Pop, and Greta Van Fleet. related content: Food For The Soul: Music Tastes Good 2018 My day at Cal Jam began with Greta Van Fleet, a band soaked in hype and wrought with criticism. This makes them a must-see just to judge for yourself.
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Soft Kill Interview: Addiction, Loss, Gloom, and Doom
Audrey Kemp
October 9, 2018
A truthful and cathartic conversation with Tobias Grave of Soft Kill will open your eyes to the hardship of addiction, loss and triumph, and demonstrate what it takes and what it is to create music in today’s society. AK: Your atmospheric melodies hark back to post-punk and dream pop of the early ‘80s and ‘90s. As a result of this, do you attract a broad age range of listeners? TG: We do seem to have a diverse range of people into what we’re doing. I think something that gets overlooked is how big some of those bands got and that we foolishly look at the core fan base of any genre as kids in black boots, jeans and band tees. It’s cool to have people of all ages, backgrounds and walks of life appreciate what you do, especially since we aren’t goths or punks in the corny aesthetic sense of the word. AK: Although your influences are countless, some being The Chameleons U.K., The Sound and Spacemen 3, your musical constitution is precise and concise. What qualities and themes are you the most allured to as listeners, and thus interested in creating? TG: A couple things draw us to music
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Time Machine for Young and Old: Gary Numan at the Fonda
Audrey Kemp
October 9, 2018
Gary Numan teleported his Los Angeles audience into his multidimensional universe for the final leg of his “Savage” tour on Saturday. It was 8:00 p.m. The venue, called the Fonda Theater, has a capacity of 1200. By the time the I got there, around six, a dense line of fans had circled the block, waiting for the door to open. They were mainly clad in leather jackets and Nine Inch Nails shirts, and with the exception of some millennials, almost all of them seemed to be older than 50. related content: Gary Numan Interview: Art In The Age Of Savages When the doors opened, a sea of veteran fans and first-time attendees flooded the floor. For 63-year-old Mike Sperks, who’s seen Gary Numan 10 times since 1979, he’s gotten better and better. “I like his music better now. There’s more energy. My all-time favorite song of his is ‘Prayer for the Unborn’ — a song dedicated to his unborn child,” he said. Among the older people was a group of 18-year-old University of Redlands students from a class called “Punk Rock DIY for Personal and Social Change.” Their professor held Mr. Numan in such high regard that he bought them
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