Tag: featured
If Ever A Band Was My Home: Ceremony’s HOME SICK Festival At The Phoenix Theater
Rob Shepyer
January 18, 2018
I have been waiting for so long to write about Ceremony that referencing their performances in completely unrelated articles just became a habit of mine. If I was writing about hardcore punk moshing and stage diving then I’d compare the peaks of that violence to the bar set by Ceremony when Anthony Anzaldo strums the first notes of “Kersed” or when Jake Casorotti starts the kick drum intro to their cover of Red C’s “Pressure’s On”. If I was talking about Joy Division’s many offspring, like in my Cloak and Dagger review, I’d talk about how Ceremony’s “L Shaped Man” is the only derivative of that style worth its weight. If I was talking about what I feel is the spirit of America as expressed in music, I would say it’s when Ceremony plays “Hysteria” and you can almost transport yourself back in time when Bill Haley & His Comets performed “Rock Around The Clock”, it’s that same desperate need to let loose, still in the air after half a century. “…The only young band I’ve seen come close was Ceremony performing “Kersed” at Sound and Fury 2016, when the entire audience erupted when the opening notes of the song
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The Janky Smooth Top 10 SONGS of 2017 Rated by Contributors
Janky Smooth Central Command
January 15, 2018
Low expectations for politics in 2017 made for high expectations in music and though this year saw revolution and protest turned into memes with albums like Eminen’s Revival, if you look closely, almost every genre had standout artists and a raising of the bar. Even hip hop, which was was dominated by trap artists like Post Malone hitting number 1 on Billboard, had more lyrical artists like Big K.R.I.T., Brockhampton, and Tyler, The Creator come out with career defining work. Metal saw old school bands like Obituary come out with incredible songs while newer ones like Power Trip, released their first true thrash anthem. Punk saw a similar phenomenon happen with Cocksparrer’s new joint and then Career Suicide’s. Even though Trump is our president and the Dodgers lost the World Series in game 7, music in Los Angeles, California in the year 2017 was exceptional, better than 2016. In 2017, the world of music realized it can weaponize quality just because it’s so damn good rather than try to convince us that musical weapons must be quality. This is not about albums or politics though, this is about SONGS. Five minutes of sound that capture the year, two minutes if you’re
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Janky Smooth Top 10 ALBUMS of 2017 Rated By Contributors
Janky Smooth Central Command
January 12, 2018
Year end album reviews remind us at Janky Smooth why we’re so lucky to be covering the underground music scene in Los Angeles. Maybe, if there was no underground and all you could listen to was the chart toppers, then you wouldn’t even think there was anything special about 2017. What we have on our hands is actually a phenomenal year of music. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard released five albums in 2017… FIVE. King Krule transformed his career with The OOZ. And the direction of entire genres became more clear with releases by future heavyweights, like High-Functioning Flesh to industrial or Ho99o9 to hardcore punk… or is it the hard trap songs by the 999 we should be focusing on? Lets also not forget that Lil B, the Based God, finally blessed us with his much anticipated Black Ken. You can see music veering into more electronic and experimental directions both in the mainstream and underground spheres. Still though, the bands that use traditional instrumentation and vocals only seem to stay truer to their roots. Janky Smooth attempted to whittle down the best of 2017 down to ten albums and here are our expert opinions: TOP 10 ALBUMS OF
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Rolling Loud SoCal 2017 Doses the Youth with the Latest Opiate of the Masses
Rob Shepyer
December 23, 2017
Whether you follow and enjoy hip hop or not, you cannot live in 2017 without encountering the sounds of “Trap”, hip hop’s newest anarchist misfit offspring and perhaps its most polarizing subgenre. As a punk and metalhead my whole life, a year ago, I would’ve never predicted I would go to a festival like Rolling Loud SoCal 2017 but now, as a music critic, I don’t think I’d have a credible understanding of modern music without partaking in the spiked Trap kool-aid. Trap music began in the South, the word “Trap” referring to the physical location of a drug deal. Thus, rappers that had drug dealer alter egos became known as trap rappers. The sound’s origins are debatable but what is definite is that it came out of Atlanta, Georgia with ties to the Dungeon, a bare bones recording studio in a basement that has bred artists like Outkast and Future. T.I. claims he invented Trap, others can hear a definite link beginning with Gucci Mane. Then there’s other important proto-trap artists like Soulja Boy and Lil B. But it is perhaps Migos and Future that are the most stolen from artists, with Future creating what is now known as Mumble-rap with songs
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Krautrock Nite With Malcolm Mooney of Can At Echoplex: To Outer Space And Down To Earth
Rob Shepyer
December 15, 2017
On the tapestry of world genres, that hangs in heaven’s music hall, one square is not quite like the others. Krautrock, is an enigma and maverick genre, it was when it was created in Germany and it’s still a mystery till this day. After the war and iron curtain, German artists felt stifled and trapped and wanted to reinvent their reality. I’m sure many musicians living in East Berlin stared up at the sky and decided to make music inspired by the cosmos itself. Krautrock is futuristic and retro at the same time, in other words, it is timeless. Can was a band without hierarchy that brought together jazz, rock, and contemporary classical music together. The music was so new and unique it was almost a political statement. Can was one of Krautrock’s most essential bands, one of the singers of which, Malcolm Mooney, played a rare performance at the Echoplex for Part Time Punks’ annual Krautrock Nite and even though I had just been barraged by a hardcore music festival for two days, I couldn’t miss this show. related content: For The Children 2017 At The Echoplex: Hardcore Is The Gift That Keeps On Giving Opening for Malcolm Mooney was Savage
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For The Children 2017 at The Echoplex: Hardcore is The Gift That Keeps on Giving
Rob Shepyer
December 15, 2017
The holidays are supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, when you can be among friends and family and give and receive gifts as a sign caring and sharing and loving one another. That’s what it’s supposed to be but for far too many, this is not the case. Who knows just how many thousands of people will be dying on the streets like dogs this christmas. Who knows how many alcoholic fathers will beat their wives in front of their kids. Or how many children will go without any presents at all. Our hopeless situation aside, what if I told you that through thousands of tiny deeds we can save Christmas for a few of those children? That something miraculous could happen, like a bunch of young men and women, strangers, getting together to donate hundreds of toys just because it’s the right thing to do… and because of hardcore. Pure beat down hardcore. Slamming, stage-diving, sing-alonging like your fucking life depended on it hardcore. Christmas saving hardcore. For The Children is an annual hardcore festival spanning two days, now hosted by the Echoplex. The festival was created by Xibalba singer Nate Rebolledo, who was inspired
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Freak Style Booking and KXLU Throw Mexico Earthquake Relief Show At Top Space 2.0
Aria Silva-Espinosa
December 8, 2017
Consistently delivering stacked lineups and solid venues, Freak Style Booking in cooperating with KXLU, organized a benefit show with all proceeds going to earthquake relief efforts in Mexico. At a minimum donation of $7 at the door, the show generated over $1000 for Topo Brigada de Rescate. According to the organization’s website, they are a volunteer organization founded with the purpose of responding to disasters created in response to the 1985 earthquake that registered an 8.1 on the Richter scale. The immense damage pictured next to the ‘Historia’ article bears striking resemblance to recently circulating photos of the damage in Mexico after a 7.1 magnitude hit just northeast of San Juan Roboso in the state of Puebla, Mexico in September of this year. The quake claimed over 200 lives and caused immense destruction and chaos yet went largely unreported by mainstream U.S. media which caused concerned citizens to put pressure on Trump to offer aid. He eventually did but the aid can’t come soon enough for the people of Mexico who have been affected by this natural disaster. Doing our part, we went to check out the show at Top Space 2.0, located in the bowels of South Central. A
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Millennial Matchmaking: Gary Numan & Ugly God At The Observatory
Rob Shepyer
November 22, 2017
Two artists from very different times and scenes played two different shows on the same Observatory stage. Gary Numan and Ugly God- rarely do you get that much musical diversity out of a night and I was interested to see how my brain would react to absorbing the contrast. Anyone that knows me would think I was more interested in seeing Numan and though I’m a fan, I came to see what all this trap hype was about. For you see, music has become for me a divining rod which one can use to understand where society is going and if Trap’s popularity is any indication, I think we’ll all be celebrating ourselves stupid in times to come. The Gary Numan show was first with Me Not You as his only support on the bill. They’re a band from New York City that played an amazing and cathartic set with electronic post-punk vibes that kept building and building, pulling the tears out of your eyes while cramming the noise down your ears. They reminded me a bit of Health but with female vocals and a pinch of mellow, alternative vibes comparable to older bands like The Breeders or The Cranberries or
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Raw Emotion Sells: SOPHIE AT The Teragram Ballroom
Janky Smooth Central Command
November 21, 2017
On October 30th, I had the pleasure of seeing SOPHIE make their Los Angeles debut. After rescheduling from playing a smaller venue, the concert was upgraded to the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles. Hosted by Red Bull Music Academy, the concert did not disappoint as it was filled with experimental songs interlaced with political and self-loving messages in the form of electronic dance music. related content: Cloak And Dagger Fest The Heart Of Los Angeles Bled From Dusk Till Dawn The opening act, Bully Fae, is a solo artist hailing from Los Angeles. Bully Fae’s set was full of energy, including what felt like choreographed dances to the minimalistic trap beats as they spat words angrily into the microphone. The audience was completely captivated by what was being said on stage as Bully Fae shared personal stories about struggling with illness, yet learning to love and take care of themselves through that difficult process, then the audience broke out of the respectful silence to a massive applause. Songs included “Self – Evidence Intervention”, “Fuckery Bitch”, and the empowering “Defy A Thing To Be”. Bully Fae was completely vulnerable on stage with their emotions ranging from soft whispers to loud screams
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The Growlers Six: Abuse, Healing, Feeling Shards Of Shattering Glass Ceilings
Jonathan Reyes
November 20, 2017
I felt it all again Sunday night, just like I did 8 years ago. When I was a younger I popped my cherry with Coachella. Like every other old fuck, the one I went to was the last good one “before it got too big” but in my case, it was. Way before the holograms and second week cash grab. In my years, I got to see Gossip, Crystal Castles, and Girl Talk. Not all three played the same year but I can’t recall which is which and googling is for fucking posers. Sunday, October 28th, I got to see them all again. related content: The Secret Journal Of A Pizza Spy At Coachella 2017 I was late to catch all of Beth Ditto’s set. I heard it in the distance and was trying to rush but let out an annoyed “fuck” because I knew I still needed to be searched by security. To my delight and horror, security didn’t check me at all. In fact, his exact quote was, “I don’t give a fuck about this.” Let that sink in. My short term, instant gratification has given way to waking up in a cold sweat every night since those words were uttered- but
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Ozzfest Rocks On But Can It Still Rage In 2017?
Lina Lecaro
November 15, 2017
Heshers and head bangers are a loyal bunch, but metal ain’t exactly enjoying a mainstream moment in 2017, and it hasn’t for quite some time. With a few exceptions of Queens Of The Stone Age, Metallica and of course, the entirety of Europe where Metal still reigns supreme, the genre just isn’t recognized right now on U.S. radio or on U.S. charts, and this has made the current musical landscape feel really bland and wimpy and disposable to a lot of people (No, Foo Fighters are NOT metal). Heavy music still exists of course, and a lot of it feels as urgent as ever, but for the most part it’s a niche thing right now. related content: Black Sabbath And A Weeping Manboy At The Forum In L.A. I remember when things were different. When there was such a bounty of bombastic and aggressive bands on the scene, swaying the zeitgeist and stirring shit up, it was hard to keep track of them all. Their videos dominated MTV (before it was the Teen Mom channel), their records went multi-platinum (streaming didn’t exist yet) and they even graced the covers of popular music magazines (remember those?). There was so much heavy
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Satanic Manic: Lethal Amounts Honors Anton LaVey on Halloween with ‘Disobey’ Gallery
Brent Smith
November 9, 2017
I was a Catholic boy/ Redeemed through pain, not through joy. Now I’m a Catholic man/ I put my tongue to the rail whenever I can. Jim Carroll, “Catholic Boy” Still feeling those post-Halloween blues. There’s nothing worse in adulthood than the end of the most mischievous night of the year, followed by the prospective onslaught of family holidays for the next two months. Particularly when you’ve had a good Samhain, the kind that has you making love to ghosts, and stirs your dead-belly energy to remind you the world isn’t some grey financial dead zone ‘til the grave. Writer Paula Guran once wrote, “The farther we’ve gotten from the magic and mystery of our past, the more we’ve come to need Halloween.” related content: Halloween At The Roxy w/ The Evil Ones: Roky Ericksen & Death Valley Girls My Halloween in this foul year of Our Lord, 2017 (fouler than last, but who could’ve seen that) was spent in the speakeasy dungeon of Madam Siam below Hollywood Boulevard—more catacomb labyrinth than cocktail bar—with no cell service, and plenty of great beasts. It was a night honoring hip Satanist guru, Anton LaVey, and the 20th anniversary of his death
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