Tag: featured

It’s Not Dead Fest 2: New Hope For Punks w/ Rancid, Dropkick Murphys, OFF!

Janky Smooth Central Command September 13, 2017

It had been two years since the first It’s Not Dead festival (which boasted punk rock legends such as The Descendents, Pennywise and Bad Religion) and the bar was set pretty high for its return. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get off work until 2 pm on that day but even by that morning nobody knew what the set times were going to be as the festival’s curators refused to release them until the minute doors were open at noon. A decision that I found somewhat annoying but I understood it encouraged people to arrive early to see as many bands as possible. As soon as I was able to see the schedule I was disappointed to discover that there was no way I was going to make it to the Glen Helen Amphitheater in San Bernardino in time to catch The Flatliners’ 3 pm start time. Cutting my losses, I hit the road after swinging by my house to grab my gear and change into more festival friendly clothes in hopes of arriving before The Buzzcocks took the stage later in the afternoon. related content: Punk Rock Bowling 2017: You Can’t Be What You Were

Hurricanes in Florida, Earthquakes in Mexico & Quicksand in L.A. At Teragram

Rob Shepyer September 12, 2017

The Teragram Ballroom was sold out for NYC post hardcore band Quicksand’s return to Los Angeles. Filled with old hardcore heads, I was confident the slam-dance-worthy music wouldn’t be able to draw violence out of these gen-x’ers but boy was I wrong. All it takes is one pit psycho to reintroduce danger into rock and roll and force you to put up your dukes or feel like a bitch. related content: Thee Oh Sees And The Practical Applications Of Quantum Physics It began with an album announcement, their first in 22 years. The first single off Interiors, “Illuminant“, sounds just as heavy and groovy and hardcore as anything Quicksand has ever put out and after seeing them live, you really get the sense that bands just can’t make music this good anymore. Montreal’s No Joy opened the night as the only supporting act. They’re a shoegaze three-piece with minimalist vocals, if any during songs. Their rapid drumming and twin six string attack fosters a lunatic lucidity which is different than the rest of the shoegaze flock. No Joy sounds best when they play fast unlike most gaze acts that keep it slow. That said, I wish No Joy dabbled more in the

Take This: Win 2 Tix To See Quicksand at The Observatory

Janky Smooth Central Command September 8, 2017

After announcing their first album in 22 years, Interiors, 90’s NYC post hardcore kings Quicksand have been selling out shows all around the country on this tour. You don’t want to miss out on their two Southern California dates and seeing as Saturday’s show is already sold out, we at Janky Smooth are happy to be your hook up at The Observatory tomorrow, Sunday 9/10 Quicksand consists of all its original members: Drummer Alan Cage, vocalist/guitarist Walter Schreifels, bassist Sergio Vega, and guitarist Tom Capone. Interiors will be released November 10th on Epitaph. Canadian Shoegazers No Joy are opening for the band. Janky Smooth is giving away 2 Tickets to see Quicksand this Sunday, Sept 10th at The Observatory in Orange County. You can BUY TICKETS NOW or Just Share/Retweet our Quicksand Ticket Giveaway posts, Tag A Friend on said post on Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram. That’s It! Winner will be announced on social media at noon pacific time on Saturday 9/9. GOOD LUCK! note: if you make a post private then we won’t be able to see it or consider you.

Thee Oh Sees And The Practical Applications of Quantum Physics

Danny Baraz September 7, 2017

John Dwyer is a man living the dream- at least from the outside looking in. From that view he embodies a stereotypical but rarely achieved archetype of success as an independent artist. Every fledgling rocker that ever existed since Sid Vicious has sketched out a similar blueprint for themselves on how they would make the music they want, on their terms, on their own label, with an increasingly popular side project to keep themselves artistically satisfied THEIR way. Well, the latest Thee Oh Sees, or Oh Sees, or OCS release on Castle Face Records paired well with a concurrent release of Dwyer solo side project, Damaged Bug, creating a full bodied bouquet of screeching fuzz, juxtaposed with thunderous synth analogs for your ear holes. As is becoming tradition in these moments, Oh Sees played a gig at the Teragram Ballroom with the usual slate of opening acts that would make any headliner have to rise to the challenge of having to follow a band like Zig Zags, to get the double drummer dynamic chops in post season form as they embark on a headlining tour of clubs packed with the most rabid fans in independent music- John Dwyer, along with

Dais Records’ 10 Year Anniversary Party: The Dark Fruits Of Persistence

Rob Shepyer September 5, 2017

Persistence is All. Those were the words projected over Drew Mcdowall, former member of Coil, as he wrapped up Dais Records‘ 10 year anniversary at the Regent. Prior to this, the night had been filled with dancing, disaffected swaying, and sweating buckets from the sub-tropic-humidity-zone hovering over Downtown Los Angeles like a specter. Ten years in the making, this night celebrated a fever dream that came into fruition. It was only until 2017 that the local success of Drab Majesty and High-Functioning Flesh and the global success of Youth Code made Dais Records’ sound and name instantly recognizable in L.A. With Drew McDowall, Drab Majesty, High-Functioning Flesh, Body of Light, and Cold Showers performing, Dais planned on celebrating this milestone of a decade by bringing in the next one with a bang. Hot weather is best remedied with cold music and no music sounds colder than goth and industrial. When I stepped into the Regent, Youth Code were standing behind the turntables DJ’ing all sorts of glitchy, dark, German sounding industrial music, shit like Laibach. The first band to offer their musical relief was Highland Park’s Cold Showers, a crisp sounding goth band, thick with 80’s and Depeche Mode feels.

Take This: Win Two Weekend Passes to Desert Daze 2017

Janky Smooth Central Command August 29, 2017

Janky Smooth is proud to announce our Desert Daze 2017 ticket giveaway for the 3rd year in a row. Have you already gotten tickets for our favorite annual festival in one of the most magickal and mysterious places in the world? Desert Daze returns to the Institute of Mentalphysics for it’s second year stationed in this location. Almost a year since the last DD, it rules supreme as the most meaningful interactive live music experience for all Janks that attended in 2016. related content: Desert Daze 2016- Quantifying the Physics of a Good Time The latest additions to the festival such as Iggy Pop, Ty Segall, Sleep performing the Holy Mountain album in it’s entirety and more have elevated the 2017 lineup to the 2016 roster of performers. One can only assume that the sense that you were at a party in the massive living room of your favorite friend that possesses immaculate taste will only be enhanced by the comfort the folks at Moonblock and Spaceland Presents now have with the Institute designed by Frank Lloyd

Echo Park Rising (Five Pointed) Stars: Twin Temple

Brent Smith August 28, 2017

The vast miasma of artists at Echo Park Rising 2017 was an elating reminder of the fact that we’re drowning in a sea of stellar underground rock n’ roll. In today’s L.A. scene, it’s not easy to stand out, though many manage. Luciferian doo-woppers, Twin Temple, is one such act. In the twilight air of Saturday evening, just days before a historic solar eclipse, the human and spirit worlds brushed each other in a mesmerizing set. Veiled frontwoman Alexandra James and her axman husband Zachary James—swords in hand—wasted no time initiating a proper Satanic baptism to cleanse the soul of humanity. Invoking our old friend, Lucifer: In Nomine Dei Nostri Satanas Luciferi Excelsi On this alter, we consecrate the chalice representing Lilith’s womb And containing the blood of Satan -Swords- To banish hypocrisy and direct the fire of our unholy will In the name of Lucifer, ruler of Earth, I command the forces of darkness to bestow their infernal power upon us. I bid you rise. Will you all give the sign of the horns. O hear thy name. Repeat after me: Hail Satan! Hail Satan! Hail Satan! The seven-piece bluesy murder ballad band then bursted into

Echo Park Rising 2017: Long Lines Couldn’t Slow Fresh Faces In All Places

Aria Silva-Espinosa August 27, 2017

The 2017 Echo Park Rising lineup generated quite a bit of buzz this year, as it was absolutely stacked with old favorites, over a dozen unmissable acts and a number of up-and-coming artists. EPR veterans Gold Star, The Paranoyds, and Meatbodies graced this year’s lineup along with a significant number of newcomers. Coming Soon: Echo Park Rising Five Pointed Stars Twin Temple … related content: Echo Park Rising 2015: Rising and Rising and Rising… Enjoying immense popularity in the last few years, it’s nice to see events like this take off and be embraced by the community. However, lineups like these are a source of frustration for me since I have yet to conquer my overwhelming fear of missing out. Despite my best efforts to be in multiple locations at once, I feel like I’ve slighted a number of talented and deserving artists on the bill solely based on my inability to run quickly, my fear of jaywalking on Sunset Boulevard and my fractured internal clock. That being said, I purposely blocked the entire third weekend in August off on my calendar in order to enjoy the festival to the fullest possible extent. I hoped to see some old friends

Before ANTIFA, There Was Crust: Doom Celebrates Dirty 30 At The Regent

Rob Shepyer August 26, 2017

Anarchism and Anti-Fascism seem to have found a new seat, front and far-left-of-center, in the public forum. That seat is occupied by the political movement that has adopted those principals in the fight against Donald Trump known as ANTIFA. Their highly publicized clashes with the far-right might be what’s making news these days but if you know their ideology, one has to see its parallels with Crust Punk. The value system professed by many of ANTIFA’s members are rooted in the deconstruction of the “male dominator system” that is the basis of civilization as we know it. Monogamy, capitalism, binary gender, racial hierarchy, monotheism (especially in the Christ variety), and more, traditions most baby anarchists are born into, are all part of the “male dominator system”. Breaking away from the values you are born into is often a violent experience and what’s left of you after the fact, might just be a person damaged enough to become a crust punk. If you accept your crusthood, the proper thing to do is drop out (of life), never shower, and hop on the next train going nowhere. So what’s the difference between ANTIFA and crust punk culture? On the surface, it’s really

Prettiest Eyes & Egrets On Ergot: The L.A. Sound Explodes Out Of Harvard & Stone

Aria Silva-Espinosa August 17, 2017

Everything you need to know about rock based music coming out of Los Angeles can be summed up by the sounds that were coming out of Harvard and Stone one week ago, today. It’s not that L.A. has a very specific sound since the scenes surrounding the city range from hardcore to psychedelic rock but both Prettiest Eyes and Egrets on Ergo are bands that most high volume consumers of music seeing bands at places like the The Echo and The Hi Hat are inspired by on a regular basis.. Thursday night’s antics at Harvard & Stone began late in the evening with Los Angeles-based post-punk foursome Egrets on Ergot. As the band begins their set, vocalist Adam Brooks delivers a poetic monologue from atop the bass drum with his back to the audience. The recitation is followed immediately by Adam absolutely shredding on the saxophone. The use of saxophone sets Egrets on Ergot apart from other experimental post-punk groups by incorporating an experimental element often associated with jazz music in an entirely new way into the otherwise erratic and desperately disordered sound produced by the band. Generally, I wouldn’t enjoy the sound of a saxophone but somehow, Adam has

Summertime In The LBC: Love Letter To A City That Doesn’t Always Love Back

Jonathan Reyes August 11, 2017

Finding out the Summertime in the LBC festival was not actually in the Queen Mary had me feeling like they literally missed the boat on this one. Why couldn’t they figure out a way to have it on the actual boat? That’s only the tip of the iceberg that almost sank this festival. Almost. But instead, the performances were worthy of the type that were on the deck of the Titanic, just before it went down. This review is gonna be all ocean references… I’m naugty by nature. Festivals are tricky. There’s got to be dumb shit to preoccupy your time with in between sets. Like a tooth jewelry vender or the Swisher Sweet booth meant to let you know how deeply this fest embraced the Long Beach vibe, or over priced food and drinks. Summertime In The LBC had all this but lacked a couple of things that could’ve made the festival smoother and whole- a consistent DJ between artist’s sets, for one thing. But in a way, it honored the spirit of our city, because the cleaner and more gentrified they make Long Beach, it’s still the place where I once saw a man get out of his

Negative Approach Steamroll Echoplex w/ Nails, Bloodclot, Final Conflict

Rob Shepyer August 8, 2017

The mighty, punishing, blue-collar punk heroes of Detroit, Negative Approach, are one of my favorite bands of all time and their seminal album, Tied Down, is on my top ten albums of all-time list. They’re a band I’d do just about anything for, any act of band worship and fandom. I brought my shine-box to the show, just in case they wanted their boots spiffy. Any chance I get to see Negative Approach live, I do. So certainly, a powerhouse Echoplex lineup featuring Negative Approach, Final Conflict, hardcore super group Bloodclot, and headliners, Nails, had me buzzing just thinking about what kind of violence I’d endure and witness. related content: Sound And Fury Hardcore Festival Comes Of Age All Across Los Angeles The moment I walked in, I zipped straight to the merch table and saw the holy grail of T-shirts, a lime-green Tied Down shirt, the same color scheme as the album. I gleefully threw my twenty dollars at Negative Approach’s drummer, Chris “Opie” Moore who was slinging the merch. This was one of those rare concert consumer moments that made me more elated to buy this shirt than to listen to some of the bands playing. Atwater Village

Tag: featured

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