Tag: featured
Watch Primus Perform Jerry Was a Race Car Driver at Desert Daze 2016
Danny Baraz
October 24, 2016
Primus. Love em or hate em, if you are over 30 years old then you already know. If you are under 30 then you probably associate Primus with South Park or Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver. On Saturday night at Desert Daze 2016, Les, Tim and Larry convened on a stage, in a patch of dirt, on a piece of land called the Institute of Mentalphysics in Joshua Tree for the first time in 8 months. Word on the street was that they hadn’t even rehearsed or played together in that entire time and if you aren’t very familiar with Primus and their arrangements, that might not be that remarkable. But if you understand what Les Claypool does on a bass guitar, then you’ll know that Larry LaLonde might’ve been the only guitarist that could’ve possibly been the lead guitar in a band like Primus. But not rehearsing those songs before a music festival that is representative of a young scene seems like an ill advised decision that Primus more than rose to the occasion of. Given that most of my friends and associates in this music scene are somewhere in the early 20’s, there were many who were on the fence
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Why We’re Still Trippin on Desert Trip
Lina Lecaro
October 23, 2016
Now that the dust has settled, and we’ve had a little time to reflect and recover from the epic assemblage of music called Desert Trip, the memories keep flooding into our consciousness. (“Epic” gets overused when it comes to music, but this event was the very definition of the word.) It’s super dramatic, but the weekend in Indio’s impact and meaning has sort of been absorbed into our being the last several days. When you love music on an obsessive level like we do, every experience becomes a part of who you are, and a show featuring the bands you grew up worshiping isn’t something you simply move on from. Anyone who went to Desert Trip has to feel like it affirmed something deep inside of their being, and if they don’t, we have to question if they even have a soul. We’ve detested the nickname “Oldchella,” from the get go for a number of reasons, mostly because it felt disrespectful to the artists and timelessness of what they’ve created. Bob Dylan, Neil Young, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Who and the Rolling Stones’ music is not simply, “grandpa rock,” or even “classic rock,” it is the definitive essence of
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Desert Daze 2016: Quantifying the Physics Of A Good Time
Paige Vreede
October 19, 2016
It has been a common sentiment amongst those that I’ve questioned about their time at Desert Daze 2016, that it was the most meaningful festival experience they’ve ever had. Same question. Same answer. Young, old, audiophiles, casual music fans, frequent festival attendees and those that loathe the format. Almost every person I spoke to this weekend gave me a variation of the same answer to my question- “Desert Daze 2016 is the best festival I’ve ever been to. And no, I can’t quite explain what it is or what makes me feel that way.” But given that I’m a writer and my actual purpose here is to attempt to take a photograph of this festival with my words, I will make an attempt to do so. My fear is that attempting to quantify the sentiments could steal some of it’s magic, almost like the Native American belief that if someone takes a photograph of you, it steals a piece of your soul. How would you describe the onset of love or a faith in G-d or religious ideology- It just is. And if you’re saying to yourself that is a bit over the top or hyperbolic, you’re right.. To describe the how or the why,
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2 Nights of The Julie Ruin at The Roxy: All Girls To… The Back Bar
Vanessa Burgundy
October 18, 2016
The mood was light and the crowd was heavy on Friday night for the first of the two sold-out the Julie Ruin shows at the Roxy. Gender-bending, NYC comedian Murray Hill intro’d the band with his silly, old-school showbiz banter (as he has for Le Tigre, the Gossip, and the Beastie Boys…) and the band bounced out onto the stage. Kathleen Hanna was a showgrrrl after my own heart, dressed fully in sequins. Another sign that this band is more about fun, as their latest jolting dance-pop release Hit Reset will prove, albeit emotionally heavy. related content: The Julie Ruin at The Troubadour- Vagina’s and Surprises My 14 year old me can’t mask my disappointment about the lack of angst and anger that translates into raw power on stage- that the show was missing on Friday night. During the first song, the band got off on a false start and in between starting again, a man in the back yelled “Take it off!!!”. I looked at my girlfriend and we both were wondering where we were for a second. I mean, the Julie Ruin even have a song titled “Mr. So and So” about an asshole dude that loves girl bands. We
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Janky Smooth Sessions: Beers, Buds & GnarBurgers w/ White Fang, No Parents
Danny Baraz
October 14, 2016
White Fang, No Parents and the Birth Defects have embarked on a tour for one of the first lineups of L.A. based bands that has made sense to me in quite a long time. We’ve seen No Parents play with Mystic Braves, we’ve seen The Birth Defects play with Fuzz and while I like all of those bands, having them play together is like having Donald Trump and Martin Luther King follow each other in speaking engagement. My fellow Janksters, Paige, Travis and I went to kick it with the bands at GnarBurger as they made their pre tour preparations that included beef, beer and buds as they got ready to hit a nationwide tour in a caravan of sin and friendship. That brings us to the latest installment of Janky Smooth Sessions with White Fang, No Parents, The Birth Defects and friends hanging at GnarBurger before they shoved off on their Escape From L.A. tour. Sunday 16 October 2016 White Fang The Empty Bottle, Chicago, IL, US BUY TICKETS TRACK EVENT I’M GOING Monday 17 October 2016 White Fangwith No Parents The Majestic Café, Detroit, MI, US BUY TICKETS TRACK EVENT I’M GOING Tuesday 18 October 2016 White Fangwith No Parents The Basement, Columbus, OH,
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Watch King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard LIVE on Moshcam From Sydney
Janky Smooth Central Command
October 6, 2016
As a part of the buildup to Desert Daze 2016, we wanted to share a link to King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s performance caught by Moshcam from last night in Sydney Australia. It’s impossible to say which one band we’re most excited to see at Desert Daze but King Gizzard is DEFINITELY one of them. Take This: 2 three day passes to Desert Daze 2016 Desert Daze 2015: Festival for 21st century Their shredding riffery and tonal tugging, ear bugging, flim flamming, joint jamming rock and roll tributing trickery is just what the doctor ordered to tease away the time between now and Desert Daze. Enjoy!
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Janky Smooth Sessions: Cosmonauts Interview By The Lake
Paige Vreede
October 5, 2016
It’s 4pm on a sunny Saturday afternoon and I’m running amuck at Echo Park Lake trying to track down Cosmonauts, Derek Cowart and Alex Ahmadi after all of our phones died at the exact same time. I saw the boys at a gig the night before so I figured if they were anywhere nearly as hung over as I was, I could probably find them lounging in the shadiest part of the park. Past zooming Pokémon goers on skateboards, beyond the tempting smell of corn on the grill, towards a playground full of screaming children, I spotted two dudes in space-age, senior citizen style sunglasses amongst a group of a dozen 20-something year olds enjoying a picnic. We eventually find a quiet spot of our own to sit down and enjoy a couple of beers and homemade brownies, (no, unfortunately they were not the “special” kind) and discuss weird fan experiences, their recent album release of A-OK! and why having accordions for legs is better than having a ten inch belly-button. Their fourth full-length album A-OK! was released in August, via Burger Records, and it is everything the Cosmonauts have always promised their fans. Its shoe-gaze, its psychedelic, its
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Take This: 2 Tix to Dirty Laundry TV’s Mix Tape Release Show at Hi Hat
Janky Smooth Central Command
October 4, 2016
Our friends at Dirty Laundry TV are dropping yet another tasty mix tape called “Best of L.A.”. Janky Smooth is giving away one copy of the “Only In L.A.: Best of L.A.” compilation and two tickets to the release party at The Hi Hat on Oct 8th. Playing the party are some of Janky Smooth’s favorite young bands including French Vanilla, Batwings Catwings, Patrick Tapia of Death Hymn Number 9 DJing the evening, as well as Deep Fields and Young Lovers. You can pick up a copy of the tape HERE. (see below for featured artists) Ticket and Tape Giveaway Rules: Follow us on Instagram Tag a friend in our Instagram post Share our post along with with a caption on who your favorite local L.A. band is right now. Winner will be selected on Friday Oct 7th at 10 am pacific time Dirty Laundry TV’s “Best of L.A.” Artists include: White Fang, Winter, Sunshine Mind, Worn-Tin, Adult Books, Wild Wing, French Vanilla, Deep Fields, Veronica Bianqui, Death Lens, Fernando and the Teenage Narcs, Girl Tears, White Dove, Shark Toys, Hipnotics, Girl Tears, Melted, Nectarine, Batwings Catwings, Beach Party and Young Lovers! related: Dirty Laundry TV and Penniback Records: Dirty
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Echo and the Bunnymen Mesmerize Suburbia at The Observatory
Jessica Moncrief
October 3, 2016
September 30, 2016 not only marked a rare black moon, but a “Killing Moon” as well for the fans that had the honor to see new romantic icons Echo and the Bunnymen grace the stage that evening at The Observatory in Orange County. From my experience, sometimes seeing older bands that you love ends up leaving you feeling burned, disillusioned and wishing that you still maintained the unblemished vision of what you imagined them to be in their prime. I wanted to know what I was in for, so the weeks leading up to the show I found myself browsing YouTube for Echo and The Bunnymen concerts, new and old. With each video … starting from early 80s to present day, there may have been changes in line-ups and set lists but one thing that has remained a constant over the decades is the solid musicianship and mind blowing performances. By the day of the show, my anticipation was at its peak and I was fully ready to mark another one of the greats off my bucket list. Ian McCulloch made his way to the front of the stage with his shades and impeccable fashion. His sultry presence commanded all
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Low End Theory: 10 Years of Music At The Airliner Bar In L.A.
Danny Baraz
September 30, 2016
Driving up the 110 freeway past Dodger Stadium, my friend Liz turns the music down for a minute and asks, “Exactly where is Lincoln Heights?” It seemed odd to me that she didn’t know but I guess not everyone in LA. has partied at The Poor Kids Mansion for their legendary back yard punk rock/thrash metal parties. Most L.A. folks haven’t driven up Broadway on a Wednesday night to hit up the Low End Theory at it’s home at The Airliner bar and that’s how I like it. Lame free Lincoln Heights is in a part of Los Angeles that has only just begun to feel the effects of gentrification even as I begin to realize that 10 years from now, Lincoln Heights might be virtually unrecognizable. Like the face of a little old lady in Beverly Hills, you can always tell on the first glance that this ain’t the original coat of paint. In the last 10 years, Low End Theory not only restored the former glory of the beatmakers and b-boys in L.A., but it saved the starving children around the world from the lack of nutritional value in EDM. related: Low End Theory Festival Wobbles the Shrine Auditorium
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How Riot Fest Chicago 2016 Survived The Misfits Subpar Performance
Danny Baraz
September 28, 2016
I’ve been to A LOT of music festivals this year and last. Truth is, I’m getting kind of burned on them. I almost always end up having a great time but the enthusiasm I used to feel the weeks building up to them is almost gone. I wasn’t planning on attending Riot Fest again this year but once it was announced that The Misfits would be reuniting at the festival along with Dave Mother fucking Lombardo on drums, I knew I COULDN’T miss it. The Misfits are my favorite band of all time and if this festival set affects me anything like Doyle joining the Danzig Legacy Tour a few years back, then I was sure to find the perfect combination of tears of joy and the blood of strangers soaking my clothes. I died a little on the inside seeing some of the footy of The Misfits from the Denver stop of Riot Fest 2016. Not entirely because I missed their first show back but that was definitely a factor. I’m not sure if knowing what to expect from the stage props, the set list and the performance was a good or a bad thing. This year’s Riot Fest
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Take This: Two 3 Day Passes to Desert Daze Festival 2016
Janky Smooth Central Command
September 26, 2016
Have you already gotten tickets for the most anticipated festival of 2016? Desert Daze has booked what looks to be the best festival lineup of the year and moved the event to a virgin location- The Institute of Mentalphysics in Joshua Tree. Desert Daze And Deap Vally Interview for Janky Smooth Sessions The sudden loss of Suicide’s, Alan Vega was not just a big hit to the delicate balance of a festival lineup but it was a HUGE loss to the music community at large and to those that loved him. While it seems a bit petty to discuss the death of a human in terms of the effect it had on a music festival, Suicide might’ve been the single most buzzed about band performing at Desert Daze 2016. Desert Daze rose to the immense challenge of filling the massive and gaping hole that was left in the wake of the death of Alan Vega by adding King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, METZ and Godspeed You! Black Emperor to the already stacked lineup that features: Primus, Television, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Thee Oh Sees, Washed Out, Toro y Moi, Deerhunter, Foxygen, The Black Angels playing Passover in it’s entirety.
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