Category: FEATURES

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

Adult. Interview: Warriors for Weird

Rob Shepyer October 6, 2018

I remember the first time I saw Adult. live at Echoplex for their Detroit House Guests tour. It was one of the most insane and exciting shows I’ve ever seen. With various guest performers, obscure stage antics, and the hardest off-beats, they were truly avant-garde. It was weird to its core but I danced so hard, the weirdness absorbed into me and I didn’t puzzle over it. I fell in love with the duo’s music that night and getting the chance to interview Adam Lee Miller and Nicola Kuperus before their Zebulon show with Plack Blague only intensified my admiration. They were well spoken, intelligent, and unlike many artists with more direct and obvious messaging, they showed a deep understanding of what they stand for and who they are. related content: Different Shades of Black: Adult. And Plack Blague At Soda Bar RS: The latest album is This Behavior. A few of the songs seem to reference human sexuality. What is the album’s title symbolic of? NK: I dunno if I would say it’s symbolic of human sexuality. I think it’s poignant for the moment we’re in with how insane the world is. The process for writing this record was very

Food Sounds Good: Music Tastes Good Food Review

Rob Shepyer October 2, 2018

Music Tastes Good returned to Marina Green Park and that means its cavalcade of gourmet chefs came with it to hold two days of tastings. Inside the glorious Taste Tent you could see gourmet chefs hard at work trying to meet the demands of these hungry festival-heads and the long lines were worth it, even for samples as small as two bites because these foods weren’t just good or gourmet, they were artisan crafted. They also offered cocktail mixing tutorials like the Mezcal mixing tutorial that was taking place while I toured the tent. First among the artisan chefs I visited on Sunday was Cameron Hanin of Seattle’s Ma’ono, who was serving a delicious Hawaiian style Fried chicken drumstick with a Daikon pickle slice on the side. The drumstick’s skin was crispy and sweet while the meat was succulent, juicy, and delicious. The pickle slice then complimented the chicken perfectly with a sweet, salty kick. I walked right over to Ryan Ososky‘s booth next. As the chef of Los Angeles’ Yardbird Southern Table, Ryan is bringing new spins to classic Southern food and recipes. Such was the case for his brisket on a biscuit tasting option, which featured the most tender,

Lil B interview: Favorite Foods of the Based God

Rob Shepyer September 28, 2018

With Music Tastes Good right around the corner and Lil B taking the stage to preach the Based philosophy to Long Beach, I wanted to ask the Based God anything and everything about food and its connection to spirituality. RS: What are your favorite foods to eat? Are there foods that are more “Based” than others? if so, what are they? What specific ingredients do you consider “Based”? LB: I love natural grown veggies. Those are pretty Based to me. RS: Do you have any favorite chefs? LB: Yeah. I love any of the chefs I met recently. I can’t really tell you by name but I’m gonna start making that my thing. The way I know different musicians, I’m gonna know different chefs. RS: With “Wonton Soup” being one of your most notable songs, are there any other foods you might be inspired to write a song about one day? LB: Yeah, it is very possible. I love food. RS: What are some of your favorite restaurants in Nor Cal and in So Cal? LB: I love restaurants in Berkeley, California. Piedmont, California. Oakland, California. San Francisco, California. The Lettuce Inn in Concord. RS: What do you see as

Music Video Premiere: The Grinning Ghosts “I’ve Been Tired” – Janky Smooth Exclusive

Janky Smooth Central Command September 26, 2018

Orange County’s underground The Grinning Ghosts are here to cheer you up with the gift of punk rock’s three great virtues, apathy, ennui, and angst. The band is made up of Thomas from Melted, Dan from Jurassic Shark, Brandi from MoonFuzz, Leo from Casual Friday, and Daryl from Eggy Pop. Little known fact, Thomas and Daryl attended the same elementary school where they were instructed in music by a man that played an ewok in Return of the Jedi. The Grinning Ghosts may be comprised of members from various bands but take a listen for yourself and see this is a different sound than all their other projects. Their music video for “I’ve Been Tired”, a cover of a Pixies song, gives the audience the chance to voyeur in on the aftermath of one wild apartment party. This gang of friends all sleep in precarious situations and every time the camera makes a pass through the apartment, everyone seems to have somehow changed positions without ever having woken up. The quirky punk surrealism of Michael Haight‘s directing perfectly matches the song’s upbeat and catchy dissidence. Throughout the video, you can spot various easter eggs and cameos from Southern California music scene heroes.

Rafael Reyes of Prayers Interview: On Fatherhood

Rob Shepyer September 21, 2018

With a baby on the way and a two shows in So-Cal announced, Prayers are back to spellbind audiences with their unique Cholo-goth music and movement. I got to ask singer, Rafael Reyes about fatherhood, new music, and more. RS: Now that you’re about to begin the journey of fatherhood, what values do you want to instill in your son? What things that you love do you look forward to introducing him to? RR: Like most parents, I hope our son will be a compassionate, respectful, patient and courageous individual – basically everything that my wife embodies. I look forward to introducing our son Leafar to Mother Nature, music and reading. RS: What do you hope your son will inherit from you and your side of the family? What do you hope he will inherit from Kat? RR: In all honesty, I’m aware I have my own set of issues I wouldn’t want to pass on to my son. But with that being said, I’ve learned a lot through my struggles, and I wanna be able to pass down some of my life experiences. Because of my upbringing, I learned from an early age how to take care of myself and my

Nick Urata of DeVotchka Interview: Man on the Street

Robert Cohen September 19, 2018

DeVotchka are hot off the heels of finishing their newest album This Night Falls Forever and touring. This interview with the band’s leader Nick Urata covers everything from film scores to World War 2. RC: At this stage in your career, you and the band have had several successful albums, created or have contributed to several fantastic film soundtracks, and have gained a high levels of regard within both indie and mainstream circles. Despite all of this though, you haven’t been put under the magnifying glass and can still live a more or less normal life doing what you love. In short, have you reached the happy medium of fame? And if so, is it as fulfilling as you hoped it would be? NU: Yes, I feel lucky in this regard. We’ve come to realize that the actual work, is the only thing that is fulfilling. The thrill of fanning a little spark of an idea into a giant fire is what really gets you out of bed. When you’re practicing in your room as a kid you want nothing more than to be famous, but the reality is quite complicated. In my case, I learned how to write from a

Gary Numan Interview: Art in the Age of Savages

Audrey Kemp September 18, 2018

I was fortunate enough to submit the probing questions of past, present and current audiophiles to synthesizer pioneer Mr. Gary Numan by means of cyberspace. We discussed his 18th studio album Savage, the current global state of affairs and the unforeseeable future. related content: Millennial Matchmaking: Gary Numan & Ugly God At The Observatory AK: These days, synthesizers are as common as a guitars in a song. Being a pioneer of the computerized world, would you care to share your thoughts on the proliferation of synthesized music? GN: I think it adds a level of sonic interest to music to see them widely used. However, it would be a mistake to think that synthesizers are all there is to electronic music. On my albums synths account for some of the sounds but not all of them by any means. Much of it comes from recording all manner of noises from the environment and then manipulating them to make them work musically. It’s not really about synths, it’s about sound, noise, whatever you can find that makes an interesting addition to a song. AK: Tubeway Army was one of the first bands of your time to break away from what was

James Chance Interview: A New York Original

Audrey Kemp September 17, 2018

Following the Contortions’ stirring performance at Zebulon in Los Angeles Friday night, I had the honor to sit down with one of the most influential pioneers in experimental music: a saxophonist, keyboard player, songwriter and singer from New York City, Mr. James Chance. People may affiliate his music with the 1979 No New York compilation and other no wave acts, but Mr. Chance would vehemently protest and describe himself as an original before any other label. AK: You’ve had many different projects: The Contortions, The Flaming Demonics, James White and the Blacks and Teenage Jesus and the Jerks. What compelled you to revisit the Contortions in recent years, versus the others? JC: I took a break from the music business in the early ‘90s for a few years because there was just nothing happening. I got sick of the business aspect of it. When I came back, Henry Rollins started this reissue label and reissued all of this stuff from 1980, which made me decide which name I wanted to use and I just decided. I’ve been using James White and the Blacks throughout the 80s, so I decided to go back to the Contortions and I’ve been using that for 20 years,

Neil Fallon of Clutch Interview: Dog Ears in the Book of Bad Decisions

Rob Shepyer September 13, 2018

Having just released their 12th studio album with Book of Bad Decisions, Clutch is back on the road to bring their hard rock boogie to a city near you. I spoke to Neil Fallon from the band to get his take on the record and ask him a few questions about the current state of the union. Rob: The fifth track on the new album Book of Bad Decisions is “In Walks Barbarella”. Can you comment on what specifically about that movie inspired you to write a song about it? What other films have inspired your music in the past? Do you consider yourself a movie buff? Neil: I would consider myself a movie buff. That song I wrote as part 3 after “X-Ray Visions” and “Firebirds”. To me one of the most iconic female sci-fi figures is Barbarella. Yeah, it’s a campy movie but growing up in the 70’s and 80’s reading Heavy Metal magazine, that’s sort of a preoccupation of mine that I’ve carried on into later-life. Rob: You mention “Weaponized funk” in the song and I was wondering with George Clinton retiring from touring this year and because I’ve seen you wearing Parliament Funkadelic shirts, how has