Category: FEATURES

Keith Morris Speaks Freely On Lawsuits, Politics & Punk Rock

Danny Baraz April 25, 2017

Not a lot needs to be said about Keith Morris and his contributions, not only to punk rock music but to the entire culture of “art” itself. I could easily get too wordy in this intro, to this transcript, of a bucket list interview with Morris for the temporarily defunct Janky Smooth and the NSA radio show from this time last year, but why? Everything I could say is in the archives of this interview and in his biography, My Damage I imagine there aren’t too many icons in the world who have remained as authentic and right sized as Keith and the fact that he gave a smaller publication like Janky Smooth one of his first, post lawsuit gag order interviews just speaks volumes about what this man values as an artist. Authenticity can not be feigned in art as easily as it can be in life and it’s rare to talk to someone in any capacity and get the vibe that what you see is what you get- especially when they’re talking about themselves. Most Recent on topic: Redd Kross, OFF! & Melvins Commemorate Teen Babes From Monsanto This interview took place in April of 2016 as one of

Glenn O’Brien is Dead & The Squares Are Back in Power: The Time to Party is Now

Brent Smith April 12, 2017

“We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds, and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.” -Bukowski In the past year, we’ve lost a lot of artists, icons, and legends in series of celebrity death waves the likes of which America hasn’t seen since maybe the 60s. The best of us have been dropping like flies. It weighs on the psyche, some more than others. The recent passing of writer, editor, and host of the bacchanal public access show TV Party, Glenn O’Brien, hit me harder than any. This came even to my own surprise. I spent the weekend mulling it over. Maybe it’s because he wasn’t any household name, most people have never heard of him. Maybe it’s because I felt a closer bond to the understated legacy of O’Brien than say that of Bowie or Prince—figures of such demigod magnitude that they were untouchable. O’Brien was accessible. I’d catch an infrequent Instagram post or the occasional sardonic dig at Trump on Twitter. I looked up to O’Brien, and always will. For me, he’s canonized, and not in any awe, but in

Identity Politics in America-Part 1: Mind Control for Dummies

Danny Baraz March 15, 2017

Did you ever wonder where the debate over trans-gender bathroom rights came from? Surely there must’ve been some actual incident, some gender-identity 9/11, something horrific enough to mobilize both conservative and progressive activists into their current scorched-earth strategy of political opposition, leaving nothing but worn-out pundits in their wake? Did a gang of drag queens assault an underage girl in a Disneyland bathroom? Though seldom acknowledged, the debate actually started in Houston from a local anti-discrimination bill: the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO). It passed into law in 2014 with widespread support across city council party lines. Yet HERO was repealed only a year later after opposition groups like the Family Research Council created petitions and fear-mongered over men dressing in drag to assault little girls in the bathroom. Then when North Carolina did its thing, Houston was all but forgotten. Whether or not an actual incident occurred suddenly was beside the point. Welcome to Identity Politics in America. Identity politics (IDP) needs no historical context or accuracy to serve its real purpose: keeping the spotlight off events that actually impact voters’ lives. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t care about the most marginalized in our society or fight for them. 0.6 % of the U.S. population are

Video Premiere: Sunshine Mind- Synchronize

Janky Smooth Central Command January 31, 2017

Janky Smooth is proud to premiere the video for Los Angeles Psych Rock outfit Sunshine Mind and their single, “Synchronize” from Sunshine Mind’s forthcoming debut EP on Lolipop Records. In a sea of psych rock in Los Angeles, Sunshine Mind have that raw, born of the garage, unmanufactured feel of authenticity that takes you from a morning surf session and into band practice. Synchronize shot and directed by MJ Wat Edited by Chris Mares & MJ Wat Sunshine Mind is: Travis Moore– Drums and Percussion Henry Lopez-Guitar and Vocals Sonia Hernandez– keys Edgar Barrios– Bass Stanlee Sigala– Guitar Sunshine Mind started when Henry Lopez hooked up with Travis Moore and began jamming the riffs that were the building blocks of Sunshine Mind. Through minor speed bumps such as a life threatening motorcycle crashes with brain injury, Sunshine Mind lives. Come explore the possibility that the insane might see something out of sight for our dimension and that brain damage opens the doorway to second sight. Sunshine Mind are planning an official release show in April at Lolipop Records Headquarters in Echo Park. Stay tuned. Sunshine Mind on: Facebook Bandcamp

The Faint Get Freaky w/ Janky Smooth Sessions Interview

Janky Smooth Central Command December 15, 2016

In our latest installment of Janky Smooth Sessions, Lauren McKnight successfully stalked The Faint from Orange County to Salt Lake City after their chance encounter outside a porta-potty at Beach Goth V. With this interview taking place just days before Halloween, Lauren had a plan to carve pumpkins with Dapose and Todd Fink of The Faint. It became evident that bringing knives to an interview probably wouldn’t get the band as relaxed as one would want to get them to spill their guts- so to speak… The interview DID get spooky when the boys from The Faint confirmed that their old studio had an overflow of dead bodies stacked in it at one point and when Lauren lost consciousness and started making sandwiches in a comatose state after a strobe light sent her into an uncontrolled seizure. We swear. The fact that this was supposed to be a Halloween special and we’re releasing it mid-December shouldn’t surprise you. Janky is the first word of this publications name- the last word in accessible culture. related content: Beach Goth 2015- The Party of the Year Words: Danny B Videographer: Steven Stone Video Editor: Pedro Torres

The Two Americas- Obama, Hillary and President Donald Trump

Danny Baraz November 10, 2016

Obama spent the bitter part of 8 years trying to convince us that there weren’t two Americas. Even though he’s a scholar and a student of history, he was optimistic his election was the beginning of the end for what Nixon started- The Southern Strategy. But it’s becoming evident, no matter how much Obama campaigned on the slogan, no one knows better than Hillary and Barack that there indeed are two Americas. It’s not just that Trump won- It’s how and what he won on. “Their” obsession with the Gordon Gecko, greed is good archetype and the fact that the “other” America has only ever excused the WASP president for lies and looting and pillaging the earth and making windfall money and grabbing every woman by the pussy- because that office has been filled with a lot of pussy grabbers, until Obama was in it. So without those types of scandals, all there was left to do was discuss birth certificates, brown suited salutes and Michelle’s beautiful exposed arms –Purr MOST white people in America do not like talking about race- PARTICULARLY Blackness. We still live in a pretty segregated society even though it’s definitely improved since I was a kid- at least

Lauren McKnight- Janky Smooth Sessions at Beach Goth 2016

White Girl Makin’ It Rain At Beach Goth 5- Janky Smooth Sessions

Lauren McKnight November 10, 2016

Beach Goth/bēCH gäTH/Noun It begins with a question. A question as old as 2002… “what do you mean cash only?”. It grows through a lie… “Oh no, it’s cool, I’m supposed to be back here”. It ends with a realization. That realization is that I have no memory of Beach Goth V whatsoever, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t try to give the most accurate account possible. related: Beach Goth 4- The Party of the Year After 4 or 5 bullshit story attempts to finagle an Artist wristband, I finally secured one out of pity from a friend. Within the hour and after an appropriate amount of substance abuse, I was lost in space next to a trash can in the Artist Lounge with no pants on, a pink kimono, and shoes far too tall to be practical. I locked eyes with Eric Andre (who was hosting Beach Goth), to my surprise, he came straight up to me and told me he saw me at the liquor store. I asked him if he needed anything from Ikea, and somehow that segued into how fart jokes were “never NOT funny”. This would set the tone for the rest of day

Pussy Riot, Mediazona, Riot Grrrls at The Regent

Pussy Riot, Partisan Politics And The Police State In America

Danny Baraz November 8, 2016

Pussy Riot’s, Maria Alekhina spent 2 years in a Russian Work Prison along with her sisters in the band over their explosive “brand” of punk rock, performance art and protest in a place where protestors disappear on a regular basis. Through the process, facing certain imprisonment and the potentially high likelihood of political assassination, by Russian president Vladimir Putin, the women of Pussy Riot gained world wide infamy and affection for their refusal to back down to the growing totalitarian regime. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that counting views on YouTube ultimately means nothing. Internet 1- political oppression 666 Once released from a slave labor type Russian prison in a political police state that often disappears dissenters, Pussy Riot didn’t flee the country to pursue the monetary opportunities of their fast building “brand” and move to a safer proximity of distance away from the Kremlin and Putin’s new, contemporary KGB (FSB). Even though they are monetizing their story, they might’ve maximized their potential by, I don’t know, moving farther away from the political sniper rifles that must always be pointed at them in the case they need to be used as the ultimate example of what happens to the

Between Enemy Lines- Hunter S. Thompson & The 2016 Election

Brent Smith October 26, 2016

What’s this thing you call me It’s scratching just beneath the surface It’s that thing that makes up everyone Every snowflake is unique until it melts And there’s no stopping the sun Mudhoney, “What’s This Thing?” I don’t make a habit of writing politics (writing music leaves you hanging around with plenty of degenerates as is), but this election has made political junkies out of the most apathetic. Unfortunately, the coverage of this election is a Kardashian type of reality that ignores almost all of the real story lines as you help to hijack your own family jewels. Slimy Octopus Rich Kid vs. Dr. Jekyll & Mrs. Duchess of Wall Street. It’s quite the quandary, and the internet has never been so hot-blooded and claustrophobic—like the Vegas strip on New Year’s Eve, it’s no place for any functioning human being. After being mentally and spiritually drained by all the endless word vomit online (in articles like this one), I reached for an old Hunter S. Thompson hardback on my bookshelf, titled Hey Rube, a published collection of his ESPN column he held from 2000 up to his death-by-suicide in 2005. In it—like Nostradamus armed to the teeth and

Bonnie and Larry of Death Valley Girls by Josh Allen

Death Valley Girls in a Desert Daze Disneyland- Janky Smooth Sessions

Danny Baraz October 25, 2016

Death Valley Girls front woman, Bonnie Bloomgarden aka Bonz Doomgarden is no stranger to the unexplained mysteries of what lay just beyond the logic of the material world. Death Valley Girls axe man, Larry Schemel stands guard at the gates of sanity to guide his friend and artistic collaborator through the challenges of channeling other dimensions and both friendly and diabolical deities that look to walk through the doorway of this domain. Does that sound hyperbolic? Have you met Bonnie? Larry and Bonnie joined Janky Smooth Sessions and Danny Baraz at Desert Daze 2016 to discuss the magick of the festival and the significance of ending their nationwide tour supporting their impressive sophmore LP, Glow in the Dark at what so many that attended the fest agree is one of the most significant festival experiences of their lives. Alien abductions, fan sing alongs, corporatism, Desert Daze founder, Phil Pirrone vs Disneyland founder Walt Disney and attempting to quantify the magick that surrounded Desert Daze under the blood red, hunters super moon that enveloped the Institute of Mentalphysics in Joshua Tree California. Read more about Death Valley Girls: Buzz Bait: Bonnie of Death Valley Girls on Music, Magic and Metaphysics Death