Category: FEATURES

Music Video Premiere: Kali Kazoo Band’s “Take A Dive”

Janky Smooth Central Command May 14, 2019

Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill, step to the side, there’s a new voice bringing the sweet sounds of alternative rock and she’s a turquoise haired animator and brilliant songwriter from El Segundo, California. Kali Kazoo band‘s latest single and music video, “Take a Dive”, give us a glimpse into the mind of Kali Kazoo. The video, directed by Ben Pluimer, uses strong splashes of vibrant color and sun-kissed imagery to bring a psychedelic element to the song and video. A forest full of ordinary people wearing cultists robes really brings out a central theme in Kali’s work: uncovering the mythological in the banal. It’s no wonder she’s been compared to existentialist and insect king, Franz Kafka in the past. I suppose this is what one should expect when cartoonists pick up guitars. Kali Kazoo band’s third album Bleed Darker & Deeper Than The Sea Of Hell, produced by Toshi Kasai (Melvins, Tool), comes out today, May 14th and can be purchased here. The band’s next Los Angeles show will be at Zebulon on July 1st.

Featured Festival: Northwest Terror Fest 2019

Janky Smooth Central Command April 11, 2019

Whatever part of the country chooses to host a Terror Fest, flocks of metalheads will follow. These lineups always feature diverse lineups of some of the most extreme bands ranging from grind to doom to death to power metal. Such is the case with Terror Fest’s North Western incarnation, Northwest Terror fest, presented by No Clean Singing, which will host four nights of heavy metal madness with the likes of American power metal legends Cirith Ungol, hailing from Ventura County, one of the best classic metal scenes this country, let alone Southern California has to offer; Pig Destroyer, one of the most socially conscious and unrelenting grind bands for the last decade, and also a pick on our publisher Danny B’s top albums of 2018 with Head Cage; Last of the headliners, legendary Swedish hardcore/crust punks Wolfbrigade are howling into the USA and rounding out this lineup to represent of every kind of extreme music. Northwest Terror Fest takes place May 30th, 31st, and June 1st at three different venues, Neumos, Barboza, and Highline in Seattle, Washington. Tickets for shows at Neumos and Barboza are available here and tickets for after shows at Highline are available for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and Wedensday‘s

R.I.P. Nipsey Hussle 8/15/85 – 3/31/19

Janky Smooth Central Command April 1, 2019

Words and Photos by: Maggie St. Thomas I arrived at Nipsey Hussle‘s vigil shortly after 9pm, and miraculously found parking just a block away. Fans gathered to honor and show respect to their fatally lost loved one with dance, blunts, and blue drinking cups outside the Marathon Store parking lot and Shell Gas station on the corner of Crenshaw and Slauson. “Last Time That I Checc’d” was bumping loud in the parking lot, it was a full dance party going down. “We in mourning, this is our loved one please give us our respect,” one fan stated as LAPD kept asking everyone to get back while they called for additional back up and as a helicopter circled above with the spotlight on the parking lot. The late Nipsey’s brother, Black Sam, stood behind the yellow caution tape and told fans “when they clear this tape you’re all welcome to bring your candles, do whatever ya’ll wanna do. We about keeping it peaceful and showing support my brother cause rest in peace.” Slamming his fist to his chest, “we know who the killer is, we know everything. Don’t take your anger out on the Police you feel me this time they with us

Wesley Eisold of Cold Cave Interview: Love & Pain One & the Same

Rob Shepyer January 26, 2019

Wesley Eisold of Cold Cave and American Nightmare has proven to be a significant artist in my life as someone I’m inspired by and whose music finds its way into real moments of my life. With his focus on the gothic dance music he makes as Cold Cave, he’s playing two sold out shows at Hollywood Forever for Valentine’s Day and his birthday the following night then embarking on a tour with Adult. and Sextile ending with their Los Angeles date at the Theatre at the Ace Hotel. There was so much I wanted to ask Wesley because he represents two genres of music and thus two states of mind to make art from. Of all the interviews I’ve done, Wesley’s experience as a writer and avid reader made his answers precise, articulate, powerful, and deep. related content: Cloak & Dagger Fest: The Heart Of Los Angeles Bled From Dusk Till Dawn RS: Your two upcoming sold out Los Angeles shows fall on Valentine’s Day then your birthday. What’s it been like having to celebrate those holidays consecutively? WE: Not to sound overdramatic but I always had a negative connotation with Valentine’s Day. I was expecting to experience this high in

The Top 10 Artists/Bands of PCW Ultra and Anniversary Show Giveaway

Janky Smooth Central Command January 12, 2019

Los Angeles is the country’s best music scene but wrestling is soon becoming another trademark of Southern California culture thanks to promotions like PCW Ultra. Featuring the indie scene’s next big darlings and underground wrestling’s most dangerous, death-defying, and high-flying athletes, PCW Ultra is going to pull out all the stops for their upcoming anniversary show on Friday January 18th 2019 at ILWU Memorial Hall in Wilmington. Before the show goes down and history is made, we wanted to find out which bands and artists these wrestlers love to listen to. Father Josef Machete (WARBEAST) CLUTCH Black Sabbath Down Church Of The Cosmic Skull The Meatmen The Pietasters Dax Riggs Father John Misty The Modern Lovers Thin Lizzy Sami Callihan (Death Machines) Prince Michael Jackson Queen Childish Gambino The Misfits Bowling for Soup Van Halen Beastie Boys A Day to Remember AFI PJ Black (Worldwide Underground) Parov Stelar Max the Sax Kungs Kamasi Washington G-Easy Eminem Krewella XXXtentacion Skrillex Logic Post Malone Johnny Ultra (Worldwide Underground) Phantogram Flight of the Concords Kanye West Eminem Metallica Elton John Grateful Dead Elvis Presley Red Hot Chili Peppers Guns n’ Roses Brian Cage Kid Rock Linkin Park Jimmy Eart World Johnny Cash Coldplay

Janky Smooth Top 25 Artists to Watch in 2019

Janky Smooth Central Command December 29, 2018

Ah, the much anticipated and revered artists to watch article, how we’ve awaited you. The artists on this list vary in genre, age, ethnicity, region, and popularity. What they all have in common though, is that between January and December of 2019, something special is expected to happen to each of them. This list is not just to identify the smaller bands you need to know about but also to point out the bands you know and should be watching closely. Think of these artists and bands as heroes in their own stories, in the year 2019, a pivotal narrative moment will occur in each story. The Manx The Manx put on a show you couldn’t forget if you tried. Combining all sorts of styles from rock, to zydeco and polka, The Manx stir this musical stew until its reduction doesn’t resemble any of the ingredients used to create it, winding up with a mutant sound that’s totally original and shocking. With oddball instrumentation that utilizes banjo and accordion, the Manx don’t have any problem getting nude and covering themselves in multi-colored slime so that the show is a off-the-wall as the sound. This band is so strange that the

Janky Smooth Top 10 SHOWS of 2018 Rated by Contributors

Janky Smooth Central Command December 27, 2018

What a year for shows in Los Angeles 2018 was. This is undoubtably the best city in the world for live music, so consider each list by our contributors 10 reasons why. Reunion shows alone were off the chain, Burger Boogaloo featured two comeback sets, Devo and Le Shok. Both performances were wild and unforgettable, making much deserved appearances below. Lets not forget about Stray Cats reuniting at Viva Las Vegas or Helloween’s epic Pumpkins United at the Palladium or Bleeding Through at the Observatory or My Bloody Valentine at The Shrine either. related content: The De-Evolution of Burger Boogaloo So many promoters delivered the goods in 2018. Das Bunker brought Covenant to 1720, Part Time Punks gave us Jay Aston’s Gene Loves Jezebel at the Echoplex, Church of the 8th Day sold out the Teragram with Napalm Death, and Lethal Amounts sold sex at Sex Cells with Hercules and Love Affair. Each of these shows are among the many these promoters held that were rare highlights of the year. related content: Groveling Before The Gods Of Grind: Napalm Death At The Teragram Punk rock represented hard, especially out of the Latin sector of Angelino culture. Club Scum held an

Janky Smooth Top 10 ALBUMS of 2018 Rated by Contributors

Janky Smooth Central Command December 26, 2018

Many truths bubbled up to the surface during 2018. The once hidden greatness of certain artists revealed itself in the work they released this year. With streaming services diminishing the significance of full albums with every year that goes by, these artists were able to fight the good fight on behalf of “the album” and prove some things never change. All the work listed below is worthy of your record collection. related content: Janky Smooth Top 10 SHOWS of 2018 Rated By Contributors Kanye West, for all the controversy and political ignorance he was a part of, produced 5 albums beginning with Pusha T’s Daytona and ending with Teyana’s K.T.S.E. All 5 albums featured 7 tracks, pushed boundaries, and were in this humble editor’s opinion, brilliant. Kanye produced Nas’ best album, Nasir, since God’s Son in 2002. Expect to see more than one Kanye produced album on any blog’s year-end lists. 2018 was one of the most dramatic years hip hop has had in awhile with beef between Pusha T and Drake reaching a fever pitch that culminated in Pusha T’s check-mate move, “The Story of Adidon”. Eminem resurrected Slim Shady and dropped Kamikazi, an album that reminded people he wasn’t just

Gimme Gimmes for Christmas: Interview with Spike Slawson and Joey Cape

Dave Unbuckled December 13, 2018

Before Me First and the Gimme Gimmes took the stage at the Fonda to perform an epic set for the Holiday season, I had the chance to sit down with Spike Slawson and Joey Cape from the band and discuss everything under the sun. related content: Me First & The Gimme Gimmes Janky Smooth Sessions W/ Spike Slawson Dave: Hey guys. We’re sitting down with Joey Cape and Spike Slawson from Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Welcome back to LA. “Santa Baby” came out today…we heard it on the way over. Joey: I saw the link but I don’t do the social networking thing anymore. I think someone sent me a link to it. Spike: I took Facebook off my phone…it was getting aggravating. Dave: Is this a single song drop…is there a Christmas album in the future? Are you going to start doing this stuff more? Spike: For now, just the song… maybe a few more (songs) to play live. I don’t know if there are that many Christmas songs that I would want to do. Joey: This is an obvious thing that a cover band should do, and it’s come up over the years a few times.

Redbull Music Festival 2019: An Experiment in Concert-Going

Janky Smooth Central Command December 4, 2018

Redbull Music Festival always provides a lineup that lets you see interesting artists ininteresting settings. This year in particular gives audiences the chance to see artists in venues that perfectly act like conduits to that artist’s music. San Cha in Viviana church will be an emotionally religious experience for all those that attend. Heartbeats: A Night With Rae Sremmurd and guests will be a stellar evening of trap wildin’, the likes of which Los Angeles has yet to see and with a venue like The Reserve hosting, it will feel like an elegant, VIP experience gone a-wall. And what I’m most personally excited for, Illegal Civ‘s Pink Motel Skate and Music event will be absolutely insane. I already see it in my head, a motel pool filled with drunk and insane skaters while Show Me The Body is tearing up the stage. This one will go off the rails without question. Tickets for Red Bull Music Festival Los Angeles go on sale tomorrow, Wednesday, December 5th at 12pm PT via www.redbullmusic.com/los-angeles. Stay tuned for more programming announcements and festival details to be shared in early 2019.