Category: NEWS

Take This: Win 2 Tix & Goodie Bag to Dirty Penni Fest 2 at Echo+Plex

Janky Smooth Central Command June 14, 2017

Last year, Janky Smooth was smart enough to send a team over to the first installment of Dirty Penni Fest. We had Paige Vreede out to review the fledgling festival, Josh Allen out to shoot the bands and the people and Danny Baraz threw down a DJ set outside on patio of The Echo. But it’s not about us- it’s about the bands that played the fest which was a collaboration between the laundro-maniacs over at Dirty Laundry TV and the whiz kids at Penniback Records. Bands like Sloppy Jane, No Parents, Guantanamo Baywatch, Cherry Glazerr, our boys in Death Hymn… and of course, no event involving Dirty Laundry TV would be complete without the presence of the great Mike Watt and whatever battery of musicians accompany him- whether it be the “Secondmen” or in this case, the “Jom and Terry Show.” related content: Dirty Penni Fest- A Rock n Roll Romper Room for Young & Old “So whether you’re 14, 26, or 60 I think it’s safe to say we all found ‘home’ this past weekend. So let’s keep the DIY scene alive. These kids are our future.” – Paige Vreede This year, Dirty Penni Fest returns for

Television Performing “Venus” at Bunkhouse Saloon for PRB Club Show

Janky Smooth Central Command June 1, 2017

It’s hard to believe that yet another Punk Rock Bowling is in the books but the week long hangover proves it. The Stern brothers book yet another legendary gig with Television headlining the Bunkhouse Saloon along with The Weirdos, Alice Bag and The Avengers. Tom Verlaine and company were water tight at their PRB 2017 club show. This isn’t the first time Janky Smooth is covering the pioneers of punk and art rock but it was certainly one of the most memorable. The club shows at Punk Rock Bowling always seem to produce some of the best performances in the most intimate settings. Other notable club gigs at PRB 2017 that we attended were Cocksparrer at Backstage Bar, Municipal Waste at Fremont Country Club, Hepcat at Bunkhouse Saloon and The Vandals, also at Fremont CC. related content: Patti Smith “Horsin’ Around” at The Teragram Ballroom Television Set List- Bunkhouse Saloon Prove It Little Johnny Jewel Venus 1880 or So Persia I’m Gonna Find You Marquee Moon For those of you attending Punk Rock Bowling installments in Denver and/or Asbury Park, have a great time. Janky Smooth will see you next year in Vegas. Full recap of Punk Rock

Isaac Rother & The Phantoms- 5 Hits from Hell

Isaac Rother & The Phantoms Are Back With 5 Hits From Hell…

DM Collins May 23, 2017

Isaac Rother & the Phantoms and their soul-laden stew of R&B horror rock and off-the-charts live show bring a seminal but sometimes forgotten era of rock from the 50s and early 60s back to life. But Isaac and his Phantoms also evoke a time just a few decades past, at the cusp of our Modern Garage Era of Rocken’ at Large (or ”MONGEReL” for short), when bands such as the Mummies, the Trashwomen, the Gories, the Bomboras, and the Makers (just to name a few) rooted through not only the record collections of their rock forefathers, but also the backs of their closets, churning out live shows as loaded with sequins and monster masks as they were with broken drumsticks and blown out Fender amps. Unlike many of their successors, these bands also weren’t afraid of adding a little roll to their rock, or exploring those sections of rock’s lemon that still needed lemonade squeezed from them, be it surf music, garage, bubblegum, or glam. Like a breath of fresh tomb air, Mr. Rother and his army of the undead have “dug up” this full-immersion concept anew for the current generation of garage, soul, and just plain rock

New Song Premiere: U.K. Heavy Psych Band SAP release “Sucker”

Janky Smooth Central Command April 7, 2017

A band that we’ve been digging is London based, heavy psych, garage rock outfit, SAP. Our friends at Foxes Magazine shot us a link a couple months ago and this shit has been streaming ever since. Today we premiere the latest track, “Sucker” from SAP ( which stands for “Simple Ass People” ) SAP Sucker unleashes a frenetic energy of crash cymbals, fills and taunting vocals built around classic riffs and licks. The tone of their fuzz brings that vintage sound that has become quite common and even, contemporary but still manages to set itself apart from the filler of those looking to capitalize on a popular movement. Authenticity is what distinguishes a band like SAP and a song like “Sucker” from the wannabe’s that have become super fans of The Sonics and Thin Lizzy overnight, which, isn’t inherently poseur-ish but simply stretches credibility and the motives of those that write and produce music for any reason outside of an internal compulsion to rock the fuck out. related content: The Sonics, The Sloths, Death Hymn Number 9 w/ Green Slime L.A. We here at Janky Smooth will keep our third eye on Simple Ass People and their output to continuously verify that

Take This:Two VIP Tix to Burger Boogaloo w/ Iggy Pop, Buzzcocks

Janky Smooth Central Command April 1, 2017

Being the pre-eminent garage rock festival requires that someone transform the lo-fi sound worshipped by it’s lovers into a minimal visual aesthetic, at least by today’s music festival standards. A modern minimalism that doesn’t lose that fact that the ruffles and confetti of a senior prom or the tiki torches and teen taboo of a backyard party were over the top, once upon a time. After 7 years, Burger Boogaloo and it’s home in Mosswood Park have achieved that “just right” aesthetic that hits all the right notes in the lineup and it looks like it will do so again on July 1st and 2nd, 2017 in Oakland, California. What Burger Boogaloo does so well is that it achieves a familiarity and comfort without being too redundant. With John Waters becoming a welcome permanent fixture as master of ceremonies, two consecutive years of The Mummies were just what we needed. Omitting them from this year’s lineup was just as necessary as booking them twice and adding the likes of Iggy Pop, Buzzcocks and X achieved an exponentially wider net of legacy being cast without losing that trashiness that a couple bigger name acts could bring when patrons wearing indian head dresses

New Song Premier: Raj and the 100’s- ‘No Suicide’- Heartbreaking Beauty

Aria Silva-Espinosa March 21, 2017

We don’t really know much about who Raj Sabhlok is or where he came from but when we were sent the opportunity to premiere the first song in a series of 100, most of which were recorded in a recording studio owned by John Vanderslice. When we heard “No Suicide”, we were in. If you’re a fan of The Growlers, Kevin Morby and Devendra Banhart, you should love Raj and the 100’s. Let us know what you think! We all process loss differently; self-imposed isolation, submitting to one’s vices or even complete disassociation are not uncommon coping methods particularly in the early stages of grieving. Raj Sabhlok instead sought solace through the creation of Raj and the 100’s, a project which came about following the sudden passing of his parents. He traded the comfort of his home for and RV and spent two years traveling the United States, reflecting, exploring internally and exploring the vast wilderness along the way. For the duration of the his musical pilgrimage, Raj composed an impressive collection of about 300 songs. Eventually his journey landed him at Tiny Telephone, the San Francisco-based analog recording studios owned by songwriter/producer John Vanderslice. Vanderslice has recorded with a

Take This: Two Tickets To See The Orwells at The Observatory

Janky Smooth Central Command March 20, 2017

The Orwells are coming to the Observatory in Orange County this Friday, March 24th. The Orwells are one of the most badass young live bands in rock n roll right now. Every element in authenticity is present in their live set. Air tight band and sloppy, blacked out dispositions that mouth whore around the venue on any given night. When their sophomore album, Disgraceland dropped in 2013, it solidified them the “real deal”- appealing to legions of discerning indie hipsters and vapid mainstream mass appealers alike. Now they are touring in support of their 3rd album, Terrible Human Beings. I’ve seen The Orwells play a handful of shows and two of the best were at The Observatory. Most recently was this time last year at Burger Records week long celebration of their partnership with the venue. The video embedded into this post should tell you everything you need to know about the set they played on the last night of a 7 day marathon celebration at the venue: “Mario Cuomo unleashed upon adoring fans of The Orwells a yeoman’s performance of drunken, sloppy but precise and sexual rock and roll frontmannery. The Orwells were fantastic. I hadn’t seen them since just

Take This: Two Tickets To See Kate Tempest at The Constellation Room

Janky Smooth Central Command March 18, 2017

If you’re ANYTHING like we are, you are thirsty for an artist or musician to say something tangible and inspiring and infuriating on the state of our world. Like they used to. To say the things that so many of us are thinking . The things that so many others say to forget because we can’t change them anyway, when the truth is that if we all descended on the halls of power like a human tidal wave, we could wash away the corruption and indifference to human suffering with the weapon in our wallets. Almost overnight. We think Kate Tempest could very well be that artist and she’s coming to Southern California this week on her first U.S. tour in support of last year’s album, Let Them Eat Chaos. Not only that but she’s being supported by extraordinary beat producer, Boom Bip. Janky Smooth is giving away 2 TICKETS TO SEE KATE TEMPEST AT THE CONSTELLATION ROOM INSIDE THE OBSERVATORY IN SANTA ANA on Wednesday, March 22nd. To win tickets simply follow Janky Smooth on Facebook, IG and/or Twitter and share this post on any or all of those sites. That’s it. Winner will be selected on Tuesday March

New Song Premiere: Lord Loud- “The Hand” from Passé Paranoia

Janky Smooth Central Command March 17, 2017

This premiere of “The Hand” is the first the world will hear from the Passé Paranoia LP from L.A. based, heavy psych rock outfit Lord Loud. Passé Paranoia is due out April 18th on King Volume Records in the U.S. and Kozmic Artifactz in Europe. Until then, check out this gem, “The Hand”. &amp;amp;amp;lt;a href=”http://lordloudmusic.bandcamp.com/album/pass-paranoia”&amp;amp;amp;gt;Passé Paranoia by Lord Loud&amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;gt; When Janky Smooth spoke to front axe man, Chris Allison about the history of this band and the album, he told us, “Michael (drums) and I repurposed a sweaty garage in Van Nuys and built a studio for ourselves to self record this LP using supplies previous tenants left like- 48 shipping blankets and whatever mics we could borrow from friends and strangers alike.” Lord Loud Songs are sure to kill your neighbor’s lawn when played at high volumes. In the line of great American pairings like: – apple pie and baseball – sex and drugs – Beavis and Butthead Could Lord Loud be the next, great American duo of rock? This hardworking, heavy psych 2-piece bring sound the size of a 70’s 4 piece garage band but have only 4 hands total to pull that off. That fits nicely with the limited

Mind Meld Monday’s At The Echo: Residencies Continue Bringing Highest Value

Danny Baraz February 13, 2017

Last Monday, fans and friends of the music scene in L.A. packed The Echo for week 1 of the Mind Meld month long residency at L.A.’s garage band beta testing ground. Part of what makes the Monday night residencies at The Echo so impressive are the bands that support the resident from week to week and often times, the residents themselves are pretty damn good too. On week 1 of their residency, Mind Meld invited Babylon, Psychic Jiu-Jitsu and the reason I dragged myself from the westside to Echo Park on a Monday night, Frankie and the Witch Fingers. Even though my attendance at the Echo on Monday night’s has been spotty at best over the past few months, there are usually some pretty damn good reasons to cruise by on any given Monday at The Echo- and almost all of them are written on the lineup. Outside of the alcohol free eco system of The Smell, is there a better value for music fans than the Monday night residencies at The Echo? I don’t often make it a habit to gush over a residency or a particular venue’s booking practices but with all the different ways music snobs, including