What started in a “dingy rehearsal room” in South Korea, blossomed into JOSEON, a band and art collective whose roots in Los Angeles have flourished since their first show in Venice Beach. Their Dec. 12, 2024, performance at The Smell—a venue born from a group of friends who shared a love for attending concerts and creating that same joy—added another chapter to both their journey and the ongoing story of Los Angeles’s underground music scene.
The community-oriented art and music space for all ages has been around for more than 25 years. Owner and CSUN alumnus Jim Smith said, “We wanted to be accessible to everybody. You know, all ages, all socioeconomic backgrounds, we wanted to be affordable.” Hidden away in an alley, the venue’s entrance is tucked out of sight, giving it a distinct, intimate vibe. Inside, the brick-covered walls marked with names, graffiti-tagged bathroom walls and a vibrant mural full of faces, plants, and intricate designs all embody the spirit of Los Angeles’s underground music scene.
Originally located in North Hollywood, the venue was just around the corner from an upscale coffee house called “The Aroma.” As the owner said, “We kind of wanted to be the punk rock version of The Aroma.’ And that’s how they came up with the name ‘The Smell.”
Music has always been a central part of Smith’s life. He met two of his co-owners while attending concerts, and together, they decided to open a venue. Smith recalls that at the time, there were a few similar D.I.Y., all-ages, community-based venues nearby, but when two of them closed, it created a void. He said he wanted to “keep the great scene that we had at the time going.” Today, Smith is the sole owner, carrying forward that original vision.
CSUN student bands, including The Martian Sunset, have performed at the venue, other notable acts that have graced the stage include Surf Curse, Phoebe Bridgers, Best Coast, No Age, Together Pangea, The Red Pears, Flowers for the Dead and Dell’Acqua.
Local D.I.Y. band JOSEON, composed of members Jonah Cho (drummer), Brennan Shin (guitarist and vocalist) and Grant Spitzer (guitarist and vocalist) create both their music and artwork independently. On The Smell’s website, one of the questions asks, “What does the local scene mean to you?” When the band was asked this very question, Shin answered:
“Like to put it plainly, I mean, it means everything to us. LA is our hometown. And it is also such a creative hub and underground scene. I mean, we’re playing The Smell here, which has such a history to it, especially for the LA underground rock scene. So, I mean, I don’t think we’d have all the opportunities that were handed to us if we weren’t in, you know, our beloved city of Los Angeles.”
Long-time family friends, Shin and Spitzer, met Cho in South Korea, leading to the formation of their band. Cho, who started out in hip-hop, discovered a connection between drumming and dancing and began playing the drums seriously. Spitzer, who was used to hearing music on the radio, was inspired by hearing “Eleanor Rigby” by The Beatles at age seven or eight, and was struck by how music could sound “weird and different but be so good.” Shin, meanwhile, picked up guitar after discovering Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan around age 10 or 11.
After performing at various venues like the El Rey Theatre and Ghengis Cohen, reflecting on what they learned after performing shows, Cho recalled their first show at Venice Beach, next to an art gallery. Cho said, “We were nervous, for sure. We had rehearsed for like three months straight leading up to the concert, and we’d gotten so tight, we go up there, and we just blast through the entire set at like 20 BPM above pace [all members laughing] because we were just so nervous. And we’ve definitely come a long way from then. I feel like just being more natural and comfortable up there has definitely been a big part of it.”
The band performed their much-anticipated new single, “Snows,” released on Nov. 15, 2024. The crowd was excited as the song began playing, with one fan enthusiastically recognizing it: “Oh! It was this one!” Rather than drawing from a single, specific meaning, the band explained that they approached the song’s themes in terms of colors, working “synesthetically”–seeing colors or visuals when listening to music. Also being an art collective, the members spoke about envisioning industrial vibes for the artwork and visualizers, with blues and whites representing ice and yellow symbolizing electricity. “Snows” has an imagery of coldness or detachment—perhaps a feeling of emotional numbness, or an acknowledgment that something once warm and vibrant has turned icy and distant. The cold, isolating realization that things are no longer as they once were and now “it’s bombs away” confronting the situation.
With their latest release, the band has gained attention, especially on social media. Some fans, like a crowd member who attended JOSEON’s concert after seeing a reel that morning, discovered them through social media. Anh Le, also in the crowd, found JOSEON via an Instagram reel and won an Instagram raffle for a ticket.
Reflecting on the experience, Le said, “One song I really enjoyed hearing live was, well, JOSEON’s cover of ‘The Man Who Sold the World’ was incredible live. And I also really liked hearing ‘Snows’ too. I listened to some of their music prior to coming to the concert. So hearing it live was really different and really just exciting.”
The band laughed as they recalled filming their first music video for the song “VERTiGO,” revisiting the moment when they lost a smoke grenade in their garage. Jonah’s bandmates couldn’t help but lightheartedly joke about his “Oscar-worthy performance,” saying how he became the main “focus point against his will.” More memories are yet to be made as they continue recording new songs and look ahead to a hopeful future tour.
As JOSEON continues to shape their sound and their place in Los Angeles’s underground scene, they know two things for sure: “Make what you love and never compromise your art,” Shin said. Spitzer added, “Don’t quit. Keep going. And don’t worry about the kind of labels and branding that people can try to put on you to make it so that they can understand what you’re doing. Nobody understands what you’re doing better than you, so trust yourself. Trust your artistic instinct. And just be as authentic as you can be, and you’ll reach the people who like you for you.”
“And look cool doing it,” added Shin–who always adds a closing remark to end with a bang.
