Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Pop goes the Groupie

Super Groupie got a push-start from Unwritten Law’s Scott Russo.
Super Groupie got a push-start from Unwritten Law’s Scott Russo.

Austin Steele owes his neighbor. Before his pop band even had a name, Unwritten Law frontman Scott Russo would invite the 16-year-old singer/guitarist and his band over to record at his home studio.

“I knew his daughter Cailin through [Rancho Peñasquitos] high school. She brought him our CD. He became a mentor to us. He was our early producer.”

Russo helped the band craft six pop/acoustic tracks and invited the band, Super Groupie, to open for Unwritten Law.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“We got to play the House of Blues,” says Steele. “The Unwritten Law fan base is a lot different. It’s older and more punk. We didn’t care what people thought. We just played the best show we could and tried to make the most of it. Someone threw a sandwich at us onstage. Alex just picked it up and ate it backstage.”

Super Groupie has since made four music videos, local label Pacific Records just released their debut album Sky.Sand.Sol., and their song “Lightning” appeared on the soundtrack of MTV’s Washington Heights last year.

But Steele tells the Reader it’s just not that easy making it as a pop band in San Diego.

“There is no scene for our music at all. There is the punk/indie scene and the reggae scene, but that’s not us. That’s why we’re going to Nashville for a couple weeks. We’re just going to hang out and play and meet people. We heard it’s a great place for songs, not just country songs.”

Super Groupie is used to jump-starting their music career.

Past Event

Bryce Vine, Super Groupie, Lightyears Ahead

  • Wednesday, October 8, 2014, 8 p.m.
  • Loft, 9500 Gilman Drive, San Diego
Past Event

Pitbull and Enrique Iglesias

“When we were in high school, we went to the beaches in Del Mar every day with our acoustic guitars and would go up to girls on towels. We’d sing our songs to them and hand out [CDs] and pump our next show.... We played the Typhoon Saloon [in P.B.] last week, and this girl came up to us and said she remembered us from that.”

Cailin Russo, who has moved to L.A., got a boost to her modeling career when she appeared in two Justin Bieber music videos. She also added vocals to Super Groupie’s “Say You Want Me,” a song that got 41,000 YouTube visits.

“We’re a band coming up,” says Steele. “We’ll take what we can get.”

Super Groupie appears October 8 at the Loft at UCSD and then on October 15 at the VIP lounge pre-party show for the Enrique Iglesias/Pitbull concert at the Valley View Casino Center/Sports Arena.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Sitting On Stacy, Matte Blvck, Think X, Hendrix Celebration, Coriander

Alt-ska, dark electro-pop, tributes, and coastal rock in Solana Beach, Little Italy, Pacific Beach
Super Groupie got a push-start from Unwritten Law’s Scott Russo.
Super Groupie got a push-start from Unwritten Law’s Scott Russo.

Austin Steele owes his neighbor. Before his pop band even had a name, Unwritten Law frontman Scott Russo would invite the 16-year-old singer/guitarist and his band over to record at his home studio.

“I knew his daughter Cailin through [Rancho Peñasquitos] high school. She brought him our CD. He became a mentor to us. He was our early producer.”

Russo helped the band craft six pop/acoustic tracks and invited the band, Super Groupie, to open for Unwritten Law.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“We got to play the House of Blues,” says Steele. “The Unwritten Law fan base is a lot different. It’s older and more punk. We didn’t care what people thought. We just played the best show we could and tried to make the most of it. Someone threw a sandwich at us onstage. Alex just picked it up and ate it backstage.”

Super Groupie has since made four music videos, local label Pacific Records just released their debut album Sky.Sand.Sol., and their song “Lightning” appeared on the soundtrack of MTV’s Washington Heights last year.

But Steele tells the Reader it’s just not that easy making it as a pop band in San Diego.

“There is no scene for our music at all. There is the punk/indie scene and the reggae scene, but that’s not us. That’s why we’re going to Nashville for a couple weeks. We’re just going to hang out and play and meet people. We heard it’s a great place for songs, not just country songs.”

Super Groupie is used to jump-starting their music career.

Past Event

Bryce Vine, Super Groupie, Lightyears Ahead

  • Wednesday, October 8, 2014, 8 p.m.
  • Loft, 9500 Gilman Drive, San Diego
Past Event

Pitbull and Enrique Iglesias

“When we were in high school, we went to the beaches in Del Mar every day with our acoustic guitars and would go up to girls on towels. We’d sing our songs to them and hand out [CDs] and pump our next show.... We played the Typhoon Saloon [in P.B.] last week, and this girl came up to us and said she remembered us from that.”

Cailin Russo, who has moved to L.A., got a boost to her modeling career when she appeared in two Justin Bieber music videos. She also added vocals to Super Groupie’s “Say You Want Me,” a song that got 41,000 YouTube visits.

“We’re a band coming up,” says Steele. “We’ll take what we can get.”

Super Groupie appears October 8 at the Loft at UCSD and then on October 15 at the VIP lounge pre-party show for the Enrique Iglesias/Pitbull concert at the Valley View Casino Center/Sports Arena.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Dim Sum Tour, Warwick’s Holiday Open House

Events November 24-November 27, 2024
Next Article

Second largest yellowfin tuna caught by rod and reel

Excel does it again
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader