Musician Interviews
Rifftide is a Chula Vista–based classic-rock cover band. The members met on Facebook and formed the band in March of 2010. Their day jobs include construction manager and brewmaster. Plus one stay-at-home mom. Jill Harvey …
Picture Head is a compilation of all-new tracks from six La Mesa bands, scheduled for a summer release on the neighborhood-based Quasi Recordings label. “Our goal is to bring our tiny La Mesa music community …
I met Craig Oliver at a scorching rock spread (Oh Sees, So Cow, and Bare Wires at Bar Pink). Unless he’s pouring lager and adjusting sound at the Whistle Stop, Oliver’s at just about every …
“Pretty little harmonies with a pretty little lady,” is how Veronica May describes the music of the Lovebirds, her new performance duo with Lindsay White. May — whose parents fronted the 1970s band the Flatlanders …
Within 24 hours of being uploaded to YouTube in mid-January, the video for Laura Roppé’s song “George Clooney” earned her over 20,000 views and an interview with Billboard Magazine. As of this writing, Billboard has …
There’s something touching about being allowed into Mario Orduno’s circle. It’s not the first time Art Fag’s 36-year-old founder’s been approached by a journalist. After a couple weeks of postponements and awkward pauses, he admits …
Zillion Happy Volts takes its name from the surreal 1989 art-house film Dr. Caligari. “It’s one of my all-time favorite cult movies,” says singer Davit Buck, who formerly fronted the Homeless Sexuals. “The phrase is …
“I play alternative folk rock, with a twist of the blues,” says San Diego singer-songwriter Reverend Stickman. “The music is a guitar-driven and an unconventional fusion of Americana and alternative. Most of my songs are …
The Groove Kitties are an all-girl group featuring San Diego performers Cathryn Beeks (Gandhi Method), Marcia Claire (Coyote Problem), Becky Fleming (the Ordeal), Garrison Bailey, and Nancy Bee. “I used to play in a female …
Back 2 Black is a tribute band that specializes in Brian Johnson–era AC/DC. They often perform the landmark album Back in Black from beginning to end. The band is meticulous about duplicating the smallest details, …
“People were incredibly generous, sending me contact info for gigs and helping me track down places to sleep,” says Americana singer Jesse LaMonaca, who recently completed a self-booked tour of Australia. The trek was financed …
Why do DJs make up pseudonyms, rather than use their given name? “Hiding behind an alias is a fun and elusive feeling,” says local studio DJ Snaps Provolone (not his real name). “Making up a …
“There are many sides of Endoxi ,” says singer-guitarist Chris Wilson. “There’s the Mozart got drunk on Metallica’s wine and flew to space on a rock ’n’ roll rocket ship side. Then there’s the 1940s …
“We play a broad mix of acoustic and electronic styles,” says Nathan Samuels, who programs the melodies and beats for downtempo trip-hop trio XIV. The band uses an array of keyboards, guitars, trumpets, and analog …
November marks a decade since singer-songwriter-guitarist Jason Blackmore, known to friends as “Captain Blackie,” left his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri, for San Diego. “I didn’t know anybody,” Blackmore says over a beer at the …
Folk troubadour Roy Ruiz Clayton was raised in the steel-mill town of Fontana, California, before moving on his own to San Diego at age 16. “I started writing songs while playing guitar at an early …