“I just want to change the way people look at music, or maybe just destroy it in general.” That’s The Locust singer Justin Pearson, who also heads up the band’s record label Three One G. …

Inspired by Krautrock and Japanese psychedelic bands when it launched in 2001, psych rock power trio Earthless features drummer Mario Rubalcaba (Rocket from the Crypt, the Black Heart Procession), guitarist Isaiah Mitchell (Nebula), and bassist …

Singer-guitarist Larry Teves, AKA Chickenbone Slim, premiered his third Chickenbone Slim & the Biscuits album Sleeper at Proud Mary’s just before the Covid lockdown, on February 7, 2019. “On the 8th, I played my last …

Brought together by skateboard icon Danny Way, Spray Allen is an alternative desert rock band with a mildly psychedelic blend of ‘70s to ‘90s influences. Founded by drummer Wade Youman (Unwritten Law, Demasiado) and bassist …

Pop-punk band Urethane was formed during the 2020 pandemic shutdown by professional skateboarder Steve Caballero, who has also played guitar with bands such as the Faction, Odd Man Out, Soda, and Shovelhead. He’s joined in …

“Our band Back to the Garden is backing Richie Furay for his farewell concert in New Jersey next month,” reports guitarist Marc Intravaia of the group’s upcoming November 14 gig, their second time playing with …

It usually surprises people to discover that my own artwork was never published in a single issue of Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics from 1989 through 1994. Nor did my drawings ever appear in any Carnal …

There are plenty of musical Nathans in San Diego — nearly four dozen of them show up in the Reader’s Local Music Database, including well-known talents such as Nathan Hubbard, Brown, Lewis, Williams, Jarrell, Welden, …

Heavy metal band Cave Bastard was founded in 2014 by bassist Troy Oftedal, a former member of Cattle Decapitation who left that group in 2009, and guitarist Nick Padron, formerly of Bridge Jumper. Their initial …

I found out my friend Tanner died from a Facebook post. The weird thing was, I had to scroll really far down through his timeline to discover his death, because posts had continued to appear …

With a new single called “I’m An Idiot,” pop singer Scoobert Doobert’s current album Big Hug is the follow-up to last year’s Little Hug EP. “The goal of my Big Hug LP is simple,” he …

“He was the real deal, not an ounce of artifice in him,” says guitarist Greg DouglassG of George Frayne, best known as Commander Cody, who passed away September 26 from esophageal cancer at the age …

Extant since the late 1990s and fronted by Jeff Freedman, The Yucks were founded by drummer Bill Yuck. They’ve been a longtime staple of the local scene, with a five-song EP called Full Of It …

UC San Diego Professor of Music David Borgo is a saxophonist who plays tenor, soprano, and a variety of other instruments from all over the globe. He cites multi-instrumentalist Dr. A.J. Racy, from UCLA, as …

Roger Shy, aka Valentino Frankenstein – who for a time called himself Raven White – has reportedly passed away from Covid. The Escondido musician played keyboards and guitar, and sang alongside his longtime love Cher …

The new six-song Jordan Krimston EP All Commodities includes tracks such as “Quiet Conversations,” “Spare Key,” and “Dog in the Manger.” “I recorded these songs at Singing Serpent with Daniel Charlson of Dark Horse Coffee,” …

Pop punk rockers Urethane came together during the 2020 pandemic shutdown. The group was founded by professional skateboarder and guitarist Steve Caballero (The Faction, Odd Man Out, Soda), with War Fever singer-guitarist Tim Fennelly (living …

Eating people is the ultimate control You won’t find Dahmer’s Diner on the bill at the Cannibal Bar in Mission Beach. In fact, DD has been banned from all but two venues in town, SOMA …

“Around May 2020, I started this project to showcase local San Diego talent,” says Eric Neilson of his DharmaDen mobile media production company. “With all the music venues closed at the time, we offered our …

On August 31, guitarist Nick Hipa of As I Lay Dying announced his departure from what he called “a superficial pursuit.” Hipa (who in 2014 called the band’s frontman Tim Lambesis a “sociopathic narcissist in …

“At this point, album two is sitting in my hand while I drink a beer on my night off as I listen to it again,” says storyteller Nathan Raney (son of Beat Farmer Jerry Raney), …

Not even Frank Zappa realized that his March 25, 1988 concert in Uniondale, New York would be the final time he’d ever perform in the United States. “As a Long Island native, I was very …

“The Covid lockdown was a mixed blessing for me,” says former Steve Miller Band guitarist and songwriter Greg Douglass. “After two weeks of staring at Netflix, my eyeballs began to melt, so I went down …

Founded during the 2020-2021 pandemic, cinematic throwback rockers Superweapon cite among their influences Queen, Styx, Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne, Zak Wylde, Dimebag Darrell, Eddie Van Halen, George Lynch, Rush, Journey, Muse, and Rammstein. The band …

Okay, I’ll tell you about how I almost went to jail dressed as Tonto the Indian. But fair warnings: it’s the most 1970s tale you’re likely to hear this week, and it’s definitely NSFW (for …

“I was able to secure a PPP loan with the SBA to support my music career,” says southeast San Diego rapper Cesar “Crhymes” Tellez. Despite losing 15 months of career traction to Covid, “the blessing …

Born in Budapest, Hungary, Geza Keller is a physicist by day whose Infinite Optics company earns $3 million in annual sales. He was three years old when he and his Canadian-born Hungarian mother fled the …

Birth is a new psychedelic band featuring members from retro rockers Astra, along with current or former members of Joy, Silver Sunshine, and Radio Moscow. The lineup includes Conor Riley (Astra, Silver Sunshine) on keyboards, …

Synth-pop group Glass Spells has released a music video for “Shattered,” the title track of the album that drops this week via Negative Gain; the band says it was “inspired by nostalgic synth-driven classics. The …

San Diego native Christian Ariza, aka Rad Cat, is a 25 year-old Mexican American DJ and producer turned solo artist. He began writing songs as a teenager, first learning guitar and then studying production techniques, …

Howlin’ Rain describes their sixth studio album, The Dharma Wheel, as “a six-track, 52-minute dive into a joyous fantasy realm of exaggerated present.” Due October 8 via founding member Ethan Miller’s label Silver Current Records, …

The upcoming Summer Years EP You Can’t Live There Forever will be released by Ecni Records (Beach Goons, The Joy Formidable), previewed so far by a single for their track “This Light.” According to singer-guitarist …

“Our 12-inch vinyl EP is still months out, due to the crazy pressing backlogs, so in the meantime, we’ll be doing several digital releases,” says Dewey Defeats Truman singer-bassist James Reader, who’s working with Scott …

MC Riston Diggs (the Known Unknowns) recorded his debut album, The Blvd Experience, following the completion of a nine-year Navy career where he served as an aviation administrator. His video for “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,” …

“We’ll shoot a good deal of the show in studio,” says producer M. Florentino Buenaventura of the new online Music Scene SDTV program. “But like most news outlets, we plan to have correspondents out on …

Indie pop singer-songwriter Tamar Berk grew up playing piano and started writing songs on guitar as a teenager. Regarding her new album The Restless Dreams of Youth, she says, “I was an incredibly restless child. …

Before moving from Ohio to Ocean Beach in 2010, Kris Wott taught himself guitar, writing his first song at 14 and learning about vocal harmonizing from his brother Frank. In OB, he became friends with …

"J.D. passed away yesterday in a tragic accident and is no longer with us," according to a post today on J.D. Boucharde's Facebook page. Boucharde drowned in a diving accident just off a local beach. …

“As a San Diego born-and-bred artist, I’ve always enjoyed the vast differences in culture and creative approaches that our city has to offer, and I’ve strived as an organizer to bring its creators and audiences …

Drummer Brandon Young and bassist Jon Jameson were both in Noise Ratchet before spotting singer Matt Vasquez busking at a trolley station and forming Delta Spirit. They first earned national notice touring with Tokyo Police …

"For the past three months I've been undergoing chemotherapy for cancer," posted 49 year-old Blink 182 frontman Mark Hoppus online on Wednesday, June 23. "It sucks and I'm scared, and at the same time I'm …

Thought for Food Bob Peterson (husband to Mayor Maureen O’Connor) opened his first Jack-in-the-Box restaurant at 63rd Street and El Cajon Boulevard in 1951. Peterson had expanded his chain to include 350 units by the …

Originally a duo called Neck and Neck featuring J.T. Moring and Annie Rettic, folk-Americana-blues band Gemini Junction includes members based in Encinitas and Ocean Beach. Moring, who sings and plays banjo, guitar, and percussion, is …

“We’ve got a new song and video out for ‘Love in the Time of Virus,’ and yes, it’s about the pandemic, at least in a 1984-ish, story-song way,” says Strawberry Moons singer-guitarist-keyboardist Will A. Lerner. …

The trio that makes up Sonido De La Frontera - Karlos Paez, Luke Henshaw, and DJ Unite - describe their music as “the combination of Soundsystem culture, hip-hop production aesthetic, and the sounds of Latin …

Blues guitarist Laura Chavez grew up near San Jose and was still in grade school when she began playing guitar. By the time she graduated high school, she was already a working musician, going on …

The new album from Darius Degher (Sham Saints, Darius & the Magnets) features instrumental music inspired by surfing. “Groundswell Corduroy is a low-temperature variant of surf-rock,” he says, “the teen effervescence long gone, but it …

Jamal Smith (aka 10-19 The Numberman) is one half of Parker & the Numberman, a hip-hop trio with Jack King and Brandon Zamudio. Their EP Early was nominated for Best Hip-Hop Album at the 2011 …

Phil Keaggy at Legacy International Center June 27 Built on a locale that formerly hosted a motel and liquor store, Mission Valley’s newest concert venue is part of an 18-acre Bible-themed resort complex that offers …

Filipino-American producer/artist Lecx Stacy spent his early childhood in Chula Vista and grew up in Mira Mesa. The local scene helped shape his musical tastes, as he hung out at venues such as the Che …