Month: June 2016

"Between The Scale Of Chaos And Control" – An Interview With Local Musician And Producer, Jara

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Article written by Kyla Wyllie Photography by Annika Cimas “It’s really strange when you can have an emotion and then write a song in your room, you record it and put it out and then it’s not really your song anymore. The only thing that you can completely say is yours, no one else’s, but at the same time share it with everybody, is music.” Music is played all throughout the world, by a great variety of people. It’s a “universal language that everyone can speak,” as local musician and producer, Jara, tells us in his interview. He then goes on to compare it to a radio; everyone has the ability to tune into the station know as musical talent, some just have bad connection. It’s all a state of mind, believing that you can’t achieve your dream is like the static covering your favorite song. All you have to do is reach out, move around a little, there’s always room to grow. Jara is a perfect model for this, learning to play guitar at the age of nine, then soon writing his …

"What Sets You Apart?" -Finding Yourself As An Artist, An Interview With Gonzo

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Article written by Kyla Wyllie A huge part if music is being an individual, fully finding yourself and allowing room to grow, not only as a person but as an artist also. This isn’t always the easiest thing to do, especially if you don’t know where to start. Most likely, you’ll want to begin at your roots, musically speaking. “I personally came from a punk background,” says Jack Tobias, bassist for Oregon raised band, Gonzo. “I was influenced by Iggy Pop and Sex Pistols, then Growlers and the whole ‘beach goth’ scene. But my biggest influence is probably The Animals and Allah Las as well as a psychedelic vibe.” As a band, Gonzo has been influenced by a large collection of artists, from The Strokes and The Arctic Monkeys, to “jazz cats like Charles Mingus.” This collaboration of surrounding styles is what has helped this group evolve and mature the sound they put out, one that Ryan Pickard, lead guitarist, describes as “indie rock with a dash of blues.” Jack goes on to add, “I think our whole …

"And Then You Can Breathe Again…" -An Interview With Paper Days

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Article written by Kyla Wyllie Photography by Annika Cimas Sometimes to achieve a goal, you have to look at things in a “step-by-step” standpoint. It’s more about how you approach an issue or a dream rather than the thing itself, the journey can determine the endpoint. Two of the members of Paper Days, Niko Sitaras (lead vocals and guitarist) and Jordan Graham (drummer), gave us some insight into the journey that they took to get to the position they’ve found themselves in today, and how they plan to get to the next destination of the rest of their lives. The band known as “Paper Days” started out like most, in their high school years. Each member was priorly committed in separate bands, but they started jamming together, and as one thing led to another, Paper Days was born. The band has since undergone some changes, with the addition of Niko’s brother Xander Sitaras on bass, and Nate Blake on guitar.

CAGE THE ELEPHANT & PORTUGAL. THE MAN SHOW VLOG 6/22/16

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Article written by Kyla Wyllie Video filmed and edited by Kyla Wyllie I “wish we could go back to the start” and re-experience the jaw-dropping performance my friends and I were fortunate enough to attend on June 22. Starting off the night was New York City’s very own, Sunflower Bean (Nick Kivlen: vocals & lead guitar, Julia Cumming: vocals & bass, Jacob Faber: drums). Washing the crowd in their psychedelic melodies and edgy undertones, this trio brings a whole new angle to their old school roots. Keep an eye out for this group, taking over the musical atmosphere with debut album, “Human Ceremony” (2016),  you’ll be seeing more and more of them.

"Those Are Your Friends,"- An Interview With Opt Out

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Article written by Kyla Wyllie Photography by Annika Cimas Whether or not you think that everything happens for a reason, there is definitely some truth behind that belief. Local rock band, Opt Out, is just one of many examples on how one event can lead to something bigger. “None of this really would have happened without a lot of mistakes, I was in percussion class by mistake, but if that hadn’t have happened then I wouldn’t have met Kyle and we wouldn’t be in Opt Out together,” Shin Chung, bassist for the trio, tells us in our interview. Kyle Bozykowski, the drummer, adds to that statement, “Shin and Ryan (lead guitar and vocals) were already friends, then I was in percussion class with Shin and he asked if I’d want to jam with the two of them sometime.” Just like that, three promising young personalities got together to create something that many people would know them for in upcoming months, rock and roll.

"Tell The Kids To Keep It Real"- An Interview With Inspired And The Sleep

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Article written by Autumn McDonald Photography by Annika Cimas There is no denying that Inspired And The Sleep has an amazingly unique sound and brings something to the music scene that no one else can. Max Greenhalgh, the lead singer, describes the band’s unique sound as a kind of “psychedelic pop music.” He explains, “we like to do really strange things with them, lots of reverb.” Bryce Outcault, who plays guitar and keys for the band, added in, “we’ve gotten dream pop before, or just plain indie.” At their show we attended, they played songs from their latest EP, “Eyelid Kid,” and the smooth upbeat melodies had me and many others dancing all throughout their set.

"Make An Impact"- An Interview With Essex Class

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Article written by Autumn McDonald Photography by Annika Cimas Before Battle of the Bands on the 27th, Kyla and I interviewed the band Essex Class. You may remember their name from the article, “No Breaks” that Kyla wrote about their one year anniversary, and their brief commentary in the general “The Battle To Play Warped Tour” article. This time around with Essex Class, we asked a few questions about the Battle and their all-around musical performance.

"Stay Casual San Diego" – An Interview With The Casualists

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Article written by Kyla Wyllie Photography by Annika Cimas Elisia Savoca, Anthony Minsky, Chris Justo (referred to friends as “Justo”), Steven Arnett, and Hunter Corbisez. These names may be currently meaningless to you, but trust me, you’d do yourself some good to remember them. One of the latest additions to the San Diego music scene, The Casualists, are taking the city by storm, one performance at a time.