I sat down with Megan Liscomb in her home to chat about her upcoming album “NEON” from her solo project PJ Sparkles. I’ve always been a fan of Megan’s music projects, so I was excited to get to talk to her about some more in depth topics regarding music, the creative process and what’s coming up in this new year.
Article co-written by Kyla Wyllie and Autumn McDonald Photography by Annika Cimas Have you ever wondered what goes into planning a music festival? They don’t just happen like that, it takes months of planning and dedication. We were fortunate enough to be invited to cover the first ever Frick It Fest, put on by concert enthusiast Emily LaBlond and local music producer and musician, Ross Martin (guitarist for the band Essex Class). Recreational concert venue through the week, and modern church on Sundays, The Irenic serves as common stomping ground for a surplus of contrasting personalities. In relation, the lineup for this show consisted of several different genres of music, such as indie, rock, and pop punk.
Article Written by Autumn McDonald Photography by Annika Cimas When you hear the name “Sad Muffin,” if you’re like me, you can’t help but wonder how the group got their name. Story has it that one member was at Souplantation one day and saw a muffin that looked really sad, so they thought, sad muffin! They wrote it down in a folder of potential song titles, later deciding on the phrase as a band name. Band names aside, Sad Muffin consists of four people: Ryan Denny on guitar and vocals, Ava Cavanaugh on bass, Olivia Nattrass on guitar, and Trevor Gallo on the drums. (This interview was conducted whilst Kaylah Saltzman-Bravo was the current drummer for the band) Although the energy between the group is undeniably present, Sad Muffin didn’t always consist of the same members, and as many great bands do, they went through some changes. Despite that, things came back in full circle for these friends, “I was actually in a band with them all before,” says Denny, “but I left that band because …
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 …
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
