North County act Wasting June is all about local gigging. They’ve played venues like ‘Canes, Scolari’s, the Zombie Lounge, the Beauty Bar, the Ken Club, and the Jumping Turtle, not far from band headquarters.

One band member blogged of a Jumping Turtle event, “Vinnie the Sound Wizard said, ‘In the 18 years that I’ve been doing this, I’ve never seen a band bring their own neon sign up on stage.’”

Not all of their venue hosts are impressed. “At our worst gig,” says keyboardist Jeff Domitrz, “we kept getting pushed back later and later into the night. When we finally went on at one in the morning, the owner of the bar kept walking back and fourth across the stage, holding a sign that read ‘Want to play? Call Ray.’”

The band’s eardrum-bustin’ volume also earns them occasional ire, but Domitrz makes no apologies. “When you rock as much as Wasting June,” he says, “the power to rock is laden with grave responsibility.”