San Diego Reader

Greg Magnuson: Bass guitar, Drums, Guitar (acoustic), Guitar (electric), Vocals | Kyrsten Hopkins: Drums, Guitar (acoustic), Guitar (electric), Vocals

Genre: Alternative, Rock

Sound description: Alternative progressive rock.

RIYL: Radiohead, the Mars Volta, Hot Hot Heat, the Pixies, Primus, Muse

Upcoming Local Shows

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Related Links

• Magnuson website

• Musician Interviews · Aug. 11, 2005

• MySpace page

Synoposis

Ex-Band Members: Matt Guthrie, Drums

Influences: Killswitch Engage, Tool, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, the Doors, the Smiths, the Cure, Muse, Meshuggah, Kent, Noise Ratchet, the Monkees, Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, the Mars Volta, Atreyu, Thrice

Background:

Magnuson gets its name from singer/guitarist Greg Magnuson, who also surfs and makes his own instruments, and his wife, singer/guitarist/drummer Kyrsten Magnuson (formerly Kyrsten Hopkins). Members say even their dreams are about the band.

“I dreamed I was playing onstage and I was really confused because the song I was playing didn’t seem to be the same song the rest of the band was playing,” says bassist Kyrsten Hopkins. “When I looked over at the other band members, I didn’t recognize them. Turns out I was so excited about playing the show that I jumped up onstage with the band [playing] before us.”

“I had one dream where the stage broke from under me,” says Chula Vista native Matt Guthrie, the band’s former drummer. “And then, the very next gig at Brick by Brick, the light fixture fell and hit me.”

Their 14-track album Crash of Cassini was released in July 2011. Around the same time, Greg Magnuson appeared on the ABC TV show Happy Endings, playing a singer/songwriter named Royston Summers.

Discography