After playing only a handful of shows over the past decade and a half, I Wish I has reunited and produced a full-length album.

‘During our time, we’ve gotten to play with great bands, from Swing Kids and Unbroken to Texas Is the Reason and the Promise Ring,” says drummer Gabe Gamboa of the recently reconstituted quartet I Wish I. “In the early days, we’d play Soma with Blink, pre-182, GBH, and Korn. Another great venue to play was the Pickle Patch in Santa Barbara, which ended up being the birthplace of Dim Mak Records.”

The original Fugazi-inspired lineup of Gamboa, Joey Guevara (vocals, guitar), June Cate (bass, vocals), and Jay Choy (guitar) were signed to Dim Mak when their last record was released in 1997, after which Gamboa played with Kill Holiday, Guevara joined JeJune, Choy focused on martial arts and running his Ebisu Sushi restaurant and bar in Hillcrest, and Cate became a pro skater and then worked for a well-known coffee chain (“I went from grinding rails to grinding coffee”). Over the lengthy hiatus, I Wish I played only a handful of shows between 1997 and this year.

The reunited foursome has signed up with Dim Mak again for their new full-length, Convolutions, recorded at Earthling Studios by Mike Kamoo and set to drop with a release party at the Soda Bar on April 23. “The album cover art is a painting from Nilo Naghdi,” says Guevara. “She’s actually the artist that designed our logo back when we first started in 1994. It was special for us to have her painting on our new release, since it ties in our past with our present.”

WHAT’S IN YOUR MUSIC PLAYER?

June Cate

1. The Album Leaf, Into the Blue Again. “I usually throw this on when I start my day.”
2. Fono, Too Broken to Break. “One of the best bands in San Diego, and people don’t know it.”
3. A Tribe Called Quest, The Low End Theory. “Like a fine wine, it just gets better with age.”

Joey Guevara

1. Ministry, The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste. “Classic Ministry.”
2. Nation of Ulysses, 13 Point Program to Destroy America. “This is from before frantic hardcore and screamy vocals became mainstream, watered down, and wimpy.”

Gabriel Gamboa

1. Every Time I Die, The Big Dirty. “One of the best albums of the year.”
2. The Sword, Age of Winters. “Good, heavy riffs with great structure.”
3. Bloc Party, A Weekend in the City. “I’m still a big fan of the first album, but this does the job as far as sophomore albums go.”

Jay Choy

1. Editors, An End Has a Start. “Echo meets Interpol. Nice.”
2. Kaiser Chiefs, Yours Truly, Angry Mob. “Refreshing and full of youth.”
3. Drive Like Jehu, Yank Crime. “This is where we’ve been, and where we’re going.”

DESERT ISLAND DVDS?

Cate

1. Chappelle’s Show. “Nonstop laughter, the kind that hurts your stomach.”
2. Friday. “Classic ’hood movie, still funny after multiple viewings.”
3. The Last American Virgin. “Hilariously funny, with a heartbreaking ending.”

Guevara

1. Class of Nuke ’Em High. “The unrated director’s cut. Troma rules.”
2. Santa Sangre. “Oedipus complex, anyone?”
3. The End. “Skate video with a massive budget [and] scenes of the impossible.”

Gamboa

1. The Wedding Singer. “Adam Sandler at his best.”
2. Old School. “Words cannot explain how funny this movie is to me.”

Choy

1. Spaceballs. “Star Wars was great, Spaceballs was the Schwartz.”
2. The Shawshank Redemption. “Smart feel-good movie.”
3. Rudy. “Gets me every time.”

YOUR BEST DRUNK STORY?

Cate: “I’m a mellow drunk. I did pee walking once, on my way home from Nunu’s in Hillcrest.”

Guevara: “Wrecked my life, not so funny. Now I party with monster java and mango suckers.”

Choy: “Can’t remember when, where, or what happened, but I bet it was awesome.”

GUILTY PLEASURES?

Cate: “The Hills, Sex and the City, Slap magazine’s message board, Cheaters TV show, and fried foods.”

Guevara: “Comic books, pirating copyright material, vanilla shakes from Ghirardelli, and the Bee Gees.”

Gamboa: “Candy.”

Choy: “Cafeteria food, American Idol, Target, cigars, and whiskey.”

COOLEST HANGOUT?

Cate: “Lolita’s for the best bean, cheese, and guacamole burrito.”

Guevara: “Balboa Park archery range.”

WORST JOB?

Guevara: “I was a vendor at SeaWorld for awhile, and that fully sucked. One time at Shamu Stadium, I forgot to get out of the way and Shamu spit water all over a fresh tray of popcorn, and I had to pay for it. Whale bastard.”

Gamboa: “Working in a plastic printing company, I had to pull apart the credit cards from the machine and each time it would shock me. I probably got shocked about 12 times a day.”

Choy: “Furniture mover. Just lame all around.”