Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Band ch-ch-ch-changes

Davit Buck’s hired himself some new Homeless Sexuals.
Davit Buck’s hired himself some new Homeless Sexuals.

Band lineup changes are as common as busted guitar strings, but several local ensembles have undergone nearly complete personnel changeovers.

“The entire band was fired by the singer who founded the band,” says Subliminal Trip percussionist Dustin Becker, whose younger brother Jason (aka J-Bird) formed the Ocean Beach–born group. “J-bird had Subliminal Trip when he was 12, and now he’s 23,” says Dustin by way of explaining why J-Bird kept the band name for an otherwise all-new lineup, while longtime guitarist Joel Brust joined fellow ex-Trippers (bassist Garrison Cyr and drummer Colin Holz) to form No Kings. “Arguments had started to arise with Colin and Gary, who were found on Craigslist to start with, about them wanting to manage the band and book gigs. Which was not okay with J-Bird.”

Sponsored
Sponsored
J-Bird booted the band but kept the name...and his brother.

J-Bird is the sole holdover, now accompanied by brother (and band manager) Dustin, alongside bassist Sam Hartjen and drummer Edward Fugatt (both formerly of No Dinosaur), trumpeter/keyboardist Felix Sierra (Soul Malady), guitarist Ryan Parker, and Tony “DJ Turbo” Bilancia. Hartjen also plays bass in Reason to Rebel, and the new Trip already has two ex-members: Tommy Estrada (Reeform) and horn player C-Money (Slightly Stoopid). The apparent open-door policy can be heard on their new single “It’s a New Day,” which features guest singer Lady Cellie.

Band of Gold, fronted by bandleader James Peña (from the Santa Ysabel Indian Reservation) and Teresa Bell Peña, plays classic Motown and R&B. The duo recently replaced the other three members — Minnesota transplant Marty Banas, Hien Vu from Indiana, and native San Diegan Ruben Gonzales — with two San Diegans, Bobby Renteria and Edison Salvador, and Detroit guitarist/singer Dean Aronoff.

An all-new group of Homeless Sexuals will back singer Davit Buck when they debut June 29 at Soda Bar. “I’m still friends with everyone in the old band,” says Buck. “Poe emailed me...says he wasn’t into playing guitar anymore. Rob Logic [guitar] quit to concentrate on the bar business and is booking shows at Bancroft in Spring Valley, where Poe bartends on Saturdays. Chris Menna [drums] is busy teaching music to high school students. That’s his priority.”

New Homeless Sexuals include Chris Henry (Screamin’ Yeehaws), Tim Helton (ex–Coda Reactor), and Alan Stewart and Joe Fabri (both of Media Control). “The old lineup never practiced,” says Buck. “I think we had maybe two practices in five years. The new lineup, we do four-hour practices once a week.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Deciduous trees sprouting new life, Bracken ferns pushing up their "fiddleheads"

Annual Lyriad shower might be washed out by full moon
Davit Buck’s hired himself some new Homeless Sexuals.
Davit Buck’s hired himself some new Homeless Sexuals.

Band lineup changes are as common as busted guitar strings, but several local ensembles have undergone nearly complete personnel changeovers.

“The entire band was fired by the singer who founded the band,” says Subliminal Trip percussionist Dustin Becker, whose younger brother Jason (aka J-Bird) formed the Ocean Beach–born group. “J-bird had Subliminal Trip when he was 12, and now he’s 23,” says Dustin by way of explaining why J-Bird kept the band name for an otherwise all-new lineup, while longtime guitarist Joel Brust joined fellow ex-Trippers (bassist Garrison Cyr and drummer Colin Holz) to form No Kings. “Arguments had started to arise with Colin and Gary, who were found on Craigslist to start with, about them wanting to manage the band and book gigs. Which was not okay with J-Bird.”

Sponsored
Sponsored
J-Bird booted the band but kept the name...and his brother.

J-Bird is the sole holdover, now accompanied by brother (and band manager) Dustin, alongside bassist Sam Hartjen and drummer Edward Fugatt (both formerly of No Dinosaur), trumpeter/keyboardist Felix Sierra (Soul Malady), guitarist Ryan Parker, and Tony “DJ Turbo” Bilancia. Hartjen also plays bass in Reason to Rebel, and the new Trip already has two ex-members: Tommy Estrada (Reeform) and horn player C-Money (Slightly Stoopid). The apparent open-door policy can be heard on their new single “It’s a New Day,” which features guest singer Lady Cellie.

Band of Gold, fronted by bandleader James Peña (from the Santa Ysabel Indian Reservation) and Teresa Bell Peña, plays classic Motown and R&B. The duo recently replaced the other three members — Minnesota transplant Marty Banas, Hien Vu from Indiana, and native San Diegan Ruben Gonzales — with two San Diegans, Bobby Renteria and Edison Salvador, and Detroit guitarist/singer Dean Aronoff.

An all-new group of Homeless Sexuals will back singer Davit Buck when they debut June 29 at Soda Bar. “I’m still friends with everyone in the old band,” says Buck. “Poe emailed me...says he wasn’t into playing guitar anymore. Rob Logic [guitar] quit to concentrate on the bar business and is booking shows at Bancroft in Spring Valley, where Poe bartends on Saturdays. Chris Menna [drums] is busy teaching music to high school students. That’s his priority.”

New Homeless Sexuals include Chris Henry (Screamin’ Yeehaws), Tim Helton (ex–Coda Reactor), and Alan Stewart and Joe Fabri (both of Media Control). “The old lineup never practiced,” says Buck. “I think we had maybe two practices in five years. The new lineup, we do four-hour practices once a week.”

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

La Jolla's Whaling Bar going in new direction

47th and 805 was my City Council district when I served in 1965
Next Article

Casinos for Roulette in 2024: How to Find the Best Real Money Gambling Site?

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.