New Bands to Know: Weight of the Sun, JuJu Satori, S.M.C. and more

Every week, we add around a dozen acts, new and old, to the Reader’s Local Music Database, which currently features over 3,700 band pages along with related discographies, MP2s, videos, links to Reader articles, and more. These are the newest additions.

Fronted by singer David Martin and featuring former members of Chanauk, Weight of the Sun was founded late last year. Citing influences like Faith No More, Intronaut, Deftones, Glassjaw, Pelican, ISIS, Palms, Russian Circles, and Baroness, they plan to release their debut full-length in March.

Formed in late 2012 from the ashes of an original rock band named Julian and fronted by a Danzig-esque singer named Karthik, S.M.C. performs mostly covers of Ronnie James Dio-related material (early Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Elf), as well as music by Ozzy Osbourne and some original songs.

Having been together around six months now, JuJu Satori includes former members of the Radiators (Barry Hill), the Dinettes (Sue Delguidice), Grilled Funkshop (Chad Allbritton), and the Steve Poltz band (Daniel Johnsen).

As for newly-added older bands, the Sleepwalkers have been playing authentic Americana roots rock since 1992. They specialize in original American music styles ranging from blues, country, Tex-Mex, Cumbias, and their own brand of roots rock. In 1999 they released their first album Can't Stop Rockin' on Relampago-go Records, which earned them positive national reviews, and a nomination for Best Americana album in the San Diego Music Awards. Their songs "Dead of Night" and "Vas A Ver!" was included in the 2007 movie Ofrenda Desnuda, directed by International Film Award winner Guillerma Von Son.

In 2008, they covered a song by Bart Mendoza, "Days & Maybe's" (re-titled "No Me Cueste"), which was included on Forty One Sixty: The Songs of the Shambles. Having earned six SDMA nominations for Best Americana/Roots band, the Sleepwalkers were mostly active from 1992 to 2002, until reforming last year. They’ll play La Mesa’s Riviera Supper Club & Turquoise Room in on January 25 and February 8.

MohaviSoul is an Americana-soul-bluegrass band featuring Randy Hanson and Dan Sankey, augmented by other players 'pending the city they're playing in. Their debut CD Every Second established their sound, which grew more folky as of their second full-length Blue Diesel, released late last year. "The CD is named after a song I wrote, which is a very tongue-in-cheek double story about love and something else," says Hanson. You can catch them on January 26 at Southpaw (East Village), and March 8 at Wynola Pizza Express in Julian.

Originally from Cardiff, Wales, Jonny Tarr has been working on making electronic soul music in many formats, whether singing his own material or classics with a selection of instruments (guitar, synth, sax, flute, vocals, loop station, samples), blowing sax over the DJ or leading a full band. He’ll perform February 20 at Tower 13 in Cardiff.

Alice Teyssier studied flute and voice at Oberlin and at UCSD. Frequently performing in LA with her husband, percussionist Jonathan Hepfer, several works have been written for her, including Rolf Riehm’s “Pasolini in Ostia,” which she and Hepfer premiered in last year. For another 2013 concert at UCSD, Hepfer used automobile suspension and glass to perform Pierluigi Billone's 2004 piece "Mani.De Leonardis," while Teyssier played Trevor Baca's 2007 composition “Sekka” on flute. The duo also has a group called Echoi, and she also performs with ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble) and an early music ensemble, La Perla Bizzarra.

Based in North Park, punk-ska rockers Abject was founded in 2006 by four late-teen college students. Originally hailing from East County, their debut full-length No Flags, No Nations was released in 2007. Like many punk bands, Abject conveys a strongly DIY, anti-racist, anti-homophobic, anti-xenophobic, anti-authoritarian message.

Singer/songwriter Mike Wojniak (think Jason Mraz, James Taylor, and Robin Thicke) released his debut album Follow the Crane in 2008, a ten-song, electro-pop, home-recording, followed in 2010 by Memento Vivere, a rhythmic set of love-centered songs. His 2012 album Libero is an hour long exploration of themes ranging to the impermanence of life to the meaning of the Latin word libero, "to be liberated or set free." Though most of the album was arranged on piano or guitar, guest performers include Andrew Gordon-Seifert (cello), Heather Evans (vocals), Chris Shaw (violin), and Matt Wooten (bass).

So, do you know or have a band that you’d like to see included in the Local Music Database? To add or edit a page, begin at Band Page Edits.