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

Jake Loban — from punk to Americana

Loban splits his time between North County and Nashville and will play Soda Bar on Tuesday, October 11

Loban began his music career playing punk rock in high school in Encinitas but found his voice in Nashville playing Americana.
Loban began his music career playing punk rock in high school in Encinitas but found his voice in Nashville playing Americana.

The first show Jake Loban played as an Americana artist? A dive bar in El Cajon. “There were more prostitutes outside than people inside,” Loban says.

A few years later, in February 2016, Loban played the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach. “It feels good to work your way up,” says Loban. “Seeing my name on the Belly Up marquee was such a trip.”

The 29-year-old started his music career as a high-school freshman playing open-mic nights at the Encinitas Ranch golf course. He was fronting an ’80s and ’90s punk-rock cover band.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Video:

"Solitary Blues"

...off of Jake Loban's <em>Chasing Fire</em> EP

...off of Jake Loban's Chasing Fire EP

That project evolved into the Career Soldiers, a punk band formed in 2002 with which Loban toured North America and released two LPs. The quartet played with bands such as the Casualties, Lower Class Brats, and UK Subs.

The San Dieguito Academy student (2005 graduate) played anywhere the band could. “We played basements, squats, dive bars,” he says, “you name it.”

During those years, Loban also played bass touring Europe with the Unseen, a Massachusetts punk band. “They were one of my favorite bands, so playing with them was incredible.”

Career Soldiers disbanded in 2008, and Loban cofounded Pass the Axe, “which is what really introduced me to the country and Americana scene. I’ve been chasing those sounds ever since.”

Loban now splits his time between San Diego and Nashville, where Tootsies Orchid Lounge, a honky-tonk bar, hired the San Diego musician to be a Broadway player. Loban says he plays shows every day while in Nashville.

Place

Soda Bar

3615 El Cajon Boulevard, San Diego

San Diego is still home, but Loban says playing in Nashville has made him a better performer and songwriter.

“I learn something new every day,” he says. “I’m constantly pushed out of my comfort zone.” Yet, some of it’s familiar.

“I’ve met a lot of people in the country and Americana scene who also grew up playing punk and hardcore. No matter the genre of music, what matters most is that you write from the heart.”

Jake Loban plays Soda Bar on October 11 and Lestat’s West on October 15.

The latest copy of the Reader

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

City Lights: Journey Through Light & Sound, Hotel Holiday Tea Service

Events December 7-December 11, 2024
Next Article

Issa aide collaborates with Ukrainians

Carlsbad's Tracy Slepcevic, Warrior Mom, and her ties to RFK, Jr.
Loban began his music career playing punk rock in high school in Encinitas but found his voice in Nashville playing Americana.
Loban began his music career playing punk rock in high school in Encinitas but found his voice in Nashville playing Americana.

The first show Jake Loban played as an Americana artist? A dive bar in El Cajon. “There were more prostitutes outside than people inside,” Loban says.

A few years later, in February 2016, Loban played the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach. “It feels good to work your way up,” says Loban. “Seeing my name on the Belly Up marquee was such a trip.”

The 29-year-old started his music career as a high-school freshman playing open-mic nights at the Encinitas Ranch golf course. He was fronting an ’80s and ’90s punk-rock cover band.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Video:

"Solitary Blues"

...off of Jake Loban's <em>Chasing Fire</em> EP

...off of Jake Loban's Chasing Fire EP

That project evolved into the Career Soldiers, a punk band formed in 2002 with which Loban toured North America and released two LPs. The quartet played with bands such as the Casualties, Lower Class Brats, and UK Subs.

The San Dieguito Academy student (2005 graduate) played anywhere the band could. “We played basements, squats, dive bars,” he says, “you name it.”

During those years, Loban also played bass touring Europe with the Unseen, a Massachusetts punk band. “They were one of my favorite bands, so playing with them was incredible.”

Career Soldiers disbanded in 2008, and Loban cofounded Pass the Axe, “which is what really introduced me to the country and Americana scene. I’ve been chasing those sounds ever since.”

Loban now splits his time between San Diego and Nashville, where Tootsies Orchid Lounge, a honky-tonk bar, hired the San Diego musician to be a Broadway player. Loban says he plays shows every day while in Nashville.

Place

Soda Bar

3615 El Cajon Boulevard, San Diego

San Diego is still home, but Loban says playing in Nashville has made him a better performer and songwriter.

“I learn something new every day,” he says. “I’m constantly pushed out of my comfort zone.” Yet, some of it’s familiar.

“I’ve met a lot of people in the country and Americana scene who also grew up playing punk and hardcore. No matter the genre of music, what matters most is that you write from the heart.”

Jake Loban plays Soda Bar on October 11 and Lestat’s West on October 15.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

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

Birdwatching bonanza, earliest sunset of the year, bulb planting time

Venus shines its brightest
Next Article

O’side Tree Lighting & Gift Market, Holiday Lights at the Museum, The Elovaters and Little Stranger

Events December 5-December 6, 2024
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.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader