Silent

Goth-inclined Silent was founded in Mexicali, Baja California by singer-percussionist Jung Sing (All Leather) and guitarist Alejandro Lara. The band has toured the USA and Mexico, alongside San Diego labelmates like Dead Cross, Retox, the Locust, and Author & Punisher. Their last album, 2016’s A Century of Abuse, was recorded in Mexicali and released digitally by the Locust’s label Three One G, with a separate limited edition of 500 records on white vinyl. Their upcoming sophomore LP Modern Hate, due digitally and on vinyl April 23 via Three One G, will be their first full-length in five years. The album was recorded, produced, mixed, and mastered in Mexicali at Pulsar Studios and La Casa Estudios by Cesar Cossio, with vinyl mastering by Ruben Tamayo. According to the label, “The record was meant to be released in 2018, but was put on hold while they went on short hiatus to address some of their differences.” The album delays were furthered by the pandemic, in addition to having to break in new drummer Rocio Chavez and rethink the work they’d already done in the studio. “This felt like a new start that called for relearning, reshaping, and retouching some of the tracks.”

HarpCo

Folk/rock/blues/Americana band Harpco features Sue Ferguson, aka Sue Delguidice, who co-founded the local late-1970s all-girl punk band the Dinettes. She fronts the group alongside her husband Mark “Harpo” Delguidice. Originally from Chicago, Harpo’s family lived behind the Kingston Mines blues club, where he got his nickname from Big Walter Horton. The veteran bluesman took exception to a neighborhood kid who played the harp inexplicably nicknaming himself “Lil’ Johnny Winter,” and instead started calling him Lil’ Harpo. This was eventually shortened, once he was no longer lil’. Harpo moved in 1999 from San Francisco to San Diego with his wife, who also played with Slackjaw, Private Sector, and Shelf Life. The band has a new bassist, Chad Allbritton, previously of JuJu Satori, a group that has also featured Sue Delguidice.

Death Eyes

Fronted by Alberto Jurado, Death Eyes was founded by former members of local pop-punk bands Rats Eyes and Death Crisis: Jurado (vocals), Jimmy Armbrust (bass), Jason Blackmore (guitar), and John Cota (drums). A self-titled debut full-length was released in early 2015, followed by touring and opening slots for the Weirdos, Agent Orange, M.D.C., and Nails. Alberto Jurado passed away in early 2020, while the band was working on their next EP and preparing to tour with Big Business. By last summer, bassist Jimmy Armbrust had been replaced by Cole Mears (Ghetto Blaster, Hostile Comb-Over). Last year, local label Three One G dropped the EP that the band was recording before Jurado’s death, State of Fear, including a video for “Management Is Not Your Friend” that features found footage, as well as live performances featuring the late singer. A new locally-recorded album called Death Eyes Live at Bar Pink will be available this summer on 180-gram translucent pink vinyl, limited to 300 copies produced by Pink Pachyderm Records. It will be the label’s debut release.

Wsprgrl

The electronic gloom-pop band Wsprgrl began as a 1980s-inspired three-piece. The project was created in 2015 by singer-songwriter Cara Potiker (L1ght Ra1L), produced by Patrick Heaney (Shark Attack, Tiny Telephones), and performed by Heaney, Potiker, and Mike Delgado (Shark Attack, Scary Pierre). “I have been producing dark wave, new wave, pop, and indie electro music for a number of years, and I specialize in creating dark lyrics with palatable vocal and instrumental hooks,” says Potiker. The band’s first live gig is streaming on their Facebook page, and their website samples include quick performances of club-friendly tracks like “Gasoline” and “Higher.” Songs uploaded to YouTube include a cover version of Andrew Gold’s “Never Let Her Slip Away.” Now a duo featuring Heaney and Potiker, they recently released a three-track cassette with the title track “Remember,” sporting artwork by Marina Grize. The group calls the title song “A reminder to stay present with the ones you love.”

The Dragons

Their name inspired by Thomas Harris’s first Hannibal Lecter book Red Dragon, the Dragons were originally together for a run of around around thirteen years, releasing six albums. The band essentially formed from the ashes of M-80, whose second and final lineup was Ken Mochikoshi-Horne and Mario Escovedo, alongside Kevin Chanel (the Front, Ghetto Scheist), and Baba Chanel (Ghetto Scheist). Though they landed opening slots for touring acts like Johnny Thunders at the Bacchanal, M-80 didn’t last long, so Mochikoshi-Horne and Escovedo formed the Dragons, soon joined by drummer Jarrod Lucas. After they split in late 2004, Escovedo formed the Mario Escovedo Experience, or MEX, with former Dragon Lucas on drums. Encinitas-based guitarist-turned-Jarana-player Ken Horne joined the Bronx (aka Mariachi El Bronx) in 2006, and local violinist Ray Suen (Louis XIV, the Killers) joined Mariachi El Bronx in early 2010. The Dragons played a reunion gig at the Casbah in January, 2010, and still occasionally perform. A 2015 Casbah tribute gig for the band’s late bassist Steve Rodriguez included the Dragons being joined onstage for a surprise appearance by Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley. The band’s Live at the Casbah album, previously only available on CD, will soon be released on colored vinyl.