Alicia Previn

The daughter of pianist, composer, and conductor André Previn and jazz singer Betty Bennett, Alicia Previn is a classically trained violinist who studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. She has played with bands like the New Archaic, In Tua Nua, Folding Mr. Lincoln, Tim Foley, Yael & Vlady, the Rose Three, Big Boss Bubeleh, the Young Dubliners, and others. She has recorded with acts such as Philip D’Arrow, Andy Leek, the Hothouse Flowers, Flogging Molly, Katmandu, Finn MacCool, Ten Bright Spikes, the Bumpin’ Uglies, Cracker, Great White and Jack Russell, Richard Thompson, General Public, and the Communards. Previn is currently working with reggae icon Scientist, aka Hopeton Brown. After the well-known sound engineer and dub originator was shown a video of Previn performing the reggae standard “The Tide Is High,” he contacted her on Facebook to express his admiration and suggest a collaboration. The result is a new version of the song “Broken Heart” by one of Scientist’s recent discoveries, Israeli artist Shusha Onyema, produced by Dana Peralta and recorded at Studio City Sound in Los Angeles.

Sitting on Stacy

Founded in 2013 and originally known as Paper and based in Ventura before settling in San Diego, Sitting on Stacy plays ska-flavored alt rock. The band was founded by singer-guitarist Hoyt Yeatman, singer-bassist Kyle Hart, and drummer Jeff Demorest, who was later replaced by Trevor Smith. Yeatman and Hart both graduated SDSU several years after forming the band, with Yeatman minoring in music global composition. A debut album was released in 2017, Obsessed, along with a video for the track “Oh Baby.” The band won the 2018 Kaaboo Discovery competition, earning a slot on that year’s September Kaaboo music fest bill. After releasing their 2019 album Perfectly Sane, they opened for the Jonas Brothers in Chula Vista, as well as a handful of other 2020 dates. The group continued releasing singles during the Covid-19 pandemic, including “This Summer’s Day” and “Ellen.” With new drummer Trevor Smith in tow, they just finished a co-headlining tour with the Aquadolls.

Parade of Horribles

Photograph by Joel Gelin

Hard rock punk-funk duo Parade of Horribles features singer-bassist Jason York (Civic Unrest) and drummer Chris Mazzola. The band’s Listen In EP, due May 6, has been in progress since summer 2019, when drummer Chris Mazzola spent a couple of weeks at Yosemite. According to Oceanside-based singer-bassist Jason York, “I don’t know if I got bored or lonely or what, but I just started writing a song a day. After having music for three of ‘em, I started to nail down a vocal theme. We were in the thick of organizing the 11th Annual Punk Rock Food Drive, so I just started singing about that. Different themes around running a nonprofit, and organizing annual fundraiser events for the last decade. By the time Chris came back into town, the EP was complete.”

The EP was tracked by Tim Sams of Craft Sounds, which books and hosts shows at local breweries. “We live a couple blocks from each other, so it makes for a pretty easy recording schedule. One day for drums, one day for bass, and I recorded the vocals at my home studio.” The release party happens May 13 at the Pour House in Oceanside, where the bill includes Generator (Bad Religion tribute) and Bakersfield singer-songwriter Matt Salkeld. The event is a fundraiser for the duo’s Punk Rock Food Drive, which has raised over 236,000 meals for local food banks since 2009.

Marcelo Radulovich

Guitarist/keyboardist/electronic-manipulator Marcelo Radulovich (Gunther’s Grass, Playground Slap) is an experimental musician in the vein of John Cage and the Kronos Quartet. As a member of the Trummerflora music collective, he performed as Titicacaman, as well as presenting and promoting San Diego shows featuring other avant garde musicians from around the globe. Asked to describe his music, he says “Always a tough question, but experimental pop, dada funk, and surreal rock are all tags which have been used. I like lush and rich productions. The music is very colorful, with lots of funk in the rhythm, loud in the bass, and with electronics, sampling, and processing that gives it a futuristic feel. Most of the songs are under three minutes, and they come in English and Spanish.” His newly released Merry Go Down: Flashbacks album contains “reinterpreted songs an old band of mine used to play in the early ‘90s, a band called Merry Go Down, don’t know if you ever heard of it,” says Radulovich. “It was a good chunk of work, no people playing together, just me piecing separate tracks together. The band was a rock/funk band and the sound of this record reflects that, some of it gets into the super funky.”

Beach Punx Sunday

Just in Case file

Winstons in OB will host a free afternoon Beach Punx Sunday party on April 24 featuring four local bands with deep roots in the coastal community. Late For Life originally formed as Switzer circa 2001 in Miami, FL, where the members met during college. They played the 2003 Van’s Warped Tour as well as over a hundred other shows that year, becoming known for offbeat covers like Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence” and Slayer’s “Raining Blood.” Despite the moderate success, they went on hiatus in 2004 and would not make a return for 13 years.

Punchcard shows have been described as reminiscent of a drunken stand-up comedy hour. A 2010 album called Over It was followed by a 2014 EP, Non Compos Mentis. Early 2018 saw the release of their first full-length in eight years, a politically inspired project called Making it Great…Again. Midnight Track plays punk rock music with a touch of ska and reggae, citing influences from The Clash and Stiff Little Fingers to Toots & the Maytals and Los Fastidios. Just in Case, originally based in southern New Jersey, released their self-titled debut full-length in 2008. A new EP dropped last August, Roll With the Punches.