Los Saints

Founded in Chula Vista, rock trio Los Saints features first-generation Mexican-Americans, including frontman Angel Mariscal, guitarist Gianluca Exposito, and drummer Emiliano Garcia. Their debut singles “I’m In Need” and “As Bad As the First” were followed by a 2021 EP, recorded over three days in an L.A. studio with Dear Boy drummer Keith Harrison. Music videos for “Let It Out” and “It’s Easier When You Jump” were shot in Chula Vista. A single was also released for “A17.” The trio recently signed to Enci Records (the label known for The Joy Formidable and Fences), which will release their new single on February 18 for “Fouund You Somewhere,” recorded in Los Angeles by another Dear Boy member, Keith Cooper.

According to Los Saints frontman Angel Mariscal, “‘Fouund You Somewhere’ was written at the end of my first serious relationship. It’s about yearning for something that you lost and holding on to what could have been, if things were done differently.” Mariscal also directed a video for the song, which he says features him leading the rest of the band on “a wild-eyed odyssey to the heart of the city in search of someone, or something.” The single is from their upcoming five-Song EP Welcome To Confusion. They’ll play Oceanside’s Pour House on February 26.

The Inflorescence

Pop rockers The Inflorescence came together in 2019. According to the band, “In a largely male-dominated industry, we see how undermined we are for being a no-man band, and we see how being on stage empowers alternative girls and non-binary people.” The group was founded by teen singer and guitarist Tuesday Denekas (they/them), drummer Milla Merlini (she/her), and bassist Sasha A’Hearn (she/her), who recruited singer (and aspiring guitarist) Charlee Berlin to form The Fluorescents. A self-titled EP was released in 2020, with songs mostly written by Denekas, whose mother is local singer-songwriter Tamar Berk. After changing their name to The Inflorescence, the band signed to the Kill Rock Stars label, which recently released their debut single and an Emma Thomas-directed video for “Are You Sorry.”

"We have two more singles being released before the album comes out in the next few months, each with its own music video," says Charlee Berlin. "Most of our influences originate from the modern indie-pop genre and the direction that's it's been heading the past couple of years. We've been a part of the local San Diego scene since before the pandemic, and it's been really inspiring and cool to see it blow up post-pandemic." They’ll play the Casbah with Schizophonics on Saturday, February 12, and you can also catch them at the Che Café on the UCSD campus on February 26.

Nashville Ramblers

Cult band Nashville Ramblers - led by Carl Rusk (guitar) with Tom Ward (bass) and Ron Silva (drums) – released their famous single “The Trains” in 1986. The tune is now considered a power-pop classic, thanks in part to being included on the multi-volume Children of Nuggets box set from Rhino Records. The individual trio members also spent time playing with other noted local garage bands such as the Crawdaddys, the Gravedigger Five, and Mystery Machine. “In 1986, ‘Trains’ and one other Ramblers song appeared on an obscure UK-only compilation, but few people noticed,” says Mike Stax, whose local Ugly Things Records released the tune on vinyl a quarter century later. The Nashville Ramblers played a 2002 reunion show with The Gants at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, New Jersey, where they also appeared in 2010. There was also an April 2014 reunion set at the Casbah, and they reunited again at Til Two in May 2015.

A January 2017 private party gig in Hollywood found once and future Monkee Micky Dolenz performing with the group. They’ll reconvene again at the Casbah on February 18, as part of the two-day Che Underground Midwinter Masque, for a Friday night bill that includes The Nephews and a coalition of local talent called The Wrecktangle, featuring Ray Brandes, Cindy Lee Berryhill, Dave Doyle, Joel Kmak, and Kevin Ring.

Six String Society

Kenneth Rexrode’s project Six String Society is an all-star guitar group with a rotating roster of guest guitarists that has included Gregory Page, Peter Sprague, Leonard Patton, Buzz Campbell, Dennis Caplinger, Billy Watson, Ben Powell, David Maldonado, Nathan James, Jim Soldi, Jimmy Patton, Enrique Platas, Greg Douglass, Casey Hensley, Laura Chavez, Evan Caleb Yearsley, Tim Foley, Patric Petrie, Jonny Viau, Anthony Cullins, and others.

The collective will be performing a theme show at the Belly Up on Thursday, February 10, called The 27 Club, paying tribute to music stars who famously died before their 28th birthday such as Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Amy Winehouse, Robert Johnson, and Janis Joplin. Performers will include Lauren Leigh (covering Joplin) and Austin Poel (as Cobain), as well as Whitney Shay (Winehouse), Robin Henkel (Robert Johnson), and Anthony Aquarius paying tribute to Jimi Hendrix. The band will feature area players such as Jody Bagley and Laura Chavez, among others.

The Routine

Based in Barrio Logan, funky soul rockers The Routine formed in the spring of 2013 when local stage actor Bryan Barbarin decided he wanted to move away from theater and start playing music. Joining childhood friend and local guitar teacher Russell Ramo, they leaped from playing acoustic covers in dive bars and restaurants to forming an original five-piece band with bassist Nick Hein, drummer Dave Butterfield, and percussion player Eduardo Canelon. Within two months of forming, they spent one day at Iacon Sound Studios and recorded their five-song Rhinoceros EP with no overdubs or edits.

In 2016, the band helped launch the recurring Funk Soul Social at the Holding Company in Ocean Beach. In 2017, Bryan Barbarin began performing with local steampunk cult icons Steam Powered Giraffe, joining the costumed robot band as a new character named Zero. The Routine appears at the Music Box in Little Italy on Friday, February 11, for a bill that includes Fresh Veggies Micro Brass.