“We Are Our Computers’ Genitalia”

The Frequency Conspiracy features members of Raven, Last in Line, 24-7 Spyz, and Seventrain. Their Quarantine Covers album contains “Sailing” (Christopher Cross), “Carry On Wayward Son” (Kansas), “Life in the Fast Lane” (Eagles), “Hell Bent For Leather” (Judas Priest), and other tribute tunes. Guest players include singer Andrew Freeman (Last in Line, Offspring), bassists John Gallagher (Raven) and David Pastorius (Pat Travers, Tech N9ne), guitarists Joshua Jones (Poster Child) and Christophe Godin (Morgibl, Metal Kartoon), keyboardist Craig Soderberg (Shockhead), and Conspiracy drummer Joel Maitoza’s 24-7 Spyz bandmate Rick Skatore. According to Maitoza, “I decided to contact some musicians I’ve always wanted to work with and record an album of cover tunes with a hard rock metal vibe. The songs are some hand-picked favorites of mine that I thought everyone involved could have some fun with and the fans would enjoy hearing. It all started with releasing two videos in 2020 featuring Last in Line/Lynch Mob vocalist Andrew Freeman, and it just took off from there. I recorded the drum tracks in the studio by myself without any music, just a click track and the arrangement in my head. Then, I sent the tracks out to the individual musicians I wanted to have perform on the songs. The artists recorded their parts in their own home studios and sent them back to me. It was amazing to hear how each musician interpreted and performed their parts, and the songs just evolved.”

Promoting the spirit of unity, diversity, and equality, Hemisphere features openly gay members, including bandleader and founder Rob Shinno. The group draws on rock, pop, jazz, fusion, and metal for inspiration and has played at prestigious events such as the Newport Beach Jazz Festival. Their 2020 album American Dreams includes guest players like Grammy winning percussionist Tommy Aros (Fattburger), vocalist Rebecca Jade (2020 San Diego Music Award Artist of the Year), singer Leonard Patton, trumpeter Derek Cannon, a guitar solo from Patrick Yandall, and local jazz star Peter Sprague served as engineer and mixer.

As the band works on their upcoming Unity album with Rebecca Jade and other guests, Rob Shinno reports that “the American Dreams album got 400K-plus views and streams, and got on 55-plus stations on NACC radio. [I] saw the ‘Home’ video hit 55K streams on YouTube today, and we sold out our Humphreys show in October. In 2022, we have SXSW [South By Southwest music festival] in Austin TX, the Unity release with Peter Sprague and Bernie Grundmann, a special original artist showcase called Dudes and Divas hosted by Donna Larsen and I, and the Hemisphere Art & Dance live show. So, great things in the works.”

Most members of North County psychedelic alt-country rockers Dead Feather Moon grew up around Vista. Since making their live debut in 2009 at 710 Beach Club in Pacific Beach, they’ve gone on to become regulars at the Belly Up, the Casbah, and other blue chip local venues. A debut EP was released in 2009, Leave Heaven to the Birds, followed by the full-length Dark Sun, tracked in 2011 at White Horse Recorders with producer Aaron Swanton. A little over a year later, it won Best Alternative Album at the San Diego Music Awards, where the group also got a nomination for Best Alternative band. In 2014, they were named Best Alternative at the SDMAs, which offered the band another nomination nod in 2019.

Their 11-song album The Finder is several years old now, but they dropped a pandemic project with unreleased concert tracks, Life In Lighter Times, as well as digitally offering several unreleased songs. A new single called “Teenager” debuted on 91X’s Loudspeaker local music program in late 2020. They’ll appear on Friday, January 7, at the Casbah in Little Italy.

Innerds was founded by Brandon Relf (Sleeping People) and Bobby Bray (The Locust, Holy Molar). By 2016, with the addition of Chad Deal (Phantom Twins) on bass, the band had changed its name to INUS (The Institute for Navigating the Universal Self), describing their sound as “pre-postapocalyptic, post-honky-tonk-prog-skronk, space-tropicalia, math-lounge.” Their album title Western Spaghettification is a play on words intertwining Stephen Hawking’s concept of spaghettification (what theoretically happens when you cross the event horizon of a black hole) and vintage spaghetti westerns, which were filmed in Italy with Italians portraying Mexicans to save money. The album was recorded at UCSD’s Conrad Prebys Music Center and K-Street Studios and mastered by Tom Erbe (Morton Feldman, Alvin Lucir). Their most recent release was a surreal video for their track “We Are Our Computers’ Genitalia.” They were to appear at the Kensington Club on January 6, for a bill that includes experimental musician and cult performance artist Gary Wilson, who was considered “lost” until discovered working at a College Grove nudie club by private detectives hired by a reissue record label. Opening act Peymaar plays alien funk and cosmic punk. However, note that the concert has been cancelled.

Former San Diego Padre, longtime local musician, and son of a Kentucky preacher Tim Flannery plays an acoustic blend of folk and country music. In 2013, he performed on a CD called Angel Songs, a charity album recorded to raise funds for Newtown, CT victims that also includes locals Lisa Sanders and Randi Driscoll. By late 2014, he had officially retired from his job as third base coach for the San Francisco Giants and announced plans to increase focus on his growing career as a singer-songwriter. The following year, he released Three Ring Circus, on which he was backed by his band Lunatic Fringe, featuring Douglas Pettibone, Dennis Caplinger, and Dean Smith.

Flannery will appear at the Java Joe’s Reunion concert, taking place Saturday, January 8 at Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Carlsbad. Presented by San Diego Folk Heritage, the event features a celebratory gathering of players associated with the iconic coffeehouse venue which hosted so many future stars at various San Diego locales. Performers will include Billy Galewood, Berkley Hart, Gregory Page, Lisa Sanders, and Brown Sugar.