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Live Five: Peach Cooler, Weatherbox, Avenue Army, Steph Johnson, Odessa Kane
Pop-rock, indie-emo, hard rock, soul jazz, and hip-hop in Little Italy, City Heights, Linda Vista, Allied Gardens
Cartwheel galaxy
Peach Cooler at the Music Box
January 8
Fronted by Ocean Beach singer-songwriter Paige Koehler, indie pop-rock band Peach Cooler blends nostalgic 1960s surf culture with modern indie rock and soul, creating a vibrant and retro “beachy” sound. Their EP Got a Lot to Say was released in May 2024, along with two videos Koehler co-directed with Michael Wolfe, “Got a Lot to Say” and “When I Was,” shot in Mission Hills, OB, and Point Loma. Regarding their band name, Koehler told the Reader “I wish it were something more fun, but it’s really just a play on my name. We had our second show together booked at Music Box and even the tickets that were sold at that time had ‘Paige Koehler Band’ on them. Then we came up with Peach Cooler a week before the show and told the crowd, surprise, we are actually Peach Cooler and we’re gonna be here for a while.”
January 10
Although ostensibly an indie-emo band, Weatherbox is often described as progressive or art-rock due to frontman Brian Warren’s intricate songwriting, existential lyrics, and dynamic shifts from sparse moments to powerful, anthemic climaxes, mixing pop-punk hooks with complex arrangements. Their deep-reaching lyrics deal with existential matters uncommon in most rock and roll. Several members have also played in the side-project Mister Valentine. They split in 2016 for a while, with Warren joining Future Crooks and then co-forming Miss New Buddha in 2017. They returned from hiatus in 2019, though Warren also became a member of chart-topping L.A. act Say Anything in 2022. Weatherbox released a new album in 2025 called The Compass. The bill includes West Coast indie rocker King Of Heck and local emo ensemble Field Rush.
January 10
“Avenue Army relocated from Saint Paul, Minnesota to San Diego specifically because they felt that their sound would fit nicely in Southern California and because they strongly felt that this was the place to build a better foundation for their music and fanbase,” says singer-songwriter Max Bergstrom. The group played around the Minnesota and midwest scene between 2010 and 2013, when they released their debut album Words With Action. They relocated to California in 2016, where Bergstrom eventually recruited an entirely revised lineup specializing in high energy modern, alternative, and hard rock. Their music blends driving guitar riffs, powerful drums, and catchy pop-rock melodies with strong 90s grunge and pop-punk influences, creating a sound that's often compared to bands like Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and early Metallica. An album called Another Day dropped last year, with singles released for “Bedroom Window,” “Company Killer,” and “Ordinary Names.” The Linda Vista show is headlined by local alt-metal band Silent Vice, with opening sets from Resider and Carry the Day.
Steph Johnson at Mission Trails Church
January 11
Soulful jazz singer Steph Johnson quit her job at a bank in 2009 to concentrate on being a full-time musician. Raised listening to Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, and Donny Hathaway, her music is a kind of soul-blues fusion with jazzy overtones and an emphasis on original material. Johnson’s first album Genesee was nominated for a 2006 San Diego Music Award. Her song “In the Hood,” recorded at Jason Mraz’s house, won the 2008 Your Song competition. Her 2010 album Mysterious Feminine (although more of an R&B record) won Best Jazz Album at that year’s SDMAs. Her fifth studio album So in Lovewas released during her involvement with the local Voices of Our City Choir, which at the time was competing in the live rounds of the America's Got Talent TV competition. She has a new album called Cartwheel Galaxy, backed by a new psychedelic-electronic project she calls Happy Baby.
January 14
Born in Tijuana and raised in Paradise Hills, half-Filipino, half-Mexican Frankie Quiñones, aka Odessa Kane, first earned local notice with Gonjasufi and Orko Eloheim in Masters of the Universe, which has been around since the early 1990s and has included his younger brother, half-Filipino half-Mexican rapper and producer Michael Quiñones, sometimes aka Scatter Brain the Acid Atheist. Originally taking the name Odessa Kane as a reference to “odyssey and cocaine,” he was nominated Best Hip-Hop Artist at the 2011 San Diego Music Awards. Known for his political awareness and activism, he helps publicize injustice in the Philippines as a member of Kabatang MakaBayan, an organization more widely known as KmB. His early 2013 collaboration with producer Infinity Gauntlet (Kane's brother), Cuetes & Balisongs, won Best Hip-Hop Album at the 2013 San Diego Music Awards, with Kane himself taking home a Best Hip-Hop award in 2014. Last September, he released a new collaborative album with Yams called W.O.R.D. (Written Over Raw Drums). The bill includes DotWav and Sham Blak.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Live Five: Peach Cooler, Weatherbox, Avenue Army, Steph Johnson, Odessa Kane
Pop-rock, indie-emo, hard rock, soul jazz, and hip-hop in Little Italy, City Heights, Linda Vista, Allied Gardens
Live Five: Peach Cooler, Weatherbox, Avenue Army, Steph Johnson, Odessa Kane
Pop-rock, indie-emo, hard rock, soul jazz, and hip-hop in Little Italy, City Heights, Linda Vista, Allied Gardens
Cartwheel galaxy
Peach Cooler at the Music Box
January 8
Fronted by Ocean Beach singer-songwriter Paige Koehler, indie pop-rock band Peach Cooler blends nostalgic 1960s surf culture with modern indie rock and soul, creating a vibrant and retro “beachy” sound. Their EP Got a Lot to Say was released in May 2024, along with two videos Koehler co-directed with Michael Wolfe, “Got a Lot to Say” and “When I Was,” shot in Mission Hills, OB, and Point Loma. Regarding their band name, Koehler told the Reader “I wish it were something more fun, but it’s really just a play on my name. We had our second show together booked at Music Box and even the tickets that were sold at that time had ‘Paige Koehler Band’ on them. Then we came up with Peach Cooler a week before the show and told the crowd, surprise, we are actually Peach Cooler and we’re gonna be here for a while.”
January 10
Although ostensibly an indie-emo band, Weatherbox is often described as progressive or art-rock due to frontman Brian Warren’s intricate songwriting, existential lyrics, and dynamic shifts from sparse moments to powerful, anthemic climaxes, mixing pop-punk hooks with complex arrangements. Their deep-reaching lyrics deal with existential matters uncommon in most rock and roll. Several members have also played in the side-project Mister Valentine. They split in 2016 for a while, with Warren joining Future Crooks and then co-forming Miss New Buddha in 2017. They returned from hiatus in 2019, though Warren also became a member of chart-topping L.A. act Say Anything in 2022. Weatherbox released a new album in 2025 called The Compass. The bill includes West Coast indie rocker King Of Heck and local emo ensemble Field Rush.
January 10
“Avenue Army relocated from Saint Paul, Minnesota to San Diego specifically because they felt that their sound would fit nicely in Southern California and because they strongly felt that this was the place to build a better foundation for their music and fanbase,” says singer-songwriter Max Bergstrom. The group played around the Minnesota and midwest scene between 2010 and 2013, when they released their debut album Words With Action. They relocated to California in 2016, where Bergstrom eventually recruited an entirely revised lineup specializing in high energy modern, alternative, and hard rock. Their music blends driving guitar riffs, powerful drums, and catchy pop-rock melodies with strong 90s grunge and pop-punk influences, creating a sound that's often compared to bands like Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and early Metallica. An album called Another Day dropped last year, with singles released for “Bedroom Window,” “Company Killer,” and “Ordinary Names.” The Linda Vista show is headlined by local alt-metal band Silent Vice, with opening sets from Resider and Carry the Day.
Steph Johnson at Mission Trails Church
January 11
Soulful jazz singer Steph Johnson quit her job at a bank in 2009 to concentrate on being a full-time musician. Raised listening to Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, and Donny Hathaway, her music is a kind of soul-blues fusion with jazzy overtones and an emphasis on original material. Johnson’s first album Genesee was nominated for a 2006 San Diego Music Award. Her song “In the Hood,” recorded at Jason Mraz’s house, won the 2008 Your Song competition. Her 2010 album Mysterious Feminine (although more of an R&B record) won Best Jazz Album at that year’s SDMAs. Her fifth studio album So in Lovewas released during her involvement with the local Voices of Our City Choir, which at the time was competing in the live rounds of the America's Got Talent TV competition. She has a new album called Cartwheel Galaxy, backed by a new psychedelic-electronic project she calls Happy Baby.
January 14
Born in Tijuana and raised in Paradise Hills, half-Filipino, half-Mexican Frankie Quiñones, aka Odessa Kane, first earned local notice with Gonjasufi and Orko Eloheim in Masters of the Universe, which has been around since the early 1990s and has included his younger brother, half-Filipino half-Mexican rapper and producer Michael Quiñones, sometimes aka Scatter Brain the Acid Atheist. Originally taking the name Odessa Kane as a reference to “odyssey and cocaine,” he was nominated Best Hip-Hop Artist at the 2011 San Diego Music Awards. Known for his political awareness and activism, he helps publicize injustice in the Philippines as a member of Kabatang MakaBayan, an organization more widely known as KmB. His early 2013 collaboration with producer Infinity Gauntlet (Kane's brother), Cuetes & Balisongs, won Best Hip-Hop Album at the 2013 San Diego Music Awards, with Kane himself taking home a Best Hip-Hop award in 2014. Last September, he released a new collaborative album with Yams called W.O.R.D. (Written Over Raw Drums). The bill includes DotWav and Sham Blak.