Musician Interviews
Larry Zeiger says it was he who gave pop star Adam Lambert his first studio break. Lambert, who graduated from Mount Carmel High School in Rancho Peñasquitos in 2000, recorded a song for Zeiger’s musical …
“Drugs used to do for me what a phone booth did for Superman,” says Gary Lee Ernst, singer and guitarist for Christian rockers In the Midst 777. “I was in and out of jail about …
“My music has no boundaries,” says multi-instrumentalist Brian Ellis, whose two solo albums cover all the musical bases, from free jazz to psychedelic, world, and experimental electronic music. “I use computer programming and multitrack recording …
“Music tunes people,” says singer Sabira Woolley. “If my music appeals to you, then my tuning is attuned with yours. I write songs that come from my truth, with the intention of bringing listeners into …
Gary Beck has a certain way about him. He is the midday disc jockey at KSDS, the City College radio station otherwise known as Jazz 88.3, and his demeanor takes me back to 1971 to …
Hard-rocking, Christian, and proud, Thieves & Liars pulled no punches on their debut, When Dreams Become Reality, a concept album based on the Old Testament story of Joseph. Now they’re back with a more straightforward …
“Last year we were just four childhood friends, reuniting in our home town of Poway for a jam session,” says Johnny Airplane, singer-guitarist for Monkeys in Space. “We realized we’re all still young — in …
Twenty-year-old coloratura soprano Alize Rozsnyai has been singing since age two, graduating early from Rancho Bernardo High School in 2006 with an album entitled Sweet Sixteen already under her belt. “I still live in San …
Robin Henkel hoots, hollers, walks out into the audience with his guitar, sits at their tables, and tells stories. He favors the raw end of what his instrument can sound like, and when he sings …
“We try to capture the musical variety and spiritual energy of a Dave Matthews concert,” says singer-guitarist Mike Myrdal of his tribute band Stepping Feet. The group has jammed with Matthews associates such as harp …
Before moving to North County, singer-songwriter Spud Davenport drummed for various L.A. and San Francisco bands, the most successful of which was Toymuzic. After learning how to play both guitar and keyboard, he penned the …
“Some people say we sound kind of like groovy ’60s music, and some people say we sound kind of like surf punk,” says Erica Putis, bassist in the alt-rock trio Recordable Colors. Putis says that …
Members of Dynamite Walls write and record radio-ready pop-rock from their Encinitas home base. But if Tom Pritchard had not broken up with his girlfriend five years ago, there might not be a band today. …
Alan Silva plays mostly acoustic songs in a variety of styles, from indie to folk to country blues. “I take inspiration from many sources in music, as well as from literary figures,” he says. “Compare …
Founded in 1977, Forecast specializes in what regional radio used to call “lights-out jazz,” a progressive sort of lounge sound almost verging on rock and roll. Mining the same smooth ground as locals Fattburger and …
“I was married in Virginia when I was 23, with a career and a business suit, but I gave it all up to play music in Southern California,” says singer-songwriter Megan Combs, who arrived in …