Crosswalk Heroes

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Meet Crosswalk Heroes. This is the band that will pick you up if you’re feeling down or keep you up if you’re feeling happy. Three guys—Hernando Suanico, Brandon Michel, and DD—form this alternative band straight out of San Diego. They’ve played over 40 local shows in the past year and are set on playing many more this new year. What is a crosswalk hero, you may ask? Read the tell-all interview to find out who these guys are and what makes them respectable and worth listening to.


Tunage: Where did the band name come from?

Hernando: We had started with a different name which was The Scenic Route and then a band got signed with that name so we were just throwing out ideas at our practice and it was a conglomerate of a bunch of different things. Basically when it comes down to it, our name represents us just being normal people that have our moments of heroism. It means adding a little something good to the world.

DD: We wanted to be Crosswalks but someone else was already Crosswalks, Hernando wanted something with the word heroes so that’s how it was formed.

Brandon: Alright, you guys are both wrong. (Everyone laughs.) My friend Chaz and I were talking on Facebook and I said, “Alright, we have to change our name.” He came up with Heroes & Villains, I think, and I brought up that name with the band because I thought that was the coolest name out of everything else he gave me and I thought we could work with it. The only thing we stuck with was the heroes thing so… you guys are liars. (Everyone laughs again.)

Hernando: I told you it was a conglomerate of everything! Alright, come on, next question! (Laughs.)


 

Youth Martyrs

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There’s nothing better than some blues for your soul. Throw in some dirty garage tones and cool vibes and the product is Youth Martyrs. The band describes themselves as a blues group that plays surf music and garage rock. The dudes in Youth Martyrs are four average guys who live in San Diego, CA. Gonzalo Meza is the man on the vocals and guitar, River Torres strums his own guitar as well, Hunter Perrin slaps the bass, and Thomas Sypkens pounds on the drums. Well, in this case, there isn’t much pounding! Youth Martyrs are so chill that only good vibes and relaxed rock formulate their songs. The band is easily influenced by Rockets from the Tombs, Television, Talking Heads, and David Bowie. Tunage would like to introduce you to Hunter Perrin, the dude who gets down with his bass, as we delve into the story of Youth Martyrs.


Tunage: What is Youth Martyrs? Is it a representation of a group’s beliefs or is it simply just a band of average dudes just trying to make some music?

Hunter: Well, Gonzalo describes it as this sort of effort to bring back the older sound that our youth seems to have lost touch with. This is not to say we are the only ones doing this, but that we fully support this movement and enjoy playing this type of music.

T: How does Youth Martyrs stand out from the vast sea of local San Diego bands?

H: I suppose our sound stands out because it is a collection of various genres. It seems that each of us is into completely different music, but we all share a deep respect for unfiltered and unedited rock and roll. I find River listening to 80's new wave stuff like Siouxsie and the Banshees and Gonzalo is off listening to old blues and country music like Led Belly and Willie Nelson. I'm into everything from hip-hop to old punk music and Thomas and I both share a love for "Gun Club.”


 

Blac Paulie

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You turn on the radio,
and what do you hear? Crap.
You switch the station,
and what do you hear? Crap.
Aren't you tired of modern music that's passed off as "hip hop" just being a constant disappointment?
Well my friends, the key, like in any genre, is to dig deeper, until you find the good stuff. The gold.
Like Black Paulie.
Tunage was turned onto Paulie by one of our designers,
and what a gem she found.
Tunage has finally dug up so good, true hip hop, with heart and soul.



Tunage: What artists are your major influences?

Paulie: I have a crazy long list, bear with me.  Im a fan of all genres but my transformers would be Outcast, for their musical superior ability to push the envelop, Nas, for storytelling and his lyrical content, Coldplay, for making epic tunes, and conveying emotion through sound, and, of course, Jay Z, for translating music into a lifestyle and later entrepreneurship. Those guys together would be like Optomus Prime.

T: How old were you when you decided you wanted to get into making music?

 P: I've always dabbled with instruments, turntables and poetry. I would say around 19 I took hip hop serious.

T: When you start to write lyrics do you have messages in mind you try to stick to or do you just let the words sorta spill out onto paper?

P: I do both.  I've got messages for the most part, I usually write with an agenda or topic in mind.  I freestyle write a lot too. See in hip hop, it's common to put out a 16 to 24 bar verse of thoughts or ideas just for listening  purposes.

DJ 2B

11/1/2012

1 Comment

 

DJ 2B

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Tunage: How did you get so involved with music?

2B: My parents were musicians when I was a little kid and they kind of influenced to be into music. After I started listening to music, I began to play it. I started playing drums and stuff and that was pretty inspiring. My parents were definitely one of the things that got me into music.

T: Good! What instruments do you play?

2B: I play drums mostly. I can play guitar, bass (not so well), and I'm learning piano.


T: What are your favorite genres of music?

2B: The main genre I like is hardcore music. That's what I play the drums to. I also listen to electronic music; it's mostly the music that I DJ. I also listen to alternative rock, metal, and anything else like that.

T: Nice. Who or what are your inspirations?

2B: As a DJ, Skrillex was the first dubstep DJ I ever listened to. I thought that his image as a former punk rock musician and then turning into a worldwide DJ was pretty awesome. It inspired me to do this.

T: Have you had a lot of support from friends and family?

2B: Yeah, my family provided me with jobs and they gave me the opportunity to make money so that I could afford my equipment. All my friends at my school support me, all my friends that I met at events support me, and it's just been awesome.

T: It's clear that you have a lot of people that support you. Has your outlook on music changed throughout your life? Is it more meaningful than when you were a few years younger?

2B: Yeah, when I first started listening to music it was the popular music that everybody listened to. Generally, a while later I began to start exploring different genres which is how I got into electronic music. I got into hardcore because I was playing drums to bands like Green Day and punk rock bands. Since I was able to play it, it was getting boring so I wanted to incorporate new techniques like the double-bass pedal.


 

HEADWAY

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Pop punk in San Diego is booming. Small venues like Epicentre and even large venues like House of Blues hold shows dedicated to the genre. HEADWAY, one of the many pop punk bands in SD, prove that pop punk's not dead. Formerly named Captain! Captain!, the band decided to start over and bust out some new tunes. Earlier this year, HEADWAY opened for The Story So Far and released their single "Growing Pains." After coming back from their tour, Bryson, the vocalist of the band, talked with Tunage to let us know more about HEADWAY and their experiences so far.

T: Why did the band go from Captain! Captain! to Headway?
Bryson: We lost a couple of members forcing CC to quit and we wanted to start fresh with a new band and new members.

T: When you all got together, did you agree on the kind of music you wanted to play?
Bryson: We never really chose a specific style to write, but the chemistry we all feel when writing together is unreal.

T: What inspires the music?
Bryson: Everything in our lives from music to something heard in class or read in a book.

T: Who writes the lyrics to your songs?
Bryson: I write the lyrics.

T: Are there any special meanings behind certain songs?
Bryson: Here and there. I try to add depth and passion to what I am singing about. It makes the music way more fun to play live.
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T: Out of all the songs Headway has written, what's the band's overall favorite?
Bryson:  Right now, probably our single "Growing Pains." Although, we do have a lot more coming that we are really excited about!

T: You all recently went on tour. How was the experience?
Bryson:  Tour was great. It teaches you how to live off very little and take advantage of opportunities when they show up. You also learn how to live on tour instead of just partying the whole time, although we did have our fair share of that!

T: Name the best thing about being on tour.
Bryson: Playing in a beer pong tournament in Reno with [our bassist] Trevor and playing our set to a new crowd every night... even if it was only to six kids.



T: When you play a show, what are some of the ways that you like to warm up?
Bryson: Some of us do warm-ups like I do for my voice. We also just mentally prepare.

T: What do you encourage show-goers to do when they see you guys play?
Bryson: Check out all the bands playing and support any that you liked!

T: What is your favorite venue to play?
Bryson: Our favorite venue is our house in Encinitas called The Broken Arrow. We throw a lot of shows there.

T: Is San Diego a good location for a booming music scene?
Bryson: It could be, but more kids need to go to smaller venues around SD.

T: What are the band's plans within the next year?
Bryson: We are hitting the road to tour again in the spring and our goal is to make it our lives and go full-time. That'll happen within a year.

Keep up with HEADWAY with the links provided and give them a listen!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/headwaysd
Bandcamp: www.headway.bandcamp.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/headwaysd

Photo Credits: Nesha Torres

Written by Jordan Mafi

- Tunage
 

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:
Joey Cape

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Anyone who has ever known me knows what a huge Lagwagon fan I am and how much I love Joey Cape and every musical project he does. In 2010, I was given the opportunity to street team for his band Bad Astronaut. It had been about five years since the death of drummer Derrick Plourde and Joey had announced that Bad Astronaut would play only a few shows. I didn’t want to miss this and spent a lot of time walking around with my young son in his stroller posting flyers for the show. It would be at this show that I would finally get to meet Joey Cape in person. Fast forward two years and here I am again finding out that Joey has a new band and is coming to town and needs a street team. 

Naturally, I jumped on it and sent off an email requesting more info. It then occurred to me that I could possibly get an interview. I sent another email requesting and interview and within a few hours I had my “Yes” response that I had been crossing my fingers for. Each day leading up to this moment seemed to drag on and on and take what felt like ages to get here, but then it came and I didn’t know what to do with myself.  When I met Joey at Brick by Brick they were just finishing their sound check. I approached him as he was exiting the stage and he immediately remembered me and gave me a huge hug. I totally melted, but quickly gathered myself together for this interview. I hope you all enjoyed it, I know I did.


 

Derek Roy: Behind the Scene

         Here at Tunage, not only are we focused on the greatest music of San Diego, but we
also focus on those behind the music—people like Derek Roy. Derek is a recording engineer
who studies at the Art Institute of California in San Diego. He’s very involved with music—he’s a
sales associate at Hot Topic, one of the only popular music and fashion retail stores around SD,
and he also created his own recording group. D.R Studios, as he calls it, has worked with bands
like Darling You’re Stunning, Ditches, Savage, Nick Gegan, Canavar, H Street, and Dave Owens.
D.R. Studios’ mission is to supply quality recordings for your budget.
Have you ever wanted to learn how to record music or do the techie stuff at live shows?
In this article, you’ll learn just what Derek does and where he got the tools to do it.


Tunage: What exactly is a recording engineer?

Derek: A recording engineer is a person in charge of the technical side of making music. [It can
consist of] setting up microphones and capturing sound while the band is playing. It seems like
a kind of “background role,” but it is a very important role to the recording process. A lot of
the time a recording engineer even takes on the roles of producer, band manager, and outside
mediator for each session of recording.

T: When did you decide to pursue this career?

Derek: How did I decide to pursue a career as an audio engineer? I started off wanting to
become a musician, and at first thought that learning to record, mix, and master would help me
get my foot in the door of the music industry, but as time went on I slowly started recording
more and more bands and found it extremely fun, and really decided I wanted to do more of it.

T: How do you feel about the classes that teach you how to do your job?

Derek: I love learning all that I can about audio engineering, and it is amazing to be able to
have so many places to learn about it. Besides getting to work with other skilled people and my
teachers, [I learn] from classes to online videos and forums as well as all the books I read on
the subject.

T: What is it that you love about music and sound?

Derek: I think the thing I love about music is the emotion that is involved. There are people
who, due to Alzheimer [for example], have long stopped functioning normally, but when they
hear some songs from when they were young they have this emotional memory so strong
that it surpasses the limits of their mental capabilities. It is just such a powerful thing that it is
hard not to be amazed at how music affects everything in life around us. I'm always amazed
whenever I meet someone who says they don't like music. Music is just an essential part of
life.

T: What is an average recording session to you?

Derek
: To me, a recording session is a chance for me to take what an artist is working on and
really make it shine. I get to take that song and inscribe it in a media where it can be enjoyed
by anyone at any time at their convenience. I like the fact that I can do that for a band and
help them do a better job as a whole.

T: What is one thing that a band can do to make the session easier and quicker?

Derek: When bands come in it is always good for them to have their songs well-rehearsed,
especially to a set tempo on a metronome. You have no idea how much it helps in the
recording and mixing process to have a band that is on beat and not flowing all over the place.
Another helpful hint to recording [well] is being able to show up on time. A lot of bands show
up late to a session due to issues such as getting a ride. What I would suggest is to always
leave an hour before any session; it gets you there on time and helps to keep us from sitting at
the studio doing nothing for a while.

T: What is the toughest thing a band can do while you're recording them?

Derek: I don't really think I've encountered too many tough things a band did when recording.
It would just be the opposite of what I said previously. If the band hasn't rehearsed and can't
play on the click, it causes lots of problems.

T: Do you have a goal that you want to achieve with your profession in the next 10
years?

Derek: In the next ten years I would really like to be in studios recording and mixing music. I
hope to have a good name while running a professional company.

T: What do you think of the music industry in today's time?

Derek: The music industry kind of sucks to tell you the truth. There are too many bad bands
making it big these days while plenty of original talented musicians struggle to get their stuff
going anywhere. Aside from that, artists really don't make any money off their music anymore
and have to get paid by playing shows. Besides that, the prices of most tickets for concerts are
absurd, having inflated insanely from 3rd party buyers and bands overcharging to make up for
the loss of money in music sales. I would really like to see less of these super famous bands
and more [of the] middle class musicians who sell their music and get all the money from it.

T: Do you believe that you are a critical part of the music industry?

Derek: I feel that recording engineers will always be an important part of the music industry
and will never really go away. As for me, I am slowly getting there by working with as many
people as I can to play a bigger role in the music industry.

T: If you had any advice to give to an art student looking for a job as a recording
engineer, what would you tell them?

Derek: I'd suggest that [they] network and learn as much as possible because opportunities
will come out of nowhere and [they] need to be able to jump on them before anyone else does.

Are you a band who wants to start recording music?
Get in touch with Derek through his info:

Derek Roy
760 533 0849
[email protected]
D.R Studios Independent Recording

You can find his stuff on Soundcloud at http://soundcloud.com/d-r-studios.

- Tunage

Written by Jordan Mafi
 

Pain: Psychobilly!

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Have you ever come across one of those nights when you just can't decide what show to go to? You've got a punk, psychobilly, and metal show on your plate and they all start at the same time. As much as you wish you could be in three places at once you've yet to realize that dream, so you know what you gotta do? Go see Pain! They've got all you need, all in one! I've seen these guys dozens of times and if there's one thing I can say, it's that they have the perfect mixture of all the best kinds of rock and roll, and they always put on an impressive show. The line up for this badass five-piece is drummer, Nekro Pain, lead guitarist, Johnny Pain, Rever End Pain on rythym, Baron Von Pain on bass, and of course Timmy Pain on the mic. I finally got the chance to interview these guys after our bands played an all ages show in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

Tunage: How did Pain get its start?

Timmy: Ah, well, Pain got started because So Damn Thirsty (Timmy's former band) broke up and I was putting a rumor out that we were going to do like a metal-ish style band and Nekro Pain, Baron Von Pain, and Johnny Pain were all doing a metal-ish band-

Johnny: NEKROPALYPSE!

T: That's right, Nekropalypse. They came to me and said, "Hey we heard you want to do a metal band, you can call it Pain of you want." And we started jamming and then we said if we're going to do this then we'll need a rythym guitarist and another guy from their old band-

Johnny, Nekro, Timmy: DEAD ON IMPACT!

T: That played out for a while and then we started to morph into kind of a punk, metal-ish, horror-metal-punk band kind of thing and Maxxx Pain, that was the other guitarist, he left-

N: That has three Xs.


 

DAYFADE BRINGS THE BEATS

Straight out of SD comes Dayfade, a chill-out hip hop artist who makes music to inspire good vibes. The man behind this alias is Devin McGuire who resides in Mira Mesa. Although he hasn't taken the stage just yet, he's gotten some attention from the world-wide web on sites like Tumblr and BandCamp. Dayfade's music represents true hip hop and sedates the listener with ultimately chill beats. Tunage caught up with Devin to talk about the origin of Dayfade, hip hop, and the people he'd like to thank for his success.

 

Tacky Little Hatshop

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--"electronica neo-folky polka"
Tacky Little Hatshop is the dynamic indie duo that you've got to hear about, bringing a fresh and whimsical sound to the world.

         Tunage got a chance to catch up with Tacky Little Hatshop. If you haven't heard of them, they're two sisters who create the most unique sound for Southern California to enjoy. It doesn't stop there though; these ladies have even shared their music love to Russia and Ireland. With influences from the 1910's, Legend of Zelda, and the Celtic culture, each tune they've composed have brought testament to their talent in thinking outside of the box.
Tunage: So, what are your names and your roles in the band?

Enya: I’m Enya and I play keyboard and accordion.
Anneke: I’m Anneke and I do guitar, lead vocals and banjo.

Tunage: How did this band start?

Enya: Well, we always played music together ever since we were little, and in 2008 my brother invited us to play at his concert with his band, because they didn’t have enough bands that night. But we didn’t have a name or anything so we said, “Um… okay. Sure we’ll play!” and we figured out the name that week.

T: How did you come up with Tacky Little Hatshop?
E: Do you know Hayao Miyazaki?
T: No, I haven’t.
E: He’s a Japanese animated director and illustrator, and he makes very beautiful anime movies. There’s one called “Howl’s Moving Castle”. There are these two girls, and they have a shop, and it’s Tacky Little Hatshop.