Graduates of Seaside and Monterey High, the popular reggae rock outfit 3 Hour Shower often plays on the same bill with fellow local band friends, Wasted Noise. 3 Hour Shower plays the Lava Lounge regularly and has become a tough contender in the Rock Wars competition.
Formerly a metal god known for songs like "I Need a Beer," Ace Andres goes in a New Age rock direction on his 2008 CD 7 Secret Vibrations. Andres, who was based in the Bay Area, moved to Monterey in 2006 and plays local venues including the Mucky Duck.
Zydeco-bluesman Alligator grew up on the Choctaw Reservation located in between the Louisiana and Texas border. Alligator, a Vietnam vet and former bull rider, made his home in Monterey in 1990. When he first moved to the Peninsula he played the Monterey Brewing Company and Sly McFly’s on a …
The brainchild of Andrew Webb Bauer, Astral Travel plays hypnotic rock with airy vocals that recalls shoegazer bands including Lush and My Bloody Valentine. The group's 2008 CD The Sound of Light was recorded in Big Sur, Pacific Grove and Santa Cruz.
AtomixX’s recipe is simple: play rock n’ roll loud and hard. Vocalist and rhythm guitarist Joel Trudeau’s influences of Social D, Cracker, Clash and The Supersuckers, allow AtomixX to play a mix of alternative rock renditions along with originals that have hints of the countryside intertwine…
Beat Street has a repertoire spanning several hundred popular tunes including surf music, disco and soul.
Though based in the small city of Monterey, Beezle play the sort of driving indie rock that is currently thriving in major metropolitan areas like San Francisco. The five man group has a batch of original numbers that includes the Weezer-like “King for a Day” and “Bleed with Me,” which sound…
Bird By Snow is the moniker of Pacific Grove's Fletcher Tucker's experimental folk music project. Tucker's also the mind behind the independent record label Gnome Life Records. On Bird By Snow's 2006 release Sky, lo-fi folk tunes that recall Little Wings coalesce out of noise. As Bird By Sno…
With former members of Bullet Tooth, the group that took home the top prize at Your Music Magazine’s 2004 Battle of the Bands, Blood Print play punishing metal with anguished vocals. The band used to regularly unleash its metal maelstrom at Monterey’s now-gone Lava Lounge.
The foursome—Bogie Pieper on drums, Sean Browne on bass, Tommy Pieper - and electric piano and Keith Damron on guitar and vocals—deliver doses of infectious garage rock.
Featuring former members of Flojos Nos Visten and Para La Gente, Bolivar Vive! plays horn heavy Latin ska punk. Named as a tribute to Venezuelan leader Simon Bolivar, the seven-piece band endorses left leaning politics.
The eclectic and socially conscious, Brea was born in Morgan Hill in 2003 when all its members were still in high school. Vocalist Leia Layus brings a sexy edge to the indie band that separates them from like operations.
Celebrating the music of New Orleans with a dash of West Coast rock, the Cachagua Playboys do classic Cajun fare including "Iko Iko" and "Jambalya." The 20-year-old outfit also has a collection of originals including the downhome instrumental jam "Surf Zydeco" and "Crush on You," which sound…
Originally from Memphis, saxophonist and flutist Charles Lloyd is one of Monterey County's most famous jazz artists. His 1966 Atlantic Records recording Forest Flower: Live in Monterey was a huge commercial success and the largest selling jazz recording of that time. The band was recorded li…
From the late ‘70s to 1995, Cheeky Spanks were a Monterey party band known for playing classic rock hits by Janis Joplin and The Doors. In 2002, Cheeky Spanks resurfaced and their latest incarnation has a batch of original numbers including the bubbly rocker “Paris Hilton.” Every year, lead…
At 14 years-old, Chelsea Shcreiber picked up the guitar. Now, performing as Chels, she plays originals including "Satin Sheets," which features her high vocals soaring above subdued acoustic guitar strumming.
Led by singer and guitarist Ron Wright, Chili Colorado is reminiscent of 80s rock with a big, electric guitar sound backed by Paul Goss on bass and John Ferraro on drums.
Coco Beat plays the “B’s” (Bullwackers & Baja Cantina) so often, they may be considered to be the unofficial house band for both venues. The diverse music of the quintet is described by the band as, “A meeting of rock, pop, reggae, & tropical rhythms, with side-trips into blues, jazz…
The R&B soul band Cold Front is led by renowned soul musician Minor Williams. Drummer and vocalist Williams has performed with greats such as Al Green, Aretha Franklin and Tower of Power. The Salinas-based band debuted at Monterey Live in 2006 after playing a few shows in the Bay Area.
With their concoction of country, swing and jazz Cow Bop has become a popular fixture in Big Sur and Carmel Valley playing Fernwood, the River Inn and Rippling River regularly. Led by famed local jazz guitarist Bruce Forman, the band has undergone two Route 66 Challenges, which entails trave…
Bassist Dan Robbins has been a teacher in Monterey Jazz Festival’s Traveling Clinician program since 2001. He was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for “Outstanding Service to Jazz Education” at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 2000. He plays every musical genre imaginable on the acoustic a…
Following stints in popular Big Sur acts Barefoot and the Big Sur Natives, percussionist Barklie Henry's latest project is Dark Chocolate. The six piece outfit also features the smooth playing of Monterey guitarist Joe Lucido. The band's 2006 release Island Gypsy includes the jam band funk g…
A Monterey Peninsula native, songwriter Dave Lemon spent a decade in Seattle before moving back to the area in 2006. Though recorded in Seattle, his 2004 CD Stumble In looks back at his formative years in Monterey County on songs like “Remember,” a punky blast that recalls early ‘90s alt roc…
Salinas quartet Delirio proves that the exploding genre of rock en Espanol encompasses more than just Latin ska punk. The band harks back to a '90s alt rock sound on numbers including "Auto Destruccion," a number sung in Spanish with electronica sounds gurgling beneath the surface.
Dirt was formed in 2006 so that local guitarist Steve Moseley (Coco Beat, Super Duper, Steve & Blue) could indulge in twin guitar rock n' roll. Moeley says that a fourth of the band's material is composed of Led Zeppelin songs sung by vocalist Nancy Phillips of Coco Beat.
Hailing from Salinas and San Francisco, the rock quartet Doctor Walken plays atmospheric post punk including originals like "The Marionette Lives" and "The Phantom Odalisque." The band has performed at local venues the Cherry Bean and the Penny Farthing.
The funked-out soul of Downtown James Brown debuted at Monterey Live in May 2006. Ever since that first performance, the James Brown tribute band has become a household name throughout the Peninsula. The group is led by Kim Edmundson, a former Los Angeles based drummer who has worked with bi…
Hailing from East Salinas, Dubwize plays all sorts of music from melodica drenched dub to the hip hop like dance hall and straight-ahead roots reggae. The group has opened for a slew of reggae greats including Burning Spear and Israel Vibration.
One of two MCs in local hip hop funk outfit Para La Gente, Emcee Change also found time to put out the solo hip hop CD The Bridge Called My Back in 2007. It features meticulous story songs like "Coming Back Around Again." In addition, Para La Gente makes an appearance on two tracks: the hype…
One of the most consistently entertaining performers in Monterey County, Erhman Hall is the stage name of one Keith Bruecker. The former frontman of great CSUMB bands including The Nancy Boys and The Pillow Fighters, Hall is a prolific songwriter with two full-length CDs under his belt. In s…
Forrest Day’s songs are tailor-made for the stage. The seven-piece San Francisco band’s “Secret,” for example, features chanted vocals, two horns that underscore the stomp of the track and a beat that hits as hard as a giant’s footsteps.
Like his primary influence, Led Zeppelin, classic rocker Gabriel Goldrain manages a sound that is both hard driving and soothing. Goldrain is a skilled guitarist and vocalist who writes lyrics that promote spiritual values, leading one fan to label his music, “cosmic rock.” Guitar solos show…
Grumblng Ginger—featuring mandolin, dulcimer and two female vocalists—formed in 2006 and is based in the Monterey Peninsula. The band plays original acoustic folk-rock with a Celtic flavor—two members are from the UK. They've played everywhere from coffee houses and pubs to house parties and…
Formerly from San Diego but now basically relocated to Big Sur, Holiday and the Adventure Pop Collective (HATAPCO) is a unique band led by songwriters Derric Oliver and Louis Caverly. Employing a wide range of instrumentation including tuba and fiddle, the group creates expansive pop rock an…
Before playing with Homeland Serenity, the group's band leader Mac Talley was a member of the New Wave inspired Jupiter Vox and the power pop group Foamscape. The band covers Wilco and Neil Young and does originals like "Voice of a Generalization," a diss of pop princesses done over acoustic…
Honey Hush play unabashed hard rock complete with drum solos and a frontman clad in tight leather pants—the charismatic Troy O’ Shann. At performances at local bars including the London Bridge Pub, the group covers classic rock nuggets by bands including Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix.
Susana McGuire Jewell's sultry vocals are backed by guitarist Patrick Ryan, bassist Ed Kreps and drummer Richard Conklin. In the tradition of throwback lounge acts the quartet recreates timeless classics including Cole Porter's "Love for Sale" and Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Água de Beber" (“Wat…
The Salinas rock trio Invoke's first show was basically an improv jam session at the Cherry Bean at the end of 2008. It went so well that the three multi-instrumentalist/singers, who love watery wah-wah guitar leads, have played Monterey Live and Giovane's since then.
A former member of the indie rock group There Goes the Neighborhood, Prunedale's Jake Bivins played every instrument on his solo debut Alpha Omega. The CD includes the well-crafted keyboard pop of "Omega" and the low-fi acoustic number "Through the Good and Bad."
Joe Lucido plays smooth jazz and pop favorites.
The blues band, John Mueller and Upside Downside, formed in Monterey in 2005. Mueller, originally from Chicago, grabs his musical influence from the great Chicago blues he grew up listening to in the seedy, smoky nightclubs of the Windy City. The band played the Monterey Bay Blues Festival i…
Cibo Ristorante Italiano in Monterey is the Joint Chiefs’ unofficial home away from home. The funk band plays Cibo’s every Wednesday night from 9:30pm until 1am The band members grew up in the 1970s and their musical style reflects that versatility. Whether its funk, acid jazz or jazz fusion…
Joshuas Shadow is a respectable local Salinas band, which play covers of songs that include: Mustang Sally, Hurts So Good, American Woman, Gimme Shelter, Hurts So Good, Knockin', Hotel California, Delilah and Lips of an angel and are working on more cover songs to keep people dancing. They m…
LZB encompasses a lifetime of musical experience that began as an acoustic duo in the early 70’s. Presently, the 5 piece band is best described as a writing, recording and performing ensemble with emphasis on original material. A collective of diverse musical influences, LZB is a primary foc…
Salinas native Larry Hosford has been performing and writing raw, dry-humored honky-tonk tunes since the early ’60s. He started out singing songs on the streets of Cannery Row in a voice eerily reminiscent of Willie Nelson’s. He even earned the opportunity to jam with Nelson and scored a rec…
Lauren Shera’s label debut Gold and Rust marks the distinguished national bow of a literally prodigious singer-songwriter who, having spent half of her young life as a professional musician, is now destined to capture the national spotlight.
Alex Lee, MC for the local band Le Vice, doesn’t think its self-titled debut LP should be labeled as a hip-hop album.
Despite Legion Victorious’ split-up in 2002, due to two of its members moving to Kansas, the men of thrash metal prevail. In 2006, Legion reunited and smoked the Lava Lounge down to the filter. Unfortunately for Kansas, Monterey’s hairy quartet is here to stay.
Strom's gritty and raw debut—only 22 copies were released—ignites a spirit similar to Beck’s One Foot in the Grave. But Strom’s new material, which he dubbed "surf country," travels into territory featuring a much fuller sound, probably because he has Cave Country backing him on many of the…
Marina’s Lil’ Jordan (Jordan Eugenio) has already had an impressive music career. The young rapper has performed in front of NFL stars including Emmitt Smith at Michael Irvin’s Celebrity Golf Tournament and had rappers Too Short and Mistah FAB appear on his songs. His raps include lines like…
