The SoCal Setlist

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note. Kevin Zingale was about nine when his parents took him to see Peter Frampton in concert. By the time he got home, he knew what he wanted to do with his life. “I want to play guitar. I want to do what he’s doing.” His dad pulled an ’80s Japanese Fender Strat from the back of a closet, a guitar Kevin didn’t even know he owned. Kevin still ha...

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note. “It’s about the show. You’ve got to have energy. What’s the story the next day that people are going to be talking about?” That question guides the way Andy Doty books bands, reads a room and thinks about the experience people have at The Vibe. Andy never planned to own a venue. After losing the career he had spent decades building, he was...

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note. David Mills begins every production with a deceptively simple question: What’s the goal? That question shapes everything that follows. Does the artist want an honest recording of the song exactly as they wrote it, or are they trying to create something that can compete on radio? How much input do they want? Are they willing to change a mel...

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note. Sandy Lee Casey has spent most of her life finding a way to keep music in it. She began singing at a Somerville, Massachusetts country bar at 15, toured New England in cover bands, and later spent 16 years with Boston wedding band Double Vision. A move to Los Angeles led to a job at Warner Bros.-owned Amigo Studios, where she met artists i...

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note. Tori Green is a Corona-based singer and songwriter who performs throughout Southern California as a solo artist, in an acoustic duo and with the Tori Green Band. In this episode of The SoCal Setlist, Tori shares how she went from singing in childhood talent shows to earning a Golden Ticket on Season 21 of American Idol with her performance...

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note. Robert Rauch moved 1,500 miles from Arkansas to Lake Elsinore in 2024 with plans to build a music career in Southern California. He arrived without a local music network and spent his first week visiting venues, introducing himself and asking for an opportunity. Temecula Wine and Beer Garden gave Robert his first local show on April 20, 20...

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note. Chris Gates planned on a future in politics until his aunt introduced him to the Beatles during a trip to Washington, D.C. Hearing “Love Me Do” changed his direction. He got his first guitar on his 10th birthday, taught himself Beatles songs and worked on his voice with his mother, a singer who held him to a demanding standard. At 14, Chri...

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note. David Garcia’s relationship with music began with fear. At eight, a Twisted Sister video sent him running from the room. Curiosity pulled him back. Years later, David walked out of a Metallica concert and told his parents he wanted to stop playing guitar and become a bass player. More than 30 years and thousands of live shows and studio se...

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note. Kate Morris has been writing songs since childhood, and her path to the stage took shape after years as a stay-at-home mom to her two daughters. Once both girls were in school, she began performing her originals publicly and found a place in Southern California’s country scene. In this episode of The SoCal Setlist, Kate talks about growing...

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note. Southern California bassist Greg Boulet discovered the electric bass almost by accident after spotting it on a middle-school instrument list. Within a year, he was playing his first show at the Old Town Temecula Theater at just 13 years old—and headbanging through nearly the entire performance. That early experience began a musical path th...

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note. Gary Stanionis has spent nearly four decades building a life in music—as a drummer, world percussionist, vocalist, touring musician, record label executive and artist manager. His journey began at 17, when his mother discovered one of his graffiti pieces and asked what it would take to make him stop. His answer was simple: a drum set. With...

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note. Angel Vega is a Southern California singer, songwriter, guitarist, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist who performs solo as RubbaSoul and fronts the 80s powerhouse rock tribute band Headbangers Ball. In this episode of The SoCal Setlist, Angel talks about growing up in Orange County, discovering guitar after one of his brother’s friends pl...

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note. “If you can’t dance, they can’t dance.” That line really sums up how Anthony Necerato approaches performing. Playing shirtless, standing on the drum throne, throwing sticks and pointing at people in the crowd, Anthony has the kind of stage presence that pulls people into the show. His bandmates in Those Guys describe him as a “frontman dru...

“For me nowadays, when we get together and play, it’s like a celebration of just being together.” For Michael D’Santi, that togetherness has lasted for more than 30 years. The Southern California blues-rock guitarist started D’Santi with his brother and friends he met in high school. After decades of gigs, changing music scenes, families, careers, and everything that can pull a band apart, they ar...

“I can’t stop. I’ll stop when I die.” That line sums up Sean Maier’s story. Known to many as Shred Sean , Sean is a guitarist, songwriter, teacher, and performer whose life with music started the way so many great stories do: with one song that changed everything. For Sean, that song was Bush’s “Glycerine.” He heard it as a kid, picked up the guitar, and never really put it down. What started with...

Country-rock artist Chris Lozano didn’t come from a music industry family. He grew up in Paonia, Colorado, a small coal mining town where his graduating class had just 40 people - and where hard work wasn’t a slogan, it was a way of life. In this episode of SoCal Soundcheck, Chris shares the story behind his journey: singing Motown and classic country as a kid, getting pulled out of middle school...

“I have three hours to convince everybody in the room that they love country music.” That line says a lot about Brian Gaylord. On this episode of SoCal Soundcheck, Brian Gaylord joins the show alongside Eric Davis of the Brian Gaylord & Country Star Band for a conversation about country music, rodeo grit, original songs, Nashville recording, and the standard behind building a serious live band...

Matt Rivera’s story starts with a box of cassette tapes. Growing up in Southern California, Matt discovered bands like Van Halen, Aerosmith, Stryper, and Scorpions through his dad’s music collection. His dad played guitar, the songs hit hard, and somewhere in that mix of classic rock riffs and cassette-era discovery, Matt found the thing that would stick with him for life. In this episode of SoCal...

In this episode of SoCal Soundcheck, Brian sits down with Apollo Spalding, guitarist and songwriter for the psychedelic alt-rock band Hypno Sapo. Apollo’s approach to music is anything but one-dimensional. His sound and technique are shaped by a wide range of influences, from Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, the Sex Pistols and Prince to Chicago blues, Delta blues, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Skip Jam...

Charli Brewer Was Born to Rock Charli Brewer didn’t casually pick up the guitar. Once it clicked, it became a daily obsession. A SoCal guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter, Charli has built a large and engaged online following through rock and metal guitar solo covers, performing with the kind of energy that makes it clear she is not just playing the notes. She is living inside t...

Keith Stickney of Tsunami Cables joins SoCal Soundcheck for a conversation about tone, reliable gear, musicianship, and why being easy to work with still matters. Keith is the owner of Tsunami Cables, a drummer, and a longtime audio/video professional. His story starts with music. From learning drums in middle school to marching band, gigging around San Diego, studying at Musicians Institute, and...

In this episode of SoCal Soundcheck, Brian sits down with Hunter Webb, bassist for Rose Line Band, to talk about his musical roots, growing up around music, discovering bass, and finding his place in the Southern California live music scene. Hunter shares how moving to Murrieta helped spark his musical journey, why bass lines from artists like Paul McCartney, John Entwistle, Jack Bruce, Cliff Burt...

Kyle Hudson, lead singer and guitarist of Those Guys, joins SoCal Soundcheck for a fun, wide-ranging conversation about growing up in Murrieta, learning guitar, starting out at open mics, and accidentally building one of the Temecula Valley’s most entertaining live bands. Kyle shares how School of Rock inspired him to pick up guitar, how Those Guys came together for a one-off St. Patrick’s Day sho...

“The goal is to make people feel something.” On this episode of SoCal Soundcheck, Brian sits down with longtime Southern California musician Woody Garcia, frontman of Woody and the Harrelsons, for a conversation about the long road from childhood guitar lessons to becoming one of the most recognizable live performers in the local music scene. Woody traces his story back to growing up in San Dimas,...

Tristan Bowls picked up the guitar at 11 because Guitar Hero 2 and 3 made him want to play a real one. AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Iron Maiden, Slash. That was the foundation. Now he's 29, runs Eastlake Studios on a private property in Lake Elsinore, plays guitar in Eastlake Rhythm Section, and tests amps at Suhr during the day. In this episode, Tristan and Brian get into: - Learning guitar by jamming w...