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CAT BOETTNER
Student at OCHSA and Newport Beach local, Cathryn Boettner has been singing since the 4th grade and just recently took up the guitar. Raised by two professional singers as parents, Boettner has always been inclined to perform. At OCHSA, she takes part in drama, jazz, singing, and is constantly involved in musical performance, as she loves an audience. Inspired by her own personal (and totally relatable) experiences, Cat says her songwriting serves as "an outlet to express [her]self in a creative and constructive way". She finds inspiration in the every day and thus is the type to scribble her thoughts down on paper as she daydreams through classes. For the past six years she's been actively perusing her dream to perform on Broadway. But don't peg her as that typical, fame-seeking, Rachel-Barry-from-Glee type. No. Cat Boetter is in a league all her own. "I feel like there’s this stigma about a white girl with an acoustic guitar who writes her own songs, but I promise you I'm not another Taylor Swift," says Boettner, "My dream has never really been to be ‘famous’ or a ‘superstar’, I just want to leave behind something meaningful, [...] whether it's to a small group of people or just to myself." You can find Cat Boettner performing nearly every Tuesday night at Alta’s open mic night in Newport Beach. |
COASTAL ACCESS
Coastal Access is a Huntington Beach-based band composed of five impressive highschoolers aged 16 to 17. The five-man ensemble consists of lead vocalist/rhythm guitar player, Thomas Waale, Noah Kurtz on the keyboard, lead guitarist Conner Reeves, drummer Colton Africano, and bassist Skyler Connell. What started in 2010 as just Connell, Waale, and Africano, grew into the up-and-coming band Coastal Access. The guys draw their inspiration from other surf-indie bands like Japanese Motors, Hindu Pirates, Harlem, and Tomorrows Tulips. Each of the five members skate, surf, or work when they’re not making rad music. Catch them live May 5th for the McKenna Claire foundation and on May 19th at The Chain Reaction in Anaheim. |
RAYAN MUSTAFA
Rayan Mustafa, Senior at Edison High School didn’t even know he had the voice of an angel until just about three years ago. He picked up a guitar for the first time just a year prior and unexpectedly stumbled upon his singing talent after participating in his church’s worship band. Since then, he’s wowed friends and fans alike with his soulful covers and worship-leading around town. When he’s not singing songs and playing guitar, Rayan plays varsity volleyball, drinks coffee, takes photos, shreds the gnar (on both his skateboard and his surfboard), listens to records, and goes on adventures. He draws inspiration from classic bands like The Doors, The Beatles, and Led Zepplin. “I love hearing different stuff—bands that aren't afraid to try new things, and sound abnormal. I'm not really a normal guy, I'm kinda out there and crazy and weird so people like that definitely inspire me […] people that aren't afraid to stand out and embrace their differences” Catch Rayan posted on the occasional open-mic night at Alta or at KAIROS. |
IPSUM CABALLUM and TERRORISTS
Already an established member of the local music community as a part of Hindu Pirates, HB’s Joey LoBasso has expanded his art by going solo in his two side projects, Ipsum Caballum and Terrorists. The first is, as LoBasso describes "all happy keyboard" while with the latter, he aims "to make [his audience] feel uncomfortable via sound".
In venturing without the rest of his band, LoBasso sought to challenge himself and to stray from the mundane because to him, "the songwriting in Hindu Pirates is so collaborative that you lose the original idea along the way." LoBasso enjoys this newfound musical freedom as his project Ipsum Caballum is a lot less premeditated and his other project, Terrorists is even less so.
"Me and my friend run a shitty cellphone photoblog where the motto is 'if you didn't get it the first time you didn't get it.' I tried to bring that feeling to the music," LoBasso says.
He finds inspiration in his opposition to the standard musical style of Orange County, seeking to implement a rehash of 60s/70s rock culture but with a modern style; as most of his audience was born after 1980. He says "when people think of popular music in 2010, they think Skrillex. That disturbs me greatly".
After a less-than-ideal first performance, LoBasso wants to play again sometime very soon. Be on the lookout this May for show dates.
Already an established member of the local music community as a part of Hindu Pirates, HB’s Joey LoBasso has expanded his art by going solo in his two side projects, Ipsum Caballum and Terrorists. The first is, as LoBasso describes "all happy keyboard" while with the latter, he aims "to make [his audience] feel uncomfortable via sound".
In venturing without the rest of his band, LoBasso sought to challenge himself and to stray from the mundane because to him, "the songwriting in Hindu Pirates is so collaborative that you lose the original idea along the way." LoBasso enjoys this newfound musical freedom as his project Ipsum Caballum is a lot less premeditated and his other project, Terrorists is even less so.
"Me and my friend run a shitty cellphone photoblog where the motto is 'if you didn't get it the first time you didn't get it.' I tried to bring that feeling to the music," LoBasso says.
He finds inspiration in his opposition to the standard musical style of Orange County, seeking to implement a rehash of 60s/70s rock culture but with a modern style; as most of his audience was born after 1980. He says "when people think of popular music in 2010, they think Skrillex. That disturbs me greatly".
After a less-than-ideal first performance, LoBasso wants to play again sometime very soon. Be on the lookout this May for show dates.
REAL GHOSTS CAUGHT ON FILM
During the past year, Fountain Valley based Real Ghosts Caught on Film has flourished from just two buds Grant Loughran and Chris Escalante jamming together in their free time to a full-fledged band with the addition of friends Eden Bailey, on the keys and bass, and singer, Rachel Reynolds. Through an extremely collaborative songwriting effort, the boys of RGCOF develop the instrumental background to their songs and singer Rachel Reynolds writes the lyrics to match. The band draws inspiration from the artists they look up to, like Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Kills, Portishead, and other “really passionate artists”. “I know I really like a song when I can hear and feel the emotion an artist put into [it],” Reynolds adds, “I think without passion the music sounds incomplete.” RGCOF’s passion for music is particularly obvious in their ability to produce extremely authentic, listenable songs reminiscent of their favorite artists. With strong vocals and a complex, but polished, sound, RGCOF is unfathomably talented for their age and experience. (Each member is 17 years old!) Their vibe is a perfect fit for the ideal concert but the foursome has decided to, as keyboardist/bassist Bailey states, “take some time off at the moment to try exploring [their] sound a bit”. After hearing the sophistication already apparent in their current release, RGCOF’s upcoming shows in May are extremely promising. Like their page on Facebook to hear about future releases and shows. |