The Expendables have proven anything but in their nearly 25-year career since starting out as a spirited party band in high school performing surf-rock covers for birthdays and family gatherings. A quarter-century later, elementary school buddies Raul Bianchi, Adam Peterson and Geoff Weers, along with bassist Ryan DeMars, who joined in 2000, have forged a unique sound born in the laid-back beach life in their hometown of Santa Cruz, CA. The Expendables’ infectious hybrid of ska, surf-rock, punk, reggae and metal can be heard in their latest streaming track, “Surfman Cometh,” a spaghetti-western meets “Pipeline” twang that could easily form the soundtrack to the latest Quentin Tarantino film. The song is the first release from the group’s new and improved Band Room, their longtime rehearsal space in a 1,100 square foot warehouse and former wine cellar on Coral Street, where Adam Patterson took charge of the final mix to great effect. The band’s previous studio album of original material, 2015’s Sand in the Sky, was followed by The Expendables’ second release featuring acoustic reworkings of past material, Gone Raw, 2019’s follow-up to 2012’s Gone Soft. The Expendables continue woodshedding until they can get back out on the road. Their 2017 Moment EP, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Reggae chart, showed the band starting to move into different musical directions, a set featuring collaborations with reggae crooner HIRIE, rapper Tech N9ne, Eric Rachmany, and Micah Peuschel.
Veni Sun is Jared Henry’s bedroom music project based out of San Diego, California. Drawing inspiration from his adventures, passions and love for people and the outdoors, Jared incorporates dreamy synth sounds with catchy guitar riffs and layered ambient sounds. His music takes people to a happy place and to realms of nostalgia. Releasing his first EP in 2020, Jared had no plans to pursue music or to even play shows for that matter. He was simply creating music because it was what he liked to do in his free time. About a year later, Jared became friends with Goth Babe (Griff Washburn) and showed him his music project Veni Sun. Griff liked his tunes and invited him to open up for him on his West Coast Tour of 2021. Since that tour, Veni Sun’s wings have caught wind and released multiple singles and EP’s, attracting the likes of the Spotify Editorial team and many more ears around the world. With Veni Sun’s local fan base growing more and more everyday, they are now hitting the road to make new friends and fans across North America, playing show’s wherever they can. Veni Sun puts a smile on everyones face in the crowd and will continue doing so for as long as they can.
