Today we’d like to introduce you to Suns of Cali .
California natives and based out of North East Los Angeles, the Suns of Cali mix elements of Latin and Hawaiian genres while playing in the styles of popular California 90’s bands. Inspired by the likes of Sublime, Sugar Ray, Incubus, RHCP and many others, the Suns of Cali create catchy eclectic songs to go with just about any environment. Harmonious and rhythmic, Suns of Cali combine many genres together to create a truly unique sound. From Reggae, ska, alternative rock, and even blues and classic rock. This versatility is what makes SOC different. Led by frontmen Allen Miranda and Chris “Howie” Cruz the Suns of Cali have been making music since 2016. Advocates of art in any shape or form. Suns of Cali continue to create and spread good vibes throughout California. From festivals to backyard parties to bars the Suns are just looking to shine!
We all met at open mics around Los Angeles around 2016 and connected instantly. We all had different musical backgrounds and each of us had different perspectives and insights in music. We agreed we would just play what “sounded good” and to not settle on one particular play style or genre. Our early songs were mostly different from one another and we tried to create a well-rounded EP to begin with. Nowadays, we are experimenting more openly and we are still trying to categorize our sound but for the most part, we tend to stick with Alternative rock.
In the first two years as a band, we did some mini touring down the west coast all the way down to Imperial, California and we even took a trip to Hawaii in the summer of 2018 to play for the good people out there, in which we created our first music video “The Flyin Hawaiian”. Thus far, the majority of venues we play at our local bars and clubs but plans to break into the music festival scene will be put into motion next year.
Our second music video “Canvas” off the self-titled EP, showcases our love for the city of LA through art expression. We filmed various murals throughout all parts of LA to achieve this and we have received much praise in the last couple of months since its release.
We are continuing to create and write music through the epidemic and we are currently working towards producing a second EP to be announced!
You can follow the band on our social pages. We are on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Spotify, and Itunes for starters. Visit our website www.sunsofcali.net for additional media content!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It took us three years to produce our first six songs EP. It should have been done a lot sooner but we were still fresh out of the garage and still learning as a band. It was also challenging to find a full-time bass player. After enough time went by without a low-end presence, Howie (Uke/vocals) decided to ditch the ukulele and pick up the bass guitar. Juggling home and work life have also proved to be difficult. The ongoing epidemic has also been challenging to work around and we went the first couple weeks of quarantine not being able to meet up or rehearse together because of the mandated lockdown. Live shows and performances have also come to a halt because of this so we had to adapt to the changing musical landscape and do live streams online to compensate
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
We perform original live music! We don’t have an established genre yet but are always creating different sounding songs. We are inspired by a lot of old music and we are trying to restore a lost era of music in hopes to make it current again by sticking to live instrumentation above synthetic electronics. We are most proud of being from Los Angeles and expressing our love for the city through music.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Music of the 90’s!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sunsofcali.net
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @sunsofcali
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sunsofcali
Image Credit:
Alexandra Tar, Jason Pineda, Jimmy Phan
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