Rising Stars: Meet Mike Rubin of Redondo Beach

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Rubin.

Hi Mike, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
All 5 members of Max80s were on separate musical journeys in other bands back in 2016. Jeff White, our bass player, was wanting to start a side project, including his brother, drummer, Brian White. So, he contacted a friend in education, middle school principal and lead singer, Dave Carr. The next call was to David Donson, our lead guitarist who’s kid was in the same class as one of Jeff’s kids. A first rehearsal was scheduled in November of 2016. After rehearsal, it was determined that a keyboard player was needed. So, Mike Rubin, who was in another band with David Donson, was called. And, at a follow up rehearsal in December 2016, Max80s was born.

From that beginning, Max80s started pulling together rock songs from various eras from the 70s to the 90s, as we did not have a true direction yet. To get our feet wet, we played a 4 song set for Dave Carr’s middle school as an incentive for the kids to do well on their spring tests. So, our first gig was “Rock The Test” in front of about 100 middle school kids and their teachers. Once we had about 25 songs ready to go, we played our first house party, for the birthday of Jeff White’s wife Barbara. It was a rousing success.

After another house party, we booked our first public gig at Hey 19 in South Torrance for January 2018. All of our friends and families, as well as the venue regulars were curious what was going to happen when these 5 locals pooled their musical talents. For those that were there, it was a magical night. A packed house, dancing and singing for 3 hours, exceeded our wildest expectations. We knew we on to something special.

As started adding more songs to our repertoire, we began to focus more on 80s era classic alternative. Each member would pitch songs to the group and we would vote, with the favorites making the cut. This has been a process we have used successfully for years.

From there, we began booking additional shows in the South Bay at Hey 19, Hermosa Saloon, and The Standing Room. We played a few shows at the now-closed Slide Bar in Fullerton. But, since then, our focus to our home market, the South Bay. We continued growing our following and advancing as a band. With that growth, we were able to play bigger venues and festivals like The Lighthouse Cafe, Saint Rocke, Terranea Summer Sound Series, The Point Summer Concerts, Riviera Village Summer Festival, and Fiesta Hermosa.

Since we are all professionals during the day, we don’t have time to play every weekend. In fact, we only play an average of 14 gigs per year, or just over 1 per month. By not over saturating ourselves, we always strive to make each gig a can’t-miss event. Using the strategy, we consistently sell out virtually every show.

We have just about finished booking all of our gigs for 2026, which is our 10th year as a band, with our 100th gig upcoming in June. We love what we are doing and can’t wait to keep it going!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No road is completely smooth, but we’ve been blessed with a loyal and constantly growing fan-base. The biggest setback, as it was for many bands, was the interruption of live music during COVID. We had just booked gigs at Terranea and the Riviera Summer Festival for the first time, which would have been our biggest to date. Both of them eventually happened, but we had to patiently wait for 18 months.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As our name, Max80s, and our tagline implies, we focus on your favorite 80s music…to the MAX! We often put our own spin on the the 80s era classics. And since we only play about one time per month, we focus on making each gig a big event with a completely new set list each time.

When a video wall is available, we bring in our friend, VJ Myles Matisse, to support our show with MTV music videos in sync with our performance. It brings our show to a whole other level.

We also throw special event parking lot parties a couple times each year at HT Grill in the Riviera Village. During these gigs, we bring in a stage and PA, with the restaurant setting up remote bars and food service. We often attract crowds of over 1000 people.

In addition to these and the amazing summer festivals, we have thrown two “Retro Fest” events with the event team at Brouwerij West/Warehouse 9 in San Pedro. During each of these, we partnered with the K-Tel All-Stars, the best 70s era band anywhere, to bring our fans a full 70s and 80s rock show. These events have sold between 500-1,000 tickets each.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
All 5 band members have received tremendous support from our families, during this 10 year musical journey. We also have amazing support from our crew that make this all possible. Each of these people joined us to just help out in the beginning, but have grown into a vital part of our success.

Tom Purcell, longtime friend of Dave Carr, has been with us since gig #1. He’s done everything asked of him and more, including being Brian White’s drum tech. He’s earned the nickname, The Road Dog. Brian Hanhart, longtime friend, who started mostly as security, and has discovered a love for lighting. So, he’s been responsible for making us look good on stage and in pictures. Rigo Coloma, another longtime friend, has done everything from announcing us on stage, setting up banners, taping cable, to managing tips. Running sound for us at most gigs is the best sound man around, Mario DiLeva. He’s taken the mix quality of our live shows to the next level. And finally, we have the best merchandise team anywhere. Mike Rubin’s wife, Maureen, has been joined by friends Angie and Lee Flores and occasionally, Dave Carr’s girlfriend, Erin Batstone. They’ve sold hundreds and hundreds of t-shirts and hats, including the very popular hot-pink trucker hats, which sell by the dozens!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.max80sband.com
• Instagram: @max80sband
• Facebook: @maxs80band
• Twitter: @max80sband
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@max80sband

Image Credits
Jason Flynn Photography