Family Wagon

This writer arrived in time to see Family Wagon take the stage, and was consequently blown back several yards by the band’s sheer intensity. Heel tapping and head bobbing kicked in by themselves, defying any attempt to stop them. Before long the scene was one of total annihilation of any people looking bored or not acting completely rowdy and riled up. Lead singer Calen Lucas made a performance out of flipping out righteously and crushing any semblance of sanity, and bassist Gareth Moore’s hair became the 6th member of the band as he redefined the motion ranges humans are capable of while holding a mahogany log. CDs were sold and stickers were passed out.
I have been acquainted with this southern-style rock band for roughly 40 hours, but I have faith they will be on your TV on a late-night show within a year or so, and will one day become one of those bands that headlines for an act they once opened for, causing all of their fans to exuberantly recount their rise to glory, a la those kids from Detroit Rock City. That’s because aside from their music being fun and loud, their stage presence ensures it is cheerfully rammed through your brain, with a toothy grin and a “you’re welcome, ma’am.” - Monitor Down

"For someone who never got into classic rock and is embarrassingly out of the loop when it comes to artists over a decade old, I find some of the bands I’m most drawn to lately, oddly enough, have an older feel with a contemporary twist. Family Wagon, Terraplane Sun and Strange Vine all have this sort of style with an ability to create original, awesome music while paying homage to rock and rock’s roots. I dig it. Having the three on one bill at the Casbah made this past Saturday’s show a trifecta of bad ass rock..." - Sounds in San Diego

"A short wait later Family Wagon took the stage and instantly sparked intrigue and energy with every soul in the place. With half the band looking like they were straight out of the 70’s, they recreated the classic rock sounds of the free spirited decade and added all the eccentricity of today’s generation. I was quickly impressed when they managed to take several genres of music and confidently added them into their stand out style. Their song “Hard Times” had a blues meets rock and roll feel while “I Wonder if She Knows” produced a rock meets country twang with more passion and soulful lyrics. They had the crowd screaming and banging their heads right along with them and had some serious hair whipping that could put Willow Smith to shame. Killer guitar riffs, perfectly toned vocals, and captivating stage presence proved a cohesive and ingenious band that should have no problem making a larger name for themselves and in my opinion, the only thing missing from this show was a stellar cover of “Sweet Home Alabama”..." - AMD Entertainment

PLAN A: Family Wagon, Stone Foxes, Dead Feather Moon @ The Casbah. Influenced by Led Zeppelin and The Mars Volta, Family Wagon (who’ll celebrate the release of their debut album, Teleblaster) play hard-driving rock that pairs a Summer of Love vibe with tons of testosterone. You can practically smell the man-sweat oozing from the cascading riff of “Keeper of the Medicine.” - San Diego City Beat Magazine

As always when I have a State Of Music album out, the actual website part of the project suffers a little and my usual twice a week posts go out the window slightly.

The State Of Music Vol.2, like Vol.1, did fantastically well with the CD version fully selling out last night. Fear not though, you can still buy the digital version of both volumes at www.stateofmusicalbum.com

The odd thing now is that as far as this website is concerned The State Of Music will be finished by the time Vol.3 is out, and it will be but a distant memory by the time I hit number 5, the final album in the series.

But for now we move on to California. Family Wagon, the San Diego based 5 piece were actually the only band on this project who came to me as opposed to me seeking out them. In fairness to them, it had nothing to do with the State Of Music project, but more because they heard I was looking for bands to fill one or two spots at the SXSW showcase.

Rather oddly, every time I listen to their track “Hard Times” it reminds me of an Ocean Colour Scene record circa 1996 mixed with a bit of Cold War Kids. This song is off their forthcoming EP, which as of yet hasn’t got a release date. I am sure I will be crowing from my Twitter and Facebook as soon as it is released.

CMM: Welcome to Choose My Music. I suppose the first question is – who are Family Wagon and where in the world would we find you?

Calen Lucas (Vocals)
Bryan Bangerter (Drums, bgvs)
Gareth Moore (Bass)
Ryan Weiss (Guitar)
Jarel Paguio (Keys, bgvs)

Family Wagon is from San Diego, California.

CMM: How long has Family Wagon been in existence and how did it all start

Family Wagon formed as a four piece in 2008 in San Diego, California. Bryan Bangerter (Drums), Gareth Moore (Bass), Ryan Weiss (Guitar), Calen Lucas (Vocals) met at a local university looking to create music that was fun, intense, and an absolute blast to see played live. They have recently added a fifth member, Jarel Paguio (Keys).

CMM: How best would you describe your music?

Loud, fun, intense, melodic, catchy.

CMM:. I am assuming there is a very diverse scene in California. What are the genres of choice out there and what other bands should we be keeping an eye on?

You can find bands of every kind and every style out here. Bands you should know about: Strange Vine (Fresno), The Howls (San Diego), Dead Feather Moon, (San Diego), Terraplane Sun (LA).

CMM: One thing I am hoping to find in this series is some kind of link between where a band is based and their music. Do you feel as an artist you are influenced by your surroundings and the scene around you?

We certainly are influenced by our surroundings here in San Diego but not in a cliche way where we sit on the beach and play that kind of vibe all day long. We feel it is more of a free and creative vibe that is conducive for us to be expressive in whatever genre we are in. The scene has grown by leaps and bounds in the past few years. We are a little more proud than we once were to hail from this great city. Rock still has ways to go out here, but like other genres, it is growing here as long as there is talent and good times to offer people looking for live, local music.

CMM: What other influences do you have, musical or otherwise?

Film, Gardening, other art forms (painting, sculture, etc.), science.

CMM: Could you perhaps give a run down of the music you have released so far?

Family Wagon successfully released their first album “Teleblaster”, recorded by local San Diego musician Keith Milgaten (Jamuel Saxon), in December of 2010. Family Wagon released the first track “Hard Times” from upcoming EP “Last Drag” on February 26th, 2012. It was produced and recorded at The Compound in Long Beach, CA by Matt Wignall (Cold War Kids, Mando Diao, Deep Sea Diver). Ikey Owens (The Mars Volta) stepped in and lended his keyboard skills on one of the tracks “Keeper of the Medicine.”

CMM: Are you able to get out an play live much?. Where are your favourite places to play both in and out of state?

Family Wagon frequently plays local SD venues like The Casbah and Belly Up Tavern to sold out crowds. We also enjoy Detroit Bar in Orange County and Audie’s Olympic in Fresno, CA (and not just because there is an amazing chinese food restaurant next door). We just got back from playing at SXSW in Austin, TX and loved it out there too!

CMM: What’s next in the pipeline for you?

Summer tour of the West Coast! We are planning dates that could run us through Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, and California.

CMM: And finally, where can people reach out to you online and where can they get hold of your stuff?

Our website is familywagonmusic.com

To buy our music you can see us at familywagonmusic.bandcamp.com

Twitter @family_wagon

Or facebook.com/familywagonmusic - Choose My Music

How about some Rock in the classic mould today?

Family Wagon is a San Diego based rock band formed in 2008. The band plays a brand of hard driving rock reminiscent in part of QOTSA and released their debut LP Teleblaster in 2010. Check out Keeper Of The Medicine and Mama’s A Danger from that effort as well as Hard Times, the first song of their forthcoming Last Drag EP. - New on My Playlist

Over the last couple years, Keith Milgaten has either recorded, mixed, or remixed about half the bands in our fair city. Sezio has teamed up with Keith to begin documentation of his studio hours to shed some light on what goes into the music that fills San Diego's iPods. The first project is with a band that doesn't need that "indie" word in front of their genre. Keith's weekend with Family Wagon has rock and roll written all over it with the state of the studio, the live tracking process, and parking lot escapades.

On July 26th, 2009 at twenty after noon, I met up with local throw-back rockers Family Wagon to track 3 songs at Rafter Roberts' Singing Serpent recording studio.

A few months back I helped Rafter and Lizette's wedding planner set up their entire reception at the Spanish Art Village in Balboa Park. In exchange, Rafter gave us the go-ahead to track a session in the still-under-construction live recording room (designed by the same guy who created the blueprints for all of Capitol Records' live rooms). In other words, it was an ideal place to spend the day working on music!



Family Wagon is a classic power-quartet set up. Gareth plays bass, Ryan plays guitar, Calen sings, and Brian plays drums.

To begin our session, we threw Gareth's Ampeg in the far corner of the studio where the vocal isolation booth will one day be. To achieve an ideal, thick rock bass sound, I ran a D-112 dynamic low-end mic into a Peavey compressor/ limiter from the 80's (which Rafter claims is the only quality piece of equipment ever made by Peavey). For a powerfully gritty electric guitar tone, I put a SM57 in front of Ryan's amp out in the 30 ft. hallway adjacent to the live room. The length of the hall provided a natural room sound, and amp isolation dramatically minimized guitar bleed in the drum microphones. I cranked that signal up through the remaining open channel in the Peavey to create a nicely horizontal wave form.



Once the guitar and bass were ready to track, we threw up an AKG condenser mic on top of the gigantic work table in the center of the room. Normally I choose to go with stereo room mics, but the pristine sound of the room only called for one high-quality, well placed mono mic.



I then proceeded to slap a D-112 in front of the kick drum, and several 57s on the toms and snare. Once levels were set to capture the highest amount of gain without digitally clipping our pre-amps, it was time to rock and or roll.



The Family Wagon guys blazed through the live instrument tracking for 3 songs in a little over an hour, which meant that overdubs were next on the to-do list. Ryan and I listened back to the songs and brainstormed for guitar overdubs.



We surmised that there were several places in the song "Hi & Goodbye" that would sound even fuller and more powerful if Ryan matched his guitar with a double track. After successfully punching in those licks, we applied the same theory to the other two songs, which completed our instrumental overdubbing process.



Tracking lead vocals can be approached in many different ways. You can record the lines of the lyrics one by one, creating an utterly perfect "studio style" version of your song. This method is best used when a vocalist is having trouble nailing a full take, and will explicitly familiarize you with every nuance of the lyrics. Another approach to tracking vocals is fairly obvious: get a solid take of the whole song! This approach is rarely successful in the end, but in this particular situation, Calen delivered the vocal goods. Once the melody was there, we experimented with harmonies. After orchestrating 3 part harmonies with my brothers in The Vision of a Dying World for 6 years, I have become obsessed with the possibilities one can discover in this realm. Fortunately, Calen and the guys were quite receptive to my ideas, and we ended up with much more than we bargained for.



After harmonies were tracked, we realized that Gareth had been passed out on the ground in the parking lot for some time, clenching an unopened bottle of Sessions Ale. Some of the neighbors were definitely giving him weird looks, but it was all worthwhile when he woke up to hear his band's brand new EP!



Get a copy of the Family Wagon EP @ The Ken Club on Friday, October 2nd.

To hear more from Keith Milgaten Recording Collective artists, visit myspace.com/keithmilgaten. - Sezio.org

ROCK AND ROLL with a bluesy tint a la Jimi Hendrix, no lie. I walked in mid song and they were rocking out to no end. Doesn’t hurt that 3 out of 4 band members has big hair. Also doesn’t hurt that their guitarist was raising up the Devil with licks so good youd shit your American Apparel spandex. This is basically a three piece with a lead singer so how these boys made so much music is beyond me, ok it’s not beyond me. I’ve written this in reviews before. If youre going to have a band with less than four instruments than EVERYONE needs to be above average instrumentally or you run the risk of sounding flat or “not enough.” These dudes fit the bill. The drummer was just hightailing his way to Beatland, I love when drummers hit the drums hard and fast, and were talking rock and roll drums with all their cymbal glory. He also played a part in harmonizing with the lead singer, sometimes playing double duty is a must for smaller bands. The bass player was ROCKING OUT. How many times have you seen a bored bass player repeating his riffs over and over? Not here, melodys, harmonies and solos were all a treat coming from their very skilled and high energy bass lines, he also had the most beautiful head of hair cascading down to his butt. The lead singer has this deep tenor rock and roll voice that recalled any of your classic rock and roll legends, Axel, James Hetfield, Jim Morrison etc. With less cock rock style gruff, sweet. He was holding his mic like a rock star and was thrashing his Seattle grunge esque long locks around and around. Much like amazing front men do! If youre not playing an instrument then your job is to keep the energy level up and up (props if you can do both!). He was engaging and he was into his music, he was putting on a damn rock and roll show!! And then the guitarist. HOLY SHIT, incredible I haven’t said that since I saw Miname at The Casbah early this year and before that when I saw Scarlet Symphony in like 2007. He was building up smoke on those strings, this was classic rock and roll ,hell raising, face melting, spine tinkling, had to clap after each solo, guitar licking goodness. He even killed it from BEHIND HIS HEAD!!!!!!!!! Did I mention he didn’t even use a whammy bar, he just used his fingers to get those blues reverbs going? Keep your eyes on this kid, jesus. After 3 songs I was a bit nervous though. While their songs were each awesome they started getting a little bit to where there weren’t as distinct. But then they broke into a Beatles cover of Come Together and we got blown away. Someone in the crowd behind me remarked “You gotta have balls to do a Beatles cover.” I agree but they pulled it off and added a little more psychedelia which I really liked. After they played this bomb ass song called Zion. I fear I might have heard some religious overtones but then they were back to raising satan as the strong went into some rocking out bass driven riffs and then back to beautiful melodic rock and roll. CHECK THIS BAND OUT. Family Wagon is helping bring rock and roll back to the music scape, one relaxed pant leg at a time. - Sticks and Stones

Melodic riffs, soulful vocals and a driving backbone of a beat is the sound of The Family Wagon, PLNU’s emerging musical talent. This band of four can play anything from Jimi Hendrix solos to Pink Floyd tributes. Though the four upperclassmen have only been together for a month, vocalist Calen Lucas, guitarist Ryan Weiss, bassist Gareth Moore and drummer Bryan Bangerter have already created a distinct sound of their own: Classic 1970s rock meets My Morning Jacket.

The band is named after Moore’s 1998 Dodge Family Wagon. In the summer of 2003, Moore purchased the beloved vehicle and moved to Point Loma from Redlands. During the transfer, Moore missed the deadline for his application to PLNU and thus spent 2003-2004 living in his Family Wagon.

“It started out as a joke,” said Weiss. “I was like, ‘Dude, we should be called Family Wagon.’”

Weiss and Moore have been playing music together for a year. Before they started using Cunningham Dining Room in Nicholson Commons as a place to “jam,” the two chemistry majors practiced in Rohr Science and called themselves The Gypsy Hymns. In the summer of ’07, Bangerter, a transfer student from Hawaii, joined the band. Lucas completed The Family Wagon last January. Weiss’ father, Glenn, is sometimes featured with the band on mandolin, guitar or harmonica.

“He’s been rockin’ since the ‘60s,” Weiss said. “We like inviting him to play.”
His father joined the band with his harmonica for “Roadhouse Blues” (original by The Doors) at the February Flair in Ocean Beach last Friday. Their set that night consisted of three original songs and covers from The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

“Their performance makes you feel alive,” said Tracy Le, a junior communications major. “Everyone’s so attractive musically; you can’t take your eyes off of them.”

The Family Wagon has not gone farther than Ocean Beach; February Flair was their first big gig.

“It was amazing,” said Moore. “It was the first time we played our original songs. It’s exhilarating to play on stage.”

Earlier this month, Nicholson Commons Events Manager Chelsea Barnes heard about the band “through a friend” and, without hearing its music, asked the band to be the main act for Café D’Amore on Valentine’s Day. The boys showed their versatility by playing jazz fusion and Michael Bolton’s “When a Man Loves a Woman.”

“It was a challenge, but we still got to play some Jimi [Hendrix],” said Bangerter, “We had a good time because none of us were on awkward dates.”

Family Wagon can be contacted at familywagon@gmail.com, myspace.com/familywagonmusic, or sonicbids.com/familywagon for booking.

- The Point Weekly

By Isaac Davis Jr., BGS, MBA

This next band’s beginning can be traced back to the basement of their university's science building. What is remarkable about the band is their unique sound that mixes elements of blues and 1960s Rock-n-Roll into their overall sound. Add the wonderful talents of the band’s members and Family Wagon is going to take music lovers on a fantastic ride. Tracks like 25 Years Down and HI Hi Goodbye showcases the band’s enormous ability to create music full of enriching lyrics, melodious tunes, and strong raw vocals. In this exclusive interview with the band, Family Wagon gives our Webzine the 411 about the band. Enjoy!

Isaac: What’s the name of your band? What’s the origin of that name? Have you changed the band’s name before?

Family Wagon: Our band is Family Wagon named after our bass player's van. We picked a name when we got our first show together about two years ago. I (Bryan) thought the guys were joking but it seemed to stick.

Isaac: What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?

Family Wagon: I think most of our sound is blues and classic rock n' roll. We like Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Who, and more contemporary bands like mewithoutyou, My Morning Jacket, and The Black Keys.

Isaac: How long have you all known each other? How did you meet?

Family Wagon: We've been friends for a few years now. Everyone heard about each other from someone else saying "you gotta meet this guy he digs what you dig". It turns out they were right.

Isaac: When did you form your band? What inspired you to make music together?

Family Wagon: Family Wagon was formed two summers ago in the Chemistry building at our university. We didn't have anywhere else to jam but Ryan and Gareth knew some teachers there so we had a space to practice late at night. Later on, we were kicked out of that building for disrupting the reproductive cycles of the science animals and insects.

Isaac: Do you have a record label? Are you a member of any music organizations?

Family Wagon: We haven't gotten involved with a label yet, I'd say we're open to anything. Playing and promoting as best you can can bring great things so we're hopeful we can achieve that support system someday. Just gotta keep at it.

Isaac: What can you tell me about your instruments? (i.e., Are you subject to brand loyalty or will you play with whatever’s available? What made you choose the instruments you have now? Was it cost or was it a style/model/brand/color preference?

Family Wagon: Everything is relative to cost for our band. We're all working and trying to go to school and get by, so scrounging for chords and strings and guitars is difficult. If it makes noise we'll play it. Ryan has held onto some vintage fender guitars for awhile that his dad restores. Bryan, our drummer, borrows and makes 'frankinsets' and just beats them to shit. Gareth's bass is just a thing for him to abuse so I would say there is no brand loyalty in our band.

Isaac: Where have you performed? What are your favorite and least favorite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?

Family Wagon: We've performed in Temecula and all over San Diego. Venues like the Beauty Bar, Soma, and The Stage. Our favorite venues depend on who we are playing with and what kind of crowd comes out. We love to play with The Pheromones, Writer, The Fling and Heavy Glow because they are all rad dudes.

Upcoming shows:

Aug 27 2009 7:30P Humphrey’s Band ShowcaseSan Diego, California

Aug 29 2009 7:00P Falling Whistles Benefit Show w/Lee KochOcean Beach, California

Sep 11 2009 9:00P Tin Can AlehouseSan Diego, California

Late Sept. 9:00P Soda Bar (EP Release Show)San Diego, California

Dec 19 2009 8:00P San Diego Film FestivalSan Diego, California

Isaac: Which songs do you perform most frequently? Do you ever play any covers? Do you have a set play list?

Family Wagon: We play the songs we have recorded over the last couple of months but we are always working on new stuff and frequently try 'em out on occasion. Along with that, we have a couple more originals and some covers like Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix, Jumpin' Jack Flash by the Rolling Stones, Have love Will Travel by the Sonics or recently The Black Keys, Five to One and Roadhouse Blues by The Doors, and Come Together by the Beatles

Isaac: Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs? Do you think these topics will change over time?

Family Wagon: We all try to pitch in and write music, lyrics or ideas and most of us focus on our own instrument for that process but Bryan has been doing solo stuff (myspace.com/bryanbang) for a while and is really gifted. We simply write about things that affect us, are fun, or come out of Gareth's hallucinations after going 50 hours without sleep. No doubt we will keep evolving as the process continues, but who knows what kind of topics we'll come upon. Hopefully nothing about our house pets.

Isaac: Could you briefly describe the music-making process?

Family Wagon: It comes to us like a thief in the night. We can't sit down and churn out a hit we have to be moved by something and chew on it and then it just starts happening.

Isaac: What are your rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week in which you practice or are rehearsals more spontaneous?

Family Wagon: Right now we are practicing in the music room of our University and that's pretty cool. We love to play music so we jam just as hard as we do in shows and sometimes we just turn the lights out and go nuts. Sometimes we all switch instruments and try to make a spontaneous song. Usually it is pretty bad but freakin hilarious. Practice times normally come about based on the alignment of all our crazy schedules. Whenever we can make it work.

Isaac: How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?

Family Wagon: Well I think we are still finding our sound and our EP's are evidence of that because they are very diverse. The music is evolving to hone in on all of our strengths but it still responds to the feeling we get from the music. If we don't have that exhilarating feeling after the song we'll dump it pretty soon.

Isaac: What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?

Family Wagon: I think the biggest challenge is just getting the right type of people to hear us so we can progress and move up. We feel like we play a great show every time we're on a stage and so we feel like our time is coming. And hopefully someday we'll be able to rock everyone's face off.

Isaac: What’s your ultimate direction for your band? Are you seeking fame and fortune?

Family Wagon: I don't know if is exactly fame and fortune. I think we're all after that freedom musically and the feeling we get from playing. We'd like to tour, see some land, and take some adventures before we get old but we are loving life right now. Do I think we are good enough to make it? Of Course.

Isaac: What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?

Family Wagon: You can always find an amazing singer, guitarist, etc. What make good bands is the cohesion and the unified goals they have. If you love the people you make your music with, it's much more satisfying. Also, long hair is always great.

Isaac: How can fans-to-be gain access to your music? Do you have a website with sample songs or a demo CD?

Family Wagon: Go to familywagonmusic.com for all information, music, and special deals. Also sonicbids.com/family wagon for booking.

Isaac: Is there anyone you’d like to acknowledge for offering financial or emotional support?

Family Wagon: There is a pack of loyal fans that we have had from the beginning. We are so grateful to them and we hope they know how much it means to us every time they come hang out and support us.

Isaac: Any last words?

Family Wagon: Check us out! - Junior Cave Magazine