Social Club

Choose the #1 song for August for the Independent Song Charts. - I Am Entertainment Magazine

Choose the #1 song for August for the Independent Song Charts. - I Am Entertainment Magazine

Here at San Diego Music .TV we are BIG fans of Social Club. Some of us even went to see them at The Casbah during The Steelwells residency last week. So they are always a local San Diego artist that we think you should check out...

Anyway...here's another one of their videos that I recently stumbled upon. Check it out! - San Diego Music TV

Strange Stage Stories from San Diego Musicians: Thea Tochihara (Social Club), Sppike Mike Muellenberg (League of Liars), Lou Curtiss (Folk Arts Records) and more... - San Diego Reader

San Diego music scene is buzzing Monday about the just-announced 2013 San Diego Music Award nominations... - NBC San Diego

Somewhere between Gotye and Muse is San Diego-based Social Club. - Disco Salt

The Skinny: It might not turn you into the Incredible Hulk, but this exclusive free download, of Social Club's "Gamma Rays" is still very much worth checking out. The San Diego band's sound falls somewhere along the lines of Gotye and Muse and they are well on their way to becoming the buzz rock/indie band of the year. Social Club formed in 2011 and quickly established themselves live and on the internet. Following the release of their debut EP Pictureshow, Social Club began to pull in record crowds at local San Diego venues and making appearances on local television and radio..... (continued)
- Pure Grain Audio

The Skinny: It might not turn you into the Incredible Hulk, but this exclusive free download, of Social Club's "Gamma Rays" is still very much worth checking out. The San Diego band's sound falls somewhere along the lines of Gotye and Muse and they are well on their way to becoming the buzz rock/indie band of the year. Social Club formed in 2011 and quickly established themselves live and on the internet. Following the release of their debut EP Pictureshow, Social Club began to pull in record crowds at local San Diego venues and making appearances on local television and radio..... (continued)
- Pure Grain Audio

“I like the idea that music pulls everybody together,” John says. - San Diego Reader

Social Club has become a Kings favorite. The San Diego pop rock band has solidified their sound with an unrelenting presence both live and on the Internet... - Kings of A&R

...pop-oriented, beat-heavy...radio-ready modern rock...
—Dryw Keltz - San Diego City Beat

Wednesday April 24, 2013:
Casbah & Soda Bar Present: Chappo, Okapi Sun, Social Club @ Soda Bar - San Diego: Dialed In

oundDiego LIVE took December off, so there is no better way to get back into the swing of things than another great party at the venue of all venues. We're heading down to the Casbah on Thursday for our free show featuring Shake Before Us and Social Club, as well as our Garage 2 Glory winner, Spero. Doors open at 7 p.m. with complimentary Jack Daniel's if you've registered for the guest list as well as free grub from Lucha Libre. This is going to be a great night and we'll wrap it up before the 11 o'clock news. So even if you have to get up early on Friday, you can still have a few good hours with some great rock & roll, great drinks and great food.

- NBC - SoundDiego

The San Diego based band, Social Club, recently spoke with GroundSounds about their new album Gamma Rays. Here is the video for their new single “Loosen Up,” off the album. - Ground Sounds

"At first listen of Social Club it may be hard to imagine that the indie/ rock/ pop wave that crashes over you was born from a local San Diego hip hop group. Or perhaps, upon deeper listening, it will not..." - San Diego Music TV

Social Club is a self-described indie/rock/pop quartet with the emphasis on the latter. Featuring lead singer John Levan, bass guitarist James Spratley, drummer Jeffrey Litzman and keyboardist Thea Tochihara, the group should appeal to indie rockers and power-pop fans alike, with well-crafted songs that will have you humming their melody lines after one listen. Three-chord, 12-bar music this is not. Songs like “She Said,” which explodes from the speakers from the first note, throw more sonic curveballs in 3:12 than some groups manage in a whole set.

• Social Club performs at 9 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 9 at the Typhoon Saloon, 1165 Garnet Ave. 21 and up. No cover. www.typhoonsaloon.com

Read more: San Diego Community News Group - Explosive music a Wicked tribute band and some Extreme Cream - Beach & Bay Press

Social Club: San Supersonic interview. Social Club sits and chats with Stephanie Amadeus from San Supersonic (Sansupersonic.com) now known as The Indie SD. - San Supersonic / The Indie SD

Some of you might have noticed that along with our normal video contests, periodically we run Battle of the Bands competitions, offering groups the chance to fly out and rock out at one of the many MOFILM events across the world. Most recently we ran a contest offering bands the opportunity to join us at our upcoming SXSW Awards. We had a number of great entries for this, but in the end the panel unanimously voted for California natives Social Club, a great choice we hope you’ll agree. Ahead of the awards next weekend, we caught up with them to get to know a little bit before the show. Here then, are the results!

Thanks for taking a minute to catch up with us, first of all then a huge congratulations on winning the Battle of the Bands! We’re super excited to have you guys joining us in Austin!

MOFILM: I guess first of all, would be nice to hear a little bit of background about you guys – how did Social Club come to be?

SC: We’ve been Social Club for about 2 1/2 years. We’re based out of San Diego, which is also where we all met, but we all come from different spots around the States. We all just kind of moleculed together…John and James were in a hip hop band together, they broke off to form their own group with more of a rock element, Jeffrey spotted them at a show and made some double bonds…and Thea’s the only asian girl in San Diego that plays keys so it was kind of a no brainer!

MOFILM: It would be great to hear how you found out about the contest, did you know much about MOFILM before you entered?

SC: Thankfully Jeffrey found MOFILM on the internet. After a little research it seemed like a great opportunity to get involved with a great company and also put our newly finished music video out there to see what people thought….. Looks like you guys like it!

MOFILM: Well we did, it’s always great to be able to shine a bit of light on up and coming talent! Could you tell us a little bit about your musical influences? Do you share pretty common grounds here, or is there a bit of variety in the mix?

SC: Well, the Beatles are rad, don’t think there is any arguments there. Thea likes gritty blues and soul, some rock, some jazz, some hip-hop. James is into anything that makes the ladies dance. John likes indie rock, but has fancied Mayan flute quartettes as of late. And Jeff is a Sound of Music kind of guy… something about that Julie Andrews.

MOFILM: How do you find it being in an active band today, the music world has obviously changed a lot in the last ten years or so with downloads/online becoming most people’s go to for consuming music. What’s your take on all this – would you say it’s a good time to be in a band at the moment?

SC: Man! You actually want us to use our brains! Well, things have definitely changed a lot in the last ten years, completely agree on that. I hear bands got signed and made millions a decade ago and needed the big time players to do so…today you hear about people that put up a YouTube video that goes viral and the next day they’re on the Ellen show with sold out live performances.

Same race, different outfits I guess…you still gotta run! Right now there’s so much good music that people are actually listening to…even though it’s not on the radio, so for that reason, I’m grateful for the download/online wave. At the same time, it’s a bit overwhelming to see just how many people there are out there making and selling music, regardless of the whether they can play an instrument, sing, or put on a live show. So…what was the question?

MOFILM: A lot of bands these days hold down a job on the side to keep themselves going. Is this a full time gig for you guys, or do you work outside the band too? Tell us a little about yourselves, we’re all ears!

SC: This is a full-time gig for us that requires us all to have additional full-time ‘jobs’. That plus the two or so hours we set aside a day for dreaming and our schedules are packed full. Thea provides free counseling services over strong cups of Joe, Jeffrey builds v8 engines for bicycles, James makes people look good on stage at the House of Blues, and John…I think he spends all day making his voice sound pretty.

MOFILM: Always an awful question, but does Social Club have ‘favourite’ album you could all agree on?

SC: Nope. There is no agreeing on this one. This question causes many of our studio debate sessions. Thea’s is a Beatles, Van Morrison, Etta James or Billie Holiday album. Or Christina Aguilerra’s Christmas Time. James’ would be Purple Haze or anything that makes the ladies dance. For John it would be a Tom Waits live album. And for Jeff probably the Sound of Music sound track.. he can’t get enought of that Julie Andrews….or the newest Taylor Swift album…seriously.

MOFILM: If you guys were to curate your own festival, who would be on the dream lineup?

SC: Oh snap! mmm…the Black Keys, The Roots, Franz Ferdinand, Kimbra, Awolnation, Muse, WuTang, Social Club, and of course Taylor S - MOFILM

If you’re not privy to Social Club here’s your chance. The 4 member band has been making waves down in San Diego, creating a unique indie rock/pop wave sound, and now GroundSounds has an exclusive interview check it out below!

Q: Social Club! Thanks for taking time to talk with us here at GroundSounds. How are you guys doing?

A: We are doing awesome. Getting super pumped for our Jan 22nd record release and upcoming tour in March.

Q: Tell me who everyone is, and who plays what in the band?

A: John Levan- Lead Vocals and Guitar Jeffrey Litzman- Drums

James Spratley- Bass Guitar Thea Tochihara- Synth/Keys and Vocals

Q: How did you all meet and start playing music together?

A: Well we all have different stories on who approached who. But basically, John and James were in another project together. John wanted to start his own project in which he wrote and sang more. He asked James to come along to play bass. They wrote a couple of tunes, which they played at some open mics around SD. And that is where they met Thea and Jeff. Social Club was born shortly thereafter.

Q: When I first heard your music, it reminded me how I felt when I first heard Maroon 5. You guys have this cool cocktail of rock, pop, and funky electro-soul thing going on. How do you describe your sound, or genre of music?

A: Honestly, we don’t describe our sound. We all come from different backgrounds of music. So we like to infuse a little of everyone’s taste in our tunes. But if we really had to pick a genre, we would go with Indie Rock…although the cocktail you described sounds pretty tasty…

Q: So what is the creative process for your band? Do you all write together?

A: Our creative process kind of differs each time we get together. Sometimes a song can come from one of our 15 – 20min jam sessions at the beginning of practice. John likes to come up with little riffs at home and then we will build off that. We have even come up with songs just from a sound that Thea would be tinkering around with on the keyboard. Once we kind of figure out a structure, or close to one, John usually mumbles out some sounds, in which he turns into lyrics. Its kind of dope to have a freeform process at writing new tracks.

Q: You recently dropped a dope video for “Slow Motion.” Where did the idea for that video come from?

A: Well we knew we wanted to play off the slow motion theme with the song. We had a couple of brainstorm sessions, to see how we could pull it off with two of our friends, Matt Lopman and Rob Stephen, who also shot and directed the video for us. We came up with a lot of great ideas, but in some cases, were not physically possible. So we decided to set the camera up in Rob’s studio, slow the track way down, and run it. And the dopeness that you see is what came out. It was a very ‘lax and fun shoot.

Q: How did you guys link up with Pacific Records?

A: Well we both had spaces at the performing art’s center Rock and Roll San Diego. So they were forced to listen to us through the walls. And I guess we grew on them. Lol, actually that is partially true. We played the grand opening at the center and they approached us shortly there after with a proposal. And the rest is, what they call, history.

Q: Who are your biggest influences?

A: Like we said before, we all come from different backgrounds of music. Individual influences, we are all over the place with. But I think as a band, we can agree on a couple…like Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, MUSE and Radiohead just to name a few. The list goes on and on. Some you may have heard before and some not.

Q: Do you have any new projects, tours, etc. that we can look out for?

A: Yes, we have lots of little goodies up our sleeves this year! Of course the big one is our album Gamma Rays, produced by Christian Cummings, will be releasing Jan. 22nd, 2013. We are also releasing a music video with that called “Loosen Up,” directed by our friend Thierry Denis. We are also planning a tour to be kicked off in March. And that’s just the start of it.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years?

A: In a large stadium serving up some of those tasty Social Club cocktails you mentioned earlier to the masses…

Q: If you were on a deserted island, and each of you could bring 1 album, what album would each of you bring and why?

A: James- Can I bring a Mix Tape? My musical mood changes all the time. John- Probably the sound track to the TV show “Lost”

Thea- Surviving the Island: the Greatest Hits. Jeff- Irony Is a Dead Scene -Dillinger Escape plan - Ground Sounds

There is a new buzz in the music world that goes by the name of Social Club. Fresh off of SXSW, and with a brand new album (Gamma Rays) under their belt, they are destined for greatness. I recently had the opportunity to chat with the band about their story, music, touring, and more. They are artists on the rise, so be sure to join the movement....[continued] - Bigger Than Beyonce

Here is a treat for you! San Diego’s very own Social Club will be playing this Sunday, May 19th at the Soda Bar. This local indie pop band just released their album, Gamma Rays, with Pacific Records and has a lot to offer.

Firstly, they have an excellently crafted album with amazing songs including “Slow Motion” (below), “Smile Lines,” and “In a Lie”. Secondly, the band: consisting of John, James, Jeffrey, and Thea are some good time people with a lot of talent and great personalities. This band will entertain you from beginning to end. Lastly, the rich sound! The layers of emotion, massive instrumentals, and rock-pop anthems feel up their music that in conclusion will deliver one hell of a performance.

This year, Social Club went south to music heaven and played at South by South West in Austin, Texas. They played part of MOFILM’S “Take Your Band to Texas” and played to some great reviews.

Social Club pulls off a range of styles, appealing to many different genres. I think that is what really makes them stand out. When you listen to their album you will not hear a clean album, you will hear a variety of styles that appeals to every emotion. You experience the ups and downs, the bitter and sweet, and the calm and loud. This is everything to produce a killer band. Before they take the stage this Sunday, I wanted to know more about them and their music...(continued) - San Diego Shuffle

Every location, every situation, every scene has a “Best Kept Secret“. This past week, a friend said something to me that inspired the idea for this new feature. Each week, I’m going to showcase an extraordinary musician or band that is already doing big and amazing things with their craft. There are superstars in our very own backyard and we might not know it yet. Don’t worry, I’ll keep you in the loop, starting with the indie rock quartet Social Club.... - The Indie SD

"...then we will talk to a recent SXSW performing artists [Social Club] and find out about what makes them so cool." - Listen SD