Jubilo Drive

BY SHERRI CRUZ
2014-06-17 19:20:08
Guitar players Henry Kuckens and Jordan Kleinman and bass player
Hayden Vaughn are doing their parts in prepping the tacos that theyre
making from scratch. And Eric Cruz? Well, hes the drummer. Hes just
waiting to eat.
The four 21-year-olds make up the indie rock band Jubilo Drive. With
the exception of Hayden, they will be seniors in the fall at Chapman
University, where the band got its start two years ago.
Drumming for 10 years, Eric keeps the band tight. His fearless
percussion is inspired by drummer Blake Richardson of Between the
Buried and Me, a North Carolina band that makes Metallica sound like
wimps.
Jubilo Drives upbeat songs of all there is to love about California have
a sunny-day rock sound.
By the time this story is published, Jubilo Drive will be almost halfway through their summer tour. Theyre
playing clubs in Southern California such as Paladinos in Tarzana and The Slidebar in Fullerton. Friday
theyll be at the Blacklight District in Long Beach.
A few days before the band kicked off their tour, they were grillin and chillin at their band house in
Orange where Eric and Jordan live. The band rehearses in the garage. They were excited and eager to
play several live shows in a short burst, as many live shows as theyve played in their two years together.
Theyre thinking of it as music-career training. The band will have to show up on time with all their gear and
develop a peak-performance mindset, Hayden said.
People seem to have a good time when we play live, but for our own sake and for our own experience, its
going to be really good for us to go out and play live, Hayden said.
Theyve just recorded a new song, At My Best, and released it on SoundCloud, an audio and music
sharing site.
Band business
For now, theyre do-it-yourself all the way. They book their shows, design their promotional flyers and
album art, handle their own social media and do their own recording.
Their studies at Chapman have helped them with the business end of being in a band. Henry is studying
graphic arts, Eric is majoring in communications. Jordan, public relations.
As the bands manager, Jordan books and promotes shows and does a lot of the promotion on Facebook
and Twitter.
I was never really into school, Jordan said. But I changed my major a year ago, and its the first time I
actually felt like I could apply what Im learning to my life.
Hayden: Weve got graphic design, public relations. Ive been making computer music for a while, and
Eric, honestly, is just like the beastiest drummer and he keeps our hearts in the right place.
Hayden was a music education major at Chapman but left after two years. I had a great time at Chapman,
meeting these guys and hanging out on campus and living there that whole part was great, he said.
I couldnt justify spending as much money as I was spending to not be going to my classes, he said.
Sometimes its just hard to keep your head in the game if you have other goals.
Demonstrating good PR, Jordan and Henry passed out notes to neighbors of the band house, letting them
know that Jubilo Drives summer tour would kick off with a backyard show. I gave them my number and
told them I appreciate them letting us do this all the time and not getting annoyed, Jordan said.
Career musicians
While a diploma will be a bonus, they dont intend to get what some might call a real job. Being in the
band isnt a hobby. They aim to be career musicians.
Henry: Thats the dream to be able to be musicians full time.
Eric: Its not that school is a side track, and its not that its in the way, but its another thing that we have to
worry about in the meantime.
Once theyre out of school, the band will be the full-time focus, Eric said.
Theyre not looking for fame, just a comfortable living. I think we could all take or leave fame, Hayden
said.
If we could play in bars across the United States and have a great time with a bunch of people just
cruising around doing our thing, we would be stoked, Hayden said.
Right now, they support themselves with various part-time jobs. Henry has a graphic design T-shirt and
clothing business called Modern Day Madness.
Song craft
Since Eric returned from studying abroad for a semester in Madrid, Spain, the band members have turned
their attention to song structure, something they want to improve.
Rather than cranking out songs, they want to put more time and creativity into fewer songs so their songs
sound like a Jubilo Drive creation, Henry said.
Theyve got about 25 songs.
During a recent practice, the band played a groovy love song called Rosa, which sounds like its about a
girl, but Hayden, singing lead on the song, said its about his guitar, which he calls Rosa.
Weve written a lot of love songs, obviously, because there is so much to love in California, Hayden said.
We want to capture the human condition, especially the human condition around us. We want to capture
what it is to be a person in California. Universal stories through the California lens is really the way I think
about it.
Henry: We all bring certain things to the table and work with it together.
Hayden: No matter where it starts from, the song definitely has four points of view that come together.
Musical gamut
They share some musical tastes. They all agree on Led Zeppelin, Queen, classic Michael Jackson. We
also get down to Motown, Hayden said.
At any point, in any day, Im always down to listen to some Motown, for sure, Henry said.
They also have differing musical tastes and inspiration.
Henry: I really like The Strokes. I was influenced by them in my later teen years when I was focusing on
songs in general and how songs were laid out.
Old school West Coast hip hop such as Dr. Dre and Warren G. are also on his playlist. Some of the newer
stuff hes into: Kendrick Lamar, Action Bronson and Broken Bells.
Jordan was inspired as a kid by his mothers classic rock album collection. Newer stuff he likes includes
Mac DeMarco, a Canadian singer-songwriter. Hes got this whole slacker vibe going.
Hayden: I absolutely love weird electronic music, he said. Lately, hes gotten into Hank Williams Sr. But
his rock idol is Josh Homme, who formed Queens of the Stone Age in the mid-90s. Theyre from Palm
Desert, near Palm Springs, where Hayden is from.
Hes my rock star idol if I had to choose one. I love those desert boys. It speaks to me and takes me
home.
Eric: A Tribe Called Quest and MF Doom. Ive never really listened to very much hip hop growing up, but
these guys have sort of gotten me into it, he said. Ive found I really like G-Funk.
Erics uncle Mark Salazar inspired Eric to play drums. His uncle plays keyboard and sings in a punk band
called The Skabbs, which was started in the 1970s by his late uncle, Steve Salazar.
Eric, who grew up in Pasadena, used to sneak into his uncle Marks garage to check out his drum kit. The
spectacle of the drum setup really intrigued me. I would sit behind it as a little kid and there was so much
sound coming from this one spot.
Their varied musical tastes works to their advantage, Hayden said.
It means we have to figure out something new that none of the individuals in a band would come up with
on their own that only the four of us could come up with, Hayden said.
Grillin and chillin
The band name derives from Jubilo Drive, a street in suburban Tarzana, where Jordan used to live. When
Hayden and Jordan were the only two members, Jordan asked Hayden what he thought of the name
Jubilo. Hayden nixed that. Jordan said how about Jubilo Drive? It just stuck. Its worked really well for
us, Jordan said.
Telling the club promoters their band name over the phone can sometimes be fun, Jordan said: Jubilee,
Jublio? How do you spell that?
Back to the backyard grill, where Jordan is flipping the marinated chicken. Our cooking skills have gone
up a lot. I feel better eating food that Ive made, Jordan said. Making tacos has been a thing for them
lately. Schools out and they live walking distance to La Bodega Carniceria.
For the past week weve been waking up, walking to the meat market, buying the meat for the day,
coming back and turning on the radio, Jordan said.
If its early enough, well catch Morning Becomes Eclectic, Jordan said. The music show on KCRW plays
a diverse selection of music from big name artists as well as unknowns. If theyve missed the show, they
might tune in to K-Earth 101.
Well skip through all the stations until we find something we like, Jordan said. Then well sit out here and
listen to music, grill and hangout, he said.
Now is the time we are realizing we have what it takes to push forward at a more efficient pace, starting
with the summer tour, Henry said. Its all uphill from here.
Contact the writer: scruz@ocregister.com
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