Jubilo Drive

On a street corner in downtown Fullerton, dressed like the Statue of Liberty, Hayden Vaughn twirls a sign for a tax company.

He is 21 years old. He dropped out of Chapman last year.

Jordan Kleinman studies PR and Henry Kuckens designs and sells shirts online. Eric Cruz has been studying in Madrid for the past two months.

They are students. They are a bunch of guys in their twenties. They work part-time jobs and go out on weekends and study during the week and worry about car payments and girls and what they’re going to have for dinner.

But ask them what they are, and each will answer without skipping a beat, “I’m a musician.”

Music is who they are, and it’s the underlying reason for everything they do.

Jubilo Drive is the name of their band. It’s a grungy alt-rock sound that has spent the last few months playing small shows around Southern California.

They’re something more than just a band, though. They’ve created a project of combined self-expression that manifests itself in music and lifestyle and gives some higher order to the lives of these current and former Chapman University students from Orange, California.

Most college juniors are worrying about midterms, finding internships, or what they’re going to be doing after they graduate—but for Jubilo Drive, school is an afterthought.

Which, in a world that values employment, stability, and a college diploma far more than the pursuit of art, is a bit of a scary thought.

“Last year, I wasn’t really going to my classes and one day I just decided, ‘I’m not going to keep paying this money,'" said Vaughn, laughing. "I’m actually way happier doing this than I ever was at school. I work two days a week; I can barely pay my rent, but I get to spend a majority of my day working on music."

Jubilo drive is slow and fast and mellow and full of energy. It is a paradoxical combination of different musical influences that comes together to form something unique.

Their sound is the collision of four people with different musical tastes—different background and different stories—who come together with some instruments and amplifiers and microphones—and make those stories into a single sound.

Vaughn, the bassist, grew up in Palm Springs and has been playing the clarinet and the saxophone since fifth grade. He also “produces sick electronic beats,” in the words of fellow bandmate, Eric Cruz.

Cruz, the drummer, listens to progressive metal and electronic dance music.

“I’m going to two EDM festivals next month—one in Amsterdam and one in the UK,” said Cruz, over a dish of paella outside a café in Madrid, where he’s been studying for the past few months.

Despite being thousands of miles and nine timezones away, Cruz seems unaffected—or even unaware—of the distance between him and the rest of the band. His long-distance relationship with Jubilo Drive consists of constant communication over Facebook and such a level of involvement such that he might as well have been sitting on the couch with the rest of the band back at their house in Orange.

On that couch, Kleinman plugs his phone into the speakers and plays “San Francisco” by Foxygen—a mellow, sing-songy indie tune that would not be out of place in an Apple commercial, while Kuckens talks about how much he loves The Strokes.

And yet, Jubilo Drive sounds nothing like any of their disparate tastes in music. Somehow, in the act of coming together, they’ve created something new, something that is entirely unique and fuses their separate musical roots into one sound.

“I feel like we each bring something different to the table, and Jubilo Drive is the result of that,” said Kuckens.

In this new sound lies new experience. In the past few months, the band has gone from playing pay-to-play shows at small venues to booking shows in Los Angeles at venues like the Roxy. They have listeners online from around the world, and are, to use their own word, “stoked.”

“The majority of my conversations with other people are about Jubilo Drive, somehow it always ends up coming back to that,” said Kleinman.

They look like normal guys. On a college campus you wouldn’t be able to pick them out of a crowd. But they have bigger plans than studying for midterms or twirling signs for extra cash. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day, they hope to be rock stars.

- See more at: http://www.prowlmagazine.com/2014/04/jubilo-drive/#sthash.WCtWYgb5.dpuf - Prowl Magazine

https://soundcloud.com/jubilo-drive/sets/redwood

Push Down and Turn features the elegant bass guitar, cool percussion beats, energetic vocals and a memorable chorus.

Six goes all out with the percussion arrangement and also entertains us with some smooth guitar melodies especially towards the end of the song.

Echo kicks in with a powerful intro and outstanding vocals, plus top marks for the exquisite guitar outro.

Jubilo Drive are an alternative rock band who hail from Orange, California.

Inspired by the scenic landscapes of Southern California, their journey started with them creating music which reflects the emotions of the geography they inhabit.

Jubilo Drive were formed two years ago at Chapman University, when guitarist Jordan H Kleinman invited bassist Hayden Vaughn for a private Jam session and shortly after that Kleinman met and invited Singer/Guitarist Henry Kuckens to write songs with them. When the band moved off campus the following year, drummer Eric Cruz joined their ranks as a permanent member.

Their inspiration comes from the likes of The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Strokes and Queens Of The Stone Age.

October saw the release of their first EP - Redwood and the band are currently in the studio mixing the next batch of recordings.

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/JubiloDrive
Twitter - https://twitter.com/JubiloDrive
Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/jubilo-drive - OceanicBlueUK

Out of the idealist picturesque town of Orange, California a band of four boys are turning their college experience into an experiment in slowed down metal drumming mixing one part Red Hot Chili Peppers and two parts deep retro Sublime-like grooves. Jubilo Drive's new music release out today February 25, 2014 (premiering at midnight) "At My Best" is all about getting pumped up and stoked on life. Gaining fans and booking shows at an increasing rate, Jubilo Drive is ready to roll and hit your playlist. LOAR is pumped up and stoked to bring you new music from this hot alternative rock indie band.

I chatted with lead guitarist and back up vocalist Jordan Kleinman a few weeks ago over the phone and he shared with me how the band formed. Jordan and Hayden Vaughn (bassist) met two years ago when they were freshman in college and wrote their first song “Push Down and Turn” the first time they ever hung out. Meeting lead vocalist Henry Kuckens and drummer Eric Cruz (who was a hard core metal drummer for over nine years) rounded out the band and the foursome started jamming together.

“Push Down and Turn” was recorded last summer with one microphone in a bedroom over a four-day period Jordan tells me. “It was a lot of fun to get done,” he comments who also says his influences include The Strokes and RHCP. Eric and Jordan moved into a house together and that’s when things started taking off. “We wrote like ten songs in the first semester and then we started gigging—like playing on campus and our backyard one time," Jordan explains. He adds, "I’m a PR major at Chapman [University] so I kind of had to do all of our stuff. I take notes in class and think of ways to promote us. …We just played at a coffee house the other night--an acoustic show--which was a lot of fun.”

Jubilo Drive (interview with Jordan Kleinman)Henry, the lead vocalist, is a graphic design major and works with Jordan to create images for the band. Together they created the modern bright 80's stripes meets iconic college house vivid photo of the old broken TV sitting on bricks in the backyard of the house they lived in last year. “That backyard was just this big dirt plot and we thought it would be cool to have this broken TV just kind of sitting behind the house," says Jordan. "The name ’Redwood’ [title of Jubilo Drive's first EP] also comes from it. The house is from the 1950’s and the walls are made of redwood from Southern California so we figured the place where were made the music that kind of got us started is what we should name our first EP.” With interesting angles, colors and shapes, the cover of the EP is as interesting as the music itself. When you look past the rudimentary recording of their first song as basic as the house itself, you find a place to be inspired hearing hooks that draw you in and create curving bold rhythms.

Jubilo Drive was named after a street Jordan used to live on in Tarzana, California. The band's mission statement on their Facebook page says, "Jubilo Drive has started a journey to create music that reflects the emotions of the geography they inhabit." Equating emotions with places, I asked Jordan to give me an example for him of a happy, sad and mysterious place.

Jordan tells me about his happy place first. “In California the scenery and the landscapes are really something that’s big for me. …There’s this old missile tower up Mulholland Drive in the Valley and if you take this big hike up to it you can stand on top of the tower and look at a 360º panorama of the ocean, LA, Hollywood, the Valley and you can just see everything. …It makes me feel at home, especially because I can see my house from there.”

“A sad place for you?” I ask. “Kind of like the 405, between Orange County and LA at like seven in the morning, the peak of worse rush hour," he says and I start laughing. He expounds from a wise youthful place that sees the insanity in adulthood, "It’s really sad for me because everybody is just waiting in line in their car to get into another city to sit for the rest of the day and then do it all again to get back home and plop down on the couch and do it all again.”

After recounting to him my previous night's drive home in the nightmare that was the 405 in a half inch of mist that created a massive backup, I move on to ask him about a mysterious place. “I’d say the desert," Jordan replies with reasoning that I'll not soon forget. Referencing Palm Springs he says, "I like the desert a lot. It’s something that always intrigues me. I always just want to take a jeep and just drive off road for 40 miles and see like nothing and everything at the same time.”

Jubilo Drive Their newest music release “At My Best” (lyrics written by lead vocalist Henry Kuckens) has a great energy, a party vibe and thick grooves that dig in as it spins. “What does the song mean to you?” I ask Jordan and he pauses a bit to collect his thoughts and explain it properly. "To me it’s about finding the good parts of your life and appreciating them," he begins. "When you are in a situation where things aren’t right, your friends will still stick around for you getting to know your highs and lows. It's like that Marilyn Monroe quote [if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best]. To me that’s kind of what it means. I just look at it like it’s a song to get you pumped up and stoked on life.”

The “At My Best” video was filmed in Jubilo Drive's backyard the night before drummer Eric Cruz left on a study abroad trip to Spain. Listen to the midnight drop of “At My Best” on SoundCloud premiering 12:00 AM Tuesday, February 25, 2014.



WE ASKED JORDAN KLEINMAN
“If you had to choose one song title to describe your personality what would it be?”
“Walkabout” by Red Hot Chili Peppers
“In Australia they have this coming of age process it’s called the walkabout. Apparently you’re supposed to go out in the outback and just experience nature and like they would probably smoke and hallucinate—that’s not why I’m saying it—but I like to just go out in the world and experience things and see what different kinds of life is like in different areas.”

“If you could go back in time and see your favorite artist play live, who would it be?”
“I know the answer to this right off the bat. Roger Waters playing "Dark Side of the Moon" at the Hollywood Bowl in 2007. I was at it and I was there with my mom but I didn’t know the "Dark Side of the Moon" album well enough at the time to remember it. I remember like two songs and that’s like my favorite album of all time. I wish I could just go back and just watch the whole thing.”

JUBILO DRIVE AND CHARITY
Jubilo drive supports Give the Gift of Music (http://givethegiftofmusic.info/)
"We believe that playing music can be a cathartic and invigorating experience, and that if presented with the opportunity, those in need would greatly benefit."

JUBILO DRIVE ON THE WEB
http://jubilodrive.tumblr.com/
https://www.facebook.com/JubiloDrive
https://soundcloud.com/jubilo-drive
https://twitter.com/JubiloDrive
- See more at: http://lifeofarockstar.com/music/files/jubilo_drive_at_my_best_gets_you_pumped_up_and_stoked_on_life.php#sthash.osHt8rkv.dpuf - Life of a Rockstar

JUBILO DRIVE
Written by Owen Howard 16/03 and edited by Kellyn Torres 17/03
Drum-roll please? The up-and-coming punk-rock band from Orange County, California JUBILO DRIVE have released their latest reggae influenced single ‘At My Best’ earlier this month. If you’re looking for an animated, hip-hop yet psychedelic sound for this summer, then you’ve found the Holy Grail. The west-coast sound that has emerged over the last half-a-century is presented through the vibrant and energetic atmosphere created, combined with the somewhat ‘strained’ indie-rock vocals. JUBILO DRIVE finds influences from many different artists and genres of music due to the diversity among the band members and the atmosphere in which they are surrounded by. The cutting-edge, new single ‘At My Best’ will follow their recent debut EP ‘Redwood’ released in autumn last year. The comparable sound of RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS and WHITE DENIM has heightened the unusual trend, yet nonetheless, UK fan-base. ‘At My Best’ is out now and can be downloaded for free on SoundCloud at https://soundcloud.com/jubilo-drive/at-my-best.
https://www.facebook.com/JubiloDrive - POND

Jubilo Drive - Jubilo Drive are a band formed in California and, for me, they epitomise the college rock of now. Referencing many classic bands both in instrumental and in vocals, they are refreshing to listen to in such a commercialised world of auto-tuned vocals and computerised sounds. This is a group of guys who have guitars, drums and vocals and have clearly been influenced by the college rock bands of the 70s and 80s. At My Best is their latest offering, full of jangly guitar sounds, a feel-good vibe and a reminder that life can be just plain fun. - Music Geekery

Sweat drips down Eric Cruz’s back as he methodically taps the drums and bobs his head. The heat is overwhelming in the cramped garage but Cruz drums on, shaking the sweat onto the floor and drum set.

Cruz continuously looks over at his bandmates who he says seem to relish in the sweltering heat.

“The best is when it’s hot and sweaty and our emotions are running high,” the senior communication studies major said. “Those are the most heartfelt moments in terms of honesty and growth.”

It’s a typical practice setting for Jubilo Drive, a band started by Jordan Kleinman, Henry Kuckens, Hayden Vaughn and Eric Cruz when they met three years ago at Chapman.

The band had been practicing for Chapman’s annual fall concert Sept. 19 where they opened for DJ Kap Slap and A$AP Ferg at the Grove in Anaheim.

For guitarist, Kleinman, a senior public relations and advertising major, playing at the fall concert represents two years of hard work.

“It’s symbolic to where we are right now, where our name is going to be popping up places,” he said. “This is our biggest opportunity to get in front of the student body and share our stuff.”

Named after the street that Kleinman grew up on, Jubilo Drive came together from a random encounter.

“I was on campus and heard these guys jamming so I walked over and saw Vaughn playing with some professors,” Kleinman said. “We ended up hitting it off and the next day we met in my dorm room and wrote songs that we still play today.”

After Kuckens, a senior graphic design major, joined the sessions on guitar, the group signed up to play in Chapman’s battle of the bands competition. They were still missing a drummer, although Kleinman said he had been trying to convince Cruz to play with them.

Cruz finally relented but they weren’t able to practice with the drum set, turning their performance into one large jam session. Cruz said the ability to play off of each other and improvise is what makes Jubilo Drive special.

“We’re a really eclectic group that all bring a lot of different styles and techniques,” Cruz said. “When we look at each other on stage we have that connection.”

For Vaughn, who no longer attends Chapman and plays bass, that connection is crucial when learning new material. While all four members help with the process, it’s generally Vaughn and Kleinman who write the songs.

“It’s never a complete song until everyone has figured out what they’re going to do themselves,” Vaughn said.

Cruz said the best way to describe them would be to call them “California Rock,” a self-coined term that references the members’ home state and scenic themes in their music.

While performing on stage is exciting, Vaughn said that the ability to connect with an audience is by far the most rewarding.

“I think my favorite thing is that people will take the time to listen to our ideas and take something from them,” he said. “Connecting with anyone in this context and sharing these personal things is incredible.”

Even though the band says performing at the fall concert was a huge accomplishment, the group is eager to keep playing and release new music in the next few months.

But in order to do that they must return to the garage, and it’s still hot. - The Panther Online

Guitar players Henry Kuckens and Jordan Kleinman and bass player Hayden Vaughn are doing their parts in prepping the tacos that they’re making from scratch. And Eric Cruz? Well, he’s the drummer. He’s 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 Drive’s 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. They’re playing clubs in Southern California such as Paladino’s in Tarzana and The Slidebar in Fullerton. Friday they’ll 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 they’ve played in their two years together.

They’re 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, it’s going to be really good for us to go out and play live,” Hayden said.

They’ve just recorded a new song, “At My Best,” and released it on SoundCloud, an audio and music sharing site.

Band business
For now, they’re 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 band’s 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 it’s the first time I actually felt like I could apply what I’m learning to my life.”

Hayden: “We’ve got graphic design, public relations. I’ve 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 couldn’t justify spending as much money as I was spending to not be going to my classes,” he said. “Sometimes it’s 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 Drive’s 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 don’t intend to get what some might call a “real” job. Being in the band isn’t a hobby. They aim to be career musicians.

Henry: “That’s the dream – to be able to be musicians full time.”

Eric: “It’s not that school is a side track, and it’s not that it’s in the way, but it’s another thing that we have to worry about in the meantime.”

Once they’re out of school, the band will be the full-time focus, Eric said.

They’re 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.

They’ve got about 25 songs.

During a recent practice, the band played a groovy love song called “Rosa,” which sounds like it’s about a girl, but Hayden, singing lead on the song, said it’s about his guitar, which he calls Rosa.

“We’ve 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, Queens of the Stone Age, classic Michael Jackson. “We also get down to Motown,” Hayden said.

“At any point, in any day, I’m 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 he’s into: Kendrick Lamar, Action Bronson and Broken Bells.

Jordan was inspired as a kid by his mother’s classic rock album collection. Newer stuff he likes includes Mac DeMarco, a Canadian singer-songwriter. “He’s got this whole slacker vibe going.”

Hayden: “I absolutely love weird electronic music,” he said. Lately, he’s gotten into Hank Williams Sr. But his rock idol is Josh Homme, who formed Queens of the Stone Age in the mid-90s. They’re from Palm Desert, near Palm Springs, where Hayden is from.

“He’s 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. “I’ve never really listened to very much hip hop growing up, but these guys have sort of gotten me into it,” he said. “I’ve found I really like G-Funk.”

Eric’s 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 Mark’s 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. It’s 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 I’ve made,” Jordan said. Making tacos has been a thing for them lately. School’s out and they live walking distance to La Bodega Carniceria.

“For the past week we’ve been waking up, walking to the meat market, buying the meat for the day, coming back and turning on the radio,” Jordan said.

“If it’s early enough, we’ll 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 they’ve missed the show, they might tune in to K-Earth 101.

“We’ll skip through all the stations until we find something we like,” Jordan said. “Then we’ll 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. “It’s all uphill from here.” - Orange County Register

Artist Spotlight: Exploring New Genres with Jubilo Drive

MAY 12, 2015 IN ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
Jubilo Drive members: Hayden Vaughn, Eric Cruz, Jordan H. Kleinman and Henry Kuckens

I sat down at the home and jam/studio space of California rock band Jubilo Drive yesterday evening to talk the future of their sound and dive into the unique dynamic of the up-and-coming band. The 4-piece group sometimes plays hard-hitting, melodic rock, but they like to experiment too. Jubilo is inspired by a wide range of musical genres and each member pulls from a unique palette of musical taste. I was impressed by the amount of individuality that existed amongst the tight-knit group. Jubilo's special chemistry ultimately results in a constantly evolving sound with plenty of room for each member to shine.



1. What do you all like most about Jubilo's sound?

One thing we’ve been told recently is that we play an unexpected set list. For most bands you hear 3 songs and its like you’ve heard it all. We’re unpredictable because were inspired by a lot of genres. Also, we think we are more than just the Orange County rock n’ roll sound, which is refreshing.

We also dig that we have a lot of interplay between all the instruments and that all of us sing and take solos. We also leave ourselves a lot of room to grow into our sound; our goal is to challenge pop music while still making our songs accessible.

2. What's the band's creative process - do you have a routine?

(Laughs) Yeah we light a bunch of candles.

Our process is always random, everyone brings something to the table and we make a song. We know that the song will change once the band gets their hands on it, so as individuals, we try not to get too personally attached to our own ideas. In simple terms: it’s not a Jubilo Drive song til Jubilo Drive has played it.

3. Who are 3 artists/figures that inspire Jubilo Drive?

While we draw from a lot of influences, we cant narrow down a favorite artist for us as a band. We all have individual music tastes: like if Henry was in charge we’d make hip-hop, if Eric and Hayden got together the music would just scare people and all of our songs would be like 20 minutes long if Jordan ran the show.

4. What’s the best music advice you've gotten as band?

One thing that can really ruin a band is rushing to complete its goals. We definitely put pressure on ourselves, but we’ve really used our time wisely and incubated before making any rushed decisions.

In a band setting, it’s especially important to maintain the relationships between the band members. We look out for each other but also get on each others’ nerves. Being in a band is not like just being friends, we spend a lot of time with each other so the relationship comes first.

5. What does being a successful musician look like to you guys?

For us, its great to see our buddies singing our songs with us. They’ve come to enough shows to learn the words and that is the highest praise we could get. If the fans have taken the time to pay attention and know the songs, that’s really cool. As long as we keep connecting with people, we will consider ourselves successful musicians.

6. What are your fans like?

Our fans we're mostly our friends at the start but with word of mouth, we have grown our fan base. A funny story, one time I met someone who lived on Jubilo Drive, she was like, "Oh I live there too!"

Our music appeals to a lot of different kinds of people because it's eclectic. We’ve seen toddlers dance as well as 60 year olds tell us they like our stuff. One time we had a one-year-old tell us we were his favorite band.

7. How did the band establish its social media presence?

Soundcloud and music sharing. Everything is digital and it seems like a lot of people aren’t buying CDS. With new sites for sharing music, it opens a lot of doors for musicians. Ultimately we want people to land on our Soundcloud page, so well post behind the scenes updates and fun photos every once in a while to share our links.

Also, to see that people from over 100 countries are listening to our stuff is really amazing and we owe it to our presence online.

Want more Jubilo Drive?

Keep an eye out for a new record from Jubilo Drive, in the meantime check out their soundcloud and download their latest tracks - all fo' free.

Want to keep up with Jubilo Drive? Check out Jubilo Drives facebook to get the details on their upcoming shows. - DVRZ Music

By Liz Pennock
Photo courtesy of Jubilo Drive
It’s Thursday night and the band members
of Jubilo Drive have just finished a
weekly practice session at their band
house. An impressive collection of
records, CDs and two large speakers sit on a kitchen
table as senior Jordan Kleinman drops the needle on an
old jazz record.
As the record crackles, the members of Jubilo Drive
recall how they met back in 2012 during their freshman
year. They were all looking to get involved in music,
since their non-music majors weren’t conducive environments
for forming a band. Kleinman was walking
through campus one day when he met Hayden Vaughn,
who was playing the guitar in front Oliphant Hall.
Kleinmen and Vaughn discussed forming a band,
and after a few persuasive conversations with their
current band-mates, Jubilo Drive was born.
“Chapman has always provided a nice home base,
because we could play at school events in our own
neighborhood. It has also been great to get practice in
regards to advertising and how to get new people to
shows. Learning how to be a band here has been pretty
great,” said former Chapman student Vaughn.
Jubilo Drive is comprised of guitarist Kleinman and
fellow Chapman students lead signer and guitarist Henry
Kuckens, drummer Eric Cruz and bassist Vaughn. As
one of the more vocal bands at Chapman, Jubilo Drive
has performed both on and off campus, sharing their
“California-rock” style music with both students and
the public.
On campus opportunities have been helpful for them
to get the word out about their band and experience
performing live for large and small audiences alike.
However, for students like Lauren Potts, a senior studio
art major, finding equipment to perform with and a
venue proves to be more of a challenge.
Potts started playing the drums at 11 years-old and
has travelled the world to share her talent. As a part of
the San Jose Youth Symphony, she travelled to Chile
and Argentina where she performed six concerts in five
cities, including a performance for the First Lady of
Chile with the Chilean National Youth Orchestra.
Potts said she “feels encouraged to play but there just
aren’t any means to do so. Drums take up a lot of space
and are super loud, so I can’t necessarily bring my kit
from home and keep them in my apartment.”
Luis Chavez, a hip-hop artist who also goes by Big
Lou, expressed similar concerns in regards to performing
on campus.
“Personally, I don’t know if there have been enough
chances for Chapman students to perform on campus,”
he said. “There haven’t been any hip-hop or rock nights.
Open mic nights are great, but if people don’t know
what to expect, they might not like it.”
As a creative producing major, Chavez is focused
on pursuing a career in film and wants to
produce, write, and direct. He thinks music is a
great outlet and can be incredibly fun, and thinks that
he’ll just “keep rapping until people don’t want to hear
it anymore.” However, he’d still like to see more students
collaborate when it comes to making music and create a
more supportive music scene here on campus.
In fact, Chavez has already taken a step in the right
direction and collaborated with other musicians at
Chapman, including junior business administration
major Evan DeVries.
DeVries, also known as Devreezy or DVRZ, describes
his music as a solo project that falls between
rock and electronic dance music, with more of a “chillwave
feel” inspired by artists like Flume, Chet Faker and
Washed Out.
Big Lou and DVRZ have collaborated on several songs,
including “Listen Ho” and “Blue Hawaii”, both of which
are available for download on DeVries’ website.
The two have also performed together at local coffee
shops including Chapman Coffee House and The Ugly
Mug, both located less than a 5 minute walk from
campus.
As a member of the Student Government Association,
DeVries has been a part of the ongoing discussion
about having an on campus bar or pub built. He said
that this would be a great place for more bands and solo
artists to perform and would be a more conducive environment
for them to grow and develop as musicians.
Due to the controversial nature of the bar and an uncertain
timeline for its construction, DeVries said “even
encouraging students to try and perform more in the
union could be cool and encourage non-music major
students to perform.”
Students must also keep in mind, however, is that
there are organizations like the University Program
Board and Chapman Radio that are working towards
creating a more welcoming and inclusive environment
for student musicians, whether or not they are music
majors.
“Our open mic nights offer students various ways to
express themselves and their interests,” said UPB Chair
Jordan Olson. “Our traditional programs such as Midnight
Breakfast, Spring Sizzle, Mardi Gras, and the Fall
Concert offer opportunities for Chapman dance groups
and musical artists, such as a cappella groups and DJs,
to share what they have been working on.”
For example, Jubilo Drive has performed at UPB’s
open mic nights before, as well performed as the opening
band for Kapslap and A$AP Ferg at the 2014 Fall
Concert.
“I think would should give a shout-out to Angelo
Carlo, because he and Chapman Radio have helped
us out a lot. They work to let anybody who wants to
express themselves musically in any way they want,”
said Cruz while discussing Jubilo Drive’s Chapman
supporters.
“Chapman Radio is the main source of providing
music to the campus, and bands should see use as a way
of promoting themselves,” said Angelo Carlo, a senior
and the current General Manager.
Chapman Radio, which started in 1967, has always
“been a place where students can come and really just
express themselves,” said current Program Manager and
next year’s General Manager, Michael Stanziale. “We do
not just support bands and solo artists, but everything
from Jubilo Drive’s rocking tunes to DVRZ’s hipper
electronic beats.”
As for the lack of available equipment, Potts and
Chavez both suggested that Chapman might look into
investing in a few pieces of equipment, like drum kits,
microphones or recording equipment, so students could
practice on campus and not worry about not being able
to afford the resources and avoid noise complaints that
they might otherwise encounter.
Because although all of these musicians play a variety
of instruments and genres, they do have one thing
in common: they all can be incredibly loud.
With the city of Orange’s noise ordinance requiring
all sounds to be under a certain decibel after 10 p.m.,
practicing or playing music of any kind at an event can
be difficult.
Kleinman mentioned that the cops have been called
on them on several occasions, even if they were just
practicing in the early evenings.
“The cops were super cool about it, but we definitely
were told to keep it down. To be honest I didn’t even
think we were that loud,” he said.
The members of Jubilo Drive, Potts, Chavez and
DeVries all mentioned how hard it can be to perform
anywhere after the noise ordinance goes into affect,
whether they are on or off campus.
They also agreed that one of the best parts about
making music is that it is loud, fun, and can bring students
together to experience something different than
the usual party scene.
“At the end of the day,” said Cruz, “we just want kids
to dance around to our loud ass music.”
Despite the lack of a well-established music scene at
Chapman, these artists have all been supporting each
other.
Chavez said that the last concert he went to was to
see Jubilo Drive play at The District Lounge, right here
in Orange. Potts has played drums with Jubilo Drive
before, and DeVries collaborated with Chavez and has
seen Jubilo Drive perform at a few open mic nights in
the Student Union.
By performing at events large and small, these musicians
and many others have, knowingly or unknowingly,
been slowly building the foundation for future
student musicians of all kinds at Chapman. - Prowl Magazine