Pete Yorn 4/16 at 12pm

No Name’s Record Room: Standoff



Every band has to start somewhere. For drummer Grey Janowski and guitarist Julius of Castro Valley’s garage band Standoff, it was performing “Back in Black” for their school talent show.

They laugh about it now. “It was the worst,” says Julius Caeser (his chosen stage name). But that was just the beginning for the two musicians. In high school, the bandmates wrote a post on Facebook calling for a local guitarist. That’s when they were connected with vocalist Tyler, right as his first band was dissolving.

Since then, they’ve played shows and festivals around the Bay Area, including Music Mayhem battle of the bands at San Jose State University, where Grey is a student. They recorded their first independent EP, “Not So Easy,” in 2015, and are currently working on a new single and music video. All three musicians are between the ages of 19 and 21.

No Name has each band member choose a vinyl album that influences them. Julius idolizes Jimmy Page (and Robert Plant’s soaring vocals). Tyler (also known as Charli Lockheart) has an affinity for The White Stripes because they helped him discover “modern rock and roll that’s still good.” He was glad for the garage rock revival in the last 90s/early 00s, and Jack White in particular, for the simple, deliberate, and whole sound. Grey picks out an album by 60s garage rock band The Sonics from the vinyl.

Follow Standoff on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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