The Voyeurs @ Comic Bug, Manhattan Beach, 3/21/08

Rockin'? Absolutely. Poppy? For sure. Catchy? Hell yes. South Bay music giants John Hylander (lead vocals, keys, guitar), his cousin Joe Hylander (guitar), Jesse Hoffman (bass), and Sean Johnson (drums) make up the quintet "The Voyeurs", which includes 3/4 of "E>K>U>K" (which was forced to disengage after Raymond left the band).

The Voyeurs are here to serve you up generous garage sized pop portions of harmonious crunch and just enough Big Muff to leave you wanting more. They play short shows because they are still a fresh new band. How do they differ from E>K>U>K? Well, they're less jangly, less explosive, and more mature. The vocal harmonies are much more up front, there's more balance between uppers and downers, there's more of a folky psych loungey vibe on some tracks, and they sort of have that 60s British Invasion sound. Think The Kinks and The Zombies. Also, I don't recall keyboards or acoustic guitars on many or any E>K>U>K songs.

This band definitely has a lot more early 20's talent than most bands in the South Bay (not that there's many to choose from). Sean Johnson (the only great local drummer that I know besides Maxwell Demon's Martin Avelar) pounds through each song with extreme energy, and his facial expressions and arching eyebrows definitely make drumming look exciting as hell. It's no wonder he's been in so many great bands since the days of high school: local surf giants from the past "From", "E>K>U>K", and currently, the jazzy Zappaesque "Vaudeville". Now, I'm not going to lie, I don't know much about drums, but I do know that in some bands, the drummer goes completely unnoticed and serves little help to the band besides being a human metronome. Not Sean Johnson. When you're good, you're good...this guy is fucking incredible.

John Hylander, the local recording engineer mastermind, plays the Nord Electro 2 keyboard, which adds a great subtle psychedelic pop touch to their tunes, and you know what? I realized something was never evident in the past...his vocals actually sound a great deal like Dave Grohl's, especially when the choruses kick in. And Joe Hylander kinda looks like Kurt Cobain, too! I'm sure these guys are grateful there's no Novoselic lookalike in the mix.

Jesse Hoffman and Joe Hylander of the mindblowing "Fragments of an Imagination" (formerly known as "JH and the Squares" both stand near each other as if channeling

each other's confidence and statute skills on bass and guitar; they may be the youngest in the band, but that doesn't mean they don't know what they're doing. They both make their tasks look extremely easy. I've seen these guys improvise jamming before, and they definitely know their shit.

Stay tuned for these guys...they all have the skills to backup success, the friendly personalities to keep you hanging out after the show is done, and a dedicated local fanbase. Keep the scene alive, and go check them out at Charlie O's in downtown LA on May 8th, Mariposa Cafe in LA on May 17th, All Star Lanes on June 29th, and the 4th of July at

Mr. T's Bowl in Highland Park! They will be sharing the stages with The Henry Clay People, The Rolling Blackouts, and The Monolators!

The Voyeurs - Things That People Say, 3/21/08