Folk Magik Presents The Red Pears, Archer Oh

THE RED PEARS

The Red Pears’ founding members, Henry Vargas (vocals and guitar) and Jose Corona (drums), draw their sound from the spectrum between the early 2000s New York indie rock scene and grunge to the cumbia and corridos that soundtracked their childhoods in El Monte, a sleepy suburban town just east of Los Angeles. After cycling through an assortment of lineups, mutual friend and bassist Patrick Juarez stayed on and expanded their operation. Now a solid three-piece band, these emerging alt-rockers, have come a long way from meeting at a local Battle of the Bands, practicing in their garages, and naming themselves after their favorite color and a pun on the word “pair”— a subtle nod to sonic inspirations The White Stripes and The Black Keys.

The Red Pears first got on the map with self-releases For Today, For Tomorrow, For What Is, For What Could’ve Been and We Bring Anything to the Table… Except Tables We Can’t Bring Tables to the Table, touring behind them and learning the ins-and-outs of being on the road. The Red Pears North Star continues to be their undying honesty and commitment to the craft. “It all boils down to effort and humility,” says Vargas. “We just want to do our best and make the music we want to make. Now we have more help and resources, but it’s about continuing to push and keeping that humility.”

2019’s Alicia, named after both of their mothers, is teeming with this maternal energy. The band’s most tender record yet also proves their most sonically and emotionally diverse, from the Albert Hammond Jr-esque guitar croon “Dreams” to the lush slowburn of opening track “One by One”. The heartfelt EP, named after Corona and Vargas’ mothers, showcases a polished alt-rock sound without sacrificing the band’s roiling, fuzzed-out garage spirit.

ARCHER OH

Archer Oh is a new wave indie surf rock band from Moreno Valley, California. Originally, it was formed as a solo project in 2015 by Arturo “Archer” Medrano. As Medrano asked friends for help with percussions and guitar, it evolved into a band with four members in 2017. The group was quick to enchant the Inland Empire with their garage rock sound and backyard concerts.

The band is composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Archer Medrano, guitarist Diego Jacuinde, bassist Juan Cabrera, and drummer Pedro Hernandez. The group has charmed many followers not only with their feel-good music but also their positive attitudes and silly personalities.