ROBERT JON & THE WRECK

BY COLLIN BREAUX , THE CAPISTRANO DISPATCH

When roots rock band Robert Jon & The Wreck plays at The Coach House this summer, it will be a gig close to home.

Though the band’s sounds hearken back to classic Southern rock, the act is actually based in Los Angeles.

Though San Juan Capistrano isn’t quite L.A., lead singer and guitarist Robert Jon refers to the upcoming July 14 performance as a “hometown show.”

Robert Jon & The Wreck is no stranger to The Coach House, because the band previously played the venue this past September.

“It’s been a legendary venue throughout the years,” Jon said. “It’s a staple venue here in South Orange County.”

The Coach House concert will be their only such hometown show this year. Robert Jon & The Wreck just returned from Washington and will tour Europe after the San Juan show.

“It seems like we’re on the road quite a bit,” Jon said.

The band formed in 2011, and all four members are California natives. Their sound blends blues rock, Americana, and a tinge of country. The band has performed on the same bill as Peter Frampton and Buddy Guy.

Along with tour dates, Robert Jon & The Wreck is releasing a new album called Ride Into the Light in August. A lead single “West Coast Eyes” is already out.

The upcoming album is a combination of new songs the band worked

What: Robert Jon & The Wreck

When: Friday, July 14. Doors open at 6 p.m.; concert starts at 8 p.m.

Where: 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano

For tickets or more info: thecoachhouse.com. Tickets are $35.

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The whole transparent meta concept in superhero universes only worked with Jon Watts’ Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), because it was the first movie to officially use this trope, and it was a trip to see Tobey Maguire again in the Spidey suit.

The crossovers, the celeb cameos, the comic relief, the time-travel logic or visual effects—none of these gimmicks worked in Sam Raimi’s Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) or right now in The Flash .

And they’re most likely not going to work again anytime soon. Find a new subgenre for action/adventure pictures. CD on with a variety of producers who have experience with Bob Dylan and The Black Crowes, Jon said.

Ride Into the Light differs from previous releases given Robert Jon & The Wreck worked in various studios with different producers.

Recording the album was a fun project for the band, because every producer has a different process and the experience was unique, Jon said.

“We’re excited to release it,” he said. “We didn’t know all the tracks that would be on the record during the process.”

Asked about where their Southern-tinged sound comes from, Jon said they just started playing the music they love when they got together. He concedes people from Southern California aren’t as used to blues rock.

“It’s the sound that comes out of us,” Jon said. “It’s California Southern rock.”

Music is a lifelong passion for Jon, who started playing music “a long time ago” and grew up in Cerritos. The four band members gradually found each other and began jamming together.

That synchronicity turned into the foursome figuring out how to go on tour, which they’ve aimed to do as much as they can since becoming professional musicians.

“Now, it’s fun to be on the road quite a bit and have one big homecoming show,” Jon said.

The audience at The Coach House can expect a good time for that homecoming show, he said. Robert Jon & The Wreck plans to perform new music they haven’t played yet.

“If you’re around the area on July 14, come out and have a party,” Jon said. CD