Meet the minds transforming SDSU’s music scene as they look toward the future of music beyond the college bubble – The Daily Aztec

The local music scene at SDSU cannot be defined by genres, but rather by the students who independently manage, produce, write and perform all of their own music and shows. Some of these groups are independent from the university, as seen with Kocean, The White Collars or Blank Space, while some are student organizations that host their own events, like Aztec Music Group or Breeding Club. 

However, as much as this community may seem booming, hardly any bands survive past their graduation date or are able to make it outside the bubble of the university. This is contradictory to 30 years ago, when many predicted the punk rock scene of San Diego to be the next Seattle, a hub for independent music. 

A prime example of this would be Kocean, a surf punk band of SDSU students, who announced their last show was on May 2. With over 1000 followers on Instagram, Kocean has become well known for its local house shows. They have even popped the university bubble, playing at well-known venues such as the Music Box and SOMA. 

Kaitlyn Thomas graduated from SDSU in 2024, but spent much of her time at the university as part of the band Kocean. Thomas is Koceans’ lead singer and frontwoman, having started the band in 2021. Kocean still had similar struggles to other local and smaller bands, but they managed to stick out and maintain their popularity.

“The most used compliment that the band gets is that we have a really good stage presence and energy. And not that other bands don’t.
A lot of bands have great stage presence and energy, but I think there’s something about a woman frontman, a very attractive drummer who takes his shirt off and the two people on the side having fun,” said Thomas.

Thomas also credited some of the band’s success and booking shows to their social media. 

“It wasn’t hard because eventually, through social media, we would just get asked to perform at venues,” she said.

Despite all of this success, Thomas and the band’s other members still made the decision to step away in pursuit of other professional careers after graduating from SDSU.

“The hardest part was hitting senior year and it was then the realization that college was not ahead of us. It was becoming behind us,” said Thomas. 

As far as the current state of the music scene in the area, Thomas said, “It’s too much supply. If there were maybe three bands at [SDSU] at any given moment, then I think the scene would become way more powerful because people could just concentrate their energy instead of maybe 10 or 15 bands now.”

Dean Lefkow, SDSU student and lead singer of the band Inkoherent, attributed the short lifespan of local music groups to something else entirely. 

“I think most likely the reason is because a lot of people go off and they need to get jobs and especially in this area. I mean, it’s really difficult to live here without having a decent job to pay for your living and food and everything. It’s very expensive,” said Lefkow. 

However, Inkoherent does their part to contribute back to fellow local bands by hosting a venue space in their backyard. Earlier this year, Frontseat Media, a local media and management company, reached out to them to host a pop-up concert for solo musician Marlon Funkai. 

Aside from this opportunity, the band uses the space to headline their own shows with other bands they have met in the area. 

Other bands have resorted to creating their own spaces instead of relying on venues for a place to perform. Tommy Faught, a musician from Temecula, has even opened up his garage as a place to perform. He started his current project, Wetherbee, in 2022, but has been performing with bands since around 2019. 

“Favorite show we ever did was actually at my house a few years ago. We just put floodlights on the ceiling to light the garage and then had some friends open the show. We played a lot of songs that we either didn’t have time for in our usual set times or new stuff we were trying out,” said Faught. 

Faught attributed the changing San Diego scene to the way the overall music industry has changed over the last 30 years. With changing technology and the introduction of streaming services, even some of the world’s most successful artists have had to change the way they make money.  

“Selling records was the main way for artists to make money, but now it’s all about the live performance. Both cost money to make happen, but now if you have a song that gets millions of downloads, the amount of money you make is nothing significant,” Faught said. 

Before it comes time to rehearse and book a show, the actual creation of music is an obstacle and time commitment for many college students and aspiring musicians. Especially when they are also juggling school and jobs. 

“It’s hard to work with your band. To create an original is not just like a one-and-done process. It takes several days, months, like producing and adding different aspects. It’s a lot,” Lefkow said. 

Although there is a struggle to stay relevant in the San Diego music scene, there is still a sense of community and people who do their part to keep it alive. In the same way that Inkoherent allows other bands to perform in their space, some people run Instagram and social media accounts to help promote local concerts. 

Liam Murphy is an SDSU student who is a part of the band Toluene. Murphy co-runs an Instagram account called @sandiego_socal_shows, which posts fliers of local shows.

“I was sick of other accounts that like being super picky over who they posted. I created the account with the goal of posting every local flyer I was sent, but that eventually got pretty difficult to keep up with,” said Murphy. 

Despite efforts to promote local music and foster a sense of community, oversaturation remains a consistent challenge and setback. While San Diego’s student music scene is hindered by issues like high living costs and a crowded field of bands, it still pulses with life — at the very least for those who attend.

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