Tiny Porch Concerts: The Coffis Brothers with John Surge & The Haymakers

The Coffis Brothers - "It's all-American music," says The Coffis Brothers’ co-frontman, Kellen, about the band's 2022 release, Turn My Radio Up. "There's rock, blues, acoustic folk, and country in there. As music fans, we go all the way back to the beginning — to pioneers like Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers — but we also look to artists like the Eagles and Tom Petty for influence. That's our playbook."

 Recorded at producer Tim Bluhm's home studio in Marin County and at 25th Street Recording in Oakland CA, Turn My Radio Up is an album for car stereos, hazy afternoons, and long highways. Jangling guitar leads and front-porch folk songs share equal space with heartland rock anthems and campfire-worthy Americana ballads, all dreamt into existence by a group of road warriors who wear their West Coast stripes proudly. This is honest, heartfelt roots-rock with an emphasis on the roots.

 John Surge and the Haymakers - Previously, Surge had been swapping Everly Brothers-worthy harmonies with another songwriter as a band of the roots-influenced duo Haymaker. When his partner quit, Surge found himself without a band for the first time in years. "I'd never put my name on anything before," he remembers, "so I decided to try it.” He connected with amazing, versatile guitarist Randy Volin. “He's like my Mike Campbell,” says Surge and he traded in his Telecaster electric for a Gibson acoustic. They filled out the band's lineup with Simon Runge on drums and Alex U'ren on bass, and played everywhere and anywhere around L.A. for two years. “We were just having fun and creating a sound,” says Surge. And people responded.