San Diego’s music community has never been stronger with great new artists emerging all the time. Meanwhile, some long gestating groups have also begun to emerge into the spotlight. Such is the case with The Naked I, performing at the Soda Bar on November 27.
Featuring Dakota Ringer (vocals / keys), TJ Fucella: (lead guitar/back-up vocal), Sean Collins (bass), Alexander Grant (drums) and Gunnar Dahlstrom: (rhythm guitar), The Naked I was established in 2012, but it wasn’t until 2015 that the current line up came together. “”It took a while to really nail down the right five guys,” Ringer said. “Forming a band is a lot harder and way more work than people realize and I think it takes a lot of luck to find four other people with the kind of chemistry between them it takes to be a successful band. It’s a long tale about how this group finally pieced itself together permanently, but a lot of luck was involved that’s for sure.”
When it comes to describing the band’s sound, Ringer is succinct. “ We are ‘Your Moms favorite new band,” he said good-naturedly. “That’s our trademark slogan. We all grew up on the oldies, classic rock and blues, funk, and really most rock from the 60s and 70s. Those genres are very apparent in our songs, but we like to give them a contemporary kick in order to make them more appealing to a larger audience.”
Based in the North Park area, the band has released two E.P.s, “Chance Encounters” (2016) and the new “Grin and Bare It” (2018), complete with the band’s first music video, for their single, “Further From Freedom.” However, they have yet to tour outside of Southern California. “We all have day jobs because San Diego is an expensive place, so touring long distance is tough,” Ringer said. “But we have played in LA and Orange County and are planning to venture further very soon.” The band has particularly made inroads in Los Angeles, where they opened for Matt Costa on the main stage at the Los Angeles Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon on October 28.
As for the band’s name?
“TJ and I were driving over the Coronado bridge spouting out band names,” Ringer recalled. “We were stuck on a string of pun-based names and TJ threw out “The Naked I” referencing a book he read. It had the play-on-word aspect as well as a deeper meaning which vibed with all of us. Essentially “The Naked i” refers to one’s figurative naked self, and is usually associated with a time a person is at their most vulnerable. We think any artist bearing their heart and soul on stage is portraying a “naked” version of themselves that’s stripped away from everything that doesn’t pertain to that moment.”
Ringer notes that the music business is tougher than ever. “It’s true, the music scene everywhere is pretty messed up. Living in a bigger market like Southern California, it’s a tough ocean to wade through!,” he said. “There are so many great bands hidden within this place and you’ve gotta hustle extra hard in order to break through at all. You have to have a true passion seeded deep inside to keep the fire burning.” Ringer considers the hard work well worth it. “The thought of leaving all the stress behind and taking a rest from the “grind” is a very tempting thing to a lot of people,” he said. “Especially when you all have day jobs at the same time like we do. So even though playing until 1 a.m. and then getting up to work at 6 a.m. sounds awful to most people, it still fulfills us and brings us joy because it’s our true passion.” It’s clear that The Naked I is ready to take things to the next level. “We’ve been told that determination, paired with talent, pays off eventually,” Ringer said. “And, after a booming year, we are feeling pretty optimistic about that policy.”
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