Cayucas is scheduled to perform at CD102.5 Summerfest Aug. 24 at the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion. Credit: Courtesy of Shervin Lainez
Summer may be nearing its close, but Cayucas is driving cross-country to bring some beach vibes to Columbus.
The Santa Monica-based band is set to perform alongside other popular indie rock bands like Matt & Kim and Cold War Kids during the CD102.5 Summerfest Saturday at the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion.
Named after Cayucos, a small town in California that lies along the coast, the essence of their music is closely related to the spirit of the community, which lead singer and guitarist Zach Yudin describes as “an old, beach town” that is “very vintage.”
Together with four other members, including his twin brother and bassist, Ben Yudin, Cayucas released “Bigfoot” on April 30, right before summer. The timing of the release coincided well with the “surfer laid-back vibe” of the band’s music.
Zach Yudin only started recording music later during his college career.
“There was a lot of trial and error,” Zach Yudin said. “I always had the dream or goal of pursuing music as a performer or a songwriter and to make a living out of it.”
What first started out as a solo career under the name Oregon Bike Trails, later transitioned into Cayucas when he signed with Secretly Canadian and released the single “Cayucos” with the band.
After the release of “Bigfoot,” Cayucas had the chance to perform for Primavera Sound 2013, a musical event in Barcelona that allowed the band to play for its largest crowd yet. They also opened for Foals at a Los Angeles concert on Aug. 9 where it was a “pretty insane” experience for Cayucas.
“It’s been a really busy year and it’s definitely interesting,” Zach Yudin said. “It’s surreal to go to the show and even during the last year, we would have sold out shows in Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.”
For Saturday’s Summerfest, Cayucas will be driving from Santa Monica to Columbus, making stops along the way at Bloomington, Ind., and Cincinnati to perform.
According to Marissa Luther, marketing director of PromoWest Productions, CD102.5 chose Cayucas to be part of Summerfest because “they have a great hit now playing at the radio station and they’re up-and-coming.”
Caleb Mihalik, treasurer of the Music & Entertainment Industry Student Association and a third-year in marketing, who has heard Cayucas on CD102.5 a few times, has taken a liking to the band and has some of its songs in his iTunes.
“They remind me of Vampire Weekend, and I think they’re really cool,” Mihalik said.
Mihalik is not alone in making the connection between Cayucas’ music style and Vampire Weekend’s.
“We’ve got so many comparisons to different bands and the Vampire Weekend comparison is the easy correlation,” Zach Yudin said. “The kind of thing I like about Vampire Weekend is the light riffs and that’s kind of how I like to write songs, too.”
Fans can expect to hear a mixture of new and existing music from Cayucas during Summerfest.
“We have a couple of new songs that we’d like to throw in, songs that will be on the next album, and songs that we haven’t played live yet,” Zach Yudin said.
There will be four main stages on that day and times vary for each stage, the earliest starting at 11 a.m. General admission tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the LC Pavilion or Newport Music Hall box offices and through Ticketmaster.
