Retro Santa Barbara Band The Blues and Greys are Rekindling for a Show at Santa Barbara’s SOhO Music Club

Almost eight years after their last show as a band, The Blues and Greys are returning to their roots to play a show in Santa Barbara. Getting caught up in personal lives and solo projects, Lindsey Waldon (singer), Michael Million (bass and vocals), Joey McDermott (drums), and Zach Wallace (synth) took a hiatus in 2016 before releasing a vault track in 2020, and are now ready to show the community they are officially back. On familiar territory at SOhO Music Club, The Blues and Greys are headlining alongside their friends Plastic Harpoons and Adam Spry on Saturday, March 30.

When The Blues and Greys first got together in 2013, all of the members were between the ages of 23 and 26 with little tying them down. Over the next few years the group was very active, recording and performing in and around Santa Barbara. The Blues and Greys played private parties for companies like TEVA and Sonos, repeatedly aired on Santa Barbara’s Modern Rock radio station KjEE and played in their Summer Round Up for a sold out crowd at the Santa Barbara Bowl in 2015. In addition to their EP Bright Lights, The Blues and Greys kept recording together until their final show in September of 2016.

Heavily inspired by the indie rock scene in the early 2000s, The Blues and Greys are reminiscent of bands like the Strokes and Beach House but with a darker twist. Influences of experimental jazz and more obscure punk bands like Ima Robot also seep into their music, giving it a moody edge.

Following the natural rhythms of their lives, The Blues and Greys ended up taking a backseat to career choices and families. “It wasn’t like any of us said ‘we need to take a break,” Waldon said. “We all got distracted by life.” 

It wasn’t until 2020 when Jonathan Miller, one of the founding members of The Blues and Greys, reached out to the group about some vaulted tracks they recorded in 2015 that they started releasing music again. As the head of the indie label Wednesday Records, Miller was one of the producers and songwriters on the Bright Lights EP and asked Waldon what she wanted to do with the songs. After talking with Million, McDermott, and Walace, “Let’s release it,” Waldon  said. “So we put out ‘Mayday’ in May 2020.”

Remembering how much they loved playing together and seeing potential in another one of the vaulted tracks, The Blues and Greys put out “Black Spring” in 2023. Getting pushed not only out of her comfort zone lyrically, but also in terms of recording and producing, Waldon had a special feeling about “Black Spring.” Unlike the rest of their songs recorded in Santa Barbara with Miller, the group went down to L.A. to record “Black Spring,” and had it produced by the “very reputable music producer and engineer” Eric Palmquist, saidWaldon.

Written shortly after getting sober from alcohol in 2014, “the song was about [Waldon’s] relationship with alcohol and [her] relationship with people that didn’t really care about [her].” With hindsight almost a decade later, Waldon has a deeper understanding of what she wrote. “I realized it was a description of my time in Santa Barbara and the dark role that alcohol and drugs play in the nightlife of Santa Barbara,” she said.

Since both of them were in Northern California when “Black Spring” dropped, Million and Waldon decided to start making social media content together to promote the song. Having fun creating together and seeing that fans were still excited about their music, Million and Waldon shot a music video on an iPhone at an arcade with Waldon’s 14-year-old niece. “I made this makeshift DIY music video and we’re like, ‘Wow, this looks legit,” Waldon said. The music video is set to release later this year.

Starting to seriously lean back into The Blues and Greys and build excitement about their revival, Million and Waldon took it as a sign when Plastic Harpoons reached out to them about the show at SOhO. Having all been active in the Santa Barbara music scene at the same time, Daniel Vasquez of Plastic Harpoons has shared the stage with The Blues and Greys before and is a long-time friend of the band. 

“This is a great chance to get back together and play a show, you know, kind of shake off the weird social anxiety of COVID and shake off the fact that I personally haven’t played a show since 2019,” Million said. He spent a lot of the last couple years recording music solo or with his brother and played a couple acoustic shows, but hasn’t backed a band since The Blues and Greys’ last show. 

“It just seemed like a no-brainer for me. But I reached out to the band and was like, ‘Are we a band? Like are we going to play a show?’” Waldon said. She was thrilled when McDermott and Wallace said yes. “It’s cool to see everyone else flourish through their other musical endeavors and cheer them on but I’m excited to have them back in my eyeline,” Waldon said. 

Since the last time they played together, Waldon moved up north, married her husband and had two children. “My children are really into music and it’s actually been a huge inspiration for me to get back into it and release this music and evaluate its role in my life,” Waldon said. “This could still be a part of my life and my children can watch and enjoy and be inspired by it.”

Accustomed to playing a supporting role as a bassist, the time off from The Blues and Greys gave Million the space to explore his position as a solo artist and release a few singles. With the added stress of the pandemic, “it’s been a slow and steady process developing [as a solo artist] and honing [his skills] as a songwriter,” according to Million.

Wallace and McDermott have stayed in Santa Barbara and play in the indie rock band Dante Elephante, which is currently touring around the United States. 

After the long break, “We’re back, baby,” Waldon said. Even through the ebbs and flows of being an artist, The Blues and Greys has remained her “priority project.” With their relaunch, Waldon and Million are looking forward to being back in Santa Barbara and seeing what the near future holds for their band. 

The Blues and Greys claim to put on a dynamic show and Waldon is warning the SOhO crowd that she isn’t shy about jumping off the stage and getting into the audience. Even with all the energy and enthusiasm, “there’s definitely a sultry, sexy way about our band,” Waldon said. 

Help Plastic Harpoons and Adam Spry welcome The Blues and Greys back to Santa Barbara at SOhO Music Club on March 30 at 8 p.m. To purchase tickets and for more information, visit sohosb.com/upcoming-events.