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Carlo Vellandi

“Oh Joanne…” Tesoro Musicians Creating Good Vibes

Updated: Nov 9, 2022


“Shoooow up tonight, Oh you never do.” Titan-led band, Strangelight, released their newest single, “Sitting on the Floor,” on March 24. Tesoro’s own Zach Pehrson and Jake Hesse work with Capistrano Valley and San Juan Hills musicians, Donavan Hess and Rastin Hazen, to create good vibes with their unique sound.


Both Pehrson and Hesse play the guitar and sing for the band, while Hess plays the drums and Hazen the bass. Strangelight amassed impressive support from both Titans students and music listeners everywhere, with over 2,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, and even more on other streaming services. Pherson believes their sound “narrowed in on sort of an indie rock, surf rock vibe.”


While the four seniors try to meet once or twice a week to rehearse, they must also practice on their own in order to remain sharp. For these musicians, though, practice is not a chore. “I don’t really set out time to practice,” Hesse explains, “but I play guitar and sing out loud everyday... just noodle around for fun.”


“There’s nothing I enjoy more than making music,” adds Pherson.


Strangelight might be a high school-band for now, but Pherson, Hesse, and Hess plan on bringing their surf rock to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo this coming year. While Pherson is studying music there, Hesse is exploring Agricultural Business and keeping the band together. The Strangelight boys hope to continue performing live in Northern California, and look forward enjoying each other’s company while they keep doing what they love.


As a member of Tesoro’s highly recognized choir, Pehrson is a semi-finalist for the Orange County Register Artist of the Year award for commercial voice. Each school in Orange County gets to nominate a student for their respective category, and a couple hundred nominated students then submit supplemental work to be reviewed. Pehrson is one of the 10 to 15 talented musicians selected to continue to the next round, during which he will go back and perform for the OC Register team again.


Despite the amount of time he commits to music, Pehrson knows he has to balance it all,“You have to prioritize school,” he continues, “but whenever I’m not doing school, I am always doing something music with choir or the band or on my own.”


To find out when Strangelight is performing live or releasing new music, follow @strangelightmusic on both Instagram and TikTok.


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