The RED PEARS • Mexican Slum Rats • 60 Juno

Hailing from El Monte, a sleepy suburban town just east of Los Angeles, The Red Pears’ founding members, Henry Vargas (vocals/guitar) and Jose Corona (drums), draw their sound from the spectrum between the early 2000s New York indie rock and grunge scene to the cumbia and corridos that soundtracked their childhoods. After cycling through an assortment of lineups, mutual friend and bassist Patrick Juarez stayed on and expanded their operation. Now a solid three-piece band, the emerging alt-rockers have come a long way from meeting at a local Battle of the Bands, practicing in their garages, and naming themselves after their favorite color and a pun on the word “pair”— a subtle nod to sonic inspirations The White Stripes and The Black Keys.