Earthquake kits: What to put in a go-bag, plus what supplies to keep at home and in the car

• April 5, 2023

A go-bag is a key piece of preparing for an earthquake, a wildfire or anything other evacuation order.

WHAT ARE THE KITS YOU NEED

Go-bag: Daypack or small duffel light enough to be carried – one for each member of the household. This should contain necessities if you have to leave your home suddenly because of earthquake, wildfire, flooding or other evacuation order. Keep it packed and ready to grab and go.

Car kit / work kit: Basics for at least 24 hours in each vehicle and at your workplace, in case you’re away from your go-bag.

Stay kit: A box of larger items for a stay of three days either in or near your home during an emergency or to put in your vehicle before you drive to safety.

WHERE SHOULD THEY BE KEPT

Though it seems convenient to keep the go-bag in your car, consider a) whether the car is sure to be near you at the crucial time and b) the security implications of keeping personal documents and valuables in your vehicle. For most people, it will make more sense to have a smaller kit in the car and keep the go-bag inside the home, in a place that it is easily reached.

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If you have supplies in more than one place, put a note to that effect in or near the go-bag. (For instance: “Get black document pouch from fireproof box in Mike’s office. Put Felix in his carrier, which is in the laundry room. The stay kit is in the blue plastic bin on the garage shelf.”) Also consider taping a note near the bag that lists its contents. The goal is to be able to assemble everything you need to evacuate within a matter of minutes, without having to stop and think about where you’ve put things.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU CHECK THEM

Designate a date to check your supplies every year. Rotate out food, batteries and medications before they become stale. Make sure your kids’ spare clothes and shoes fit. Update the information on your flash drive. Recharge your power block.

WHAT TO PUT IN THEM

This will be different for each household, and the go-bag must remain light enough to be carried. Prepacked go-bags can be bought from emergency-supply businesses. A suggested checklist:

Car/work kit

Water, blanket, sweatshirt, sturdy shoes, first aid kit, flashlight with batteries, any crucial medications.

Go-bag

(It’s assumed that each adult will have phone, keys, credit/debit card and identification and that each pet will be on a leash or in a carrier.)

Water: This will be limited by the weight and what you have room for. Two quarts weighs 4 pounds.

Food: Non-perishable food that doesn’t require preparation, like granola bars, dried fruit, tuna in a pouch, sturdy crackers and squeeze peanut butter.

Pet food and bowl

Change of clothes and sturdy shoes

Mylar emergency blanket

Flashlight

Whistle

Lighter, or matches in a waterproof container

Paper and pencil

Cash ($100 in small bills)

First aid kit

Prescription medicine

Spare prescription glasses

Hand sanitizer

Portable radio (battery-powered or hand-crank)

Extra batteries

Phone charger

Swiss Army knife

N95 mask for smoke/particulate protection

Irreplaceable jewelry or other small keepsakes

Documents (digital and paper) in a waterproof bag

• Some documents that you will want in the long term if your home is damaged (household inventory, insurance policy, treasured photographs) can be stored on your phone or on a flash drive that you keep in your go-bag.

• You’ll want paper copies of some items, including anything you’ll need accessible if you don’t have a working mobile phone or laptop:

· Emergency phone numbers

· Prescriptions

· Hard-to-replace personal documents, such as passports and birth certificates

· Recent photograph of each family member and pet. On the back, write the name, date of birth and physical characteristics, and the name and phone number of your out-of-area contact person.

Also consider: Laptop computer, charged power block and connector cords, external hard drive containing backup files

Kid’s go-bag

Clothes and shoes

Water and food

Flashlight, whistle, hand sanitizer

Emergency Mylar blanket

Book, game, comfort item

Stay kit (in addition to go-bag)

Water: One gallon per person per day for at least three days (for washing as well as drinking)

Food: Three days of nonperishable food

Pet supplies: Additional food and water

Mess kits or plates/utensils/cups

Manual can opener

Blankets or sleeping bags

Paper towels, wet wipes, garbage bags

Dish soap and bleach

Plastic sheeting, duct tape, zip ties

Wrench or pliers

Work gloves

Also consider: Fire extinguisher; books and games; camping equipment such as stove, water purifier, tent, lantern

​ Orange County Register 

Owners of Balboa Island Ferry asking for more time to convert to electric engines

• April 5, 2023

The Balboa Island Ferry, in service for more than a century, could be grounded by new emission requirements, its operator says about hopes it can get an extension on a 2025 deadline to convert its three vessels to all-electric engines.

The daily ferry service transports cars, bicycles and pedestrians 900 feet across the busy Newport Harbor from Agate Avenue on Balboa Island to Palm Avenue on the Balboa Peninsula. At this time of the year, there are typically two boats running. On weekends and in the summer, three boats operate from  6:30 a.m. until midnight.

Annually about 1.5 million passengers and 300,000 to 400,000 cars cross via the ferry system, according to owner Seymour Beek.

New regulations rolled out in 2022 by the California Air Resources Board for tugs, ferries, sportfishing vessels and whale-watching boats seek to reduce harmful emissions by replacing or modifying older diesel engines so vessels meet the strictest of emissions standards, labeled Tier 4. It accompanies efforts to require all in-state sales of cars and trucks to be reduced to zero emissions by 2035.

Sportfishing boat operators received an extension to get to Tier 4 engines by  2035, but are required to meet at least Tier 3 engine standards by the end of 2024.

In the state, there are about 12 other ferries that fall into the short-run category along with harbor crafts such as tug boats and other service vessels that travel less than three miles. Among them are the Angel Island Ferry in San Francisco and a boat that runs to Alcatraz.  There are also some agricultural ferries that are used in the delta areas along the coast.

“Ours is so unique and different,” said Beek. “People come to town, and the one thing they want to do is ride the ferry. It serves a useful purpose and is also a source of entertainment.”

Beyond its historical and fun factors, Beek said the ferry is reducing emissions just by carting the vehicles across the bay that would otherwise have to travel at least six miles from dock to dock. The ferry also is a way to help underserved populations have affordable access to the water and beachfront on the peninsula and the island, he said.

Beek, whose father came up with the ferry idea in 1919 and started the service using a rowboat with an outboard, said he has been looking at options for converting the vessel’s engines to electric power the last couple of years and it will be a “staggering cost,” about $4.5 million to outfit all three vessels, including coming up with the engineering for the concept.

“It’s very hard to find anyone that does this kind of engineering work,” he said. “It’s also dependent on Coast Guard requirements, which are not finalized yet.”

The ferry employs about 40 people and its fares – $1.50 for pedestrians, $1.75 for bicyclists, and $2.50 for a car and driver – are set by the California Public Utilities Commission, Beek said, adding the service makes very little profit.

About 15 years ago, the ferry updated its diesel engines to make them run cleaner, Beek said. They could be updated again to a Tier 3 diesel engine, he said, but that wouldn’t comply with the new requirements. So now, he said he is hopeful the state board might consider an extension on the 2025 deadline to give him time to raise money and for the technology to come down in cost. He said he expects to meet with officials again this week.

State Assemblywoman Diane Dixon, a former Newport Beach mayor and councilmember, said she is willing to help with sponsoring a bill if needed.

“It’s more money than he takes in a year,” she said about the cost of going electric, even if a workable design can be found. “He just wants the same exemption to 2035, which is what sportfishing got.

“I’m confident we can work out a solution,” she said. “If not, I’ll introduce a bill to save the Balboa Island Ferry.”

Newport Beach city officials have also reached out to the California Air Resources Board on Beek’s behalf, asking for an extension. While CARB does offer some funding opportunities, a small, unique business like the Balboa Island Ferry would have difficulty being successful with an application, city officials wrote the board last month.

“This ferry is an iconic, historical harbor amenity that eases traffic congestion for area residents and visitors and provides an important secondary access,” Mayor Noah Blom wrote.

Beek said if he does go electric, he’ll need to purchase and install other infrastructure, such as charging stations, and his boats might have to look different. The electric batteries are much heavier than the engines the boats have now, he said.

When the regulations were being adopted, officials at the time said California is regularly reported by the American Lung Association as having some of the worst air quality in the nation, and harbor crafts are one of the top three equipment categories at the seaports that contribute to cancer risks from diesel emissions in nearby communities.

“Emissions from diesel vessels are a leading source of cancer risk for these communities, and transitioning to cleaner engines and zero-emission technologies will generate billions in health benefits, save hundreds of lives, and reduce a wide range of lung and heart illnesses,” an American Lung Association representative said at the time.

CARB officials did not respond by deadline for comment on the potential for an extension.

CARB, charged with protecting public health by cleaning up the air in California, first adopted regulations for commercial harbor crafts in 2007, amended them in 2010, and then again now.

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​ Orange County Register 

Charisma Osborne staying at UCLA for 5th season

• April 5, 2023

In the day and age of college players leaving early and entering the transfer portal, the UCLA women’s basketball team received a welcome surprise Wednesday.

Just eight days after her name was submitted for consideration for the WNBA draft, senior guard Charisma Osborne announced on social media that she will be staying in Westwood for her fifth season.

Coming off an All-American honorable mention season, Osborne posted on Twitter a statement that simply read “it’s always go bruins” followed by a blue and a yellow heart and a brief highlight video and photo, each with the words, “Pauley, I’ll see you again soon.”

It’s always go bruins pic.twitter.com/tY2BfNpZOo

— Charisma (@CharismaOsborne) April 5, 2023

The three-time All-Pac-12 player helped propel the Bruins to their fifth Sweet 16 appearance in seven seasons with a UCLA postseason record and career-high 36 points in an 82-73 victory over Oklahoma in the second round of the NCAA tournament. UCLA’s season came to an end five days later in a 59-43 loss to No. 1 overall seed South Carolina.

The 5-foot-9 Osborne ranks ninth on UCLA’s all-time scoring list with 1,798 points and was regarded by many to be a first-round pick in Monday’s draft.

After a decorated career as a three-time All-CIF Southern Section player at Windward High, Osborne has made 116 starts for coach Cori Close. She finished this season leading the team with 33 minutes, 15.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.

Also staying for another season is senior guard Camryn Brown, who started 32 of 36 games for the Bruins.

y’all thought it was over? pic.twitter.com/t6iP3pkiHV

— Cam B (@camnation24) April 5, 2023

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The Bruins will look to build off their program-tying best 27-win season by welcoming back their top four scorers in Osborne, freshman guard Kiki Rice (11.6 ppg), redshirt sophomore forward Emily Bessoir (9.4) and freshman guard Londynn Jones (8.6).

Rice and Jones were two of five players voted to Pac-12 All-Freshman team.

​ Orange County Register 

3 side-by-side homes in Corona del Mar’s China Cove list for combined $56.3M

• April 5, 2023

A unique coincidence.

That’s how the listing for a 3,378-square-foot Mediterranean-style house on the waterfront of China Cove in Corona del Mar for $16.8 million reads as one of three side-by-side properties on the market.

Located in the 2700 block of Shell Street, these active listings are individually priced from $15.5 million to shy of $24 million and offer “a rare and maybe the only chance to buy” all three for a combined $56.3 million, the same listing suggests.

Two of the properties stand on the former site of China House, a pagoda-style landmark built by department store magnate William Lindsay in 1929 that gave China Cove its name. In 1987, China House was demolished.

While these homes vary in square footage, architectural style and lot size, they offer a front row to harbor happenings like the annual Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade.

Here they are in a nutshell:

An aerial view of the $23.995 million home in Corona del Mar’s China Cove. (Photo by Bowman Group Media)

$23.995 million

Size: 5,276 square feet, five bedrooms, six bathrooms

Home: This property is marketed as a “unicorn” where “you may build two significant homes or one epic estate.”

It has been in the same family for 60 years and was later expanded. In the 1970s, the owners scooped up the neighboring house when it came up for sale. They combined the two homes dating to 1956 into one with skylights running down the middle. A glass section built into the living room floor, meanwhile, offers a view of the shore below where the now-adult children of the owner used to play.

Other highlights include wraparound patios, a rock mound breakwater built in the early ’80s after storms took out the dock and direct access to the sand. Water surrounds the property.

Listing agents: Adrienne Brandes and Jim Weisenbach of Surterre Properties

A view of the living area in the Mediterranean-style home on the market for $16.8 million. (Photo by Noel Kleinman)

$16.8 million

Size: 3,378 square feet, four bedrooms, four bathrooms

Home: When China House was demolished, this Mediterranean-style house rose up in two stories of French limestone, Italian marble and wrought iron.

Its open floorplan holds a gourmet kitchen, breakfast room and a living area that extends onto an expansive terrace with panoramic bayfront views. There’s a terrace off the waterfront primary suite, which connects to a bathroom with a large tub.

Although the home dating to 1989 is in good condition, it comes with a remodel option of approved plans for a contemporary beach house design by McClean Design. Established by Paul McClean, the Orange-based architecture firm is famously known for the design of the $141 million megamansion The One Bel Air.

Listing agents: Billy Long and Niousha Nasootifard of Balboa Real Estate and Bronwyn Jones of The Oppenheim Group

The Cape Cod-style home on the market for $15.5 million is one of three consecutive active listings. (Photo by Josh Peterman)

$15.5 million

Size: 4,040 square foot, four bedrooms, five bathrooms

Home: China House was demolished to make way for two luxury homes, including this Cape Cod designed by architect Brion Jeanette and built by Tony Valentine Construction in 1990.

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“A lot of planning, care and detail went into building this coastal waterfront home, which has stood the test of time and still looks and feels new,” the listing reads.

French doors connect the waterfront stone terrace to the great room and kitchen, which features a center island with counter seating. There are built-ins in the wood-paneled library, a dining room with built-ins and a curved staircase to the second floor where a large bay window graces the primary suite. A subterranean garage rounds out the offering.

Listing agent: Tara McNabb of Compass

​ Orange County Register 

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen meets with Speaker McCarthy at Reagan Library

• April 5, 2023

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen arrived at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley on a chilly Wednesday morning, April 5, for a historic meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

“The friendship between America and the people of Taiwan has never been stronger,” McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, said in a tweet. “It is my honor to welcome President (Tsai) to the (Reagan Library).”

Tsai’s visit with McCarthy comes during a stopover on her way home after visits to Belize and Guatemala.

President Tsai Ing-wen is greeted by @SpeakerMcCarthy upon her arrival. pic.twitter.com/OGVkDcW7qN

— Hanna Kang (@byhannakang) April 5, 2023

She arrived amid countering demonstrators, some holding Taiwan flags and banners while others waved Chinese flags.

China views interactions between U.S. and Taiwanese officials as a challenge to its claim to the island as its territory. The United States broke off official ties with Taiwan in 1979, while formally establishing diplomatic relations with the Beijing government.

A representative for the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles condemned the planned meeting, saying the Chinese government is the “sole legal government representing the whole of China,” and Taiwan is “an inalienable part of China’s territory.”

A plane with a banner reading, “One China! Taiwan is part of China!” in red lettering circled the presidential library while a large crowd of local, national and international media congregated outside and the Taiwanese president and McCarthy were inside.

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, last year, visited Taiwan. In an opinion piece published around the time of her visit, she said: “We must stand with Taiwan.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated throughout the day.

City News Service and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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​ Orange County Register 

College operators ask Supreme Court to block student-loan accord

• April 5, 2023

By Greg Stohr | Bloomberg

Three college operators asked the US Supreme Court on Wednesday to block a legal settlement that would cancel an estimated $6 billion in debt for students who say they were misled by the schools about job prospects.

The emergency application, which challenges the Education Department’s authority to cancel so many loans in the accord, bears similarities to a pending Supreme Court fight over President Joe Biden’s plan to slash the student debt of more than 40 million people.

The Supreme Court’s handling of the new case could offer hints about the outcome of the bigger fight. The court heard arguments on Biden’s plan Feb. 28 and is scheduled to rule by the end of June.

The college operators making the new appeal to the high court include for-profit Lincoln Educational Services Corp. and American National University Inc., as well as nonprofit Everglades College Inc.

The borrowers in the latest case sued the Education Department in 2019, seeking action on long-pending requests to discharge their debt because of alleged wrongdoing by the schools they attended. The settlement went beyond the thrust of the lawsuit, with the Education Department agreeing to discharge loans for hundreds of thousands of borrowers who attended 151 schools.

In its Supreme Court filing, the schools said the department exceeded its authority under federal law. The colleges said the administration was making an “even more sweeping” claim than with the broader loan-forgiveness program, which centers on the economic fallout from the pandemic.

“The secretary’s claimed authority amounts to nothing less than the power to cancel, en masse, every student loan in the country,” the schools argued.

The San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals refused to block the settlement, prompting the college operators to turn to the Supreme Court.

The application was filed with Justice Elena Kagan, who handles emergency matters from the 9th Circuit. She could act alone or refer the matter to the full nine-member court.

The case is Everglades College v. Cardona, 22A867.

Editors’ note: This article has been updated by Bloomberg, identifying Everglades College Inc. as a nonprofit. 

​ Orange County Register 

How a surge of creativity led to Dirty Heads releasing a trio of EPs in 2023

• April 5, 2023

The creative juices wouldn’t stop flowing for Huntington Beach’s Dirty Heads as they were recording the 10-track album “Midnight Control,” which debuted in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Alternative Albums chart last year. Vocalist Jared Watson also described it as one of the best albums the band has written.

The quintet was on such a musical high during those recording sessions that the creativity spilled over into 2023 in the form of a trio of EPs comprised of songs that came out of making the last studio album.

Dirty Heads recorded a total of 14 songs for the new album and decided to hold back four tracks to later release an EP.

But, “music was still coming out, we were still creating and it was still cohesive and really good,” Watson said.

Soon, the band found itself with enough content for three EP releases, the first of which is dubbed “Midnight Control Sessions: Night 2,” and drops April 14. It will be followed closely by “Midnight Control Sessions: Night 3” and “Midnight Control Sessions: Night 4.”

“We thought it would be a really fun, creative way to give it legs and let it live for a couple of tours and in this day and age you need content, you constantly have to be putting out music,” he added.

Formed in 2003, Dirty Heads have focused on catchy, upbeat melodies with their blend of reggae, hip-hop, alt-rock, and these days, pretty much whatever else they feel like throwing in the mix.

“We know how to captain our ship one hundred percent now,” Watson said. “I think that’s why that (new) album was so good, because we know how to get our sound; we know what we want to say and we know how to do it now.”

The first single from “Midnight Control Sessions: Night 2,” is “Rescue Me.” The song is currently available for streaming and is an ode to the band’s Southern California roots. The song is also driven by the Dirty Heads’ take on a melodic hook made famous by another local band. After settling on a guitar part written by a producer for the song, the ideas for hooks started coming and Watson said he couldn’t get a certain familiar radio hit out of his head.

“I couldn’t stop humming ‘Californication’ from the Red Hot Chili Peppers,” he said. “So we were like, yo, should we take this Chili Peppers melody and flip it? They’re a big California band that influenced us and it made sense and we loved it.”

With a breezier version of the Red Hot Chili Peppers melody, the song mixes hip-hop beats and rap vocals to create catchy summertime tune.

“The vibe of that song is just like cool to me,” said Dustin “Duddy B” Bushnell, Dirty Heads’ vocalist-guitarist and co-founder said. “It’s nothing too serious, it’s nothing too crazy. It’s just a hometown song really.”

The song “John Linen” on the EP is a straight-up hip-hop song with tinges of reggae soul that started out as a song for Watson’s hip-hop solo project, Sword Beach.

“Every time I played it for people it got this big, huge reaction,” Watson said. “There was something really special about that song that I thought could be better if I brought it into the Dirty Heads world.”

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The final song on the three-song EP is “Bright Side,” what includes a chorus created by Bushnell.

“It’s just a classic Dirty Heads song,” he said. “It’s got a good feel, a good upbeat tempo and when we were writing that song, it’s what we were going for. We just needed another classic upbeat, positive Dirty Heads song.”

The last of the original four songs that Dirty Heads cut off the “Midnight Control” album is “Island Glow.” Though it didn’t make the first EP, it will be on one of the following records and features Colombian musical ensemble Monsieur Perinè.

The release of the new EP also marks the kickoff of a busy season for the band, which will include its Island Glow Summer Tour featuring support from Lupe Fiasco, Yelawolf, G. Love & Special Sauce, Tropidelic and Bikini Trill. The tour kicks off in June and the band also announced it would be performing at the Alta Music Festival that takes place at Avila Beach near San Luis Obispo Sept. 23-24.

There are no local shows on the band’s schedule at the moment.

“No local shows have been announced yet,” Watson teased, emphasizing the word “announced.”  “Expect something very, very soon.”

​ Orange County Register 

Coachella 2023: 5 Southern California artists making their festival debut

• April 5, 2023

Singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers made her debut at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2022 and yes, she was wonderful both in the music she made and the excitement she displayed.

Bridgers, who was 5 when the inaugural Coachella took place in 1999, grew up in Pasadena dreaming of the desert festival. As a teen, before she was old enough to get her driver’s license, she convinced her mother for several years to drive to Indio and drop her off at the festival gates.

“Picture it. It’s 2011 and I’m in a Two Door Cinema Club crop top,” Bridgers told the crowd last year after thanking her mom for all those rides. “My hair is pink. And I am at this festival.

“Actually, don’t picture it,” she added – too late! – as the crowd laughed at that image. “But I am from L.A. and being here means so much to me.”

As festival season approached this year, the memory of that sweet, genuine moment got us thinking about what it will be like for other Southern California acts making their Coachella debuts this year.

Surely it’s a dream come true for any artist who grew up in the palm tree shadows of one of the world’s most prestigious music festivals.

ALSO SEE: More 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival news

So before Coachella kicks off on Friday, April 14 for the first of two weekends, we tracked down five different groups or solo artists on the 2023 lineup and asked them about it.

This is what we heard.

The Linda Lindas

The four teen girls in the Linda Lindas range in age from 12-18. But just a year or two since they formed in Los Angeles, this terrifically fun punk rock band has already played festivals around the United States, Mexico, Japan, Germany and Spain.

Still, Coachella looms large as the Linda Lindas prepare to play – and attend – the desert fest.

“I think it’s going to be great – it’s going to be so fun,” says singer-guitarist Lucia de la Garza, 16. “It’ll be our first time going to Coachella to like see what it’s all about.

“We understand Coachella is a big deal, and so now we’re just gonna get a little more insight into like why?” she says.

“It’s one of those things that at least in school everybody would talk about who was going to Coachella that weekend,” says singer-guitarist Bela Salazar, 18, and the only band member to finish high school so far.  “Growing up in California it’s like a big thing.”

Drummer Mila de la Garza, 12, says she and Lucia’s mom and dad went to Coachella one year to see Beyoncé. Salazar says she started dreaming of attending around fifth or sixth grade when her own taste in music started to emerge. Bassist-singer Eloise Wong, 15, the De La Cruz sisters’ cousin, says she’s already picking out which acts she hopes to see this year.

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“This time it’s really exciting because there are bands like Scowl and Destroy Boys and Soul Glo,” Eloise says. “And Blondie is playing and the Breeders.”

Festival veterans, the Linda Lindas figure their Saturday set will fall early in the day, giving them plenty of time over the three-day weekends to watch other acts perform.

The band hasn’t played since early January, instead taking time off to write new material, Eloise says. Coachella might get the live debuts of several new songs, Lucia adds.

“To just like jump right into Coachella is gonna be like really exciting,” Lucia says. “It’ll be a little weird to be on stage again.”

The youngest three members of the band have to go back to school on days between Coachella weekends, but even coming home offers something awesome: On Wednesday, April 19; they’ll open for fellow Coachella performers Blondie at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.

Blondie, and especially singer Debbie Harry, have been idols of the Linda Lindas for years, the answer to the frequent interview question of “Who’d be your dream band to open for?” Lucia says.

“What do you do?” Eloise wonders. “If you’re like walking up to Debbie Harry, like, what happens then? What do you say?”

Gabriels

Singer Jacob Lusk of the Los Angeles band Gabriels laughs as he says he still doesn’t quite believe that he’s playing Coachella this year.

“I’m still like maybe it’s not really happening,” the 35-year-old Compton native says. “But if you’re interviewing me, I guess that means it has to really happening.”

Gabriels is printed on the Coachella poster, we observe.

“I am on the poster,” Lusk says, laughing. “I know. But they might have me like performing at the gate. I might be a parking lot singer.”

No chance of that. The modern soul-R&B fusion of Gabriels, which includes Ray Hope and Ari Balouzian, is poised to play many more prominent stages.

No less than Elton John greeted their 2021 debut EP “Love and Hate In a Different” as one of the best records he’d heard in a decade. In February, Gabriels was nominated for best international group at the 2023 Brit Awards along with 2023 Coachella headliner Blackpink, the hip-hop duo of Drake & 21 Savage, Swedish indie duo First Aid Kit, and the Irish band Fontaines D.C., which won the award.

As a teen growing up in Compton, Lusk sang gospel in church, and later R&B as a constant on “American Idol” where he finished fifth in 2011. Now 35, Lusk never thought of Coachella as a stage on which he might perform.

“In my wildest dreams I would have been like a male Adele or something like that,” Lusk says. “So I just never would have imagined me singing at Coachella, or anyone wanting to hear it there to be honest.

“Then in the last few years like we’ve seen more artists like Beyoncé there,” he says.

In 2016, the year Gabriels first formed, soul and R&B performers such as SZA and Mavis Staples played Coachella, we tell him.

“We can slide in,” Lusk says. “We’re somewhere between SZA and Mavis Staples. OK.”

Hope, for whom playing England’s Glastonbury last year was his version of the Coachella dream, is British.  Los Angeles native Balouzian is Armenian American.

“I grew up a whole ‘nother way,” says Lusk, who adds he sometimes describes his musical style as “If Nina Simone did pop music.”

“It’s really everyone’s music for everybody,” he says of Gabriels. “We want to create classy, timeless music that everyone can love and understand and relate to.”

Momma 

Last year, as the Los Angeles-based indie rock trio Momma was headlining a show on the road, the band members received at least a dozen missed calls on their phones. Of course, they couldn’t pick up while simultaneously shredding away.

As they got off stage and saw all of the notifications, they called home to check in. It was their manager hitting redial in a panic to let them know that they’d landed a spot on the 2023 Coachella lineup, a festival they all loved growing up.

“We were like ‘Dude, we’re legit playing on stage right now,’ but our team kept telling us it’s really important,” Allegra Weingarten, vocalist and guitarist of the group says. “(When) he told us we got Coachella, we couldn’t believe it. It’s still pretty surreal.”

Comprised of Weingarten, Etta Friedman and Aron Kobayashi Ritch, in one way or another each member has attended Coachella as a fan.

Weingarten and Friedman had their first Coachella experience in 2011, seeing acts like Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire and The Chemical Brothers. They’ve attended three different festival years, making 2023 their fourth Coachella, but their first as performing artists.

Friedman notes that their friends always hype them up, expressing to the group that this might just be the biggest performance they’ve played to date. But for Momma, it doesn’t feel that way.

“Truthfully, I don’t think it will be a crazy, big show for us when you have everyone else on the bill,” Friedman says. “It just feels like the beginning of forever regarding where we’re going.”

Paris Texas 

Not everyone will admit to or is successful at sneaking into a music festival like Coachella, but for the Los Angeles-based alternative rap duo Paris Texas, it’s a tale they don’t mind sharing. Producer Louis Pastel said that he sneaked his way into the festival back in 2013.

“This will technically be my first proper Coachella, even though I snuck in before and I can’t remember much,” he says while chuckling. “I just wanted to go see a few artists and leave.”

Now, for the South Central-bred Pastel and rap frontman Felix, performing alongside artists on the lineup this year like Frank Ocean, Kaytranada and Gorillaz is “a pretty big deal.”

Pastel says that even though it’s just days away, they don’t necessarily have a game plan. What they do know is that it’ll be a show unlike any other they’ve done in the past.

“This year, we plan to drop so much new music, and the Coachella audience is going to get a taste of that,” Felix says. “We want to make sure visually, we give them something cool, too. We don’t have a live band, so we want to just bring good energy and a mix of old and new stuff that people can enjoy, even if they’ve never heard or seen us before.”

The duo dropped its full-length debut, “Boy Anonymous,” in May 2021. The lead single, “Force of Habit,” became a viral hit. Though the pair have only created music together for a short period of time, Paris Texas is ready to take on Coachella and the world.

“We still can’t believe we could play this year, and it feels like we can only go up,” Felix says. “You know we’ve grown up in Los Angeles and this always seemed like a distant dream, so it’s cool to have it now.”

DannyLux

For DannyLux, the Gen Z Chicano rocker making modern corrido ballads, the Coachella festival is essentially in the backyard of his childhood home. Though DannyLux grew up in Palm Springs and recalls seeing festival goers crowd the area each year, he never got to attend himself.

This year, that’s all changing as he’ll finally make his debut at Coachella as a performer and as a fan. The 19-year-old Mexican American artist said that this forthcoming festival set feels full circle in many ways.

“It’s a blessing, to be honest. I just feel extremely lucky,” DannyLux says. “To be playing in my hometown and at Coachella just feels crazy. This performance, I’m making sure just to give it my all, but I am pretty nervous since I haven’t chosen the outfits I will be wearing or the setlist, so there’s still a lot to figure out.”

More so than in recent years, the Coachella 2023 lineup is stacked with Latin artists including Friday headliner Bad Bunny and sets throughout the weekend by acts like Becky G, Rosalía, Fabulosos Cadillacs, Conexión Divina, Kali Uchis and Eladio Carrión. Danny notes that playing alongside his Latin counterparts both Friday’s of the festival is exciting and nerve-wracking.

DannyLux is part of a new generation of rising Latin stars coming out of the Mexican indie music scene. He headlined Viva! Pomona and embarked on a mini tour with Los Angeles Chicano act Cuco last year. His 2023 is shaping up to be even bigger, he says.

“I never imagined myself playing in the big leagues, and this year, it’s just all happening so fast,” he says. “For this Coachella performance, I just want fans and anyone who happens to catch us to vibe out. It’ll be the most interactive performance. I mean we have to, it’s our hometown.”

Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival

When: 12 p.m. April 14-16 and April 21-23

Where: Empire Polo Club, 81-800 Avenue 51, Indio

Tickets: Weekend one passes are sold-out, but available through secondary sellers; Weekend two passes are $549 for three-day general admission; $1,069 for three-day VIP admission. All admission, parking and on-site camping options are available at coachella.com.

​ Orange County Register