Summerlands 2016 brought good vibes and energy to UCI’s campus last Friday. The guest performers each got a chance to contribute their talent to the event. The DJ for the evening was DJ Fook, and he kept the crowd on their feet dancing while they waited for the next performance.
Joyellow, a student at UCI, was the first to perform, and he rapped a couple of his original songs for the crowd.
The Grinns, a local band in Orange County, brought alternative rock and roll to the music festival. Each member of the band had their own unique style, and the lead singer showcased his funky dance moves.
Jeff Bernat got the crowd cheering, and many of his fans at UCI have been listening to his music since 2012. His music felt quite nostalgic, especially when he performed his song, “Girl at the Coffee Shop.”
Us The Duo’s Michael and Carissa Alvarado expressed so much heart and soul in their performance both for the crowd and for each other. Almost four years ago, they performed at UCI, and having them come again brought exciting memories for some UCI students. During their performance, they played some new songs, as well as fan favorites.
In an interview with Her Campus UCI, Us the Duo elaborates on who inspired them to start playing and writing music. They explain that individually they were inspired by other music artists such as Michael Jackson, Earth, Wind, and Fired, Johnny Cash, John Mayer, and Beyoncé. But together they are inspired by each other exclaiming,
“We find most of our song writing topics to be things we lived through or friends that we have. That is usually where we get our inspiration.”
When asked about how they would describe their music in terms of genre, both replied,
“I would say we would describe our music as pop driven music, but we get a lot of our influence from soul. So a lot of the artists we mentioned earlier as influences, comes through in the way we play. So, R&B, a little soul, but we love pop. We are suckers for the Top 40, but at least in our new album there is a collaboration of soul, pop, and R&B.”
Recently, Us The Duo has been on tour with Pentatonix, and they have travelled across the country performing for thousands of fans. But the tour is not stopping in the U.S.; Us The Duo is joining Pentatonix overseas in Europe. As for the best part of going on tour, Carissa gave us some details.
“Everything is so good being on tour with them. We are actually still on tour with them. We are going to Europe, and we are leaving tomorrow. We are really excited about that! I think the best part of it is how well we get along with everyone. The band, themselves, are just such good people, and to see such talented artists have good hearts and be great people is inspiring to us. It makes us realize never to loose who we are and to stay grounded no matter how big we are or how big we get. They [Pentatonix] are selling arenas all over the world, and we just look up to them and respect them as musicians, as well as people.”
Aside from touring with Pentatonix, Michael and Carissa have been working on their own music. They have plans to release their next album called Just Love on July 22nd. This is exciting for the both of them, as well as their fans because their new full length album is finally set to be released. The last time they released a full length album was a little over two years ago. Carissa gave some details about the album expressing how it takes the audience on a journey. Although they love love-songs, it’s not just about that, it is about dark sides and things that a lot of people go through as well.
Apart from discussing their music, Michael and Carissa answered some fun questions about their lives. When asked about the five things they could not live without, Michael was quick to answer saying that the number one thing he could not live without would have to be Carissa.
“Just traveling on the road without your best friend would be so lonely. I don’t have to call home and say ‘guess what happened…’ because she’s right next to me. So the number one thing would be my wife. The second would be our dog, Billy Jean. Technically we travel without her, but we can’t live without her because she is a joy-vessel being that makes us smile every day. I can’t live without a keyboard. I love playing, and that is where I started from. I can’t live without family, because our family is very important to us. Number five I could not live without is probably going to be an egg. Think about all the things you good do with an egg: over-easy, scrambled, or just straight up raw.”
For Carissa,
“I mean I think he [Michael] named like three of things I can’t live without which is you [Michael], our dog Billy, and my family. This is going to sound silly, but I love my jewelry. I feel naked without it. I haven’t put on my rings yet, but I feel weird without them. They all have sentimental value because my mom gave me some of these necklaces. It just makes me feel like me when I have those things. The fifth thing would be my shoes, especially my boots. I love boots so much, I just can’t get rid of them!”
The final question was about UCI’s very own mascot, Peter the Anteater. We wanted to know what their thoughts were about Peter.
Michael was curious if this was a new mascot. But Carissa corrected him explaining that the anteater has always been UCI’s mascot.
As Michael spoke about the anteater, Carissa thought everything he said was spot on.
“I think the anteater is unique, much like the students of UCI. I feel like the anteater is a very intuitive, smart creature, much like UCI students! So it is very fitting. I also have to say the anteater is not very intimidating. When it comes to sports, it’s not like the anteater is about to tear us down. It’s not super aggressive. But, I think that’s where UCI kind of has its edge. [Michael describing UCI students] It’s like hey we are kind, genuine people, but when it’s least expected we are just going to suck up all the ants.”
After the interview, Us The Duo performed their set on stage, winning the hearts of every person in the crowd.
The final performer of the night was no other than SoMo. He was the headliner, and before he performed, his crew got the crowd dancing. Everyone was ready for SoMo to perform his hit songs, but his song, “Ride” was a crowd favorite. SoMo finished his set leaving the crowd wanting to hear more!