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The origin of Radiation Invasion can be traced back to May 12, 2018 when two 7th graders procrastinating on a science fair project realized they each played guitar at a very basic level. As Mars and Jair ignored their academic responsibilities, they instead decided to get musically creative and write guitar riffs that would later be used on the band’s debut track “The Unknown.” This is where the idea of creating a band came up, however the two kids did not visualize that possibility in the moment. As 7th grade faded into 8th, the idea of a band still lingered. Mars and Jair found out that a friend from school also played guitar, his name was Andy. So, three kids who barely passed as musicians decided to meet up to play guitar. On August 29, 2018 Mars, Jair, and Andy met for Radiation Invasion’s 1st practice. Somewhere within the babbling of a random stranger at a Trader Joe’s parking lot, Mars overheard the words “Radiation Invasion” and knew from the first moment, it was the perfect name for the band.
The search for a complete lineup began and the three young boys obtained two fellow classmates: Liana as the vocalist and David as the drummer. One question remained: Who would play bass? Mars, Jair, and Andy all took on the unwanted role of bassist at some point, they went so far as to compete to see which two were the better guitarists. However, the competition proved nothing so a 6th member was introduced to play bass. This decision also proved inefficient over time, and the band once again became a five piece with Andy on the bass guitar. Now, the band’s finalized lineup with Liana, Mars, Jair, Andy, and David had a goal to perform for the whole school at the Vandenberg Middle School Talent Show.
For these 5 kids, the practices were spent repeatedly playing “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” by The Beatles, as well as “Fell in Love With a Girl” and “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes. With their three song setlist, they performed for David’s family in his garage and during a local open mic night at South Side Coffee in Downtown Lompoc. Hours and hours of practice eventually led to the day of May 10, 2019, where Radiation Invasion performed “Fell in Love With a Girl” by The White Stripes for roughly 1,000 people at the VMS Talent Show.
The summer went fast, and high school had begun. The band immediately hit rough terrain as David decided to leave the band drummerless and the COVID-19 pandemic surprised the world. With no option for live performances, the band created quarantine song cover videos with the help of drummer Mia filling in. During this time the band worked on original music and fully produced their own song “The Unknown” along with its music video. This first single showcased the band’s raw, power chord driven sound. Throughout freshman and sophomore year of high school, each member worked on their individual skills as musicians and songwriters to come back stronger than ever following the pandemic. This culminated with the release of their 2nd single “Summer Daze” on June 10, 2021, which was a stark contrast to their first single as it included arpeggiated guitar parts and melodic vocals.
The year 2023 marked Liana, Mars, Jair, and Andy’s high school graduation. This also brought about the biggest lineup change for the band as Liana stepped away from her position as lead singer to pursue nursing at the University of Cal State Channel Islands. In turn, Mars stepped up to fill the role as the frontman of the band.
Radiation Invasion consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Mars, guitarist Jair, bassist Andy, and drummer Keenan. All four are set on the ambitious goal to have fun, play sold out stadiums, and have their music reach every ear drum in the world. With now over half a decade of experience playing together as a group, rest assured, they won’t stop until their goal is complete.
With the start of a new era, the band acquired Steven on drums. It was here where their live performances turned to high energy, headbanging extravaganzas where mosh pits started and the crowd came to life. The band won 1st place at the Buellton Fall Fest Battle of the Bands and saw recognition by local news for their victory. Six months later and one drummer less, the band’s cover of “Master of Puppets” by Metallica at Battle of the Bands went viral, gaining over one million views on Tik Tok. This was the first time the band had gained such recognition. While playing a multitude of shows around the Central Coast, the band began to write and record their first EP “Crystalline” with the addition of their new drummer Keenan. Additionally, they enlisted The Mars Volta audio engineer Jon DeBaun to mix and master their EP. The team worked hard on more complex compositions presenting an eclectic collection of songs from the clean and melodic track “Crystalline” to the hardcore roots of “Forgive and Forget.” On April 14, 2023 their EP was released to the public.
