I recently had the opportunity to sit down with re_fuse, a rock band based out of Los Angeles, California. The band consists of Lucie-Vocals, Rico-Guitar, Maui-Bassist, Jett-Drummer, and David-Guitar. It was a blast hanging out with them and talking all about music. I have also had the pleasure of watching Lucie, and David work through various projects since 2024. The growth I have seen in both of them is completely phenomenal. Here is our conversation.
Written and Photo by Denise Johnson
https://denise-johnson.kavyar.site
How did the band come together?
Was it a specific moment or gradual?
The band formed on March 23rd, 2025 after a good chunk of people from one of our high school’s popular music ensembles revealed last minute that they could not perform at the fire aid show at Boomtown Brewery, a benefit show created to raise funds for the victims of the recent Eaton and Palisade fires. In response, Rico and Jett, who were some of the only people still in the band’s lineup, called upon bassist Maui Ruiz and vocalist Lucie Johnson to help fill in some of the gaps. It was during and after the performance that we all realized how much fun we had performing together as a group and immediately formed a band with the four of us on the spot. The band was later named Re-Fůse right before their first gig on June 7th, 2025. Eventually, the band adopted guitarist David Gomez as the lead guitarist and second guitarist before the band’s first Battle of the Bands at California School of the Arts.
How do you collaborate within the band during the creation of a song or album?
Collaboration within the band when creating a song starts with one idea. Typically someone will bring an established idea like a riff, or a chord progression. Once we decide to move forward, we attempt to expand on it with various additions and input from everyone on where it can go next. Often, what we do is jam together, and try to really feel out where we think the song could go beyond from what is already established. Though, sometimes an idea doesn’t spark enough inspiration between bandmates, which is usually an indication that it’s smart to shelve the idea and revisit it later if we see it fit.
Are there any artists or bands you’d love to collaborate with in the future?
We’d absolutely love to collaborate on music and shows with various legacy acts that have inspired us from the beginning, but what we would really love to do is collaborate with a handful of some relatively younger bands/artists like Yungblud, The Warning, and Return to Dust to name a few. Halestorm is another band we’d love to share the stage with someday if given the chance.
What’s the best part of working with each other, and what makes your band unique?
There are a few things that make working together as a group as cool as it is. For one, we’ve all been close with one another, even before the band’s formation. As cliche as it is, we truly are more like family to one another than we are a band. It’s not difficult to recognize our bonds when looking at our dynamics and stage chemistry with each other. And it is that stage engagement and energy that simultaneously sets us apart from a lot of bands we see today.
What’s your favorite part about performing live, and how do you engage with your audience?
Our favorite part about performing live is just the raw energy of it. Regardless of things that may and have gone wrong, we always look past it and embrace the fun of being able to perform our work to crowds of people with your best friends. We love engaging with our audience through various means of interaction from on stage, but we also love to stick around after shows to be able to speak to people that watched us from the audience because it can really tell you what about your set is going well, and which aspects could use some work. We’re always looking for ways to improve, so it has definitely been a good way to learn how we can grow as musicians and as a band.
What are some of your musical influences, and how do they shape your style?
Our musical influences span quite the range between the 5 of us, but all of our main influences derive from within the general umbrella of rock/metal music. While we all have similar backgrounds in music, they are not necessarily the same since we each have a general preference for different sub genres like thrash metal, punk, glam metal, and hard rock. Because of our preferences, each band member has gotten to develop their own unique style of performance technique, all generally deriving from their influences. When watching us live, It doesn’t take much listening in order to pinpoint where each of us derives from, nor is it difficult to realize just how well each of our own unique performance styles combine to create something exciting and unique to us. Of course, there are also a handful of collective band influences including the likes of bands such as Van Halen, Black Sabbath, Metallica, and Ozzy Osbourne.
What’s next for the band? Any upcoming projects, tours, or plans you’re excited about?
We just announced at our recent show at the Universal Bar and Grill that for the first time, the band will be taking the stage at the historic Whiskey A Go-Go this December 26th, playing as direct support for the The Atomic Punks, the only Van Halen tribute band to be endorsed by Van Halen themselves. We’d also like to announce that we will soon be in the studio starting in September to record our first two singles!
re_fuse links:
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