Four friends from famed rock bands form a new group and get ready to play The Coach House

Feb. 8, 2018 4:05 PM PT

They are four friends who went to rival high schools, became successful musicians in various bands and yet, had never jammed together.

This Sunday, they’re sharing the stage at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, where they plan to play songs they are known for while performing new material they’ve collectively written while prepping for their upcoming release.

Members Charlie Colin, Stan Frazier and brothers Scott and Joel Owen all belong to Side Deal, a group they formed after having returned to their hometown of Newport Beach.

Each has been to the top of the music mountain and enjoyed its view, and now are leaping off the edge with nothing to lose.

Colin, a founding member of Grammy Award-winning rock band Train; Frazier, a founding member of band Sugar Ray that garnered mainstream fame; and the Owen brothers of PawnShop Kings, a duo that attracted buzzworthy attention for its American roots sound, said they all were pursuing different endeavors at the time and didn’t imagine a launch of a new band.

That changed when they came together for a sold-out show at Lido Theater where Colin and Frazier were playing with their then-band Painbirds.

Frazier invited both Owens to the show and the four have collaborated musically since.

It’s a special time to form the group and appreciate what they are achieving since each has priorities of family and children, said Frazier of Newport Beach, an owner of Sgt. Pepperoni’s Pizza Store.

“What’s special about this is that we never sat down saying, ‘Let’s form a band,’ ” said Joel Owen of Orange. “It was just organic and settled into this and there was never any pressure.”

“You can’t fake chemistry and that’s what we feel we have,” said Scott Owen of Tustin.

Side Deal already has performed at Sundance Film Festival and is looking ahead to a busy calendar of gigs throughout Orange County.

The group is scheduled to play at the Irvine Barclay Theatre’s grand reopening in April, Newport Beach Film Festival with Pacific Symphony later that month, the Oceana Benefit Concert — to a star-studded audience — and Laguna Beach Art Museum’s Centennial Celebration in September.

For Sunday’s show, they’re playing with Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, a close friend and guitarist known for his stints in Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers and Spirit.

The four said they meet for board meetings — on surfboards, that is — and play and write songs about three times a week. For their new album, they have two songs to cut and four songs ready to be recorded.

“It’s a unique thing,” Colin said. “I think the best work is in front of us.”