Photographer: Brandy Young
“I play drums in a band called ‘King Salamander‘ and it’s a really fun time. When we play a show, we go ‘full lounge.’ Everyone in the band has a ‘loungey’ alter ego. Sterling Musk is the lead singer and patriarch of the group. When I get on stage, I’m Cullen Van Stouden (because my absolute-favorite beer is Guinness Stout); Cullen even has his own Instagram.
“Sterling really pushes the envelope. I don’t think he can sleep at night because the guy’s got all these crazy ideas swirling around his brain. Sometimes I’m the one to put them into reality. Like the idea to convert our bass drum into a mini bar – so we could open up the drum head, mid set, and serve cocktails. The bass drum bar was our baby – our initial concept – and I think we nailed it on the first try. Then we just recently finished converting this floor tom into a whiskey-bourbon-cigar bar. It was more challenging but I think it turned out really cool.
“We’re having fun with it, playing up all the mystery surrounding our lounge vibe. Just when you think you’ve got us figured, we’ll probably pull off some other crazy idea to keep you guessing.”
– Eric Berringer (aka Cullen Van Stouden) // Drummer for King Salamander // Costa Mesa Resident
