Coastal Clouds

Photography and Interview by Drew Reynolds.

What has it been like working with Billy Mohler? How did you two first connect?

Working with Billy has been a great experience. He has an amazing ear and has a vision for songs when I bring them into the studio. I’ll bring in a demo I recorded at home and he will know exactly where we need to take the song and we are always in agreement. We first met while I was interning at a studio where he was doing some session work. We became buddies, started surfing together, and recording together and his bass lines and arrangements are a big part of this project.

How does it feel to release your debut LP under the moniker Coastal Clouds? How did you come up with that name?

It feels good ! My name is Roberto Rodriguez which is very close to film director, Robert Rodriguez, and Rodriguez (Sixto), the musician so I thought of a moniker for the “band” project…It felt like a collaboration with Billy too so calling it Roberto Rodriguez didn’t feel right. I thought of the name when I first moved to California about 10 years ago from Florida. I had never experienced the “marine layer” that we get in summer months (i.e. June Gloom) and I was fascinated by that irony – Southern California in the summer gets foggy by the beach. I saw “coastal clouds” in a surf report describing these conditions and I went with that.

What’s your favorite LA venue?

My favorite LA venue that I’ve played in is Bootleg Theater and I LOVE the sound at Moroccan Lounge in DTLA . I really want to play at Teragram Ballroom + Regent Theater.

Best Tacos in LA are & what makes them choice?

Taco Zone! It’s a truck in Echo Park that Billy actually turned me on to…They’re authentic and have great mulitas!

What’s next for Coastal Clouds?

Keep making music, recording, and playing live . I already have the next album written so I want to start recording that in 2020.

ᐧ