One of the great San Diego band names will soon be no more.
The three members of the local hardcore band Hostile Comb-Over are calling it quits after Tuesday's show at the Radio Room in San Diego.
"We're just all three in different periods of life. John wants to tour more than Cole or I do," drummer and vocalist Ben Johnson said earlier this week by phone of the decision that he, guitarist/singer John Cota and bassist/singer Cole Mears made to go in different directions.
Johnson said that at 39 and 37, he and Mears are more focused on family life than they were when the band was formed 4 1/2 years ago.
"There's no drama or anything. Cole is expecting his second child. I'm newly married and probably going to start a family. We're all great friends. It's unfortunate, because we all really like the band still, but it's where we're all at."
The band was formed as the three men were coming out of previous projects, Johnson said.
He and Mears have known each other since the mid-'90s; he and Cota met about a decade ago.
When they formed Hostile Comb-Over, Johnson said all three of them wanted to do something more hardcore than they'd played in their previous bands.
"I was in a band called Tourettes Lautrec that was a spazzy, new-age rock. John was in a bunch of different bands, American Ligature the last one before this.
"We just agreed that we wanted to play heavy music ---- and inventive ---- and kind of took it from there. One thing that was important to me, and the other guys too, was to be in a band that didn't sound like anything else out there," Johnson said.
The name has been both boon and hindrance in marketing the band, Johnson said.
Some folks think from the name that the band will be a cutesy bubble-gum pop band, and others think they're going to hear some intellectual combo with deep lyrics.
On the other hand, Johnson admitted that it's been a great hook for selling anything with the band's name on it.
"Our merchandise totally rules ---- Cole has this really good eye for art," Johnson said, listing a switchblade comb with the band's logo and a tiger with a combover.
"It's just ridiculous and looks awesome," he said.
And the name wasn't even the result of sudden inspiration or a flash of genius, Johnson said, but rather hour after hour of throwing out every and any name they could think of shortly after deciding to play together.
"John and Cole did it coming back from L.A. one day. After about 4,000 names, and we're just like, 'Who cares anymore?' one of them said, 'How about Hostile Takeover,' and we're saying, 'There's gotta be 20 bands called that.'
"'How about Hostile Comb-Over?' The conversation pretty much ended with that!"
During the band's run, they toured the England and Ireland, issued two CDs and made several runs up the West Coast. All three of them are going to continue in music (even though all also have day jobs to help pay the bills), but Johnson said he (now playing with the Long and Short of It) and Mears are looking to stick closer to home, while Cota continues to take his music around the world with the band Rats Eyes.
And he said that despite agreeing to call it quits, Johnson is glad for the run he had with Hostile Comb-Over.
"It was wonderful. They're great guys, and we had a great run. It just reached a point where people were frustrated with how fast or slowly it's moving, and no one is not frustrated with that.
"So we said, 'Before this becomes ridiculous and makes people resent each other, let's be cool with each other and get on with it' ---- and it seems to be pretty much working out."
Hostile Comb-Over
When: 8 p.m. Aug. 11
Where: The Radio Room, 3519 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego
Admission: Call for cover
Info: 619-284-3323 or theradioroom.com
Web: hostilecombover.com
