You know who Jack Johnson is, right? The hippie Californian turned Hawaain, who writes more love songs for his wife than any other artist in history? The king of chill-pop? Well, it turns out that Jack has an eye for up and coming talent as well as his own. He was the inspiration and kind of the curator behind the band ALO, who are based out of Southern California.

They actually met Jack Johson and their soon-to-be band drummer David Brogan while studying at the University of California. Jack saw something special in them and encouraged them to keep making music. David, on the other hand, didn’t just encourage them – he was passionate enough about the band, which was then called Django, to join in.

Santa Barbara Stars

Zach, Steve, and Dan knew each other in high school but didn’t decide to make music together until college. When they did they decided that Zach would be on keyboard and sing vocals, Steve would be on bass, and Dan would play guitar. David Brogan, who is friends with Jack Johnson himself, came and went from the band twice – only returning for good in 2002 when the band was ready to release a debut album.

Brushfire Label

That debut album, Fly Between Falls, was put out on Jack Johnson’s album Bushfire in 2005. That same year ALO went on tour as the opener for the Dave Matthews Band. In the seven years that followed their debut album, they put out three more, Roses & Clover, Man of the World, and Sounds like this. More recent albums include Tangle of Time and Love Songs, though we expect a new one any day now. Speaking of new albums – what kind of new/old song mix do you think they’ll play on tour? There’s only one way to find out.