Nestled up amongst the regal clusters of old-growth Coast Redwoods, and infused by the sweet fragrance of the Douglas Fir of the Santa Cruz Mountains, there have always been pods of musicians, and aggregates of musical excellence. Young and not-so-young instrumentalists trying to find the universal tone and the perfect song. In recent years, the soaring thrust of the Cosmic Mountain Music of Wolf Jett (who have a new album coming out on April 2) has led the way. In close pursuit, hot on their heels and finally reaching bigger audiences, are The Coffis Brothers.
Led by Ben Lomond’s Kellen and Jamie Coffis, The Coffis Brothers are poised to level up and break through the vast ranks of bands. Their annual party at Moe’s Alley, Coffis Space 4, takes place on March 21st.
The Coffis Brothers have honed a high-flying, tempered confidence and musical assuredness over the years, sharpening their edge. That dynamic plays out onstage when, in the midst of a scorching jam, everything gels into pure upbeat rock and roll with each of the five members contributing their particular skillset and the telepathic communication that comes with familiarity. The Coffis Brothers have primed the pump for 16 years with over one thousand performances and are ready for takeoff.
Mountain Time
In the 1990s, up in Ben Lomond, Kellen and Jamie’s mom, Vicki, raised her boys to love music. A musician herself, with a background in early childhood education, she imbued her children with fun core memories of communal musical creativity and the upside of live performance.
Note: While The Coffis Brothers tour together, these interviews were conducted at different times along their tour.
Kellen Coffis — vocals, guitar
”When I showed interest in playing guitar, she (Vicki) got me connected with Steve Palazzo (whose bluegrass band Homefire played for 25 years in Santa Cruz). He’s still teaching out of his home on the Westside. She had us doing it early, so it didn’t feel like a weird thing, you know? Our mom used to perform under the name Vicki Neville. Which also happens to be Jamie’s and my middle name,” says Kellen, who was having a rare zero day away from touring and recording, and providing a deep cut Coffis Brother’s factoid.
Both Jamie and Kellen came up through the San Lorenzo Valley public school system: elementary through high school.
Jamie Coffis — vocals, keyboards.
“We always got along pretty much well,” says Jamie during a break on their winter tour. “There were brother moments, I’m sure. And you should probably ask him because I’m the older one. So from my perspective, it was peachy. We’re three years apart, but we were into the same things. We played sports and we liked the same cartoons. We were simpatico. Not a ton of dust-ups.
“Kellen was a little more involved in music. We took lessons. It was required that we were doing some kind of music thing. I was taking piano lessons and I wasn’t a great student. I took to it, but I never got super disciplined. Kellen, on the other hand, was more obsessed with it. He expanded his abilities faster than I did. He was in talent shows. And I know that he did put a little group together. They recorded something to send to the radio. But we were not in a high school band together. The Coffis Brothers did not form until I moved back home from college in my 20s,” Jamie explains.
Kellen Coffis
“In high school, that’s where Kyle (Poppen) and I started playing music. We were friends in elementary school. But in high school, we would get together on the weekends. And we had a few other guys who were musicians, and we would just play music. It grew to the point where we needed a bass player and a drum set. So it was that kind of thing. We would get together regularly throughout the high school years and jam. Funny thing is how Jamie and I took a break. We didn’t play music together until years later. Our musical journey started when we would sing with our mom. We’d sing together, but then his piano kind of took him in a different direction. And my guitar took me in my direction. It took a while for us to reconnect musically,” Kellen remembers.
Kyle Poppen — lead guitar
For those keeping score, the band has two brothers out of five members. But Kyle Poppen is a close third.
“Kellen and I actually went to preschool together, believe it or not. When I played underage soccer, their dad was my coach, and Jamie was the assistant coach. I was on the team with Kellen and played soccer with Kellen all the way through high school. We used to play music together in high school. We never had a band or anything. But yeah, I’ve been hanging out with Kellen for practically 28 years or something,” says Kyle, having just driven into Salt Lake City for another gig.
Kellen Coffis
“Our high school group never felt like a band to me. We listened to KFOX in high school. A classic rock radio station. They did a cover band contest and we entered that one time. So you had to come up with a name. For that, we called ourselves Highway 9, which is not a good name,” Kellen laughs.
Cory Graves — drums
Drummer Cory Graves, grew up in Albany, California. Always musically inclined, Graves was the kind of musician who always felt driven by the beat. His parents had met in Santa Cruz in the 1970’s and when college choices came around he was drawn to UCSC.
“Probably starting in middle school through high school, I joined the jazz band. Post-graduation too. I still do some freelance jazz stuff, but definitely not as much as I used to. Drums have always been my main instrument. I play some piano and guitar. And I have written songs, but never really done anything like professionally except for drums,” Cory relates.
“The band right before this band, was like a jump blues outfit out of the Bay Area called the Alpha Rhythm Kings. It was a midpoint between swing and rock and roll. There’s a lot of heavy backbeat, but with jazz chords and jazz instrumentation. I was in that for a couple of years in San Francisco. But it’s the kind of band where everyone drives to the gig themselves, and everyone splits the money equally. It’s not like a long-term project for the rest of the musicians. It’s like one guy’s project that he just hires people for,” Grave recollects, pit stopping at Blackwell’s Corner.
“We’re going to Mammoth, but they’ve had, nine feet of snow and all the roads in Tahoe are closed. So we’re doing the south route through Bakersfield,” Graves adds.
Kellen Coffis
“We had plans to make a record with Tim Bluhm back in 2018. And just kind of coincidentally, right around that time, we had signed with Blue Rose Music. So we made two records with Blue Rose. So I’ve done three with Tim and we just spent a week at his house working on another one with him, which should be our seventh record. And this new project’s fun because we were just at his house for five days, doing it all there. Usually we’ve gone to a bigger studio and that has some benefits too. We just knew we wanted to be in a smaller room, and a smaller space. His house he’s turned it into a great studio and we could all be there together. And, it was a really good week,” says Kellen, who also does a public river trip with Bluhm in Idaho each year (August 15–20, 2026).
Tim Bluhm — producer
Known primarily as the lead singer in the beloved Bay Area band, The Mother Hips, Bluhm is also a producer who has helped bands like Jackie Greene, Hot Buttered Rum, Dave Brogan, and Little Wings. Bluhm is currently finishing up his latest collaboration with The Coffis Brothers, which was recorded in his home.
“I use my ears and I listen, and I watch and I get to know the band, and sort of make a determination of what they’re doing. I judge if it could be better and how it could be better. I also think how I can possibly empower them to be better. And it’s tricky to do.
All of us musicians, any artist, even at 24 years old, has already put a bunch of time into refining their craft and finding their voice as a singer and as a songwriter and as a guitar player. And so it requires some discretion and delicacy to try to get the best out of somebody without irritating them, or pissing them off too much. I mean, I’m bound to do it. Making records has a lot of things about it that are irritating. And the key is to work through those things. And hopefully, as a producer, I can get a little more out of somebody without them really realizing it or without them turning on me, thinking I’m a control freak. It’s so subjective. You have to be careful,” says Bluhm.
Aidan Collins — bass
Growing up in Sonoma County, in the Santa Rosa to Sebastopol area, where the morning fog rolls in low and evaporates by noon, Aidan seemed destined to find The Coffis Brothers.
“I went to a rehearsal at their house in Ben Lomond and I met their parents for the first time and that kind of sealed the deal for me, because their parents were so sweet and kind and they reminded me a lot of my parents. As well as other people’s parents that I grew up with. There’s a lot of crossover between the Santa Cruz Boomer generation and the Sonoma County one,” says Collins, just about to unload for another show.
When one steps back and takes a look at The Coffis Brothers, it becomes apparent that some members have a better idea of fashion. Collins stands out with his iconic laid-back look, looking like he stepped out of a photo shoot from the 1960s.
“It’s changed over the years, but I like clothes. I know what I like and I like dressing a certain way. I think it’s a really important part of when you walk on stage. At least for me, it’s a part of the deal to put on something that makes you feel confident and comfortable and makes you feel like you belong on that stage. So I try to think about that. Honestly, Kyle and I feed off of each other because he’ll get a jacket or a shirt, and I’ll think like, that’s a cool shirt. If I ever see one of those in the wild, I’m going to pick one up too,” Collins admits.
The Mountain Men
Mountain ranges have always been considered holy. From the Himalayas to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia, to the Sierra Nevada mountains of the great Northwest of California, mountains are known as the heart of the world. The axis mundi. What the world revolves around.
The Coffis Brothers world, all five members, in increasing and varying degrees, have revolved around similar ethos and tastes in music. Their trove of songs are cut from the same bolt of fabric as the Everly Brothers, the Beatles, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
With six albums under their collective belt, a new one in the wings, and reaching bigger stages by touring with (UCSC’s) troubadour John Craigie, The Coffis Brothers are scaling the heights one step at a time and are ready for their next opportunity.
Coffis Space 4 happens on Saturday, March 21st at 8:00pm at Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. Tickets are $30 and available at moesalley.com
More info at coffisbrothers.com
