INOHA, a four-piece group whose members are in their early 20s, begins a two-month tour this weekend. The band will travel across the United States, from the East Coast to the West Coast, with stops in Canada along the way.
The tour follows the release of This Might Be Useful, the band's second full-length album, produced by Chris "Frenchie" Smith and released earlier this month.
Lead guitarist and vocalist Gavin Gonzalez and bassist and vocalist Chris Young recently joined Texas Public Radio's Kory Cook in the studio to talk about the band's new music, its evolution as a recording group, and what it's like to build an audience in the streaming era.
From living-room songwriting to a new sound
INOHA released its first full-length album, ALOHA INOJA, in 2024. The band members wrote those songs together in lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Keanu Bicol's living room.
The process was different for This Might Be Useful. Bicol, Young and drummer Ricky Juarez developed basic song structures and recorded demos. Gonzalez then took the material into the studio with the band's producer, working on arrangements and sending the results back to his bandmates.
The collaboration helped the group develop a more defined musical identity.
“It's the kind of sounds we want in an album,” Young said. “We've refined our sound.”
The album follows several years of growth for the San Antonio band. In 2024, their song “Seventh Heaven” went viral, helping bring INOHA a wider audience.
The group has since released additional singles, including “No Control,” “Pretty Curse,” “Are We Cool,” “Everything Is Nothing,” “Checking Out” and “Downpour.”
Making music for the streaming era
Many of INOHA's songs are short, energetic and built around the spirit of punk rock. Gonzalez said the band's decision to keep songs near the three-minute mark is intentional.
The group sometimes debates whether a song should be longer, he said, but streaming and social media have changed the way listeners discover music.
Gonzalez described INOHA as what its manager calls an “internet band.” The group once drew only about 20 people to a local show, he said, while its Instagram reels attracted millions of views and introduced their music to listeners around the world. That contrast has influenced the band's approach to songwriting.
“Keeping it under three minutes that has made us very streaming friendly, Instagram friendly, TikTok friendly,” Gonzalez said. “You can't really promote a song that's six minutes. Like people aren't going to sit through that. There's no attention span for that. Our phones have fried people's brains, and mine too.”
He acknowledged that the format can be frustrating when the musicians want to spend more time with a song.
But for INOHA, concise songs are part of adapting to the way people listen to music today.
“I think we've also gotten more concise about what we want to say in a song and what we want to show off. Like, especially with this album, we learned this is the kind of sound we want in an album. You know, we really debated on what kind of songs were going to be on here. We've refined our sound,” said Young.
Taking the new album on tour
INOHA's This Might Be Useful tour begins Saturday night at San Antonio's Paper Tiger. The band will then travel across the country and into Canada, bringing its new material to audiences outside its hometown.
Young said the band is eager to share the new album with listeners in person.
“We're just super excited to be on the road again and sharing this new project,” he said. “That's the biggest thing.”
For Gonzalez, the tour represents another step in the band's development.
“We're really excited about touring for this album to promote it, especially because we've been defined by ALOHA INOHA since its success. We feel that this is a natural step in our evolution and sound,” he said.
This Might Be Useful, released on September 4, 2026, is a power punch of 10 original songs, with plenty of rhythmic shifts, sharp and melodic guitar lines and honest, heartfelt lyrics that speak to multiple generations of listeners.
INOHA's current lineup includes Bicol on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Gonzalez on lead guitar and vocals, Young on bass and vocals, and Juarez on drums.
The band has released two full-length albums, two EPs and 10 singles. Its EPs include The Next Stop, released in 2023, and Chance 2 Dance, released in 2025.
The new tour gives INOHA an opportunity to take its evolving sound beyond San Antonio, where the band began, and connect with the listeners who have discovered their music online and around the world.
