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Written by Max Bennett, Photographed by \u00a0Marisa Stancroff, Graphic design by Dan Scott Forreal<\/p>\n
A new music project from the minds behind now-defunct regional acts Weekender<\/b><\/span><\/a> and Miscomunicado<\/b><\/span><\/a> is set to arrive this spring\u2014and its debut album has been more than two decades in the making.<\/p>\n Derek Sheehan and Dan Scott Forreal make up the Philadelphia-area\u2019s newest psychedelic rock outfit, Kewl Haze<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n The duo is planning a spring 2026 release for their debut album, Suburban Sherpa<\/i>, and has already unveiled its first single, \u201cUsed to Have It All,\u201d now streaming across all major platforms.<\/p>\n While the project officially began with demo-trading between coasts in 2020\u2014and gained momentum after Forreal relocated back to the western Philadelphia suburbs\u2014its roots stretch much further back, to the West Chester music boom of the early 2000s. That era was fueled by DIY venues, skate culture, and the national rise of local legends CKY<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the skate crews and the music crews, it didn\u2019t matter how old you were.\u201d<\/i> \u2014 Dan Scott Forreal<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cI played my first show in sixth grade,\u201d Forreal said. \u201cIn high school, it was like, \u2018freshmen don\u2019t hang out with seniors.\u2019 But with the skate crews and the music crews, it didn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n Sheehan was on a similar path. His first show came around the same age.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were all playing at different DIY venues in West Chester and up and down the Main Line,\u201d Sheehan said. \u201cDowningtown, pretty much all the way to Philly\u2014we were playing shows from middle school through high school.\u201d<\/p>\n Both musicians were deeply embedded in the local skate and punk scenes, circling one another in different bands but never collaborating directly\u2014aside from occasionally sharing bills. Ironically, both were drummers, one of the most in-demand roles in any local scene.<\/p>\n \u201cWe never actually played together, never actually collaborated on anything.\u201d<\/i> \u2014 Dan Scott Forreal<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n After graduating from Great Valley High School, Sheehan went to college. Forreal followed three years later, eventually dropping out to form Miscomunicado in 2011 before relocating to Colorado. Sheehan continued playing in various projects before forming Weekender in 2013.<\/p>\n Forreal later moved to Los Angeles, where the two reconnected\u2014initially from opposite coasts.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were keeping tabs on each other\u2019s music,\u201d Forreal said. \u201cOf our high school scene, we were the only two who went the psych-rock route.\u201d<\/p>\n That shared trajectory led to idea-swapping and, eventually, an in-person jam session in 2018 when Forreal returned east.<\/p>\n Their first true collaboration became \u201cDeep Breathing,\u201d the opening track on Suburban Sherpa<\/i>\u2014a hybrid of a song Sheehan had previously written and their first co-written piece.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first track on the album is basically a remix,\u201d Sheehan said. \u201cI always told Dan it\u2019s really fuckin\u2019 weird\u2014but also fitting.\u201d<\/p>\n After Forreal moved back to the Malvern area, the duo wrote \u201cUsed to Have It All.\u201d Initially, the plan was to release a short EP.<\/p>\n That plan quickly dissolved.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just kept writing. We kept expanding our boundaries artistically.\u201d<\/i> \u2014 Derek Sheehan<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Among the album\u2019s more unexpected influences, Forreal cites Mac Miller<\/b><\/span><\/a> and Wu-Tang Clan<\/b><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWith Wu-Tang, it\u2019s the drums,\u201d he said. \u201cWith Mac Miller, it\u2019s more the production approach and songwriting techniques.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite its psychedelic rock foundation, Kewl Haze resists genre confinement\u2014something both members felt limited their earlier projects.<\/p>\n \u201cThose bands had to live in very specific lanes. This one doesn\u2019t.\u201d<\/i> \u2014 Derek Sheehan<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Their production approach often pulls from specific instrument tones rather than wholesale stylistic borrowing.<\/p>\n \u201cYou might be writing a dream-pop song but want the drums to sound like Queens of the Stone Age<\/b><\/span><\/a>, while the guitar feels more like The Cranberries<\/b><\/span><\/a>,\u201d Sheehan said.<\/p>\n Yet the result never sounds fragmented.<\/p>\n \u201cOne thing that helps is that each of us has a very distinct sound,\u201d Sheehan said.<\/p>\n A defining element of Suburban Sherpa<\/i> is how the tracks were recorded\u2014often chasing the spontaneity of late-night inspiration.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes there\u2019s just magic in that take.\u201d<\/i> \u2014 Derek Sheehan<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cThat first take at 12:30 in the morning\u2014we were wasted, tripping, deep in the creative zone,\u201d Sheehan said.<\/p>\n Of course, that risk comes with uncertainty.<\/p>\n \u201cYou listen back the next day and think, \u2018That sucked,\u2019\u201d he laughed. \u201cOr you realize it was better than you thought.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that\u2019s the take,\u201d Forreal added.<\/p>\n With the album complete and awaiting its spring 2026 release, Kewl Haze is assembling a live band and dialing in gear.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know the song, but you don\u2019t know how it\u2019s going to unfold.\u201d<\/i> \u2014 Dan Scott Forreal<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Several musicians have expressed interest in joining the live lineup, with rehearsals expected soon. And while fans shouldn\u2019t expect note-for-note recreations of the album, improvisation will be central to the live experience.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s more magic when the live version becomes its own thing,\u201d Sheehan said.<\/p>\n Forreal pointed to the Grateful Dead<\/b><\/span><\/a> as a guiding philosophy.<\/p>\n Suburban Sherpa<\/i> arrives spring 2026 via Paper Cup Music and will be available on vinyl and all major streaming platforms.<\/p>\n Kewl Haze<\/p>\n Website<\/a>,\u00a0Spotify<\/a>,\u00a0Apple Music<\/a>,\u00a0Soundcloud<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>,\u00a0TikTok<\/a>,\u00a0YouTube<\/a>,\u00a0Bandcamp<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\nFrom West Chester\u2019s DIY Scene to a Long-Awaited Collaboration<\/b><\/h2>\n
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Parallel Paths That Nearly Crossed<\/b><\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nDiscovering a Shared Psychedelic Vision<\/b><\/h2>\n
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Refusing to Be Boxed Into a Single Sound<\/b><\/h2>\n
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Capturing the Magic of the Moment in the Studio<\/b><\/h2>\n
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Bringing Kewl Haze to the Stage<\/b><\/h2>\n\n