San Diego Music Hall of Fame®

Inducted 2025

Swami John Reis is one of the most influential figures in San Diego’s music history—a guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, producer, radio host, and scene-shaper whose career spans four decades and multiple genre-defining bands–and he does it all with his signature swagger. 

Born and raised in San Diego, Reis emerged in the late 1980s as a key architect of the city’s thriving underground punk and alternative rock scene. As a founding member of Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu, Rocket from the Crypt, Hot Snakes, and The Night Marchers, his impact on post-hardcore, garage rock, and indie music is both local and global.