Don’t fight the current, just float with the music of Riptide

With nostalgic tunes, powerful harmonies and an easy banter, the members of the musical duo Riptide hit the ground running after being introduced more than six years ago. 

“We were both playing in other duos at the time, but for various reasons, we both found ourselves needing partners at the same time,” said Dave Penic, who with Julie Rogelstad make up Riptide.

After being introduced by the owner of the winery Koi Zen Cellars in San Diego, where they both had performed, they later met and played together for an hour.  

They hit the ground running two weeks later when the same winery owner asked them to play, and they literally haven’t stopped since, performing not only at several venues in Ramona, but all over San Diego.   

The music of the band, booked to the end of 2026, encompasses a wide range of eras and genres. 

“Our music is a smorgasbord,” said Rogelstad. “We play Bruno Mars to Metallica to Dolly Parton, just a variety of songs from pop to rock to country.”

“We cover everything from the Beatles to the things you hear on the radio right now,”  Penic said. 

When choosing songs, the pair focuses on harmonies. 

They might add their own twist, such as adding harmonies to songs that don’t have any, Penic said.

“Dave can play anything; he can do anything because nothing is impossible for him,” Rogelstad said. “He is always willing to try something new and we do songs most people won’t consider doing as a duo.”

On the surface, the duo might appear to have differing styles. Rogelstad lived in New York for 22 years, performing musical theater, while Penic was mostly self taught. 

“I’m the crafting side and she’s the more mellow part,” Penic said. Rogelstad joked back, “He’s the rip and I’m the tide.”

Penic plays guitar, and is often content to let Rogelstad perform without his vocals. 

“We know so many songs that we have a lot of choices and can cater to the venue and the audience,” she said. 

While they consistently play at several wineries, they also perform at private events to larger gigs for Sharp Hospital and the San Diego Yacht Club Club. 

Although she grew up in nearby Poway, Rogelstad said she “used to twirl baton in the Ramona grades from age 2 1/3 to about 6 1/2.”

By age 6, she was singing in a church choir, which grew to musicals at church and her middle school and continued throughout high school.  She was so enamored of the lifestyle that she moved to New York after high school. 

“From the time I was 19 it was nonstop,” she said about performing regional theater and experiencing several close calls for Broadway shows. 

From 1997 to 2000, Rogelstad sang on cruise ships, taking breaks in 1993 and 1995 for national tours of the show “Zorba.” 

Her mother moved to Ramona in the late 1990s and both her sisters moved to town after that.

She eventually moved back to San Diego when she was 41, after deciding she didn’t want to be away from her family for the rest of her life. 

Rogelstad moved to Ramona with her boyfriend of 12 years, Peter Zaayer, three cats and a dog, in 2024, after coming regularly to the town since she was 2.

When not performing, she is owner of two locations of Julie’s Spotlight Skincare, one at Artistry in Hair and another in Carmel Mountain. 

“For me, music is a creative outlet. I have some anxiety, and it’s like free therapy,” Rogelstad said. 

She also takes Pilates several times a week, and has game nights with her family each month. 

An engineering director at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems by day, Penic has lived in the Poway hills with his wife, Tracy Achten-Penic, and their cat for the past 12 years. Their sons, Nick “Nico” and Ryan Penic live in Oklahoma after graduating from university there.

Penic said he learned to read music from his years in band and classes in elementary school. He began playing classical guitar at age 12, and by the time he was in his late teens was already performing in multiple bands. 

Although he occasionally still sits in for other bands, for the past 10 years he said he prefers to be part of a duo.

“I love the stripped down sound of just two voices and the guitar. We don’t use a bunch of effects — what we play and sing is what you get,” Penic said.

When not performing, he enjoys spending time with his family, working out at the gym, and playing music for himself, adding that he is learning to play the piano for future gigs.

They are surprised but pleased with their successes, and have recently turned their hand to writing and producing new songs. 

“We both want free time and travel, but having regular work is a nice change of pace from chasing gigs,” Penic said.

Upcoming events for Riptide include Koi Zen Cellars, 12225 World Trade Drive, San Diego on Sept. 13, from 5 to 8 p.m.; The Roadies Brewing Company, 1495 Poinsettia Ave Unit 148, Vista, with Ashley E. Norton on Sept. 14, from 3 to 6 p.m.

Also, Smoking Cannon Brewery, 780 Main St., on Sept. 20, from 6 to 8 p.m.; Fast Times, 3065 Clairemont Dr., San Diego, on Sept 24, from 6 to 8 p.m. and Domaine Artefact Winery, 15406 Highland Valley Road, Escondido, on Sept. 26, from 2 to 4 p.m. 

For more information, visit Riptide San Diego on Facebook and Instagram.