Reviving San Diego's Rock Renaissance
(Ray Brandes provides a brief history of a new band with a long San Diego history.)
The Secret Squares: pleased to make your acquaintance!
The Secret Squares is a musical project that has its origins in Gary’s Kids, a band assembled to back Gary Heffern on a solo performance at the Casbah in January 2019, and The Wrecktangle, which performed once at the Che Underground’s Leap Year show at the Riviera Supper Club, mere days before the world went into quarantine in March 2020.
As The Loons prepare for their Feb. 19 appearance at The Casbah San Diego for A Che Underground Midwinter Masque, lead singer Mike Stax reflects on how he and the rest of the band — Chris Cancelliere, Chris Marsteller, Marc Schroeder and Anja Stax — have kept their collaboration fresh despite pandemic pressures.
Navigating the lockdown as a band was strange.
I know some other bands were anxious to stay “relevant” and felt the need to release new music or new videos to remind people of their existence. We never felt compelled to do that.
We figured that everybody was preoccupied with a potentially life-threatening global pandemic — that raised uncertainty about their income, their health, their families, their futures — and the last thing on their minds would be whether or not the Loons had any new music to share. So we went about our lives, and took care of our families and didn’t fret about staying “relevant.”
Friday was always the Loons’ practice night, so during the lockdown Fridays nights were Loons Zoom meetings. We’d spend two, three, four hours hanging out on camera, having some laughs, catching up on the previous week’s news and of course talking about music. So even though we weren’t playing music, we still felt bonded as a band.
David Rinck shares a recent interview about the etymology of his band The Goldfingers. Featuring Eric Bacher (guitar), Kinch Degrate (keyboards), Dave Doyle (bass) and Matt Johnson (drums), The Goldfingers will rip it up at Casbah San Diego Feb. 19 for A Che Underground Midwinter Masque.
AMR Reporter Doug Faride caught up with Goldfingers rhythm guitarist and vocalist Dave Goldfinger in his native San Diego. What he learned about the origins of the band and their plans for the future are revealed here in this exclusive interview. These guys are definitely shaken, but not stirred in the least!
AMR: So, when I mention the Goldfingers, a lot of people say, “Yeah, I’m not that familiar with their music, but I do know the name.” Why do you think that is?
DG: Well, it’s the name of a James Bond movie.
AMR: Really? Is that true?
DG: Yeah, it’s like the third Bond film, with Sean Connery.
AMR: Oh wow, okay. So why did you pick that one?
DG: Well, a lot of the other the films wouldn’t make good band names. Like, if we called ourselves “The Spies Who Loved Me” or “The Men with the Golden Gun,” that would be lame.
Read moreShaken, not stirred: The Goldfingers at A Che Underground Midwinter Masque
During its short-but-storied run in 1983, The Mystery Machine brought together some of San Diego’s most talented young musicians — but left little audio evidence in its wake. That historical record has just been corrected: A freshly pressed Mystery Machine EP is available now at the Ugly Things webstore!
The limited-edition run comprises 500 copies: three hundred pressed on black vinyl and priced at $10, and 100 each in green and orange, priced at $12 for either color. The EP features a remastered version of “She’s Not Mine,” an original written by singer/guitarist Carl Rusk that was first released in 1984 as part of Bomp Records’ Battle of the Garages Volume 3 and also appeared on 1994 compilation The Roots of Powerpop!
Side Two features two songs recorded in 2012: “Wood and Smoke,” written by vocalist Ray Brandes, and a cover of The Free-For-All’s “Show Me the Way.” The sleeve was designed by fellow San Diego legend Darren Grealish and includes two full-color postcards and liner notes by Mike Stax.
Come get your copy signed by Ray and Carl at A Che Underground Midwinter Masque Feb. 18, when Carl performs with The Nashville Ramblers and Ray teams up with The Secret Squares!
Mark ye well: A neat two years since “A Che Underground Leap Night Showcase,” the tribes will gather again in February 2022 for an effervescent weekend of mirth and music.
“A Che Underground Midwinter Masque,” Feb. 18 and Feb. 19 at The Casbah San Diego, will feature legends of the San Diego scene and beyond.
Fancy dress is highly encouraged but not required. (Stay tuned for costume contest details.)
And check out this boffo lineup (with more names to come)!
Read moreMark your calendars for ‘A Che Underground Midwinter Masque’!
Che Underground: The Blog has been graced over the years by the generosity of contributors who documented our scene back in the analog days, before a sea of smartphones captured every event.
From the late Cyndie Jaynes to Harold Gee to Jason Seibert to Juni Bravo to Margarat Nee and on and on — including a number of key contributors who’ve requested anonymity — this archive is built on the photos, video, audio, flyers and other artifacts of an incredibly creative community.
Add to the ranks David J. Watkins, whose recent house move unearthed a treasure trove of photographs we look forward to sharing in coming months.
Read moreTell-Tale Hearts from the David J. Watkins Archives
Scholars of San Diego music agree: The Che Underground might have happened without Jerry Cornelius, but it wouldn’t have been happening.
Jerry was a catalyst, MC, artist and style guru associated with The Answers, The Wallflowers, The Morlocks, and related acts. On Feb. 29, he returned to a San Diego stage for the first time in 35 years. The event was “A Che Underground Leap Night Showcase,” and he deftly led San Diego supergroup The Cooler Heads.
This video presents the Heads’ slinky and sizzling version of Magazine’s “Shot by Both Sides.”
Read moreJerry Cornelius’ Cooler Heads: ‘Shot by Both Sides’
Most rock-‘n’-roll historians know San Diego’s Che Underground scene as a mad scientist’s lab for musical experiments at the top of the ’80s.
Named for notable shows they staged at UC San Diego’s Che Café — but active across the region — the bands of the Che Underground brought together artists steeped in punk, psychedelia, garage and more. Throwing their influences into a high-speed blender, bands like The Answers, Hair Theatre, Noise 292, The Rockin’ Dogs, The Tell-Tale Hearts and the original SD Wallflowers provided a soundtrack for Southern California youth culture.
Four decades later, those musicians and artists continue to kick out the collective jams — and on Feb. 29, some of the best minds of that generation will stage a family reunion at the Riviera Supper Club & Turquoise Lounge for “A Che Underground Leap Night Showcase.” The night’s lineup of Che Underground supergroups will feature two stars of the scene who haven’t performed in San Diego for more than three decades: Jeremiah Cornelius and Tom Clarke.
As we prepare our Che Underground family reunion for Leap Night 2020, a highlight of this magnificent evening is a musical set fronted by by none other than Jeremiah Cornelius — back on a San Diego stage for the first time in decades.
Jerry Cornelius was a legendary presence on the scene: writing, illustrating, managing, MCing and otherwise setting the tone of the entire Che Underground. His taste was impeccable, and his influence extended across the bands of the era.
Check out the details of ‘A Che Undeground Leap Night Showcase’!
From Crawdaddy; to Tell-Tale Heart; to publisher of the definitive garage magazine Ugly Things; to author of Swim through the Darkness, the acclaimed 2016 biography of lost Los Angeles musical prodigy Craig Smith … Mike Stax requires no introduction here to establish his bona fides as a pillar of the San Diego music underground.
Nevertheless, I wanted to share the high of “Blue Ether,” the new single from the Loons, Mike’s main band since 1995.