Reviving San Diego's Rock Renaissance
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Here are two parts of an uncompleted song trilogy I wrote for the Amazons, the acoustic band I was in until I left San Francisco in April 2001.
I always liked the weird anti-heroes and losers in Greek mythology, two of whom figure in “Tales of Brave Procrustes” and “Roll Like Sisyphus.” (I always intended to write that third one about Icarus, mainly so I could be the first songwriter I know to get the word “heliocentric” into a lyric.)
(David Rinck freaks out to a Moon Age daydream.)
NOTE: This post works best if you slip on Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust album and cue up the tune “Soul Love” as you read it.
That tune, “Soul Love,” always takes my mind to a hip London of the very early ’70s, a sleepy, happy, self-contented London where hippies happily ate organic alfalfa sprouts in little cafes, and men wore frocks, complacently proud of having created and survived the ’60s, and looking forward to wallowing in their achievements spreading peace and love ad infinitum. The war was protested, the pot was plentiful, and everybody’s hair was down to his or her ass.
But it’s actually an unsuspecting London, on the eve of the explosion that was Glam, and then the firestorm of punk rock.
Read moreDIY: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust
and the Punk Rockers from San Diego
Thomas Yearsley, founding bass player for the Paladins, suffered misfortune Monday night and faces the medical-insurance woes of far too many working musicians. Click here to go to a site set up to help him get on his feet financially — and catch some music at a number of benefit shows.
“Thomas Yearsley, longtime bass player of The Paladins, was hit by a train on the evening of August 16 while trying to save his dog from the same,” reports the Help Thomas Yearsley site. “He was Life-Flighted away to Scripps Hospital in La Jolla, Calif., although he should be discharged by now. He suffered a broken leg and other injuries; unfortunately his dog Swango didn’t survive.
Here’s another chance to compare notes a few decades down the road.
After a slightly meandering start, my adult career has proceeded quite nicely. I get to do interesting work, and (in the big picture) I’ve progressively been given more authority over it. My employers trust me to lead teams of people and try new ideas.
Learning about what you’ve been up to over the past couple of decades, it sounds like a lot of you have found jobs you like and are good at — and a disproportionate number have started your own businesses, from restaurants to barber shops.
For myself, it’s not just hyperbole to say I gained more fundamental career skills playing music with you folks than I did in the classroom. Here are a few lessons I picked up:
(If you missed the opening festivities July 30 at the Che Underground Rock-‘n’-Roll Weekend, Dave Doyle invites you to join him and fellow photographer Sean McMullen for the closing of their joint show. Event photography by Kymri Wilt.)
As is often said, all good things must come to an end, and art exhibits are no exception. So in celebration of our first exhibition together, Sean and I thought it would be fun to close it with another party.
We will be hosting a simple reception at Lestat’s Coffee House on August 28 around 7:30. Then afterwards any willing adults are welcome to the Ould Sod for drinks, merriment and pontification on all things art, politics or whatnot. Lestat’s is child friendly, so feel free to bring your offspring or someone else’s.
For many of the participants in this blog, our involvement with San Diego music ended with our wholesale departure from San Diego. A large contingent of us decamped first to San Francisco, and we now make our homes in places like Seattle, Oregon, New York, Boston, Wisconsin and Haiti.
That means the string of Che Underground gigs we’ve hosted in San Diego (including May 2009 and January and July 2010) marked the first time in more than two decades that many of our musicians have played in front of a hometown crowd.
One of the highlights of our Che Underground showcase at San Diego’s Casbah Jan. 30, 2010, was the 20-year reunion of the city’s pioneering alt-rockers the Town Criers.
And adding to the Penetrators theme of the festivities, Gary Heffern (frontman for that legendary band) flew in from Finland to join the band in a rare San Diego guest appearance.
First off, here’s the Town Criers performing “My Baby Left Me,” written by Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup and performed by Elvis Presley, among others. The lineup fueling this first performance in more than two decades included Ray Brandes (vocals, guitar); Mark Zadarnowksi (bass); David Klowden (drums); and Peter Miesner (lead guitar).
The Che Underground officially entered its second generation Friday, July 30, when Graziela Damian joined the Comeuppance onstage at Lestat’s Coffee House during the Che Underground Rock-‘n’-Roll Weekend.
The daughter of Lou Damian and Charisse Sciuva graced us last year at the post-picnic for Che Games for May with an a capella rendition of Love’s “You Set the Scene.” This year, Graziela returned with this beautiful rendition of the Velvet Underground’s “Sunday Morning.”
Read moreThe Comeuppance with Graziela Damian:
“Sunday Morning”
(Paul Kaufman flew in from Massachusetts to taste the fury of the Che Underground Rock-‘n’-Roll Weekend July 30 and 31. Here are Paul’s impressions, accompanied by photos from Sean McMullen and Kymri Wilt.)
After an early-morning cross-country flight, I was somewhat worse for wear by the time 9pm rolled around on Friday, July 30, but I didn’t want to miss this!
It had probably been around 20 years since I had been down Adams Avenue. Normal Heights is heavily transformed from the residential neighborhood I remembered, with many new restaurants and shops. The center of the action is Lestat’s gallery, coffee shop and nightclub. A big marquee announces the Che Underground show! In addition to the musicians themselves, lots of blog stars are there: Kristen Tobiason; Chris Mathis; and of course tonight’s MC, Lou Damian.
First fruits of the Che Underground Rock-‘n’-Roll Weekend: Days after we posted about a video featuring “Prison Walls” from the Injections’ seminal 1980 single, the DaveFest Four put its own spin on the song at Lestat’s Coffee House on San Diego’s Adams Ave.
Dave Fleminger, who provides vocals and guitar on the track, describes the inspiration for the DaveFest Four’s version of “Prison Walls”: