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Then and now: Rock Palace

December 14, 2017September 9, 2008 by admin

(Roving correspondent/photographer Kristen Tobiason surveys the remains of Rock Palace, which enjoyed a brief mid-’80s run of all-ages fun. “The stretch of El Cajon Boulevard sandwiched between I-805 and the I-15 is a desert of boarded-up, abandoned buildings dotted with a few small neighborhood repair shops or used-car lots. The Rock Palace structure has been dead since the ’80s, when completion of I-15 isolated the neighborhood.” Wallflowers frontman Dave Rinck recalls its heyday.)

Someone, somehow, sometime about 1984 or 1985 discovered what must have been an old ballroom above some dingy retail shops on El Cajon Boulevard. [Editor’s note: Contemporary flyers tell us the address was 3465 El Cajon Blvd.] In its day, it must have been a grand olde place, for it had a really high ceiling; wonderful wooden floors; and this really huge, creaky old stage at one end.

Detail: Rock Palace exterior, early ’80s (collection Jeff Benet) And what? Yes, we also noticed that a couple of guys were starting to promote rock-‘n’-roll concerts there in that grand old ballroom. Dubious? Yes, it reeked of money laundering. Manuel Noriega, the Cali Cartel, some Burmese generals, and the Taliban were probably running the place jointly. Of course before you could say “Lose sleep, baby, and stay away from bed,” these dudes had demo tapes of various Che Underground bands in their hot little hands, and the era of the Rock Palace was on!!!

The Gravedigger V in flyers

January 1, 2011September 8, 2008 by admin

Another Che Underground archivist joins the ranks, as dancing fool-turned-Spain-based sail stitcher Tom Goddard weighs in with a disc of fabulous flyers and photos from the Tell-Tale Hearts, the Morlocks and more.

Today’s installment marks the first flyers in our collection from the Gravedigger V, the short-lived but hugely influential group who tore it up in 1984, recorded one great album and presaged the Morlocks. (I like the flyer dedicated to Tom’s sister Suzie by GDV drummer Dave “Peter Criss” Anderson, who also created both flyers.)

The Tell-Tale Hearts: Go east, young men!

January 1, 2011September 6, 2008 by admin

(Ray Brandes’ account of their Midwest tour, undertaken in January of 1985, originally appeared on the liner notes to the Tell-Tale Hearts’ “Live Volume II: Later That Same Night in Springfield” album, released with Volume I in 1997 on Corduroy Records, Australia.)

“Mad” Jon McKinney, tour promoter extraordinaire and proprietor of the Primitive A–Go-Go, Springfield, Missouri’s, first- and last-ever sixties garage-punk nightclub, had a dream: to turn Downtown Springfield into Swinging London. He called, and we answered.

Though I had long ago learned the secret of keeping my expectations low in order to always be pleasantly surprised, I must admit that my first real journey beyond the confines of California (which began ominously with the rear-view mirror vision of my sleeping bag flying away from the luggage rack somewhere near Gila Bend, Arizona), tested the limits of the depths to which those expectations could sink. In January of 1985, in the midst of one of the worst winter storms on record, a rented Dodge Caravan containing little more than two guitars, a Vox Continental organ, several harmonicas, a few broken maracas, a tambourine and five young travelers made its way east towards its destination: the mythical Midwestern city of Springfield, Missouri.

Here comes the ocean … And the waves

June 30, 2009September 4, 2008 by admin

While Che Underground regulars might think of sooty basements, Beatle boots and bottomless cups of coffee as pillars of San Diego history, most of the world makes simpler associations: There’s the zoo; Tijuana; and above all, the beach.

Time to draw the most glaring fact of San Diego geography into our memory exercise. Living in Encinitas, the Pacific Ocean to me was the definitive point of reference when plotting my movements (an absolute I miss in twisty Essex County, New Jersey). It was also the site of some memorable parties, and occasionally I even made it into the water! But it also scared me a little, and I never felt like I understood it the way a lot of other kids did.

Then and now: The Ken Cinema

January 1, 2011September 3, 2008 by admin

(Roving correspondent/ photographer Kristen Tobiason revisits and documents the scenes of our youth. Today, the Ken Cinema keeps it real!)

The Ken is the last of its kind. Most neighborhood theaters couldn’t cut the mustard as costs to run a neighborhood movie house skyrocketed in the early ’90s with the encroachment of digital projection and a hostile takeover by corporate multiplex theaters.

“The Ken opened in 1912,” the Cinema Treasures Web site tells us. “The theater was remodeled in 1947 by S. Charles Lee in Art Moderne style, and was restored in 1975 after being taken over by the Landmark chain as a showcase for foreign features.”

The first time I saw a film at the Ken (4061 Adams Ave.) was in 1981. In those years, the format was free-form and eclectic, serving foreign-language enthusiasts and cult-film buffs alike. The feature changed frequently, every day or so, from “8 1/2” to “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” to “Rear Window.” The Ken gave me my cinematic education and formed my tastes and preferences in film. Often it was like a big party, rowdy and interactive — I remember the row of scooters parked out front for “Quadrophenia.”

The Answers: “Annual”

January 21, 2018September 2, 2008 by admin

(Answers guitarist/vocalist Dave Fleminger discusses the genesis of another crucial track made more poignant by the years.)

The Answers, “Annual,” recorded at Ewing’s SoundTech studios, one of 13 songs recorded one day in February 1983.

I originally wrote this song in advance of receiving my high-school annual. Even before I got the book I didn’t want to read it … I was already trying to form a picture of how my connections with my friends and classmates would last over time and how I would view that period of my life in retrospect … And now in retrospect, I see this more as a way to disassociate rather than feel and experience the process.

Hair Theatre: “Rolling Soul”

June 30, 2009August 31, 2008 by admin

From the same 1983 Lab Studios demo that brought us “Nightfall,” here’s Hair Theatre performing “Rolling Soul,” another signature number and staple of the band’s early-’80s repertoire. This track showcases the clean confidence of Hair Theatre’s early years and highlights the sophistication and charisma that vocalist/ songwriter Sergio demonstrated by age 18.

It also commemorates the collaborative skills of Sergio and Answers co-founder Dave Fleminger (demonstrated elsewhere with a recording of Sergio’s “He’s Calling You Tonight.”) “Sergio and I wrote that song one afternoon at [original Hair Theatre drummer Howard Palmer’s Carlsbad] shack,” Fleminger recalls. “The song was part of the expanded ‘3 Daves’ Answers sets, including our ‘Painted Sun’ gig opening for the Unclaimed at the UCSD Rec Gym” April 14, 1984.

Read moreHair Theatre: “Rolling Soul”

How I spent my summer vacation

January 1, 2011August 29, 2008 by admin

OK, here’s a seasonal palate-cleanser to help connect the dots between then and now: A while back, I asked what the you of 1983 would have to say about the you of 2008 if you could meet. As we close in on Labor Day, what would You 1983 think of the way you spent summer 2008?

Thanks to abundant free-lance opportunities, I was able to enjoy real summer flex time for the first time since I started working office jobs 20 years ago. We explored New York neighborhood by neighborhood and capped off the summer with a trip to the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, home of Dollywood. (My younger self would appreciate the urban cool of the former and the camp appeal of the latter, but he’d be amused at the planning it takes to orchestrate forays for a family of four. Don’t you just, like, get in the car? And if he could hear me scolding the kids, he’d probably want to kick me.)

Your turn: We want to know what you did this summer!

Rolling with the Nashville Ramblers

March 27, 2019August 28, 2008 by admin

(Gravedigger V/Nashville Ramblers bass player Tom Ward peruses the Cyndie Jaynes Photo Collection for stories behind the photos.)

Among Cyndie Jaynes’ photos, I recognize a subset of black-and-white images from the Cavern Club, Hollywood, in 1985. My old band the Nashville Ramblers is featured in the pictures. These particular photos show us in our earliest phase.

The lead photo of the subset captures a once-ever moment: [guitarist/vocalist] Carl Rusk and me onstage with Claudia Brandes. She made a guest appearance with us to sing—as best Carl, [drummer/vocalist] Ron Silva and I can recall—a cover of Manfred Mann’s 1964 pop hit, “Do Wah Diddy.”

The equipment we are using is our 1985 gear, and you can just barely see a Vox Essex amplifier peeking out of the photo. Carl is using the first of several Hagstrom guitars that he would employ, a pale blue one that may have come from or gone to Ron Silva. My bass here is a 1966 Framus Star bass.

The Rockin’ Dogs: “Bye Bye Bye”

January 1, 2011August 26, 2008 by admin

“OK, now we’re diggin’ into the archives!” writes Rockin’ Dog Dave Ellison of “Bye Bye Bye,” the latest stellar Dogs single and earliest Dogs recording to join our hit parade.

“This is from the historic Rockin’ Dogs San Marcos Sessions, featuring the earlier lineup of Sam Wilson on guitar/vocals; Dave Ellison on bass/vocals; Jim Meisland on guitar; and Scott Nichols (a k a Scott Slob) on drums.

“In 1982, we had a rented practice room in a metal building in San Marcos, which was owned by Vietnam vet auto mechanics. They used to work on cars in that building all night long. We used to practice until late at night, and they gradually grew tired of our racket and evicted us.