Artifacts | The Che Underground

Get your Mystery Machine EP!

December 11, 2021 by Mmrothenberg

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!

The Dinettes serve up two long-lost videos

February 9, 2021February 9, 2021 by Mmrothenberg

In the mostly male redoubt of San Diego punk bands in the ’70s, The Dinettes were double-X pioneers when they formed in 1978 (originally under the name The Cockpits). Before they disbanded in 1980, The Dinettes appeared at local venues and even undertook two cross-country tours (the latter leading to their dissolution in Atlanta).

A 2017 reunion re-energized the band and the brand — and now a couple of videos offer new documentary evidence of The Dinettes at the turn of the ’80s.

Keyboardist Sue Delguidice reports, “I was fortunate to locate the Target Video film after years of searching, as I remember the video crew being there at the Deaf Club.”

Tuning in to the Trebels

February 8, 2021February 7, 2021 by Mmrothenberg

Trebels bassist Oscar Barajas provides a backgrounder, sounds and images for a band that took California by storm in the mid-’80s.

The first bass I bought was at Freedom Guitar in downtown San Diego, a Fender Precision copy. I couldn’t play a lick. Yet with time and a bit of practice, I became somewhat competent. What helped was some guitar chords and ditties I learned from my older brother Fernando.

Guitarist Xavier Anaya also picked up on the guitar and learned from his Tio Chato, an original Treble. The original Trebles were a popular outfit in Tijuana back in the ’60s and ’70s.

John Chilson was an instant pro at the drums the minute he picked up those sticks, a natural. Jay Wiseman fell in perfectly as singer and frontman.

The Trebels were born, a future of cops breaking up house parties because of our Maximum RnB; a wedding reception where we were bullied by the bride’s father (understandably so, looking back on it); a triumphant show at the White House in Imperial Beach; and thanks to our great friend Dan Holsenback, our most highly compensated gig — the graduation party for UC Davis Law School.

A Che Underground refresh: Ready for its closeup!

December 31, 2020 by Mmrothenberg

After a stint in rehab, Che Underground: The Blog emerges restored and refreshed, thanks to a year-long intervention by our own Jeremiah Cornelius!

Jerry has:

Untangled an overgrowth of outdated, damaged code;
Migrated the blog to a modern web host and an updated CMS;
And finally, reskinned the whole thing to allow readers to comment again and to avoid formatting snafus that had cropped up in recent years.

We’re going to be fixing links and outstanding formatting glitches in the coming weeks — so if you see something, say something (in the comments below)!

Tell-Tale Hearts from the David J. Watkins Archives

October 12, 2020October 11, 2020 by Mmrothenberg

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.

The original SD Wallflowers: ‘Funland’

February 19, 2020February 3, 2020 by Mmrothenberg

By popular demand, another Wallflowers classic from the recent Canadian airlift joins the Che Underground play list. Wallflowers lead singer Dave Rinck has famously referred to “Funland” as the “anthem” of the first Wallflowers lineup, and bassist Paul Howland writes of “Funland”: “That one is probably my single favorite Wallflowers tune. That one and ‘Rubber Room’ kind of cover the whole Wallflowers sound for me.”

“Pinball was quite important to the original Wallflowers,” Rinck writes. “We hung out in arcades a lot (especially Funland downtown, which inspired a song of the same name), and at one point I even acquired a pinball machine, which we played for 24-hour marathons.”

Listen to it now!

Hair Theatre, ‘What Should I Say’

January 15, 2022December 13, 2019 by Mmrothenberg

Sweeping onto the scene from northernmost San Diego County in 1983, Hair Theatre made its mark with a brand of American Gothic that was far ahead of its era.

This rare video of “What Should I Say” shows Hair Theatre at the peak of its power and offers a glimpse of the charisma that would make the band a legend among music cognoscenti.

The date was Dec. 28, 1984, and the venue was the Gaslamp Quarter Theater, where Hair Theatre appeared with Penguins Slept and Orange County’s Society.

The Rockin’ Dogs, ‘Bye Bye Bye’

December 12, 2019December 11, 2019 by Mmrothenberg

Looking for the origins of Poway’s legendary Rockin’ Dogs? Dating way back to 1982, “Bye Bye Bye” is the first studio demo from the band, featuring the original Dogs lineup.

Writes Rockin’ Dog Dave Ellison, “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.

The Loons: ‘Blue Ether’

February 11, 2018 by Mmrothenberg

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.

Hair Theatre opens for Devo at Iguana’s: The Juni Bravo archive

January 2, 2018January 2, 2018 by Mmrothenberg

An online discovery has created a new Che Underground mystery to solve.

I ran across this video of the mighty Hair Theatre playing Iguana’s in Tijuana. Now I want to know how it made its way to YouTube and who-all is on the other half-hour of tape!

Some clues:

The gig is dated Sept. 28, 1989, and the master VHS is credited to the “Juni Bravo archive.” It was posted to 3.Cameras.and.a.Microphone by someone who writes s/he knows nothing about the band and incorrectly identifies this San Diego North County group as Mexican.)
Google and Facebook tell me that Juni Bravo was a friend to many of our San Diego circle and had relocated to Austin before she passed away in February 2015.
At the end of the 11-minute segment, lead singer Sergio announces that “Devo is next.” A Google search reveals that Devo played two nights at Iguana’s: Sept. 28 and 29, 1989.
Besides Sergio, the lineup onstage includes Cesar Castillo on guitar; Sergio Castillo on bass; Steve Broach on drums; ~~Sam Wilson (I think?)~~ Simon Holehouse on lead guitar; and John Murray on flute, harmonica and percussion.
After the first 12 minutes, the balance of the 41-minute tape contains scenes from a Revolt in Style fashion show at … The San Diego Sports Arena, perhaps?