Housekeeping | The Che Underground

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Untangled an overgrowth of outdated, damaged code;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)!

The Amazons make Rolling Stone! (Thanks, Vedder)

March 5, 2016February 23, 2016 by Mmrothenberg

After all the blood, sweat and tears secreted over the years by the musicians in our combo, a Joe Jackson cover and shambolic version of “Roadrunner” got us national press on Monday in Rolling Stone, Consequence of Sound and Pearl Jam’s site. I believe a couple guest turns by our old high-school theater buddy Eddie Vedder had something to d0 with all the to-do. But hey, while we’ve caught the buzz, I might as well tell the story.

The Amazons were an acoustic guerrilla rock trio we put together in San Francisco in 1997: me; my fellow San Dieguito High School Theater alum Todd Barker on drums; and on bass, Jason Brownell, a friend of mine who went all the way back to fifth grade in Milwaukee before I moved to San Diego.

Listen now: The Amazons play “Brother P-Touch”

Get your copy! ‘Getting Nowhere Fast’

January 2, 2016 by Mmrothenberg

I’m overdue commemorating an important milestone for the San Diego scene: the release of Ray Brandes’ Getting Nowhere Fast, the long-awaited first volume of band biographies by this talented musician, historian and author.

Featuring an introduction by lead Penetrator Gary Heffern, the book includes unrivaled accounts of Glory, the Zeros, the Penetrators, the Crawdaddys, the Dinettes, the Unknowns, the All-Bitchin’ All-Stud All-Stars (the birthplace of Country Dick Montana), Manual Scan, the Nashville Ramblers, the Gravedigger V and Ray’s own Tell-Tale Hearts.

RIP Cyndie Jaynes

December 11, 2017December 31, 2015 by Mmrothenberg

Today brings sad news about Cynthia Jaynes Omololu, née Cyndie Jaynes, 18 months after her cancer diagnosis.

Her husband Bayo reports:

“Dear friends and family, tried to figure out how to let everyone know without putting a damper on your holidays, but it is with a broken heart that I have to tell you that the love of my life Cyn passed away this morning on her sleep. The last month and a half were extremely painful for her, but the one consolation was she died peacefully.”

Sign your support for the Che Café

March 22, 2015March 22, 2015 by Mmrothenberg

Time is running short for the performance space of our youth. Here’s a note from Susan Wingfield-Ritter, who’s gathering signatures in support of a last-ditch effort.

Urgent Request from C.H.E. Café

Dear Friends and Supporters of the C.H.E. Café,

The C.H.E. Café Collective is requesting your support at this critical time. On March 15, 2015, the collective received a letter from the UCSD administration stating that they will now go ahead and post the 5-day notice to vacate (eviction order). They can post it any day now.

The appeal we filed of the eviction lawsuit is still pending a ruling from the appellate court. We need your help to try to convince the administration to not finalize the eviction. We appeal to our friends and supporters at UCSD and in the community to submit a statement of support for the C.H.E. Café.

End of the line for the Che Cafe?

October 21, 2014 by Mmrothenberg

Today carried this blog’s namesake closer to the brink, when San Diego superior court judge Katherine Bacal ruled in favor of UCSD in its efforts to evict the Che Cafe.

While the collective argued it believed it was protected from decertification before losing its co-op status in a vote by the Graduate Student Association, Bacal was unconvinced.

According to NBC, “she said the Che had the burden of proving that it sought dispute resolution, but there was no evidence that it had tried to obtain it, so the university was allowed to move forward with the eviction proceedings without dispute resolution.”

Che Underground turns five!

December 17, 2017February 16, 2013 by Mmrothenberg

Five years ago today, I posted the first entry to Che Underground: The Blog. I’d been talking to some old friends about a place where we could share sounds and images from our musical youth in San Diego, and this turned out to be the handiest solution.

Soon Rockin’ Dog Dave Ellison created our striking design, and contributors including Ray Brandes, Kristen Tobiason, Paul Kaufman, David Fleminger and so many others enriched the site beyond anything I could have hoped.

And my, how we grew! Hundreds of stories … Tens of thousands of comments and visitors. This little corner of the Web let so many revisit so much and introduced a whole new audience to the things we created back at the dawn of the ’80s.

The earth has made five solar revolutions since then, and most of us are still here on it. Looking back, I think we’ve moved in good directions, and I’m proud of any part this place played in bringing us back together.

Support Gary Heffern!

December 11, 2017June 29, 2012 by Mmrothenberg

San Diego music legend and former Penetrators front man Gary Heffern has met with misadventure, and he needs our financial help to set things straight.

Heffern, now living in Finland, in May suffered a burst appendix that forced him to cancel a July Penetrators reunion in San Diego and postponed his work on a new CD, not to mention his day job. With bills coming due, Gary is reaching out to his network for support.

Here are a couple of opportunities to help this San Diego legend in his hour of need:

Vote for the Comeuppance for SDMA

June 21, 2012June 20, 2012 by Mmrothenberg

(Paul Kaufman solicits support for a new project by Che Underground’s own.)

San Diego has embraced its prodigal musicians as they return after decades. Consider the Comeuppance, a “chamber pop” combo led by David Fleminger (guitar, vocals) and Heather Vorwerck (cello).

This ensemble has a distinctive sound influenced by diverse jazz, country and classical traditions, all the while staying true to the high standards of songwriting that Che Underground readers know to expect from all of Dave’s endeavors.

Readers of this blog will recall that the Comeuppance relocated last spring to San Diego. The move marked a homecoming for David after 25 years in San Francisco; it’s a return to the city where he created so many memories as the creative force of bands like the Answers and the Mirrors as well as a founding member of a wide array of musical notables from Social Spit to Manual Scan.