Noise 292 | The Che Underground

Noise 292: “Eyesight”

January 1, 2011October 10, 2008 by admin

Noise 292 fan turned rock ‘n’ roll anthropologist Stefan Helmreich joins our ranks with a collection of tracks, including this late live performance of the band performing my early composition “Eyesight.”

“I recently stumbled across your Ché Underground site and was delighted to read such loving accounts of those long-ago days and nights,” Stefan writes. “I was still in high school — a year behind [Noise 292 percussionist] Wendell [Kling], then a senior at at San Dieguito — when I went to to the Nov. 17, 1983, Noise show, which stunned my then 17-year-old sensibilities and tracked me toward discovering Joy Division; the Velvets; and, soon enough, prompted me to start my own band.

The Amazons: “Brother P-Touch”

March 29, 2019September 16, 2008 by admin

“Brother P-Touch” is a song I originally wrote for the Ho Hos that became a flagship number for my last San Francisco band, the Amazons. I share it here with a San Diego twist and a fun anecdote about the power of Web distribution.

When I penned this number around 1993, I was writing about printers for MacWEEK magazine. The Brother P-Touch was and remains a very popular line of label printers. When I first heard the name, I pictured this lecherous messianic figure, kind of a cross between Rasputin and David Koresh, and built the song from there. The chorus leads with the exhortation, “Brother P-Touch — raise your arms!” I don’t think any of my San Diego expat bandmates ever realized I was evoking not only a charismatic preacher but the Penetrators’ song “Nervous Fingers,” during which those of us in the pit would raise our arms and wiggle our fingers.

Read moreThe Amazons: “Brother P-Touch”

Noise 292: “Mr. Pumpkin”

January 1, 2011September 11, 2008 by admin

Here’s a late but significant contribution to the Noise 292 set list. “Mr. Pumpkin” by guitarist David Rives appeared on a four-song demo we recorded at Mira Costa College, I believe in April 1984.

The driving metalwork percussion is classic Wendell Kling, and I’m under the distinct impression that the drums on this session were generously contributed by the multitalented Sergio of Hair Theatre. Dave sings lead, and I’m on bass.

Listen to it now!

The Ho Hos: “Creeping Vine (Love Is A … )”

January 1, 2011August 12, 2008 by admin

Another number from the Ho Hos, the mid-’90s San Francisco group of Che Underground transplants that included me on vocals and guitar; former Morlocks bassist Jeff Lucas; Robert Labbe (ex-3 Guys Called Jesus drummer); and Steve Lam on lead guitar.

“Creeping Vine (Love Is A … )” comes from the same 1993 demo session that generated “Snowball” and was written by Jeff. Getting to sing material penned by Mr. Lucas was always exciting to me, and I am crazy about the way the lead guitar and rhythm section work together on this song.

Noise 292 reunion!

January 1, 2011August 5, 2008 by admin

The Che Underground adventure inspired yet another historic gathering July 28, 2008, as veterans of Noise 292 assembled at San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf to commemorate the 25th anniversary of a crucial Che Cafe performance with the Answers and Hair Theatre.

Left to right: Noise 292 guitarist/ vocalist David Rives; Answers guitarist (and frequent Noise 292 pickup drummer) David Fleminger; Noise 292 guitarist/ bassist/ vocalist Kristin Martin; Noise 292 percussionist Hobie Hodge; and Hobie’s son Trevor, standing in for Yours Truly.

Here’s everyone (except Trevor), probably at the aforementioned July 29, 1983, show:

Lemons Are Yellow: “Jewish Like KISS”

January 1, 2011July 30, 2008 by admin

(Manual Scan/Lemons Are Yellow vet Paul Kaufman hails rock-‘n’-roll Yiddishkeit.)
David Klowden already perfectly summarized some pastrami- and tongue-in-cheek ethnic pride in a recent post: “I am putting together a seminar & book tour for my method: ‘Dave The Jew Shows You how to Make Beautiful Women Think You’re Cooler Than You Are in Ten Easy Lessons’ ™.”

In the spirit of David’s post (and our earlier “Hyphenates” thread), here’s “Jewish like KISS,” a musical number based on the irony of having one foot in the Ché Underground and the other in a cultural Old World. (Both had a healthy reverence for the historical.)

I thought it would be fun to have our own sort of self-referential “We’re an American Band”-type number, with all the required fake bravado. I threw in shout-outs to some of my favorite Jewish rockers, Joey Ramone (born Jeffry Ross Hyman) and KISS members Gene Simmons (Chaim Witz) and Paul Stanley (Stanley Eisen).

Hair Theatre/Synesthesia/Decision, Jackie Robinson Y

January 1, 2011July 27, 2008 by admin

A disc I received from Hair Theatre guitarist Paul Allen adds new showpieces to the Che Underground flyer collection. Today, a trio of flyers advertising a single show March 7, 1986, at the Jackie Robinson YMCA, featuring Hair Theatre; Synesthesia (the great band led by Noise 292 co-founder Kristin Martin); and Decision (another terrific band that featured drum god Paul Brewin, who’d most recently played with Manual Scan).

This set demonstrates the tendency of individual shows to generate multiple flyers, often featuring a different “headliner” depending on the band running the photocopier. Exhibit A also showcases the artistry of David Dick, a new addition to our roster of flyer talent.

The Ho Hos: “Snowball”

January 1, 2011July 26, 2008 by admin

This number ties up a few narrative strands and bridges the San Diego-to-San Francisco gap that defined much of our post-Che Underground history.

“Snowball” is a song I wrote for 3 Guys Called Jesus in 1986. It’s performed here by the Ho Hos, the mid-’90s San Francisco group of San Diego expats that comprised me on vocals and guitar; ex-Morlocks bassist Jeff Lucas; Robert Labbe (former drummer for 3 Guys, the Forbidden Pigs and myriad other outfits); and Steve Lam, a marvelous guitarist and vocalist who met us in SF by way of Hong Kong. (Speaking of musical Che-chairs, this was a dream lineup for me.)

Resurrecting 3 Guys Called Jesus

January 1, 2011July 14, 2008 by admin

Another reunion dinner in New York last weekend, when North County music operator-turned-North Carolina operations director John Stees arrived at Vynl on 9th Ave. armed with a disc of photos and flyers from 3 Guys Called Jesus, the band I played in from spring 1985 until I left San Diego in February 1987.

These images feature bassist Steve Duke and drummer Robert Labbe as well as guitarist Ryk Groetchen, who played with the band in 1985. All were taken by the marvelous Margarat Nee.

Noise 292: “Sister Ray”

January 1, 2011July 2, 2008 by admin

Performing at the Che Cafe Nov. 17, 1983 (with Hair Theatre and 11 Sons), Noise 292 pays homage to two of its bedrock influences, covering the Velvet Underground’s epic “Sister Ray” and throwing in a few stylings from Joy Division’s version for good measure. (Check out Kristin Martin and me tearing into the “Good night” vocals at the end, à la mode d’Ian Curtis!)

“My first memory of witnessing a Noise 292 show has you screaming your ass off during a performance of ‘Sister Ray,’ incredibly cathartic and tribal,” writes Dave Fleminger. “I’d never seen anything like it … way scarier and more musically violent than Fairmont Hall fare. Ear-punishing.