Personal History | The Che Underground

Weird SD

December 11, 2017June 19, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

Tiny barber subdues hairy patron One of my favorite discoveries upon moving to New Jersey in 2001 was Weird NJ, a magazine in which Jersey veterans of about our age and funkiness trade stories about bizarre locations and legends of their youth. (The publishers have recently extended the franchise nationwide and beyond, but I find the other editions lack the authenticity of NJ punks trading ghost stories.)

With all due credit to this brilliant concept, I thought we should start our own list of eccentric San Diego County landmarks and local legends. What places and stories gave you goosebumps? What byways did you explore — and live to tell the tale?

5051 by numbers

January 1, 2011June 18, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

(Excerpts from an epic history of the seminal San Diego punk band by 5051 lead singer David Klowden. Read the full version in our Related Bands section!)

When I sat down to write the 5051 story, I realized that, just as with most of my girlfriends of the ’70s and ’80s, I unfortunately couldn’t remember the beginning or the end. Also, I couldn’t remember most of what happened in between.

So I located Sam “Topper” Kolzar, lead guitarist of 5051, and Matt “Guy” Silver, producer of 5051’s record. It was my first time talking with either of them in over 25 years, so it was fun to reconnect and reconstruct the 5051 years of 1981-82. Other members of 5051—drummer Joel Roop, guitarist Steve “Squirrel” Oberg, and Squirrel’s half-brother, bassist Scott Harber, are still at large. With the help of Sam and Guy, I offer the following slice of San Diego music history.

Rock ‘n’ roll high school

December 13, 2017June 16, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

As our kids prepare for summer vacation, I thought this was an apt moment for roll call on our own high-school pedigrees.

We’ve mentioned many times how high-school friendships helped shape our tastes and our identities as cultural subversives. We’ve cited institutions like Gompers, Patrick Henry, Clairemont, Grossmont, Helix, Poway High … I know all the names, but I can’t keep track of which “cool kids” came from where or how each institution (or anti-institution) informed our creative process.

The birth of Everybody Violet

January 1, 2011June 14, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

(Everybody Violet co-founder Kristi Maddocks reminisces about making the band. Read these excerpts, then check out the full account in our Related Bands section!)
I hung out in the San Diego underground late ’81 to early ‘82, but I wasn’t an out-‘n’-out player until 1983. After years of watching shows I began to assert myself as a writer, a poet — and a wannabe singer/songwriter.

It was like kismet: As soon as my old roommate moved out, Michelle [Krone] moved into the Madison Avenue place. Tired of being known as just “The Morlocks’ Girls,” Michelle and I looked at each other and said, “Let’s start our own band!” I would sing lead, and Michelle would sing back-up and learn the bass guitar.

Word got around the scene we were looking to become a legitimate group. A couple of days later, Michelle and I were introduced to Anni and Carina, and the great musical partnership of Everbody Violet was born.

Welcome to Che Underground: The Forum

December 17, 2017June 7, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

Roman forum Here’s another way of bringing together the folks who shaped San Diego’s underground music scene in the early ’80s as well as anyone who’s interested in that brilliant flash in the rock-‘n’-roll pan.

Che Underground: The Forum lets anyone read about the Che Underground scene and beyond. It also provides registered, approved users the chance to create threads; post content; and interact about their activities past, present and future.

Punk rock picture show

January 1, 2011June 4, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

Picking up the thread from our “Hyphenates” discussion, let’s talk about notable on-screen portrayals of punk, with special focus on its applicability to the Southern California experience.

My candidate for best of show is “Repo Man” — as Toby said, perhaps the only decent thing Emilio Estevez has ever done, but good enough to make up for a dozen “Mighty Ducks.” (Worst/funniest could be the punk-rock episode of “Quincy.” (Am I right that some actual LA punks were extras in that episode?)

Discuss!

Bo Diddley, RIP

January 1, 2011June 2, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

“Bo Diddley, a singer and guitarist who invented his own name, his own guitars, his own beat and, with a handful of other musical pioneers, rock ’n’ roll itself, died Monday at his home in Archer, Fla . He was 79.”

We’ve talked a lot about the man’s influence on us San Diego youngsters — in fact, we may have mentioned him more than any other single musician. This is the right time to discuss what made him so damn cool to us. Thanks again, Mr. Diddley.

Every picture tells a story

January 1, 2011May 31, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

The Cyndie Jaynes photo collection poses a curatorial challenge: There’s so much marvelous stuff here, it’s hard to decide how to slice and dice it.

Here’s another set of portraits designed to tickle the Proustian memory banks of anyone circulating in this corner of the early-’80s San Diego underground. Plus, they’re lovely photos in their own right. Help fill in the narrative blanks!

Miss Kristi’s Top 10s for San Diego ‘It’ Girls

April 21, 2012May 30, 2008 by Kristi Maddocks

(Everybody Violet founder and SD scenestress extraordinaire Kristi Maddocks contributes practical tips for female food ‘n’ frolic in the San Diego underground.)

Author’s note: I have so much to say about the Che Underground, but I didn’t know where to start. So I began with the obvious: Being a female in the scene put you at a bit of a disadvantage … Even if you were smart and had creative contributions to make, the better sex was still received, perceived and judged on its looks and physical persona first and foremost.

Even though the sexual revolution had occurred in the ’60s-’70s, ironically feminism wasn’t a player in the retro mod/psyche scene of early-’80s San Diego. I was as guilty as the next girl for using my legs as a personal weapon or batting my big eyes at the boys in the band. Heck, these maneuvers got me in the door — and definitely helped me get deep into the scene and later helped me front my own band, Everybody Violet.

Career opportunities

January 1, 2011May 27, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

Another where-are-we-now topic to connect the dots between our past and present: While a select few of us indeed earn our adult living in the music business, most have found other sources of income.

Today’s question: What do you do nowadays to pay the bills? And what (if anything) did you learn from our salad days that helps you now?

This one’s pretty easy for me. I’ve worked in publishing (in SF and NY) for 20 years, more than 10 primarily online. I generally run large teams of creative, verbal, offbeat young people who’ve converged on the big city for aesthetic and social stimulation. Sound familiar yet?