Personal History | The Che Underground

From Spain, with love

December 11, 2017July 30, 2011 by admin

(From across the Atlantic, here’s a graphical gift to celebrate the 30-year San Diego reunions of the Unknowns and the Crawdaddys. Ray Brandes sets the scene.)

This beautiful poster is a gift from artist Marc Argenter to the Che Underground. Marc, who lives in Barcelona, Spain, is also an accomplished musician and has played guitar and recorded with bands such as the Flashback Five and Els Trons for more than 20 years.

Marc jumped at the chance to design a poster for a show featuring the Crawdaddys, whom he first heard at the tender age of 16. He is well known in Spain as a graphic designer, and has an impressive portfolio of work, some of which can be seen here: http://argenter.blogspot.com/

The Crawdaddys and Unknowns
mutual admiration society

December 11, 2017July 15, 2011 by admin

(Author of the definitive biographies of both the Unknowns and the Crawdaddys, Ray Brandes explores the connection between these two essential San Diego bands as they prepare to revisit San Diego after 30 years. Buy your tickets now!)

During the past three decades of rock and roll music in San Diego, two groups — the Crawdaddys and the Unknowns — can arguably claim to have had the most influence over the bands that followed in their wake. Both groups looked to the past, to the greats of early rock and roll and rhythm and blues for their own inspiration, and had a mutual respect for each other that transcended local band competitiveness.

The Crawdaddys and the Unknowns are looking forward to sharing the stage this coming Labor Day weekend as the Che Underground presents their historic reunions at the Casbah. I spoke with the members of each band about their love and respect for the other group.

Che Underground meets Sunset Strip

September 30, 2011July 12, 2011 by admin

(Sidewalk scenes and black limousines: On July 30, Che Underground presents Sounds of the Sunset Strip at Lestat’s Coffee Shop, featuring the Sidewalk Scene, the Ciros, Wendy Bailey & True Stories, and James Ruelas. Show organizer and Ciros reed player Lou Damian reflects on how Los Angeles’ sound of the ’60s influenced so many San Diegans who came of age 15 years later.)

The crazy thing about this July 30 show is that we relate to this music from the Sunset Strip of the mid- to late ’60s as our music, as the music we grew up with. But in actuality, we were just tots or infants when it was first published. There’s something about this music that stays within our fabric even today. When I hear a Byrds song or a Buffalo Springfield song, I know that I heard it as a young man on the radio. I know I heard that song when I was a year or two old. And it’s just another part of who I am.

The garage rock, psych rock, and blues and folk rock of that era is an important contribution to American music and the West Coast sound. This is what we always championed as our West Coast identity … in the so-called “Che Underground.”

The return of the Unknowns

December 11, 2017July 7, 2011 by admin

(Last chance to see: Ray Brandes reviews why this San Diego reunion of the band’s classic lineup is a very big deal indeed.)

Labor Day Weekend is approaching fast, and tickets are selling briskly for the Che Underground’s long-awaited showcase featuring historic reunions by San Diego hometown heroes the Crawdaddys and the Unknowns.

The Crawdaddys have received some recent critical acclaim in both the domestic and international press for their shows in Los Angeles, Toledo and Madrid, while interest in the Unknowns reunion is heating up quickly.

The Unknowns’ reunion will mark the first time Bruce Joyner has sung with the group in 21 years, and the first time all the members of the group’s classic lineup have played together in nearly three decades! I spoke to the members of the band about the historical significance of the show and what it means to them personally.

Elvis Christ at the Che Cafe!

September 4, 2011July 2, 2011 by admin

(Drummer and rabble-rouser Jack Gamboa recalls a memorable performance at our namesake venue.)

The Che Cafe was an island of freaky, funky freedom in the otherwise cold, institutional-strength rigidity of the mostly cement UC campus. They used to serve a bowl of brown rice and pinto beans with a giant glass of iced tea for less than two dollars. I survived on that chow when I was an art student. I also flirted with the hippie-honeys who worked there and smoked a lot of weed out back.

I played drums for Elvis Christ in those days, and it seems like half our gigs took place at the Che. We also used to practice there, and when Isabelle Tihanyi shot photos of us naked for a Guardian interview (Vol.60 #38), it happened there.

Welcome home, Dave Fleminger!

September 4, 2011June 21, 2011 by admin

(Lou Damian salutes Dave’s relocation to San Diego after a 25-year absence and cuts the ribbon on a groovy summer night in the city.)

Che Underground presents SOUNDS of the SUNSET STRIP: Saturday night 9pm on July 30, 2011, at Lestat’s Coffee Shop.

We always wanted to pay tribute to the bands we dug from this era … And now with the return of Flem to San Diego, the scene is set and we can move forward on this idea … We also decided to call ourselves The CIROS in honor of nightclub where the BYRDS made their debut.

Frank Zappa vs. Jerry Herrera!

December 14, 2017June 16, 2011 by admin

(San Diego scene veteran Gary Ra’chac, singer-songwriter and radio personality and current producer of “Vince Martell Rocks America,” shares photos and memories of an encounter between two notable personalities.)

Here are some photos (by legendary soundman Bill Blue) from the golden days of San Diego’s Community Concourse’s Exhibit Hall concerts. Shows by groups like Country Joe and the Fish, Zappa’s Mothers of Invention and Cream were quite inexpensive, and given the fact the security was less than tight, I was able to finagle my way backstage on a regular basis. It was in fact where I first met The Who, and ironically The Vanilla Fudge ( with Vince Martell). (Editor’s note: These photos of Country Joe and the Fish and the Mothers of Invention date from April 12, 1969, according to the San Diego Concert Archive.)

The last time I saw Frank Zappa was 10 or 11 years later, on April 4, 1980. A friend of mine brought him to a “Scene” promotions party club owner Jerry Herrera and I threw at the Spirit Club. Frank had just finished a show at the Sports Arena when I got a call at the club from journalist Larry Skuse, who told me he and Frank wanted to come down. I said, “Cool” and hung up.

The Penetrators in August:
SDMA lifetime kudos, Casbah gig

September 4, 2011June 13, 2011 by admin

August 2011 is a momentous month for San Diego hometown heroes the Penetrators, when lead singer Gary Heffern returns from Finland in time for the band to receive a recognition for lifetime achievement at the 2011 San Diego Music Awards August 8! The event will also occasion another Penetrators reunion performance at the Casbah August 13.

“As a child, I was told, ‘You will never amount to anything,’ ” Heff recalls. “Still that voice in the back of my head repeats that over and over again. It’s a mantra I fight against on a daily basis.

“When I first heard the Ramones’ ‘Beat on the Brat,’ the New York Dolls’ ‘Trash’ and the Sex Pistols’ ‘No Future,’ they weren’t just words but anthems to me, something that was personal, and all mine … People who understood those songs and what they meant to me became instant friends … It was us against the world …

Unknowns, Crawdaddys revisit San Diego!

December 11, 2017May 30, 2011 by admin

Where were you 30 years ago? If you were hanging with San Diego’s cool kids, chances are a gig featuring the Crawdaddys and/or the Unknowns was on your social calendar. And since a few decades hardly matter among friends, Che Underground: The Blog is proud to present a Labor Day weekend featuring both these legendary bands at San Diego’s Casbah!

Here are the deets:

What, when: Che Underground presents the Crawdaddys (Friday, Sept. 2) and the Unknowns (Saturday, Sept. 3)

Where: The Casbah, 2501 Kettner Blvd. San Diego, CA 92101

How much: $20 per night, $35 for a two-night package (on sale soon via the Casbah site)

Here’s what’s cooking with our headliners:

This We Dug: Buffalo Springfield

September 4, 2011May 29, 2011 by admin

(Graphic artist extraordinaire and “Then and Now” documentarian Kristen Tobiason describes how Buffalo Springfield pushed us beyond the fringe.)

In the early ’80s, American hardcore punk rock was at its peak. New Wave was also flourishing amidst Studio 9 dance crowds. Bi-curious, lipstick boys. Giant shelves of sprayed hair in several shades of Clairol color.

What better way to rebel against your peers than to emulate a ’60s folk-rock band â€¦

Buffalo Springfield. seriously?