Tell-Tale Hearts

It’s 1985: Do you know
where your bell-bottoms are?

(Ray Brandes reopens the case of People vs. the Che Underground.)

Thursday morning, during the last week of August, 1985, I arrived at work at 4:00 a.m. to begin my shift collecting and baling the cardboard boxes left scattered on the floor of the Food Basket on Washington Street. As I donned my apron, the hoots and catcalls began. “Hey, Hollywood!” shouted one of the night-crew guys as he leaned back in the seat of the forklift, a smug look on his face. In one hand he held a can of New Coke; in the other was the latest copy of People, emblazoned with the headline, “Madonna Weds Sean.”

A few weeks earlier, my bandmates and I had made the trek to Los Angeles and endured a several hours-long photo shoot at the Cavern, music maven and cult impresario Greg Shaw’s modest live-music club located in an alley off Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. The article, we had been told, would put Bomp! Records on the map and catapult the Tell-Tale Hearts to stardom. This would be my ticket to fame and fortune, I believed. I would quit my job bagging groceries and baling cardboard, take a few semesters off from college, and enjoy the good life.

Read moreIt’s 1985: Do you know
where your bell-bottoms are?

Live at Lestat’s: An underground evening

(David Rinck offers a performer’s-eye view of a recent night of musical eclecticism in San Diego.)

On the evening of Thurs., Nov. 4, we again converged on the little theater at Lestat’s Coffee House on Adams Ave. in Kensington, which is beginning to feel like home for some of us here.

Lestat’s most recently hosted the first night of the Che Underground Rock and Roll Weekend on July 30 and 31, and the Nov. 4 show was an exciting follow-up to that event. Some of San Diego’s finest underground musicians offered up an eclectic array of sounds from a range of genres. At the same time, the visual arts were represented by terrific graphics, photography and video recording, some of which is available here.

Read moreLive at Lestat’s: An underground evening

Che echoes from the Alps

(Rolf “Ray” Rieben of Feathered Apple Records describes how the San Diego underground reached Basel, Switzerland, and shares his cache of memorabilia from the Che Cafe and other points southwest. Stay tuned for much more of Ray’s trove from the Tell-Tale Hearts, Crawdaddys, Howling Men and more!)

Tell-Tale Hearts; Che Cafe, Oct. 5 (collection Rolf "Ray" Rieben)I was working as a record salesman in Switzerland when the first Crawdaddys LP (“Crawdaddy Express”) on the German Line label had hit the market. Most of the Bomp! catalog was licensed to Line Records from Germany. Line Records had the best possible distribution, since because they were connected to a major label. They’ve helped to make The Crawdaddys and some of the other bands from Greg Shaw’s Bomp label famous over here in Europe.

Kings Road flyer (collection Rolf "Ray" Rieben)“Crawdaddy Express” rates as the first modern ’60s garage LP ever made (after probably The Flamin’ Groovies). It was first advertised on the back cover of the July 1979 issue of Goldmine magazine. The sound was very British: wild raving rnb like the early Kinks, Downliners Sect, or the The Pretty Things, but undoubtedly influenced by Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and the likes. There’s even a few cool northern soul ballads featured on both of their LPs, too. These four fine young lads from San Diego knew what they were doing, they had the right spirits, and they could deliver in authentic ca. ’64 – ’65 style, too. It was exactly the type of brand-new LP that I was hoping for.

Read moreChe echoes from the Alps

DaveFest Four: ‘Richie Dagger’s Crime’
b/w ‘Let’s Lynch the Landlord’

Daves Fleminger and Rinck; DaveFest Four at Lestat's, July 30, 2010More highlights from the Che Underground Rock-‘n’-Roll Weekend July 30 and 31, 2010, in San Diego: Che Underground supergroup the DaveFest Four performs the Dead Kennedys’ “Let’s Lynch the Landlord” and “Richie Dagger’s Crime” by the Germs.

The DaveFest Four plays “Richie Dagger’s Crime”: Listen now!

“Dave Rinck came up with the idea to do an all-Dave set of our favorite punk anthems with a semi-acoustic roots sensibility,” writes Dave Fleminger.

Read moreDaveFest Four: ‘Richie Dagger’s Crime’
b/w ‘Let’s Lynch the Landlord’

Town Criers, Gary Heffern at the Casbah

Ray Brandes, Town Criers; Casbah, Jan. 30, 2010One of the highlights of our Che Underground showcase at San Diego’s Casbah Jan. 30, 2010, was the 20-year reunion of the city’s pioneering alt-rockers the Town Criers.

Gary Heffern with the Town Criers; Casbah, Jan. 30, 2010And adding to the Penetrators theme of the festivities, Gary Heffern (frontman for that legendary band) flew in from Finland to join the band in a rare San Diego guest appearance.

Read the Town Criers’ story!

First off, here’s the Town Criers performing “My Baby Left Me,” written by Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup and performed by Elvis Presley, among others. The lineup fueling this first performance in more than two decades included Ray Brandes (vocals, guitar); Mark Zadarnowksi (bass); David Klowden (drums); and Peter Miesner (lead guitar).

Read moreTown Criers, Gary Heffern at the Casbah

Two days in Che: A retrospective

(Paul Kaufman flew in from Massachusetts to taste the fury of the Che Underground Rock-‘n’-Roll Weekend July 30 and 31. Here are Paul’s impressions, accompanied by photos from Sean McMullen and Kymri Wilt.)

David Rinck/Dave Doyle; Lestat's, July 30, 2010 (Kymri Wilt)After an early-morning cross-country flight, I was somewhat worse for wear by the time 9pm rolled around on Friday, July 30, but I didn’t want to miss this!

Lou Damian at mic; Lestat's, July 30, 2010 (Kymri Wilt)It had probably been around 20 years since I had been down Adams Avenue. Normal Heights is heavily transformed from the residential neighborhood I remembered, with many new restaurants and shops. The center of the action is Lestat’s gallery, coffee shop and nightclub. A big marquee announces the Che Underground show! In addition to the musicians themselves, lots of blog stars are there: Kristen Tobiason; Chris Mathis; and of course tonight’s MC, Lou Damian.

Read moreTwo days in Che: A retrospective

DaveFest Four: ‘Prison Walls’ at Lestat’s

David Rinck, Dave Fleminger, the DaveFest FourFirst fruits of the Che Underground Rock-‘n’-Roll Weekend: Days after we posted about a video featuring “Prison Walls” from the Injections’ seminal 1980 single, the DaveFest Four put its own spin on the song at Lestat’s Coffee House on San Diego’s Adams Ave.

Dave Fleminger, who provides vocals and guitar on the track, describes the inspiration for the DaveFest Four’s version of “Prison Walls”:

Read moreDaveFest Four: ‘Prison Walls’ at Lestat’s

Get your ‘Rock-’n’-Roll’ flyers!

You asked for it, you got it: “Then and Now” reporter and Che Underground veteran Kristen Tobiason has obliged us with downloadable PDF versions of the flyers she prepped for the Che Underground Rock-‘n’-Roll Weekend July 30 and 31!

Just click on the thumbnails below for pure, print-ready chewing satisfaction:

jll copychepink_2

Here’s a recap of the weekend’s haps:

Read moreGet your ‘Rock-’n’-Roll’ flyers!

Eric Bacher on national TV

BacherThanks to Tom Griswold for pointing out Tell-Tale Hearts guitarist and Taylor Guitars uber-luthier Eric Bacher’s supporting role in this national TV spot for GE Capital.

According to Sign on San Diego, “Taylor Guitars didn’t need any Fourth of July fireworks to help it create a nationwide bang this week. … The $65 million El Cajon company, which produces nearly 80,000 guitars a year and counts Taylor Swift and Oceanside’s Jason Mraz among its customers, Tuesday launched a joint marketing campaign with GE Capital that should greatly boost the visibility of both companies.

Read moreEric Bacher on national TV

Che Underground Rock-’n’-Roll Weekend!

(David Rinck cuts the ribbon on a late-July musical extravaganza in San Diego!)

jll copyHow could we let a year go by since the Che Games for May? It is high time to do it again!

chepink_2Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts and get ready to experience the Che Underground Rock-‘n’-Roll Weekend. Here’s what we have in store for you:

Friday, July 30, at Lestat’s Coffee House (3343 Adams Avenue; $10; doors open at 9pm)

Plus a photo retrospective of San Diego Underground Rock ‘n’ Roll by Dave Doyle and Sean McMullen.

Saturday, July 31, at Bar Pink (3829 30th St.; free; doors open at 9pm)

  • Wendy Bailey & True Stories
  • The Answers
  • Bombast

Plus, dubstep deejaying by the P Man

Read moreChe Underground Rock-’n’-Roll Weekend!

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