Tell-Tale Hearts | The Che Underground

3 Guys Called Jesus
at North Park Lions Club, 1986

January 6, 2011May 25, 2010 by admin

Here’s a cut from the only extant video I know of 3 Guys Called Jesus, the band I formed in 1985 with Steve Duke (bass, vocals) and Robert Labbe (drums, vocals) and played in until I left San Diego in February 1987.

This performance of my song “Small Vegetables” dates from May 16, 1986, when 3 Guys opened for Specimen and the Tell-Tale Hearts at the North Park Lions Club. (Ray Brandes and I have swapped anecdotes about Specimen’s antics that night; the conditions were just awful at the time but made for a funny story in retrospect.)

‘They’re playing our song’:
Covers and the Che Underground

January 2, 2018May 19, 2010 by admin

(Ray Brandes looks under the covers of favorite songs by our songwriters.)

For a songwriter, it is both a peculiar and rewarding experience to hear one’s songs interpreted by others. Over the past 30 years I have been writing songs, I have had the honor and privilege of listening to cover versions of my songs on many occasions, and it never fails to leave me gratified. One of the first songs I ever wrote, “Crawling Back to Me” (which is the opening track on the Tell-Tale Hearts’ eponymous debut album), has been covered on record by numerous artists, including Spain’s Agentes Secretos, England’s Diaboliks and Australia’s
Shutdown 66.

Perhaps my favorite cover of a song I wrote is Rachael Gordon’s “I Know You’re In Love Again,” which I contributed to her 2002 album “The Coming of Spring” on Subterrania Records. Rachael, an old friend and San Diego native, released the album to rave reviews, particularly in Europe. Germany’s Rolling Stone had this to say:

Get your poster: Jan. 30 at the Casbah!

December 18, 2017January 22, 2010 by admin

Going into the final stretch before next Saturday’s Che Underground showcase at the Casbah, here’s a handsome commemorative flyer created by David Klowden, suitable for framing or Scotch taping!

The roster of special guests is growing, as San Diego music history is revisited and made on Saturday night.

To recap the lineup so far:

Mark your calendars! Start your engines!
Jan. 30 Che Underground showcase

December 14, 2017November 29, 2009 by admin

(Heads up! The next Che Underground-sponsored reunion gig is officially on the Casbah roster, with tickets due to go on sale this week. Ray Brandes opens the booth.)

On Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010, country-rock pioneers the Town Criers (Ray Brandes, David Klowden, Peter Miesner and Mark Zadarnowski) will reunite for the first time in 20 years as the Ché Underground presents its second musical event at the Casbah in San Diego.

By popular demand, returning to the stage after a blistering set in May, will be legendary San Diego mod band Manual Scan, led by sharp-dressed men Bart Mendoza and Kevin Donaker-Ring and featuring the rhythm section of Tim Blankenship and Morgan Young.

To open the evening, the all-star Blues Gangsters (Kristi Maddocks, Dave Rinck, Dave Ellison, Dave Fleminger and Matt Johnson) will make their San Diego stage debut. It’s a fresh opportunity to watch a new project by members of the Wallflowers, the Rockin’ Dogs, the Answers and Everybody Violet.

DJ duties will be performed by Louis Mello, a k a DJ Dirty Bird.

Che Underground at the Casbah, Jan. 30!

December 17, 2017November 1, 2009 by admin

If you enjoyed (or missed) Che Games for May in 2009, here’s another chance to join us at San Diego’s Casbah for the first official Che Underground event of 2010, featuring the Town Criers, Manual Scan and the Blues Gangsters.

This Saturday night event will feature historic performances by some of San Diego’s finest sons and daughters. Jubilation guaranteed!

Read moreChe Underground at the Casbah, Jan. 30!

Penetrators reunion, January 2010!

December 31, 2010October 15, 2009 by admin

Che Underground: The Blog has been immeasurably enriched by our recent interactions with the Penetrators. As Ray Brandes has chronicled here, the Penetrators have been one of the most influential and beloved forces in San Diego’s music underground from the band’s genesis in 1977 until decades after its dissolution in 1984.

Good news for all their fans: Pens frontman Gary Heffern has given us the green light to announce a run of Penetrators-related fun at San Diego’s Casbah from Jan. 27-31, 2010 — including an evening presented by the Che Underground.

The Front flyers (Waxon Collection)

March 27, 2019August 29, 2009 by admin

In another selection from her collection of vintage San Diego flyers, Dawn Hill Waxon focuses on the Front, the mid-’80s post-punk outfit that featured Morgan Smith, Mark Baez, Kevin Chanel and Dan Mehlos.

These flyers date from 1984 and include the earliest show we’ve encountered so far at the short-lived but influential Rock Palace (a gig with the Tell-Tale Hearts to usher in 1985).

The Town Criers: Unearthed relics!

January 1, 2011August 4, 2009 by admin

(Tell-Tale Heart/Town Crier Ray Brandes brings new Town Criers artifacts to light.)

The first of these gems is from early 1989, a performance at the wedding of Joe Hughes at Joshua Tree National Park.

The band at the time consisted of Ray Brandes on acoustic guitar and vocals, Peter Miesner on lead guitar, Mark Zadarnowski on electric bass guitar, and Dan Tarte on drums. Among the attendees captured on film at the event are Che Undergrounders Matt Johnson and Sean McMullen.

The toddler at the end of the clip is Sean Zadarnowski, Mark and Lydia’s son, who has graduated from UCSD.

Lend Me Your Comb: A short history of the Hedgehogs

January 1, 2011July 22, 2009 by admin

(Tell-Tale Heart/Town Crier Ray Brandes applies his narrative skills to documenting an influential early band from his own back pages. Read the full version in Che Underground’s Related Bands section.)

At the beginning of the summer of 1981, the Ideals (comprising 18-year-old Ray Brandes on lead vocals, 17-year-old Tony Paulerio on lead guitar, 20-year-old Maure Silverman on rhythm guitar, 17-year-old Paul Carsola on drums, and led by 14-year-old prodigy Carl Rusk on bass) were gearing up for a summer of Point Loma keg parties at $50 a performance.

The band, whose short career had reached a pinnacle opening for the Penetrators at Mission Bay High School’s prom, played mostly rockabilly and early rock and roll, with Eddie Cochran’s songs making up about 50 percent of our set list!

At the end of May, with Paul away on a summer vacation, Carl called up the Crawdaddys’ Ron Silva to sit in on drums. Ron knew Carl from years of Skeleton Club shows and had recently seen the Ideals play at the Zebra Club, so he was more than happy to oblige. The gig was to be a massive block party in Crown Point, but it never materialized because the set by the opening band, Stonehenge, resulted in several noise complaints.

Che Games: Mission accomplished!

January 1, 2011May 31, 2009 by admin

A quick one, while he’s away: I’m tying up some loose ends before my flight back from San Diego to New Jersey after Day Two of the Che Underground’s Che Games for May reunion event at the Casbah Club.

Thanks to a crack team of documentarians, we’ve got audio, video and photos to share and enjoy — and those will be making their way onto the site in the coming weeks.

But for now, a simple “Thank you!” and an open invitation to talk about what our quarter-century reunion did to or for you.

You’re all very, very important to me, and easily my biggest regret is that I couldn’t be everywhere at once to talk to you and share time. But please: Let’s come together here and swap a few stories for each other and for our friends who couldn’t be with us this time out.