Performance History | The Che Underground

This We Dug : A Certain Ratio

December 11, 2017June 28, 2009 by Paul.Howland

(Wallflower Paul “The P Man” Howland polls the collective memory banks.)

A Certain Ratio formed in Manchester, UK, in 1977. They are still together as a recording entity.

Their cover of Banbarra’s tune “Shack Up” was a favorite of mine in the early ’80s. Here’s ACR’s version. And Banbarra’s original (which I became aware of recently by reading about it in the excellent Waxpoetics magazine).

Both versions of this tune are nice stripped-down funk; the Banbarra version is arguably better, but ACR’s is not without its charms.

“To Each …” was my favorite of their albums back in the day. (I may have to get the re-issue from Soul Jazz.)

We are all Blues Gangsters

January 1, 2011June 26, 2009 by admin

(Wallflower David Rinck introduces a new project by old friends.)

Here’s our new record. As far as we know, this is the latest project by musicians associated with the Che Underground.

We wrote the music over the Internet, since we now live in various far-flung corners of the globe (Africa in my case). One of us would write a riff and a few lines of lyrics and then send it on. Pretty soon it added up to a song, and then the eight on the record (actually more, but we could only record eight ’cause of time limitations).

But we all used to be in bands in San Diego and play shows together, so we were used to working together, and the distances were easily overcome.

R.I.P. Sky Saxon and Farrah Fawcett

December 11, 2017June 25, 2009 by admin

Melancholy echoes of previous threads …

According to Austin360.com: “Sky Saxon, founder of the brilliant ’60s garage band the Seeds, died Thursday morning at St. David’s Hospital.

“The newly minted Austinite, born Richard Marsh, was hospitalized Monday with what doctors suspected was an infection of the internal organs, but cause of death has not yet been released.

“Saxon fell ill last Thursday, but performed at Saturday at Antone’s with recent Austin collaborators Shapes Have Fangs. Sky’s wife Sabrina Saxon posted news of his passing on Facebook this morning: ‘Sky has passed over and YaHoWha is waiting for him at the gate. He will soon be home with his Father. I’m so sorry I couldn’t keep him here with us. More later. I’m sorry.’ ”

Che Games poster from Kristen Tobiason

January 1, 2011June 24, 2009 by admin

Besides her manifest talents as the author and photographer of the blog’s popular “Then and now” series, Kristen Tobiason has long enriched the Che Underground with her illustration and graphic-design skills.

Exclusive to Che Underground: The Blog is this stunning poster for Che Games for May, now available as a high-resolution, downloadable PDF file. This handsome keepsake is ready to print at 11 by 17 inches.

Download the poster now!

Thanks to Kristen for her tireless support of the site … This show would not have been the same without her!

Playing through the changes

December 11, 2017June 15, 2009 by admin

Detail: Dave Fleminger at the Casbah, May 29, 2009 (photo by Sean McMullen) Now it can be told: When we concocted the idea of the Che Games for May reunion show at San Diego’s Casbah Club, I was very apprehensive about what it would sound like.

After all, we were bringing together bands that for the most part hadn’t played together since the mid-’80s. Plus, we were asking these folks to practice more or less on the fly. The Che Underground diaspora dispersed us geographically for many years; for most of the acts, opportunities for full rehearsals were few and far between.

I was amazed by the results: The bands were so tight, and I daresay many of the musicians are better now than they were in 1984!

It makes me want to learn more about how all our players keep themselves musically active — not just the people who performed at the Casbah, but the rest of the musicians on the blog.

The P Man Live In San Diego

January 1, 2011June 12, 2009 by Paul.Howland

(Ex-Wallflower Paul “The P Man” Howland brings his Dubstep stylings to the Kava Lounge June 20 courtesy of Dub Smugglers.)

I’ve been working hard sorting through my tunes to decide which ones to bring down to the Kava Lounge on June 20.

Since I’m playing first, it’s definitely gonna be a fairly mellow set, at least to start out. I’ve got a fair bit of really good unreleased stuff from some UK producers, some new releases, as well as a few favorites of mine that have been out for a while. My set is gonna be from 9 ’til 10 pm, so please try to arrive early. I hope you’ll be able to stick around too, Austin Speed and Criminal (Subliminal DJs) are playing a back to back set after me, then you’ve got headliner Noah D, and doing a special closing set San Diego’s own PK.

The Wallflowers: “Funland” at the Casbah

January 1, 2011June 8, 2009 by admin

For those who missed Che Games for May in San Diego May 29-30 or just want to relive the magic: Good news! Thanks to modern technology, the event was captured from every angle in photographs, audio and video.

Exhibit A: The original San Diego Wallflowers raise the roof of San Diego’s Casbah with “Funland,” the band’s hypnotic paean to the city’s seamy underbelly, now lost to gentrification. (For memories of the original Funland, check out Kristen Tobiason’s “Then and now” feature.)

The May 30 performance marks the Wallflowers debut of Rockin’ Dog Dave Ellison and features original Wallflowers David Rinck on vocals, Paul Howland on bass and Matt Johnson on drums. (Che Underground jack-of-all-trades Dave Fleminger added keyboard stylings to the set.)

Bandmates/other friends 1982-1990 (+1)

January 1, 2011June 6, 2009 by admin

(Bart Mendoza of Manual Scan and the Shambles — San Diego music historian extraordinaire — shares some highlights from his stacks.)

Some call it being a pack rat; I prefer the tag “archivist”! The dream is to put together a DVD/book with the rooms full of stuff I’ve accumulated in 30 years of collecting San Diego music memorabilia.

But in the meantime, in honor of the recent Che Underground reunion shows, here are 20 relevant vintage photos from my archive. For this fifth picture post, I’ve included a little bit of everything: random photos from 1982-1990 (+1), including bandmates and other friends.

1) Dean Curtis at Club Zu. You know it’s a good show if Dean is in attendance.

So … Whaddya wanna do now?

March 30, 2019June 2, 2009 by admin

Wow. Just … wow. The Che Games weekend was an emotional, artistic and spiritual triumph — throw in a few adjectives of your own there! I’m grateful that so many other people feel so energized and fulfilled by the time we spent together.

I think most of us need at least a little while to digest (and for those of us heavily involved in prep, to reclaim our schedules). But hey: While the iron’s hot, I want at least to hear what new worlds you want this blog and this community to explore next.

Here are a few items on my personal menu … Please chime in with more!

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.