Che Underground: The Blog

Peers who made it

April 23, 2012November 24, 2008 by admin

Here’s a topic that could spin in a few different directions: Many musicians from our circle have made wonderful sounds since our 1980s salad days. … Considerably fewer have made some money in the process. … But I don’t believe any of us hit the commercial jackpot in the music industry.

The wheels of that industry continued to turn, however, and musicians of our approximate age and subcultural pedigree did make it big in the late ’80s and early ’90s. (To start the ball rolling, I’ll throw out three names from our native time zone: Nirvana, Sublime and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.)

I know these big, commercial acts traveled many miles from our DIY roots (and from most of our musical discussions here). But that’s the point: What do you consider musical success, and do you hear echoes of our own aspirations in these huge revenue engines of decades past?

The Casbah turns 20!

December 18, 2017November 22, 2008 by admin

(Dean Curtis hails a major anniversary for a San Diego institution.)

In 1988, I finally got serious about a higher education. I previously tried college at SDSU in 1980/81 but it interfered with my social life and record-buying fund, so I dropped out. (I hated SDSU anyway.) But in 1988 I packed up the 1967 VW van, and me and my girlfriend Michelle headed off for Humboldt State University, after a fine summer living in the van and beach-combing up the California coast.

Soon after I left San Diego, the Casbah was opened by legendary San Diego show promoter Tim Mays (who with Laura Frasier operated the Skeleton Club in the late ’70s, and with Peter Verbrugge and Bob Bennett opened the Pink Panther in 1986).

Since he started the Casbah in 1989 (before moving it in 1994 down the street to its current location on Kettner and Laurel), Mays has also opened some great restaurants, including the Turf Club and Starlite.

The Morlocks: “My Friend the Bird”

January 1, 2011November 20, 2008 by admin

(Morlocks drummer Mark Mullen comes through with the video goods.)

This was a show we did at The Stone on Broadway in San Francisco in 1986 with Jordan Tarlow from the Fuzztones on rhythm guitar. It’s a 23-year-old VHS tape, so no complaining. I believe we did a real wild show somewhere the night before, so this was a little lackluster for The Morlocks.

The Morlocks are really a myth, cult, fantasy and intrigue to a lot of people across the US and around the world. I wish they all could have experienced the many great shows we put on, but that’s not the case. I wish I had excellent video footage of these times for everyone to see. This was a wild, wild time, and not much survived from the era. (I challenge anyone out there to cough up any footage if you have it.)

Rockin’ Dogs around town

January 1, 2011November 18, 2008 by admin

A long-sought contribution from recent blog arrival Lori Stalnaker-Bevilacqua: a flyer that puts a date (Feb. 10, 1984) to the legendary Saigon Palace gig featuring the Rockin’ Dogs and Noise 292.

This show (which found Sam Wilson covering all Rockin’ Dogs vocals while Dave Ellison recuperated from laryngitis and 17-year-old Wendell Kling evading ID inspection in the men’s room until Noise 292’s appearance) was also photographed by Ms. Stalnaker-Bevilacqua. But this is the first time we’ve been able to put it on the calendar. Mystery solved — thanks, Lori!

Bonus artifact: an ad featuring a July 29, 1983, appearance by the Rockin’ Dogs at the Headquarters (with the Ripsaws and Jimmy & the Vandals). I’m afraid I didn’t catch this show; the Answers, Noise 292 and Hair Theatre were playing the Che Cafe that night.

Have you ‘zine me? Snare Issue #3

June 30, 2009November 16, 2008 by

(Answers/Mirrors vet Dave Fleminger gets between the covers of a great rock-‘n’-roll read.)

Dan McLain was a larger-than-life character who ran one of San Diego’s first alternative record stores (Monty Rockers); played drums for the Penetrators and the original lineup of the Crawdaddys; and led numerous other groups including Country Dick and the Snuggle Bunnies and the Pleasure Barons. And of course, he is internationally known as Country Dick Montana from the Beat Farmers, the world’s greatest bar band. But along with being a truly great performing talent, he also generously brought everyone into the party with ‘zines like Snare.

In late-70’s/early-80’s San Diego, if you wanted a scene you had to make one, and Dan helped make the sprawling town feel closer to a rock-‘n’-roll neighborhood with such labors of love as Snare Magazine. Every issue was hand-written and peppered with cartoon portraits of the bands interviewed, along with ads that either made fun of the sponsors or were completely fabricated (such as the infamous “Rock and Roll Heaven” store in Santee). A new issue would be the highlight of my record-shopping experience and I’d study each one harder than any of my schoolbooks.

Sympathy for the ’70s

March 29, 2019November 13, 2008 by admin

“Perhaps another thread for ’70s appreciation is in order, too,” writes Ray Brandes of yesterday’s post focused on the darkest aspects of our formative years.

Toby Gibson concurs: “While my dark, apocalyptic views of the ’70s (and my gritty black-and-white memories) seem negative, I wish I could go back for so many things that are gone now, and to get away from so many things that are just WAY worse.”

Let’s accentuate the positive! Many of us idolized the ’60s, but most of us spent the majority of our minority in the ’70s. What memories of the era warm you up when the modern world seems cold?

Traumatic ’70s madness

March 29, 2019November 12, 2008 by admin

Blackberrying CNN on the ride in to work, I learned that next week marks the 30th anniversary of the mass murder-suicide of 909 Americans who’d followed Jim Jones from California into the jungles of Guyana.

It got me thinking (again) that there was a lot of really horrible stuff happening when most of us were in secondary school — much of it in California in general or San Diego in particular.

Read moreTraumatic ’70s madness

Mods at Mount Soledad, Ski Beach

January 1, 2011November 10, 2008 by admin

Veteran scooterist Elker deMello has answered Mike McCarthy’s recent contribution of scooter-rally cheesecake with his own trove of photographs from outdoor gatherings of the San Diego mod tribes, including his own Dancing Skeletons.

This batch from the Elker deMello Archives comprises photography from the very same Mount Soledad rally Mike documented along with some great shots of our mod friends congregating alongside the volleyball players at Ski Beach.

Hair Theatre: “What Should I Say”

January 1, 2011November 9, 2008 by admin

More Hair Theatre on YouTube, this time ca. 1984 with Paul Allen on lead guitar.

This video portrays the second major phase of what would prove to be the Che Underground’s longest-running group, enduring into the ’90s. (This is also the lineup that recorded the classic MP3s we’ve shared so far on the blog.)

When I first encountered Hair Theatre in July 1983, it was a four-piece with Howard Palmer on drums. By the end of the year, Howard had ceded the drum stool to Steve Broach, and Paul had added his guitar to Cesar Castillo’s.

Hearing “What Should I Say” after 25 years is another Proustian revelation to me; the tight songwriting and machine-gun delivery cuts through the murk of the video and taps wellsprings of love and admiration for this band.

Can anyone identify the venue? And who’s the young lady with the pink hair gyrating in the front row?

My rockin’ Sweet 16

June 30, 2009November 7, 2008 by admin

(Miss Kristi Maddocks takes one step beyond childhood with a heavy, heavy monster party. Pick it up, pick it up!)

Before there was MTV, princesses all over the world celebrated their teenage years with fabulous Sweet 16 birthday parties. Although by that time I was a child of the Che Underground, celebrating this rite of passage was an excuse to throw a wonderful party, as well as an old family tradition that I could not pass up.

When I turned 16 in 1982, the Headquarters and Distillery East were my favorite hangouts. I spent my days playing volleyball and studying at Torrey Pines High School, and hung out with the mod/punk/surfer clique known as “The Scrubboes.” In the evenings I was out dancing with my friends from UC, La Jolla, PB and downtown. It only made sense that my ska-theme birthday party included kids from both walks of life!