Che Underground: The Blog

Then and now: Studio 517

January 1, 2011July 25, 2008 by admin

(Roving correspondent/ photographer Kristen Tobiason revisits and documents the scenes of our youth. Today, Studio 517 sheds its leathers for pinstripes.)

Studio 517 was in full swing during the summers of 1982-’83. Managed by Steve Epeneter — a tall, idiosyncratic fellow nicknamed “Lurch” — its concrete walls housed outstanding performances by the Gravedigger V, The Tell-Tale Hearts, The Wallflowers, Personal Conflict, The Front and many others.

Sean McDaniels (inveterate troll of San Diego hangouts) recalls, “It was only open in the summer, and it was hot. We hung out on the sidewalk out front or in the park more than we did inside where the bands were playing. I remember there was a Chinese lady who used to yell at us from across the street.”

The Answers: “Home”

January 21, 2018July 24, 2008 by admin

Here’s Answers Phase Two in kinetic action!

“[‘Home’] is from a performance at King’s Road, Aug. 13, 1982, opening for Banner,” writes guitarist/ vocalist/ songwriter Dave Fleminger. “Luv the impromptu intro with [MC] Jerry [Cornelius].

“As always, Dave Anderson delivers the powerhouse drumming that propels the breaks right out of the gate. One minute and 40 seconds in the key of A, all about an unfamiliar place with dirty dishes that remind you of home.”

Scooters in San Diego

December 11, 2017July 23, 2008 by admin

(Answers/Manual Scan/I Spy bassist Tony Suarez talks scooters with some help from the Cyndie Jaynes Collection of photos.)
Scooters — Vespas and Lambrettas in particular — were primary transport for many mods and punk kids even before the appearance of the Who movie “Quadrophenia” in late 1979. They were cheap and plentiful. You had three places to buy them (Vespa at the Beaches, Vespa of San Diego, Moped Mama). They showed up in the Reader Classifieds on the cheap.

Bart Mendoza relates that there were a few mods already in circulation by 1979. Dean Curtis, Kristine and James Harrell, Dennis Borlek, and Steve Medico were early adopters, and the movie just added to the interest.

These photos of San Diego mods and scooterists at Ski Beach in Mission Bay date from around 1984:

Then and now: La Posta

January 1, 2011July 22, 2008 by admin

(Roving correspondent/ photographer Kristen Tobiason revisits and documents the scenes of our youth. Today, rolling with the tacos at La Posta, 2008!)

Ah! La Posta. Our signature Southern California cuisine. …. Craving carne asada at 3am? No problem. The mighty little taco shop, La Posta, on 3rd and Washington, is still going strong just as it was 25 years ago. (Twenty-five years?! Jeebus!)

Back in the day it was all the nutrition we needed. Next to McDonald’s five-hamburgers-for-$1 deal, (the Morlocks were huge fans of Mickey D’s), it was a cheap feast. Who would have thunk that today we would be eating sushi?

More sides of David Klowden

March 27, 2019July 21, 2008 by admin

(5051 and Tell-Tale Hearts veteran David Klowden continues to explore his back pages with more artifacts of his crucified youth.)

Here are both sides of the 8 1/2 x 14 insert that was folded up and stuck in each of the records [the 1981 EP by seminal San Diego punk band 5051, vocals by David Klowden].

Also, two photos.

First is the only Crucified Youth-era (1980) photo I have of David GI (the punk nickname given me by Marc Rude — some thought I was called “GI” because of the ubiquitous Army jacket, but the real reason was because I was a Germs fan and that was the name of their album.) This picture was taken in San Carlos in front of the house between mine and Dennis Quick’s.

El sabor de San Diego

December 11, 2017July 19, 2008 by Paul Kaufman

(For Marcel Proust, the evocative taste of a madeline inspired seven volumes of childhood reminiscence. When in San Diego, Manual Scan/Lemons Are Yellow vet Paul Kaufman employs a different memory aid — this one wrapped in a tortilla.)
Now that I live 2,000 light years from home, I often crave the foods of San Diego. Certainly, the most distinctive cuisine of Southern California came across the border from Mexico. And it wasn’t until I moved to the SF Bay area in late ’82 that I realized that a few items in the Mexican food of my youth were not replicated 500 miles to the north.

For me, the chief example is the burrito. In San Diego, burritos had lively and very strong individual personalities: carne asada meant grilled steak, with some guacamole and onion, and that’s it. There was no confusing it with a burrito based on a chicken stew or machaca.

The Rockin’ Dogs at Saigon Palace

April 21, 2012July 18, 2008 by

Here’s a photo set from a memorable night in late 1983/early 1984 when the Rockin’ Dogs — guitarists/vocalists Dave Ellison and Sam Wilson; bassist Jane Bunting; and drummer Cole Smithey — took the stage with Noise 292 at Saigon Palace in what is now call the Gaslamp Quarter.

“The live color pics with Jane were the Saigon Palace!” Ellison recalls. “I was really sick, I had a fever and laryngitis really bad â€¦ to the point where I could do nothing but whisper for two weeks â€¦ so Sam sang all the songs that night.”

The Rockin’ Dogs at Saigon Palace

January 1, 2011July 18, 2008 by admin

“The live color pics with Jane were the Saigon Palace!” Ellison recalls. “I was really sick, I had a fever and laryngitis really bad … to the point where I could do nothing but whisper for two weeks … so Sam sang all the songs that night.”

Then and now: Presidio Park

June 30, 2009July 17, 2008 by admin

(In the second installment of a series, roving correspondent/ photographer Kristen Tobiason revisits and documents the scenes of our youth. Today, we patrol Presidio Park, site of many an al fresco gathering ca. 1984.)

Presidio Park — a k a “Presids.”

Law Street. Ski Beach. Balboa Park. And Presidio. As soon as the question, “What we gonna do tonight?” was asked, a phone call was made and a few hours later, there would be over 50 kids hanging out in the Presidio Park Mission parking lot, sitting on that famous wall.

Drinking beer, hooking up with prospective partners for the make-out ditch down the hill — scooters would line up the length of the whole lot. It was like “Romper Room” for hormone-crazed teens. Flirting, yelling, chasing each other, having intellectual debates over some band’s inherent greatness versus another’s … I remember Mike Stax’s [Tell-Tale Hearts] and John Hanrattie’s [Gravedigger V] competition over The Pretty Things and The Stones, represented by the ‘zines they put out, namely Ugly Things and December’s Children. (We were pretty competitive!)

The Answers: “Electric Flowers”

June 30, 2009July 16, 2008 by admin

Music historians recognize three major phases of the Answers: the founding lineup that included guitarist/vocalist Dave Fleminger and bassist/vocalist Jeff Lowe as well as drummer Joe Asaro; a middle period during which Tony Suarez took over bass duties and Dave Anderson, drums; and a latter phase that featured Jeff’s return from LA. “Electric Flowers” inaugurated that third era in the band’s history.

“Here’s the Answers live at the Headquarters, Jan. 1, 1983,” Fleminger writes. “We kicked off the new year with our first show since Jeff rejoined the band, probably about a week beforehand.