Bobby Lane | The Che Underground

Madison Avenue hipster holiday, December 1985

December 31, 2010December 24, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

(Miss Kristi Maddocks plays the Ghost of Christmas Past with photos and memories.)

Here are some snapshots from my very bo-ho holiday season in 1985.

At the time, I was living with Michelle Krone, Jeff Rierden and Keith Lockhart (RIP) in our tiny one-bedroom in-law apartment in the neighborhood around University and Park Avenues. I think Leighton Koizumi was in town for a visit from San Francisco, where he and the rest of the Morlocks moved six months before.

This arrangement left me sleeping alone on the couch in the living room — where I am captured waking up in a haze on Christmas Day.

One of the most memorable features of the apartment were the full-scale murals of cartoon Go Go Girls that our dear friend Scott Ewalt drew on our walls — they were way ahead of their time and adored by many visitors to out pad. (Needless to say, I never got back my apartment deposit!)

Opening Kings Road Cafe

January 1, 2011August 25, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

Jason Seibert’s generous donation of early-’80s San Diego flyers offers a prime opportunity to open discussion of the Kings Road Cafe (née the International Blend), a small venue that played an enormous role in fostering and showcasing an eclectic mix of bands.

The Seibert Collection represents a slice of life at Kings Road in the summer of 1982, starting in June when the club morphed from the I-Blend under the management of Peter “English” Verbrugge. Other artifacts, including a July 1982 calendar (with membership card offer!), highlight the variety of performers that visited 4034 30th St. that summer, both San Diego regulars and up-and-coming out-of-towners.

More familiar faces

January 1, 2011July 15, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

Another fabulous installment from the Cyndie Jaynes Collection of photographs from the San Diego underground ca. 1984-’85.

“[M]ost of the ‘hanging around’ photos … were taken at [John] Murphy’s place on Normal St.,” Cyndie recalls. “I got a camera for high-school graduation, and sat around taking photos of anyone who showed up.”

We’re very grateful she did; each of these loving portraits offers a shock of recognition and a rush of neurotransmitters to long-unused synapses. Check out the photos and help us fill in the blanks!

Saving Bobby Lane

January 1, 2011July 8, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

The Che Underground flyer collection is overdue in giving credit to Bobby Lane, one of the greats of San Diego rock-‘n’-roll graphics. While I hope we can open a complete (and pristine) Bobby Lane Wing in our online gallery, I like the personal history behind these two well-loved examples, courtesy of Kristen Tobiasen.

“What flyer gallery would be complete without the art of Bobby Lane?” Kristen writes. “Probably the most ‘iconic’ of San Diego punk flyer artists, definitely the most prolific. Years before I ever met him, I remember seeing his flyers posted around.