Che Underground | The Che Underground

‘Sesame Street’: Forty years ago today …

January 6, 2011November 10, 2009 by Paul Kaufman

(Paul Kaufman commemorates the Nov. 10, 1969, launch of a kid’s show that defined a generation.)

I’m just the right age for this tribute, because I recall the day this new show first appeared in the afternoon lineup when I was five.

“Sesame Street”‘s short scenes, fast action and large cast of adorable puppets were very different from other kids’ shows at the time (Captain Kangaroo and Mister Rogers had been my faves). The respectful multiculturalism of this show was groundbreaking, but I won’t try to catalog all the positive social influences of this show here, as I’m sure that’s being discussed at great length elsewhere. (What other anniversary has had a whole week of specialized Google logos?)

For this blog, I do want to emphasize how “Sesame Street” literally rocked in ways that kids’ TV hadn’t before, both with outstanding outside guests:

The Calaveras Carnivore

December 31, 2010October 27, 2009 by admin

(A culinary blogging adventure from Che Underground veteran Patrick Works.)

While he’s been shooting a lot lately, Patrick’s also been busy writing.

This gets him hungry, so he eats while he writes.

Lately he’s been thinking he should really do some writing about eating. At least that way he’s got a good excuse for all the grease on the keyboard.

Bizarro Che Underground: Boone, N.C.

December 16, 2017October 26, 2009 by admin

Maybe you assumed we’re the only ones thinking about the musical community we constructed in our youth. Perhaps you assumed our web of bands and venues and relationships was the only one to inspire a Web anthology and assorted reunions.

Now consider the unlikely musical incubator of Boone, N.C., which has inspired an eerily similar project focused on reassembling underground bands that played Appalachian State University between 1979 and 1990.

Bruce Joyner: Che Underground regards

December 11, 2017October 24, 2009 by admin

(Ray Brandes leads a karmic rally on behalf of a local hero.)

Unknowns’ Bruce Joyner (photograph by Tim LaMadrid; all rights reserved) Che Underground hero Bruce Joyner, lead singer extraordinaire of the Unknowns, is a classic Southern Gentleman. He has graced us here with his insight and keen wit and has answered our questions with a Southern hospitality as rich and famous as sweet sun tea.

Bruce’s chronic health problems, originating with a string of accidents in his youth, have been well-documented. He has weathered years of painful operations and recurring complications like a Georgia oak: steadfastly, firmly and proudly. Bruce will soon be undergoing a series of surgeries that will keep him from performing until at least early springtime of next year.

Gifts and barters

December 31, 2010October 22, 2009 by admin

Back in April, Ray Brandes introduced us to a novel Spanish debt-collection practice and intiated a conversation about the spiritual and physical debts we owe each other. (For me, this whole blog has been a way to express gratitude to all of you for shaping me and helping me realize potential I couldn’t have foreseen.)

I’d like to get a little more mundane, perhaps, and think about the actual objects we pooled and traded. Money wasn’t equally distributed among us, we know, but it seems everybody managed to contribute something to the economy: sharing cigarettes, giving cool boots or a coat to a friend, making a cassette that got handed around, maybe going in on ownership of a vehicle or an amp …

Unlike a straight-up purchase, there’s a social connection and a story behind every trade or gift we made. I’d like to hear some more of them!

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.

Loma Prieta, 20 years later

December 31, 2010October 13, 2009 by admin

While our conjoined roots are in San Diego, Saturday marks a significant anniversary for the Che Underground contingent that relocated to the San Francisco Bay area in the mid-’80s: the 20th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake that rocked the region at 5:04 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 1989.

The 7.1-magnitude quake — which received live national exposure courtesy of the 1989 World Series — killed more than 60 people, tore the region’s infrastructure and knocked some of our internal gyroscopes askew.

Missing persons

December 31, 2010October 7, 2009 by admin

Friend of Che Underground Chris Mathis’ triumphant reappearance after reports of his demise dramatizes my favorite part of this whole blogging adventure: the opportunity to reconnect the people we knew then and lost track of since.

On Day Three of this blog’s existence, I posted a very modest list of folks whose whereabouts were unknown to the small circle of scenesters who were privy to our launch … Since then, we’ve located all the people on the list and many, many more besides. Even better, many of our friends have found us, thanks to the blog’s rising online profile.

So who else do you want us to track down? Let’s talk about other people who remain MIA and discuss how to connect the rest of those dots.

Lurkers welcome!

December 14, 2017October 1, 2009 by admin

Thank you! September 2009 was Che Underground: The Blog’s biggest month ever for page views … And if it had 31 days like most self-respecting months, it would’ve handily beaten the record for the largest number of individual visitors. (Our audience did breeze past the 8,000 mark without the neighbors calling in a single noise complaint.)

You’ve been coming back month after month for almost two years, and we’re very proud and grateful. We’d also enjoy hearing from you!

Local heroes

December 12, 2017September 21, 2009 by admin

Ray Brandes is not only a San Diego musical treasure in his own right; he’s also established himself as a remarkable curator of our musical history.

Ray’s recent biographies of the Penetrators, the Unknowns, the Crawdaddys and the Zeros, among others, are unprecedented for their depth, narrative clarity, and comprehensive work with the original musicians and other key sources.

Other contributors to Che Underground: The Blog have added more pieces to the puzzle, with posts on formative bands such as 5051, Claude Coma and the IVs, and the Injections.