Che Underground | The Che Underground

Then and now: The Che Cafe

August 20, 2011September 14, 2009 by admin

(High time! Che Underground documentarian Kristen Tobiason revisits the spot that gave the blog its name.)

The first time I landed on the surface of the Che Café was at an early-evening soundcheck for the Wallflowers (not the Jakob Dylan pansy MTV sensation, but the raw & funky, OG Wallflowers), who were opening that night for Noise 292.

Arriving and styling in Paul Howland’s parents’ green station wagon, we unloaded a couple pieces of equipment, and then proceeded to hang out in the woodsy picnic areas surrounding the venue, creating a smoky haze amidst talk of music and the humor of Tom and Paul’s use of ordinary soap as an alternative to dime-store hair gel.

Surfacing the Gravedigger V

March 30, 2019September 2, 2009 by admin

A recent comment by Kristen Tobiason has me puzzling over how best to focus conversation on the Gravedigger V, a youthful San Diego band whose brief existence in 1983-1984 has inspired a quarter-century of notoriety.

There are plenty of online references to the band and its album “All Black and Hairy,” but many pieces are of questionable accuracy. What can we do to set the record straight?

‘You just keep me hanging on … ‘

December 11, 2017September 1, 2009 by admin

Group consciousness in action? In the weeks after so many of us got back together for May’s Che Games at the Casbah (and the lovely Graveyard Park picnic that followed), I was struck by the number of references to Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” dropped by attendees.

Never mind its post-“Trainspotting” ubiquity: “Perfect Day” remains a haunting paean to love and loss, as the narrator muses about a perfect day with a companion who made him feel like “someone else … Someone good.”

It’s also makes me think about the “perfect days” of our youth … And days that approach perfection now.

Gone fishin’ …

September 14, 2009August 24, 2009 by admin

Well, not exactly — but a family vacation (and a petition by the family members who comprise it that I unplug a while) has slowed our regular programming cycle. Che Underground: The Blog has a wealth of archival treasures and challenging conversations waiting in the wings, but it may be a day or two before I can get the gears turning again.

What are you up to this summer?

… Which in itself suggests a topic I’d like to hear about! In this networked world of 2009, how do you balance the digital and the analog parts of your lives? I feel very lucky to share the former with all of you (and the latter with many of you), but how do you make time for each?

Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen

December 16, 2017August 21, 2009 by admin

I’ve belatedly read “The Tipping Point,” Malcolm Gladwell’s marvelous little book on the critical mass required to create an epidemic — whether a literal, biological one or the adoption of ideas or products.

I’ve been comparing Gladwell’s ideas to the intense little scene we experienced in late ’70s/early ’80s San Diego. In particular, I’ve been thinking about the people that played the three key roles Gladwell describes as necessary for a movement to take off. Check out the definitions, and then think about the folks we hung around with back when we were young:

Community watch! Help Che find its gear

April 23, 2012August 16, 2009 by admin

Our ancestral stomping grounds recently suffered a theft. Dave Fleminger notes this August 7 notice on Craigslist, posted by the Che Cafe Collective:

“The Che Cafe … was broken into sometime between August 3 and August 5. ALL of our mics, xlr cables, direct in boxes, monitors, the sound board itself, ALL of it has been STOLEN. We’re looking at 8 to 10 thousand dollars worth of equipment gone.

Che Games memories from Mathias Kuo

January 1, 2011August 7, 2009 by admin

(A long-time reader puts out the call for then-and-now matchups!)

With the advent and conclusion of the Che Games this May, we are reminded of our youth and the path that brought us to the world we exist in today.

Some are still active in the scene and lifestyle; others, such as myself, have taken the experiences and philosophies of that time and melded them into the child-rearing, career-focused, mortgage- and bill-paying reality of the new millennium and the harsh realization that I am a 40-something now and “damn old.”

I discovered the Che Underground last summer, and it has been on my browser ever since. The articles and especially the pictures have allowed me to connect with old friends as well as reminisce about “the formative years” and how that small slice of time has helped me to cope with the world we live in today.

‘Our Blow Out’: Reloaded

January 1, 2011July 30, 2009 by admin

(Injections, Noise 292 and Everybody Violet drummer Joey Miller makes a public-service announcement — with guitar!)

DISCLAIMER: This is not a project of either Matthew or me, and there will understandably be different perspectives on it. Great. Please feel free to make /post your thoughts here, but KNOW and UNDERSTAND we are only the messengers.

“Our Blow Out” was a compilation that was originally put together and released in 1983 by Cliff from Social Spit. It was an energetic and amazing accomplishment for its time, and (as many of us can attest) it was an amazing compilation.

Read more about “Our Blow Out”!

Curtis, the owner of TAANG Records, has expressed interest in re-releasing this compilation; he would like to make contact with as many band members as possible to set up a meeting. He is extremely interested in seeing this move forward, and it is our hope to put the word out to see how many originals that this information would reach.

The Morlocks: “Two Wheels Go”

December 11, 2017July 13, 2009 by admin

Here’s another video sequence from the Morlocks’ 1986 performance at the Stone in San Francisco that included the version of “My Friend the Bird” previously aired on Che Underground: The Blog.

“I’m not sure who wrote it,” says drummer Mark Mullen. “All I remember is that it was written for Brother Ed from The Brotherhood of Light. He did our liquid light show, and his biker pals did security.

“‘Two Wheels Go’ was for the bikers, Hells Angels I believe.”

Read moreThe Morlocks: “Two Wheels Go”

Hair Theatre: “Final Steps,” 1984

January 1, 2011July 1, 2009 by admin

While we await the arrival of new video from Che Games for May 2009, here’s some more vintage footage of the Hair Theatre lineup that reunited for that show.

Like “What Should I Say,” this sizzling performance of “Final Steps” dates from 1984 and features Sergio (vocals); Sergio Castillo (bass); Cesar Castillo (guitar); Paul Allen (guitar); and Steve Broach (drums).

Check out more Hair Theatre and other Che Underground video morsels on the Che Underground YouTube channel!