Che Underground | The Che Underground

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?

The kid stays in the picture

January 1, 2011November 6, 2008 by admin

(Hair Theatre guitarist Paul Allen describes one photograph’s journey.)

This is one of 4 photos, as I recall, that [Hair Theatre vocalist] Sergio had given me before I moved to San Francisco in February 1989. I think Laura Swapp took them. I couldn’t tell you where we were playing. Like most of the clubs back then, the predominant color is black.

In the spring of 1992 I moved on a whim (the morning after the night I decided to go, after staying up all night) to New Orleans. Having prepared little, I ended up in an apartment with no furniture, stove or fridge. I’d turn on the light at night to find a virtual colony of roaches, beetles and crickets all scurrying for this giant hole in the closet floor. At this point I was so broke I was living on peanut butter & jelly and Thunderbird (a fifth chilled for $2.59!).

I entrusted a friend back in S.F. to sell my amp, stereo, books and records. The deal was he would keep 40 percent and send me 60 percent.

Che Games for May (2009)!

January 1, 2011November 3, 2008 by admin

Believe the hype: May 29-31, 2009, is the time and San Diego is the place for the Che Underground’s 25-year reunion and performance showcase.

A crack team of musical geniuses, party planners and cranky old hipsters is hashing out the details, which will be forthcoming in this space. But go ahead and book your E-tickets now for a long weekend in America’s Finest City!

Among the bands on track for the show, Che Games for May will feature:

The Answers
The Gay Dennys (featuring members of the Tell-Tale Hearts and the Crawdaddys)
Hair Theatre
The Mirrors
Noise 292
The Wallflowers
MC: Jeremiah Cornelius
DJ: Paul Howland

David Anderson: Drummer at large

April 21, 2012October 24, 2008 by Paul Kaufman

(Manual Scan/Lemons Are Yellow vet Paul Kaufman recognizes a man who set the pulse of the scene.)
Many contributors to Che Underground: The Blog have already mentioned David Anderson, a legendary figure in our musical history. To recap, he made major contributions to The Gravedigger V, The Answers, Manual Scan, The Crawdaddys, The Trebels and I Spy. This vast resumé reflects the fact that Dave was already a formidable drum talent by his early teens. At one point his kick drum read, “Your Band Name Here.”

But Dave was much more than just a guy behind the drum kit. Answers bandmate David Fleminger says, “I first met Dave (I think he was 13) when he was playing with I Spy. He’s an amazingly energetic and innovative talent who can lay down a foundation beat like no one else. A fantastic bandmate with a great sense of humor.”

“David Anderson? A legend!” Manual Scan co-founder Bart Mendoza recalls. “Some of my fondest tour stories involve him. We once snuck all our friends into the General Public shows we were opening in San Francisco and had one of the best parties ever. I remember playing bumper chairs as beer was spilled all over the floor of our dressing room at The Kabuki Theatre and the night getting pretty rowdy. David nearly caused a riot in Las Vegas because he went commando onstage. He played a squeaky-toy solo at the Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco.

Ask not what Che Underground can do for you …

January 1, 2011October 18, 2008 by admin

If you were there, the Che Underground blog is your story, too. We’d love to hear and see your side of it.

Like PBS, we run on donations from viewers like you. This site is built on flyers, photos, audio and video from collectors including Kristen Tobiason, Toby Gibson, Cyndie Jaynes, Kristi Maddocks, Tom Goddard, Jason Seibert, Bruce Haemmerle, Mike McCarthy, Dean Curtis, Mark Mullen, Jeff Lucas, David Klowden, Cole Smithey, Bart Mendoza and Paul Allen. What rock-‘n’-roll treasures are growing crispy in your attic, your basement or your mom’s house?

If you can scan them or digitize them, great! If you need some help, operators are standing by … We’ll find you someone who can. Either way, raise a virtual hand here or drop a line to cheunderground@gmail.com, and we’ll get you started.

The Morlocks in flyers

January 1, 2011September 28, 2008 by admin

Tom Goddard’s trove of flyers continues to bear dividends for Che Underground: The Blog. Today’s bequest from the Goddard Collection features show pieces from the Morlocks’ 1984 and 1985 performances in San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco, created by artists including Jerry Cornelius and Kristen Tobiason.

“For more information, call [Tell-Tale Hearts bassist] Mike [Stax],” reads the Tobiason flyer in the lead spot of this post. “If he ain’t home, call [Morlocks guitarist] Ted [Friedman] … If he ain’t home, call [Morlocks bassist] Jeff [Lucas] … ,” providing phone numbers for each. Now that’s customer service!

“I’m with the band.”

April 23, 2012September 12, 2008 by admin

Time for belated public acknowledgment of people who aided and abetted those of us on stage.

I’d suggest that performing with a band required a mix of artistic impulse, personal ambition, exhibitionism, a desire for recognition and a need for affirmation. (Your mileage may vary on which traits were dominant.) Most of us had a major assist from folks who didn’t seem to need the limelight so desperately but were there for us: other kids who were known as roadies; managers; girlfriends (and boyfriends); or never had an “official” label but still exerted tremendous influence.

Who carried your amp and fixed your strings? Who drew your flyers? Who second-guessed the sound man and argued with the promoter? Who stood down front on an empty dance floor when everyone else huddled 40 feet back?

Let’s give credit where credit is overdue!

Noise 292: “Mr. Pumpkin”

January 1, 2011September 11, 2008 by admin

Here’s a late but significant contribution to the Noise 292 set list. “Mr. Pumpkin” by guitarist David Rives appeared on a four-song demo we recorded at Mira Costa College, I believe in April 1984.

The driving metalwork percussion is classic Wendell Kling, and I’m under the distinct impression that the drums on this session were generously contributed by the multitalented Sergio of Hair Theatre. Dave sings lead, and I’m on bass.

Listen to it now!

Then and now: Rock Palace

December 14, 2017September 9, 2008 by admin

(Roving correspondent/photographer Kristen Tobiason surveys the remains of Rock Palace, which enjoyed a brief mid-’80s run of all-ages fun. “The stretch of El Cajon Boulevard sandwiched between I-805 and the I-15 is a desert of boarded-up, abandoned buildings dotted with a few small neighborhood repair shops or used-car lots. The Rock Palace structure has been dead since the ’80s, when completion of I-15 isolated the neighborhood.” Wallflowers frontman Dave Rinck recalls its heyday.)

Someone, somehow, sometime about 1984 or 1985 discovered what must have been an old ballroom above some dingy retail shops on El Cajon Boulevard. [Editor’s note: Contemporary flyers tell us the address was 3465 El Cajon Blvd.] In its day, it must have been a grand olde place, for it had a really high ceiling; wonderful wooden floors; and this really huge, creaky old stage at one end.

Detail: Rock Palace exterior, early ’80s (collection Jeff Benet) And what? Yes, we also noticed that a couple of guys were starting to promote rock-‘n’-roll concerts there in that grand old ballroom. Dubious? Yes, it reeked of money laundering. Manuel Noriega, the Cali Cartel, some Burmese generals, and the Taliban were probably running the place jointly. Of course before you could say “Lose sleep, baby, and stay away from bed,” these dudes had demo tapes of various Che Underground bands in their hot little hands, and the era of the Rock Palace was on!!!

Hair Theatre: “Rolling Soul”

June 30, 2009August 31, 2008 by admin

From the same 1983 Lab Studios demo that brought us “Nightfall,” here’s Hair Theatre performing “Rolling Soul,” another signature number and staple of the band’s early-’80s repertoire. This track showcases the clean confidence of Hair Theatre’s early years and highlights the sophistication and charisma that vocalist/ songwriter Sergio demonstrated by age 18.

It also commemorates the collaborative skills of Sergio and Answers co-founder Dave Fleminger (demonstrated elsewhere with a recording of Sergio’s “He’s Calling You Tonight.”) “Sergio and I wrote that song one afternoon at [original Hair Theatre drummer Howard Palmer’s Carlsbad] shack,” Fleminger recalls. “The song was part of the expanded ‘3 Daves’ Answers sets, including our ‘Painted Sun’ gig opening for the Unclaimed at the UCSD Rec Gym” April 14, 1984.

Read moreHair Theatre: “Rolling Soul”