Chris Sullivan | The Che Underground

The Penetrators, the Bedbreakers
and Manual Scan at the Casbah

September 30, 2011August 17, 2011 by Mmrothenberg

(After collecting a lifetime achievement award at last week’s San Diego Music Awards, the Penetrators performed Saturday at the Casbah Club, supported by fellow music veterans the Bedbreakers and Manual Scan. Che Underground: The Blog presents accounts of the evening by Sean McMullen, Gary Heffern and Kevin Donaker-Ring as well as a luminous selection of photos by Mr. McMullen.)

It was a full moon, I remember, and I was already sweating and thirsty after walking down from Banker’s Hill to the club, but couldn’t seem to get past the patio to the bar for a bubbly cold Tecate due to the onslaught of embracing and handshakes and stories that followed. Every one of these nights serves to reinforce the depth of this bizarre alter-family I have collected since I was a wild-eyed runt getting dropped off at Golden Hall for a Penetrators show, amongst others, full circle.

Indeed there are few things in my life as gratifying as seeing people who used to revolt and butt heads like rams getting along with so much love and joy and pride. And the sheer fact that we remain so devoted to our music, to this town and each other, speaks volumes of the magnitude of our youth, and how we carry it forward incessantly with age.

The Penetrators play SDMA!

December 19, 2011August 10, 2011 by Mmrothenberg

Thanks to documentarian Eric Rife, those of us far from Southern California can enjoy video of the Penetrators performing at the 2011 San Diego Music Awards at Humphrey’s by the Bay August 8, when the band received a lifetime achievement award for its contributions to local music. (Vocalist Gary Heffern in June shared his thoughts on the honor with Che Underground: The Blog.)

If these performances of “Walk the Beat” and “Sensitive Boy” put you in the mood for more stimulation, don’t forget: The Penetrators will hold another reunion performance at the Casbah August 13!

The Penetrators in August:
SDMA lifetime kudos, Casbah gig

September 4, 2011June 13, 2011 by Mmrothenberg

August 2011 is a momentous month for San Diego hometown heroes the Penetrators, when lead singer Gary Heffern returns from Finland in time for the band to receive a recognition for lifetime achievement at the 2011 San Diego Music Awards August 8! The event will also occasion another Penetrators reunion performance at the Casbah August 13.

“As a child, I was told, ‘You will never amount to anything,’ ” Heff recalls. “Still that voice in the back of my head repeats that over and over again. It’s a mantra I fight against on a daily basis.

“When I first heard the Ramones’ ‘Beat on the Brat,’ the New York Dolls’ ‘Trash’ and the Sex Pistols’ ‘No Future,’ they weren’t just words but anthems to me, something that was personal, and all mine … People who understood those songs and what they meant to me became instant friends … It was us against the world …

Penetrators and friends at the Casbah

September 4, 2011April 12, 2011 by Mmrothenberg

(San Diego’s legendary Penetrators got together for a rare performance April 3, when lead singer Gary Heffern flew in from Finland for a short visit. Ace photographer Sean McMullen was in the audience and offers a wealth of images for us out-of-towners.)

It was a really good turnout with a true rogue’s gallery of old friends.

I made a joke about there not being much of a pit, and someone said it was more of a “hug pit.” Haha. I definitely participated in that. All three sets (including openers the Loons and Social Spit) were high energy and rocked the joint well. The level of passion and musicianship was an adrenaline rush all the way through.

Personally, The Penetrators were one of the first bands I saw live as a 13- or 14-year-old kid at Golden Hall. I became friends with Gary in the last decade through Casbah shows and Facebook, so it was a joy to have him back here and interacting with all of the people I grew up with from that early age.

Manual Scan: ‘I Can’t Don’t Want to Faster’

July 3, 2011October 13, 2010 by Mmrothenberg

Another artifact from the legendary band’s Jan. 30, 2010, Che Underground showcase at San Diego’s Casbah. This is the second-to-last song in Manual Scan’s 13-song set before being joined by Chris Sullivan and Chris Davies of the Penetrators.

This sequence was culled from Eric Rife’s video and Dave Fleminger’s audio, and features l-r: Dave Fleminger, Kevin Donaker-Ring, Bart Mendoza, Morgan Young and Tim Blankenship.

Manual Scan meets the Penetrators

April 14, 2012July 7, 2010 by Mmrothenberg

Among the highlights of our Che Underground event Jan. 30, 2010, at the Casbah was “Manual Penetration.” This collaboration brought Chris Davies and Chris Sullivan of San Diego’s legendary Penetrators onstage with the equally storied Manual Scan to perform a mini-set of Penetrators songs.

Scan co-founders Bart Mendoza and Kevin Donaker-Ring talk about the origins of this matchup, captured here on video shot that night by Eric Rife with sound engineered by Dave Fleminger.

Gary Heffern + the Town Criers
+ benefit raffle = Jan. 30 fun!

December 14, 2017January 25, 2010 by Mmrothenberg

Attention, San Diego scenesters: To cap the run of special guests at at the Casbah’s Che Underground showcase Jan. 30, Penetrators vocalist Gary Heffern is coming in from Finland to join the festivities!

Heff will be singing with the Town Criers (while his Penetrators bandmates Chris Sullivan and Chris Davies join Manual Scan onstage). He’s also helping Che Underground: the Blog jump-start a San Diego underground retrospective exhibit and raise money on behalf of Unknowns vocalist Bruce Joyner.

“Manual Penetration” at the Casbah Jan. 30!

December 14, 2017January 24, 2010 by Mmrothenberg

Next Saturday’s Che Underground showcase at San Diego’s Casbah continues to gain star power: Manual Scan announces a Penetrators-themed show-within-a-show featuring two members of that legendary band.

Manual Scan’s Kevin Donaker-Ring explains the circumstances that brought Penetrators bassist Chris Sullivan and guitarist Chris Davies to the Casbah show, which will also feature the Unknowns, the Town Criers and the Blues Gangsters.