Cyndie Jaynes | The Che Underground

A Che Underground refresh: Ready for its closeup!

December 31, 2020 by Mmrothenberg

After a stint in rehab, Che Underground: The Blog emerges restored and refreshed, thanks to a year-long intervention by our own Jeremiah Cornelius!

Jerry has:

Untangled an overgrowth of outdated, damaged code;
Migrated the blog to a modern web host and an updated CMS;
And finally, reskinned the whole thing to allow readers to comment again and to avoid formatting snafus that had cropped up in recent years.

We’re going to be fixing links and outstanding formatting glitches in the coming weeks — so if you see something, say something (in the comments below)!

RIP Cyndie Jaynes

December 11, 2017December 31, 2015 by Mmrothenberg

Today brings sad news about Cynthia Jaynes Omololu, née Cyndie Jaynes, 18 months after her cancer diagnosis.

Her husband Bayo reports:

“Dear friends and family, tried to figure out how to let everyone know without putting a damper on your holidays, but it is with a broken heart that I have to tell you that the love of my life Cyn passed away this morning on her sleep. The last month and a half were extremely painful for her, but the one consolation was she died peacefully.”

There to Here: Cynthia Jaynes Omololu,
Young Adult fiction phenom

January 2, 2018July 10, 2012 by Mmrothenberg

(In this installment, Che Underground: The Blog talks to San Diego scene documentarian Cynthia Jaynes Omololu about her career in young-adult fiction. If you’d like your story told, e-mail cheunderground@gmail.com!)

With the publication of Dirty Little Secrets and the recent release of the first installment of your new Transcendence series, C.J. Omololu is developing a growing reputation as an author of fiction for young adults. How did you get from the San Diego scene of our youth to a writing career in San Francisco?

Aw, thanks, Matthew. I’ll take that kind of reputation. It actually makes a lot of sense – I have to write from the perspective of a 16 or 17 year old and a lot of people say I’m emotionally stunted at around that age. Okay, not totally true, but I started hanging around the San Diego scene at about that age, and it was a pretty influential time for me. We’d moved to Del Mar from Poway in the summer between 9th and 10th grade and I felt like I never fit in there – we were renting an apartment in the land of multimillion dollar beach houses and honestly, I couldn’t compete.

Ask not what Che Underground can do for you …

January 1, 2011October 18, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

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.

Mod match-up mania!

January 1, 2011October 17, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

It takes a virtual village to reconstruct an old-school San Diego scooter rally; this cache of photos from Mike McCarthy will require some heavy-duty forensics from the mod veterans among us.

“They look to be done at Mount Soledad, when you could climb up on the steps (can’t now),” writes Tony Suarez. “I have already recognized Cyndie Jaynes, Shawna Davis, James Kessler, Eric deMello, Dan Holsenback, Jay Wiseman, Karen Jagger, Dawn Edmundson, John Ryan and Kevin Ring.”

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!

Let’s talk about girls

January 1, 2011July 10, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

(Kristen Tobiason and Cyndie Jaynes represent for the double-X demographic with thoughts on the retro-cool of the early-’80s San Diego underground.)

Kristen Tobiason: Were we just groupies? Girlfriends? Part of the woodwork? Sometimes. But our outfits were stunning.

I look back fondly on the creativity and design that went into our retro ensembles — the afternoons digging at Amvets and DAV’s downtown, the go-go boots with the seam up the front and the zipper in the back. … One time the Pandoras’ lead singer Paula Pierce complimented me on my boots, and it was like a magic wand of “cool” was waved over my head.

Many familiar faces (a few missing names)

January 1, 2011June 30, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

The Cyndie Jaynes Collection continues to generate a kaleidescope of images from the early-’80s San Diego underground … This batch features a shot I overlooked from the Tell-Tale Hearts’ performance at Dave Fest 3 as well as a variety of portraits.

Here’s a selection of Cyndie’s photos, followed by a list matching names to these well-loved faces. Note the gaps in the historical record; help us out here!

Candid Wallflowers

January 1, 2011June 21, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

More Wallflowers gems from the Cyndie Jaynes Collection!

Besides some great offstage photos of bassist Paul Howland, guitarist Todd Lahman and vocalist David Rinck, this set includes a striking headshot of Dave performing al fresco at the Che Cafe, apparently at the same event where Cyndie caught up with the Tell-Tale Hearts. Could this be the legendary Dave Fest 3, site of the Wallflowers’ triumphant last stand?

More shots of the Hearts

January 1, 2011June 10, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

Cyndie Jaynes’ TV eye catches the Tell-Tale Hearts looking smart in a variety of venues, including more outdoor performance footage from the Che Cafe.

Could the black-and-white shots on the patio of the Che date from Dave Fest 3? (I’ve uploaded those photos at maximum resolution; the cast of characters populating the background itself represents a San Diego greatest-hits compilation!)