David Rives | The Che Underground

Noise 292: “Chanson Dada” at the Casbah

July 3, 2011November 20, 2010 by Mmrothenberg

Here’s a song that’s traveled with me since age 16 (when I first translated the words from the 1923 poem by Tristan Tzara) and got its definitive treatment when we formed Noise 292 in 1982.

I’ve played “Chanson Dada” in a lot of bands since (and even recently found my translation had been covered by some wacky Scandinavians!), but it’s probably the composition of mine I identify most closely with Noise 292. That made it a special pleasure to perform at our reunion May 31, 2009, when we presented Che Games for May at San Diego’s Casbah.

Noise 292 plays ‘Mr. Pumpkin’
b/w ‘Talking in Circles’

July 3, 2011October 30, 2010 by Mmrothenberg

I’ve written before on the blog about my oldest musical connection within our scene: with David (a k a Kavika) Rives, the fantastically talented lead guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for Noise 292. My musical association with Kavika began in eighth grade, ca. 1977, and was rekindled after a long separation when Noise 292 reunited to play Che Games for May 2009.

Here are two examples of Mr. Rives’ talent: his songs “Mr. Pumpkin” and “Talking in Circles.”

Photos from the Coleman Collection

December 31, 2010August 18, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

Carol Coleman (née Anderson), Encinitas Pannikin manager extraordinaire and all-around rockin’ scenester, recently digitized some photographs that include shots tracking paths we took from Hair Theatre and Noise 292.

These pictures include Hair Theatre vocalist Sergio, Noise 292 guitarist David Rives (and Answers guitarist Dave Fleminger) at one of the occasions when the former drummed for us at the Che Cafe; several shows by 3 Guys Called Jesus, the band I formed with bassist Steve Duke and drummer Robert Labbe in 1985; and 1995 photos of Joy Bomb, San Diego’s successor to Hair Theatre.

Let the games begin!

March 27, 2019April 26, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

(Tell-Tale Heart/Town Crier Ray Brandes lays the table for May’s audio feast.)

The Che Underground Weekend Showcase:
Celebrating more than 25 years of San Diego’s underground music history

An incredible opportunity to reconnect, reminisce and rediscover will unfold as 25 years and thousands of miles of distance disappear in a single weekend — May 29 and 30 at the Casbah in San Diego.

The lineups have been set, the bands are rehearsing, and the drinks are on ice. Here’s what to expect:

Noise 292: “Never Come Near”

January 1, 2011February 27, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

(Dave Fleminger recalls this performance from Noise 292’s April 25, 1984, appearance at UCSD’s Center for Music Experiment.)

I strongly remember this show, and especially this song. It was one of the last shows I saw before I left San Diego. Noise 292’s set was solid and focused, and unrelenting. This song, the last one in the set, struck me especially in its cold and alienating embrace.

The vocals and the high melody lock together into a single statement that shatters by the end into a mass of confusion and disjointed thought. Like so many great songs, it was easy to relate to it as a manifestation of my own mixed feelings — in this case about leaving home, my friends, this amazing music scene, everything familiar.

Read moreNoise 292: “Never Come Near”

Noise 292 gets into gear

January 1, 2011January 23, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

Preparations for the May 30 Che Underground reunion at San Diego’s Casbah are picking up steam and uniting musical collaborators separated by miles and decades.

Last weekend marked the first studio reunion of the Northern California contingent of Noise 292, comprising four of the five musicians who played together at the Che Cafe in July 1983: vocalist/ bassist/ guitarist Kristin Martin; vocalist/ guitarist David “Kavika” Rives; percussionist Hobie Hodge; and the Answers’ Dave Fleminger, who reprised his historical role as substitute drummer. (The San Diego faction — drummer Joanne Norris and percussionist Wendell Kling — are on deck to join the festivities in time for the May performance.)

Music stores we loved

December 31, 2010December 20, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

Blue Ridge Music in Encinitas is long gone now, but from age 12 (when I started playing guitar) to 16 (when I got a driver’s license and could explore further afield), this little place was my favorite toy store.

David Rives and I spent a lot of time in the shop and learned a great deal about instruments and their use from Andre, the proprietor, and his staff.

Blue Ridge was hardly a rock-‘n’-roll Mecca, although I did buy there the Guild guitar and Fender bass I still own today, and I did have one memorable encounter with Bo Diddley when he visited Blue Ridge to test out effects boxes for that evening’s gig at La Paloma Theater one block north.

Noise 292: “Eyesight”

January 1, 2011October 10, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

Noise 292 fan turned rock ‘n’ roll anthropologist Stefan Helmreich joins our ranks with a collection of tracks, including this late live performance of the band performing my early composition “Eyesight.”

“I recently stumbled across your Ché Underground site and was delighted to read such loving accounts of those long-ago days and nights,” Stefan writes. “I was still in high school — a year behind [Noise 292 percussionist] Wendell [Kling], then a senior at at San Dieguito — when I went to to the Nov. 17, 1983, Noise show, which stunned my then 17-year-old sensibilities and tracked me toward discovering Joy Division; the Velvets; and, soon enough, prompted me to start my own band.

Noise 292: “Mr. Pumpkin”

January 1, 2011September 11, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

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!

Hair Theatre: “Rolling Soul”

June 30, 2009August 31, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

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”