Reviving San Diego's Rock Renaissance
Important new additions to the visual record of San Diego’s mod movement, turn of the ’80s!
“Dean Curtis e-mailed me to inform me that you would like to use some of my mod pics that I have posted on Flickr,” writes San Diego mod pioneer Kirk Murray. “I am not sure how to upload them onto the Che Underground site, which, by the way, is very cool.
(Manual Scan co-founder Kevin Donaker-Ring talks about a cool new club in San Diego and a turning point for this enduring band.)
I’ve been working security for over four years now. Last September, I started working at Small Bar, owned by the same people that run Hamilton’s Tavern in South Park.
Dennis Borlek, the first person in San Diego I ever met who had a scooter, and who continues to be a San Diego music scene fixture, is the general manager there. Small Bar’s owners recently purchased the Radio Room (formerly the Zombie Lounge) on El Cajon Boulevard, just east of 35th St., and renamed it “Eleven.” (Yes, that’s a direct Spinal Tap reference.)
They improved the sound system and the acoustics (not to mention expanding the beers on tap by an order of magnitude). But anyone who has been into the San Diego music scene will want to visit this place — they wallpapered large sections of the bar with reproductions of vintage San Diego show flyers.
(Bart Mendoza of Manual Scan and the Shambles — San Diego music historian extraordinaire — shares some highlights from his stacks.)
Some call it being a pack rat; I prefer the tag “archivist”! The dream is to put together a DVD/book with the rooms full of stuff I’ve accumulated in 30 years of collecting San Diego music memorabilia.
But in the meantime, in honor of the recent Che Underground reunion shows, here are 20 relevant vintage photos from my archive. For this fifth picture post, I’ve included a little bit of everything: random photos from 1982-1990 (+1), including bandmates and other friends.
1) Dean Curtis at Club Zu. You know it’s a good show if Dean is in attendance.
