Eric Rife | The Che Underground

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!

Eric Rife previews ‘Garageland’ footage

December 11, 2017April 15, 2011 by Mmrothenberg

Good news for fans of San Diego music in particular and local music scenes in general: Eric Rife’s epic film project “Garageland” is approaching release in 2012, and Eric has posted a short preview of the film on YouTube.

Readers of Che Underground: The Blog as well as veterans of San Diego music are familiar with Eric’s work as a photographer and videographer. Indeed, his years of work pulling together archival and current footage for “Garageland” was an inspiration for me to start this blog in the first place.

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.”

Hair Theatre: “In Obscurity”

December 11, 2017October 23, 2010 by Mmrothenberg

Our Che Games for May 2009 show at San Diego’s Casbah regrouped nine legendary bands and ignited countless personal reunions. The crescendo of the two-night event was the triumphant return of the incredible Hair Theatre, seen here performing “In Obscurity” for the madding throng.

Seeing Hair Theatre perform together again was a personal highlight. This band amazed and delighted me from the first time I saw them play a party in Leucadia in 1983, and the reunion of members scattered along the West Coast was more than I could have hoped for when we first conceived this event.

Read moreHair Theatre: “In Obscurity”

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.

Town Criers, Gary Heffern at the Casbah

February 2, 2011August 8, 2010 by Mmrothenberg

One of the highlights of our Che Underground showcase at San Diego’s Casbah Jan. 30, 2010, was the 20-year reunion of the city’s pioneering alt-rockers the Town Criers.

And adding to the Penetrators theme of the festivities, Gary Heffern (frontman for that legendary band) flew in from Finland to join the band in a rare San Diego guest appearance.

Read the Town Criers’ story!

First off, here’s the Town Criers performing “My Baby Left Me,” written by Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup and performed by Elvis Presley, among others. The lineup fueling this first performance in more than two decades included Ray Brandes (vocals, guitar); Mark Zadarnowksi (bass); David Klowden (drums); and Peter Miesner (lead guitar).

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.

The Wallflowers: ‘Walldrugs’ at Che Games

January 6, 2011June 6, 2010 by Mmrothenberg

One year later, we’re finally on deck to start releasing performance footage shot by Eric Rife at May 2009’s Che Games for May reunion, synchronized to Jason Brownell’s high-fi audio courtesy of resident polymath Dave Fleminger.

First up, the first live performance of the original San Diego Wallflowers’ signature “Walldrugs” since 1985. Lead singer David Rinck reflects on resurrecting the song:

“When we were putting together the Wallflowers set list for the Che Games last year, we had to listen closely to the old recordings to figure out how we played those tunes, in order to get us all on the same page on the arrangements and all, since with me in Africa and the rest of the band spread out all over California, we were basically working via the Internet.”

Forever changes: Che Games for May
and the the perpetual nostalgia machine

January 6, 2011May 29, 2010 by Mmrothenberg

Detail: Dave Fleminger, the Mirrors; May 30, 2009 (photo by Dave Doyle) Ava points out that it was exactly one year ago that Che Underground: The Blog hosted its first-ever reunion gig (a k a “Che Games for May”) at San Diego’s Casbah.

The two-night blowout included eight great San Diego bands (nine, if you count the unannounced, sizzling first-night mini-set by Lemons Are Yellow), most of whom hadn’t played together in a quarter-century. It marked the first time most of us had been together since the mid-’80s — and the opportunity to meet a few new friends who’d met through the site and their shared San Diego musical history.

This anniversary thus represents an interesting object lesson in the recursive nature of memory: This event itself has now passed into its realm and hence deserves its own commemorative post!