Jason Seibert | The Che Underground

There to Here: Mark Stern, Soup Nation

March 28, 2012March 13, 2012 by Mmrothenberg

(In the first installment of a series, Che Underground: The Blog considers how a young San Diego show promoter became a Eugene, Ore., soup titan. Plus: a bonus after-party recipe from Mark! If you’d like your story told, e-mail cheunderground@gmail.com!)

The last time we were in the same town, you were playing in the Frame and promoting gigs in SD and Orange County at spots like Greenwich Village West, Big John’s and Club Cult. How did you move from there to the culinary arts?

I started at a steak-and-seafood joint as a dishwasher in Mira Mesa when I was in 10th grade, moved into doing salad station. There were all these “college” girl waitresses who would flirt with the new kid.

After that I got a job across the street at Chuck E. Cheese, doing pizza, and I would go out and do promos as the rat. My favorite was when they had me do an event for kids with Daryl Strawberry, then a Padre, who took me aside roughly when he thought I was upstaging him and whispered, “Take it easy, Chucky.”

Fairmount Hall’s punk pioneers

December 31, 2010December 1, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

While doing research for the blog, I came across this account from Scott McDonald in a 1981 edition of Flipside. This scene report (on Page 3 of the PDF) describes Fairmount Hall’s debut as a punk venue:

“Recently, a very successful show was produced at Fairmount Hall. This was the first gig at this location, and it features San Diego’s four best bands: thing was set up and arranged by Tim, Violent Crimes manager, with monetary help from whoever was willing and could afford it.

“Tim deserves a pat on the back for being the first one to go out and find a new location since the old Lion’s Club closed. Anyway all the bands played good sets, with plenty of energy being expended by both the bands and the people on the dance floor.

Read moreFairmount Hall’s punk pioneers

Punk flyer blow out from the Seibert Collection

January 1, 2011January 4, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

You asked for it, we’ve got it: The recent success of the PDF set of mod-themed flyers from the Ken Fugate Collection prompts a 31-page volume of punk classics from early ’80s San Diego, courtesy of our beloved Jason Seibert.

The Seibert flyers reference a variety of venues, including Fairmount Hall, North Park Lions Club and the Adams Avenue Theater (many of them organized by Marc Rude’s Dead or Alive). San Diego acts include Personal Conflict, Men of Clay, No Age Limit, the Skullbusters, Social Spit, Manifest Destiny, Catch-22, Moral Majority, V-5, 5051, the Nutrons, the Middle Class, Battalion of Saints, District Tradition, the Front, Sacred Lies, the Injections and Black Tango.

Read morePunk flyer blow out from the Seibert Collection

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.

Fleshing out the Skeleton Club

December 11, 2017August 17, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

Punk goodfella-turned-celebrity chef Jason Seibert has donated a wonderful cache of flyers to the Che Underground archives. These artifacts span the late ’70s through the early ’80s and document events at the North Park Lions Club, the International Blend/Kings Road, the Zebra Club and the Skeleton Club.

It’s high time we take note of that last venue, which did so much to hone the cutting edge of San Diego music. (Full disclosure: Tucked away in North County, I missed out on the Skeleton Club during its brief but influential run at 202 Market St. and 921 Fourth Ave. under the management of rock-‘n’-roll nurse Laura Frasier and a young Tim Mays.)