Reviving San Diego's Rock Renaissance
Jeffrey Luck Lucas — veteran of the Answers and the Morlocks and current solo artist — offers up these photos from the band he calls his favorite from his days in San Diego.
The Mirrors were formed by Jeff and Dave Fleminger in late 1983 and played their last show in May 1984. Artifacts are rare, but these images shot by John Nee capture the band playing the UCSD Rec Gym April 14, 1984 with The Unclaimed, the Odds and Noise 292.
Here’s an urgent opportunity to support one of our own and get some fine, fine music in return!
San Diego expat-turned-San Francisco solo artist Jeffrey Luck Lucas is preparing to re-release his third CD, “The Lion’s Jaw,” and it will require $1,300 within the next two weeks to print the CDs his record label will distribute and promote.
It’s a quid pro quo: Donate to to “JLL, The Lion’s Jaw CD Release and General/Overall Local Artist Support Fund,” and Jeff will send you a signed copy of the newly redesigned “Lion’s Jaw” CD as well as his nearly completed new studio album, “The Love of Leaving.”
We’re overdue to devote a post to the recent work of one of the Che Underground’s most protean talents: Jeffrey Luck Lucas, veteran of San Diego’s Morlocks, Mirrors and Answers and a prolific Bay area solo artist.
I was privileged to play with Jeff for a few years in San Francisco — a longtime aspiration of mine — and I can testify to the intensity of his artistic vision through many incarnations.
More Answers for the 21st century: Videotaped at Bar Pink July 31, 2010, at the Che Underground Rock-‘n’-Roll Weekend, “Margaret Flies” and “Creative Art” represent two eras of this incredibly prolific band.
“Margaret Flies” was a highlight of the band I first encountered in spring 1983; Jerry Cornelius’ lyrics, set to music by Jeff Lucas, still take my breath away after all these years. Meanwhile, guitarist/vocalist Dave Fleminger describes the return of “Creative Art” to the Answers set list:
Read moreThe Answers: “Margaret Flies”/
“Creative Art” at Bar Pink
More video from the original Morlocks has emerged on YouTube, including covers of songs by the 13th Floor Elevators, Q65 and the Count Five.
Exhibit A is a video by Eric Predoehl of the Morlocks performing the 13th Floor Elevators’ “You Don’t Know.” According to the post, it’s from an event produced by KFJC Radio and I.B.S. at the Works Gallery in San Jose, Calif., on Nov. 22, 1985:
Here’s another video sequence from the Morlocks’ 1986 performance at the Stone in San Francisco that included the version of “My Friend the Bird” previously aired on Che Underground: The Blog.
“I’m not sure who wrote it,” says drummer Mark Mullen. “All I remember is that it was written for Brother Ed from The Brotherhood of Light. He did our liquid light show, and his biker pals did security.
“‘Two Wheels Go’ was for the bikers, Hells Angels I believe.”
(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:
(Answers and Mirrors co-founder Dave Fleminger talks transitions.)
Blue: The Mirrors live at the Che Cafe, Spring 1984
“This one’s called ‘Blue,’ and we’re gonna make it up … ”
Sometime in late May 1984 the Mirrors played our last performance in San Diego at UCSD’s Che Cafe. The band had formed in late ’83 after the fall of the Answers and in March recorded an as-yet-unreleased album of songs entitled “Have No Mercy.” In June I moved to NYC, but we would continue to record sporadically over the next couple years.
“Hi Matthew,” writes Greg S. “Maybe you remember me. … Toby Thunderbird/ Lifehater/ Gibson told me about your site.
“I’m visiting the US and thought I’d dig up some old photos to contribute, which have been sitting in a box in my mom’s garage. … Wasn’t sure how/where to post them, so here they are.”
Another Jeff Lucas composition for this mid-’90s San Francisco ensemble of San Diego expats.
Besides prompting me to write many songs I still like a great deal, the Ho Hos offered a great opportunity to sing new originals written by other songwriters. Both Jeff and Steve Lam came through with some amazing material.
I’ve always been crazy about “Judas Twist,” which I believe was recorded live at Hanno’s in the Alley with engineering help from the indefatigable Jason Brownell. It’s got more hooks than a bait shop, and the band blasts through it with trademark panache.
Matthew Rothenberg (vocals, guitar); Jeff Lucas (bass); Robert Labbe (drums); and Steve Lam (lead guitar).
