Laura Fraser | The Che Underground

Skeleton Club vs. SDPD: The trial of Laura Fraser

July 24, 2021July 24, 2021 by Mmrothenberg

A fabulous gift arrived just arrived for Che Underground: The Blog, and ultimately the San Diego Punk Archive!

Skeleton Club founder Laura Devlin (née Fraser) sent along a trove of photos, flyers, ‘zines and other ephemera of the San Diego punk scene in the late ’70s.

“I painted that sign myself, with some leftover house paint.” (Photo D. Reutter)

Her contribution comprises many posts’ worth of seminal rock-‘n’-roll history. Today, we’ll start with Laura’s own account of the rise and fall of the Skeleton Club (which operated from 1978 to 1980 at 202 Market St., then 921 Fourth Ave.). Her tale illustrates the resistance, corruption and downright brutality San Diego music pioneers faced from the authorities at the turn of the ’80s.

Were you there for the Skeleton Club’s last night — or at the subsequent trial? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Laura Devlin writes: A little bit of my personal history: In 1977, I was a nursing student at San Diego State, living with my boyfriend Greg Willis, bass player for the beloved Glory band. Greg was a wonderful man and helped me with the Skeleton Club, along with many other people.

Then and now: Tim Mays, SD impresario magnífico

October 13, 2020 by Mmrothenberg

Those of us who came up in the San Diego scene at the turn of the ’80s were privileged to witness Tim Mays’ emergence as a promoter and club owner. Over the ensuing decades, it’s hard to think of anyone who’s done more to keep San Diego on the musical map.

To reboot our Then and Now feature, Tim has provided Che Underground: The Blog with an exclusive history of his career — and his insights about the future of live music in San Diego as we all contend with the challenges of the current COVID-19 pandemic.

From there to here

I put on my first show in Barstow, the town I grew up in, in 1979. It featured a hard rock band from Orange County and a friend’s band from Barstow — smashing success.

After that, a friend and I decided to put on a show in East Hollywood at Baces Hall, which, unbeknownst to us, had been the site of a show a couple years earlier that ended in a riot. This show was Weirdos, the Plugz, Suburban Lawns, and San Diego’s Penetrators.

We turned away people at the door, and the next thing I know, I’m getting a call from Laura Fraser asking if I would be interested in becoming her partner in the Skeleton Club. This was early 1980. I gave her a check for $1,000 and became her partner. This was the second incarnation of the Skeleton Club and was located at the corner of Market Street and 2nd Ave, two blocks from the police station at the time. We got hassled constantly by SDPD and had to close down in May 1980 over permit issues.

The Skeleton Club in flyers

July 24, 2021June 10, 2010 by Mmrothenberg

Che Underground: The Blog has written before about the legendary Skeleton Club, the backbone of San Diego punk that Laura Fraser and Tim Mays ran for a scant two weeks at 921 4th Ave. before reopening (always a half-step ahead of SD authorities) at 202 Market St.

Now Mikel Toombs enriches our store of Skeleton Club lore with a wealth of flyers, including announcements that accompanied the original venue’s opening and closing.

“The one about the Skeleton Club closing was handed out at the final show at the original Skeleton Club,” Mikel writes. “I don’t have any recollection of the other one.”