Mabuhay Gardens | The Che Underground

Tuning in to the Trebels

February 8, 2021February 7, 2021 by Mmrothenberg

Trebels bassist Oscar Barajas provides a backgrounder, sounds and images for a band that took California by storm in the mid-’80s.

The first bass I bought was at Freedom Guitar in downtown San Diego, a Fender Precision copy. I couldn’t play a lick. Yet with time and a bit of practice, I became somewhat competent. What helped was some guitar chords and ditties I learned from my older brother Fernando.

Guitarist Xavier Anaya also picked up on the guitar and learned from his Tio Chato, an original Treble. The original Trebles were a popular outfit in Tijuana back in the ’60s and ’70s.

John Chilson was an instant pro at the drums the minute he picked up those sticks, a natural. Jay Wiseman fell in perfectly as singer and frontman.

The Trebels were born, a future of cops breaking up house parties because of our Maximum RnB; a wedding reception where we were bullied by the bride’s father (understandably so, looking back on it); a triumphant show at the White House in Imperial Beach; and thanks to our great friend Dan Holsenback, our most highly compensated gig — the graduation party for UC Davis Law School.

‘I was a Shambles drummer’

January 1, 2011May 22, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

(Bart Mendoza of Manual Scan and the Shambles counts off drummers he’s worked with.)

No doubt about it: Kevin Donaker-Ring and I have worked with a lot of drummers over the decades, keeping in mind that we first began our team-up in 1976.

Here are a few of the incredible musicians who have spent time behind a drum kit with Manual Scan or the Shambles over the past 30-plus years. Not pictured: Paul Brewin, Morgan Young, Terry Moore, Rob Wilson, Trace Smith, Brad Kiser. … There’s a future post there.

1) “I was a Shambles drummer” pin. People have sat in with the band for one song to obtain one of these.

From Scan to the Shambles

January 1, 2011May 16, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

(Bart Mendoza of Manual Scan and the Shambles talks about how he got from there to here.)

Of course the various members of the Shambles knew each other for years before the band’s formation, but I can put down the beginnings of the band to two events.

In the late ’80s, Kevin Donaker-Ring co-produced Manual Scan’s “Days & Maybes” EP with Ray Brandes (side note: humorous liners by Mike Stax), and we were all part of a group of musicians that frequented Megalopolis on Fairmount Ave., often playing round-robin style — David Moye and Jon Kanis amongst the round-robiners who didn’t end up in the band (though we did back up Kanis on a compilation-album track).

David Anderson: Drummer at large

April 21, 2012October 24, 2008 by Paul Kaufman

(Manual Scan/Lemons Are Yellow vet Paul Kaufman recognizes a man who set the pulse of the scene.)
Many contributors to Che Underground: The Blog have already mentioned David Anderson, a legendary figure in our musical history. To recap, he made major contributions to The Gravedigger V, The Answers, Manual Scan, The Crawdaddys, The Trebels and I Spy. This vast resumé reflects the fact that Dave was already a formidable drum talent by his early teens. At one point his kick drum read, “Your Band Name Here.”

But Dave was much more than just a guy behind the drum kit. Answers bandmate David Fleminger says, “I first met Dave (I think he was 13) when he was playing with I Spy. He’s an amazingly energetic and innovative talent who can lay down a foundation beat like no one else. A fantastic bandmate with a great sense of humor.”

“David Anderson? A legend!” Manual Scan co-founder Bart Mendoza recalls. “Some of my fondest tour stories involve him. We once snuck all our friends into the General Public shows we were opening in San Francisco and had one of the best parties ever. I remember playing bumper chairs as beer was spilled all over the floor of our dressing room at The Kabuki Theatre and the night getting pretty rowdy. David nearly caused a riot in Las Vegas because he went commando onstage. He played a squeaky-toy solo at the Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco.