Manual Scan | The Che Underground

Later days at the Che

January 1, 2011July 12, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

Like many Che Underground musicians, I left San Diego in the mid-’80s (February 1987 in my case). However, the Che Cafe itself continued to host music by a variety of acts, many of them related to the bands that staked out the turf in the earlier ’80s.

Generous donors including Bart Mendoza and Bruce Haemmerle have sent me flyers from late-’80s Che Cafe shows. I’m eager to start making connections between the gigs of 1983-’85 and those that happened (at the Che and elsewhere in San Diego) after many of us here had decamped to San Francisco or other ports of call.

Miss Kristi’s Top 10s for San Diego ‘It’ Girls

April 21, 2012May 30, 2008 by Kristi Maddocks

(Everybody Violet founder and SD scenestress extraordinaire Kristi Maddocks contributes practical tips for female food ‘n’ frolic in the San Diego underground.)

Author’s note: I have so much to say about the Che Underground, but I didn’t know where to start. So I began with the obvious: Being a female in the scene put you at a bit of a disadvantage … Even if you were smart and had creative contributions to make, the better sex was still received, perceived and judged on its looks and physical persona first and foremost.

Even though the sexual revolution had occurred in the ’60s-’70s, ironically feminism wasn’t a player in the retro mod/psyche scene of early-’80s San Diego. I was as guilty as the next girl for using my legs as a personal weapon or batting my big eyes at the boys in the band. Heck, these maneuvers got me in the door — and definitely helped me get deep into the scene and later helped me front my own band, Everybody Violet.

Sheldon’s After Dark

January 1, 2011May 17, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

(A sentimental epicurean journey by Manual Scan/Lemons Are Yellow veteran Paul Kaufman.)

Regardless of where the show was, chances are the night would end up at Sheldon’s, the Eisenhower-era styled, non-conglomerate “family” restaurant that once loomed large in the all-night dining Pantheon of San Diego. Most memorable for me were items with descriptions like “Large 24 oz. Malted Milkshake, Thick and Creamy, $1.25” and “Demi-loaf of home-baked bread, served here with butter, 75 cents.” Those Thick and Creamies became a significant part of my diet, and one of their original ashtrays still is on the mantle. Also iconic was their placemat, with postwar cartoon depiction of San Diego’s highlights.

My first time was after the first Manual Scan show at the London Tavern.

Dave Fest/Party at Pat’s House

December 11, 2017March 8, 2008 by patrick works

Whacky…yeah we had a lot of parties. Most of you got laid or arrested there.

Pretty quickly we learned that most of our friends were cool, some were knuckleheads, and then we knew a few named Dave. Dave Rinck was our inspiration here…so rather than castigate them we decided to celebrate them…hence the 3 different parties called Dave Fest.

The first was The Wallflowers, Manual Scan, and the Tell Tale Hearts. That was the Hearts’ first gig if I remember correctly. That one was broken up when Arturo of SDSH used a Mission Hills mod I had a feud with as a battering ram and broke the toilet…whence we learned the rule “always put the keg outside.”

Dave Fest 2 was promoted quite a bit more widely, finally resulting in radio DJs in SF and LA announcing in for a week, bands from LA calling asking to be allowed to play…and yeah…that was broken up too when the guy we brought in to do security told all his friends to come and a couple of them had just got out of jail that day…they kinda ran amok, but they were not Red and White. Just SDSH associates.

That one was the Wallflowers, and the Hearts again, the Answers, and The Pandoras (they never got to play but they got paid)

I called the cops on that one myself. It was out of hand.

Dave Fest 3 was 10 bands for $10 at Che Cafe…get the keg out of the bathroom, and take it to the other end of town! Too many bands to name, but we had Noise, Hair, Hearts, Flowers, and on and on. I left town after that one.

Door policy at the house parties was as follows:

$3 admission, $2 if you wore your sunglasses after dark, and FREE if your name was Dave.

We had a lot of great times at 2866 E St. Many of our friends came to live there for extended periods of time. My mom (the much loved Linda) and I sat down and counted all the kids who at one time or other actually lived there (not just staying for the weekend) and it was over 26 names. You know who you are and are still loved.

Ironically after all the wild times I had with all of you, my little brother’s friends moved in after I left for SF and they ended up looting the house. Nobody would believe that this was my brother’s friends doing…it had to be me. Funny.

BTW I am throwing another party March 13 here in Watsonville to open my new studio. I mailed out 400 invitations and personally invited another 200 people. You are all invited too. Drop me a note and I’ll give you directions.

I still have the bug…heheheheheheheheh The local chamber of commerce actually sent me a flyer on “how to throw a successful party”. LOL

BEZEEYINGYOU

— Patrick Works