Matthew Rothenberg | The Che Underground

Noise 292: “Never Come Near”

January 1, 2011February 27, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

(Dave Fleminger recalls this performance from Noise 292’s April 25, 1984, appearance at UCSD’s Center for Music Experiment.)

I strongly remember this show, and especially this song. It was one of the last shows I saw before I left San Diego. Noise 292’s set was solid and focused, and unrelenting. This song, the last one in the set, struck me especially in its cold and alienating embrace.

The vocals and the high melody lock together into a single statement that shatters by the end into a mass of confusion and disjointed thought. Like so many great songs, it was easy to relate to it as a manifestation of my own mixed feelings — in this case about leaving home, my friends, this amazing music scene, everything familiar.

Read moreNoise 292: “Never Come Near”

Noise 292 gets into gear

January 1, 2011January 23, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

Preparations for the May 30 Che Underground reunion at San Diego’s Casbah are picking up steam and uniting musical collaborators separated by miles and decades.

Last weekend marked the first studio reunion of the Northern California contingent of Noise 292, comprising four of the five musicians who played together at the Che Cafe in July 1983: vocalist/ bassist/ guitarist Kristin Martin; vocalist/ guitarist David “Kavika” Rives; percussionist Hobie Hodge; and the Answers’ Dave Fleminger, who reprised his historical role as substitute drummer. (The San Diego faction — drummer Joanne Norris and percussionist Wendell Kling — are on deck to join the festivities in time for the May performance.)

The Ho Hos: “Judas Twist”

March 28, 2012December 28, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

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.

Watch the Ho Hos play “Gina Says/Infinite Prague”!

Matthew Rothenberg (vocals, guitar); Jeff Lucas (bass); Robert Labbe (drums); and Steve Lam (lead guitar).

Listen to it now!

The Ho Hos: “Gina Says/Infinite Prague”

January 1, 2011October 12, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

Here’s a first entry for the new Che Underground YouTube channel: a 1994 desktop-video experiment by the Ho Hos, the band of San Diego expats I co-founded in mid-’90s San Francisco.

This production portrays a shortened version of my song “Gina Says/Infinite Prague,” another recording from our 1993 Mr. Toad’s demo session. (The video was ostensibly prompted by a long-forgotten MTV contest that compelled audio producer Jason Brownell to trim one verse and the solo, bringing it below the requisite three-minute mark.)

Noise 292: “Eyesight”

January 1, 2011October 10, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

Noise 292 fan turned rock ‘n’ roll anthropologist Stefan Helmreich joins our ranks with a collection of tracks, including this late live performance of the band performing my early composition “Eyesight.”

“I recently stumbled across your Ché Underground site and was delighted to read such loving accounts of those long-ago days and nights,” Stefan writes. “I was still in high school — a year behind [Noise 292 percussionist] Wendell [Kling], then a senior at at San Dieguito — when I went to to the Nov. 17, 1983, Noise show, which stunned my then 17-year-old sensibilities and tracked me toward discovering Joy Division; the Velvets; and, soon enough, prompted me to start my own band.

The Amazons: “Brother P-Touch”

March 29, 2019September 16, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

“Brother P-Touch” is a song I originally wrote for the Ho Hos that became a flagship number for my last San Francisco band, the Amazons. I share it here with a San Diego twist and a fun anecdote about the power of Web distribution.

When I penned this number around 1993, I was writing about printers for MacWEEK magazine. The Brother P-Touch was and remains a very popular line of label printers. When I first heard the name, I pictured this lecherous messianic figure, kind of a cross between Rasputin and David Koresh, and built the song from there. The chorus leads with the exhortation, “Brother P-Touch — raise your arms!” I don’t think any of my San Diego expat bandmates ever realized I was evoking not only a charismatic preacher but the Penetrators’ song “Nervous Fingers,” during which those of us in the pit would raise our arms and wiggle our fingers.

Read moreThe Amazons: “Brother P-Touch”

Noise 292: “Mr. Pumpkin”

January 1, 2011September 11, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

Here’s a late but significant contribution to the Noise 292 set list. “Mr. Pumpkin” by guitarist David Rives appeared on a four-song demo we recorded at Mira Costa College, I believe in April 1984.

The driving metalwork percussion is classic Wendell Kling, and I’m under the distinct impression that the drums on this session were generously contributed by the multitalented Sergio of Hair Theatre. Dave sings lead, and I’m on bass.

Listen to it now!

The Ho Hos: “Creeping Vine (Love Is A … )”

January 1, 2011August 12, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

Another number from the Ho Hos, the mid-’90s San Francisco group of Che Underground transplants that included me on vocals and guitar; former Morlocks bassist Jeff Lucas; Robert Labbe (ex-3 Guys Called Jesus drummer); and Steve Lam on lead guitar.

“Creeping Vine (Love Is A … )” comes from the same 1993 demo session that generated “Snowball” and was written by Jeff. Getting to sing material penned by Mr. Lucas was always exciting to me, and I am crazy about the way the lead guitar and rhythm section work together on this song.

The Ho Hos: “Snowball”

January 1, 2011July 26, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

This number ties up a few narrative strands and bridges the San Diego-to-San Francisco gap that defined much of our post-Che Underground history.

“Snowball” is a song I wrote for 3 Guys Called Jesus in 1986. It’s performed here by the Ho Hos, the mid-’90s San Francisco group of San Diego expats that comprised me on vocals and guitar; ex-Morlocks bassist Jeff Lucas; Robert Labbe (former drummer for 3 Guys, the Forbidden Pigs and myriad other outfits); and Steve Lam, a marvelous guitarist and vocalist who met us in SF by way of Hong Kong. (Speaking of musical Che-chairs, this was a dream lineup for me.)

Resurrecting 3 Guys Called Jesus

January 1, 2011July 14, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

Another reunion dinner in New York last weekend, when North County music operator-turned-North Carolina operations director John Stees arrived at Vynl on 9th Ave. armed with a disc of photos and flyers from 3 Guys Called Jesus, the band I played in from spring 1985 until I left San Diego in February 1987.

These images feature bassist Steve Duke and drummer Robert Labbe as well as guitarist Ryk Groetchen, who played with the band in 1985. All were taken by the marvelous Margarat Nee.