Mike Stax | The Che Underground

The Unclaimed get back to San Diego for ‘A Midwinter Masque’!

January 28, 2022January 26, 2022 by Mmrothenberg

Among the San Diego legends slated to play “A Che Underground Midwinter Masque” Feb. 18 and Feb. 19 at The Casbah San Diego, The Unclaimed stand out as honored guests and faithful friends of the SD scene.

A musical force in their own right, the Los Angeles garage-rock pioneers also inspired and mentored successive generations of musicians, including the set of LA-area bands that came to be designated the “Paisley Underground” as well as San Diego bands that shared their ethos and aesthetic.

The Unclaimed put out their first EP in 1980 and played memorable (and occasionally infamous) shows in San Diego, often with L.A. compatriots like The Pandoras, The Salvation Army and The Bangs. What’s more, Unclaimed founder Shelley Ganz credits Mike Stax with re-energizing the band when he invited them to play the 30th anniversary party for Ugly Things magazine on Memorial Day 2013. (The current lineup also includes guitarist Patrick Cleary, bassist John Worley and drummer Shaun Bryant.)

It’s fitting that they return to San Diego Feb. 19 to cap off our musical weekend!

Mark your calendars for ‘A Che Underground Midwinter Masque’!

February 15, 2022November 12, 2021 by Mmrothenberg

Mark ye well: A neat two years since “A Che Underground Leap Night Showcase,” the tribes will gather again in February 2022 for an effervescent weekend of mirth and music.

“A Che Underground Midwinter Masque,” Feb. 18 and Feb. 19 at The Casbah San Diego, will feature legends of the San Diego scene and beyond.

Fancy dress is highly encouraged but not required. (Stay tuned for costume contest details.)

And check out this boffo lineup (with more names to come)!

The Loons: ‘Blue Ether’

February 11, 2018 by Mmrothenberg

From Crawdaddy; to Tell-Tale Heart; to publisher of the definitive garage magazine Ugly Things; to author of Swim through the Darkness, the acclaimed 2016 biography of lost Los Angeles musical prodigy Craig Smith … Mike Stax requires no introduction here to establish his bona fides as a pillar of the San Diego music underground.

Nevertheless, I wanted to share the high of “Blue Ether,” the new single from the Loons, Mike’s main band since 1995.

In the cards: The Tell-Tale Hearts and Gravedigger Five

October 4, 2014 by Mmrothenberg

Two small pieces of paper tell a story: When I noticed Dylan Rogers had posted to Facebook a photo of a Gravedigger Five business card, I asked him if I could share it on Che Underground: The Blog, along with the back story on where he acquired it.

“Ron Rimsite gave the card around 20 years ago while I was living in New York,” Dylan replied. “He knew I was big fan of GDV and they had a big influence on my music, so he gave it and a Tell-Tale Hearts card to me.”

Both cards completed a round trip to San Diego when Dylan returned there, and he’s provided photos of both. Like other ephemera from those days, they each include contact information for members of their respective bands: The Gravediggers card provides phone numbers for rhythm and lead guitarists John Hanrattie and Ted Friedman, and the Tell-Tale Hearts card directs recipients to call bassist Mike Stax and keyboardist Bill Calhoun.

The Tell-Tale Hearts on ‘It’s Happening’

August 31, 2014August 31, 2014 by Mmrothenberg

During its run from the mid-’80s to early ’90s, Audrey Moorehead’s and Dominic Priore’s cable series “It’s Happening” hearkened back to an earlier era of music television. The show featured clips from Priore’s video library as well as a cavalcade of the era’s garage bands.

“Priore and Moorehead choose the bands, design the Spartan sets, and write and edit the show, which is financed by Priore and grants from various cable companies,” the Los Angeles Times described in a 1990 article. “The equipment and crews are provided at no charge through the companies’ local access departments.

“The most striking element about the 30 low-budget segments that have been produced is their glaring, and oddly endearing, roughness. There are no jump cuts, computer-generated special effects or other MTV slickness.”

The rise of the Gravedigger Five

September 15, 2014October 2, 2011 by Mmrothenberg

(Gravedigger Five co-founder John Hanrattie recounts his side of the renowned San Diego garage band’s short but eventful history.)

I was 17 when I first played guitar for an audience. I was working as a roadie for a San Diego band called N/E One. They were a very good cover band that would occasionally write one of their own songs and include it in their set. They built up a loyal following among San Diego teenagers and started playing high-school dances and at a local “under-21″ night club called Headquarters.

They started inviting me on stage to join them in covering the Rolling Stones’ take on Bobby Troup’s “Route “ I was using a six-string Rickenbacker and playing rhythm guitar with Rob Glickman, the lead guitarist. I had been taking classical guitar lessons, but I really wanted to play rock ‘n’ roll. I switched teachers to someone who could teach me Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly licks. It was a long process, and I learned some chords, but my skills were limited.

During my senior year in high school, the ASB started booking bands to play in the quad during Friday lunch. They eventually got around to inviting N/E One to play, and I joined them on stage for their set. Afterward, several people approached me, asking if I wanted to start a band. I was flattered, but I held out, hoping to find people who wanted to play the same kind of music I loved. I refused to have anything to do with playing Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin covers. I wanted to play British Invasion beat and 1960s garage music.

The Tell-Tale Hearts: From the vaults

August 31, 2014June 29, 2011 by Mmrothenberg

(Ray Brandes shares a long-lost track from his formative San Diego band, created with some production wizardry from Unknowns sonic prodigy Mark Neill.)

Towards the end of 1986, as the Tell-Tale Hearts were heading toward an inevitable break-up, we headed back into Mark Neill’s Swinging Studios in Dulzura, Calif., to cut what would be the band’s final recordings with its first edition. Neill had produced the band’s highly acclaimed six-song EP earlier that year, and we hoped we might be able once again to pick up a little of his studio magic.

The band’s line-up included Mike Stax; Bill Calhoun; David Klowden; Peter Miesner (who had taken over guitar duties from Eric Bacher); and myself. Three songs were recorded: The Scorpions’ “Too Many Lovers”; “Promise” (Brandes); and “Nothing You Can Do” (Brandes). The first two were released as a single on Australia’s Cavern 7 label the following year, but “Nothing You Can Do” stayed in the can. (Bart Mendoza’s Sound Affects magazine included the song on a giveaway cassette with one of its issues.)

I recently discovered a rough mix cassette recording of “Nothing You Can Do” and rescued it with a little help from Audacity. I hadn’ heard the song in more than 20 years. Listening to the recording brought back vivid memories of the sessions, which were held on a rainy Saturday in November, 1986.

Pretty Things preview in Carlsbad

September 4, 2011January 20, 2011 by Mmrothenberg

(Bart Mendoza invites the gang to watch Reelin’ in the Years’ new documentary and talk to panelists Mike Stax and David Peck.)

On Jan. 22, 2011, at 2 p.m., The Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, Calif., will host a special exclusive advance look at Pretty Things: Midnight To Six 1965-1970, an upcoming film documentary from San Diego’s Reelin’ in the Years Productions, part of its British Invasion series. Admission to the museum includes the screening ($7; $5 for students, seniors and museum members).

Best San Diego record?

September 4, 2011January 8, 2011 by Mmrothenberg

(Ray Brandes puts out a call for swinging singles.)

Later this month, Mike Stax’s Ugly Things Records will release a celebrated local recording, the Nashville Ramblers’ “The Trains.” If one were to rank the best recordings ever to be made by San Diegans, this one would no doubt place in the Top 10.

On any list it would face some tough competition, though, from Rosie and the Originals’ 1961 classic, “Angel Baby,” to my personal favorite, the Crawdaddys’ “5 X 4” EP, released in 1980.

What is your favorite San Diego recording and what is your personal connection to it? (Feel free to consider artists from San Diego who moved or recorded elsewhere.)

— Ray Brandes

Read moreBest San Diego record?

Nashville Ramblers release party

July 3, 2011December 27, 2010 by Mmrothenberg

(Ray Brandes alerts us to the long-overdue release of “The Trains,” with attendant parties in San Diego and LA.)

It is true that good things come to those who wait. The Nashville Ramblers’ song “The Trains,” which Steven Van Zandt once called “one of the most unspeakably gorgeous instances of romantic yearning disguised as a pop song,” will finally, after 25 years, get its own release.

Mike Stax’s Ugly Things Records will release “The Trains” at a special record release party on Friday, Jan. 21, at the Til-Two Club at 4746 El Cajon Blvd. in San Diego.