Playing through the changes

Detail: Dave Fleminger at the Casbah, May 29, 2009 (photo by Sean McMullen)Now it can be told: When we concocted the idea of the Che Games for May reunion show at San Diego’s Casbah Club, I was very apprehensive about what it would sound like.

After all, we were bringing together bands that for the most part hadn’t played together since the mid-’80s. Plus, we were asking these folks to practice more or less on the fly. The Che Underground diaspora dispersed us geographically for many years; for most of the acts, opportunities for full rehearsals were few and far between.

Backlit AnswersI was amazed by the results: The bands were so tight, and I daresay many of the musicians are better now than they were in 1984!

It makes me want to learn more about how all our players keep themselves musically active — not just the people who performed at the Casbah, but the rest of the musicians on the blog.

Read morePlaying through the changes

The Che Underground