Reviving San Diego's Rock Renaissance
Aside from rock-‘n’-roll music and tattoos, flyer art was one of the highest forms of expression in our circle. Today, the Che Underground flyer gallery welcomes new show pieces from the collection of Dave Fleminger.
“The Greenwich Village West one is a Kristen Tobiason work (including initials),” Dave writes, “the Che is Kristin Martin’s (initials again), the Pandoras gobble is mine, and the Rain Parade/Tell-Tale Hearts is certainly one of the most inscrutable of Jerry Cornelius’ flyers.”
Performing at the Che Cafe Nov. 17, 1983 (with Hair Theatre and 11 Sons), Noise 292 pays homage to two of its bedrock influences, covering the Velvet Underground’s epic “Sister Ray” and throwing in a few stylings from Joy Division’s version for good measure. (Check out Kristin Martin and me tearing into the “Good night” vocals at the end, à la mode d’Ian Curtis!)
“My first memory of witnessing a Noise 292 show has you screaming your ass off during a performance of ‘Sister Ray,’ incredibly cathartic and tribal,” writes Dave Fleminger. “I’d never seen anything like it … way scarier and more musically violent than Fairmont Hall fare. Ear-punishing.
Here’s a prime example of the Noise 292 dark cabaret — and of Kristin Martin’s power as a singer and storyteller.
Recorded July 29, 1983 (when we performed with the Answers and Hair Theatre at the Che Cafe),
“The Assassin” showcases Noise 292 at its most atmospheric — it’s another facet of the modernist vibe of “Chanson Dada.” (Check out how the drums and scrap-metal percussion complement Kristin’s haunting vocals and David Rives’ spooky guitar work!)
Kristin Martin (rhythm guitar, vocals); David Rives (lead guitar); Hobie Hodge (trash percussion); Joanne Norris (drums); Matthew Rothenberg (bass).
Today marks the 25th anniversary of Noise 292’s first performance: May 26, 1983, at the Che Cafe with the Answers and the Odds. I can think of no better way to celebrate that silver anniversary than with a powerful performance by the brilliant Kristin Martin.
“Stupid Future” showcases everything that was so special about Kristin’s songwriting and performing, even at 19: arresting hooks, great lyrics and fantastic vocals. She’s one of the most innovative creative forces I’ve ever had the privilege of collaborating with.
Here’s “Talking in Circles,” the first of three compositions in the Che Underground archives by Noise 292 guitarist extraordinaire David Rives.
Dave and I played our first gigs together (Hair Theatre vocalist Sergio actually recalls watching us playing the Oak Crest Junior High School talent show in 1977), and he was my original guitar hero. This piece — which I believe was recorded in summer ’83 at the Che Cafe itself — showcases his formidable skills as a writer and performer.
Of all the rekindled connections on Che Underground, this one runs deepest for me.
How many times have you found yourself playing in a very weird venue? From my very first gig at a chili cook-off through an assortment of busking misadventures, I’ve demonstrated a knack for performing in strange places for unwary/unwilling spectators.
Between the scrap metal and the cross-dressing and the affinity for the Velvet Underground’s second album, Noise 292 was nobody’s idea of a crossover band. One of our oddest gigs was a Jesse Jackson presidential benefit at Pea Soup Andersen’s in Carlsbad, Calif., which we were asked to play by a friend of Wendell’s parents.
Here’s another helping of sonic steak Tartar, to borrow Dave Rinck’s evocative phrase: Noise 292 serving up a very raw version of Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” at the Headquarters in Pacific Beach, August 26, 1983 (opening for the Pandoras and the Answers). This was the first Noise 292 lineup, and this number features Kristin Martin on bass; David Rives, guitar; Hobie Hodge, trash percussion; Joanne Norris, drums; Matthew Rothenberg, vocals and S&M tambourine (with which I raised a big hematoma on the heel of my hand every time we played this song). Leighton Koizumi (later of the Gravedigger V and the Morlocks) made his live rock-‘n’-roll debut playing electric violin on “Heroin” that evening, although Wendell Kling also took over violin duties when he replaced Hobie on percussion.
I always enjoyed how this cover threw a bunch of our noise-rock, art-rock, punk and garage influences into the Cuisinart and basically hit “purée”! (Can anyone identify the voice of the girl talking about her calculator at the beginning of the track? I keep wondering if she ever got it back.)
Help me reconstruct the back story on these photos, which come from a set of snapshots I’m betting were taken on Nov. 17, 1983, when Noise 292 played the Che with Hair Theatre and 11 Sons. Near as I can make out, Jeff Lowe is playing bass with Hair Theater that night, while Dave Fleminger is drumming for Noise 292 … Or was this a show when Sergio was fronting the Answers?
Oh! And Jeff and I seem to be playing the same bass in these pictures … Was that his? ‘Twasn’t mine or Kristin’s.
This site and blog will be the gathering spot for us to assemble the inside story on the vibrant scene that flowered in San Diego around 1983 and 1984 and performed many of its most crucial shows at UCSD’s Che Cafe.
This “Che Underground” encompassed the varied sounds of the Answers, Hair Theatre, Noise 292, the Rockin’ Dogs, and the original and definitive Wallflowers. It spawned collaborations and friendships that have lasted a quarter-century. But it produced few artifacts and monuments, since the participants were frankly too busy enjoying the creative milieu to document it systematically.
We plan to change that. Welcome to the Che Underground!
