San Diego music | The Che Underground

Manual Scan at Bar Eleven

February 2, 2011September 20, 2010 by admin

(Manual Scan co-founder Kevin Donaker-Ring talks about a cool new club in San Diego and a turning point for this enduring band.)

I’ve been working security for over four years now. Last September, I started working at Small Bar, owned by the same people that run Hamilton’s Tavern in South Park.

Dennis Borlek, the first person in San Diego I ever met who had a scooter, and who continues to be a San Diego music scene fixture, is the general manager there. Small Bar’s owners recently purchased the Radio Room (formerly the Zombie Lounge) on El Cajon Boulevard, just east of 35th St., and renamed it “Eleven.” (Yes, that’s a direct Spinal Tap reference.)

They improved the sound system and the acoustics (not to mention expanding the beers on tap by an order of magnitude). But anyone who has been into the San Diego music scene will want to visit this place — they wallpapered large sections of the bar with reproductions of vintage San Diego show flyers.

Che echoes from the Alps

December 14, 2017September 15, 2010 by admin

(Rolf “Ray” Rieben of Feathered Apple Records describes how the San Diego underground reached Basel, Switzerland, and shares his cache of memorabilia from the Che Cafe and other points southwest. Stay tuned for much more of Ray’s trove from the Tell-Tale Hearts, Crawdaddys, Howling Men and more!)

I was working as a record salesman in Switzerland when the first Crawdaddys LP (“Crawdaddy Express”) on the German Line label had hit the market. Most of the Bomp! catalog was licensed to Line Records from Germany. Line Records had the best possible distribution, since because they were connected to a major label. They’ve helped to make The Crawdaddys and some of the other bands from Greg Shaw’s Bomp label famous over here in Europe.

“Crawdaddy Express” rates as the first modern ’60s garage LP ever made (after probably The Flamin’ Groovies). It was first advertised on the back cover of the July 1979 issue of Goldmine magazine. The sound was very British: wild raving rnb like the early Kinks, Downliners Sect, or the The Pretty Things, but undoubtedly influenced by Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and the likes. There’s even a few cool northern soul ballads featured on both of their LPs, too. These four fine young lads from San Diego knew what they were doing, they had the right spirits, and they could deliver in authentic ca. ’64 – ’65 style, too. It was exactly the type of brand-new LP that I was hoping for.

The P Man to play platters at SDDubstep’s
‘Dead Technology’ event

December 13, 2017August 28, 2010 by Paul.Howland

No school like the old school dept.: Low tech jumps into 2010 on Sept. 10 when our own P Man (née Wallflowers bassist Paul Howland) joins a roster of other talented DJs in full-analog mode at SDDubstep’s “Dead Technology” event. No laptops, no CDs … It’s all vinyl, and that’s final.

San Diego’s Kava Lounge (2812 Kettner Blvd., San Diego) will host this digital-free zone. In addition to the P Man, featured acts include EshOne, Misk, Pure Boom Hi Fi and Beingstok.

What I learned from bands

April 11, 2018August 18, 2010 by admin

Here’s another chance to compare notes a few decades down the road.

After a slightly meandering start, my adult career has proceeded quite nicely. I get to do interesting work, and (in the big picture) I’ve progressively been given more authority over it. My employers trust me to lead teams of people and try new ideas.

Learning about what you’ve been up to over the past couple of decades, it sounds like a lot of you have found jobs you like and are good at — and a disproportionate number have started your own businesses, from restaurants to barber shops.

For myself, it’s not just hyperbole to say I gained more fundamental career skills playing music with you folks than I did in the classroom. Here are a few lessons I picked up:

Why don’t we sing this song all together?

February 2, 2011August 12, 2010 by admin

For many of the participants in this blog, our involvement with San Diego music ended with our wholesale departure from San Diego. A large contingent of us decamped first to San Francisco, and we now make our homes in places like Seattle, Oregon, New York, Boston, Wisconsin and Haiti.

That means the string of Che Underground gigs we’ve hosted in San Diego (including May 2009 and January and July 2010) marked the first time in more than two decades that many of our musicians have played in front of a hometown crowd.

Two days in Che: A retrospective

February 2, 2011August 3, 2010 by admin

(Paul Kaufman flew in from Massachusetts to taste the fury of the Che Underground Rock-‘n’-Roll Weekend July 30 and 31. Here are Paul’s impressions, accompanied by photos from Sean McMullen and Kymri Wilt.)

After an early-morning cross-country flight, I was somewhat worse for wear by the time 9pm rolled around on Friday, July 30, but I didn’t want to miss this!

It had probably been around 20 years since I had been down Adams Avenue. Normal Heights is heavily transformed from the residential neighborhood I remembered, with many new restaurants and shops. The center of the action is Lestat’s gallery, coffee shop and nightclub. A big marquee announces the Che Underground show! In addition to the musicians themselves, lots of blog stars are there: Kristen Tobiason; Chris Mathis; and of course tonight’s MC, Lou Damian.

From Lestat’s: Welcome back, Tom Ward

January 6, 2011July 29, 2010 by admin

(Charisse Sciuva offers another advance view of the Che Underground Rock-‘n’-Roll Weekend July 30 and 31 at Lestat’s Coffee House and Bar Pink, respectively.)

Monday night, Lestat’s-goers were awestruck by the appearance of Thomas E. Ward, who will be kicking off the Che Underground show this weekend. Ward took the stage with his 12-string Guild and pounded out “She’s Not Just Anybody” with vocals to match.

While most sit back casually and drone out their love songs, Ward stood tall over the audience as he sang, a rock-‘n’-roll bassist back from New York City, grounded once again in San Diego. All eyes were glued on this fresh and crisp performer, waiting for what he would deliver next.

Get your ‘Rock-’n’-Roll’ flyers!

March 24, 2018July 26, 2010 by admin

You asked for it, you got it: “Then and Now” reporter and Che Underground veteran Kristen Tobiason has obliged us with downloadable PDF versions of the flyers she prepped for the Che Underground Rock-‘n’-Roll Weekend July 30 and 31!

Just click on the thumbnails below for pure, print-ready chewing satisfaction:

Here’s a recap of the weekend’s haps:

Read moreGet your ‘Rock-’n’-Roll’ flyers!

The Comeuppance: Bringing it home

January 6, 2011July 20, 2010 by admin

Dave Fleminger — veteran of San Diego’s Answers, Mirrors and Manual Scan and a chief architect of our Che Underground events — is down from San Francisco for the month to prepare for the Che Underground Rock-‘n’-Roll Weekend July 30-31.

Among the first-night acts at Lestat’s Coffee House: the Comeuppance, Dave’s current collaboration with cellist Heather Vorwerck. The duo last week made its San Diego debut at a Lestat’s open mic, and I asked Dave what it was like playing his new material on our old turf after so many years away.

Sean McMullen, Dave Doyle on photography

January 6, 2011July 18, 2010 by admin

It’s not just for bands any more: The pending Che Underground Rock-‘n’-Roll Weekend will also celebrate two photographers whose work has captured San Diego music for decades.

The first night of the event — Friday, July 30, at Lestat’s Coffee House in San Diego — will feature a joint exhibit of concert photos by Dave Doyle and Sean McMullen. I caught up with each of them to learn a bit more about their respective photographic visions and how San Diego has shaped them.