scooters | The Che Underground

Steve Griggs: A life well lived

September 4, 2011May 28, 2011 by Mmrothenberg

(Tony Suarez offers photos and memories of another San Diego stalwart gone too soon.)

We lost another good guy recently in San Diego. Stephen Griggs passed away on May 17, 2011.

Steve didn’t play in a band. He was the guy that got all of us to go see the bands, and got people up front and dancing. If it weren’t for guys like Steve, most of us playing music would not have had an audience. He was a ringleader, and got people together to go to shows. His involvement with the Secret Society Scooter club led to many shows at Club Zu, Rock Palace and most of the New Sounds of the 6ts, and many of the early SD scooter rallies (I got Dogged, the rallies to Bad Manners, the Who show, et al.).

I hope these photos attest to his far-reaching love and friendship … not only in the mod and scooter communities, but to his love of Little League (he was an umpire for many years) and the the SD rockabilly scene through most of the late ’90s. I look at his Facebook, and Steve had more friends than most bands and celebrities!

South Bay mods from Mathias Kuo

December 31, 2010November 16, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

“Hi, Matt,” writes Che Underground contributor and veteran San Diego scenester Mathias Kuo to the Che Underground hotline. “Here are some scooter pics from the hallowed halls of SD history — taken from a South Bay perspective.”

“Set #1 — Chula, Bonita and Coronado mods before a rally.”

More mod match-ups from Elker deMello

January 1, 2011February 28, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

Dancing Skeleton scooter club co-founder- turned- Che Underground benefactor Elker deMello’s generous bequest of mod-themed photography continues to enrich our understanding of early-’80s San Diego’s scootering classes.

While the pictures are there in abundance — many of them shot at Ski Beach or Seaport Village — details are sketchy on some of them. Can you help fill in the blanks?

Mods at Mount Soledad, Ski Beach

January 1, 2011November 10, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

Veteran scooterist Elker deMello has answered Mike McCarthy’s recent contribution of scooter-rally cheesecake with his own trove of photographs from outdoor gatherings of the San Diego mod tribes, including his own Dancing Skeletons.

This batch from the Elker deMello Archives comprises photography from the very same Mount Soledad rally Mike documented along with some great shots of our mod friends congregating alongside the volleyball players at Ski Beach.

Mod match-up mania!

January 1, 2011October 17, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

It takes a virtual village to reconstruct an old-school San Diego scooter rally; this cache of photos from Mike McCarthy will require some heavy-duty forensics from the mod veterans among us.

“They look to be done at Mount Soledad, when you could climb up on the steps (can’t now),” writes Tony Suarez. “I have already recognized Cyndie Jaynes, Shawna Davis, James Kessler, Eric deMello, Dan Holsenback, Jay Wiseman, Karen Jagger, Dawn Edmundson, John Ryan and Kevin Ring.”