Pictures of Jerry

Ain't no white man, look like that, Honey...Thanks to Jeremiah Cornelius for providing this portrait of himself as “Romulus Johnson”, ca. 1988, after many of us had relocated from San Diego to San Francisco and a year or so after the dissolution of the original Morlocks.

As anyone familiar with our scene knows, Jerry Cornelius was the indefatigable trend-setter, flyer-maker, lyricist, MC, band manager and catalyst behind myriad San Diego adventures.

“What Would Jerry Do?” Read all about it! 

Transplanted to San Francisco, Jerry continued his cultural explorations via music and fashion.

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‘I saw a film today, oh boy’: A Che Underground feature film

(Ray Brandes brings the casting couch to your browser.)

director's chairThe characters and events of our youth, it has often been suggested, would make excellent material for a big budget, Hollywood drama. Imagine having $100 million to re-create a show at the Che Cafe, a late-night Presidio Park gathering, a line of scooters outside the Ken Cinema for a showing of “Quadrophenia,” or a fight behind the North Park Lions Club, for example, using some of the top names in the business today.

Earlier threads, back in the days of the Che Underground blog’s infancy, floated names like Christopher Walken, Shia LaBeouf, Johnny Depp and Daniel Radcliff (of Harry Potter fame) to play Steve Garris, Matthew Rothenberg, Jerry Cornelius and Bart Mendoza, respectively.

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When Garris met Cornelius

Detail: Tell-Tale Hearts/Manual Scan/Trebles, Syndicate; April 28, 1984 (art by Steve Garris/Jerry Cornelius, collection Tom Goddard)I find the pedigree of this flyer in the Tom Goddard Collection colorful enough to stand on its own: an advertisement for the Tell-Tale Hearts’ April 28, 1984, appearance with Manual Scan and the Trebles at Point Loma’s Syndicate that appears to bear the imprint of two of San Diego’s most intriguing flyer artists and raconteurs.

Signatures: Tell-Tale Hearts/Manual Scan/Trebles, Syndicate; April 28, 1984 (art by Steve Garris/Jerry Cornelius, collection Tom Goddard)The side-by-side signatures at the lower right of the flyer indicate the piece was signed by “SFG 84” as well as the protean Jerry Cornelius. While “SFG” and the style of the Edward Gorey/Alice in Wonderland imagery point to Steve “Fuckin’ ” Garris, Tell-Tale Heart Ray Brandes expresses certainty that the band never commissioned San Diego’s self-proclaimed “King of the Punks” to create a flyer on its behalf.

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The Che Underground