Studio 517 | The Che Underground

The rise of the Gravedigger Five

September 15, 2014October 2, 2011 by Mmrothenberg

(Gravedigger Five co-founder John Hanrattie recounts his side of the renowned San Diego garage band’s short but eventful history.)

I was 17 when I first played guitar for an audience. I was working as a roadie for a San Diego band called N/E One. They were a very good cover band that would occasionally write one of their own songs and include it in their set. They built up a loyal following among San Diego teenagers and started playing high-school dances and at a local “under-21″ night club called Headquarters.

They started inviting me on stage to join them in covering the Rolling Stones’ take on Bobby Troup’s “Route “ I was using a six-string Rickenbacker and playing rhythm guitar with Rob Glickman, the lead guitarist. I had been taking classical guitar lessons, but I really wanted to play rock ‘n’ roll. I switched teachers to someone who could teach me Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly licks. It was a long process, and I learned some chords, but my skills were limited.

During my senior year in high school, the ASB started booking bands to play in the quad during Friday lunch. They eventually got around to inviting N/E One to play, and I joined them on stage for their set. Afterward, several people approached me, asking if I wanted to start a band. I was flattered, but I held out, hoping to find people who wanted to play the same kind of music I loved. I refused to have anything to do with playing Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin covers. I wanted to play British Invasion beat and 1960s garage music.

Steve Epeneter at Studio 517

September 30, 2011July 25, 2011 by Mmrothenberg

San Diego music veteran Harold Gee continues the painstaking process of developing precious negatives from the glory days of the San Diego underground scene, then digitizing them for his Flickr set.

Here’s a new one that captures the essence of a larger-than-life figure from that era: the late Steve Epeneter on stage at Studio 517, the club he managed and the inspiration for the Wallflowers’ classic “Paradise on 4th Avenue.”

Che echoes from the Alps

December 14, 2017September 15, 2010 by Mmrothenberg

(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.

A decade of Hair Theatre from the Allen Collection

January 1, 2011March 7, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

Of all the bands launched by the Che Underground diaspora, Hair Theatre was easily the most consistently active, gigging on the West Coast well into the 1990s.

This set of flyers from the collection of Hair Theatre lead guitarist Paul Allen spans a full decade, from 1984 to 1994. In the intervening years, the band underwent some personnel changes — most notably in the lead-guitar position — but they never stopped working.

Warning: Flyer #4 below is most likely Not Safe for Work (unless you work in a specialty bookstore or urologist’s office).

Three Dog day afternoons

January 1, 2011September 13, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

Courtesy of Rockin’ Dogs drummer and band archivist Cole Smithey, here’s a collection of photographs from the band’s last phase, when it became a trio with the departure of founding guitarist/vocalist Dave Ellison.

In addition to Cole, these pictures from late 1984 and early 1985 feature Sam Wilson (guitar, vocals) and Jane Bunting (bass, vocals).

Then and now: Studio 517

January 1, 2011July 25, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

(Roving correspondent/ photographer Kristen Tobiason revisits and documents the scenes of our youth. Today, Studio 517 sheds its leathers for pinstripes.)

Studio 517 was in full swing during the summers of 1982-’83. Managed by Steve Epeneter — a tall, idiosyncratic fellow nicknamed “Lurch” — its concrete walls housed outstanding performances by the Gravedigger V, The Tell-Tale Hearts, The Wallflowers, Personal Conflict, The Front and many others.

Sean McDaniels (inveterate troll of San Diego hangouts) recalls, “It was only open in the summer, and it was hot. We hung out on the sidewalk out front or in the park more than we did inside where the bands were playing. I remember there was a Chinese lady who used to yell at us from across the street.”

The Wallflowers: “Paradise on 4th Avenue”

January 1, 2011April 22, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

As if to provide some karmic yin to “Survive the Jungle”‘s yang, Dave Fleminger just scored a pristine white-vinyl copy of the Mystic Super-Seven Sampler #2, a 1984 release featuring “Paradise on 4th Avenue,” the Phase Two Wallflowers’ homage to San Diego’s Studio 517 and its avatar, Steve Epeneter.

This exquisite single has been crisply digitized into easily digestible MP3 format for Che Underground’s delectation — bon apetit!

“I considered ‘Paradise on 4th Ave’ to be the anthem of the second Wallflowers (like ‘Funland’ was to the first line-up),” writes Dave Rinck, the immortal front man for both deathless incarnations.

“This was recorded by James at The Lab in San Diego in 1985 for the Mystic EP. The line-up is: David Rinck (vocals), Paul Howland (bass), Todd Lahman (guitar), Armando (alto sax), Arturo Reyes (drums).”

Listen to it now!