Whacky…yeah we had a lot of parties. Most of you got laid or arrested there.
Pretty quickly we learned that most of our friends were cool, some were knuckleheads, and then we knew a few named Dave. Dave Rinck was our inspiration here…so rather than castigate them we decided to celebrate them…hence the 3 different parties called Dave Fest.
The first was The Wallflowers, Manual Scan, and the Tell Tale Hearts. That was the Hearts’ first gig if I remember correctly. That one was broken up when Arturo of SDSH used a Mission Hills mod I had a feud with as a battering ram and broke the toilet…whence we learned the rule “always put the keg outside.”
Dave Fest 2 was promoted quite a bit more widely, finally resulting in radio DJs in SF and LA announcing in for a week, bands from LA calling asking to be allowed to play…and yeah…that was broken up too when the guy we brought in to do security told all his friends to come and a couple of them had just got out of jail that day…they kinda ran amok, but they were not Red and White. Just SDSH associates.
That one was the Wallflowers, and the Hearts again, the Answers, and The Pandoras (they never got to play but they got paid)
I called the cops on that one myself. It was out of hand.
Dave Fest 3 was 10 bands for $10 at Che Cafe…get the keg out of the bathroom, and take it to the other end of town! Too many bands to name, but we had Noise, Hair, Hearts, Flowers, and on and on. I left town after that one.
Door policy at the house parties was as follows:
$3 admission, $2 if you wore your sunglasses after dark, and FREE if your name was Dave.
We had a lot of great times at 2866 E St. Many of our friends came to live there for extended periods of time. My mom (the much loved Linda) and I sat down and counted all the kids who at one time or other actually lived there (not just staying for the weekend) and it was over 26 names. You know who you are and are still loved.
Ironically after all the wild times I had with all of you, my little brother’s friends moved in after I left for SF and they ended up looting the house. Nobody would believe that this was my brother’s friends doing…it had to be me. Funny.
BTW I am throwing another party March 13 here in Watsonville to open my new studio. I mailed out 400 invitations and personally invited another 200 people. You are all invited too. Drop me a note and I’ll give you directions.
I still have the bug…heheheheheheheheh The local chamber of commerce actually sent me a flyer on “how to throw a successful party”. LOL
BEZEEYINGYOU
— Patrick Works
To celebrate the diversity of the early-’80s San Diego underground (and shamelessly solicit contributions to Che Underground’s Related Bands page), here’s a double-decker salute to David “GI” Klowden, nimble navigator of the San Diego scene and keystone of 5051, the Mystery Machine and the Tell-Tale Hearts.
David Klowden — 