The Answers | The Che Underground

Ready for ‘A Che Underground Leap Night Showcase’?

February 13, 2020 by Mmrothenberg

Most rock-‘n’-roll historians know San Diego’s Che Underground scene as a mad scientist’s lab for musical experiments at the top of the ’80s.

Named for notable shows they staged at UC San Diego’s Che Café — but active across the region — the bands of the Che Underground brought together artists steeped in punk, psychedelia, garage and more. Throwing their influences into a high-speed blender, bands like The Answers, Hair Theatre, Noise 292, The Rockin’ Dogs, The Tell-Tale Hearts and the original SD Wallflowers provided a soundtrack for Southern California youth culture.

Four decades later, those musicians and artists continue to kick out the collective jams — and on Feb. 29, some of the best minds of that generation will stage a family reunion at the Riviera Supper Club & Turquoise Lounge for “A Che Underground Leap Night Showcase.” The night’s lineup of Che Underground supergroups will feature two stars of the scene who haven’t performed in San Diego for more than three decades: Jeremiah Cornelius and Tom Clarke.

There to Here: Paul Kaufman,
University of Massachusetts Medical School

July 2, 2012July 1, 2012 by Mmrothenberg

(In this installment, Che Underground: The Blog talks to the original drummer of Manual Scan and co-founder of Lemons Are Yellow about his memories of the San Diego scene and his far-ranging career in biochemistry. If you’d like your story told, e-mail cheunderground@gmail.com!)

We actually met right after you’d left San Diego to study at UC Berkeley, then for your doctorate at MIT. But you stayed in close touch with all of us who were still in America’s Finest City. What was it like coming back for short visits and seeing the scene change?

I have very vivid memories coming back during quarter breaks and other holidays during my first year away, 1982-3. The most shocking thing was that every time I came back, the Answers song list was totally different, even within a couple of months! At the same time, the Mod scene became incredibly huge, and the punk scene seemed to go from an artistic, underground scene to a place laced with way too much testosterone. So I did feel like I was missing a lot, a lot was indeed happening, and not being there day-to-day probably accentuated that feeling. I stayed in San Diego during that amazing summer of ’83, so I did get to see some of the best parts first hand. (cue “Nowhere”).

And then when I came back summer of ’84, so much more had changed. No more Answers. No more Noise 292. I think that summer, the Morlocks emerged (pun intended) at a party at Paul Allen’s house. I remember I had to stand back, they were so loud, and I was accustomed to some pretty loud stuff back then! They played “Voices Green and Purple,” it was intense. And before long, everyone was up in San Francisco, just across from me in Berkeley, so I got to see a bit of that era before I left for Boston in late ‘86.

Introducing Sceneroller

September 4, 2011March 11, 2011 by Mmrothenberg

We’ve spent the past three years here on Che Underground: The Blog talking about the bands, people, places and shows that made our scene. Now here’s a way to connect them to each other — and to other scenes around the world.

San Diego is my musical home, and our musical history is precious to me … So this is the right place for the first real public launch of Sceneroller, a software platform that lets users connect bands, people, venues and gigs to write a shared history of local music scenes.

The Answers at Lestat’s: ‘Color Notes’ b/w ‘History’

January 22, 2018February 24, 2011 by Mmrothenberg

(Answers guitarist David Fleminger tells the story behind two Answers classics from the early ’80s, which the reformed band — including bassist Tony Suarez and drummer Dave Anderson — performed Jan. 29 at Lestat’s.)

“Color Notes”
I’m not exactly sure what originally inspired the idea for “Color Notes.”

the song was written in 1982 and perhaps I had seen something somewhere about synesthesia, perhaps not. Often music creates clear images in my mind, but not the kind of visions seen by the synesthete, somebody who literally sees colors that correlate with specific notes.

Years later I did discover that once I might have been trained to equate notes with colors … a folded sheet that came with a favorite childhood toy, a Fisher-Price Pull-A-Tune, one of those rolling xylophones with differently-colored metal bars. Fisher-Price included some examples of melodies complete with ‘Color-Notes’ that correspond to the colors on the toy. Perhaps there was something in the simple melody of this song that reminded me of playing with the xylophone.

Jeffrey Luck Lucas: ‘We Were on Fire’

September 4, 2011January 11, 2011 by Mmrothenberg

We’re overdue to devote a post to the recent work of one of the Che Underground’s most protean talents: Jeffrey Luck Lucas, veteran of San Diego’s Morlocks, Mirrors and Answers and a prolific Bay area solo artist.

I was privileged to play with Jeff for a few years in San Francisco — a longtime aspiration of mine — and I can testify to the intensity of his artistic vision through many incarnations.

Update from the Cardiac Kidz

April 21, 2012December 4, 2010 by Mmrothenberg

(Dave Rinck a k a Wallflower keeps us posted on the Kidz’s revival.)

It’s been an honor for me play rhythm guitar for the last few months with this classic punk-rock band. This is a working band, and it has a new lineup, new CDs (I’ve never released two CDs on the same day before!), and new shows! Here’s an update:

THE NEW LINEUP:
Jim Ryan – bass and vocals
Jerry Flack – guitar and vocals
Jimi Flynn – drums
Dave Wallflower – guitar and vocals

The Answers: “Margaret Flies”/
“Creative Art” at Bar Pink

January 21, 2018December 1, 2010 by Mmrothenberg

More Answers for the 21st century: Videotaped at Bar Pink July 31, 2010, at the Che Underground Rock-‘n’-Roll Weekend, “Margaret Flies” and “Creative Art” represent two eras of this incredibly prolific band.

“Margaret Flies” was a highlight of the band I first encountered in spring 1983; Jerry Cornelius’ lyrics, set to music by Jeff Lucas, still take my breath away after all these years. Meanwhile, guitarist/vocalist Dave Fleminger describes the return of “Creative Art” to the Answers set list:

Play “Misty” for me:
BOMBAST rocks out at Bar Pink

December 11, 2017September 25, 2010 by Mmrothenberg

(David Rinck provides his back story of this meeting of musical minds at the Che Underground Rock-‘n’-Roll Weekend. Plus, let’s go to the video, courtesy of Paul Kaufman!)

Now I’m really perplexed by this one. Dave Fleminger calls for the “end of the Age of Irony,” and then he is largely the perpetrator of a band called BOMBAST. This seems like a contradiction.

And then there’s the song-list issue — a couple old San Diego classics like the Wallflowers (“Rubber Room” and “Survive the Jungle”) and Blues Gangsters (“Tigershark Blues”), some Arthur Lee and Love (“Bummer In the Summer”), and even the Stooges (“TV Eye”) and Parliament (“Unfunky UFO”). Seems like a pretty strange brew, more contradictions? “Well, what do we all agree on?” I asked with great trepidation as the project grew. Pretty much one thing — BOMBAST is LOUD! Okay, that’s enough for me. I’m good to go.

Two days in Che: A retrospective

February 2, 2011August 3, 2010 by Mmrothenberg

(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.

Get your ‘Rock-’n’-Roll’ flyers!

March 24, 2018July 26, 2010 by Mmrothenberg

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!