the Dinettes | The Che Underground

Skeleton Club vs. SDPD: The trial of Laura Fraser

July 24, 2021July 24, 2021 by Mmrothenberg

A fabulous gift arrived just arrived for Che Underground: The Blog, and ultimately the San Diego Punk Archive!

Skeleton Club founder Laura Devlin (née Fraser) sent along a trove of photos, flyers, ‘zines and other ephemera of the San Diego punk scene in the late ’70s.

“I painted that sign myself, with some leftover house paint.” (Photo D. Reutter)

Her contribution comprises many posts’ worth of seminal rock-‘n’-roll history. Today, we’ll start with Laura’s own account of the rise and fall of the Skeleton Club (which operated from 1978 to 1980 at 202 Market St., then 921 Fourth Ave.). Her tale illustrates the resistance, corruption and downright brutality San Diego music pioneers faced from the authorities at the turn of the ’80s.

Were you there for the Skeleton Club’s last night — or at the subsequent trial? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Laura Devlin writes: A little bit of my personal history: In 1977, I was a nursing student at San Diego State, living with my boyfriend Greg Willis, bass player for the beloved Glory band. Greg was a wonderful man and helped me with the Skeleton Club, along with many other people.

The Dinettes serve up two long-lost videos

February 9, 2021February 9, 2021 by Mmrothenberg

In the mostly male redoubt of San Diego punk bands in the ’70s, The Dinettes were double-X pioneers when they formed in 1978 (originally under the name The Cockpits). Before they disbanded in 1980, The Dinettes appeared at local venues and even undertook two cross-country tours (the latter leading to their dissolution in Atlanta).

A 2017 reunion re-energized the band and the brand — and now a couple of videos offer new documentary evidence of The Dinettes at the turn of the ’80s.

Keyboardist Sue Delguidice reports, “I was fortunate to locate the Target Video film after years of searching, as I remember the video crew being there at the Deaf Club.”

The Dinettes in the spotlight

December 31, 2013December 12, 2010 by Mmrothenberg

(You asked for it, you got it! Che Underground: The Blog is proud to add San Diego female rock pioneers the Dinettes to its lineup. Doriot Negrette provides the narrative, with audio and visual artifacts contributed by Joyce Rooks.)

Disclaimer: Of course you understand that by daring to disturb the XX* Ark of the Covenant, all must pay by listening to the demanding sounds of San Diego’s own Dinettes. No longer satisfied and blissfully ignorant, the history camel has now gone and pushed its nasty nose under the tent and into the den of wild female rhythm. Lo, what a cavalcade of late-’70s sonic value those first recordings were…you’ll see. Left in a state of utter incomprehension and curious disbelief, any listener will be changed, forever.

*That’s chromosome, to you. Nothing more.

The Skeleton Club in flyers

July 24, 2021June 10, 2010 by Mmrothenberg

Che Underground: The Blog has written before about the legendary Skeleton Club, the backbone of San Diego punk that Laura Fraser and Tim Mays ran for a scant two weeks at 921 4th Ave. before reopening (always a half-step ahead of SD authorities) at 202 Market St.

Now Mikel Toombs enriches our store of Skeleton Club lore with a wealth of flyers, including announcements that accompanied the original venue’s opening and closing.

“The one about the Skeleton Club closing was handed out at the final show at the original Skeleton Club,” Mikel writes. “I don’t have any recollection of the other one.”

Our family tree, revisited

December 31, 2010November 22, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

Thanks to the Cardiac Kidz’s Jim Ryan, Che Underground: The Blog has a fresh supply of artifacts from his band and other early participants in the San Diego punk scene.

Among Jim’s contributions is this chart from early 1980 composed by Dan McLain. It testifies to Dan’s role as underground historian and adds new fuel to the longstanding discussion of our family tree.