the Nashville Ramblers | The Che Underground

New Sounds Festivals 1985-1991

March 27, 2019April 10, 2010 by Mmrothenberg

(Bart Mendoza describes the arc of an important San Diego music festival he co-founded.)

Helmed by myself and, at first, Ron Friedman, and later Matt Fidelibus (with huge help from Secret Society Scooter Club, Dimitri Callian and many others), there were seven New Sounds Festivals in all, always one big blowout event surrounded by a week of gigs by the touring acts.

I had been bringing groups to town for awhile anyway, so the idea of focusing efforts appealed; the chance to do these events as a benefit for SDSU’s student-run radio station, KCR, was even better. The motive for the New Sounds Festivals was simply to promote and showcase music influenced by Mod / ’60s/ Garage, in particular local groups like the Tell-Tale Hearts, the Nashville Ramblers, Donkey Show, the Trebels and the Event. With short sets and a backline, it was like a really, really cool jukebox.

Ron Silva & the Monarchs, reunited

December 31, 2010September 19, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

(Dean Curtis hails the return of a favorite Bay area band with deep San Diego roots.)

When I moved to the Bay area in ’92, I was pretty out of touch with the local music scene. One night, I was browsing through the Bay Guardian’s music listings, and I saw “Ron Silva & The Monarchs” listed.

“Naw, it can’t be the same Ron Silva from The Crawdaddys!” I thought. I went and checked it out anyway. Sure enough, it was the same Ron, fronting a new band of hip R&B cats from San Francisco, put together in ’93 by ex-Loved One Nick Rossi. Ron’s voice sounded better than ever, and the band was top notch!

Lend Me Your Comb: A short history of the Hedgehogs

January 1, 2011July 22, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

(Tell-Tale Heart/Town Crier Ray Brandes applies his narrative skills to documenting an influential early band from his own back pages. Read the full version in Che Underground’s Related Bands section.)

At the beginning of the summer of 1981, the Ideals (comprising 18-year-old Ray Brandes on lead vocals, 17-year-old Tony Paulerio on lead guitar, 20-year-old Maure Silverman on rhythm guitar, 17-year-old Paul Carsola on drums, and led by 14-year-old prodigy Carl Rusk on bass) were gearing up for a summer of Point Loma keg parties at $50 a performance.

The band, whose short career had reached a pinnacle opening for the Penetrators at Mission Bay High School’s prom, played mostly rockabilly and early rock and roll, with Eddie Cochran’s songs making up about 50 percent of our set list!

At the end of May, with Paul away on a summer vacation, Carl called up the Crawdaddys’ Ron Silva to sit in on drums. Ron knew Carl from years of Skeleton Club shows and had recently seen the Ideals play at the Zebra Club, so he was more than happy to oblige. The gig was to be a massive block party in Crown Point, but it never materialized because the set by the opening band, Stonehenge, resulted in several noise complaints.

‘I was a Shambles drummer’

January 1, 2011May 22, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

(Bart Mendoza of Manual Scan and the Shambles counts off drummers he’s worked with.)

No doubt about it: Kevin Donaker-Ring and I have worked with a lot of drummers over the decades, keeping in mind that we first began our team-up in 1976.

Here are a few of the incredible musicians who have spent time behind a drum kit with Manual Scan or the Shambles over the past 30-plus years. Not pictured: Paul Brewin, Morgan Young, Terry Moore, Rob Wilson, Trace Smith, Brad Kiser. … There’s a future post there.

1) “I was a Shambles drummer” pin. People have sat in with the band for one song to obtain one of these.

Mod flyer fun from the Fugate Collection

March 27, 2019December 29, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

Always seeking better ways to digitize your San Diego youth, the Che Underground blog today attempts a new delivery mechanism: a downloadable PDF file encapsulating more than 70 high-resolution pages of mid-’80s, mod-friendly flyers courtesy of Ken Fugate.

Every page of this magnum opus is a Proustian gem featuring performances by the Tell-Tale Hearts, the Morlocks, Manual Scan, the Trebels, the Nephews, the Nashville Ramblers, the Sovereigns, 39 Steps and many more. (I’m especially excited by the flyer hailing the debut of the Town Criers.)

The Tell-Tale Hearts (and more) in flyers

January 1, 2011October 14, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

The latest showpieces from the Tom Goddard Collection of classic San Diego flyers.

Today’s batch includes additional Tell-Tale Hearts ephemera (Exhibit A, from a July 27, 1984, show at Studio 517, bears autographs dedicated to Tom’s sister Suzie); a very early appearance (probably August 18, 1984) by “the Morlochs” (sic) with the Hearts at the same venue; a Nashville Ramblers gig; Tell-Tale Hearts and Chesterfield Kings at SDSU’s Backdoor; and a Distillery East show with Manual Scan, the Untouchables and UXB, a band I’m afraid I’d forgotten completely before taking delivery of this cache.

Musical chairs

December 13, 2017July 1, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

Packing so much musical talent into the confines of the San Diego scene pushed the Che Underground Mixmaster into overdrive. A couple of short years produced a dizzying melange of amputations, collaborations and creative explosions as assorted musicians formed new combinations.

Sergio of Hair Theatre sang for the Answers; guitarist David Rives from Noise 292 joined them for one performance as Painted Sun; Sam Wilson moved from the Rockin’ Dogs to the Wallflowers to Hair Theatre; Joanne Norris drummed for the Injections, Noise 292 and Everybody Violet; Crawdaddys and Gravediggers became Nashville Ramblers; half of our bands converged into the Morlocks; and Dave Anderson kept the beat for everybody else.

The birth of Everybody Violet

January 1, 2011June 14, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

(Everybody Violet co-founder Kristi Maddocks reminisces about making the band. Read these excerpts, then check out the full account in our Related Bands section!)
I hung out in the San Diego underground late ’81 to early ‘82, but I wasn’t an out-‘n’-out player until 1983. After years of watching shows I began to assert myself as a writer, a poet — and a wannabe singer/songwriter.

It was like kismet: As soon as my old roommate moved out, Michelle [Krone] moved into the Madison Avenue place. Tired of being known as just “The Morlocks’ Girls,” Michelle and I looked at each other and said, “Let’s start our own band!” I would sing lead, and Michelle would sing back-up and learn the bass guitar.

Word got around the scene we were looking to become a legitimate group. A couple of days later, Michelle and I were introduced to Anni and Carina, and the great musical partnership of Everbody Violet was born.