Reviving San Diego's Rock Renaissance
Jeffrey Luck Lucas — veteran of the Answers and the Morlocks and current solo artist — offers up these photos from the band he calls his favorite from his days in San Diego.
The Mirrors were formed by Jeff and Dave Fleminger in late 1983 and played their last show in May 1984. Artifacts are rare, but these images shot by John Nee capture the band playing the UCSD Rec Gym April 14, 1984 with The Unclaimed, the Odds and Noise 292.
(A new perspective on our old stomping grounds. Any other readers from the Che collective want to chime in?)
So, I am flipping through the Reader, and I see the short article about your site and I go check it out because back in the day I belonged to several lefty campus organizations that put on benefit concerts at the Che.
I recognized the name of your band, Noise 292, because of all the shows we did. I had one flyer saved from back in the day, and it has your band’s name on it along with The Front and The Odds. It was for a Feb. 24, 1984, concert [to benefit draft resister Michael Marsh] sponsored by the UCSD Committee Against Registration and the Draft which was a part of the Progressive Student Organization at the Che.
(Bart Mendoza of Manual Scan and the Shambles contributes a selection of flyers from his capacious archives.)
1. One of my infamous paste-&-cut flyers, this one for Julie at 2581, when I helped promote a batch of shows in 1983 1988 — you can probably tell the numbers are from an old calendar.
I collected photos, and friends gave me old magazines to cannibalize into quick flyers, though this one is from my collection of vintage TV-show stills. That’s a pretty diverse calendar, from the Event to Claude Coma, with stops at the Nephews; Outriders (with Rick Wilkins); and Berkeley combo the Birminghams; as well as lots of others.
Today marks the 25th anniversary of Noise 292’s first performance: May 26, 1983, at the Che Cafe with the Answers and the Odds. I can think of no better way to celebrate that silver anniversary than with a powerful performance by the brilliant Kristin Martin.
“Stupid Future” showcases everything that was so special about Kristin’s songwriting and performing, even at 19: arresting hooks, great lyrics and fantastic vocals. She’s one of the most innovative creative forces I’ve ever had the privilege of collaborating with.