The Rockin' Dogs | The Che Underground

The Wallflowers: “TV Eye”

December 31, 2010December 4, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

The night I met the Wallflowers, the Stooges’ “TV Eye” was playing on the stereo. I know it was the summer of 1983, when I met so many of you, and I believe my introduction was brokered via Rockin’ Dog Dave Ellison.

That moment forged a lasting connection in my mind between the Wallflowers and the Stooges, an impression that was reified by the Wallflowers’ blistering interpretations of the older band’s oeuvre — including “TV Eye,” presented here in all its synapse-rattling glory.

Per vocalist Dave Rinck, “‘Walldrugs’ and ‘TV Eye’ were recorded in a ‘studio’ at Music Power; ‘Raw Power’ was, too, but not until a little later than the other two.”

Rockin’ Dogs around town

January 1, 2011November 18, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

A long-sought contribution from recent blog arrival Lori Stalnaker-Bevilacqua: a flyer that puts a date (Feb. 10, 1984) to the legendary Saigon Palace gig featuring the Rockin’ Dogs and Noise 292.

This show (which found Sam Wilson covering all Rockin’ Dogs vocals while Dave Ellison recuperated from laryngitis and 17-year-old Wendell Kling evading ID inspection in the men’s room until Noise 292’s appearance) was also photographed by Ms. Stalnaker-Bevilacqua. But this is the first time we’ve been able to put it on the calendar. Mystery solved — thanks, Lori!

Bonus artifact: an ad featuring a July 29, 1983, appearance by the Rockin’ Dogs at the Headquarters (with the Ripsaws and Jimmy & the Vandals). I’m afraid I didn’t catch this show; the Answers, Noise 292 and Hair Theatre were playing the Che Cafe that night.

The Rockin’ Dogs: “Bye Bye Bye”

January 1, 2011August 26, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

“OK, now we’re diggin’ into the archives!” writes Rockin’ Dog Dave Ellison of “Bye Bye Bye,” the latest stellar Dogs single and earliest Dogs recording to join our hit parade.

“This is from the historic Rockin’ Dogs San Marcos Sessions, featuring the earlier lineup of Sam Wilson on guitar/vocals; Dave Ellison on bass/vocals; Jim Meisland on guitar; and Scott Nichols (a k a Scott Slob) on drums.

“In 1982, we had a rented practice room in a metal building in San Marcos, which was owned by Vietnam vet auto mechanics. They used to work on cars in that building all night long. We used to practice until late at night, and they gradually grew tired of our racket and evicted us.

The rise and fall of the Town Criers

March 27, 2019August 9, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

(Excerpts from the story of the pioneering late-’80s alt-country band by founder Ray Brandes. Read the full version in our Related Bands section!)

The Town Criers was a country-rock band that featured many of San Diego’s Che Underground musicians, including myself and Dave Klowden of the Tell-Tale Hearts, Peter Miesner and Mark Zadarnowski of the Crawdaddys, Tom Ward of the Gravedigger V, and Dave Ellison of the Rockin’ Dogs. The group predated the alt-country movement of the 1990s by several years.

The last few months of the Tell-Tale Hearts’ existence were contentious times. Eric Bacher had quit the band in 1986, and many of the original San Diego scenesters had either left town or simply moved on. By the time guitarist Peter Miesner of the Crawdaddys arrived to save the day, the rest of the band members had begun to feel the effects of nearly four years together, and relationships were further strained by meddling outsiders and substance abuse.

Then and now: Greenwich Village West

April 23, 2012August 6, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

(Roving correspondent/ photographer Kristen Tobiason revisits and documents the scenes of our youth. Today, Greenwich Village West learns Tagalog.)

Time has reduced my memory of the Greenwich Village basement to a hot cement pit: the flickering yellow light and a stairwell descending to a gully that had possibly the worst acoustics I’ve ever experienced!

I remember Morlocks guitarist Ted Friedman’s reverb hitting the wall — flat and nowhere to go, just like the smoke from our cigarettes. But we all had a good time. … Everybody who was anybody was there, right? (Maybe I’m harboring band-girlfriend resentment from schlepping equipment up and down those stairs.)

The Rockin’ Dogs at Saigon Palace

January 1, 2011July 18, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

Here’s a photo set from a memorable night in late 1983/early 1984 when the Rockin’ Dogs — guitarists/vocalists Dave Ellison and Sam Wilson; bassist Jane Bunting; and drummer Cole Smithey — took the stage with Noise 292 at Saigon Palace in what is now call the Gaslamp Quarter.

“The live color pics with Jane were the Saigon Palace!” Ellison recalls. “I was really sick, I had a fever and laryngitis really bad … to the point where I could do nothing but whisper for two weeks … so Sam sang all the songs that night.”

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 Rockin’ Dogs: “Always on the Run”

January 1, 2011June 24, 2008 by Mmrothenberg

We’re spinning another sizzling Rockin’ Dogs hit requested by the Wallflowers’ Dave Rinck, this one from early in the band’s extraordinary collaboration.

“‘Always On the Run’ was one of the first songs we did,” writes Rockin’ Dogs co-founder Dave Ellison. “I’m pretty sure Sam wrote it before we started the band. It was always a part of our set … at least for as long as I was in the band.

“I always liked playing the lead on this one, but I think I screwed it up a little here. Oh, well … no time to do it over when you’re a young musician on a budget!”