the Wallflowers | The Che Underground

Holiday cheer from Sweeney Todd’s

December 31, 2010November 27, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

Wallflowers guitarist turned demon barber Todd Lahman encourages Che Underground: The Blog to spread the holiday cheer with this invitation to raise a glass at Sweeney Todd’s Barber Shop on Hollywood Blvd.

I’ve been looking for an opportunity to recognize Sweeney Todd’s, the ultra-cool shop founded in 1927 and refurbished by Mr. Lahman. By all accounts, he’s parlayed his rock-‘n’-roll sensibilities into a world-class shrine to the classic tonsorial arts. (Anyone up for joining me in a haircut before the Jan. 30 show at the Casbah?)

Cecil “P’Nut” Daniels speaks

December 18, 2017October 4, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

One of the most exciting revelations inspired by Che Underground: The Blog was the reintroduction to our circle of original Wallflowers drummer Cecil “P’Nut” Daniels.

His arrival from Texas in the early ’80s (under the name Aaron Daniels) and unlikely alliance with the nascent Wallflowers wrought a profound influence on the band and on other members of our crew, such as Kristen Tobiason and Patrick Works.

“Aaron elevated the proceedings,” writes Wallflowers bassist Paul Howland. “He showed me how to play slap-style bass, (which we called ‘Thumpin’ ’ or ‘Poppin’ ’); played me recordings of some of the best purveyors of that technique; and even showed me how to set up an amp properly to achieve the right sound to enhance the technique.

Read moreCecil “P’Nut” Daniels speaks

Surfacing the Gravedigger V

March 30, 2019September 2, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

A recent comment by Kristen Tobiason has me puzzling over how best to focus conversation on the Gravedigger V, a youthful San Diego band whose brief existence in 1983-1984 has inspired a quarter-century of notoriety.

There are plenty of online references to the band and its album “All Black and Hairy,” but many pieces are of questionable accuracy. What can we do to set the record straight?

Flyers from the Mendoza Collection

January 1, 2011July 9, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

(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.

Che Games: Photos from the Doyle Collection

January 1, 2011June 22, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

Che Underground archivists are frankly embarrassed by the riches rendered from the Che Games for May festival May 29-30 at San Diego’s Casbah. Twenty-five years or more later, the shows offered a great opportunity to showcase beloved material — and capture it with 21st-century technology.

While few early-’80s performances have survived, this event was immortalized from every angle with digital audio, video and photography; our biggest challenge now is to collate and edit this wealth of material.

In other words: I hardly know where to start!

I’m proud to get the photographic ball rolling with the camera work of Unknowns bassist/ photographic powerhouse Dave Doyle, who took some beautiful shots of the Mirrors, the original San Diego Wallflowers, Noise 292 and Hair Theatre on the second evening of the show. (Stay tuned for a gallery of Friday night’s superstars: Everybody Violet, Manual Scan, the Gay Dennys and the Answers!)

The Wallflowers: “Funland” at the Casbah

January 1, 2011June 8, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

For those who missed Che Games for May in San Diego May 29-30 or just want to relive the magic: Good news! Thanks to modern technology, the event was captured from every angle in photographs, audio and video.

Exhibit A: The original San Diego Wallflowers raise the roof of San Diego’s Casbah with “Funland,” the band’s hypnotic paean to the city’s seamy underbelly, now lost to gentrification. (For memories of the original Funland, check out Kristen Tobiason’s “Then and now” feature.)

The May 30 performance marks the Wallflowers debut of Rockin’ Dog Dave Ellison and features original Wallflowers David Rinck on vocals, Paul Howland on bass and Matt Johnson on drums. (Che Underground jack-of-all-trades Dave Fleminger added keyboard stylings to the set.)

Che Games: Mission accomplished!

January 1, 2011May 31, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

A quick one, while he’s away: I’m tying up some loose ends before my flight back from San Diego to New Jersey after Day Two of the Che Underground’s Che Games for May reunion event at the Casbah Club.

Thanks to a crack team of documentarians, we’ve got audio, video and photos to share and enjoy — and those will be making their way onto the site in the coming weeks.

But for now, a simple “Thank you!” and an open invitation to talk about what our quarter-century reunion did to or for you.

You’re all very, very important to me, and easily my biggest regret is that I couldn’t be everywhere at once to talk to you and share time. But please: Let’s come together here and swap a few stories for each other and for our friends who couldn’t be with us this time out.

Dubstep Mixed CD available at the Che Underground Shows

March 30, 2019May 29, 2009 by Paul.Howland

(Wallflower Paul Howland puts in the plug for his current audio goodies.)

Wallflowers David Rinck, Paul Howland I’ll be hawking new product at the show. I made a new Dubstep and Grime mix (heavier on the Dubstep side of things). It’s continuously mixed by me the old fashioned way, with turntables and a mixer. 26 Tunes, all vinyl, were selected to provide a wide range of styles from within the Dubstep and Grime continuum from 2007 right up until some of the very latest releases. Lovingly rendered in gorgeous CDR audio and available at the shows this weekend in a limited numbered edition of 50 for a scant $10 US. For those that don’t want to shell out for the CDR, there’s also plenty of free Dubstep goodness available here.

Get your Che Games poster!

December 11, 2017May 27, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

What’s an iconic concert without an iconic poster? In honor of Che Games for May, the 25th anniversary tribal gathering slated for May 29-30 at San Diego’s Casbah, Ray Brandes and artist Kevin Diamond have created this handsome memento so participants near and far can own a piece of music history.

Enjoy this commemorative gift, and we hope to see you there!

Let the games begin!

March 27, 2019April 26, 2009 by Mmrothenberg

(Tell-Tale Heart/Town Crier Ray Brandes lays the table for May’s audio feast.)

The Che Underground Weekend Showcase:
Celebrating more than 25 years of San Diego’s underground music history

An incredible opportunity to reconnect, reminisce and rediscover will unfold as 25 years and thousands of miles of distance disappear in a single weekend — May 29 and 30 at the Casbah in San Diego.

The lineups have been set, the bands are rehearsing, and the drinks are on ice. Here’s what to expect: