Really smoking
Matt Potter 6:30 a.m., May 22
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Stories by Ken Leighton
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Kona Kai relaunch
Former Humphrey’s talent-buyer Shawna Aguirre hopes to revitalize Kona Kai as the hotel’s entertainment director.
What 4th&B will be
John Lyons, one of the owners of the venue who will take over 4th&B, has an unusual challenge. He will be competing for business with the nearby House of Blues, a chain he cofounded with ...
Cody Lovaas drops in
Carlsbad resident Cody Lovaas, 14, begins his recording career with Hurley and Bill Silva Management.
Elephant vanishes in Carlsbad
Carlsbad’s Flying Elephant closes; to reopen as a British-style pub but with no bands.
Redefining awesome
4th&B may reopen as an electronic dance music nightclub
The 4th&B concert hall was forced to close in December following the eviction of business owners Vince and Judy Puma. The Pumas were hit by lawsuits from building owner Crown Investments and former owner Ali ...
No age limit for rock
Jensen Rufe was a 1991 graduate of rock and roll high. “The guys in blink-182 were a little younger than us,” says Rufe about Poway High. “But we were pretty much the same age as ...
Brandon Van Ekelenburg was a very angry kid
Brandon Van Ekelenburg (aka Van Brando) switched from heavy metal to rapping.
Soulless P.B.
The building formerly known as Canes and then SoundWave is coming back as a club, but with less emphasis on big-name concerts.
Underground burlesque
Interview with lounge singer David Patrone, who has teamed up with cabaret and burlesque dancers.
No changes afoot after arrest of Humphreys’ talent buyer
Talent buyer/manager of Humphreys Backstage Lounge, Jeremiah Smith, was arrested for felony drunk driving. Will that change the Shelter Island venue’s ability to book shows?
Leucadia’s Calypso Cafe closes
The Calypso Cafe, which opened in Leucadia in 1995 and featured music seven nights a week for most of its existence, held its final show this New Year’s Eve. Located in a converted house, the ...
4th & beyond
With the court’s recent 4th&B verdict, will Public Enemy still take the stage at the downtown venue on December 12?
Death-metal support group
Interview with Ghoulgotha founder/guitarist Wayne Sarantopoulos about death doom metal.
Is this mic on?
Are Arbitron’s Portable People Meters fairly measuring the San Diego listenership of FM 94/9?
I call it blunk
SDSU student/musician Ariel Schwartz says Associated Students has stopped paying to host bands and only includes DJs for entertainment.
It's a raid!
Show Palace gets raided by multiple agencies on night of Alejandra Guzman show. Nothing was found, show proceeded. Insiders suggest state bureau of Alcoholic Beverage Control was exerting pressure.
Your Guy Doesn't Spit Fire
Jason Lee of Oceanside started doing Kiss tributes 36 years ago. “I remember being six years old and putting the pillows in a semicircle around the couch like a stage. I would air drum with ...
Commercials: The New Frontier
Vokab Kompany and other San Diego bands sign on to do jingles for Metropolitan Transit District.
Black Moses
Hip-hop promoter Reggie Sinatra to bring Talib Kweli to the Show Palace, a Latin-music venue.
Shepard Fairey's Graphic Activities
Shepard Fairey avoids a six-month prison sentence for lying to prosecutors.
End of Metaphor
Metaphor Cafe closes its doors after an August 26 show , at which police showed up and found minors drinking alcohol.
Rapping Sailors
Matt January, formerly a Navy man, talks about the rap act he honed while aboard on the USS Nimitz.
Stiff Drinks, Bad Carpeting
Bar Leucadian gets its music permit revoked due to cocaine sales on the premises.
Cantautor Latino Snubs Carlos Olmeda
Singer-songwriter Carlos Olmeda showed up ahead of time to perform at the San Diego County Fair. He was told he was too late.
They Aren't Promoters
Red Wizard gets booted off the band lineup following an article in the Reader.
Dark Cloud
Kelly Formaldehyde Facebooked that Ruby Room personnel were rude rude to her. OMG! There went that relationship.
Rock and Roll Is About Money
Oceanside hard-rockers Red Wizard find that "it’s hard for a band to get any exposure now unless they’re paying for it."
Mom-and-Pop Radio
Tristan Prettyman and Jason Mraz were going to get married. And then he came up with a righteous reason not to. She’s laughing now, though.
Sunny Rude Receives Nuisance Noise Citation
After being cited by party-pooping cops, Sunny Rude may have to pay almost $7000 to play about 35 minutes of music.
Big Deals at the San Diego County Fair
When the San Diego County Fair paid $80,000 to Gym Class Heroes to be a Grandstand headliner in 2007, one talent buyer said the New York hip-hop quartet was paid $45,000 more than they would ...
Hard Rock Gives It Away Now
Since October of last year, the Hard Rock Hotel has hosted a once-a-month concert featuring headliners that would normally play Casbah or Belly Up. And the shows are free. The Soundcheck concert series is held ...
Fatty Weighs In
Fatty Freelunch has been around the block. “We were the first band to play SOMA, and we were the last band when it closed.” Ms. Freelunch is talking about Len Paul’s original south-of-Market venue downtown. ...
Punk-Rock Politico
For the 16 years, Dicky Demonic has been thrashing it out in North County punk bands with his in-your-face, lefty politics. Demonic has been known to go off on cops, the rich getting richer, and ...
Take a Hikey, Mikey
“They hired him to improve the morning-show ratings and he ended up bringing them down like a big anchor.” That’s how one employee at a competing modern-rock station described Mike Esparza’s two years at FM ...
Is This Mic On?
Jefferson Jay says the open-mic scene that launched Jewel and Jason Mraz is not as vital as it once was. Jay, who started hosting acoustic showcases in 2003, thinks, however, that there is still enough ...
Seaside Sellout
Will the March 16 show headlined by local reggae band Stranger be the last show ever at Sound Wave (formerly Canes)? No shows are being booked at the 700-capacity beachfront venue after that date. The ...
Trilingual Rock
“I have one friend who straight up told me that if he can’t understand the lyrics he can’t get into our music,” says singer/songwriter/guitarist Pablo Garduno about the fact that some of the lyrics of ...
No More Rude Radio
“It was pretty scanty,” says Ras Charles about the turnout at last year’s Tribute to the Reggae Legends show at the Sports Arena. “You could have played football in there.” Charles had a vendors’ booth ...
91NEXT!
The man who helped 91X regain its mojo, Garrett Capone, is leaving the station to work in artist development with the New York–based Crush Management company, which handles acts such as Train, Wavves, Gym Class ...
Contentious Corner
Ali Nilforshan says he will be taking back 4th&B, the downtown venue he owned from 2003 to 2009. The current owners, Vince and Judy Puma, say that is not going happen. Nilforshan says he sold ...
Abstract Swing
As Declan Halloran sees it, the all-age local band scene is easy to sum up. “The bands that play at Soma are either pop-punk, cookie monster [sreamo], or ska. They pretty much come in one ...
Taking Back 4th&B
The former owner of 4th&B, the 1500-capacity downtown concert venue, says he is in the process of taking the club back from its current owner and that he is suing Live Nation, the concert promoter ...
The Elephant Has Landed
Four years after he launched Hensley’s Flying Elephant, pro skateboarder-turned-accordionist (Flogging Molly) Matt Hensley has sold the music venue he built from scratch. “I had help from friends. We built the entire pub.” The artwork ...
