San Diego Reader

WIN GIG @ OVERHEARD & FAMOUS ARTSHOW!

Famous Former Neighbors Song Contest!

Last year, the song “Overheard in San Diego” by Cathryn Beeks and Sven Erik Seaholm became that comic strip’s heavily-promoted and oft-played theme song at www.sandiegoreader.com.

 

NOW WE NEED A FAMOUS FORMER NEIGHBORS SONG!

 

Record and submit an MP3 song called and about Famous Former Neighbors at http://www.sandiegoreader.com/famous-song

 

All entries will be playable on the Reader website – public votes a winner on March 24.

 

Winning performer gets their name and URL published with every FFN comic strip in 2010, website spotlights, and a gig showcase at the Ruby Room!!

 

Winner will be announced at the OVERHEARD AND FAMOUS IN SAN DIEGO ART GALLERY RECEPTION on March 29 at the Ruby Room, where the winner will be invited to perform on an all-star bill that includes Bart Mendoza, True Stories, Wendy Bailey, Cathryn Beeks and more!!

 

Winner keeps all song (and bragging) rights – we just want to be able to post it all over the Reader website, along with your name and links to your performer pages!

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/famous-song Here's where you can play all the song submissions so far - voter functions to be added shortly: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/audioclips/sets/famous-former-neighbors/ *************************************** *************************************************  

NEW COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL MUSIC DATABASE IS LAUNCHED

IT'S DONE!!!! And growing every hour....

If you wanna see a list of over 1,900 San Diego bands, with links to full profiles, photos, discographies, articles, MP3s, etc, checkout http://www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/search/

Believe it or not, you can click on ANY LOCAL MUSICIAN'S NAME (around 4,900 musicos listed!) and bring up bios of every notable band they've ever been in! Try it here with Rob Crow ---

AND, if that wasn't cool 'nuff, click on an instrument, say like this here link to "Drums" - BAM, a list of EVERY DRUMMER IN SAN DIEGO!!!

We've been working on this massively cross-linked Local Music Database for over two years now, covering a century of San Diego history --- if you're a local performer who wants to add or edit a page, go to http://www.sandiegoreader.com/band/edit/

More soon!!!! JAS

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HERE'S THE NEW Overheard in San Diego

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ARCHIVE OF Famous Former Neighbors

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ROCK AROUND THE TOWN TODAY/WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24

[LOADING]

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PHIL BELLANTE'S POKER FACE

“Poker is going to be a big theme for us, as the song continues to gain a following and earn more exposure,” says Phil Bellante of the marketing push behind his card-themed tune “All In.”

 

“I wrote the song in ten minutes while watching a TV [poker] tournament,” says Bellante, whose own favorite game is no-limit Texas Holdem. “I want to license it for movies, video games, TV shows, casinos, gambling websites, and of course poker tournaments. I think it has the potential to be like [Kenny Rogers’] ‘The Gambler’…it certainly has more to do with cards than ‘Poker Face’ by Lady Gaga, and yet that song is played in relation [to gaming] all the time.”

 

To that end, the singer/songwriter recently plugged his tune on the pokernewsdaily.com website and Phil Gordon’s ESPN radio show Poker Edge.

 

“Phil’s brother-in-law is a friend of mine, so I’ve known him for years. He has a lot of connections who are looking at the song now, plus I spend a lot of time getting it around to others…several Nashville songwriters are pitching ways to make it a hit. It’s all self-marketing and self-financed for now, but that’s the only way to get things done.”

 

Bellante says he’s willing to consider most any opportunity to market “All In.” “A lot of people are telling me that I should be able to make money off the song, that it appeals to the same kind of passion that poker players have.”

 

“But selling out isn’t always as easy as it looks.”

 

Bellante comes from a long line of politically aware, socially relevant, musically adroit, and vocally unpredictable singer-songwriters like Neil Young, Harry Nilsson, Perry Farrell, Bruce Springsteen, and their deep-thought free-world-rockin’ brethren. Think Edwin McCain backed by the Cowboy Junkies.

“I was inspired by the way Tracy Chapman addresses social issues in her songs,” says Bellante, “with lyrics that are meaningful and relevant without being preachy.”

Raised in Cleveland, Bellante grew up in a musical family, studying both piano and guitar. “My grandmother was playing piano right into her 90s,” he says, “and that made her one of the coolest people I knew. My mother was a poet, and that has always influenced my lyrics.”

After graduating from college and arriving in San Diego with business degree in hand, Bellante says, “The only business I was interested in was the one called ‘show.’ Luckily, I found a musical partner right away in drummer Aaron Redfield [Switchfoot].”

 Bellante’s 2008 release EP2 was produced and recorded by J. Logan Stewart and Taylor Barefoot at Barefoot Studios. Videos for several songs were directed by Steve Woroniecki (Mariah Carey, Kid Rock).

“My lyrics and the overall direction of my music have come from my vast life experiences and observation of others,” says Bellante. “I have looked under the surface of things in life to try to understand the whys of life. My music simply leads people to places in their soul to help them see things clearly: that is the best way I can describe it.”

Related links

• YouTube videos
• Musician Interview: "Freeworld Rockin'"
• Phil Bellante Reader page
• Phil Bellante: iCalendar | RSS

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 TRAVIS BARKER FIGHTS PHOTOGS

Jam! reports: A trash media photo-stalker (aka paparazzo) reportedly called the cops on blink-182's Travis Barker after a run-in on Saturday, February 20, at a Calabasas, Ca restaurant. Information about the incident is a "star said, stalker said" affair with Barker taking to his Twitter to give his side and the other side posting what Barker has labeled an "edited" video.

The tabloid reports vary, Jam! places the incident on "Sat night" and says that Barker was at the restaurant with "friends". However, Barker's account places the incident in the morning and hints that he was out to breakfast with his children when he had a run-in with a photo-stalker who threatened him.

Apparently there were 3 photographers, then an hour later Barker had evened the odds by calling in reinforcements. The cops were reportedly called because Barker allegedly took away the photo-stalker's cell phone and slashed his tires, according to the Jam! report. However, while police were called to the scene for a vandalism claim, no arrests were made.

Here is what Barker had to say about the incident: "When I'm out at breakfast at 8am in the morning the last thing i appreciate is some photographer threatening me 2 a fight while he's 3 deep. When i defend myself/my kids that don't make me a tough guy .I was outnumbered and threatened so i did what any man would.

"Paparazzi cried like young girls when it was no longer 3 of them against me and my kids. Didn't they remember threatening me an hr ago?? What happened to the tough guys with the cameras? It was gonna be a fair fight..3 against 3? I mean i weigh a buck 40, your 200lbs and 6′6. - more of Travis' comments

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 CATHRYN BEEKS’ WEEKLY LISTEN LOCAL HOTSHEET  

 Tuesday 2/23 - Bare Back Grill downtown with the amazing Lindsay White - 7:00 Megan Combs, 7:45 Daphne Denniston, 8:15 Shant, 8:45 Lindsay White, 9:30 Katie Leigh Reynolds - NO COVER!

 Wednesday 2/24 - The Stage downtown at 5th and F. 8:00 Speaking Idly, 8:30 Travis Ross, 9:00 Emily Herndon, 10:00 Jacqueline Grace, 11:00 open for your full band - email me to reserve it!  NO COVER!

 Thursday 2/25 - Happy Hour at Winstons in Ocean Beach with Kate and Cathryn and music from 5:00 The Flounders, 6:00 Katie Leigh Reynolds, 6:30 Conner Cecil, 7:00 Mind Circus w/ Happy Ron  - NO COVER!

 Sunday 2/28 - The Onyx Room MUSIC MIXER!  Bring info about your music related service and network with nice people.  Excellent music from 7:00 Lindsey Yung, 7:30 Roger!, 8:00 Vera's Veil, 9:00 Tori Roze and the Hot Mess, 10:00 Manic Diffusion -  NO COVER

MUSIC NEWS

 Artist of the Week: Tori Roze and the Hot Mess will play the 9pm spot at The Onyx Room for our Monthly Mixer this Sunday, 2/28.  Don't miss it!

 Link of the Week:  Do you know all the tax deductions you're able to claim as a working musician?  Roger does.  Call him at 619-445-5523 or check out the website.  MUSICIAN FRIENDLY people, tell them Listen Local sent you!

 The Game happens on March 2nd and the title is Save The Day.  Write a song to that title and show up by 7pm at Desi N Friends in Point Loma to get your name in the hat to play it.  Unplugged stage, all styles and abilities welcomed.... spectators, too!  Good times.

 Sunset Sessions happened this weekend and thanks to my handsome husband we scored passes to this pricey but important event. "Michele Clark's Sunset Sessions is an industry only event that brings together radio stations, music supervisors from film and television, record companies, artist managers, and some of the freshest new talent along with some legendary favorites. Its main purpose is to expose the tastemakers of our industry, and in particular the Triple A format, to the bright stars of tomorrow." 

The cost to attend and/or perform is pretty crazy, but when you figure the money is used to fly in all the VIPs from around the country (and they are REQUIRED to hear your set) it's a huge deal.  Our own Holding Air Hostage, Sara Petite and Makepeace Brothers all showcased and made us proud.  I got to meet my long-time musical mentor, Melissa Etheridge and I was able to slip packages containing some of San Diego's best music to some extremely important folks.  All in all, it was a great time and I can't wait until next year!

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HARGO GOES TO INDIA - Local Musico Blogs From the Other Side of the World

"My teachers used to skip over my name and say, 'Oh, you're here,' " says Hargobind Hari Singh Khalsa. "Kids started calling me Hargo when I was 7." Hargo is Sikh. "People say, 'What is that?' It's the fifth-largest religion in the world, but people don't even know about it."

Hargo got his first taste of fame at the age of 16, when his tune “Giving” was selected as official theme song for the 1999 South Africa Peace Conference. “I wrote that when I was eight years old, in choir,” he says. “While performing in Oregon [years later], I got to do that song. A woman approached me and said they were looking for a theme song to kick off that event.”

A 2000 performance opening for Seal earned him a ringing endorsement from the headliner (“This young man’s music moved me deeply”). Hargo says “That was around 2000, in New Mexico, at the Peace Festival. I played him a few of my songs on a 12-string. He flipped it over, Hendrix style, and played a song from his new album. He asked me what I thought about another song he played, and I told him it had interesting chords. When he played the bridge, I told him I thought it was too chordy, and it took away from the strength of the melody.”

 Seal isn't Hargo's only famous fan. “Shortly after I had decided to really make a move in the music scene in San Diego, Kate Pierson of the B-52s told me to stick with my nickname Hargo, as opposed to some stage name or something. She said ‘It’s one word, unique, and easy to remember….it just sounds cool.’ ”

Hargo's publicity photos include several shots by legendary rock photographer Mick Rock. “His photos were being displayed at Morrison Hotel [in La Jolla],” says Hargo. “We saw in the Reader that he was going to be there, but we missed it by a day. When my dad mentioned it to a yoga teacher in New York, the guy said ‘He’s one of my students.’ When I was there, I asked if I could meet him. He’s a really cool, laid back guy."

"I was one of only three people he's ever photographed that wasn't already famous. And he did it at a greatly reduced rate. Before he’d take pictures, he’d twirl around with his eyes closed. Then he’d open his eyes and just start shooting pictures. I’d hear him say ‘Okay, Hargo, we got a great shot, you motherf*cker!’ It was a lot of fun.”

Hargo is on his way to India, where he'll be sending sending the Reader a series of written blog reports and "Turban Cam" video footage. Here's part one:

 PART ONE: LEAVING LOS DIEGO

Tomorrow, or more accurately today, in a few hours I get on a plane for 20 hours with John and Andi (our resident Albanian whirling dervish, film maestro) as we travel to India. It's been almost 10  years since I was last there during my sophomore year of High School, and I can't wait to set foot on those fertile grounds again. This trip will be different than any other, for many reasons, though.

The three of us will be on a three week journey across the country playing free shows, bargaining in marketplaces, riding in Auto Rikshas (tin can on 3 wheels), visiting young children at an orphanage outside Amritsar (hopefully spotlighting what these fantastic people are doing), and soaking in the rich flavors of a whole different world and way of life.

A trip to India is, for me, as it should always be in my opinion, a journey to, across, and then finally, within. It's a place that just has a way of testing you, challenging the ego and pulling you away from mother Culture, to whose breast we often cling so tightly. But that's dessert, let's start with breakfas

We'll roll in to the humble San Diego airport in the morning, and then it's off to Chicago and finally Delhi. Armed with an iPod full of 2pac, Tom Waitts, and Sigur Ros, and many other favorites, I'll try my best to quell airplane boredom with either sleep, writing, or musical veg-out. Good times.

 

In any case, it's going to be an unforgettable trip, and I'm glad we'll get to share it together via Turban Cam. For those who have been keeping up to date, the launch of these webisodes is a bit overdue, but I think it'll be well worth the wait.

 

We're going to have TONS of footage, and very unreliable internet access, so we'll do our best to post as much stuff as we can, and perhaps more lengthy in depth stuff when we return and Andi has time to put something great together!

 

PART TWO, SUNDAY 2-21: AWAY WE HARGO

I'm here in New Delhi and just discovered that I can send and receive emails on my blackberry, but not calls, here in India somehow. Very strange...

Here's the next blog, written by my bassist John, who just arrived...well, it's off to sleep. Our first day in Bombay tomorrow...Gonna be amazing!

This is John Jolley, Hargo's bass player, reporting from New Dehli, Midnight, December 21st.  I'm dead tired, mosquito bitten, sick as a dog, and blissed out like I've never been.  I came to India in spite of a sinus infection and variety of other unpleasant medical maladies and right now I don't even care.  There's beautiful Indian music blasting from the city through my window, and the smell of burning permeates the air.  I think I'm in love.  But let's rewind for a second. 

 

I arrived in India 24 hours ago, 2 days later than Hargo due to visa issues, after a week of road tripping and frantically getting ready to move out of my condo.  Hargo and Andi picked me up outside the airport to New Dehli a few minutes after my unreasonably delayed flight and immediately informed me we'd be playing for a bunch of Indian school kids within 15 hours of my arrival, without any time to practice, and hardly enough time to sleep, eat, and purchase an amp for my bass.  Yikes!

 

The show was fantastic - after we played the three of us were mobbed by Indian kids begging for our contact info and our even our fucking autographs!  It was pretty strange.  On one hand, it's real nice to be noticed and treated like a celebrity, even for just a little while, but on the other, it was pretty clear our presence as white Americans was a real novelty in the part of Dehli we played in, and that most of the attention we received stemmed from this fact. 

 

As a white male from the USA, being singled out due to my race is an entirely new experience for me - I'm still processing it.  Pretty strange...

 

Our hosts for the show, the organizers of the school we played at, were the most relentlessly kind individuals I've met in my life - after booking the show, giving us the tour of their facilities, and introducing us to our audience (translating our greetings and salutations into Hindi for most of our audience couldn't understand english), they showed us around their district of New Dehli and took us out to dinner, remaining most gracious throughout. 

 

I bought some cheap bootleg designer tees and ice cream while we were out and called it a night, taking a taxi back to Hargo HQ.

 

So check the video of our performance, and next time I'll be updating you from Bombay ---- John Jolley

************************************************  TODAY'S "WHAT THE F-CK" ALBUM COVER

If ever an album title fit the performer ---

"An Ed Gein Xmas"?! NObody invites this guy over for the holidays any more.

"Let's draw someone who looks vaguely like John Lennon, and then spill some colored paint on the cover, and maybe people will think it's a Beatles album!"

Continuing what BEGAN as a bad cover idea, note all the food-themed songs...

What you get when you cross Flesh Gordon with Barbarella and a really stupid Buggles video --

"Hon, we're gonna need a bigger piano!" You'd think this guy would look happier that Decca is releasing his album --

"Hon, we're gonna need a bigger can of Raid!" Is there no end to bugs who wanna be Beatles?

I don't know who deserves to get their ass kicked more - their hair stylist or whoever designed those Evel-Knievel-Brady-Bunch clothes --

Again, what's worse - the clothes or the hair?? And, hey, isn't that Peter Sellers in drag on the right?!

This senior couple just can't let go of their weird Donny Osmond fetish...

The original version of the Divinyls "I Touch Myself" ??

Walking OUTLET store, maybe...

"With a name like Burpo, he's GOT to be good..."

Ethel Merman's disco album - you can't make this sh-t up, people.

Brady kids go solo, sometime after Peter's voice stopped breaking but before Marsha found a bra that fits.

Now here's the biggest WTF COMIC BOOK cover I've seen in a loooong time - "You want more comics, kid, just reach in my pocket and feel around for some change...."

And, just to completely f-ck with your mind..............

PREVIOUS WTFs - http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2010/feb/15/worst-album-covers-ever-strange-bizarre-and-butt-c/

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 TRAVIS BARKER FLYING SOLO (AGAIN)

Spinnermusic reports: While blink-182 fans patiently await a new album from the reunited band, it appears that solo projects are all the rage with the members of the group. Travis Barker has recruited some big names for his forthcoming solo album.

The original announced guests made it sound like a hip-hop heavy effort with the likes of Lil Wayne, RZA and The Game making appearances but Barker now says that fans can expect an ecletic mix of music and announced an additional guest singer.

"I'm not singing or being an MC or anything," the Blink-182 Drummer tells Spinner. He goes on to talk about the special guests for the album, "I'm rounding it out right now," he said.

"I just love music. The more I can be around it the better, so with my album it's no one genre. It goes from everything from punk rock to hip-hop to some electro stuff on there to a metal song with Corey Taylor from Slipknot. It's been really fun and interesting up till now." - Read the Spinner report here

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 SHERLOCK HOLMES' SMARTER BROTHER: I'm not sure why this isn't ranked up there with Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles - much of the same cast is in place. I just watched it on Encore Channel, for the first time since it was new in theaters in 1975. Tho Mel Brooks didn't direct, I heard his voice doing two cameos, so he was at least hanging around the set - Gene Wilder wrote and directed.

It's a little bittersweet to be laughing and then realize that Dom Deluise, Madeline Khan, Leo McKern, and Marty Feldman have all passed away --- but there are a lot of great scenes, from the Bunny Hop musical number(s) to the GREAT battle scene atop three rolling horse carriages, with Holmes and his nemesis grabbing giant sign props as they pass the shops, to use as weapons, like a giant hand and a giant foot...

And Marty Feldman as the Watson-like sidekick with "photographic hearing" - what a treat! Now if only the Encore Channel would show Wilder's OTHER forgotten self-made, Brooks-inspired vanity gem, World's Greatest Lover ---

 AVATAR: I was prepared to not like Avatar, since most CGI characters leave me cold - but the pro-ecology POV and excellent blend of animations and live action won me over. Mr. Shepherd compares the story and execution to Pocahontas, but really it's more like an adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series. Guy goes to live in another world while asleep, falls for and mates with beautiful and kick-ass tough native lady, wins the respect of huge colored-skin alien dude (green on Mars, blue on Pandora), learns to lead the "savages" to victory over planetside military aggression - some to think of it, Cameron owes the Burroughs estate a bunch of money for this story ----

Now that I'm noting John Carter swipes, I see many more, right down to both main characters being formerly military men who have become privateers, just before finding themselves on another world, mixing with the alien natives.

There IS a Carter movie finally being made, I understand, tho the casting is a bit wonky – hard to picture Thomas Hayden Church as Hajus, let alone Willem “Green Goblin” DaFoe as Tars Tarkus, but I’ll checkitout anyway. The state of CGI tech would seem to give it a fair shot, with even the 15 foot tall Martians now fully possible to do. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Car...)

John Ratzenberger’s role hasn’t been specified yet, but I’m betting he’ll voice one of those ambulatory brain thingys….

 PLANET OF THE APES: A forest planet for apes DOES make more sense than a sandy desert world, tho this is one of the few tweaks to the original that qualifies as any sort of improvement. Putting the "origin" story in the hands of goth cartoonatic Tim Burton is almost as misplaced an idea as it was to have Rod “Twilight Zone” Serling script the original version (very few of Serling's ideas, words, and social commentary actually made it onto the screen, despite him usually being cited as "screenwriter").

Perhaps this franchise should instead be restarted with a do-over, as in the second Hulk movie that attempted to cleanse the public’s palate of Eric Bana(l) – how cool would it be to see Remake of the Apes by Terry Gilliam and the crew behind Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth? Ooooh, or now that Sam Raimi is off Spidey Four….

 NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

Top 5 Movies to Leave Playing While You Commit Suicide

5 - Pink Floyd, The Wall: Because its worldview is even more bleak than your own.

4 - Lisztomania: Since you're going to Hell anyway, why not Hollywood's own version of an Hieronymus Bosch painting.

3 - Chronicles of Narnia, UK TV show version: 'Cause nobody can survive thru to the ending.

2 - Natural Born Killers: It clearly has no respect for the sanctity life OR good film making, so why not?

1 - No Country For Old Men: 'Cause it sucks even worse than you.

THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE: A show well worth peeping. Starring the woman who played lady cop Annie in the U.S. version of the (woefully underrated) Life on Mars TV show, the Notorious Bettie Page is a pretty good movie. It goes into surprising depth RE the increasingly federalized attempts to legislate all aspects of the sex biz out of existence, as well as covering a lot of Miss Page's (very interesting) personal biographical history.

Star Gretchen Mol (who seems to specialize in period pieces - the '70s in Life on Mars, and now the '50s) does well with projecting both innocence and naughtiness. I've met part-time pornographer Bunny Yeager and can vouch that the movie's portrayal is fairly accurate, if a bit superficial - much more could have been done with the motivations behind choosing such an "outlaw" endeavor, in an social-status era when jail wasn't anywhere near the worst thing that could result.

All in all, tho, a well-done flick --

 ACROSS THE UNIVERSE: Named after one of the weakest Beatles tunes, of around three dozen Beatlecentric cuts covered or referenced in the film, Across the Universe wants to ride the musical comeback wave of High School Musical, Moulin Rouge, or even Hedwig and the Angry Inch - instead, it falls off the board into Sgt Bee Gee's Pepperland and Cop Rock-ville. Why did they bother? And, more annoyingly, why did I watch it expecting anything different? You'd think I would have learned after All This and World War II ----

Top 5 WORST Beatles tunes:

5) Maxwell’s Silver Hammer (until/unless performed by Steve Martin, whose rendition comprises the four most watchable minutes of Sgt Bee Gee’s…)

4) Across the Universe (“Lyrics flying out like golden rain into a paper cut, they slither as they pass like turds…”)

3) Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da (I mean, the only reason Molly got into Desmond’s band was because Desmond liked her face – WTF?! Is this actually The Ballad of Paul and Linda?)

2) Lovely Rita (Just call the meter maid a b-tch and get over it already)

1) Martha My Dear (Like Lovely Rita, the dog this was named for was a total b-tch.)

Top 5 Worst Beatles Lyrics:

5) "Goo Goo G'Joob" (Gesundheit -- Here's a handkerchief. No, you keep it...)

4) "No one will be watching us, why don't we do it in the road" (Uh, guys, I think the middle of the road is the one place on Earth where EVERYone will be watching you!)

3) "And he told us of his life in the land of submarines" (Right before we executed him for Nazi war crimes, seeing as how subs only exist due to escalation of military kill-capability)

2) “Well here’s another clue for you all, the Walrus was Paul” (Yeah, we noticed the Walrus was HOLDING A BASS GUITAR – big whoopin’ clue).

1) “Honey pie, honey pie, honey pie, honey pie” (Don’t know if they were hungry or horny when they did that, but you can bet they were reeking like Tommy Chong’s beard)

SEX - THE ANNABEL CHONG STORY: I wrote Annabel's first big-budget movie, the superhero spoof Sordid Stories, and got to know her a bit while we worked on a comic book version of the film. I've regaled friends with tales of being on the set while she filmed porn scenes, but my best, er, sordid story about Annabel involves the time I drove her home from a 50-man...how to put this....uh...."back door" film shoot.

[WARNING - "YUCK" ALERT, read on at your own peril] So....While she was riding in my back seat, I kept looking in the, uh, rear view mirror, to see her (wearing a short dress) sliding back and forth across the vinyl bench seat every time I took the slightest turn or lane change. It was like I had a freakin' Slip-N-Slide back there or something. WTF?? After I dropped her off, I noticed my back seat was smeared with what I can only politely describe as, uh, leftover lubricant from her film shoot. Takes a lotta lube to accommodate 50 men.

Needless to say, that was the last time I gave Annabel a ride. I'm lucky her butt didn't stick to my back seat like a damp suction cup (although that WOULD have kept her more stationary, made less of a mess, and perhaps saved me the HUGE tip I had to give my car detailing guy later that day).

 SHERLOCK HOLMES: I've long been a fan of the Doyle books, and the movie references countless things from the Doyle canon in a way that hardcore fans like me find delightful, but in an action movie context geared surprisingly well for the 21st century crowd, most of whom wouldn't know Sherlock Holmes from the Rolling Stones, or Sherlock's smarter brother Mycroft....

The flick uses a lot of flashy high tech supergraphics similar to the CSI TV shows (which, after all, begin and end as baldfaced Doyle/Holmes ripoffs-slash-tributes), without being SO modern as to feel like anachronisms. Coupled with almost relentless action scene after action scene, it was so engaging, and so filled with twists, both physical and philosophical, that I didn't want leave the room long enuff for a quick bathroom break. Every bit of the movie seemed to vital to miss ---

Lots of witty and intelligent stuff going on - I look forward to at least a couple of repeat viewings! For a VERY long time, the only TV or movie Holmes I've found acceptable are Basil Rathbone (by virtue of his radio incarnation more than the films), and Jeremy Brett from the PBS show (which are among the best direct-from-Doyle adaptations) - well, and maybe a couple of those weird shows with Matt Frewer/Max Headroom as Sherlock.

Now, and for some time to come, Robert Downey Jr. IS the personification of Mr. Holmes for me! Been digging his movie groove since his wonderful Chaplin biopic -- I doubt anybody would have bothered making this new movie without him. I hope the sequel they seemed to set up happens ----

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 MUSIC ASSOCIATION/LOVE FOUNDATION BENEFIT 2-28

Event: Benefit for the San Diego Music Association and the Matt Wadleigh LoVe Foundation. Local performers will include Dawn Mitschele, Alex Woodward, Alysse Fischer, and Bushwalla. February 28th, 6:00-10:00 at

AMSDconcerts
4650 Mansfield Street
San Diego, CA 92116
(619) 303-8176 -- $20

http://www.mylovesign.com/Love_Events.php

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PARKER AND THE NUMBERMAN - CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS

Rappers Parker Edison and Jay Smith, aka the Numberman, teamed up in 2007 to form Parker & the Numberman, with a debut EP Talented Tenth named after the writings of W.E.B. Du Bois.

“We like to mix the fluid lyricism of Charles Bukowski with the street corner observations of NWA,” says Smith.

The group’s video for their song “What About Your Block” was recently accepted into the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival, which oddly enough happens in L.A. from February 25 through March 4.

“We paid $300 to enter, and then you buy a package to get your project seen. We'd like to raise $2,500 for the Gold package, so we can have booth space, VIP passes, a page on the Festival website, and hotel fare.”

What if they don’t raise enough for the Gold package? “We’ll have to settle for the Silver or Bronze. I think the Bronze package gets you a table with a chair. With the Silver package, you get two chairs. And some ice water.”

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CARLY SMITHSON'S EVANESCENCE RELEASING FIRST SINGLE

<p>AntiMusic.com reports: We Are The Fallen unleashed their first single, "Bury Me Alive," exclusively via the digital domain on February 2nd.

The fivesome is comprised of the original members Evanescence, guitarists Ben Moody and John LeCompt along with drummer Rocky Gray, joined by American Idol finalist Carly Smithson on vocals. Acclaimed bassist Marty O'Brien (Disturbed, Static-X) rounds out We Are The Fallen. Check out a free download for the acoustic "Bury Me Alive" here

The group is already preparing to give fans a live taste of the reportoire fueling their upcoming Universal Republic debut album, due out later in the year - hitting the road in support of Finnish rock stalwarts H.I.M. The extensive, 28 city tour launches in Philadelphia, PA, on March 26th, hurtling through multiple major cities such as Boston, MA, on March 28th, Cleveland, OH, on April 1st, Chicago IL, on April 9th, Los Angeles, CA, on April 23rd, and winding down in New York City on May 7th. - more on this story

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http://www.newyorker.com/arts/events/nightlife/2010/02/08/100208goni_GOAT_nightlife
"...Christmas Island, from the growing San Diego lo-fi scene, crafts scenester beach-party tunes."

Quotes like above in the new New Yorker are puzzling - San Diego finally getting national acclaim for something as inconsequential and ultimately fleeting as its paint-by-number "lo-fi scene" is like how Lady Godiva, reportedly one of history's greatest beauties and a prodigious tax-battler and renters-rights activist, is only famous for that one horsey ride....just sayin'.... 

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LOCAL SINGER MAKES TOP 10 ON CHINA'S POP IDOL TV SHOW - Over 100 Million Viewers Cheering On Nikki Nova of Liquid Blue!

Nikki Nova, a vocalist with Liquid Blue, has beat out some of the best singers from around the world to reach the Top 10 in MN Idol, which was broadcast on live TV to over 100 million viewers over the last week of January, 2010.

Nikki's achievement is all the more impressive when you consider she does not speak any form of Chinese but has sung throughout the competition in a dialect called "Minnan," out-performing a host of native speakers. One judge describes her performance, "like having Celine Dion sing a Minnan song on stage." The Minnan dialect is most popular in Southern China, Taiwan, and Malaysia.

The seven-strong indie-rock-dance group Liquid Blue is officially the "World's Most Traveled Band," having performed in over 100 countries across six continents. And now, one of their "Blue Girls" has become the first American to reach the Top 10 of Asia's version of American Idol. They were the first band from the U.S. to sign to a Chinese record label.

Liquid Blue was "certified green" by the County of San Diego in 2009 and is likely the very first certified GREEN act in America. They performed at the Beijing Olympics CCTV Kickoff Concert in 2008.

Liquid Blue's music is a mixture of dance and rock, featuring eastern Indian instruments such as tablas, sitars, and kanuns. They recently released the single tracks "Dominate" and "Earth Passport."

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Jumping Turtle Still Has Some Bounce by Jay Allen Sanford “The Jumping Turtle is not going out of business,” says owner Matt Hall, despite having lost his most recent appeal to keep the City of San Marcos from revoking his venues' entertainment permit ... (more Jumping Turtle )

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A MESSAGE FROM

First off, thanks to everyone who made it out to The Casbah last Thursday for our 501(c)(3) event. We raised $2,000 and are extremely grateful to Tim Mays and The Casbah, Martian Horses, Joel P West, Jamuel Saxon and all of you who came out to support. This money will help us buy a case of disposable cameras, prepare for a big Art/Music event on June 12th and launch our Membership Program this spring.

If you didn't make it out that night, or you have blurry memories from the crazy dance party Jamuel Saxon and friends provided, click here for some footage.

 

More exciting news! Sezio will launch a weekly, hour-long radio program this Friday on Legit Radio. Focusing on hometown and national talent, Sezio's hour-long program will feature a mix of music, cocktails, weekend events and special guests. We're stoked to be working with Chris Cantore, Dave Brown and all of
the great folks behind the Legit community. So tune in this Friday at 2pm to LegitRadio.com.

 

Following their December release of Homes & Houses, Oceanside-based Longstay has taken a weekly residency at Beauty Bar for the month of January. We caught up with the soulful rock quartet to investigate their beginnings, new record and the online maze they constructed to download their digital treasures.
Longstay plays their last residency night at Beauty Bar tonight! Check out their feature here.

 

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A MILLION RECORDS FOR SALE?!

Calling all collectors of vinyl records! San Diego-based Revolver Boutique has lost its lease on its warehouse and is now liquidating one of the nation’s largest collection of vinyl records – one million pieces in stock – all up for immediate sale.

“We lost our warehouse and must liquidate this enormous vinyl record collection,” said Gabe Galvez with Revolver Boutique. “This is a great addition to any record collector’s collection and it is available below cost.”

The diverse collection of music covers everything from rock and jazz to even classical and pop music. Most of the record inventory covers the span of the 1950s to the 1980s, but the album collection for sale pretty much has something available for every music lover.

“We are willing to take options on medium size to large size orders of these albums,” Galvez said. “We are even willing to work with the buyer to help sort the albums or even help move them. No appropriate offer will be rejected.”

Revolver Boutique acquired the record collection in the takeover of San Diego-based vintage clothing and music store Thrift Trader. Thrift Trader was an active purchaser of vintage vinyl records in the greater San Diego area and stored the extensive collection in a local warehouse.

“They were buying 10,000 or more vinyl records per month,” Galvez said. “It’s easy to see how this diverse collection of records grew to more than one million albums very quickly.”

For more information on the extensive collection of more than one million vinyl records, or to make an offer to acquire the inventory, please contact Gabe Galvez with Revolver Boutique at 619-507-5946 or via email at gabe.galvez@revolverboutiques.com.

For more information on Revolver Boutique, please check out their brand new website at http://www.revolverboutiques.com. 
Revolver Boutique
Phone: (619) 507-5946
Email: Gabe Galvez - gabe.galvez@revolverboutiques.com

RELATED ARTICLE: The Day I Sold My Albums to Off the Record

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BLINK 182 DOCUMENTARY MOVING FORWARD

A trailer has been posted for the upcoming Blink 182 documentary titled The Blinkumentary. The film was put together by Handsome Randsome and aims to document the band's 2009 tour and the events leading up to it. check it out here

This is the third documentary to feature the band - the earlier films were:

  Riding in Vans with Boys

  Blink 182: The Urethra Chronicles

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MRAZ GET THE AXE - HIS OWN GUITAR MODEL!

<p>AntiMusic.com reports: Newly christened Grammy winner Jason Mraz has spent the past thirteen years performing everywhere from local coffee shops to stadiums with his Taylor guitars. Along the way, Mraz has released three studio albums, several EP's and live albums including the recently released Beautiful Mess - Live on Earth DVD/CD. Mraz's live shows have garnered critical acclaim around the world and his albums have earned multiple Grammy nominations. Late last year, his hit single, "I'm Yours", set a music industry record for the most weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

In early December, Mraz visited the Taylor factory to meet with the company's design team and to complete work on his own Taylor model, the Jason Mraz Signature Model (JMSM).

The JMSM is based on Mraz's go-to guitar, a Taylor nylon-string NS72ce, a guitar he says "nurtured a whole album's worth of songs" and in performances, "gave me a way to communicate with the audience without a guitar standing in my way. It felt like it was part of me, it was a part of the energy that I wanted to put out there."

Crafted from a back and sides of Indian rosewood and a top of Western Red cedar, the JMSM includes key design touches provided by Mraz. The fretboard inlay, in Mexican cypress, features the phrase "Be Love" set below a design that features a triangle within a circle, which mirrors a forearm tattoo he got in July 2009.

"I chose this symbol simply because I want to be whole in mind, body and soul," Mraz explains. "I think that's a divine trinity there. What is 'Be Love' but cutting out the middle man. You don't have to have a certain someone to be loved. You don't have to have certain conditions to have love in your life. You can just be love. So, it's basically a practice of unconditional love, a practice of unabashed generosity." - more on this story

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 ALBUM LEAF HITTING THE ROAD WITH SEA WOLF

Sea Wolf burst into 2010 in the Twilight: New Moon movie, with their song, "The Violet Hour." This followed the release of the band's sophomore album, White Water, White Bloom, on Dangerbird Records, as well as a national headline tour.

On February 3, Sea Wolf will team up with The Album Leaf for a West Coast run that will stretch as far north as Vancouver and culminate with a hometown show at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles. Sea Wolf's orchestral pop narratives will serve as a perfect primer for The Album Leaf's dreamy and cinematic soundscapes. Alex Brown Church, aka Sea Wolf, will also be guest hosting MTV2's "Subterranean" in the coming months.

Heralded by Amazon.com as one of the Top 100 albums of 2009 and described by the Austin-American Statesman as "an eclectic brand of indie-folk in the vein of the Decemberists," White Water, White Bloom, is a masterful marriage of vivid storytelling and intricate instrumentation. Relix exclaimed: "Church and his fellow musicians craft an overwhelming sonic landscape that is almost visually palpable."

The Album Leaf officially began in 1998 as the solo project of Jimmy LaValle, who had performed in several other local bands, including Swing Kids, the Locust, and GoGoGo Airheart.

When the band formed, LaValle had been playing guitar in the post-rock instrumental band Tristeza. Being a multi-instrumentalist, he began playing drums for San Diego band Gogogo Airheart during downtime in the fall of 1998.

LaValle played his first official Album Leaf show at the Che Cafe in the winter of 1999. Band members for this show consisted of Rafter Roberts(of Rafter), James Lehner (of Tristeza), Leilani Clark (of the Straight A’s, also with LaValle), and Benjamin White (of Gogogo Airheart).

The band won Best Electronic at the 2008 and 2009 San Diego Music Awards.

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 SAN DIEGO'S REELIN' IN THE YEARS CHRONICLES THE BRITISH INVASION

Dusty Springfield - Once Upon A Time 1964-1969

Small Faces - All Or Nothing 1965-1968

Herman's Hermits - Listen People 1964-1969

Gerry & The Pacemakers - It's Gonna Be All Right 1963-1965

The Invasion Arrives March 23, 2010

Over forty-five years after the Beatles sparked the legendary 'British Invasion' that forever changed the face of popular music, Reelin' In The Years Productions, in association with Voyage Digital Media, is proud to announce the release of the initial four DVDs in the new British Invasion series. The four titles are Dusty Springfield - Once Upon A Time 1964-1969, Small Faces - All Or Nothing 1965-1968, Gerry & The Pacemakers - It's Gonna Be All Right 1963-1965 and Herman's Hermits - Listen People 1964-1969. Distributed by Naxos of America Inc., all four DVDs will be available separately and as a deluxe boxset featuring a bonus fifth disc with over 2 hours of additional content.

Produced by Reelin' In The Years Productions, each DVD features complete 1960's television performances filmed at the time the songs were hits and while the artists were at the height of their careers. Interspersed between the performances, original band members and others who helped create their classic music, talk about each song and recount special moments in the history of the group. In addition, all performances have been transferred from the original master tapes and include best-possible video and remastered audio. Each DVD also includes a 24-page booklet with insights and essays by noted rock historians as well as previously unseen photos and memorabilia. The series, originally released only in the UK in September of 2009, has received both commercial success and critical acclaim, with four-star reviews and inclusion in many year-end “Best Of 2009" lists in the British music press.

Reelin' In the Years is the San Diego-based company that has produced some of the most highly-regarded anthology DVD series including the four-volume, GRAMMY-nominated American Folk Blues Festival series, the multi-platinum selling Definitive Motown series (Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles) and the award winning Jazz Icons series. As in all of their projects, each DVD is produced with the full support and cooperation of the artists or their estates.

Notes about each of the four individual releases:

 DUSTY SPRINGFIELD - Once Upon A Time 1964 - 1969

Features 20 definitive complete television performances by Britain's greatest pop diva including “You Don't Have To Say You Love Me," “Son Of A Preacher Man," “Wishin' And Hopin'" and “I Only Want To Be With You." Dusty's story is told through new interviews with Burt Bacharach, Madeline Bell (who sang back-up for Dusty in the '60s), Simon Bell (Dusty's back-up singer from the '70s to the '90s), and a newly discovered interview from 1978 with Dusty herself. Bonus features include Dusty's complete 1965 and 1966 New Musical Express Poll Winners Concert appearances as well as a duet with Burt Bacharach on “A House Is Not A Home." Annie Randall, Dusty's biographer, wrote the accompanying essay.

SMALL FACES - All Or Nothing 1965 - 1968

In the mid-1960's the Small Faces challenged the Who, Kinks, Rolling Stones and even the Beatles for UK chart domination. This is the band's first official anthology and features 27 complete performances capturing every aspect of their brief but brilliant run including early Mod/R&B classics such as “What'cha Gonna Do About It", “Sha La La La Lee" and “All Or Nothing", timeless rockers like “Tin Soldier" and later psychedelic treasures including “Itchycoo Park", and “Green Circles." Nine songs are included from the band's masterwork Ogden's Nut Gone Flake including “Lazy Sunday", “Song Of A Baker", the title track and the six song “Happiness Stan" suite. Also included are interviews filmed exclusively for the DVD with original members Ian McLagan, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston as well as archival interviews with the late Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane. The 24-page booklet includes an informative essay by pop historian Ken Sharp as well as rare in-studio photographs by famed engineer Eddie Kramer.

 GERRY & THE PACEMAKERS - It's Gonna Be All Right 1963 - 1965

The first band ever to have their first three singles top the British charts, Gerry & The Pacemakers rivaled the Beatles in the early years of the British Invasion. Their first official anthology DVD features 17 classic complete performances including the smash hits “How Do You Do It?," “I Like It" and “You'll Never walk Alone" as well as the timeless classics “Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" and “Ferry Cross The Mersey." Also included is an interview with Garry Marsden that was conducted exclusively for the DVD at Liverpool's legendary Cavern Club. Bill Harry, founder/publisher of Mersey Beat, the music paper that originally chronicled the Liverpool scene, also tells the band's story both on screen and in his accompanying liner notes.

 HERMAN'S HERMITS - Listen People 1964-1969

The DVD is their first official anthology chronicling their meteoric rise melding a traditional British music hall influence with good time rock 'n roll. Among the 22 full-length performances are all of their biggest hits including “I'm Into Something Good," “Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter," “I'm Henry VIII, I Am" and their later evocative masterpieces “No Milk Today," and “Listen People." The Herman's Hermits' story is told by original members Peter Noone, Keith Hopwood, Karl Green and Barry Whitwam as well as in the accompanying essay by GRAMMY-winning music historian Rob Bowman. A complete concert filmed in 1966 for Australian television is included as a bonus feature.

(David Peck with Elvis Costello, courtesy Reelin' In the Years)

David Peck's Reelin' in the Years Productions maintains an archive of over 10,000 filmed musical performances, as well as representing others with footage to license for broadcast or video releases. VH1 probably couldn't make shows like I Love the '70s and Behind the Music without Peck's ever-growing database of footage.

Peck told staff writer Dave Good about how the Reader played a role in his Grammy-winning career as a music video archivist.

“I was in Off the Record one night. I was 18 at the time. The guy who worked there turned me on to all these great Stones videos. This was ’84, when video collectors were underground. There was no YouTube; there was nothing. Collecting videos was a swapping thing. So he turned me on to this great rare stuff — the Stones playing with Muddy Waters — and that’s when I got the bug and started collecting.”

“In ’86, John D’Agostino, who was then writing for the Reader, wrote an article about me as a collector, and it kinda went from there. I started doing research and consulting on projects. By ’98, I started representing video libraries, and now I have amassed the world’s largest library of music footage.”

Peck once told me a great story about locally-shot footage that includes longtime local DJ Jim McIness.

Reelin' holds a piece of historical footage featuring McInnes, which it has licensed for use to VH1. "I got ahold of a piece of film that was shot at a backyard party here in San Diego , around 1981," he says. "Weird Al Yankovic was there, before he really broke big, when he was still doing 'Another One Rides the Bus' on [syndicated radio show] Dr. Demento. Jim is playing with him, and he's playing Weird Al's accordion and somebody comes by and spills beer on the thing. Weird Al got really upset with him, because it was a brand new accordion! And Jim is just shrugging his shoulders, like, 'hey, it's just an accordion, not a Les Paul,' but Weird Al wasn't laughing. Shows which one of them actually had the sense of humor, huh?"

McInnes explained to me in a phone interview "What happened was that my friend tried to pour a beer in my mouth while my hands were occupied trying to play accordion for the first time, and it spilled into the [instrument's] bellows. [Weird] Al was a good sport about it - he'd just had the accordion cleaned!"

www.reelinintheyears.com

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TOM DELONGE'S sd HOUSE JUST GOT A LOT CHEAPER - Mark Hoppus says the neighbors are a-holes

WSJ.com 

 reports: Tom DeLonge, frontman for blink-182, has cut the price on his Rancho Santa Fe home to just under $5 million, about 25% less than what he spent on the house, renovations and décor.

The single-story house, first listed for $6.25 million in 2007, sits on 1.1 acres in a gated golf community of Rancho Santa Fe, about 25 miles north of San Diego. The guitarist and vocalist paid $5.5 million for the house in 2005 with his wife, Jennifer, an interior designer who redecorated the home. The five-bedroom, five-bath house of 6,500 square feet was built in 2003 and comes with a pool. The DeLonges are looking for a bigger property for their family, according to their agent, Laura Barry of Barry Estates.

 I guess it makes sense that rockers as rich as the guys in blink 182 can afford to deep discount. "I guess this is growing up..." and all that, dontcha know.

So it's kind of a hoot to discover that in 2007, three years before Tom DeLonge opted out of homeownership in Rancho Santa Fe, the debut album by +44 with Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker included a track dissing Hoppus' former neighbors in oh-so-upscale neighborhood.

His rage against the Rancho is mainly directed at the neighborhood's homeowners association. Hoppus told newstimeslive.com “There's a song called ‘Lillian’ on the record that's about people that try to control other people's lives...And there's a place in San Diego called Rancho Santa Fe, which is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been in my life. It's country sides, rolling hills, there's trees everywhere. It's this gorgeous place, and it's filled with some of the most backstabbing, evil, just bitter, bitter people in the world."

"The homeowners association is very strict and it's strange because everybody who lives there is very wealthy…They're just bitter and it's a sour, sour community. The woman who started the homeowners association there is a woman named Lillian. So it's kind of about people trying to control one another.”

Hoppus seems pretty bitter and sour himself, judging from the tune's lyrics:

"The place I used to live, made me feel like a tourist - I couldn't coexist with the cold and suspicious - When the last remaining left was starting to filter - It seemed the perfect time to step into the future

Your heart is no grave to be perfectly honest - Your mouth's a smoking gun -And you smile while your twisting the knife in my stomach - Until everything is gone - Take all you can from me I've got weak constitution - I'm led so easily So easily

I left it all behind, in the dead of last winter - I left it all behind, but the question still lingers - So long forgotten friends, no, you don't know the difference - Between love and submission, and I'm not that obedient

 I expect the next +44 album will include a tirade against Hoppus' Porsche mechanic ("Fixed my air with faulty parts, now my leather interior smells like farts").

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FREE ANGELS & AIRWAVES ALBUM

In a recent Modcam, Tom DeLonge revealed the tracklist for the new Angels and Airwaves album LOVE, according to AbsolutePunk.

The site reports that album will be offered as a free download and will be followed up with a physical release that contains 30 extra minutes of music used in the LOVE movie.

Track Listing 1. The Flight of Apollo 2. It Hurts So Badly 3. Young London 4. Epic Holiday 5. Clevor Love 6. Triumphant 7. Hush 8. Dear God 9. Hallucinations 10. Atomic 11. Seque (sunshine) - AbsolutePunk

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STRAWBERRY ALARM PUMPKINS

Antimusic reports: Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan is not only hard at work on new music of his own; he's busy inking bands to be on a brand new label. The eclectic label will feature a diverse roster ranging from underground punk legends The Germs to 60s psychedelic rockers The Strawberry Alarm Clock as well as The Electric Prunes, Starchildren, Fancy Space People and YaHoWha 13.

The announcement was made in the following blog entry on Wednesday:

 A quick update on the Pumpkins recordings for Teargarden By Kaleidyscope: We have 5 songs mixed and another song is tracked and ready to be mixed. Song number 2 should be ready for download within the next 2 weeks. I will let you know when we have a solid date.

Billy and I are happy to announce the birth of our record label! The name of the label will be made public soon. (We need to make sure that we have the name rights before we can announce it.) We are very excited to be collaborating with amazing artists that have made a huge impact on the underground music world... From the psychedelic garage rock of the 60's and the punk rock insanity of the 70's and 80's to the post-punk Pleiadian power-pop that is now. - more on this story

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Because who can get any work done with all THIS going on????

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LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, CBS

Mo 2/1: Bruce Willis, Ne-Yo
Tu 2/2: John Travolta, Shaun White, Ben Harper & Relentless7
We 2/3: Sarah Silverman, Jeremy Renner, Nneka, a Top Ten List presented by Paris Hilton
Th 2/4: Jamie Foxx, Amanda Seyfried, Robin Thicke
Fr 2/5: Jack Hanna, Joe Wong, the Swell Season

Mo 2/8: TBA
Tu 2/9: Jennifer Garner, Sade
We 2/10: Jessica Biel, Christoph Waltz

THE JAY LENO SHOW, NBC

Mo 2/1: Jessica Alba, John Shuster
Tu 2/2: Pre-empted
We 2/3: Jessica Biel, Jimmy Fallon
Th 2/4: Wanda Sykes, Evan Lysacek
Fr 2/5: Bill Maher, Gretchen Bleiler

THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH CONAN O'BRIEN, NBC

Mo 2/1: Gwyneth Paltrow, Joel McHale, John Mayer Trio (R 6/4/09)
Tu 2/2: Norm Macdonald, Jim Gaffigan, Neko Case (R 6/11/09)
We 2/3: Kobe Bryant, William Shatner, Incubus (R 6/17/09)
Th 2/4: Adam Sandler, Peter Sarsgaard, Kate Voegele (R 7/20/09)
Fr 2/5: Rachel McAdams, Mindy Kaling, Diane Birch (R 12/4/09)

JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE, ABC

Mo 2/1: Evangeline Lilly, Caitlin Upton, Katharine McPhee (R 1/14/10)
Tu 2/2: Serena Williams, Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse, Lady Antebellum
We 2/3: Dr. Phil McGraw, Nick Jonas, Demetri Martin
Th 2/4: Eric Dane, Kourtney Kardashian, the Bravery
Fr 2/5: Ozzy Osbourne, Barry Manilow

Mo 2/8: Eric Dane, Kourtney Kardashian, the Bravery (R 2/4/10)
Tu 2/9: Jamie Foxx, Dave Salmoni and animals, Ryan Bingham
We 2/10: Emily Blunt, Bryan Greenberg, the Editors
Th 2/11: Patrick Dempsey, Lake Bell, Greg Giraldo
Fr 2/12: Mark Wahlberg, the "Sports Illustrated" swimsuit issue cover girl, Dashboard Confessional

Mo 2/15: Patrick Dempsey, Lake Bell, Greg Giraldo (R 2/11/10)
Tu 2/16: Topher Grace, Sade
We 2/17: Tracy Morgan, Brad Paisley
Th 2/18: Robin Thicke
Fr 2/19: Lauren Conrad, Wale

LATE LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON, CBS

Mo 2/1: Jim Parsons, They Might Be Giants (R 12/11/09)
Tu 2/2: Rosie Perez, Switchfoot (R 1/4/10)
We 2/3: Jason Segel (R 1/8/10)
Th 2/4: Chris Kattan, Tina Brown
Fr 2/5: Claire Danes, Jill Scott

Mo 2/8: Pierce Brosnan

LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON, NBC

Mo 2/1: Rosario Dawson, Tony Siragusa, New Kids on the Block
Tu 2/2: Meredith Vieira, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Motion City Soundtrack
We 2/3: Jessica Alba, Josh Topolsky, Harper Simon
Th 2/4: Channing Tatum, Aubrey Plaza, Hot Chip
Fr 2/5: Brian Williams, Amanda Seyfried, Sean Patton

LAST CALL WITH CARSON DALY, NBC

Mo 2/1: Masi Oka, Danny Setiawan, Doves (R 10/30/09)
Tu 2/2: Emmy Rossum, Zach Hyman, Crocodiles (R 11/13/09)
We 2/3: David Plouffe, Jeret "Speedy" Peterson, Metric (R 11/18/09)
Th 2/4: Bill Simmons, Dmitriy Salita, the Raveonettes (R 11/19/09)
Fr 2/5: Morena Baccarin, Lingerie Football, Lisa Hannigan (R 11/20/09)

TAVIS SMILEY, PBS

Mo 2/1: Ed O'Neill, John Yoo
Tu 2/2: Wyclef Jean
We 2/3: Bill Withers, Sen. John Cornyn
Th 2/4: Franklin McCain, Joe Scarborough
Fr 2/5: Patti Smith

THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART, Comedy Central

Mo 2/1: Austan Goolsbee
Tu 2/2: Brian Williams
We 2/3: Atul Gawande
Th 2/4: Rep. Anthony Weiner

THE COLBERT REPORT, Comedy Central

Mo 2/1: Nicole Detling Miller, Jessica Smith, Harold Ford Jr.
Tu 2/2: Eliot Spitzer
We 2/3: Peter Cove, John Durant
Th 2/4: Henry Louis Gates

CHELSEA LATELY, E!

Mo 2/1: Camila Alves, Ben Gleib, Michael Yo, Sarah Colonna
Tu 2/2: Andy Whitfield, Arden Myrin, Donnell Rawlings, Guy Branum
We 2/3: Shorty Rossi, Mo Mandel, Heather McDonald, Josh Wolf
Th 2/4: Wil Anderson, Dan Levy, Brad Wollack
Fr 2/5: Dax Shepard, Ross Mathews, Jen Kirkman, Matt Braunger (R 1/27/10)

Mo 2/8: Ozzy Osbourne, Matt Braunger, Randy Sklar, Jason Sklar
Tu 2/9: Amanda Seyfried, John Caparulo, Natasha Leggero, Chris Franjola
We 2/10: Dave Salmoni, Christina Pazsitzky, Jo Koy, Greg Proops
Th 2/11: Whitney Cummings, Jeff Wild, Ross Mathews
Fr 2/12: Camila Alves, Ben Gleib, Michael Yo, Sarah Colonna (R 2/1/10)

LOPEZ TONIGHT, TBS

Mo 2/1: Giovanni Ribisi, Jessica Capshaw, Iyaz
Tu 2/2: Jon Heder, Russell Peters
We 2/3: Billy Zane, Brandon T. Johnson, Fabolous
Th 2/4: Christian Slater, Alessandra Torresani, Matt Morris

THE VIEW, ABC

Mo 2/1: Mario Cantone, Gayle Haggard
Tu 2/2: Ashton Kutcher, Melissa Rivers
We 2/3: Gabourey Sidibe, Andrew Young
Th 2/4: Sarah Silverman, guest co-host Meghan McCain
Fr 2/5: Jamie Foxx, Amanda Seyfried

Mo 2/8: Jenny Sanford, Dr. Mehmet Oz
Tu 2/9: David Hasselhoff
We 2/10: Jackie Collins, Tim Gunn, Sade
Th 2/11: TBA
Fr 2/12: Jeff Bridges, Katharine McPhee

LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY, syndicated

Mo 2/1: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Miss America Caressa Cameron
Tu 2/2: Vanessa Williams, Jesse Tyler Ferguson
We 2/3: Jessica Alba, Channing Tatum
Th 2/4: John Travolta, Rich Ackerman
Fr 2/5: Pierce Brosnan, Robin Thicke

Mo 2/8: Bill Paxton
Tu 2/9: Rosario Dawson
We 2/10: Jennifer Garner, Ruby Gettinger
Th 2/11: Eric Dane, Kim Kardashian
Fr 2/12: Jessica Biel

THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW, syndicated

Mo 2/1: Rihanna
Tu 2/2: LL Cool J, Jessica Capshaw
We 2/3: Ellen Pompeo
Th 2/4: Heidi Klum, juggler Anthony Gatto
Fr 2/5: Ozzy, Sharon, Jack & Kelly Osbourne, Chef Roberto Martin

Mo 2/8: Jessica Alba
Tu 2/9: Bradley Cooper, Emily Blunt
We 2/10: Demi Moore, Channing Tatum, Michael Buble
Th 2/11: Patrick Dempsey
Fr 2/12: Anne Hathaway

THE BONNIE HUNT SHOW, syndicated

Mo 2/1: Elizabeth Gilbert, Jane Kaczmarek, Kristin Cavallari
Tu 2/2: David Arquette, Busy Philipps
We 2/3: Elisha Cuthbert, Sterling Knight, George Wallace
Th 2/4: Serena Williams, Adrianne Palicki
Fr 2/5: Lily Tomlin, Kelly Cutrone

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COMING IN 2010 - ROCK 'N' ROLL COMICS: JOAN JETT AND THE RUNAWAYS

Here's a sneak peek at the cover art for the full-color Runaways issue of Rock 'N' Roll Comics, which will be released to tie in to the Runaways movie --- www.myspace.com/rocknrollcomics

Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics: The Runaways with Joan Jett and Lita Ford

Writer: Spike Steffenhagen, Jay Allen Sanford

Artists: Joe Paradise, Larry Nadolsky

 

Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics presents the Runaways, the ‘70s jailbait rockers whose story is wild and crazy enough to merit both a feature film starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning and an even more revealing no-punches-pulled comic book bio! Three complete full-color stories chronicle the rise and fall of the Runaways themselves, as well as going far beyond the bio-pic to also cover the solo careers of band stars Joan Jett and Lita Ford. 

 

Scripted by rock ‘n’ roll historian Spike Steffenhagen (Kiss: Comic From the Elder) and San Diego Reader columnist Jay Allen Sanford, this lovingly illustrated edition features art by Joe Paradise (Overheard in San Diego) and Larry Nadolsky (Deposit Man). Unauthorized and proud of it!

 

Here's a sneak preview of the story and art -----

 

http://inlinethumb25.webshots.com/40472/2068009180
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http://inlinethumb63.webshots.com/45758/2286475540
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http://inlinethumb52.webshots.com/46451/2549638090
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http://inlinethumb52.webshots.com/44915/2243644840
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SHIPPING SUMMER 2010: ROCK 'N' ROLL CARTOON HISTORY - THE SIXTIES

Here's the first look at the cover art for the 300 page graphic novel Rock 'N' Roll Cartoon History: The Sixties, shipping summer 2010 from Bluewater Productions. www.bluewaterprod.com  --  www.myspace.com/rocknrollcomics 

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 THE RETURN OF ROCK 'N' ROLL COMICS!

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WHY AL KOOPER HATES LOCAL WRITERS (BUT LOVES SAN DIEGO)

Legendary keyboardist Al Kooper has played with Dylan, the Stones, George Harrison and countless others, but he still has time to beef about local music reporters like Buddy Blue and a certain Reader columnist... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/jan/29/the-return-of-black-heart-procession-plus-anya-mar

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<p>Rollingstone.com has added Anya Marina to their "breaking artist" profiles - http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/jan/29/the-return-of-black-heart-procession-plus-anya-mar

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 THE BEATLES IN SAN DIEGO

 8-28-65 – the Beatles: For the Beatles' one and only local appearance, at Balboa Stadium, radio station KCBQ declared that Saturday "Beatle Day" and gave out pins saying so to attendees. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/jan/29/the-return-of-black-heart-procession-plus-anya-mar

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 UNEXPECTED BEATLES ART - The Fab Four turn up in the oddest places... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/jan/29/the-return-of-black-heart-procession-plus-anya-mar

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MAHARISH COMIX AND STORIES, OR "YOGI MAKES A BOO-BOO"

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/jan/29/the-return-of-black-heart-procession-plus-anya-mar

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WEIRD BEATLES MERCHANDISE - WTF were these licensors (and bootleggers) thinking... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/feb/06/my-brunch-with-yoko-plus-weird-beatles

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MY BRUNCH WITH YOKO - Brunch with a Beatle bride... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/feb/06/my-brunch-with-yoko-plus-weird-beatles

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YOKO ONO COMICS AND STORIES  - When Johnny Met Yoko, with dialogue and captions paraphrased from published Lennon interviews. Plus John Lennon: A Life in the Day

... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/feb/06/my-brunch-with-yoko-plus-weird-beatles

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LENNON OR McCARTNEY??  --We asked 25 local performers about their fave Beatle (and why), and got some surprising (and frequently revealing) answers...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/dec/13/we-asked-25-local-musicos-lennon-or-mccartney

  CELEBRITY HOUSE HUNTING IN SAN DIEGO - Real estate broker Jeff Paiste has squired several famous musicians around San Diego in their search for decent digs to lease or rent, including Bread frontman David Gates and the late George Harrison.... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/13/celebrity-house-hunting-in-san-diego

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 JOEY MOLLAND/BADFINGER INTERVIEW - Badfinger's last man standing, Joey Molland, reveals more about the tragic story of Badfinger, as well as meeting and working with John Lennon, George Harrison, and Todd Rundgren, plus the Concert for Bangladesh, and more.  http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/aug/21/x-jam-cancellation-controversy-plus-how-i-snuck-in/

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THE DAY JOHN LENNON WAS SHOT - Local celebs share their recollections of December 8, 1980, plus guest essays from Al Kooper (who was recording with George Harrison that day) and others....  http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/jan/25/john-lennon-12-8-1980-we-ask-local-celebs-where-we/

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LEGO ALBUM COVER RECREATIONS! Those wacky kidsters at toyzone.com put together this great tribute to OCD Legoholics everywhere... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/jan/29/the-return-of-black-heart-procession-plus-anya-mar

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Exclusive preview and new interview with one of the creators/performers behind the new internet Trek series - click for more ---http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/oct/04/happy-rons-hormonal-harem---loving-san-diegos-musi/#

READER EXCLUSIVE - For the first time anywhere on the web, here's the promo trailer for Star Trek: The Continuing Mission, episode six: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/audioclips/66/

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The Twilight Zone made it's TV debut 50 years ago, on 10-2-59 - we asked local musicos to tell us their own favorite Zone episodes --- (more "What's Your Favorite Twilight Zone?" )

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THE ROCKETEER AND OTHER FAMOUS '80S COMICS BEGAN RIGHT HERE IN SAN DIEGO - Here's a detailed history of local Pacific Comics, who recruited comic superstars like Jack Kirby to create one of the first successful indie comic book lines. Pioneers in the fight for comic creators' rights and royalties, former employees and operators reveal how they did it, and what went so terribly wrong...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/08/pacific-comics-the-inside-story-jay-allen-sanford

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THE KOMPLETE KISS KOMIX KRONICLES - Comprehensive collection of stuff I’ve done about working with Kiss on a comic book series in San Diego, along with a bunch of never-before-seen artifacts from the Kiss Komix archives AND an article by Kiss comic author Spike Steffenhagen, offering his own very-different take, ala Rashomon, on the same events I describe in my essay...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/12/komplete-kiss-komix-kronicles

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ROCK 'N' ROLL COMICS: THE INSIDE STORY - In 1989, San Diego's Revolutionary Comics ("Unauthorized And Proud Of It") launched Rock 'N' Roll Comics, featuring unlicensed biographies of rock stars, most of which I wrote. Some performers, like Frank Zappa and Kiss, were supportive, while others like New Kids On The Block considered our comics akin to bootlegs and sued. In June 1992, publisher Todd Loren was found dead in his San Diego condo, brutally murdered...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/12/rock-n-roll-comics-the-inside-story

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NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK VS REVOLUTIONARY COMICS - The inside story of how a hugely successful boy band tried to sue local-based Rock 'N' Roll Comics over an unauthorized biography of the group, sparking a court case that established, for the very first time, first amendment rights for comic books. Illustrated by comic superstar Stuart Immonen (Superman, etc.)...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/13/new-kids-on-the-block-versus-revolutionary-comics

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OVER A MILLION CARNAL COMICS ARE IN PRINT - Here's how and why we made some of the top-selling erotic comics of all time, right here in San Diego, including what Gene Simmons has to do with it all, backstage tales of porn stars, and more confessions of a comic pornographer...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/08/carnal-comics-the-inside-story-jay-allen-sanfor

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COMICS AND CENSORSHIP - DON'T BE AFRAID, IT'S ONLY A COMIC BOOK - A local-centric history of comic book censorship, and the fight for the rights of comic creators...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/06/comics-and-censorship-a-local-centric-illustrated

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TWILIGHT ZONE AND STAR TREK WRITER GEORGE CLAYTON JOHNSON PRESENTS - The inside story of a local horror comic book series featuring Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, plus sci-fi king Larry Niven, Zap Comix co-founder Spain Rodriguez, Matthew Alice artist Rick Geary, Vampire Lestat painter Daerick Gross, yours truly JAS, and many more...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/05/deepest-dimension-terror-anthology-twilight-zone

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THE BIRTH OF IMAGE COMICS: INSIDE STORY OF A LOCAL PUBLISHING POWERHOUSE - Illustrated tale revealing how Spawn creator Todd McFarlane and local comic artist Jim Lee (the Punisher, etc.) conspired to create the ultimate creator-owned comic books...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/03/the-birth-of-image-comics-an-illustrated-history

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 Down the Slippery Slope - Arrested For the Crime of Viewing Manga

On March 30, 2004, when Dwight Whorley found the Japanese website of Fractal Underground Studio via Yahoo and clicked on a couple of the thumbnail images... ( http://comipress.com/special/miscellaneous/down-the-slippery-slope-the-crime-of-viewing-manga )

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"Before It Was The Gaslamp: Balboa's Last Stand" - Cover story 6-21-07: In the late 70s/early 80s, I worked at downtown San Diego's grindhouse all-night movie theaters, for the owner of the Pussycat Theatre chain, Vince Miranda - this detailed feature recalls those dayz, the death of the Balboa Theatre, etc.

More Before It Was the Gaslamp

 

"Battle Of The Peeps" - feature article about a weird gig I had in the mid-'80s, running a strip club called Jolar, for the nation's second biggest pornographer, Harry Mohney (Deja Vu Showgirls founder).

More Battle of the Peeps - An Insider History of San Diego Porn Shops

"Field Of Screens" - Cover story 7-6-06: Complete theater-by-theater history of San Diego drive-ins thru the years, including a few which screened X-rated fare for awhile.

More Drive-In Theaters in San Diego: Complete Illustrated History 1947 thru 2008

  

"Pussycat Theaters - When 'Cathouses Ruled California" -- for the first time, the detailed inside story of the west coast Pussycat Theater chain of adult moviehouses, which peaked in the '70s but later died out. Told by those who actually ran the theaters!

More Pussycat Theater History: When Cathouses Ruled CA

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Like this blog? Here are some related links:

OVERHEARD IN SAN DIEGO - Several years' worth of this comic strip, which debuted in the Reader in 1996: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/photos/galleries/overheard-san-diego/

FAMOUS FORMER NEIGHBORS - Over 100 comic strips online, with mini-bios of famous San Diegans: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/photos/galleries/famous-former-neighbors/

SAN DIEGO READER MUSIC MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/sandiegoreadermusic

JAY ALLEN SANFORD MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/jayallensanford