I'm very excited about this new feature of the Reader's local music database - since we update daily, the music homepage at http://www.sandiegoreader.com/music/ now has a new section, This Just In, linking the newest revisions and additions. For instance, this week, links will appear to these reports, with related musician interviews, graphics, track lists, reviews, local gig schedules, etc:
Twelve – is the hip-hop artist formerly known as 12 Gauge Shotie, of the trio Mary Jane Junkeez
Governor Drive – new band w/members of My Elysian and the Fooks, debut performance 7-24 Brick By Brick
Danielle LoPresti and the Masses – new 22 track album Run With It, her first to be distributed by major label Universal Music Group, thanks to just-signed deal
Tom Ward – singer/bassist from legendary garage bands Gravedigger V, the Morlocks, and the Town Criers, recently moved back to San Diego after many years in NYC
Jesse Plack – recording studio operator's new solo album Washed In From the Shadows
Kenseth Thibideau of Sleeping People and Pinback – new solo CD Repetition, release party July 29 at Tin Can Ale House
Secret Seven – debut album Turn Your Back to the Sea, limited wax-sealed edition, release party July 24 at Brick By Brick
Endoxi – new album Earthbound, details and tracklist posted, all-age release party August 6 at the Epicentre
Manic Diffusion -new acoustic EP On the Rocks, release party July 29 at Winston’s in O.B
Jamuel Saxon – new album The Prolly Shores
Keith Milgaten – new solo album Landmines & Chandeliers
South Psycho Cide- new album dedicated to fallen comrade, Rest In Peace Big Yikes
Maquiladora – new album Wirikuta
Eric Evans Project – new album Waves of Grace
Louisa West with Jimmy Patton and Friends - new album Sambarina, release party August 6 at Dizzy's downtown
River City premiers debut album August 27 gig at the Ruby Room
Wavves local debut for his new full-length King of the Beach happens August 12, at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego on Kettner
The Answers – early ‘80s local legends will reunite July 31 for Che Underground event
And that's just over a couple of days this week! I hope you can help spread the word - I think we have the most comprehensive and up-to-date local music site on the web, with over 2,200 custom built performer pages, more than 7,000 individual musician histories, and over 2,500 local albums, most with covers and track lists and even Reader reviews.
So how are we doing???
Che Underground Rock-’n'-Roll Weekend!
Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts and get ready to experience the Che Underground Rock-’n'-Roll Weekend, on July 30 and 31!
Friday, July 30, at Lestat’s Coffee House (3343 Adams Avenue; $10; doors open at 9pm)
Here are some details on some of the NEW bands you’ll be seeing:
Jeffrey Luck Lucas, co-founder of the legendary local garage band The Morlocks, has returned.
Thomas E Ward is known to many as the bassman of the Nashville Ramblers. Tonight he will demonstrate his considerable songwriting skills with nothing but an acoustic guitar. Be prepared to be amazed!
The Comeuppance is a “chamber pop” duo from San Francisco playing acoustic and electric, all-original music. They are:
Dave Fleminger: guitar, vocals Heather Vorwerck: cello, bass
P Man is a San Diego-based DJ who focuses mostly on Dubstep, Grime, Garage and UK Funky. As a bassist, he is a 20-year veteran, playing in bands in San Diego and on tour around the U.S.
Wendy Bailey & True Stories will be playing rock with a wide mix of influences, from folk to hard rock, 1950s to today. Both Bailey and scene veteran Bart Mendoza contribute songs to the band, with the beginnings of an album underway. Here’s the lineup:
Bombast is an irresponsible mix of members of The Answers, The Rockin’ Dogs and The Wallflowers. They play pretty much what you’d think when you get guys like this together. Here’s the lineup:
“Shady” Kench Degrate: keys, Tijuana-style trumpet Dave Ellison: flaming guitar, earsplitting abuse of wah wah, napalm Dave “Richter Scale Buster” Fleminger: “earthquake”-style bass Matt “Sleepy” Johnson: beating the living hell out of the drums David Wallflower: shredded vocal cords, primal screams and arrhythmic guitar here and there
As an added bonus, the Che Underground will offer free admission to the shows to Jerry Cornelius and Pat Works and anybody who drives them down. We miss you guys! Obviously, as they say — be there or be square!
45 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE BEATLES PLAYING SAN DIEGO - A TRIBUTE SHOW AT LESTAT'S
Celebrating 45 years since The Beatles performed at Balboa Stadium in San Diego, August 28, 1965, Blindspot Records is hosting a special concert at Lestat’s.
Michigan’s Jeremy Morris and San Diego’s Wendy Bailey & True Stories will each play selections from the Beatles songbook, with a slew of guest performers along for the ride. Morris released a Beatles covers album, Yesterday, Today and Forever, in 2007. Opening the show will be Barry Scott, former guitarist for Chrysalis Records recording artists, The States and The Barrys.
Jeremy Morris / Michigan powerpop hero Wendy Bailey & True Stories / With special guests! + Barry Scott / Solo set from the former States guitarist
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
ICONs is a pop culture assault, a performance-driven take-off on that other shindig happening at the Convention Centeron July 24 weekend (only with better parking and lots more affordable). We've taken over the brand new 30,000 square-foot Horton Plaza Event Center to create a 2-part experience, with the 1st part all-ages from 11 am to 5 pm and the 2nd part 21 & up from 9 pm to 2 am.
Watch HDVideo San Diego's flyer right now for ICONs and win passes instantly!
Featuring musical performances from among many others Canton Mudders, Bobby Fantasy, and Fing, ICONs will have film screenings & panels from Mental Eclectic, geek-inspired fashion shows, over 50 pop culture exhibitors, elaborate art gallery with installations, and much more. This is JBC's second collaboration with West Coast Club Life after our successful Masquerade: New Year's Eve headlined by Delta Spirit.
Cattle Decapitation will headline a fall tour dubbed the "The California Blood Tour." Support will be provided by Devourment, Knights Of The Abyss, Burning The Masses, and Son Of Aurelius. more
DAVE MUSTAINE WRITING AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine has never been accused of being short of words. That comes in handy with the announcement that his autobiography Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir will be released on August 3rd in the U.S.
Shortly after the release was announced, the book shot up to #1 in the Books/Rock category and the #1 Best Seller in the Books/Heavy Metal category at Amazon.com
For fans across the pond, the UK version is said to have a different cover and will be titled, ' Mustaine: A Life In Metal', when it hits stores on September 30th. The UK version also carries the tagline, "Hello Me... Meet The Real Me". - the official word on this release
RIHANNA SEEKING POSITIVE P.R. BUT CANCELLING MORE SHOWS
AceShowBiz reports that famous former neighbor Rihanna has been forced to scrap another date on her U.S. tour due to poor ticket sales. Her show at Indiana's Verizon Wireless Music Center on August 3 has been called off - more
Antimusic.com recently posted a story about 11-year-old Broadway star Shannon Tavarez's cancer fight and her search for a bone marrow donor. Now Rihanna is urging her fans to help. Here is the announcement:
At just eleven-years-old Shannon Tavarez already had a promising Broadway career performing four shows a week as Young Nala in DISNEY'S The Lion King. Shannon juggled a full day of school before rushing to the Minskoff Theatre - - she was living her dream. Now, just over two months later, Shannon's dream is simply to grow up and return to her normal life. In April, Shannon was diagnosed with Acute Leukemia. The talented young star was performing on stage when the symptoms first hit. Her lower back and legs suddenly started hurting making it difficult for her to perform or even walk. "When I found out, it hit me really hard, like someone was throwing a ball at me. It was shocking and I thought, why me?" said Shannon. Now, Shannon lives at Schneider Children's Hospital in Long Island where she receives daily chemotherapy treatments. A bone marrow transplant from a stranger may be her only chance at survival.
When Rihanna heard about Shannon's plight, she had to do something. "Being a performer myself I know what it's like to be given the opportunity of a lifetime at a young age and I would have been destroyed if that was taken away from me," said Rihanna. "Shannon deserves to live and share her beautiful voice with the world."
The superstar, an avid advocate for children, has a long history of working with DKMS, whose mission is to save lives by recruiting bone marrow donors for leukemia patients. "When I listened to Shannon's voice, I got really sad. Her voice is so beautiful. She should be performing on Broadway, but she is confined to her bed, fighting for her life. Shannon needs to find abone marrow donor to survive. I urge all my fans to register with DKMS," said Rihanna. - more on this story
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FLAME-ON, CRAIGSLIST!! (BUT DON'T TOUCH MY EMMY) -
“I wasn’t expecting to start a Craigslist flame war” says singer/songwriter Scott Wilson of his recent online classified ads. “I’ve been posting for filmmakers to collaborate on music videos. A bunch of people started attacking my resume, some accusing me of being a liar and others who said I’m not even who I say I am...there was some reference to my Emmy Award as an ‘imaginary statue.’”
Wilson’s day job as a video editor earned him a 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or Special, for his work on the 2001 performance documentary Sting…All This Time.
“They were p*ssed off [on Craigslist] because I couldn’t afford to pay them,” says Wilson, who has edited TV shows like Rock Star: INXS, various MTV and VH1 specials, and DVDs featuring Metallica and Queensryche. “Even people who believed my resume, there was some problem with my status as a broke musician, as opposed to a successful video editor. In reality, I was looking for students or aspiring filmmakers to collaborate with, who wanted to create in the spirit of love instead of profit. If you prove yourself, the profit will come.”
Amidst the negative and frequently foul-mouthed posts (“You couldn’t print them”), Wilson says “One guy came to my defense and said that these people make the San Diego video industry look like a bunch of amateurs.”
He’s decided to stop referencing his Emmy while seeking video collaborators, since people tend to associate that with deep pockets. “I could take a picture of the Award, but it’s in my storage room, packed in a box. People kept wanting to touch it.
Wilson ended up self-shooting his newest video for the song “Shade of Eden,” currently only available as a free MP3 at www.sandiegoreader.com. “I used a small Flip UltraHD camera to film performance shots at SanteeLakes and at MastPark nearby, on Carlton Oaks…I’m still looking for people who want to do videos for my songs. I would reciprocate by editing the best video that I could possibly make, in order to showcase their talent.”
“As long as they don’t want to touch my Emmy.”
Wilson cites his main musical influences as the Beatles (“seventh chords”), Nirvana (“grooves”), and Yes (“harmonies”), but nowadays the founding member of the Gandhi Method -- and former bassist for Cathryn Beeks -- would just as soon plug into a video-editing board as an amp.
This filmmaking savvy served Wilson well when it came time to shoot a video for the song “Coffeehouse 101” from his 2005 CD Kaleidoscope’s End. “We ended up with around 50 performers in [my] video, many of them local, each one lip-synching a different line from the song,” says Wilson.
Footage was shot at Lestat’s, Twiggs, the Hot Monkey Love Café, and other local spots. Cameo appearances include Gregory Page, Dave Howard, Bart Mendoza (the Shambles), Mark DeCerbo (Rockola, the Steely Damned), and a who’s who of local talent that even the most plugged-in of scenesters would be hard pressed to fully identify. “I couldn’t time it right to get the Locust in there,” says Wilson, “but I [taped] most everybody else I sought out.”
“Some people -- for instance, Robin Henkel and Carlos Olmeda -- were very comfortable with the camera. Some weren’t, and I include myself in that bunch. Everyone brings their own personalities to the table, and people relate to the camera in such different ways that it becomes sort of a sociological experiment in overcoming embarrassment.”
"Shade of Eden" video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAMkv1jx5xk
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First West Coast tour in 20 years! KINKY FRIEDMAN with guest MOJO NIXON Sunday August 1, 7 p.m. • SAN DIEGO • Belly Up Two new books: Heroes of a Texas Childhood and What Would Kinky Do?
• • • THE GO WEST YOUNG KINKY TOUR OF 2010 Kinky Friedman Announces First West Coast Performance Tour in Two Decades
AUSTIN, Texas — Former Texas gubernatorial candidate, political commentator and self-proclaimed “author, columnist, musician and beautician” Kinky Friedman will perform on the West Coast this summer for the first time in nearly 20 years. Dates for the “Go West Young Kinky Tour of 2010” start on July 26th in Vancouver and continue into August (a full list of venues follows). Two members of Kinky's seminal band the Texas Jewboys, Little Jewford and Washington Ratso, will join him on the tour. No prisoners will be taken. Only the strong shall survive.
The Kinkster, often referred to as the “Mark Twain of Texas,” will also be hawking his wares, in this case his most recent (limited edition) books, Heroes of a Texas Childhood and What Would Kinky Do?, both of which will be available for purchase and signing at the shows. As Kinky has often said, he’ll “sign anything but bad legislation.” This includes any of his dozens of top-selling books or columns, or even his Kinky Friedman Cigars, which, rumor has it, will also be available at the venues. Bring it, and he will sign it.
Kinky Friedman rose to stardom in the ’70s, with the aforementioned Texas Jewboys as his sick and twisted sidekicks. An equal opportunity offender, Kinky, with his outrageous lyrics and crazed stage persona, may have offended some, but drew people like Don Imus, Robin Williams, Bob Dylan and John Belushi into his spiritual fan club. He toured with Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue and appeared on the inaugural season of Saturday Night Live. His infamous appearance on Austin City Limits, the only performance ever filmed by ACL and never broadcast because of content, has finally been released on DVD, to the delight of fans everywhere.
In the mid ’80s, Kinky rescued a woman being robbed at a midtown Manhattan ATM, and, based on this experience, created the character Kinky Friedman the Detective, who solved murders in what would become a series of wildly popular mystery novels. In the years since, the real Kinky has branched out into children’s books, memoirs, historical reflections and editorials, all to great success, and all powered by his razor sharp wit.
Kinky’s commentaries have appeared in such diverse media as The New York Times, Texas Monthly and Playboy, and since adding politics to his résumé, he has been a regular on cable networks, even stopping by occasionally to spar with Bill O'Reilly.
His books are now read the world over, and his tour schedule reflects this. From Bill Clinton to Billy Bob Thornton to Nelson Mandela, everybody loves a Kinky Friedman mystery. As the ever-humble author likes to say, “I write novels for Americans to read on their aircraft.” Billy Bob is currently working with him on a new book, as is Willie Nelson.
And now, for the first time in almost a generation, folks on the West Coast will get to hear Kinky perform (live!) tunes like “Ride ’Em Jewboy,” “Sold American” and “They Ain’t Makin’ Jews Like Jesus Anymore.” And many friends will be there too: Mojo Nixon will join Kinky in San Diego, and Van Dyke Parks has already signed up for L.A. There’s no telling who else will pop in. Will there be a Wavy Gravy sighting in San Francisco?
MetalSucks reports: The music website recently spoke with Ratt drummer Bobby Blotzer about a number of topics including his new autobiography Tales of a Ratt, the band's new album Infestation, and the sometimes tenuous personal relationships between its members and the resulting problems in the band. He particularly singled out Warren DeMartini in the excerpt below:
Blotzer: I've always been the kind of person that shows up on time and does my job. Some people that are in the band, or used to be, don't treat Ratt with that type of respect. We have a great thing going with this new album and the public's interest – but people take it for granted. I never have.
Metal Sucks: You talk about getting offers for weekend shows a few years back, and certain people in Ratt not wanting to do them.
Blotzer: Yeah, that was so annoying! Warren wouldn't want to do them because he didn't want to deal with a layover at some airport. That's the kind of shit I deal with. He's a rich kid, so he didn't care about the cash as much.
Metal Sucks: Earlier in our call, you sounded very uneasy about Ratt's current situation.
Blotzer: I just see some of the things that were problems coming up again. I don't get it. I'm never not thinking about this band falling apart, because of the way Ratt operates. It's not me, dude. It's my 2 business partners. Even now with the album's success, there are power struggles within the band. I just want to tell them, "Come on guys — let's just go out there and kick ass!" But they make it more complicated. All I have to say is that if everything falls apart again for us; I'll just write an amendment to the book with all of this new shit. Hopefully people wake up, and get their shit together. I just want to go out there and play. - Read the full interview here
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42 YEARS AGO – THE VELVET UNDEGROUND IN SAN DIEGO
42 years ago – July 4 through 6, 1968 – the Velvet Underground debuted one of their most oft-discussed but seldom heard lost tracks, “Sweet Rock and Roll.” The band played three nights at the converted skating rink on Front and G Street known as the Hippodrome, accompanied on the final two evenings by Quicksilver Messenger Service.
The performances were recorded on 4-track tape, according to guitarist Sterling Morrison in a 1986 interview for Spanish television. “After tuning, we started with ‘Waiting For the Man’ and it didn’t sound so bad…then came ‘Sweet Rock and Roll,’ which was never recorded and never played again. We wanted that tape, it sounded so great, so there was no point in recording it. I think we did it a time or two after that, but it was nothing compared to this first one."
"I remember the chords and some words, ‘Sweet rock ‘n’ roll is good to your soul.’ We used that as a preamble to ‘Sister Ray,’ it kind of just goes along and then hits the chords, which were very heavy. It was good. It was heavy, serious. Cale played keyboard on ‘Sweet Rock and Roll,’ and that was really what carried it.”
Famous former neighbor Lester Bangs wrote of the tune’s Hippodrome debut in a 1971 article for Creem Magazine. “The Velvets launched into a new song that was one of the most incredible musical experiences of my concert career. Lou announced it as ‘Sister Ray, Part Two,’ but it sounded nothing like the previous song. It was built on the most dolorous riff imaginable, just a few scales rising and falling mournfully, somewhat like ‘Venus In Furs’ but less creaky, more deliberate and eloquent.”
“The lyrics, many of which Lou made up as he went along, seemed like fantasy from an urban inferno: ‘Sweet Sister Ray went to a movie / The floor was painted red and the walls were green / Ooohh, she cried / This is the strangest movie I’ve ever seen …Ohhhh, sweet rock and roll - it’ll cleanse your soul.’ That’s classic, and no other group in America could have (or would have) written and sung those words.”
So why hasn’t the tape of “Sweet Rock and Roll” at the Hippodrome ever surfaced?
Richie Unterberger’s book White Light/White Heat: The Velvet Underground Day by Day quotes Sterling Morrison saying “That was a great performance … [but] the tape was stolen that very night. Stolen within seconds, actually. As soon as it ended, it vanished, never to reappear on earth.”
The Velvet Underground had played the Hippodrome just a few weeks earlier (the gig for which the above concert poster was created)
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SCREW THE MAN!! THE EXPERIMENTS GIVE IT UP FOR FREE
Disgusted with the RIAA's lawsuits against music lovers, San Diego based rock / punk band The Experiments has released their new album, What Kind Of Animal? for free under the Creative Commons license. Anyone is free to download, distribute, re-mix or otherwise use the songs for non-commercial purposes.
"It's ridiculous that a single mom gets fined $1.9 million for downloading 24 songs. It's criminal, and the RIAA are a criminal organization," said the band's bass player, Dave Blood. "So, we say, take our songs for free. You deserve them."
"What Kind Of Animal?" is the band's 5th release. It is a complete DIY (Do It Yourself) project, with the band writing, performing, recording, and mixing the songs themselves. It can be downloaded at the band's website, TheExperiments.com.
"We recorded it in this big wood shop that some friends let us use. We pushed the band saw and drill press aside, and set up the drums in the middle of the room. It sounded great in there," said singer / guitar player Dan Bonn. "We did the vocals in Dan's bathroom, and mixed it in his spare bedroom," added Blood.
The Experiments have played their style of rock and punk in San Diego and clubs across the USA since 1994. Influenced by The Who, The Ramones, Cheap Trick and others, the band has toured the US and played in iconic clubs like NYC's CBGB and Chicago's Thurston's.
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TOP 10 WEIRDEST LOCAL VIDEO s!
By Bart Mendoza: Politics makes for strange bedfellows? That’s nothing compared to the music biz. Here’s ten interesting pairings of San Diegans with musicians from elsewhere.
1)Jason Mraz with Elmo & Friends – “Outdoors”
Hands down the coolest TV team up by a San Diego musician, ever. This clip almost didn’t happen as Big Birds backstage rider was considered excessive. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrqF7yD10Bo
2)Stephen Bishop & Marilyn McCoo – “On & On / Save It For Rainy Day”
This is the direct opposite of the Mraz video, but then McCoo is no match for Elmo…
This is a rough audience clip but it’s notable for two things – the bassist’s interesting stage shuffle and Schenker’s fist bump with Dimartini. Oh yeah, killer solo too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhOJhXw6wOU
10)Alison Brown & The Indigo Girls – “Closer to Fine”
Bonus - 11)Dave Humphries & Tony Sheridan – “Music In A Friends House”
Full disclosure, I was involved with this production, but it’s kind of cool that Beatles compatriot Sheridan hung out and recorded this track in La Mesa, as documented here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ289Y-VVFw
Rock Radio reports: Scott Weiland recorded his vocal tracks for the new Stone Temple Pilots album in a different studio from the band because he doesn't like people being around while he works, he's revealed.
And that shyness is what got him into drugs in the early 90s, the singer adds. Weiland tells Canoe.ca: "They recorded the master tracks and I'd take the file over to my studio and sing. It was a lot easier – I don't like having a lot of people in the room when I'm cutting vocals. I like to be in my own comfort zone."
He described his condition as "social fright" rather than "stage fright" and that's what led him down the road of taking drugs to feel better – a road which caused the original split of STP, then, two years ago, his departure from Velvet Revolver. - more on this story
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TODAY'S "WHAT THE F-CK" ALBUM COVER
All the green grass in the world isn't gonna make this dork crew look any cooler - hey, in the lower right corner, isn't that "Newman" from Seinfeld?!
"Let's get that photo I took of the pervert stalker hiding in the bushes and make it our album cover...."
Sears must've been having a sale on those suits!
You laugh, but you should hear this soulful mama belting out "These Boots Were Made For Walking" and "Hard Day's Night"! You'll laugh even harder...
And this is AFTER he pimped his ride!
What makes this so WTF isn't the clothes - it's the medieval dungeon they look so comfortable in...
And OTHER skiing songs?!?!?! That first one killed the dude!!
Where oh where to start - the guy's giant pointy elf shoes? The mysterious brown liquid seeping out from between the girl's legs and onto the floor? The Beep Beep poster with inexplicable ocean motif? The hemorroid donut mounted on a wall with garden trellis?
If Love Ain't Nothin' But a Business, guess who just declared bankruptcy?
Gene Simmons' Family Jewels - in an alternate HELL DIMENSION! Why do they make their women dress as couches that someone threw up on?
Carlsbad metal-core band Destroy the Runner has announced an "indefinite hiatus." According to a group statement, "We have sought to maintain musical integrity and honesty within all facets of our functioning, and unfortunately are not able to do so at this point in time..."
"Keep on the lookout for a softer, more experimental project with Nick Maldonado [guitar], Duane Reed [guitar, vocals], Marc Kohlbry [drums], Jeremiah Crespo [bass] and several others called Other Mountains. Also check out Chapter 14 with Chad Ackerman [vocals] and Tanner Sparks [bass, vocals]. And for the super heavy fans, be on the lookout for a very heavy, experimental band with Nick , Duane (vocals), Kyle (from Thieves and Liars), and our guitar tech Jason that is yet to be named."
Destroy the Runner singer Chad Ackerman told the Reader about one of his band's worst gigs. "In Cheyenne, Wyoming, we had a huge guarantee, and we were on tour with Lower Definition at the time. We were told that the show had been promoted for months. Keep in mind that we were in Cheyenne, haha. We all had hotel rooms that the promoter booked, an open bar, free meal at the restaurant, and a huge guest list."
"Two people showed up to the show! There were seriously two people. Ha! We felt so bad that everyone on the tour decided to close the open bar, and we played whatever songs the two kids wanted to hear. I think all the bands gave the kids free shirts too. That was pretty bad, though."
LOCALS ART ---- a few locals who've appeared in the Reader comix ---
More later!
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Thanks to everyone who came out to the Overheard and Famous in San Diego art gallery opening on Monday, March 29th at the Ruby Room! Bunches of photos and video clips coming soon -
The night before the opening reception, I heard my name on KPRI radio as I drove into San Diego, while randomly flipping stations. It was Cathryn Beeks on the Homegrown Hour, talking about the show - and then she played the Overheard in San Diego theme song!! I almost drove off the road - thanks, Cathryn!!
The Reverend Stickman, Carly-plus-one, me -- in case we've never met, howaya? --- and fellow cartoonatic Christie Maconnell, the Rock 'N' Roll Comics colorist who put up the strip display.
Happy Ron Hill played his "Famous Former Neighbors" song (which seems to imply that I think my "sh-t don't stink," heh heh), and Cathryn Beeks was joined by co-writer Sven-Erik Seaholm to mock me in song once again, with their "Overheard in San Diego" theme song.
Happy Ron, Bart Mendoza, and Carlos Olmeda, Collage Menage, Neener, Carnal Comics writer Jamie Ralph Gardner, videographers Duane and Susan, and random passersby...
The winner? Steve and the Pescadero Pickers !! Their tune tells of the summer that Bob "Gilligan" Denver moved next door to Steve in OB -----
Due to some confusion -- no doubt compounded by me being on vacation all week --- bandleader Steve wasn't notified in time to play it at the show, but you can checkitout - and all the song submissions, along with their final vote stats - at http://www.sandiegoreader.com/audioclips/sets/famous-former-neighbors/
All in all, it was terrific to see the Reader comic strips getting their own spotlight showcase - my thanks to the Ruby Room for letting me plaster my scribbles all over their walls and letting my friends and I play all night in their colorful sandbox! Thanks also to the artists who came out to do live art demonstrations, and you can checkout a selection of comic strips from the show all thru April at the RRoom --
Thanks also to my associates at the Reader who spearheaded fun stuff like the song contest ----
Now, it's back to being an obscure underemployed cartoonatic and itinerate writer-slash-blogger - surely, it's all downhill from here...
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HAPPY RON HILL "Famous Former Neighbors"
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OWES IT ALL TO THE MAN WITH NO NAME....
“We play hip-hop with a twist,” says Tim Beaman (aka Timmy B) of the trio OCT/Outta Control, who all moved to San Diego from Detroit six years ago in hopes of kickstarting their recording and performing career.
“We do the unexpected, like starting off a set with a crazy electric guitar solo and setting a sick Beastie Boy-style party vibe. We make music that reflects our life, which is pretty much a never ending struggle AND a big party, all at the same time. We don’t have sick cars or money, so we don’t rap about that.”
The band cites surprising inspirations, such as the Prince formerly known as Fresh, Will Smith. “He’s one of the sickest MCs in the game,” says Beaman. “If you don’t think so, check out his song ‘Freak This.’ We actually live our lives by that saying.”
Another big inspiration is a man whose name they don’t even know.
“We were in L.A. trying to get into record label offices to hand out our demo, even though we knew it wasn’t going to work. After getting thrown out of Capitol Records, we talked to the guy who threw us out for a while. He told us that he had thrown out 50 Cent and Kanye when they were still unsigned. After talking for a few minutes, he looked at us and said ‘If you’re good at what you do, don’t quit. It’ll happen for you too.’”
Outta Control has released three albums, as well as contributing to last year’s SDMA-nominated hip-hop compilation Best of Daygo City.
Get Uked to It (or San Diego Gets Uked) - 15 San Diego artists have their songs covered on Ukelele
By Bart Mendoza:It’s true, ukeleles get little respect in the music world. But with their portability and ease of use it’s easy to see the four stringed instruments appeal.
Long a favorite for fans of Hawaiian music and century old pop tunes, the current resurgence in popularity has seen many modern era tunes showing up in uke players set lists.
Here are 15 songs originally performed by San Diego based artists, recast for ukelele.
MUSTAINE MAKES ROCK VIDEO BASED ON SAN DIEGO TANK ATTACK
Noisecreep reports: On May 17, 1995, a U.S. Army veteran and unemployed plumber in San Diego, Shawn Timothy Nelson, snapped and stole an M60 Patton tank from a nearby National Guard Armory. He drove down the highway, crushing cars, fire hydrants and an RV before he was stopped and killed by police.
The headline-grabbing story forms the basis of Megadeth's new video for 'The Right to Go Insane,' the second single from the band's acclaimed 2009 disc Endgame. In the clip, which surprisingly features no performance footage, frontman Dave Mustaine is filmed sneaking onto a military facility, stealing a tank and playing crash-up derby through the streets.
Video footage from the cockpit shows Mustaine singing and laughing, while shots from a surveillance helicopter depict a missile gunsight tracking him as he pillages.
No word from the family of Shawn Timothy Nelson, who was killed by police on live TV after the stolen tank got stick on a highway divider, on what they think of famous neighbor Mustaine having so much fun with their tragic true-life story. (more Megadeth, 'The Right to Go Insane' -- Video Premiere )
NEW COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL MUSIC DATABASE IS LAUNCHED
If you wanna see a list of over 2,100 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 withRob 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/
By Bart Mendoza: In honor of the release of a new book on Jim Croce’s music, Anthology, here are a more than ten things that you might have overlooked about the music icon. The book includes music & lyrics + stories behind 40 tunes! Penned by Ingrid Croce, published by Hal Leonard) For more info, please visitwww.jimcroce.com
I also highly recommend the Jim Croce’ DVD Anthology, Have You Heard:
1)Jim Croce is now the third San Diego related artist to be portrayed on film or TV. In the 4th episode of ABC-TV’s, Life on Mars(2008), he is played by Don Puglisi, in conversation with the show’s star during a brief scene set in a night club.
2)Jim Croce’s album, Life & Times, has been immortalized at the Sleeveface site: http://www.sleeveface.com/?p=288 – from the site: “One or more persons obscuring or augmenting any part of their body or bodies with record sleeve(s) causing an illusion” – Amazing!
5)Frank Sinatra released a single of “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,” which hit #83 in 1974. Dean Martin then used the same arrangement of the song for his version. Here’s a Glen Miller Big Band arrangement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA3Eq8r8fGs
7)In 1977, Maureen McCormick (aka Marcia Brady) sang a version of “I’ll Just Have to Say I Love You InA Song” on the TV’s The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.
12)His songs have appeared in TV shows such as Eli Stone ("You Don't Mess Around With Jim")/ 2008), The West Wing ("Time in a Bottle" / 2003), The Greatest American Hero ("You Don't Mess Around With Jim" / 1981)
13)His songs have appeared in movies such as Home Alone 3 ("Bad Bad Leroy Brown"/ 1997) and The Ice Storm ("I Got a Name").
14)Jim Croce appeared on several TV shows including In Concert, Rock Concert and twice on NBC’s the Tonight Show: Aug. 15 1972 (other guests included Danny Thomas and the comedy duo Burns & Schrieber) and May 30 1973 (other guests included Karen Valentine)
Antimusic reports: Mike Keneally is set to launch his first full-band tour in nearly five years, bringing his ever-evolving, remarkably inventive musical vision to the Northeast US in early May for five shows in support of his latest Exowax Recordings release, Scambot 1.
From Keneally's well-documented recorded work as a guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist in Frank Zappa's last touring band, to his recordings and performances with Robert Fripp, Dethklok, Wayne Kramer, Steve Vai, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Andy Partridge and many others, he's earned a reputation as someone who can bring an intense, original musical voice to any situation. His extensive and wildly diverse original catalog of 19 albums and counting defies traditional classification, and concertgoers are regularly left awestruck by his band's high-wire-act execution of the eclectic material.
In a unique twist, this tour's Mike Keneally Band members also comprise the opening act, the band of Keneally's longtime bassist Bryan Beller (Steve Vai, Dethklok), whose intricate jazz/rock compositions and tasteful playing earned his sophomore album Thanks In Advance widespread acclaim.
The sneakily-titled "They're Both The Same Band" Northeast Tour 2010 features Keneally, Beller, drummer Joe Travers (Zappa Plays Zappa), and guitarists Rick Musallam (Ben Taylor, Byrd York) and Griff Peters (Billie Myers, Anika Paris). - more on this story
I have SO many problems with this bizarre Land of the Lost relic.
First, what's up with asking the kiddies to help that Sleestak EAT poor lil' Dopey?! "He craves raw, bloody meat and does not know which rope is attached to Dopey. Which is the right one?" And why's the Sleestak a toy, while the Dino is drawn?
"Puzzle" 1 instructs "Look into this sacred cave, then cover it. How many Sleestak can you remember having seen?" Fair 'nuff, that's a KIND of a puzzle. But then look at the effin answer key -- "Any humans who gaze upon our god will die." Geez, Muhammad much?
Plus, written as if by Sleestak, the answer key indicates that THIS IS A SLEESTAK-CREATED PUZZLE! Notice the possessive apostrophe in the puzzle title, "Sleestak's...."...No wonder they wanna trick kids into killing Dopey...
"Puzzle" 2 - not really a puzzle. "Grumpy the dinosaur surprised Will, Holly and Chaka while they were out on a walk. Can you solve the puzzle of how Will and Holly will escape?" Well, clearly, we can see that some mirror thingly blinds Grumpy. BUT...
"How will WILL AND HOLLY escape?" WTF, what about Chaka?! Those sick fukken Sleetak puzzlemakers made a snuff film, and this clip shows Chaka seconds before getting bit in two...and, BTW, how stoopid are Will and Holly that they can still be "surprised" by a thirty foot tall dinosaur, AND NOT A FREAKIN' TREE IN SIGHT!
So let's refer to the answer key as to how the two mentally challenged humans escape..."Hit Chaka with a rock, breaking his leg, then run." I say again - WTF?! The dumbass duo is supposed to sacrifice Chaka to the dino?!
And if the answers are written by Sleestak, why are they such Chaka haters - or do they simply wanna eat "raw and bloody meat" offa Will and Holly themselves, while Grumpy polishes off the hairy Oompa Loompa?
The answer to number 3? "Dopey is slower than even a Sleestak. He should fall easily to the wicked eviscerating claws."
Sid and Marty Krofft - the Owsleys of Saturday morning TV ---
"TOO MANY TRAILS, MAN" - OR "WHY I STOPPED TAKING PSYCHEDELIC DRUGS....."
Because who can get any work done with all THIS going on????
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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!
The government is handing out Trillions. Now you can too! Help spread the wealth and holiday cheer by forwarding this Trillion Dollar gift to all of your friends! Print and pass it on!
Shipping in Autumn 2010 from Bluewater Productions
ROCK 'N' ROLL COMICS - The Led Zeppelin Experience:
The Led Zeppelin saga is one of the wildest in rock history, and this graphic novel pulls no punches in dramatizing the backstage, behind-the-scenes story. From their early days as the New Yardbirds on through their rise to superstardom (and controversy), all five issues of the original Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics series are collected in one rockin’ volume, with art by Scott Pentzer (Razor), Marshall Ross (Deepest Dimension), David Neer (Sports Superstars), Francois Escalmel (Frank Zappa: Viva La Bizarre), and others. The collection also includes update material, bringing the saga up to 2010.
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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!
Here's a sneak peek at the first promo art for the locally-produced Rock 'N' Roll Comics: Hard Rock Heroes, a 400 page graphic novel shipping from Bluewater Productions in early 2010, as well as the 240 page Beatles Experience comic, the Pink Floyd Experience, Led Zeppelin Experience, the Elvis Presley Experience, and more -
JAS
First, here's the first look at the Elvis Presley Experience cover art:
And here's the scoop and a first look at the cover of the Pink Floyd Experience:
The Pink Floyd Experience: All five issues of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics series The Pink Floyd Experience have been out of print and in demand for over fifteen years. As showcased in Pink Floyd’s own official box CD set Shine On, the Floyd comics chronicle rock’s most enigmatic psychedelic warriors, from their early dayz with stoner icon Syd Barrett, through their split (and later reformation). With art by Marvel and DC star Ken Landgraf (Wolverine, Hawkman, Nightwing & Flamebird, etc.), the collection also includes update material, bringing the saga up to 2010.
Hard Rock Heroes: What goes together better than comics and rock music? With almost 300 pages of Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics, Hard Rock Heroes goes WAY beyond Behind the Music, to tell the real life, behind-the-scenes stories of rock’s most heavy hitters. Creators include Stuart Immonen(Superman: End of the Century),Ken Landgraf(Wolverine),Jay Allen Sanford(Overheard in San Diego..), Todd Loren(Beatles Experience), Scott Pentzer (Razor), Mike Sagara(Ninja High School), and many others.
Hard Rock Heroes is a book-length pictorial history, covering bands like Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Van Halen, Motley Crue, Poison, Megadeth, Pantera, Anthrax, Motorhead, Sammy Hagar, and more. The cinematic stories are realistically drawn, researched from countless photo and video archives, with an encyclopedic eye toward visual accuracy, dramatic flair, and journalistic depth.
Also includes the never-before published “missing” Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics #8 from 1990, on Skid Row. The lack of an eighth issue has vexed collectors and catalogers for years – exactly 20 years later, the story can finally be told, and collectors can finally own ALL the Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics!
As a bonus treat, Hard Rock Heroes also features the Motley Crue comic story from their official box CD set Music To Crash Your Car To II, released in 2004 and written and drawn by original Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics creators Lyndal Ferguson and Larry Nadolsky. Shipping February 2010.
(colors: Christie Maconnell)
"Great ideas, like the marriage of rock 'n' roll and comics, have the half-life of Uranium and will always be popular," says series co-creator Jay Allen Sanford, who has worked on over 200 reality-based comic books and thousands of similar cartoon strips for the San Diego Reader, as well as for magazines like Rip, Spin, and Oui. "The folks at Bluewater clearly have their fingers on the same pop culture pulse that enabled the original Rock 'N' Roll Comics to become one of the top-selling indie comics of the '90s. Truth is often stranger than fiction...and certainly much more interesting!"
The Beatles are bigger than ever, now available online for the first time digitally, on the Vegas stage in “Love,” and in the new Beatles: Rock Band video game. Now comes the most comprehensive and encyclopedic illustrated Beatles story ever, the Beatles Experience! Over 200 pages, dramatizing one of the most compelling tales in pop culture history, drawn from thousands of photos and interviews, meticulously researched and featuring stunning art by Mike Sagara (Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics) and Stuart Immonen (Legion of Super Heroes, Ultimate X-Men).
Covering the Beatles’ lives from birth and beyond their breakup, dramatized in dialogue and scene recreations more akin to a film bio than a mere documentary, the Beatles Experience also includes a Chronolog timeline going down each page, with encyclopedia background and footnotes detailing related events happening at the same time in the world, in music, and in the Beatles’ own tumultuous and extraordinary lives.
The Led Zeppelin Experience:
The Led Zeppelin saga is one of the wildest in rock history, and this graphic novel pulls no punches in dramatizing the backstage, behind-the-scenes story. From their early days as the New Yardbirds on through their rise to superstardom (and controversy), all five issues of the original Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics series are collected in one rockin’ volume, with art by Scott Pentzer (Razor), Marshall Ross (Deepest Dimension), David Neer (Sports Superstars), Francois Escalmel (Frank Zappa: Viva La Bizarre), and others. The collection also includes update material, bringing the saga up to 2010.
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
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...
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...
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...
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.)...
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...
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...
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...
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...
"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.
"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).
"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.
"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!
I'm very excited about this new feature of the Reader's local music database - since we update daily, the music homepage at http://www.sandiegoreader.com/music/ now has a new section, This Just In, linking the newest revisions and additions. For instance, this week, links will appear to these reports, with related musician interviews, graphics, track lists, reviews, local gig schedules, etc:
Twelve – is the hip-hop artist formerly known as 12 Gauge Shotie, of the trio Mary Jane Junkeez
Governor Drive – new band w/members of My Elysian and the Fooks, debut performance 7-24 Brick By Brick
Danielle LoPresti and the Masses – new 22 track album Run With It, her first to be distributed by major label Universal Music Group, thanks to just-signed deal
Tom Ward – singer/bassist from legendary garage bands Gravedigger V, the Morlocks, and the Town Criers, recently moved back to San Diego after many years in NYC
Jesse Plack – recording studio operator's new solo album Washed In From the Shadows
Kenseth Thibideau of Sleeping People and Pinback – new solo CD Repetition, release party July 29 at Tin Can Ale House
Secret Seven – debut album Turn Your Back to the Sea, limited wax-sealed edition, release party July 24 at Brick By Brick
Endoxi – new album Earthbound, details and tracklist posted, all-age release party August 6 at the Epicentre
Manic Diffusion -new acoustic EP On the Rocks, release party July 29 at Winston’s in O.B
Jamuel Saxon – new album The Prolly Shores
Keith Milgaten – new solo album Landmines & Chandeliers
South Psycho Cide- new album dedicated to fallen comrade, Rest In Peace Big Yikes
Maquiladora – new album Wirikuta
Eric Evans Project – new album Waves of Grace
Louisa West with Jimmy Patton and Friends - new album Sambarina, release party August 6 at Dizzy's downtown
River City premiers debut album August 27 gig at the Ruby Room
Wavves local debut for his new full-length King of the Beach happens August 12, at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego on Kettner
The Answers – early ‘80s local legends will reunite July 31 for Che Underground event
And that's just over a couple of days this week! I hope you can help spread the word - I think we have the most comprehensive and up-to-date local music site on the web, with over 2,200 custom built performer pages, more than 7,000 individual musician histories, and over 2,500 local albums, most with covers and track lists and even Reader reviews.
So how are we doing???
Che Underground Rock-’n'-Roll Weekend!
Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts and get ready to experience the Che Underground Rock-’n'-Roll Weekend, on July 30 and 31!
Friday, July 30, at Lestat’s Coffee House (3343 Adams Avenue; $10; doors open at 9pm)
Here are some details on some of the NEW bands you’ll be seeing:
Jeffrey Luck Lucas, co-founder of the legendary local garage band The Morlocks, has returned.
Thomas E Ward is known to many as the bassman of the Nashville Ramblers. Tonight he will demonstrate his considerable songwriting skills with nothing but an acoustic guitar. Be prepared to be amazed!
The Comeuppance is a “chamber pop” duo from San Francisco playing acoustic and electric, all-original music. They are:
Dave Fleminger: guitar, vocals Heather Vorwerck: cello, bass
P Man is a San Diego-based DJ who focuses mostly on Dubstep, Grime, Garage and UK Funky. As a bassist, he is a 20-year veteran, playing in bands in San Diego and on tour around the U.S.
Wendy Bailey & True Stories will be playing rock with a wide mix of influences, from folk to hard rock, 1950s to today. Both Bailey and scene veteran Bart Mendoza contribute songs to the band, with the beginnings of an album underway. Here’s the lineup:
Bombast is an irresponsible mix of members of The Answers, The Rockin’ Dogs and The Wallflowers. They play pretty much what you’d think when you get guys like this together. Here’s the lineup:
“Shady” Kench Degrate: keys, Tijuana-style trumpet Dave Ellison: flaming guitar, earsplitting abuse of wah wah, napalm Dave “Richter Scale Buster” Fleminger: “earthquake”-style bass Matt “Sleepy” Johnson: beating the living hell out of the drums David Wallflower: shredded vocal cords, primal screams and arrhythmic guitar here and there
As an added bonus, the Che Underground will offer free admission to the shows to Jerry Cornelius and Pat Works and anybody who drives them down. We miss you guys! Obviously, as they say — be there or be square!
45 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE BEATLES PLAYING SAN DIEGO - A TRIBUTE SHOW AT LESTAT'S
Celebrating 45 years since The Beatles performed at Balboa Stadium in San Diego, August 28, 1965, Blindspot Records is hosting a special concert at Lestat’s.
Michigan’s Jeremy Morris and San Diego’s Wendy Bailey & True Stories will each play selections from the Beatles songbook, with a slew of guest performers along for the ride. Morris released a Beatles covers album, Yesterday, Today and Forever, in 2007. Opening the show will be Barry Scott, former guitarist for Chrysalis Records recording artists, The States and The Barrys.
Jeremy Morris / Michigan powerpop hero Wendy Bailey & True Stories / With special guests! + Barry Scott / Solo set from the former States guitarist
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
ICONs is a pop culture assault, a performance-driven take-off on that other shindig happening at the Convention Centeron July 24 weekend (only with better parking and lots more affordable). We've taken over the brand new 30,000 square-foot Horton Plaza Event Center to create a 2-part experience, with the 1st part all-ages from 11 am to 5 pm and the 2nd part 21 & up from 9 pm to 2 am.
Watch HDVideo San Diego's flyer right now for ICONs and win passes instantly!
Featuring musical performances from among many others Canton Mudders, Bobby Fantasy, and Fing, ICONs will have film screenings & panels from Mental Eclectic, geek-inspired fashion shows, over 50 pop culture exhibitors, elaborate art gallery with installations, and much more. This is JBC's second collaboration with West Coast Club Life after our successful Masquerade: New Year's Eve headlined by Delta Spirit.
Cattle Decapitation will headline a fall tour dubbed the "The California Blood Tour." Support will be provided by Devourment, Knights Of The Abyss, Burning The Masses, and Son Of Aurelius. more
DAVE MUSTAINE WRITING AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine has never been accused of being short of words. That comes in handy with the announcement that his autobiography Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir will be released on August 3rd in the U.S.
Shortly after the release was announced, the book shot up to #1 in the Books/Rock category and the #1 Best Seller in the Books/Heavy Metal category at Amazon.com
For fans across the pond, the UK version is said to have a different cover and will be titled, ' Mustaine: A Life In Metal', when it hits stores on September 30th. The UK version also carries the tagline, "Hello Me... Meet The Real Me". - the official word on this release
RIHANNA SEEKING POSITIVE P.R. BUT CANCELLING MORE SHOWS
AceShowBiz reports that famous former neighbor Rihanna has been forced to scrap another date on her U.S. tour due to poor ticket sales. Her show at Indiana's Verizon Wireless Music Center on August 3 has been called off - more
Antimusic.com recently posted a story about 11-year-old Broadway star Shannon Tavarez's cancer fight and her search for a bone marrow donor. Now Rihanna is urging her fans to help. Here is the announcement:
At just eleven-years-old Shannon Tavarez already had a promising Broadway career performing four shows a week as Young Nala in DISNEY'S The Lion King. Shannon juggled a full day of school before rushing to the Minskoff Theatre - - she was living her dream. Now, just over two months later, Shannon's dream is simply to grow up and return to her normal life. In April, Shannon was diagnosed with Acute Leukemia. The talented young star was performing on stage when the symptoms first hit. Her lower back and legs suddenly started hurting making it difficult for her to perform or even walk. "When I found out, it hit me really hard, like someone was throwing a ball at me. It was shocking and I thought, why me?" said Shannon. Now, Shannon lives at Schneider Children's Hospital in Long Island where she receives daily chemotherapy treatments. A bone marrow transplant from a stranger may be her only chance at survival.
When Rihanna heard about Shannon's plight, she had to do something. "Being a performer myself I know what it's like to be given the opportunity of a lifetime at a young age and I would have been destroyed if that was taken away from me," said Rihanna. "Shannon deserves to live and share her beautiful voice with the world."
The superstar, an avid advocate for children, has a long history of working with DKMS, whose mission is to save lives by recruiting bone marrow donors for leukemia patients. "When I listened to Shannon's voice, I got really sad. Her voice is so beautiful. She should be performing on Broadway, but she is confined to her bed, fighting for her life. Shannon needs to find abone marrow donor to survive. I urge all my fans to register with DKMS," said Rihanna. - more on this story
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FLAME-ON, CRAIGSLIST!! (BUT DON'T TOUCH MY EMMY) -
“I wasn’t expecting to start a Craigslist flame war” says singer/songwriter Scott Wilson of his recent online classified ads. “I’ve been posting for filmmakers to collaborate on music videos. A bunch of people started attacking my resume, some accusing me of being a liar and others who said I’m not even who I say I am...there was some reference to my Emmy Award as an ‘imaginary statue.’”
Wilson’s day job as a video editor earned him a 2002 Emmy for Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or Special, for his work on the 2001 performance documentary Sting…All This Time.
“They were p*ssed off [on Craigslist] because I couldn’t afford to pay them,” says Wilson, who has edited TV shows like Rock Star: INXS, various MTV and VH1 specials, and DVDs featuring Metallica and Queensryche. “Even people who believed my resume, there was some problem with my status as a broke musician, as opposed to a successful video editor. In reality, I was looking for students or aspiring filmmakers to collaborate with, who wanted to create in the spirit of love instead of profit. If you prove yourself, the profit will come.”
Amidst the negative and frequently foul-mouthed posts (“You couldn’t print them”), Wilson says “One guy came to my defense and said that these people make the San Diego video industry look like a bunch of amateurs.”
He’s decided to stop referencing his Emmy while seeking video collaborators, since people tend to associate that with deep pockets. “I could take a picture of the Award, but it’s in my storage room, packed in a box. People kept wanting to touch it.
Wilson ended up self-shooting his newest video for the song “Shade of Eden,” currently only available as a free MP3 at www.sandiegoreader.com. “I used a small Flip UltraHD camera to film performance shots at SanteeLakes and at MastPark nearby, on Carlton Oaks…I’m still looking for people who want to do videos for my songs. I would reciprocate by editing the best video that I could possibly make, in order to showcase their talent.”
“As long as they don’t want to touch my Emmy.”
Wilson cites his main musical influences as the Beatles (“seventh chords”), Nirvana (“grooves”), and Yes (“harmonies”), but nowadays the founding member of the Gandhi Method -- and former bassist for Cathryn Beeks -- would just as soon plug into a video-editing board as an amp.
This filmmaking savvy served Wilson well when it came time to shoot a video for the song “Coffeehouse 101” from his 2005 CD Kaleidoscope’s End. “We ended up with around 50 performers in [my] video, many of them local, each one lip-synching a different line from the song,” says Wilson.
Footage was shot at Lestat’s, Twiggs, the Hot Monkey Love Café, and other local spots. Cameo appearances include Gregory Page, Dave Howard, Bart Mendoza (the Shambles), Mark DeCerbo (Rockola, the Steely Damned), and a who’s who of local talent that even the most plugged-in of scenesters would be hard pressed to fully identify. “I couldn’t time it right to get the Locust in there,” says Wilson, “but I [taped] most everybody else I sought out.”
“Some people -- for instance, Robin Henkel and Carlos Olmeda -- were very comfortable with the camera. Some weren’t, and I include myself in that bunch. Everyone brings their own personalities to the table, and people relate to the camera in such different ways that it becomes sort of a sociological experiment in overcoming embarrassment.”
"Shade of Eden" video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAMkv1jx5xk
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First West Coast tour in 20 years! KINKY FRIEDMAN with guest MOJO NIXON Sunday August 1, 7 p.m. • SAN DIEGO • Belly Up Two new books: Heroes of a Texas Childhood and What Would Kinky Do?
• • • THE GO WEST YOUNG KINKY TOUR OF 2010 Kinky Friedman Announces First West Coast Performance Tour in Two Decades
AUSTIN, Texas — Former Texas gubernatorial candidate, political commentator and self-proclaimed “author, columnist, musician and beautician” Kinky Friedman will perform on the West Coast this summer for the first time in nearly 20 years. Dates for the “Go West Young Kinky Tour of 2010” start on July 26th in Vancouver and continue into August (a full list of venues follows). Two members of Kinky's seminal band the Texas Jewboys, Little Jewford and Washington Ratso, will join him on the tour. No prisoners will be taken. Only the strong shall survive.
The Kinkster, often referred to as the “Mark Twain of Texas,” will also be hawking his wares, in this case his most recent (limited edition) books, Heroes of a Texas Childhood and What Would Kinky Do?, both of which will be available for purchase and signing at the shows. As Kinky has often said, he’ll “sign anything but bad legislation.” This includes any of his dozens of top-selling books or columns, or even his Kinky Friedman Cigars, which, rumor has it, will also be available at the venues. Bring it, and he will sign it.
Kinky Friedman rose to stardom in the ’70s, with the aforementioned Texas Jewboys as his sick and twisted sidekicks. An equal opportunity offender, Kinky, with his outrageous lyrics and crazed stage persona, may have offended some, but drew people like Don Imus, Robin Williams, Bob Dylan and John Belushi into his spiritual fan club. He toured with Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue and appeared on the inaugural season of Saturday Night Live. His infamous appearance on Austin City Limits, the only performance ever filmed by ACL and never broadcast because of content, has finally been released on DVD, to the delight of fans everywhere.
In the mid ’80s, Kinky rescued a woman being robbed at a midtown Manhattan ATM, and, based on this experience, created the character Kinky Friedman the Detective, who solved murders in what would become a series of wildly popular mystery novels. In the years since, the real Kinky has branched out into children’s books, memoirs, historical reflections and editorials, all to great success, and all powered by his razor sharp wit.
Kinky’s commentaries have appeared in such diverse media as The New York Times, Texas Monthly and Playboy, and since adding politics to his résumé, he has been a regular on cable networks, even stopping by occasionally to spar with Bill O'Reilly.
His books are now read the world over, and his tour schedule reflects this. From Bill Clinton to Billy Bob Thornton to Nelson Mandela, everybody loves a Kinky Friedman mystery. As the ever-humble author likes to say, “I write novels for Americans to read on their aircraft.” Billy Bob is currently working with him on a new book, as is Willie Nelson.
And now, for the first time in almost a generation, folks on the West Coast will get to hear Kinky perform (live!) tunes like “Ride ’Em Jewboy,” “Sold American” and “They Ain’t Makin’ Jews Like Jesus Anymore.” And many friends will be there too: Mojo Nixon will join Kinky in San Diego, and Van Dyke Parks has already signed up for L.A. There’s no telling who else will pop in. Will there be a Wavy Gravy sighting in San Francisco?
MetalSucks reports: The music website recently spoke with Ratt drummer Bobby Blotzer about a number of topics including his new autobiography Tales of a Ratt, the band's new album Infestation, and the sometimes tenuous personal relationships between its members and the resulting problems in the band. He particularly singled out Warren DeMartini in the excerpt below:
Blotzer: I've always been the kind of person that shows up on time and does my job. Some people that are in the band, or used to be, don't treat Ratt with that type of respect. We have a great thing going with this new album and the public's interest – but people take it for granted. I never have.
Metal Sucks: You talk about getting offers for weekend shows a few years back, and certain people in Ratt not wanting to do them.
Blotzer: Yeah, that was so annoying! Warren wouldn't want to do them because he didn't want to deal with a layover at some airport. That's the kind of shit I deal with. He's a rich kid, so he didn't care about the cash as much.
Metal Sucks: Earlier in our call, you sounded very uneasy about Ratt's current situation.
Blotzer: I just see some of the things that were problems coming up again. I don't get it. I'm never not thinking about this band falling apart, because of the way Ratt operates. It's not me, dude. It's my 2 business partners. Even now with the album's success, there are power struggles within the band. I just want to tell them, "Come on guys — let's just go out there and kick ass!" But they make it more complicated. All I have to say is that if everything falls apart again for us; I'll just write an amendment to the book with all of this new shit. Hopefully people wake up, and get their shit together. I just want to go out there and play. - Read the full interview here
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42 YEARS AGO – THE VELVET UNDEGROUND IN SAN DIEGO
42 years ago – July 4 through 6, 1968 – the Velvet Underground debuted one of their most oft-discussed but seldom heard lost tracks, “Sweet Rock and Roll.” The band played three nights at the converted skating rink on Front and G Street known as the Hippodrome, accompanied on the final two evenings by Quicksilver Messenger Service.
The performances were recorded on 4-track tape, according to guitarist Sterling Morrison in a 1986 interview for Spanish television. “After tuning, we started with ‘Waiting For the Man’ and it didn’t sound so bad…then came ‘Sweet Rock and Roll,’ which was never recorded and never played again. We wanted that tape, it sounded so great, so there was no point in recording it. I think we did it a time or two after that, but it was nothing compared to this first one."
"I remember the chords and some words, ‘Sweet rock ‘n’ roll is good to your soul.’ We used that as a preamble to ‘Sister Ray,’ it kind of just goes along and then hits the chords, which were very heavy. It was good. It was heavy, serious. Cale played keyboard on ‘Sweet Rock and Roll,’ and that was really what carried it.”
Famous former neighbor Lester Bangs wrote of the tune’s Hippodrome debut in a 1971 article for Creem Magazine. “The Velvets launched into a new song that was one of the most incredible musical experiences of my concert career. Lou announced it as ‘Sister Ray, Part Two,’ but it sounded nothing like the previous song. It was built on the most dolorous riff imaginable, just a few scales rising and falling mournfully, somewhat like ‘Venus In Furs’ but less creaky, more deliberate and eloquent.”
“The lyrics, many of which Lou made up as he went along, seemed like fantasy from an urban inferno: ‘Sweet Sister Ray went to a movie / The floor was painted red and the walls were green / Ooohh, she cried / This is the strangest movie I’ve ever seen …Ohhhh, sweet rock and roll - it’ll cleanse your soul.’ That’s classic, and no other group in America could have (or would have) written and sung those words.”
So why hasn’t the tape of “Sweet Rock and Roll” at the Hippodrome ever surfaced?
Richie Unterberger’s book White Light/White Heat: The Velvet Underground Day by Day quotes Sterling Morrison saying “That was a great performance … [but] the tape was stolen that very night. Stolen within seconds, actually. As soon as it ended, it vanished, never to reappear on earth.”
The Velvet Underground had played the Hippodrome just a few weeks earlier (the gig for which the above concert poster was created)
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SCREW THE MAN!! THE EXPERIMENTS GIVE IT UP FOR FREE
Disgusted with the RIAA's lawsuits against music lovers, San Diego based rock / punk band The Experiments has released their new album, What Kind Of Animal? for free under the Creative Commons license. Anyone is free to download, distribute, re-mix or otherwise use the songs for non-commercial purposes.
"It's ridiculous that a single mom gets fined $1.9 million for downloading 24 songs. It's criminal, and the RIAA are a criminal organization," said the band's bass player, Dave Blood. "So, we say, take our songs for free. You deserve them."
"What Kind Of Animal?" is the band's 5th release. It is a complete DIY (Do It Yourself) project, with the band writing, performing, recording, and mixing the songs themselves. It can be downloaded at the band's website, TheExperiments.com.
"We recorded it in this big wood shop that some friends let us use. We pushed the band saw and drill press aside, and set up the drums in the middle of the room. It sounded great in there," said singer / guitar player Dan Bonn. "We did the vocals in Dan's bathroom, and mixed it in his spare bedroom," added Blood.
The Experiments have played their style of rock and punk in San Diego and clubs across the USA since 1994. Influenced by The Who, The Ramones, Cheap Trick and others, the band has toured the US and played in iconic clubs like NYC's CBGB and Chicago's Thurston's.
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TOP 10 WEIRDEST LOCAL VIDEO s!
By Bart Mendoza: Politics makes for strange bedfellows? That’s nothing compared to the music biz. Here’s ten interesting pairings of San Diegans with musicians from elsewhere.
1)Jason Mraz with Elmo & Friends – “Outdoors”
Hands down the coolest TV team up by a San Diego musician, ever. This clip almost didn’t happen as Big Birds backstage rider was considered excessive. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrqF7yD10Bo
2)Stephen Bishop & Marilyn McCoo – “On & On / Save It For Rainy Day”
This is the direct opposite of the Mraz video, but then McCoo is no match for Elmo…
This is a rough audience clip but it’s notable for two things – the bassist’s interesting stage shuffle and Schenker’s fist bump with Dimartini. Oh yeah, killer solo too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhOJhXw6wOU
10)Alison Brown & The Indigo Girls – “Closer to Fine”
Bonus - 11)Dave Humphries & Tony Sheridan – “Music In A Friends House”
Full disclosure, I was involved with this production, but it’s kind of cool that Beatles compatriot Sheridan hung out and recorded this track in La Mesa, as documented here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ289Y-VVFw
Rock Radio reports: Scott Weiland recorded his vocal tracks for the new Stone Temple Pilots album in a different studio from the band because he doesn't like people being around while he works, he's revealed.
And that shyness is what got him into drugs in the early 90s, the singer adds. Weiland tells Canoe.ca: "They recorded the master tracks and I'd take the file over to my studio and sing. It was a lot easier – I don't like having a lot of people in the room when I'm cutting vocals. I like to be in my own comfort zone."
He described his condition as "social fright" rather than "stage fright" and that's what led him down the road of taking drugs to feel better – a road which caused the original split of STP, then, two years ago, his departure from Velvet Revolver. - more on this story
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TODAY'S "WHAT THE F-CK" ALBUM COVER
All the green grass in the world isn't gonna make this dork crew look any cooler - hey, in the lower right corner, isn't that "Newman" from Seinfeld?!
"Let's get that photo I took of the pervert stalker hiding in the bushes and make it our album cover...."
Sears must've been having a sale on those suits!
You laugh, but you should hear this soulful mama belting out "These Boots Were Made For Walking" and "Hard Day's Night"! You'll laugh even harder...
And this is AFTER he pimped his ride!
What makes this so WTF isn't the clothes - it's the medieval dungeon they look so comfortable in...
And OTHER skiing songs?!?!?! That first one killed the dude!!
Where oh where to start - the guy's giant pointy elf shoes? The mysterious brown liquid seeping out from between the girl's legs and onto the floor? The Beep Beep poster with inexplicable ocean motif? The hemorroid donut mounted on a wall with garden trellis?
If Love Ain't Nothin' But a Business, guess who just declared bankruptcy?
Gene Simmons' Family Jewels - in an alternate HELL DIMENSION! Why do they make their women dress as couches that someone threw up on?
Carlsbad metal-core band Destroy the Runner has announced an "indefinite hiatus." According to a group statement, "We have sought to maintain musical integrity and honesty within all facets of our functioning, and unfortunately are not able to do so at this point in time..."
"Keep on the lookout for a softer, more experimental project with Nick Maldonado [guitar], Duane Reed [guitar, vocals], Marc Kohlbry [drums], Jeremiah Crespo [bass] and several others called Other Mountains. Also check out Chapter 14 with Chad Ackerman [vocals] and Tanner Sparks [bass, vocals]. And for the super heavy fans, be on the lookout for a very heavy, experimental band with Nick , Duane (vocals), Kyle (from Thieves and Liars), and our guitar tech Jason that is yet to be named."
Destroy the Runner singer Chad Ackerman told the Reader about one of his band's worst gigs. "In Cheyenne, Wyoming, we had a huge guarantee, and we were on tour with Lower Definition at the time. We were told that the show had been promoted for months. Keep in mind that we were in Cheyenne, haha. We all had hotel rooms that the promoter booked, an open bar, free meal at the restaurant, and a huge guest list."
"Two people showed up to the show! There were seriously two people. Ha! We felt so bad that everyone on the tour decided to close the open bar, and we played whatever songs the two kids wanted to hear. I think all the bands gave the kids free shirts too. That was pretty bad, though."
LOCALS ART ---- a few locals who've appeared in the Reader comix ---
More later!
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Thanks to everyone who came out to the Overheard and Famous in San Diego art gallery opening on Monday, March 29th at the Ruby Room! Bunches of photos and video clips coming soon -
The night before the opening reception, I heard my name on KPRI radio as I drove into San Diego, while randomly flipping stations. It was Cathryn Beeks on the Homegrown Hour, talking about the show - and then she played the Overheard in San Diego theme song!! I almost drove off the road - thanks, Cathryn!!
The Reverend Stickman, Carly-plus-one, me -- in case we've never met, howaya? --- and fellow cartoonatic Christie Maconnell, the Rock 'N' Roll Comics colorist who put up the strip display.
Happy Ron Hill played his "Famous Former Neighbors" song (which seems to imply that I think my "sh-t don't stink," heh heh), and Cathryn Beeks was joined by co-writer Sven-Erik Seaholm to mock me in song once again, with their "Overheard in San Diego" theme song.
Happy Ron, Bart Mendoza, and Carlos Olmeda, Collage Menage, Neener, Carnal Comics writer Jamie Ralph Gardner, videographers Duane and Susan, and random passersby...
The winner? Steve and the Pescadero Pickers !! Their tune tells of the summer that Bob "Gilligan" Denver moved next door to Steve in OB -----
Due to some confusion -- no doubt compounded by me being on vacation all week --- bandleader Steve wasn't notified in time to play it at the show, but you can checkitout - and all the song submissions, along with their final vote stats - at http://www.sandiegoreader.com/audioclips/sets/famous-former-neighbors/
All in all, it was terrific to see the Reader comic strips getting their own spotlight showcase - my thanks to the Ruby Room for letting me plaster my scribbles all over their walls and letting my friends and I play all night in their colorful sandbox! Thanks also to the artists who came out to do live art demonstrations, and you can checkout a selection of comic strips from the show all thru April at the RRoom --
Thanks also to my associates at the Reader who spearheaded fun stuff like the song contest ----
Now, it's back to being an obscure underemployed cartoonatic and itinerate writer-slash-blogger - surely, it's all downhill from here...
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HAPPY RON HILL "Famous Former Neighbors"
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OWES IT ALL TO THE MAN WITH NO NAME....
“We play hip-hop with a twist,” says Tim Beaman (aka Timmy B) of the trio OCT/Outta Control, who all moved to San Diego from Detroit six years ago in hopes of kickstarting their recording and performing career.
“We do the unexpected, like starting off a set with a crazy electric guitar solo and setting a sick Beastie Boy-style party vibe. We make music that reflects our life, which is pretty much a never ending struggle AND a big party, all at the same time. We don’t have sick cars or money, so we don’t rap about that.”
The band cites surprising inspirations, such as the Prince formerly known as Fresh, Will Smith. “He’s one of the sickest MCs in the game,” says Beaman. “If you don’t think so, check out his song ‘Freak This.’ We actually live our lives by that saying.”
Another big inspiration is a man whose name they don’t even know.
“We were in L.A. trying to get into record label offices to hand out our demo, even though we knew it wasn’t going to work. After getting thrown out of Capitol Records, we talked to the guy who threw us out for a while. He told us that he had thrown out 50 Cent and Kanye when they were still unsigned. After talking for a few minutes, he looked at us and said ‘If you’re good at what you do, don’t quit. It’ll happen for you too.’”
Outta Control has released three albums, as well as contributing to last year’s SDMA-nominated hip-hop compilation Best of Daygo City.
Get Uked to It (or San Diego Gets Uked) - 15 San Diego artists have their songs covered on Ukelele
By Bart Mendoza:It’s true, ukeleles get little respect in the music world. But with their portability and ease of use it’s easy to see the four stringed instruments appeal.
Long a favorite for fans of Hawaiian music and century old pop tunes, the current resurgence in popularity has seen many modern era tunes showing up in uke players set lists.
Here are 15 songs originally performed by San Diego based artists, recast for ukelele.
MUSTAINE MAKES ROCK VIDEO BASED ON SAN DIEGO TANK ATTACK
Noisecreep reports: On May 17, 1995, a U.S. Army veteran and unemployed plumber in San Diego, Shawn Timothy Nelson, snapped and stole an M60 Patton tank from a nearby National Guard Armory. He drove down the highway, crushing cars, fire hydrants and an RV before he was stopped and killed by police.
The headline-grabbing story forms the basis of Megadeth's new video for 'The Right to Go Insane,' the second single from the band's acclaimed 2009 disc Endgame. In the clip, which surprisingly features no performance footage, frontman Dave Mustaine is filmed sneaking onto a military facility, stealing a tank and playing crash-up derby through the streets.
Video footage from the cockpit shows Mustaine singing and laughing, while shots from a surveillance helicopter depict a missile gunsight tracking him as he pillages.
No word from the family of Shawn Timothy Nelson, who was killed by police on live TV after the stolen tank got stick on a highway divider, on what they think of famous neighbor Mustaine having so much fun with their tragic true-life story. (more Megadeth, 'The Right to Go Insane' -- Video Premiere )
NEW COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL MUSIC DATABASE IS LAUNCHED
If you wanna see a list of over 2,100 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 withRob 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/
By Bart Mendoza: In honor of the release of a new book on Jim Croce’s music, Anthology, here are a more than ten things that you might have overlooked about the music icon. The book includes music & lyrics + stories behind 40 tunes! Penned by Ingrid Croce, published by Hal Leonard) For more info, please visitwww.jimcroce.com
I also highly recommend the Jim Croce’ DVD Anthology, Have You Heard:
1)Jim Croce is now the third San Diego related artist to be portrayed on film or TV. In the 4th episode of ABC-TV’s, Life on Mars(2008), he is played by Don Puglisi, in conversation with the show’s star during a brief scene set in a night club.
2)Jim Croce’s album, Life & Times, has been immortalized at the Sleeveface site: http://www.sleeveface.com/?p=288 – from the site: “One or more persons obscuring or augmenting any part of their body or bodies with record sleeve(s) causing an illusion” – Amazing!
5)Frank Sinatra released a single of “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,” which hit #83 in 1974. Dean Martin then used the same arrangement of the song for his version. Here’s a Glen Miller Big Band arrangement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA3Eq8r8fGs
7)In 1977, Maureen McCormick (aka Marcia Brady) sang a version of “I’ll Just Have to Say I Love You InA Song” on the TV’s The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.
12)His songs have appeared in TV shows such as Eli Stone ("You Don't Mess Around With Jim")/ 2008), The West Wing ("Time in a Bottle" / 2003), The Greatest American Hero ("You Don't Mess Around With Jim" / 1981)
13)His songs have appeared in movies such as Home Alone 3 ("Bad Bad Leroy Brown"/ 1997) and The Ice Storm ("I Got a Name").
14)Jim Croce appeared on several TV shows including In Concert, Rock Concert and twice on NBC’s the Tonight Show: Aug. 15 1972 (other guests included Danny Thomas and the comedy duo Burns & Schrieber) and May 30 1973 (other guests included Karen Valentine)
Antimusic reports: Mike Keneally is set to launch his first full-band tour in nearly five years, bringing his ever-evolving, remarkably inventive musical vision to the Northeast US in early May for five shows in support of his latest Exowax Recordings release, Scambot 1.
From Keneally's well-documented recorded work as a guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist in Frank Zappa's last touring band, to his recordings and performances with Robert Fripp, Dethklok, Wayne Kramer, Steve Vai, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Andy Partridge and many others, he's earned a reputation as someone who can bring an intense, original musical voice to any situation. His extensive and wildly diverse original catalog of 19 albums and counting defies traditional classification, and concertgoers are regularly left awestruck by his band's high-wire-act execution of the eclectic material.
In a unique twist, this tour's Mike Keneally Band members also comprise the opening act, the band of Keneally's longtime bassist Bryan Beller (Steve Vai, Dethklok), whose intricate jazz/rock compositions and tasteful playing earned his sophomore album Thanks In Advance widespread acclaim.
The sneakily-titled "They're Both The Same Band" Northeast Tour 2010 features Keneally, Beller, drummer Joe Travers (Zappa Plays Zappa), and guitarists Rick Musallam (Ben Taylor, Byrd York) and Griff Peters (Billie Myers, Anika Paris). - more on this story
I have SO many problems with this bizarre Land of the Lost relic.
First, what's up with asking the kiddies to help that Sleestak EAT poor lil' Dopey?! "He craves raw, bloody meat and does not know which rope is attached to Dopey. Which is the right one?" And why's the Sleestak a toy, while the Dino is drawn?
"Puzzle" 1 instructs "Look into this sacred cave, then cover it. How many Sleestak can you remember having seen?" Fair 'nuff, that's a KIND of a puzzle. But then look at the effin answer key -- "Any humans who gaze upon our god will die." Geez, Muhammad much?
Plus, written as if by Sleestak, the answer key indicates that THIS IS A SLEESTAK-CREATED PUZZLE! Notice the possessive apostrophe in the puzzle title, "Sleestak's...."...No wonder they wanna trick kids into killing Dopey...
"Puzzle" 2 - not really a puzzle. "Grumpy the dinosaur surprised Will, Holly and Chaka while they were out on a walk. Can you solve the puzzle of how Will and Holly will escape?" Well, clearly, we can see that some mirror thingly blinds Grumpy. BUT...
"How will WILL AND HOLLY escape?" WTF, what about Chaka?! Those sick fukken Sleetak puzzlemakers made a snuff film, and this clip shows Chaka seconds before getting bit in two...and, BTW, how stoopid are Will and Holly that they can still be "surprised" by a thirty foot tall dinosaur, AND NOT A FREAKIN' TREE IN SIGHT!
So let's refer to the answer key as to how the two mentally challenged humans escape..."Hit Chaka with a rock, breaking his leg, then run." I say again - WTF?! The dumbass duo is supposed to sacrifice Chaka to the dino?!
And if the answers are written by Sleestak, why are they such Chaka haters - or do they simply wanna eat "raw and bloody meat" offa Will and Holly themselves, while Grumpy polishes off the hairy Oompa Loompa?
The answer to number 3? "Dopey is slower than even a Sleestak. He should fall easily to the wicked eviscerating claws."
Sid and Marty Krofft - the Owsleys of Saturday morning TV ---
"TOO MANY TRAILS, MAN" - OR "WHY I STOPPED TAKING PSYCHEDELIC DRUGS....."
Because who can get any work done with all THIS going on????
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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!
The government is handing out Trillions. Now you can too! Help spread the wealth and holiday cheer by forwarding this Trillion Dollar gift to all of your friends! Print and pass it on!
Shipping in Autumn 2010 from Bluewater Productions
ROCK 'N' ROLL COMICS - The Led Zeppelin Experience:
The Led Zeppelin saga is one of the wildest in rock history, and this graphic novel pulls no punches in dramatizing the backstage, behind-the-scenes story. From their early days as the New Yardbirds on through their rise to superstardom (and controversy), all five issues of the original Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics series are collected in one rockin’ volume, with art by Scott Pentzer (Razor), Marshall Ross (Deepest Dimension), David Neer (Sports Superstars), Francois Escalmel (Frank Zappa: Viva La Bizarre), and others. The collection also includes update material, bringing the saga up to 2010.
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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!
Here's a sneak peek at the first promo art for the locally-produced Rock 'N' Roll Comics: Hard Rock Heroes, a 400 page graphic novel shipping from Bluewater Productions in early 2010, as well as the 240 page Beatles Experience comic, the Pink Floyd Experience, Led Zeppelin Experience, the Elvis Presley Experience, and more -
JAS
First, here's the first look at the Elvis Presley Experience cover art:
And here's the scoop and a first look at the cover of the Pink Floyd Experience:
The Pink Floyd Experience: All five issues of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics series The Pink Floyd Experience have been out of print and in demand for over fifteen years. As showcased in Pink Floyd’s own official box CD set Shine On, the Floyd comics chronicle rock’s most enigmatic psychedelic warriors, from their early dayz with stoner icon Syd Barrett, through their split (and later reformation). With art by Marvel and DC star Ken Landgraf (Wolverine, Hawkman, Nightwing & Flamebird, etc.), the collection also includes update material, bringing the saga up to 2010.
Hard Rock Heroes: What goes together better than comics and rock music? With almost 300 pages of Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics, Hard Rock Heroes goes WAY beyond Behind the Music, to tell the real life, behind-the-scenes stories of rock’s most heavy hitters. Creators include Stuart Immonen(Superman: End of the Century),Ken Landgraf(Wolverine),Jay Allen Sanford(Overheard in San Diego..), Todd Loren(Beatles Experience), Scott Pentzer (Razor), Mike Sagara(Ninja High School), and many others.
Hard Rock Heroes is a book-length pictorial history, covering bands like Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Van Halen, Motley Crue, Poison, Megadeth, Pantera, Anthrax, Motorhead, Sammy Hagar, and more. The cinematic stories are realistically drawn, researched from countless photo and video archives, with an encyclopedic eye toward visual accuracy, dramatic flair, and journalistic depth.
Also includes the never-before published “missing” Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics #8 from 1990, on Skid Row. The lack of an eighth issue has vexed collectors and catalogers for years – exactly 20 years later, the story can finally be told, and collectors can finally own ALL the Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics!
As a bonus treat, Hard Rock Heroes also features the Motley Crue comic story from their official box CD set Music To Crash Your Car To II, released in 2004 and written and drawn by original Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics creators Lyndal Ferguson and Larry Nadolsky. Shipping February 2010.
(colors: Christie Maconnell)
"Great ideas, like the marriage of rock 'n' roll and comics, have the half-life of Uranium and will always be popular," says series co-creator Jay Allen Sanford, who has worked on over 200 reality-based comic books and thousands of similar cartoon strips for the San Diego Reader, as well as for magazines like Rip, Spin, and Oui. "The folks at Bluewater clearly have their fingers on the same pop culture pulse that enabled the original Rock 'N' Roll Comics to become one of the top-selling indie comics of the '90s. Truth is often stranger than fiction...and certainly much more interesting!"
The Beatles are bigger than ever, now available online for the first time digitally, on the Vegas stage in “Love,” and in the new Beatles: Rock Band video game. Now comes the most comprehensive and encyclopedic illustrated Beatles story ever, the Beatles Experience! Over 200 pages, dramatizing one of the most compelling tales in pop culture history, drawn from thousands of photos and interviews, meticulously researched and featuring stunning art by Mike Sagara (Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics) and Stuart Immonen (Legion of Super Heroes, Ultimate X-Men).
Covering the Beatles’ lives from birth and beyond their breakup, dramatized in dialogue and scene recreations more akin to a film bio than a mere documentary, the Beatles Experience also includes a Chronolog timeline going down each page, with encyclopedia background and footnotes detailing related events happening at the same time in the world, in music, and in the Beatles’ own tumultuous and extraordinary lives.
The Led Zeppelin Experience:
The Led Zeppelin saga is one of the wildest in rock history, and this graphic novel pulls no punches in dramatizing the backstage, behind-the-scenes story. From their early days as the New Yardbirds on through their rise to superstardom (and controversy), all five issues of the original Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics series are collected in one rockin’ volume, with art by Scott Pentzer (Razor), Marshall Ross (Deepest Dimension), David Neer (Sports Superstars), Francois Escalmel (Frank Zappa: Viva La Bizarre), and others. The collection also includes update material, bringing the saga up to 2010.
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
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...
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...
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...
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.)...
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...
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...
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...
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...
"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.
"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).
"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.
"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!
Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seatbelts and get ready to experience the Che Underground Rock-’n'-Roll Weekend, on July 30 and 31!
45 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE BEATLES PLAYING SAN DIEGO - A TRIBUTE SHOW AT LESTAT'S
Celebrating 45 years since The Beatles performed at Balboa Stadium in San Diego, August 28, 1965, Blindspot Records is hosting a special concert at Lestat’s. 
To read a detailed feature on the day the Beatles came to San Diego, see 
UNEXPECTED BEATLES ART - The Fab Four turn up in the oddest places... 
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.... 
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. 
FLAME-ON, CRAIGSLIST!! (BUT DON'T TOUCH MY EMMY) -
Wilson cites his main musical influences as the Beatles (“seventh chords”), Nirvana (“grooves”), and Yes (“harmonies”), but nowadays the founding member of the Gandhi Method -- and former bassist for Cathryn Beeks -- would just as soon plug into a video-editing board as an amp. 
Famous former neighbor Lester Bangs wrote of the tune’s Hippodrome debut in a 1971 article for Creem Magazine. “The Velvets launched into a new song that was one of the most incredible musical experiences of my concert career. Lou announced it as ‘Sister Ray, Part Two,’ but it sounded nothing like the previous song. It was built on the most dolorous riff imaginable, just a few scales rising and falling mournfully, somewhat like ‘Venus In Furs’ but less creaky, more deliberate and eloquent.” 
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SOLO TEMPLE PILOT
TODAY'S "WHAT THE F-CK" ALBUM COVER
After people checked out the 60 or so comic strip art boards, 
Happy Ron, Bart Mendoza, and Carlos Olmeda, Collage Menage, Neener, Carnal Comics writer Jamie Ralph Gardner, videographers Duane and Susan, and random passersby...
BTW, we had six song entries - 
OWES IT ALL TO THE MAN WITH NO NAME....
Long a favorite for fans of Hawaiian music and century old pop tunes, the current resurgence in popularity has seen many modern era tunes showing up in uke players set lists. 
THE RETURN OF ROCK 'N' ROLL COMICS!
Also includes the never-before published “missing” Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics #8 from 1990, on Skid Row. The lack of an eighth issue has vexed collectors and catalogers for years – exactly 20 years later, the story can finally be told, and collectors can finally own ALL the Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics!
As a bonus treat, Hard Rock Heroes also features the Motley Crue comic story from their official box CD set Music To Crash Your Car To II, released in 2004 and written and drawn by original Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics creators Lyndal Ferguson and Larry Nadolsky. 
(colors: Christie Maconnell)
"Great ideas, like the marriage of rock 'n' roll and comics, have the half-life of Uranium and will always be popular," says series co-creator Jay Allen Sanford, who has worked on over 200 reality-based comic books and thousands of similar cartoon strips for the San Diego Reader, as well as for magazines like Rip, Spin, and Oui. "The folks at Bluewater clearly have their fingers on the same pop culture pulse that enabled the original Rock 'N' Roll Comics to become one of the top-selling indie comics of the '90s. Truth is often stranger than fiction...and certainly much more interesting!" 
The Led Zeppelin Experience:
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.... 
