East county painter captures the essence of rock and roll's past

Of the subjects that appeal to fine artist Jessie Buddell, only one of them is still alive. That would be Grace Slick. So far, the rest are Jerry Garcia, Jim Morrison, Tommy Bolin, Keith Moon, Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix. She's …

Anthony Smith tells all in his self-penned memoir about life in the music industry fast lane

There was farting and crude lyrics sung over familiar songs, gay jokes, butt jokes, frequent and loud belly laughter, rough-housing, and a general tone of adolescent mischief. Also, Peepers introduced a new form of drug abuse to my band members: …

"Nothing has changed from your company's article a few weeks ago. Just a careful reminder: I won't hesitate to slap the Reader with a defamation lawsuit should you write untruths... There is no additional news here." That was what Anthology …

Musicians and music industry locals name their favorite hometown CD releases of the year

DIANA DEATH / Rock N Roll Preservation Society: The New Kinetics In Stereo "I'm stoked they put out their second album on vinyl, and the last track on side one, "Reverie," is a haunting doo-wop number you just gotta hear." …

Local jazz musicians gather in a private jam session to sharpen their skills

I'm traveling north on the 15 freeway in a small car with a drummer and a trumpet player. It gets dark early this time of year, and the premature evening has come with fog. We proceed at a snail's pace. …

Jessica Crosby of IB re-invents that scene from the movie Pitch Perfect, the one where Anna Kendrick sings and gets jiggy at the same time with a drinking cup

A commercial photographer named Jessica Crosby sent me a link to a music video she made and posted on Youtube. It's just her, doing an inspired cover version of "Cups" from the film Pitch Perfect. I admit -- at first, …

East County high school marching bands perform for each other in the season finale

"Last year, I beheaded someone." Heather Luck, flutist, is the instrumental music director at Steele Canyon High School in Rancho San Diego. "It was really cool. The kids loved it." "We did a Civil War show," says Michael Benge from …

B-grade Hollywood thrillers and drive-ins were the inspiration for this collection of spook rock tunes released by local duo Picus Maximus.

When nighttime has fallen and the township retires, a flutter awakens a young woman's desires. --Rick Sparhawk Nothing better than two old and gifted friends in the studio, right? In this case, the two happen to be Jim Soldi and …

A local jazz legend jams and talks about then, and now.

The jam at Haritna, in La Mesa: on an achingly hot Thursday evening my friend Mousa, a giant of a man, slings up his tenor sax in the semi-dark and from memory, blows the opening line of "Sunflower" into the …

"He's blinking," says Breanne Arrigo Reilly, "and he's swallowing. They said he never would." She is talking about her nephew, Jesse James Arrigo, who very nearly drowned earlier this year. "The accident happened when he was 10 months old." Jesse …

"I'm 43," says Catfish Comstock after he sets a heavy Mesa Boogie amp down on the backstage loading dock. "And I'm still able to do this." But the strain of heavy lifting shows on his face. Comstock crosses the parking …

“Bonnie Wright has given new artists and different genres of music, including ‘contemporary’ classical, not only a home, but an audience.” Diane Salisbury, Executive Director of the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus emails to tell me that Wright will be …

Pump it up when you don't really need it. Pump it up until you can feel it. "It's a big risk, doing the Costello thing, but I feel very positive about it." Guitarist Ariel Levine, of Ocean Beach by way …

Cap Lillard has died. The word from his family is that he passed away peaceably sometime early Monday morning in his sleep, of complications from diabetes. The first time I met Cap Lyons Dunn Lillard was at a strip bar, …

I live in my dream world. A lot of my songs come from dreams. Sharon DuBois and I have been talking for a half hour or so at Cosmo's in La Mesa. I excuse myself, tell her I'm off to …

"There are some genres that are harder to play than others." Brittni Paiva (pronounced pie--vah) 23, of Hawaii, is a multi award-winning instrumentalist best known for what she can do with: the ukulele. "But I really don't believe there are …

"I dated a girl who was a schoolteacher and a yoga instructor for two years. She lived in Pacific Beach. I spent a ton of time down there. You could say I lived there for a summer," says a Los …

Back 2 Black AC/DC tribute During a grand entrance Paul Howie, in the role of Angus Young, does a stage leap that accidentally cracks the head stock of his only guitar. Tuning pegs are broken, rendering the instrument out to …

A couple of weeks ago while at the grand opening of Rock and Roll San Diego, I heard a sound coming from one of the practice rooms that grabbed both ears. "Pretty good," said my companion for the evening, "if …

"I'm so excited about this!" It's Lynn Willard on the phone, talking about his latest band. He calls it the Storey/Willard Project. "When people hear this music, man, they're gonna (expletive deleted.)" "Jim Storey's song writing is like an undiscovered …