They Did It for Free

"We didn't tell a lot of people that it was just a rehearsal for our Casbah show," says George Vidaurri, bassist for Uncle Joe's Big Ol' Driver (and, currently, The Johnson Account). Vidaurri says the unadvertised show at the Tower Bar in City Heights the night before their Casbah reunion gig (December 10) wasn't so much a "secret" show as it was a practice set.

"We haven't had everyone in the same room for ten years," says Vidaurri. From 1990 until 1995, Uncle Joe's was a vital part of a local music scene that included Rocket From the Crypt, Inch, and Lucy's Fur Coat. San Diego was publicized nationally as "the next Seattle," a reference to the Northwest's early-'90s band boom that yielded Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden.

Vidaurri, still local, works in construction. Drummer Paul Brewin builds displays for Balboa Park museums. Andrew McKeag, guitarist/vocalist, books a club in Seattle and tours with the Presidents of the United States of America. Singer/guitarist Dave Jass works for a bank in Minnesota.