Rogue Band Thwarted!

"We knew we would not be allowed to play [the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon], so we decided to take it over and do our own thing," says Dune Murderous of Defamation League. The local hip-hop group (which provided the soundtrack to the video produced by UCSD porn celebrity Steve York) arranged to set up their own unapproved route-side performance in the parking lot of the Barnett Avenue Adult superstore. Porn star and gubernatorial candidate Mary Carey was to appear with them during their show.

When contacted about the plans six days before the event, marathon entertainment director Shauna Buffington was not pleased.

"A hip-hop band playing in a porno is probably not appropriate [for the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon]," said Buffington. "Normally, [unauthorized bands] get shut down." She said permits are secured by the city for each band to play at each site along the run. "People play in their own front yards, like in Crown Point, and that's fine. But if they play on public property or at businesses, we've made them stop." She said she wouldn't "necessarily" call the cops herself, but she said the authorities are usually successful at getting rogue bands to stop.

Two days before the event, the band and Carey appeared on 91X to talk about their plans. That was a big mistake, says band manager Sam Elhag.

"Mary was not supposed to talk about it [on the air]. She was only supposed talk about [another promotional event] we were doing Saturday. Two hours after we were on 91X, the cops came to the store and told the manager as soon as anyone plugged in an amp, the store and everyone involved would get cited. We wanted to continue and move it to the roof, but the bookstore said they can't take the risk because of the kind of business they are in."

Elhag doubts the SDPD issued the warning of their own volition after hearing the statement on 91X.

"Cops aren't that proactive. They don't give a crap about this."