Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Where Beer Is Cheaper

Five years ago, Camp Pendleton "E" clubs (the E stands for enlisted) hosted civilian bands for the entertainment of U.S. Marines. The manager of one of those clubs, Tracer's, would book three punk bands on one night so soldiers would stay on base and not drive drunk. One of those Marines explained why he thought the idea to bring bands on base wouldn't work.

"Ordinarily you wouldn't want to be caught dead in an E club because you might be labeled as a geek or a loser," said the Marine in 2001, when there were five clubs on Camp Pendleton. Since then, all but one club, the Double Deuce, have closed down.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"It's not cool to go [to the Double Deuce] at the moment," says Charles Price, 28, a Navy corpsman from Louisville, Kentucky, who lives on base and is a singer/songwriter/guitarist. "Something has to be wrong. Maybe it's their advertising."

Melvia Robinson, who manages the Double Deuce and the adjoining Taco Bell, says, "This year we had no bands. A few months ago we had a [female] impersonator who looked like Cher. And Saturday we have Charles."

Price approached Robinson about playing at the Double Deuce. "This is a place that has nothing to lose," he says. "They didn't listen to my music. I told them I was an acoustic musician, and they booked me right there. Of course, I'm not getting paid."

Robinson says the reason E clubs have closed down is because so many Marines are deployed in Iraq. Price does not agree.

"Look at how many people are on base right now," says Price. "There are tons of people on base. It's larger than the town I'm from.... What I've seen is that Marines would rather go somewhere else like the Gaslamp or wherever to have a good time. But if you stay on base, beer is cheaper and you save gas. I can walk back to my bunk [from the Double Deuce]."

Charles Price appears tomorrow at Jitters Coffee Pub in Oceanside. Free admission.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

For nutty pies at Pizza by Aromi in La Mesa

Sicilian cousins add to the Italian goodness they dish out around Lake Murray

Five years ago, Camp Pendleton "E" clubs (the E stands for enlisted) hosted civilian bands for the entertainment of U.S. Marines. The manager of one of those clubs, Tracer's, would book three punk bands on one night so soldiers would stay on base and not drive drunk. One of those Marines explained why he thought the idea to bring bands on base wouldn't work.

"Ordinarily you wouldn't want to be caught dead in an E club because you might be labeled as a geek or a loser," said the Marine in 2001, when there were five clubs on Camp Pendleton. Since then, all but one club, the Double Deuce, have closed down.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"It's not cool to go [to the Double Deuce] at the moment," says Charles Price, 28, a Navy corpsman from Louisville, Kentucky, who lives on base and is a singer/songwriter/guitarist. "Something has to be wrong. Maybe it's their advertising."

Melvia Robinson, who manages the Double Deuce and the adjoining Taco Bell, says, "This year we had no bands. A few months ago we had a [female] impersonator who looked like Cher. And Saturday we have Charles."

Price approached Robinson about playing at the Double Deuce. "This is a place that has nothing to lose," he says. "They didn't listen to my music. I told them I was an acoustic musician, and they booked me right there. Of course, I'm not getting paid."

Robinson says the reason E clubs have closed down is because so many Marines are deployed in Iraq. Price does not agree.

"Look at how many people are on base right now," says Price. "There are tons of people on base. It's larger than the town I'm from.... What I've seen is that Marines would rather go somewhere else like the Gaslamp or wherever to have a good time. But if you stay on base, beer is cheaper and you save gas. I can walk back to my bunk [from the Double Deuce]."

Charles Price appears tomorrow at Jitters Coffee Pub in Oceanside. Free admission.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Songwriter Sanctuary, B-Side Players, The Crawdaddys, Saint Luna, Brawley

Reunited, in the round, and onstage in Normal Heights, East Village, Little Italy, Encinitas
Next Article

Birdwatching bonanza, earliest sunset of the year, bulb planting time

Venus shines its brightest
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader