Samuel Lopez says tomorrow night’s show with noise artist Justice Yeldham and the San Diego Noise Crew promises to be a unique evening.

“What can you say about a guy who plays a sheet of broken glass by using his face and a contact mike taped to the glass? The guy is a beast. There’s video of him posted on the Web showing him sloshing around in his own blood and mucus. People faint at his shows, and it’s not because of his music, dig? It’s a front-row horror show!” Lopez – whose alter ego is local one-man noise-band Zsa Zsa Gabor – is also on the bill.

Yeldham turns broken glass into musical instruments by amplifying the sheets using a powerful transducer designed for grand pianos. While pressing his face against the glass, he makes mouth and throat noises that are fed through a variety of signal processors and distortion devices, resulting in something at least akin to musical phrasing.

“San Diego’s noise scene is really offbeat, more so than cities a lot larger,” says Lopez. “We’ve had to create our own community because no one else would have it.” The San Diego Noise Crew is a loosely affiliated group of avant-garde performers, including Riververb, Van Clitt, Oni, Reverse Sunglasses, Author and Punisher, VV Morgue, Salons, Kittycat Lollipop, Powdered Wigs, and others. “Just call us sound deviants,” says Lopez.

Justice Yeldham plays his face tomorrow, March 21, at the Smog Shop on National City Boulevard, along with Zsa Zsa Gabor, Fistula, and Reverse Sunglasses.

– Jay Allen Sanford