"There are two types of folk music: quiet folk music and loud folk music. I play both." In his incarnation this past Saturday at AcousticMusicSanDiego in Normal Heights, Dave Alvin was the quiet Dave, backed …

From the front of the room, Stephen Whitburn, candidate for District 4 county supervisor, introduced himself to the 30 residents sitting inside the Joyce Beers Community Center in Hillcrest during a May 11 county supervisor …

Let’s say you’re in your early 20s and you have a band with a really cool sound — way ahead of your time. And let’s say you record a masterpiece album, but your record company …

“I love San Diego and miss it,” says Japanese Sunday mastermind Eric Kusanagi, who lived in Golden Hill and worked downtown at Sushi Deli. “It’s where I was reborn.” The core member of dreamy shoegaze …

We’re tightening the financial belt here in Kelly land. We’re not starving, mind you, but unnecessary expenses are being trimmed. Meals out, movies, lattes, golf — all done for the time being. And I’m trying …

Thirty-Five Years AgoIn general, I avoid eating at places with the words “jolly” or “happy.” Not because I am a misanthrope, but because the chain that calls itself the Jolly Ox serves little to give …

While Poison front man Bret Michaels recovers from a potentially fatal brain hemorrhage, San Diego writer-psychic David Moye recalls interviewing the L.A.-based rocker in 2007, after which he says he gave Michaels a psychic reading. …

“The Reverending Story is designed to explain the strange workings in my past lives,” says North Park resident Reverend Stickman of his musical stage show debuting June 24 at Swedenborg Hall. “The idea behind the …

Two teenage boys walk into Steel Guitars of North County in Oceanside, scan the assortment of vintage oddities arranged on the walls, do a quick appraisal of the pack of 50-somethings trying them out, turn …

“We’re a rock band with heavy electronic elements,” says singer-guitarist Ephraim Wecker of San Marcos–based Hello Drama. “Our music is dance-y and energetic, hopefully something you can have fun listening to.” Hello Drama’s track “Here …

Thursday 13San Diego’s new math-punk supergroup Ghetto Blaster, featuring Ryan Foxe (Fishwife), John Cota (Hostile Combover, Rats Eyes), Greg Sudor (Irradio), and Cole Mears (Combover), will make their world premiere at Bar Pink tonight. Dorian …

Sundays too my father got up early and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold, then with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather made banked fires blaze. No one ever …

What are you reading? “Game Change, by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin. It’s about the last presidential election. I normally avoid politics, but my fiancée bought it, and she said I had to read it. …

Damon Lane County Park, two miles east of the Mount Helix summit, serves more than local residents’ needs for a peaceful commune with nature. “The park was put there,” says Jack Phillips, chair of the …

The Tour of California (TOC) has been the preeminent cycling race in North America since its first go-around in 2006. The eight-day, 810-mile route attracts the best teams and best cyclists in the world. Andrew …

Sometimes when she talks, a cigarette dangles from the right side of her mouth, the tip bobbing up and down — à la George C. Scott — with each word. At other times she leans …

Is there life on Broadway, east of the I–5? I’ve got a couple of answers to that. Feta 1, Turkey 2. No, we’re not talking World Cup soccer scores. Just the two sandwiches you gotta …

The ever-enchanting Mistral (née Azzura Point) has been remade again with a renovated dining room and new chefs. The executive chef for the whole resort property is Marc Ehrler, a hotshot direct from France. The …

Benjamin’s Boot Camp As longtime fans of Mr. Benjamin’s Cotillion, we were thrilled to find the story “Don’t Look Down,” with its much-deserved praise for Peter Benjamin and his dance class in the May 6 …

Matt: Can I take my handgun into space when I go, or will I need to defend myself with a laser weapon like everybody else? I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to buy new …

That’s Matthew Richards of Matthew Richards Wines over there in the picture, and while it’s a decent enough head shot, it’s not really the right pic to accompany this piece. The right pic would be …

Donovan’s Steak and Chop House, the San Diego–based chain of meat eateries, is prepared to admit that it failed to disclose its political contributions by not filing a so-called major donor report as required by …

Quarterly lobbying reports are in, and they reveal the usual lineup by state legislators and their staffs for gifts parceled out by a variety of special interests. During the quarter, Sempra Energy spent a total …

San Diego city councilman Carl DeMaio’s campaign to qualify his controversial city contracting measure — the so-called Competition and Transparency in City Contracting Initiative — for the city ballot isn’t hurting for money, thanks to …

Memories of my decade in Normal Heights came stumbling back when I received the following email from my old friend Hank, who still lives there: “Yo, I want to apologize for my rant yesterday. I …

Silverwood. The name comes from the glittering effect of sunlight upon the dark-green leaves of the coast live oak. Scores of these trees, some of them two-century-old giants scarred by wildfire, shade the canyon floor …

On May 4, PBS’s Frontline show interviewed a former recruiter for Ashford University, the online college that is part of San Diego’s newest corporate darling, Bridgepoint Education. She complained about the pressure to enroll students. …

NOTE: This show was canceled at press time. At the age of 17, Mick Taylor became a member of the legendary Bluesbreakers, following in the footsteps of heavy predecessors Peter Green and another guitarist often …

John Meeks doesn’t just listen to classic country, he lives it. “That was the music on the radio in the car when I was a kid.” His dad performed country music in honky-tonks across New …

I headed down an isolated desert dirt road in Arizona to the experimental community of Arcosanti, not knowing quite what to expect. Arcosanti is a creative laboratory for innovative design strategies to combat urban sprawl. …