Louis Valenzuela

Pleasure Fix

We’ve seen plenty of local bands who are into pleasuring, from the Pleasure Barons with hedonistic heroes Country Dick Montana and Mojo Nixon through Pleasure Device, Pleasure Model, and even Pleasure Victims. Sisters Ariel and Emily Schwartz aim to deliver a Pleasure Fix with their jangly blend of blues and punk that they call “blunk.” The band was formed in 2012 while Ariel was studying marketing at SDSU and Emily was an SDSU theater major. It’s been a couple of years since the release of their Possessor EP, which came with a video directed by Grant Reinero (Focus Group, Stewardess) that juxtaposes gothic church imagery with footage of a strip club and a woman shooting up in the bathroom. Since then, “We’ve been busy outside and inside the studio, putting the finishing touches on Live Fast DY,” according to the band. Their Facebook page includes video of their performance at this year’s SXSW Fest in Austin Texas, where they played a Roxxx TV House Session. The Soda Bar bill includes another sister duo, L.A.-based Beah and Cecilia Romero, aka psych-grunge-punk rockers Flames of Durga, who briefly cited San Diego as their hometown.

Nena Anderson

New Reveille, listed by Rolling Stone as one of the Ten New Country Artists You Need to Know in 2018, headlines a concert on the North Promenade opened by Encinitas-raised singer-songwriter Nena Anderson, who’s been performing locally since the early ‘90s. “I play Americana with a mixture of country, blues, and rock,” she says, “with songs kind of in the style of Lucinda Williams or Chris Isaak, but with a voice more like Patsy Cline…blues players like to call me a jazz singer. Jazz players like to call me a blues singer. I am both and neither. I write a lot of country songs.” She’s also played in several jazz duos and trios, as well as filling out the ranks of bands such as Lucky Scandal & the Many Shades of Sin, 47Combo, Cash’d Out, the Neverout, Brawley, Blue Largo, the Jonny Viau All-Stars, the 3 Deuces, the Golden Hill Ramblers, and fronting Nena Anderson & the Mules. Several of her records have been released in Poland, Turkey, Russia, Greece, Germany, Belgium, South Korea, and parts of Asia. Away from the mic, Anderson has been surfing since she was seven years old, she collects glass star lanterns, she hates to be photographed, and she’s been known to author a cooking and food blog.

N-E-1

Anita Martinez

“This will be the 35th Anniversary of our first album release,” say local 1980s ska-punk rockers N-E-1 via email, “so we’ll be releasing a new studio recording and video at the Bancroft to commemorate it.” Originally known as the Cartunes, the group was founded by Timothy Cien, Manny Cien, Rob Glickman (who was 16 when he joined the band), and sax player Eddie Croft. They performed at clubs like Escondido’s Distillery East Nightclub and opened for the Clash, Madness, UB40, Oingo Boingo, and Translator, as well as appearing on local TV shows like Club 33, and the 91X Rocks to Riches Showcase (which they won). Moderate success was achieved with their debut full-length So We Go, followed by the somewhat less ska-influenced Moon Dogs LP, but things went the way that things tend to go with bands, and a 1987 farewell gig was their last performance as N-E-1 for over a quarter century. The reunited roster for this show will feature the classic lineup of Manny Cien and Tim Cein, Eddie Croft, and Rob Glickman, along with Barry Brown (who was in Heavy on the 7 with Croft and the Ciens). “We’ve only played a handful of showcases over the past year or so. We prefer the showcases and like to keep them spread out a little.” The bill includes Beta 7, which features two former members of G-Spot.

Petty Saints

When the Ataris headline Brick by Brick on Sunday, the bill will include one of our most upwardly bound local acts, the Petty Saints. Describing their music as “earnest working class anthems, with the heart of the Boss and the scrappiness of Strummer,” the group is fronted by singer-guitarist Ciaran O’Reilly, who moved from the UK to San Diego in 2016. The band also features guitarist Brett Reeves (the Drags), and two former members of Youth Envy, drummer Chaz Riley and bassist Dan Rucker. Their Brit rock-influenced album Wild Young Love was released last year, and they recently appeared on SoundDiego and on ListenSD with Tim Pyles. A raucous snippet of “Wild Young Love” can be sampled on their Facebook page. Also appearing are locals Ready Set Survive, who play high energy punk anthems (“Black and Blue” and “Through Bloodshot Eyes”) and mildly psychedelic jams (“Into the Unknown” and “Everyday is Halloween”). Having made their recorded debut in 2017 with a self-titled EP, they recently released two new singles, “Perfection” and “Young and Dumb,” both featuring new violinist Regina Marie.

Louis Valenzuela

“It’s not the kind of Jazz Jam where anybody can sign up to get onstage with Louis and play,” said the Rosie O’Grady’s staffer who answered my query about the Monday Jazz Jam with Louis Valenzuela. “He has a set group of guys that he plays with. It’s more of an all-star showcase than an open mic demonstration or something.” The weekly sets were launched by Valenzuela in Hillcrest at the long-gone Busalacchi’s restaurant before relocating in 2017 to the Normal Heights pub, where not even NFL season can silence the players (although they’re not allowed to take the stage until after the game wraps, which can make for unpredictable set times). Valenzuela, who teaches at Chula Vista’s Avant Garde Music Company, is a vet of area ensembles such as the Humankind, Dornob, A Thousand Butterflies, Juice Box, and the Afrojazziacs. He also hosts regular R&B sessions at Riviera Supper Club & Turquoise Room.