It took the producers from ABC’s reboot of The Gong Show three attempts before they got Flashpants to bite. Their persistence paid off. The group decided to go for it, even though they knew crashing …

Earlier this year, news broke that a longtime eatery in North Park, The Red Fox Steakhouse and Piano Bar, was going to vacate its current location in the Lafayette Hotel. It came as a surprise …

Quan Nguyen recently found two new members to play in his fledgling pop-punk band, Cinematic Century. It wasn’t as easy of a search as he had anticipated. “It was a lot harder than I thought …

You don’t have to do anything this holiday season. Despite what the song says, you don’t have to deck the halls, join the chorus, or don any sort of gay apparel. You don’t have to …

Most people familiar with Alfred Howard know him as the lyricist for the bands associated with the Redwoods music collective. When acts such as Dani Bell & the Tarantist and Birdy Bardot gig, Howard can …

Drums, giants, and Mother Goose Stargazing in Anza-Borrego 652 Palm Canyon Drive Borrego Springs This year, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park was officially designated an International Dark Sky Community, thanks to years of concerted effort to …

Chris Prieto’s only prior experience with a musical instrument was playing saxophone in the fifth grade. After becoming enthralled by old-time and country roots music a decade ago, Prieto decided to play the banjo. Four …

Live music and automobile dealership at the multi-use Centre in Escondido

Dive into STIG and their complex world of musical improvisation

A little bit of scene

Makers of the documentary Pick It Up! Ska In The 90s recently waged a quite successful Kickstarter campaign. The filmmakers set-out to crowdsource a rather modest $40,000 and (as of early August) have nearly tripled …

After a two-year break, the very elderly men of (primarily) Weezer tribute act Geezer are back action. The band’s retirement in Florida did not proceed as smoothly as planned. “Our guitar player [Dylan Martinez Sr.] …

Gayle Skidmore may call Amsterdam her home now, but she recently returned to San Diego before embarking on an eight date US tour — a “quick three-week jaunt out to Cleveland and back.” She has …

Dennis Sheridan attended many shows in the Louisville DIY punk circuit while he was in high school, but never picked up an instrument until he was in college. When he finally did, it was an …

The Pamo Valley is situated to the north of Ramona. It is part of the Palomar Ranger District of the Cleveland National Forest. The region is bookended by Lake Sutherland to the east, and Rancho …

Jason York (Parade of Horribles, Civil Unrest) has been organizing the Punk Rock Food Drive since 2009. The initial event at Bar Leucadian included a performance by his old band, Black Seven, and raised about …

A Ship In the Woods is a creative collective that was founded in 2010. The original location was in the hills of Del Mar, but in 2015 the ship sailed to a property adjacent to …

Longtime Donkeys Timothy Denardo, Anthony Lukens, and Sam Sprague have been visiting Disneyland together since they were kids. In early 2017, they added trash-picking to their theme park itinerary. “We were just in line at …

Don’t get rid of all the guitars - Andrés Villalobos grew-up in Chula Vista. He has memories his mothers “cleaning the house with Bee Gees just blaring in the kitchen.” The first show he ever …

“Sppike” Mike Muellenberg has been a musician in Southern California for nearly his entire life. He has played in bands for most of that time period, and knows first-hand how difficult it is to draw …

Early last fall, a developer named Weston Harmer hosted a meet-and-greet with neighbors who live adjacent to a bluff known as The Gateway to Encinitas. The property is just south of La Costa Avenue and …

Though their name was inspired by the title of the Bubba Sparxxx single “Ms. New Booty,” Miss New Buddha are a far cry from mid-2000s, sugar-shaker rap. Instead, the band traffics in a sound reminiscent …

In early April, Andrew McKeag (Uncle Joe's Big Ol' Driver) was hanging out with some friends in Santa Paula. The crew were working on motorcycles all day, and, on a whim, decided to fire up …

Jon Gates had a lot of on-air practice while he was working as a producer on the Bob and Coe morning show on KGB 101.5. Outside of the studio, he developed a rapport with Tyler …

Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett met at a Little Feat recording session in the mid-70s. Barrere was a full-time member of the band, and Tackett was a hot session musician. After Little Feat broke-up in …

After 12 years, San Diego Guitar Repair recently left their storefront in University Heights and moved to a new location on the 6700 block of El Cajon Boulevard, about a mile from San Diego State. …

Everybody loves a great underdog story, even when it comes to live music venues. Instead of focusing on some of the bigger players (Belly Up/Observatory/Casbah/HOB), let’s zero in on some of the smaller venues that …

Representatives from three of the dockless bikeshare companies attended an East Village Association meeting at the San Diego Central Library on March 8. Dockless bikes are a relatively new experiment in San Diego, but their …

The Reader recently reported that Discount Fabrics on Adams Avenue will be shutting down due to the sale of their building. The story mentioned that the establishment (located at 3325 Adams Avenue) was once a …

When Authentic Sellout guitarist Christian Borja pens songs, he tends to envision images that correlate with the lyrics. While he was writing “Radiate,” many of these images were post-apocalyptic. Vocalist Sulo King landing the band …

After graduating from Helix High School in 1985, Steve Moramarco left San Diego to study theater at UCLA. He befriended Jack Black in college and went on to front a series of bands, most of …

The future of public access to the Carlsbad Highlands Ecological Reserve for the recreational set appears to be up in the air once again. After trails were closed last summer, an unofficial truce seemed to …

After spending time performing with Cape May and the Swedish Models, local bassist Mark Wiskowski joined the Jones Revival in the late 2000s. The cover band plays all over town, but perhaps most often at …

Former 91X DJ Marco Collins resides in Seattle now, but he still rents a storage space in San Diego. The unit is notable because it houses a large amount of unique music memorabilia that he …

The Blue Guitar has undergone many changes since it was founded in 1961. It appears as if its final transformation may be an upcoming disappearing act. “Yuris Zeltins was our shop founder, he has now …

When Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson and his buddy Chip Roberts announced their “Cowboys in the Campfire” tour, the idea was that they would play unusual venues — rooms that don’t usually host rock shows. Andrew …

Did the punk rawker in you notice something odd this year? Labor Day weekend came and went minus an Awesome Fest. Fear not, faithful festival attendee, the event is still on for its 11th year …

Matt Lamkin and his girlfriend moved down to Ensenada in 2012. At the time, Lamkin was still playing in the Soft Pack and, as he explains it, “If we went on tour it didn’t really …

For a number of years now, I have pedaled eastward from my house near Morley Field with the goal of eventually depositing myself on a stool at True North Tavern, on 30th Street just south …

After a five-year break, former M-Theory owner Eric Howarth is getting back into the brick-and-mortar record-store business. His new shop will be a mere stone’s throw away from the old M-Theory location on the corner …

At around 11 p.m. on Monday, October 30, Tommy Sayles headed out to walk his dog in front of his apartment on Kansas Street in University Heights. He quickly stumbled upon a crime in progress. …

The Chi Club played its first official show at an apartment party in Ocean Beach in 2005. There would be many more gigs and lineup changes before the band called it a day in 2013, …

Mother’s Saloon, one of a handful of venues in Ocean Beach that hosts live music, recently canceled all their upcoming shows. The venue had primarily been having live bands on the weekends, but the bar …

The storefront for Global Tile & Marble, a Kearny Mesa tile-and-marble contractor specializing in home renovations, had a major fire on February 13. The structure suffered extensive damage and, afterward, was basically “just a black …

Stefanie Sekich has dealt with drones near her home in San Carlos on three occasions. The first time, she was outside enjoying a glass of wine and didn’t think much of it. She thought it …

A short article from the website DeadState has been making the local rounds on Facebook of late. The title is, “This is quite possibly the worst music video in the history of earth.” The “possible …

During their initial run, local rock revivalists Dirty Sweet took to the road in epic fashion. Early on, they got lucky and scored the opening slot on Jimmy Eat World’s 2004 tour. But it was …

Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World, is a new documentary that celebrates the contributions Native American musicians made to popular music. The film tells the stories of artists such as Link Wray, Robbie Robertson, …

The Redwoods collective started its musical journey in 2015. Designed akin to a modern-day Muscle Shoals or Stax, the Redwoods use an in-house collection of session players that back the label’s individual artists. The label …

When you think of genius business moves in 2017, opening a used-record shop doesn’t immediately spring to mind. Since the advent of Napster in 1999, the general trend for record stores has been death as …