The last time I saw Living Colour was a clip of them performing on the Arsenio Hall Show. They played “Cult of Personality” and tore down the house. Arsenio was elated. This was the late …

Fresh off a food-fueled feud with late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, Morrissey rolled into town and delivered a rocking set at the Balboa Theatre downtown. Appearing forlorn as usual, Morrissey kept the ranting against …

Parquet Courts' Light Up Gold is all sorts of what indie-rock should be heading toward in 2013 — clever lyrics, catchy song craft, infectious hooks, and an irresistible, giddy feel. It's like a stoner trapped …

The punk-rock masses came out for a pre-Christmas “X mass” at the Casbah. It was a different type of spiritual gathering than your traditional church service, but for those of us that worship at the …

A Thing Called Divine Fits could also be called a thing that Britt Daniel (Spoon) and Daniel Boeckner (Wolf Parade) came up with during downtime from their full-time bands. A Thing Called Divine Fits could …

Mike Watt and his loyal Missingmen landed in San Diego for a second time this year to deliver an encore performance of the band's rock opera Hyphenated-Man. The trio tore into the piece with a …

Ex-Grandaddy mastermind and current Montana mainstay Jason Lytle played an intimate show at the Casbah for a modest crowd on a late October night. Though there were probably 30 or so heads at the club, …

As part of an on-going concert series sponsored by Filter magazine, Divine Fits rolled into San Diego for the first time with a free set for anyone willing to brave a late Monday night. Though …

The big question when seeing Dinosaur Jr. is always "To earplug, or not to earplug?" On this night at the Belly Up, I decided to strike a happy medium. I set up camp at the …

The last album by Southern California alt-rockers Redd Kross came out in 1997. Fifteen years later, we finally have a follow-up. You know music has been sliced, diced, and sub-genred to death when a straight-up …

The second of three Guided By Voices albums arriving in 2012 is 21 songs strong in under 40 minutes. That means each track is clocking in at an average of less than two minutes. Good …

Whoa...a new Beachwood Sparks album in 2012? Where in the world did this come from? Perhaps it’s from a universe in which every band owes a substantial debt to the Eagles, the Grateful Dead, Gram …

Once you have seen enough live rock and roll, you learn that the best part of a set is the spontaneous moment all the players onstage click on something completely unplanned. Roger Waters's touring production …

As a gift to the good people of San Diego, the reunited fIREHOSE crammed a Belly Up set between their two Coachella weekend appearances. The band walked onstage with little fanfare to set up some …

Itai, Erica, and Neil are no longer the Mashtis. The band has apparently called it quits after a notable three-year run. The seven-inch “A Canopy of Sundays” and the complimentary digital EP included for free …

What happens when you let Beck produce an album by Malkmus and the Jicks? Wowee Zowee part deux, apparently. Fans of the beloved 1995 Pavement disc will rejoice at the haphazard, attention-deficit feel of Mirror …

Situated in an undeveloped dirt lot known as the Los Angeles State Historic Park, on the outskirts of Chinatown, the 2011 FYFest was a filthy, sweaty, ear-battering affair. The line-up listed heavily toward the punk …

Early copies of They Might Be Giants’ last CD, The Else, came with bonus disc Cast Your Pod to the Wind, a grab bag of 23 songs collected from the band's podcasts. The freebie proved …

When the Fresh & Onlys hit the stage, there were only about 30 people in the room. Another Monday night at the Casbah. Early in the set, singer/guitarist Tim Cohen busted a string on his …

Urge Overkill is unlike any other touring band in the United States. Most national touring acts play a couple hundred shows a year and skip San Diego every time; Urge plays about ten shows, but …

Fans flocked to the Casbah on one of the first chilly nights of the season to catch Pacific Northwest trio the Thermals. It was a rare instance that found many locals in thermals while watching …

San Diego music festivals have started using SonicBids internet-booking site as a method for selecting live talent. The site operates as a middleman, allowing artists and promoters to find one another. Bands pay $6 per …

Jason Farnan has returned to his Mira Mesa home and Sorrento Valley computer gig after an impressive showing at the U.S. Air Guitar Championships, held this year at Irving Plaza in New York City. Farnan, …

Local quartet Hotel St. George hit a home run when they entered a song into a Spin/EA Sports contest. The winner of the contest would have their song used in the baseball video game MLB …

Since the late ’90s, Mike Kamoo’s Earthling Studios has been a vital cog in the San Diego music scene. The studio, headquartered in a corporate park in El Cajon, has a well-worn path to it …

The origin of Hotel St. George dates back to a night at the Casbah in November of 2007. “Erik [bass] and I met and had ourselves a bit of a pity party about the demise …

Dynamite Hack was a late-’90s, Austin-based alternative rock band that is best remembered for their tongue-in-cheek acoustic cover of Eazy-E’s “Boyz-n-the-Hood.” The song can still be heard occasionally on local FM94/9 and even more often …

Brendan Bohan (aka Brendan B) is a rapper out of Ocean Beach. Like many San Diegans, he’s a transplant. Brendan grew up in Chicago — or “Chi-Town,” as he likes to call it. He doesn’t …

Hellyeah is a rock “supergroup” featuring members of Mudvayne, Pantera, and Nothingface. Their self-titled debut sold 45,000 copies in its first week. Hell Yeah is a San Diego rock band and the brainchild of singer/guitarist …

The Swedish Models formed in early 2007 after guitarist Andrew Bernhardt, original bass player Mark Wiskowski, and drummer Dustin Paul called it quits with their band Cape May. The trio then picked up guitarist/vocalist Ryan …

In 1998, Van Halen played Philadelphia's Spectrum on their first tour with ex-Extreme singer Gary Cherone. When Todd Weiler lived in Philadelphia and worked for a caterer, he helped set up the backstage food for …

Todd Weiler has worked backstage-catering jobs at concerts since the mid-'90s. He recalls what Gwen Stefani ate at Anaheim Stadium three years ago. "She ended up having a spinach, mandarin orange, candied walnuts, and cranberry …

Ranchita Rocks took place September 28 through the 30th on Golightly Farms Ranch in Ranchita. The event was intended to raise money for lawyers to fight SDG&E's Sunrise Powerlink plan. "The turnout wasn't what we …

When I joined the Fading Captains as their bassist, a strange year in my life began. We played Guided By Voices songs exclusively. The band is pretty well known in the underground indie-rock circuit but …

Local rapper Brendan B tried to set up a show a couple of weeks ago. "I call up one [San Diego] venue, and the guy goes, 'You know, we really don't do rap music.' I'm …

I was at the La Jolla location of Tower Records on Tuesday, December 19, the day before the chain was set to shut down for good. About one quarter of the store was filled with …

My old band, the Infomercials, practiced at Super Sound Music in Escondido. The facility had two rooms that were equipped with gear (amplifiers, PA, drum kit, mikes), so all you had to do was bring …

Wikipedia defines screamo as being "...a musical genre which evolved from emo, post-hardcore, more specifically hardcore emo in the early 1990s. Characteristic of the genre are hardcore screaming vocals and harmonized guitars.... In California in …

At 7:30 p.m. on October 3, local rapper Brendan B was on his way home from a Newport Avenue bar in Ocean Beach. "I was cutting through an alley, and two guys came out of …

This summer, Don Ho (not his real name) held a series of live-music events at the end of Brighton Avenue in Ocean Beach. Dubbed "Sounds on the Sand" and held under the auspices of Ho's …

Mark McLarry, a Point Loma resident, co-owns a solar-powered stage that is being used on this summer's Warped Tour. His company, Sustainable Waves, rents out the stage for other events throughout the year. Though McLarry …

Ocean Beach resident Brendan B, a 25-year-old rapper from Chicago, has no record label, no management, and no airplay for the 13-song demo he's been handing out. "I work at Sunshine Company in Ocean Beach," …

Pabst Blue Ribbon, the first canned beer sold in the U.S., is still the only canned beer available in many San Diego bars. As the cheap hipster beer of choice, Pabst is sold at the …

Mick Miller operates a recording studio out of his two-bedroom apartment in North County. The studio consists of a Mac and a PC, a Pro-Tools software program for digital recording, and a collection of microphones. …

Ocean Beach--based Cape May has always drawn well at the Casbah, according to lead singer Andre Che. Yet, Che's band hasn't played the club since November 2004. "We've been trying to contact [club owner] Tim …

If you attended the Presidents of the United States of America show at the House of Blues on September 24, you may have noticed a man onstage playing three-string guitar who bore no resemblance to …

Andrew Bernhardt, 23-year-old guitarist of OB band Cape May, will be featured on an episode of MTV's Room Raiders. Bernhardt was selected for the program after Dusty Paul, Cape May's drummer, submitted an application at …