By 2019, local roots rockers Ypsitucky had been playing around town for about five years and were looking forward to recording and releasing an album. Now, six years later, that wish is finally coming true. …
September 11, 2025
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Stories by Dryw Keltz
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Ypsitucky: How the Hell? was worth the wait
PunchCard: proudly political punk
PunchCard’s Chris Vanoli left the Bay Area and moved to San Diego in the mid-2000s. He was following the lead of his brother Mike, who had made the same transition about a year prior. Chris …
August 14, 2025
Gonzo Report: Dispatch & Co. got Gen X out of their seats at SDSU
The long-running indie/roots band Dispatch made a stop at SDSU’s Open Air Theatre on a Thursday night in late July. With three openers in tow — John Butler and band/G. Love and Special Sauce/Donavon Frankenreiter …
August 7, 2025
Bee helps kill bridge buzz
In January of 2021, Max Lenail drowned in the San Diego River while attempting to cross over a swollen section of the water near the Jackson Drive entrance of Mission Trails Regional Park. He had …
July 23, 2025
The Rightovers' debt to Mutt Lange
A lot of people may know about The Rightovers without exactly knowing about The Rightovers. That's because a release by Conceptus, the 2010s Chris Tomorrow project that morphed into The Rightovers, can be seen on …
July 17, 2025
Gonzo Report: Pleasure Pill and Benches pack the Music Box
Local bands Pleasure Pill and Benches spent two weeks performing together on a tour that stretched from the Pacific Northwest to the mountain states before returning to southern California for a performance at Little Italy’s …
June 26, 2025
Gonzo Report: TMBG plays 10 tunes from Apollo 18
New York City's They Might Be Giants (TMBG) rolled into town recently for a two-night stand at The Observatory in North Park. I caught the second night’s performance (May 14) which featured an (un-announced) heaping …
June 12, 2025
Heath Cooley: banging the drums and banging around California
Heath Cooley’s took his first stab at playing the drums when he was around 10 years old. He requested a full set — and got a snare and mandatory lessons instead. “I hated it,” he …
June 5, 2025
Emily Bartell on the life and death of Navajo Live
Former Brick By Brick, Kadan, and Radio Room owner Chris Heaney (and two of his ice-hockey buddies) purchased the old Second Wind bar in San Carlos circa 2015. Their new venue, Navajo Live, focused on …
May 29, 2025
Space Motor gives way to Secret Scene
North County’s Space Motor was active for just a short time, a blip that spanned from 2019 to early 2020. “We had some fast songs,” says drummer Scott Taylor (Whole Hog). “We kind of did …
May 22, 2025
Gonzo Report: Tequila & Taco Fest starts damp and gets wet
Over the past 50 years, there have been just six instances of measurable rainfall in San Diego on April 26. So you would think the decision to stage an outdoor festival in Del Mar on …
May 15, 2025
Rookie Card: no longer rookies, but still playing
San Diego’s premier group of baseball-adjacent rockers Rookie Card is back with their its full-length album in close to 20 years. Led by singer/guitarist Adam Gimbel, the band was part of a collection of alt-country …
March 6, 2025
Gonzo Report: Frank Black goes solo again at The Magnolia
Video:GONZO REPORT: Frank Black goes solo again at The MagnoliaOn a chilly Sunday night in January, I took my maiden voyage to The Magnolia to catch Frank Black play a solo gig with a full …
February 13, 2025
Bradshaw Lambert is back at Bong Load
After graduating from Coronado High School in 1980, Bradshaw Lambert took some classes, first at Southwestern and then at Mesa College, before finally ending up at San Diego City College in their radio program. There, …
January 30, 2025
Jordan Krimston’s new album plays the songs he wants to hear
Jordan Krimston’s last solo album, 2023’s Somewhere I Might Go, was released on Boston’s Counter Intuitive Records. He was busy with other projects at the time, and decided that since this was his first album …
January 16, 2025
Michael Rennie brings the music home for Palo Verde House concerts
Video:BLURT: Michael Rennie brings the music home for Palo Verde House concertsMichael Rennie cut his teeth playing in local bands Roxy Monoxide, AM Vibe, and INIGO in the 2000s. By the end of that decade, …
January 9, 2025
Ramona musicians seek solution for outdoor playing at wineries
Most neighborhood conflicts over live music involve loud bands that drive the neighbors nuts. But an unusual battle has been brewing in Ramona for over a year now, one involving musicians who most often perform …
November 21, 2024
Jazz guitarist Alex Ciavarelli pays tribute to pianist Oscar Peterson
Video:BLURT: Jazz guitarist Alex Ciavarelli pays tribute to pianist Oscar PetersonAlex Ciavarelli’s first instrument was the violin, but he stopped playing by the time he was ten. “My parents said they would give me some …
October 31, 2024
Gonzo Report: Goose may have indie vibes, but they’re still a jam band
Video:GONZO REPORT: Goose may have indie vibes, but they’re still a jam bandGoose had been kicking around for five years by the time they played the jam-band heavy 2019 Peach Music Festival in Scranton, Pennsylvania. …
October 24, 2024
Los Saints recovers from Covid, releases LP
Angel Mariscal had a short-lived stint playing the piano when he was in elementary school. “The teacher would be, like, ‘Play this,’ and then I would want to go outside to play with my friends. …
September 26, 2024
What do they have in common? – WD-40, the coyote vest, neoprene board shorts, banana hat
Most people don’t notice power lines unless there’s a problem with them. And as a kid, I was like most people — until my dad pointed up at the lines as we drove the backroads …
September 25, 2024
One of the Kidz goes running with Rogues of Chaos
Jerry Flack’s lifelong devotion to music was sealed at an early age. “I was three or four and my father’s band was practicing in the living room, and they were playing ‘Day Tripper’ by The …
September 12, 2024
The Beard and the Bird bring the western swing
Video:BLURT: Play "Name That Tune" with The Beard and the BirdJon Hasz met his future wife, Cathryn (Cat) Curry Hasz, at a music store in Ramona when they were both still in high school. “She …
August 29, 2024
RFTC manager gathers tour tales for Hell on Wheels
Greg Jacobs met John Reis when they both worked at Cargo Records in the early ‘90s. Jacobs had previously worked for the legendary Los Angeles-based label SST and its subsidiary, Cruz Records in the late …
August 15, 2024
King Whisker goes guerilla in OB and MB
Local art-punks King Whisker filmed a video for their new single “Utopia” in late spring. The song is a commentary on how the world and life can be simultaneously beautiful and brutal. To hammer home …
August 8, 2024
Gonzo Report: House of Blues’ Voodoo Room hosts Friko and Mind’s Eye
Video:GONZO: House of Blues’ Voodoo Room hosts Mind’s EyeA cursory look at the downtown House of Blues’ calendar reveals that the venue has been booking nearly as many acts into their smaller events space (the …
July 11, 2024
Lithium-ion battery fires in East Village, Barrio Logan, Otay Mesa
The rise in popularity of e-bikes around San Diego County has grown so much over the past couple of years that it seems more commonplace to find cyclists utilizing them on the local roads than …
July 8, 2024
Surfaris spawn takes Tourmaliners to Bay Park residency
Tourmaline is a legendary surf spot nestled between Windansea and North Pacific Beach; longboarders flock to it for its mellow break. So if you’re familiar with San Diego surfing culture, you’d probably think that a …
June 20, 2024
Roob Blackwell took up the ukelele and wound up with an EP
Peak Covid-19 was a tough time for Rob “Roob” Blackwell. “I, like many people, started struggling with pretty significant mental health issues during the lockdown,” Blackwell explains. “I have always had major depressive disorder, and …
June 13, 2024
Gonzo Report: Neil Young and Crazy Horse delight youngsters at SDSU
Video:GONZO: Neil Young performing "Harvest Moon" at Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theater on 4/24/2024I caught a Neil Young show last summer when he performed at the Rady Shell as part of his Coastal …
May 16, 2024
Rand Anderson had to share a record player with his siblings
Rand Anderson’s parents were big country fans. So naturally, he rebelled against the sound at first, and embraced punk and metal. But eventually, he returned to the fold. He even played with the Phoenix outfit …
May 16, 2024
Blair Gun found their sound during the Covid pause
Blair Gun’s Joedin Morelock and Zach Cavor started writing songs together in 2020. “We had just met up and we were jamming with some different musicians,” Morelock recalls, “but Zach and I really connected on …
May 9, 2024
Owl Be Damned poised to take flight
Owl Be Damned took its time getting out of the nest. In the late ‘10s, singer Douglas Thompson (Low and Be Told, The Marsupials) pitched drummer Ben Johnson (The Long and Short of It, Hostile …
April 25, 2024
Gonzo Report: Save Ferris brings a clapping crowd to the Belly Up
Video:Save Ferris was signed to Epic Records in the mid-’90s, after fellow Orange County ska band No Doubt rocketed up the chartsSka music has a habit of popping up every decade or so to ride …
April 18, 2024
Anya True's dream come true: appearing on The Voice
Video:BLURT: Anya True ditches school to battle on The VoiceSeventeen-year-old Anya True says she has been singing pretty much since she could speak. She picked up playing the guitar when she was five and, two …
March 29, 2024
Reader Music Issue short takes
Island civilizationWithin the Coronado Ferry Landing, you will find Coronado Tasting Room. Purveyors of Craft Spirits, Extra Virgin Olive Oils, Balsamic Vinegars, Spices and Gourmet Foods. Every other Wednesday evening, Michael Gonzales (aka Gonzo) and …
March 27, 2024
San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue
Some musicians see forming a tribute group as a way to get into the music industry. Copping someone else’s successful act may seem their only chance at earning a bit of applause, adulation, and — …
March 27, 2024
Archie Thompson scores soundtrack smash with the Bill Burr film Old Dads
Video:BLURT: Archie Thompson sings “My My My Little Baby” from the Bill Burr film Old DadsArchie Thompson’s music-intensive life is back in full swing after being derailed by Covid for a couple of years. His …
March 21, 2024
Surf Farmer’s bassist came late to the game
When Ryan Ruff was in high school, his two best friends were in a band that couldn’t find a bass player. Somehow, he missed the sign the universe was holding up. “I should have picked …
March 7, 2024
The bass-free adventures of Unnatural Numbers
Clayton Payne and Ryan Fischer met when they were both serving as drummers for The Liquorsmiths, a folk-rock trio led by singer/guitarist Drew Thams. After that band’s run came to an end, the duo continued …
February 1, 2024
Matthew Phillips finds Instagram success with a waterfall effect
<a href="http://www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/matthew-phillips/">Matthew Phillips</a> has his grandmother to thank for starting him on his musical journey. “She had a piano at her house,” he recalls. “I would go and play when I was a young kid …
January 4, 2024