Ryan Ellerbrock, a 34-year-old San Diego native, has been smacking golf balls since he was three. His uncle, Bryan Gorman, played on the PGA Tour during the ‘90s. Ellerbrock credits Gorman for getting him into …
October 9, 2025
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Stories by Jake Peterson
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Ryan Ellerbrock goes back to Q-School
Gonzo Report: Joan Jett & Billy Idol close out the summer in Chula Vista
I have two tickets to the Billy Idol show that’s going down at North Island Credit Union amphitheater in Chula Vista. Joan Jett is opening. When I was offered the tickets via e-mail a few …
October 9, 2025
Togerson in as new voice of San Diego Seals
When Pechanga Arena hosts San Diego Seals games, it transforms into what’s known as “The Electric Factory.” That is due in no small part to Steven "Woodsy" Woods, who has been the professional lacrosse team's …
September 30, 2025
Punches and pizza raises money for Little Italy
In 1950, Vincent and Madeline DePhilippis started Filippi’s Pizza Grotto in Little Italy. Now, 75 years later, the family-owned and -operated business has 14 locations running from San Diego up to Napa Valley. Two generations into …
September 24, 2025
Super Sometimes: write down your dreams, then make them come true
This year, everything happened all at once for Super Sometimes (formerly known as New Aesthetic): a new name, new record label, and a new album drop. It’s arguable that pop-punk popularity has always come and …
September 18, 2025
San Diego Legion unites with RFCLA to form California Legion
When the Chargers left San Diego for LA in 2017, fans were—in a word—pissed. Some quickly jumped ship to cheer for a different NFL team, while others held their noses and maintained their allegiance. Coincidentally, …
September 17, 2025
FC Wave's Alex Morgan sees her number retired, but the hustle doesn't quit
If 13 is an unlucky number, nobody told Alex Morgan. She announced her retirement on September 5, 2024, and neither the team nor Morgan wasted any time taking steps to stay committed to one another. …
September 10, 2025
Gonzo Report: A surprise hit in the pit at Jerry Cantrell
There’s a flea market going a couple streets down from the Observatory in North Park. I’m in the racks mining for an Alice in Chains shirt, thinking I could wear it to the Jerry Cantrell …
September 4, 2025
Ernesto Rodriguez wins Snipe North American Championship…again
A Snipe sailboat race isn’t just about raw speed. The 15-foot, two-person-crewed dinghy is designed for strategy, handling, and teamwork. On August 21-24, San Diego hosted the annual Snipe North American Championships on a course …
September 2, 2025
Cheyenne Benton: Putting a microphone on a hammer
Cheyenne Benton’s 2023 debut album Beautiful Chaos was described in promotional material as “bubblegum angst.” Her song “Drinkin’ About U” was nominated Best R&B, Funk, or Soul Song at the 2023 San Diego Music Awards. …
August 28, 2025
Sofia Barandela: currently Del Mar’s only female jockey
It was just before the fifth race of the day on August 15. The number five horse bucked the jockey off her back and ran free on the track in the wrong direction. This, at …
August 26, 2025
The San Diego Growlers move to from West to South Division
This season, the San Diego Growlers professional ultimate frisbee team wasn't supposed to get as far as it did. Along with the Los Angeles Aviators, the team was moved from the West Division to the …
August 19, 2025
Epic Fighting aims for epic events every time
On April 9, 2005, fight fans from all-over watched mixed-martial-arts (MMA) come alive in a blossom of blood as Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar put on what was then the most important fight in UFC …
August 12, 2025
San Diego Smash get a bit busted up in 2025
Since its establishment in 1983, the Association of Professional Volleyball League has changed ownership more times than your local dive bar. But things have steadied in the years since 2021, when Bally’s Corporation took control …
August 5, 2025
Alex Nye takes monkey business seriously
Growing up in upstate New York, American Ninja Warrior competitor Alex Nye and his brother were “naturally monkeys,” he says. Accordingly, the boys' father built them a treehouse, plus ramps for skateboarding and snowboarding. And of …
July 29, 2025
The playfully cruel world of backgammon
It’s a rarity to be able to walk into a room as a relative newbie and beat a world champion in their respective sport. But therein lies the playful cruelty of backgrammon: anybody is welcome, …
July 22, 2025
Slightly Stoopid, seriously blessed
Slightly Stoopid’s ties with Sublime reach all the way back to the Ocean Beach band's beginning: they were discovered by Sublime frontman Bradley Nowell and signed to Skunk Records in 1995. Shortly after, they released …
July 10, 2025
Have piano, will MindTravel
A silent disco is one thing, but a silent piano concert immersed in nature is a whole other escapade. Combining music with the elements, renowned composer Murray Hidary has been performing his MindTravel concert series …
June 19, 2025
Unexpected violence at the San Diego Zoo
First Place WinnerCHANGING OF THE GUARDWhen people found out I worked security at the world famous San Diego Zoo, they asked: “What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen?” It wasn’t until my last night of employment …
June 13, 2025
Zeros minus two equals '77
There has always been a crack in the foundation of The Zeros, whose story has passed into punk rock legend. In 1976, four teenage kids from Chula Vista got a call from The Nerves to …
June 12, 2025
Gonzo Report: The Used kick off House of Blues' 20th anniversary series
On any given weekend 20 years ago, you could find me running around Downtown, usually armed with a pack of Marb Milds, a fake ID, and a head full of confetti ice cream where my …
May 29, 2025
Gonzo Report: Winning with the winners at the San Diego Music Awards
A recent Tuesday evening found me on Shelter Island, there to attend this year’s San Diego Music Awards at Humphreys by the Bay. Because the show was sold out, I was advised to show up …
May 22, 2025
Gonzo Report: Abundance and acceptance at Cannival
My first writing credit came when I was 10 years old. I’d won the D.A.R.E. essay contest, in part by vowing to McGruff, the cartoon Crime Dog, to never touch a drug or take a …
May 8, 2025
Soul Shakedown Studios gets ready to shake the earth
Soul Shakedown Studios started in founder Jakob John’s North County garage. It stayed there for two years before moving into a space in San Marcos. Now, five years later, the studio has grown into a …
April 24, 2025
Gonzo Report: Fans follow Harry Mack to Soma in Point Loma
“What do they call the people who follow a band from show to show across the country?” asked my friend as we stood outside Soma in Point Loma. “Lot lizards?” “No,” I replied, “lot lizards are …
April 17, 2025
Ray Riley: comfortable with being uncomfortable
Nature or nurture? Maybe both. San Diego born hip-hop artist Ray Riley has been around the scene since youth — because in the late ‘80s, Riley’s father, MC Willy Will, was one of the members …
April 17, 2025
Wonderfront '25 is what's going on
Hear that? That's not the first robin of spring; that's the sound of the local music festival season bursting into song. The fourth Wonderfront Music and Arts Festival will be taking place on May 16-18 …
March 27, 2025
Gonzo Report: Ozzy and Angus tributes rock out at the Ramona Mainstage
After Ozzy Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath in 1979, he launched one of the most successful solo careers in music history. The stories of his rock-star antics — snorting ants, licking up his own …
March 20, 2025
Can Mustache Bash keep '70s vibe at Mariners Point?
They call it the Funkiest Disco Day on Earth. In 2008, The Mustache Bash started growing its upper-lip hair with a core group of San Diego State University pals. Eleven pals to be exact. Opposed …
March 11, 2025
Gonzo Report: Theory of a Dead Man and the cold facts of a lonely Valentine's Day
Valentine’s Day came and went. The origins of this chocolatey, flowery holiday remain unclear to your humble correspondent. But one old tale about the Hallmark holiday claims that drunk and naked male Romans used to …
March 6, 2025
Gonzo Report: Stage jump and Jupiter Flight at Til-Two
One night a few years ago, while under the influence of well tequila at Til-Two, I had a moment with a friendly security guard. We were cool with each other right up to the point …
February 27, 2025
For Anna May, San Diego lends itself to discoveries
Like many artists, singer/songwriter Anna May had to leave home in order to find her way. Like Beat icon Jack Kerouac of On the Road fame, whom she cites as an influence (along with Bob Dylan, Jim …
February 20, 2025
P.O.D.’s podcast inspiration yields surprise San Diego show
Video:GONZO: P.O.D. performing "Alive" at Harley-Davidson parking lot charity gigIt happened, and then it didn’t: the social media platform TikTok was banned in the U.S., then it was restored. When I opened the app the …
February 6, 2025
Punk Rock Rodeo to unfold across five OB venues
Gainesville, Florida has The Fest. Birmingham, Alabama lays claim to Furnace Fest. Vegas holds down Punk Rock Bowling. Now, with the Punk Rock Rodeo, San Diego is getting its own larger-scale punk rock festival. Although …
February 6, 2025
Gonzo Report: Downtown thrift shop offers three bands in one show
Two days after we got a new (old) President, I found myself back Downtown to check out a new live music space called The Beat. Despite all the noise leading up to the voting, the …
November 21, 2024
Michael Tiernan doesn’t toot his own horn
The last time Michael Tiernan released an album was just before the pandemic hit in 2020. Before that, the San Diego based musician wrote music that was mostly about his life experiences, including surviving cancer …
November 7, 2024
Jayson Napolitano’s Scarlet Moon releases third Halloween album
Scarlet Moon Promotions founder Jayson Napolitano started out as a writer, doing reviews of games to get into industry events. He gave special attention to the music in the games he was reviewing, commenting on …
October 24, 2024
Could this be Queen Bee’s last North Park fab fair?
When The Beatles were first finding their sound, they played eight-hour long sets at a Hamburg, Germany club called The Indra. Because of the sets’ length, John Lennon said they had to put their hearts …
October 4, 2024
Suicideboys inspire Marines to storm the dance floor
Make no mistake: San Diego’s Midway District is a war zone. As soon as I stepped out of my car after parking, I heard smashing. When I looked over, I saw what I could only …
September 19, 2024
UFO watchers gaze from Temecula's wine trail with love and peaceful thoughts
Video:COVER: With higher states of consciousness, UFO crafts present themselves during CE5 eventBy the time I got to Temecula, the UFOs had already been spotted. According to Manny Lopez — a local and my campsite …
September 4, 2024
Gonzo Report: Pledging to plunge into the pit at As I Lay Dying
Video:GONZO: Chelsea Grin at the Observatory in North Park. “I scanned the pit from the front row.”Bloody axes scattered the hallways at my day job last week. Layoffs were going down. Over 70 people were …
August 29, 2024