According to alternative-indie rocker Be Mine Phantom Valentine, “BMPV incorporates post-punk guitars with a full range of synths and haunting organs. The name was inspired by phantom valentines who perform anonymous acts of kindness.” A …
“I really thought I’d build a simple archive and hoped that a few of the old crowd would turn up to participate, but within a year, we’d located most everyone involved,” says Matthew Rothenberg, co-founder …
Metal-punk band Low and Be Told was founded by singer Doug Thompson (the Marsupials), bassist George Vidaurri (Uncle Joe’s Big Ol’ Driver), drummer Darrin Lee (Tragic Tantrum), and guitarist Frank Blackcat, who was recently replaced …
18 year-old British-American folk-pop singer-songwriter Pip Lewis started writing, recording, and mixing her own songs around two years ago, with her debut singles “Frown” and “What’s A Dream?” Her debut EP Pathos was released in …
“Liquid Blue had been on a streak of performing at least a hundred shows every year since 2000,” says Scott Stephens of his group’s pre-Covid run. “2020 was the first year the band hasn’t played …
Singer-songwriter duo Monica Sorenson and Rick Walker began collaborating in 2012, going on to form Sometimes Julie, a hard-driving rock band with blues and Americana influences. A self-taught musician on guitar, bass, and keyboards, Walker’s …
Despite the pandemic lockdown, locals have managed to shoot and release some terrific music videos this year, and Belladon is responsible for one of them. Their performance video for “Haisa” was taped August 2 as …
Based in La Jolla, Plunderbund (defined in the dictionary as “a league of commercial, political, or financial interests that exploits the public”) is a power trio playing alternative and power pop tunes, often with a …
The local School of Rock is where Jordan Krimston got his start with bands such as Pandemonium and Lua. “The more important things that I think students usually take away from School of Rock are …
“I broke my hip bone while rock climbing in Zion National Park in Utah,” reports singer-songwriter Daniel Isle Sky. “I was rescued by a [National Park Service] helicopter the next day. A surgeon in St. …
Christmas Jerk I managed to avoid being homeless on Christmas Eve 1979, but just barely. Unemployed since that summer, I found a cheap flophouse on 12th and Island where 70 bucks a month got me …
Fade to Black has long been one of my favorite movies about the movies. I was lucky enough to see it new in 1980, a number of times, thanks to having just started work at …
The titular frontman of the Scott West Band has recorded with guest contributors such as Cake bassist Gabe Nelson, Lee Rocker (Stray Cats), and Prairie Prince (The Tubes, Jefferson Starship). Since the early 2000s, he’s …
When I first bought my tickets to see Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets last year, I admit my expectations were low. I’ve seen Pink Floyd’s 75 year-old drummer in his prime, first on opening night …
Indie electronic pop-rock singer-guitarist Heather Nation was already writing songs for bands while still a teenager, with her first recording studio session taking place while still in high school. She’s a founding member of synth-pop …
Originally from West Monroe, Louisiana, Ron Steven Houston is best known from his time playing with the Sickstring Outlaws, whose album Johnny Drank Jack was nominated Best Local Recording at the 2013 San Diego Music …
The dreaded Purple Tier was back. This would be the final weekend before the most severe social distancing rules would again suspend indoor operations at restaurants and bars on November 14, potentially shutting down countless …
San Diego Music Awards nominee for Album of the Year, Hemisphere draws on rock, pop, jazz, fusion, and metal for inspiration. Their new album American Dreams includes guest players such as Grammy winning percussionist Tommy …
Hip-hop rocker Black Hesher, producer J. Andrew, and Michael Fairchild of the Spice Pistols have formed San Diablo Allstars, with a single for “Hatchback” now streaming. A debut album drops December 4 on 8-track tape, …
“We’re in Vermont,” says newly relocated comedic rock duo Pony Death Ride. “Seems neat. Met some musicians. We’ll never like the band Phish or the Patriots football team. We’ve made these promises to ourselves.” The …
The Zappa family moved to San Diego in 1954, where 13 year-old Frank began buying used records in a retail nook in the Maryland Hotel. One day, he spotted a record sale sign at a …
Ricky, the new solo project from Ricky Schmidt (Western Settings, Hey, Chels), has an 11-track solo album called Palm Trees dropping on November 13. “Palm Trees encompasses mid-2019 to pretty much the present time for …
"This kind of announcement is not easy, especially during a stressful time like this," according to an online post from Ted Wigler at Ocean Beach nightclub Winstons. "And since there is no way to sugarcoat …
“Smokelines is the product of our regional, cultural, and musical differences,” says San Diego-born Skylar Blaze Star, one half of a new musical duo with New Yorker Faith Gara. “We’ve combined my west coast sunset …
“Yes, the world has come undone a lot these days, but we are all in it together, and music helps get us through,” says Cardinal Moon by way of introducing their new album Come Undone, …
Mom's Cancer A comic exorcises Bryan Fies’s demons. If your mom were diagnosed with cancer, how would you deal with it? Comic creator Brian Fies decided to use sequential art to help cope and deal …
None Darker Than Me Racial obsession in 19th-century San Diego People of color were beginning to move into Sherman Heights and Golden Hill. There were colored Civil War veterans who lived in Golden Hill — …
Cathyrn Beeks first earned local notice in JunkQueen, the Gandhi Method, and her own band The Ordeal, as well as for launching her series of Listen Local band showcases around town and taking a turn …
Based in southeast San Diego, Cesar “Crhymes” Tellez first made his mark with Sicko Records and DagoSD.com, as well as hosting a Friday night Imperial Beach event called Club DagoSD and collaborating with Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. …
“I’m putting out a new album this month,” says Bigfellas co-founder Charlie Recksieck, aka Chuck Charles. Bigfellas is known for bawdy tunes like “I Wish That I Were Gay” and their offbeat banjo cover of …
Soundtrack: Reader writers tell what music they would take to a deserted island The Woes Of A Woman In Love — Barbarella; Notes Give Pathos to Clouds — Laura McNeal; Trouble Man — Dodie Bellamy; …
Hugh J. Noble is a songwriter, musician, and singer from Wymeswold in the UK, currently living in San Diego (“There wasn’t much else to do in Wymeswold”) and a member of Slum Summer. “Since I …
“It was years in the making, a true labor of love,” says Andy Rasmussen of the new compilation CD he curated, Look Out! The San Diego Scene 1958-1973 – Rock & Roll, Garage, Psych, and …
Pronounced “man-you-okay,” Manuok is essentially the one-man-band project of Scottish-born Scott Mercado of Via Satellite and Lost Pets. Mercado toured as a member of the Black Heart Procession, but did not formally join that group, …
Born Fadi Masad, River Sultan - who grew up in Jordan, San Diego, and Egypt - says he tells personal stories about the human experience, where east meets west, using synthesizers, drum machines, guitars, bass, …
A founding member of Forbidden Pigs, Flipside Burners, and Hot Rod Lincoln, Americana/roots rocker Chris Giorgio took his stage name Jackslacks from the 1957 Sparkletones hit “Black Slacks.” He embarked on a solo career in …
Songwriter Bruce Robinson played Major League baseball with the New York Yankees and Oakland As during the late ‘70s and early ’80s. After his debut full-length was released in 2012, he played the main stage …
Released just over a decade ago, the debut full-length from Americana fiddle rockers Lexington Field featured their take on classic traditional Irish tunes like “The Wild Rover” and “Molly Malone,” as well as original songs. …
Singer-guitarist Lando Martinez and his band Hocus haven’t let the pandemic shutdown keep them from recording two new songs, “Damage With Care” (also available as a lyric video) and “Rid Of You.” Both were recorded …
“With the new Bill and Ted movie coming out, I’m getting a lot of messages from people,” says San Diego-bred guitarist Stevie Salas, who was only 23 when he played all the guitars and wrote …
Sugar World features Katryn Macko and Ryan Stanley, who met while both were studying at Florida State University and working at Tallahassee’s Club Downunder. The duo relocated to San Diego after their group Naps (hailed …
“They broke the building elevator trying to get a cow down into the club,” recalls former Pussycat Theater projectionist Dan Whitehead of the Masque punk club in the basement of the Hollywood Pussycat Theater, where …
Chris Leyva’s band Falling Doves has a new EP called Isolation, the first of a planned three-volume set. “I was approached during the pandemic by my labels, both in the US and UK, and management …
Born in Chicago, Bella Kaye’s love for singing and performing started at age three. She spent several years as a featured member of the Chicago Children’s Choir, as well as singing solo performances with her …
Singer-violinist Alicia Previn is the daughter of André Previn (the conductor of the Houston, Pittsburgh, and London Symphony Orchestras) and jazz singer Betty Bennett. She began playing the violin at age seven and was classically …
Original Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley moved in 2009 to San Diego, where he lived in a condo near Balboa Park with local singer Rachael Gordon, who turned up on his next solo album. By the …
Reggae trio Pepper’s version of Sublime’s “Work That We Do” is the lead single off a new compilation, The House That Bradley Built, due September 4 and featuring never-released acoustic covers from the catalogue of …
Self-taught guitarist Stevie Salas is a Mescalero Apache Indian who was attending high school in Oceanside when he first picked up guitar at age 15. Choosing a music career over joining the Coast Guard, he …
A perfectly adequate little lipstick-n-laser glam rock throwback, UNI, just stepped up their game with a potent new track and video for "Debris" that looks and sounds for all the world as if it beamed …
Due August 19, singer-songwriter Tom Brosseau’s The Prairie will feature eight Brosseau originals and a cover of John Prine’s “They Oughta Name A Drink After You.” Guest players include Sheldon Gomberg, Robbie Robinson of Robinson …