“I don’t think there is animosity toward KISS in the punk scene,” says Lenny Bly, best known for playing bass in Inciting Riots and Social Spit. “Most people just think Gene [Simmons, KISS’s bassist] is ...
Articles by Spike Steffenhagen
On the night in question, The Air Conditioned Lounge in North Park is offering “Bootydew feat. Booty Selectors,” an electronic dance night featuring genres described on the venue’s website as “Electronic, Latin, Ass Shakers.” Which, ...
It’s a Wednesday at The Belly Up in Solana Beach, and I pass the time eavesdropping in line as a young woman named Abby discusses a helicopter that is flying at that very moment over ...
“I’m 64 years old with one leg. I don’t need any help falling down,” Social Spit frontman Cliff Cunningham tells me. He’s not spewing random trivia; he’s responding to my question about whether he’s drunk ...
Chula Vista’s North Island Credit Union Amphitheater is less than 30 miles from D.Z. Akin’s, the place from which Mrs. Steffenhagen and I set out at 4:30 pm. The Iron Maiden show isn’t slated to ...
A short trolley ride brings me to San Diego’s House of Blues, where a video monitor at the entryway — emblematic of the modern concert venue — warns “Hate will not be tolerated here!” The ...
“Fuck Fentanyl” — a slogan you may have seen on a T-shirt or hoodie around San Diego of late. Or perhaps you’ve spotted it on social media: local designer Luis Romero posts shots of his ...
The orange cat jumps into an older man’s lap like they’re best friends. I never catch the animal’s name, or at least I don’t retain it, because there are at least ten more of her ...
When Full Contact Rock-N-Roll owner Davit Buck tells me that KISS guitarist Ace Frehley once came into the store and asked if they carried any albums by his former band, I could feel my inner ...