Video:BLURT: Reverend Stickman Memories: "Who We are Now" Behind the scenes and live performanceReverend Stickman left for the great gig in the sky on December 22 of last year, at the age of 59. “He …

“He died in Sweden; I’m so sorry,” says a man named Daniel who’s checking out my Cliff Burton tattoo. Though Daniel hails from Sweden himself, I doubt he had anything to do with Metallica’s tour …

“I said to myself, ‘Frankie, you’re not going to be one of those people that just drives a normal car and gets in it every day,’” recalls singer/dancer/producer <a href="http://www.sandiegoreader.com/musicians/frankie-silver/">Frankie Silver</a>. “I figured, when I …

“Does anyone complain about the dicks on your shirt?” I ask Keshaun, one of the bar staff at Little Italy’s Music Box. He’s sporting swaag from Dwarves, a punk band as notorious for their shock …

“I think I dropped a couple of verses there,” jokes <a href="http://www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/color-forty-nine/">The Color Forty Nine</a> singer-guitarist Phil Beaumont. “Maybe they’re on the floor.” Or maybe it’s drummer-singer John Meeks who’s talking. I can’t see either …

“I got to tattoo Speedo” — aka <a href="http://www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/rocket-crypt/">Rocket From the Crypt</a> guitarist John Reis — “in Milan, Italy in 2018, backstage at a Hot Snakes concert,” says Italian artist Mayo Maggiore, aka Crapman. “And then …

All this jazz at Tio Leo’s“I see a lot of familiar faces here, and I see three or four new ones. I want to let you know that, when the music is playing, we are …

“We wanted to be called Brock Samson,” says <a href="http://www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/doc-hammer/">Doc Hammer</a> guitarist Clayton Word, “but the band wasn’t heavy enough to accommodate such an epic killing machine as our avatar,” As fans of the animated …

“What’s with the boots?” I ask several people as they pass the empty footwear resting on the overpass leading to Corazon Del Barrio. The boots, sturdy workman types, could be protecting the feet of any …

“I’m an equal fan of <a href="http://www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/ratt/">Ratt</a> and <a href="http://www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/cattle-decapitation/">Cattle Decapitation</a>,” says Bobby Ferry. “Bottom line, this city has produced some of the best metal music ever made.” The founder/guitarist/vocalist for <a href="http://www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/-16-/">-(16)-</a> fronts a …

“Fuck Greg, gimme that white shirt,” I tell Dr. Know’s merch person. Greg Gonzalez is like a brother to me, and I’m attending this show at The Casbah because Dr. Know is one of his …

Raucous relationsFamily vibe at Bolt’s Punk & Brews“I didn’t get to see T.S.O.L. at The Holding Company; I had to leave because one of my kids needed me,” says Emily Anne Elliot, referring to the …

Kevin Grossman — formerly of Rat City Riot, now with LoudMouth — shares a memory of touring with tonight’s headline act, GBH. “There’s nothing like being in a poor punk touring band, going to Paris …

We don’t have a public restroom,” the lead employee at a discount store tells me. “Yes, you do.” I shoot back. “No, we don’t,” she repeats, not looking at me. It’s December of 2022, I’m …

“Some guy jumped from the top balcony onto the speakers and then down onto the floor. And then some other guy dove off the stage onto his face on the floor and had to go …

David McHank of Styrofoam Records is an artist whose 30-year career includes illustrating posters and album covers, as well as venturing into animated shorts around a decade ago. Mike Molina is a videographer for Robles …

“Aw, man! I thought I might get to dance with some cats today!” Knowing that the man in the purple shirt is using olde-timey slang to describe males — as opposed to our furry feline …

“I’ve always associated letters, numbers, flavors, scents, and sounds with colors,” says artist Jennifer Mann. “I never knew there was a term for this, synesthesia, until a few years ago. For me, ‘A’ is red, …

“What made you think the world needed another brewery?” I ask Burning Beard Brewery co-founder Mike Maass. He doesn’t miss a beat, laughing as he explains the art of brewing, and the environment he and …

“Suicidal Tendencies and The Last Gang shirts, I knew you would be exceptional people,” exclaims Agusto from South America, who is complimenting my wife and me on our T-shirt choices. The man himself is wearing …

“Dustin wanted to turn my parents’ dining room into a music room,” says Jen Lothspeich, widow of Dustin Lothspeich, who died unexpectedly of natural causes in his La Mesa home on March 23. “On more …

“Where the fuck is the red carpet?” I think to myself as I mosey into the lobby of the Sunshine Brooks Theater. My ticket for this segment of the Oceanside International Film Festival clearly states, …

“Well, like anything else, showing up is half the battle,” says Smash Mouth singer Zach Goode. Goode, a longtime local musician, is talking about the voiceover work he’s done for commercials, including a Taco Bell …

On May 11, the Federal Department of Health and Human Services will end the Covid public health emergency. But the bureaucratic behemoth is a slow-footed beast; John Q. Public knows the pandemic ended some time …

“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 …

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 …

I was attending Comic Fest 2022 at the Four Points Sheraton on Aero Drive when I ran into Alonso Nunez, co-founder and lead instructor at Little Fish Comic Book Studios, a nonprofit that aims, according …

Stumping for Sammy: The blonde woman at Belmont Park’s Beach House Tequila + Taqueria says she’s done with “fat old ladies and douchebags with 619 tattoos that can’t keep their fucking hands to themselves.” The …

As I loiter in the smoking section across the street from D.Z. Akin's, I am sometimes privy to the one-sided conversations, held by people (usually on their phones) who are talking to someone I can’t …

“I had a brand and a character that looks very different from the character I portray now,” says Isabella Bennett, who plays Rabbit, one of the musical steampunk robots in Steam Powered Giraffe. The band …

“I had never seen either [Pink Floyd or Roger Waters]; I regret not going when I was younger,” says Robert Walter (Greyboy Allstars, Robert Walter’s 20th Congress), who occupies maybe the best seat in the …

Alma Rodriguez, owner of Queen Bee’s, escorts me into the North Park venue for “Dark Euphoria.” Before the end of this July 23 night, the pulse of gothic electronica will have carried me through lessons …

“No booze, no bullshit” reads the digital flyer I receive from Se Vende singer Collin Smith. It’s an ad for an underground punk show at a print shop, but the show is not being publicly …

"In a world where science and sorcery have brought peace to the galaxy, a young warrior's belief system is shattered when an evil robot and an ancient witch attack his kingdom, forcing him into a …