More New Local Bands You Should Know

Contents:

1 – Switchfoot/Nickel Creek - New Local “Supergroup”?

2 – Star Wars Rocks: Locals Who Feel the Force

3 – More New Local Bands You Should Know

4 – Worst Amusement Park Attractions Ever

5 – Worst Musical Halloween Costumes Ever

6 – Midnight Movies: A Local History – Part One, the ‘80s

7 – Why Jackson Browne Hates Former Reader Contrib Richard Meltzer

8 – ZZ Top: An Illustrated Rock Tale

9 – Tales of the Palms Hotel

10 – The Day I Sold My Albums to Off the Record

11 – Rockin’ Tattoos – Locals Show Off Their Tats

12 – Tales of Tijuana Bathrooms – Everybody’s Gotta Go Sometime

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SWITCHFOOT MATES WITH NICKEL CREEK, TO START A FICTION FAMILY

STAR WARS ROCKS – LOCALS WHO FEEL THE FORCE

Nickel Creek mandolin player Chris Thile is an avowed Star Wars fan. “We were at a bar in San Diego,” Thile told starwars.com, “when low and behold, Carrie Fisher appears accompanied by two of her friends. It turned out that she had been invited by a buddy of mine, to whom I let slip, trying to express the depth of my Star Wars fanaticism, that I could play ‘Princess Leia’s Theme’ on the mandolin.... I found myself kneeling down in front of her playing.” “She had a kind of distant look on her face at first, but after 15 seconds, a smile (of reminiscence, I think) was added. At one point, one of her friends leaned over and asked her what I was playing, to which she responded, ‘It’s my theme!’ I finished and launched into another round of apologetic prostration, but she silenced me by thanking me and — oh, how I’ll cherish this memory for the rest of my life — feeding me a piece of bread. ‘Nobody’s ever done that for me before,’ she said. Ms. Fisher, should you ever read this, I can now die happy.” Man of a thousand bands Rob Crow has referred to the Star Wars film series in nearly all his musical projects, from Pinback to Goblin Cock, Thingy, Heavy Vegetable, Optiganally Yours, and Other Men... "She purrs and sabers light, I thought of you, we breathe from the same mask." -- Pinback, "Victorious D" "Help me OB1, me and the Rebel Alliance need your help." -- Thingy, "O.B.1" "Jedi will crush the Sith, no surrender to the Dark Side." -- Rob Crow, "Jedi Master" "Release them now [in 3D]! So, please, Lucas I'm waiting." -- Other Men, "Anaglyphic" In addition, Thingy has an instrumental song inspired by Star Wars called "Kessel Run," which, according to Wookieepedia, is "an 18-parsec route used by smugglers to move glitterstim spice from Kessel to an area south of the Si'Klaata Cluster." Crow's memorabilia collection reportedly includes a working R2D2 robot, comic books, a Super-8 film reel with scenes from the original movie, and an array of toys that extends to the main tool of his trade: he customized one of his guitar rigs to look like an X-wing fighter. ********************************************** MORE NEW LOCAL PERFORMERS YOU SHOULD KNOW!  

GRAY GHOSTS

Gray Ghosts is the new band formed from the ashes of Kite Flying Society and Down with Leo. “We've got eight songs done, with about three to four more in the half-formed stage,” says frontman Dustin Illingworth; the band is recording at Black Box Studio. Gray Ghosts are Illingworth (Kite Flying Society) on vocals and guitar, Frank Green on lead guitar and vocals (Down With Leo), Kevin Gossett on bass (the Ex-Friends), Matt Bennett on drums (The Bloody Hollies), and Melanie, a Lexington transplant, on vocals and keys. *********************************************

MELISSA VAUGHAN

Melissa Vaughan writes hopeful, heartfelt piano ballads reminiscent of Norah Jones by way of Tori Amos. “My songs have a lot of genres all crumpled together,” she says. “I have some jazz, some folk, some circus sounds, and a lot of songs kind of float between styles. It’s mostly just mellow music, and the lyrics are usually a bit tongue-in-cheek.” Born and raised in Texas and Oklahoma, Vaughan says she was about seven when she composed her first song. “It was in my great aunt’s basement, in Tishomingo, Oklahoma…. My family taught me to appreciate the important things in life: music, reading, expressing yourself creatively, and basements, which are where most important things begin.” After moving to San Diego with little more than a guitar to her name, Vaughan says, “I took a break from doing anything musical for about two years, except for having the occasional hoedown in my living room.” She bought her first piano at a yard sale in 2005 and began writing songs centered around that instrument. Now she can be found performing solo sets around town and throughout Southern California, usually at coffeehouses and open-mike nights. “I’m just thoroughly content [to be a musician],” she says. “This is my dream.” Melissa Vaughan’s self-titled debut album is available on iTunes, CD Baby, and http://www.myspace.com/melissavaughan http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2008/dec/10/melissa-vaughn *********************************************

COLIN ARMSTRONG

At the age of 12, Colin Armstrong was already touring with bands, thanks to his prowess on - of all things - the bagpipes. He did this until after turning 15. "As you can imagine though," he says, "it is pretty hard to make a living playing bagpipes. I knew I had to learn to sing and play the guitar." Armstrong's next big break came when he won L.A.'s Be a Star contest on STAR 98.7, which resulted in a demo deal with Hollywood Records. The native San Diegan's song "Lonely Fall" won Best Male Vocal and Best Song at the San Diego Music Awards, followed by a Best Pop Vocal nomination for his song "Hey Yoko" at the Los Angeles Music Awards. His song "In Your Eyes" was a top ten finalist in the 2007 American Idol songwriter contest. Early 2008 brought Armstrong a publishing agreement with NorthStar Media, who placed his song "Nothing More to Say" on the Lifetime TV show Army Wives. His debut full length album Lost and Anonymous (Rithmetic Records) was produced and mixed by Mikal Reid (Mick Jagger, Ben Harper, Aerosmith, Wang Chung).

http://www.myspace.com/colinarmstrong

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JODI V

“I’ve always enjoyed music and singing,” says singer/songwriter Jodi Villanueva, aka Jodi V, “but I grew up in a religious household, so singing anywhere else but at church was not an option.” Her first public performance was at age seven with her rendition of “These Words I Sing for You,” a bilingual song composed by her father for her mom. She sang it for a dozen friends and family members on her neighbor’s porch. After a stint singing gospel with National City's New Covenant Church, she joined Amplify, a Christian rock band. “At the age of 18,” says the 2004 Point Loma High graduate, “I was given a bit more freedom, so I took advantage by collaborating with local hip-hop artists and producers that I met through mutual friends.” While singing hooks for rappers and producers in exchange for studio time, Jodi posted her own four-song demo on MySpace. One of the rap groups she performed with also has a MySpace page, which they used to send a “friend request” to Rotation Music, a record label based for over 20 years in Laguna Beach. Label heads weren’t impressed by the hip-hoppers, but they did like the photo of Jodi V they saw on the rappers’ MySpace. “I was approached through MySpace by [label owner] Allan Gomez,” says Jodi. “He offered to help me release my first album.” Distributed by label heavyweight Universal, Jodi V’s provocatively titled debut Seed of Love was released in Autumn 2008, on indie label Rotation Music. Producers on the album include Etienne Fingazz (Lean Like a Cholo), David Salas, Omar Gonzalez, and Shawn Bossick. “My goal is to bring a new meaning to R&B, soul, and hip-hop,” she says. “I’m a Latina with a lot of soul...I’m doing my best to keep this album as real as possible, with topics like ‘Breaking Down’ and ‘Crazy Bitch’ for all the ladies.”

http://www.myspace.com/jodivmusic

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/jodi-v **********************************************

ALEX DEPUE AND MIGUEL DE HOYOS

Classically trained violinist Alex DePue and Mexican guitarist Miguel De Hoyos perform offbeat arrangments of everything from classical numbers to showtunes to pop hits and rock anthems. Among their covers are "All I Ask of You/Music of the Night" (Andrew Lloyd Weber's Phantom of the Opera), "The Stranger" (Billy Joel), "Hotel California" (the Eagles), "Dust in the Wind" (Kansas), and even Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven." The duo's debut CD Underground Whispers was released in Autumn 2008. They regularly play for intimate audiences at the Beach Club Grille on Seacoast Avenue in Imperial Beach, next to the Surf Hut (710 Seacoast Drive, Suite F, 619-628-0777) - you can usually catch them on Sundays from 1 until around 4 p.m. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/alex-depue-and-miguel-de-hoyos ***************************************

HAPPY RON HILL

Comedic singer-songwriter Happy Ron – aka Ronald Hill - fronts Happy Ron, which combines the talents of singer Happy Ron and singer/guitarist Tommy Dahill. Happy Ron has lived in San Diego all his life and his hope is to die in San Diego. In 1992, he compiled a book that was later made into a website: Cloudbusting -- Kate Bush in Her Own Words. He never sang a note until he was thirty and didn’t get “seriously” into music until he was forty. He was played 500 shows since then. In 2008, Hill attended a weeklong “How Music Really Works” seminar/retreat in Canada. “On one of the last days,” says Hill, “I had the opportunity to perform my song ‘All She Needs Is a Spankin’,’ and I was a bit concerned that people might be offended by the rude lyrics, especially this one serious-looking lady.” (Sample lyric: “Something no man would give her/ Something that made her quiver/ A little smack on the butt/ And she’ll no longer be a nut.”) “After I finished, the lady I was worried about jumped up and said, ‘I teach this kinda stuff, does anyone want a spanking demonstration?’ I told her that I’m generally the spanker, not the spankee, but a braver man than I volunteered to be the spankee, and suddenly this serene mountain paradise was transformed into a bizarre class in spanking. It went on for ten more minutes! “The leader of the group turned to me and said, ‘Your songs sure have an interesting impact on people.’ It wouldn’t have been so funny if these were a bunch of swinger types, but they were all fairly typical, normal people who suddenly threw an impromptu spanking party in the woods.” Happy Ron’s 2008 album Terribly Happy includes his ode to spanking "All She Needs Is a Spankin," as well as “The No Tantric Woman Blues,” “Sick of Her S--t,” and “Dickless Wonder.” Over two dozen guest locals appear on the record, including Kelsea Little (the Wrong Trousers), Robin Henkel, and Cathryn Beeks. Also on the album are the Pacific Coast Horns (formerly the Uptown Horns), the horn players from James Brown's "Living In America" and the B-52s' "Love Shack.” The record was produced by local music guru Sven-Erik Seaholm.

http://www.myspace.com/happyron

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2008/sep/03/blurt3

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THE DONKEYS

Jessie Gulati, Anthony Lukens, Sam Sprague, and Tim DeNardo have been friends since high school. They shared a rehearsal space together as part of different bands. But when those bands stopped practicing, they came together and started creating songs and playing shows. Though two of the band members surf, nobody would accuse their country cooked, burrito baked songs of being surf music. They were mentioned in the May 2008 issue of Spin, and featured on National Public Radio, as well as recording several live sets for Daytrotter.com, a studio-concert website. They're signed to the Dead Oceans record label, whose roster also includes Dirty Projectors, These Are the Powers, Bishop Allen, and Phosphorescent. The Donkeys album Living on the Other Side was released in September 2008. Sam Sprague's brother Andrew usually joins the band for tours, as an auxiliary musician.

http://www.myspace.com/thedonkeys

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THE FOCUS GROUP

In summer 2008, the Focus Group put the final touches on their San Diego recording studio. The facility was the realization of two years of sweat and swearing. Singer/guitarist Grant Reinero has a long history of lofty plans. In the late '90s, his now-defunct label, Wrenched, released LPs for locals such as Boilermaker, Antioch Arrow, Spanakorzo, the Shortwave Channel, and Evergreen, before folding in the wake of a distribution deal gone bad. Undaunted by the setback, Reinero joined forces with Ian Woodward, who had just returned from receiving a degree in audio recording in London. They were joined by bassist/keyboardist Marc Guzower (the Drop Science) and percussionist John Cota (Hostile Combover). Singer/guitarist Grant Reinero can often be found at the Casbah; he likes how the tabletop Ms. Pac-Man allows players to battle head-to-head. The group's album Great Moments In Evolution - due in early 2009 - includes guest player Pall Jenkins, of the Black Heart Procession.

http://www.myspace.com/thefocusgroupsspace

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JORDAN REIMER

Teen singer/songwriter Jordan Reimer took her first guitar lessons while living in Las Vegas through a free-lesson program at the House of Blues. “Our recital was at the House of Blues in Las Vegas on the main stage,” she says on her website. “It was huge!” After moving to San Diego she began developing her mix of folk, blues, pop, and Americana while doing open-mike shows at coffeehouse venues like Twiggs and Lestat’s. Critic Tim Mudd says of Reimer, “Jordan is channeling a carnival of past-life experiences that she could not have possibly felt, considering she is only 15.” In 2008 Reimer received a singer/songwriter Honorable Mention at the Malibu Music Awards.

http://www.myspace.com/jordanreimermusic

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RISE OF THE SPEEDMEN

Rise of the Speedmen began as Gene Padigos' one-man show, featuring electronic pre-recorded music accompanied live on various instruments, from guitar to synth, bass, and drums. In 2008, the band became a trio with the addition of bassist Nick Shingle and drummer Rea, both from local punkers Fifty on Their Heels.

http://www.myspace.com/riseofthespeedmen

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TAPE DECK MOUNTAIN

The duo known as Tape Deck Mountain releases their recordings on cassette tapes. Travis Trevisan plays guitar and sings lead, while Paul Remund plays drums and other accompanying instruments. They have an EP called Sparks, produced by Keith Milgaten of The Vision of a Dying World, as well as several remix tapes. Travis Trevisan has also been in the bands Lost Companions International, First Wave Hello, Long Live Logos, Redstone Arsenal, and Holiday Minor.

http://www.myspace.com/tapedeckmountain

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WORST AMUSEMENT PARK ATTRACTIONS EVER

(Thanks to http://www.themeparkreview.com for several of the above photos) ****************************************

Worst Musical Halloween Costumes Ever - from Donny and Marie to the Monkees, Kiss, the Village People, Michael Jackson, and more.... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/13/worst-musical-halloween-costumes-ever

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Midnight Movie Culture in San Diego - Didja know that the first ever live costumed performance during a screening of Phantom of the Paradise took place at the Ken Cinema on July 29, 1983? Here's part one of a five-part history of local midnight movies .... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/27/midnight-movies-a-local-history-part-1-the-80s

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Why Jackson Browne Hates Former Reader Contrib Richard Meltzer - The first time Jackson Browne was profiled Rolling Stone [June 22, 1972], writer Richard Meltzer talked about hanging out with Browne and Velvet Underground icon Nico, who Browne had a serious crush on. Members of Nico’s mostly-gay and/or transvestite entourage were said to have unnerved “innocent” Browne with homosexual advances, and Meltzer went on to call the singer "one hell of a prototype sex symbol for the gay rock underground," pissing off Browne mightily.... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/29/why-jackson-browne-hates-former-reader-contrib

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ZZ Top: An Illustrated Rock Tale: the ZZ Top story, in words and artwork! http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/oct/03/zz-top-an-illustrated-rock-tale

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Tales of the Palms Hotel - from 1978 thru around 1983, I lived at the floppiest of downtown flophouses, the Palms on 12th and Island. This biographical history of those years includes rare photos and tales like the time Chuck Norris came to the Hotel to film a scene for the 1979 movie A Force Of One. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/oct/04/tales-of-the-palms-hotel-in-downtown-san-diego-70s

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The Day I Sold My Albums - vinyl adventures of an album hoarder! http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/oct/21/the-day-i-sold-my-albums-to-off-the-record

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 Rockin' Tattos - Locals talkin' rockin' tats! Parlor by parlor coverage...  http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/oct/27/rockin-tattoos-locals-talkin-rockin-tats

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 Tijuana Bathrooms - Everybody's Gotta Go Sometime - C'mon along as I explore the bathrooms of our neighbor to the south - bring your own TP! http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/oct/06/an-excrement-job-tales-of-tijuana-bathrooms

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Like this blog? Here are some related links:

OVERHEARD IN SAN DIEGO - Several years' worth of this comic strip, which debuted in the Reader in 1996: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/photos/galleries/overheard-san-diego/

FAMOUS FORMER NEIGHBORS - Over 100 comic strips online, with mini-bios of famous San Diegans: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/photos/galleries/famous-former-neighbors/

SAN DIEGO READER MUSIC MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/sandiegoreadermusic

JAY ALLEN SANFORD MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/jayallensanford