Sven Erik Seaholm: “(At) the Spirit Club one ne night, I got pretty excited during a performance there and being that I had a wireless guitar setup, I flew off the elevated stage and into the crowd. Except that I …

On Monday Nov. 5, Hillcrest's live music and art showcase may go from psychedelic to slate gray

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/31/34732/ The outdoor mural paintings covering the exterior of the Ruby Room in Hillcrest have been up for less than two years, and yet operators say the property owners want the artwork removed. "My heart is broken right now," says …

Art rock outfit Vaginals were recently featured on Los Angeles-based internet radio station Kill Radio. Dig it, won't you? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efdhIoVEQaM

Sparks always fly when White and Dresser hook up. LA drum phenomenon Schnelle completed the explosive trio.

The Athenaeum Music & Arts Library drew a packed house for their noon-time presentation of the Joshua White Trio-- this time featuring bassist Mark Dresser, and LA drummer Dan Schnelle. This concert marked the third Dresser appearance in San Diego …

Sasha Syeed of one-man wonder band Nothingful will be celebrating his birthday on Sunday, November 4 with a house show at the Pong House (5039 August Street) in South Clairemont. Seven dollars at the doors gets you in to the …

Age is just a number for the remarkable guitarist, who keeps it real, relevant, and in the moment.

At 90 years sold, and a veteran of the swing and bebop era's of jazz, I'll bet guitarist Mundell Lowe isn't often placed in the free-jazz category. But after catching his show last night at the new Dizzy's, I couldn't …

Blackout Party honors Turko.

Outlaw rockers Blackout Party posted an ode to KUSI’s Mustache of Justice last night. Observe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyO3j8VHHi4

I did it again. Much sooner than I thought I would. I went back to The Irenic because I couldn't resist Dan Deacon. I started listening to Deacon in college, circa 2008, after watching him open for Girl Talk. Deacon …

The San Diego Symphony started their concert with Too Hot Toccata. It was not long but it was hot. After the heat, things cooled off in a hurry. Even though we are in the midst of a Santa Ana, the …

Getting stoned with a sage-scented woman in the chaparral bastion of Jamul.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/28/34506/ From Neil Krug's photo series Jamul. Around this time three years ago, I posted a neighborhood blog about a house party in Jamul. The atmosphere is hard to pinpoint – a clash of belligerence, merriment, machismo, lust, and nihilism, …

Steph Johnson continues her musical journey with the expert support of bassist Rob Thorsen and drummer Fernando Gomez.

Steph Johnson photo by TOM HARTEN The Steph Johnson Trio returned to 98 Bottles last night, filing a new progress report on the singer/guitarist's incremental ascension into the jazz world--and earning high grades in the process. The trio is an …

Harrell augments his working group with string and woodwind players to interpret the works of Debussy and Ravel.

The blending of chamber music with jazz has been an ongoing experiment for many years. Trumpet master Tom Harrell brought the ideas and music of Ravel and Debussy into the Athenaeum at TSRI last night for two sets of lushly …

I thought it might be nice to get a perspective from an orchestra member regarding this weekend’s San Diego Symphony concert. Igor Pandurski is a first violinist. A slight and charming accent to his English confirms that he did his …

Dresser used the acoustically supreme Conrad Prebys concert hall as a duet partner in his creation of vivid sonic worlds.

"When you try to describe the indescribable,"warned British jazz guitarist John McLaughlin, "the indescribable will get you every time." That may be, but here we go. Last night, contrabass magician Mark Dresser performed a solo concert at Conrad Prebys Music …

Anachronistic rockers The Silent Comedy posted a new video last week for their song “Blood on the Rails.” The song was recorded specifically for the trailer of a new TV series on The History Channel, which you can see spliced …

“It was a long time coming,” says Matt Gagin, the man behind Immovable Objects, when asked about his recent move to Perth, Australia. “I was just ready to leave and some of the things that were and are happening in …

B-grade Hollywood thrillers and drive-ins were the inspiration for this collection of spook rock tunes released by local duo Picus Maximus.

When nighttime has fallen and the township retires, a flutter awakens a young woman's desires. --Rick Sparhawk Nothing better than two old and gifted friends in the studio, right? In this case, the two happen to be Jim Soldi and …

A local jazz legend jams and talks about then, and now.

The jam at Haritna, in La Mesa: on an achingly hot Thursday evening my friend Mousa, a giant of a man, slings up his tenor sax in the semi-dark and from memory, blows the opening line of "Sunflower" into the …

Image by Scott Penzer http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/24/34269/ Who doesn't miss the staple-infested LP bins of Off The Record's late lamented Hillcrest locale? Those beat up bins survived hundreds of live concerts, with both bins and shows dating back to the store's original …

Cinematic pop rocker Miz Mandy will premiere two music videos, “Rising Sun” and “The Cat’s Pajamas” on October 27 at Del Mar Plaza, with a free red carpet screening to include the cast and crew of both videos, which will …

Joshua White, in trio with bassist Mark Dresser and tenor saxophonist Ben Schachter, tore through a set of re-imagined bebop and original material in a mid-day concert.

In a special, one hour noon-time concert at the Lyceum Theater, pianist Joshua White and bassist Mark Dresser welcomed tenor saxophonist Ben Schachter to San Diego for a trio performance that celebrated and extended the jazz tradition before a substantial …

The musicians of Orchestra Nova had a conductor ready to step in for the first concerts of the 2012-2013 season. They were willing to go on with the sold out concerts which were an exploration of the music from the …

The San Diego Symphony Orchestra has announced that they are the beneficiary of a $580,000 grant from the James Irvine Foundation. The grant will go to fund a program in 2013 called Your Song, Your Story. What is Your Song, …

Warp Records' gravel-throated desert mystic Gonjasufi returns from the outskirts of Vegas to play a Halloween party at the Kava Lounge

South Bay hip-hop dready gone Vegas desert hermit Gonjasufi returns to his roots for an All Hallow’s Eve party on Saturday, October 27 at the Kava Lounge. “A lot of heads don’t know their shit,” Gonjasufi (aka Sumach Ecks) told …

Swiss-born Gregoire Maret is a chromatic harmonica virtuoso who rolled into town for this season's inaugural Art Power concert last night at The Loft. Leading a band loaded with ringers like bassist Matt Penman, pianist Federico Gonzalez Pena, and powerhouse …

Trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos continued his Friday-night-at-the-Westgate Hotel series, Some Of My Friends Are Piano Players, last night with local piano phenomenon Joshua White and bass stalwart Rob Thorsen in front of another standing-room-only crowd that cheered on two sets of …

The excitement I feel at being able to report that bassist Mark Dresser will perform three times in seven days in San Diego is only topped by the reality that two of those performances will be as a sideman in …

Last Tuesday, Pinback dropped their first album in five years, titled Information Retrieved, via Temporary Residence Ltd. Stream opening track "Proceed to Memory": The music video for "Sherman," directed by Matt Hoyt, reinvents a 1962 cult Soviet film called Planeta …

Bravo to Bonnie Wright! The fearless promoter of cutting-edge music scored again last night with her presentation of composer Philippe Manoury's works performed by soprano Juliana Snapper and electronics pioneer Miller Puckette in a concert that succeeded beyond expectations. Manoury's …

"He's blinking," says Breanne Arrigo Reilly, "and he's swallowing. They said he never would." She is talking about her nephew, Jesse James Arrigo, who very nearly drowned earlier this year. "The accident happened when he was 10 months old." Jesse …

42 years ago today -- 10/18/70 -- Pink Floyd performed in San Diego for the first time at the Intercollegiate Baseball Facility (a.k.a. the Polo Field) at UCSD. Touring behind their Atom Heart Mother album, they had played the previous …

The parking lot of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealership hosted two local rock bands on the evening of Saturday, October 13. As a fund-raiser for the Wounded Warrior Foundation, a $10 donation was suggested at the door. New York Mike, the …

Guitar virtuoso Chris Proctor winner of the National Fingerstyle Championship in 1982, comes to town next week on Oct. 24, for a Dizzy's production held at McCrea Music Company, 8361 Allison Ave in La Mesa. Is this a solo gig, …

Following over a decade of chess, day drinking, and some of the best electronic music nights in town, BeHe dive Kadan closed their doors at the end of August. Official MOONSHAKE Wrap-Up Video at Kadans (R.I.P.) from Trevor Dean on …

Comic Fest, running October 19 through 21, is a new convention organized by several of the original promoters behind the early San Diego Comic-Cons: Mike Towry, Barry Alfonso, and Bob Sourk. “This year is the 40th anniversary of the first …

"I'm 43," says Catfish Comstock after he sets a heavy Mesa Boogie amp down on the backstage loading dock. "And I'm still able to do this." But the strain of heavy lifting shows on his face. Comstock crosses the parking …

In a press release this morning, Orchestra Nova has announced that conductor Jung Ho Pak has resigned. Pak’s resignation comes just a few days before the orchestra’s opening concert of the season. Orchestra Nova violaist Linda Piatt still hopes the …

Future jungle is a bourgeoning style of electronic dance music that decelerates drum n bass and jungle’s customary 160-180 b.p.m. Amen break (a drum fill from the 1969 Winston’s B-side “Amen Brother” that has arguably been the most influential 6-seconds …

I want to explore a topic that is surging to the forefront of classical music. We had a solid representation of this topic in the first two SDSO concerts. The first concert weekend was sold out while the second concert …

An unassuming tijuanense mother by day, former art teacher Azzul Monraz hits the stage at night in the guise of supernatural cabaret diva Madame Ur. With the help of her backing band, Madame Ur y Sus Hombres perform a theatrical …

Photo by TOM HARTEN Born in Russia, now living in NYC, Misha Piatigorsky is a piano virtuoso with an original concept: melding a jazz piano trio with a string-quartet, playing music that reflects his geographic roots with large doses of …

What happened? In just one week, the San Diego Symphony Orchestra went from sold out to about half full. To add insult to injury, this concert was better than last weekend's. This concert had more variety, this concert had enlightenment, …

Mikan Zlatkovich photo by TOM HARTEN Mikan Zlatkovich brought an all-star sextet to inaugurate the grand opening of the new Dizzy's, in the showroom of San Diego Jet Ski, in Pacific Beach last night to a packed-house. The new venue …

"The 'Cowboys and Aliens' song that I wrote with San Diego musician Justin Werner is going to be the theme song for the upcoming Platinum Studios Cowboys and Aliens animated motion picture," Scott West tells the Reader. The song “Cowboys …

Trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos held the second show of his every-Friday-until-New Years concert series, Some of my friends are piano players last night at the Westgate Hotel--this time featuring jazz piano hero Mike Wofford and LA bass monster Hamilton Price in …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/12/33454/ The most important San Diego jazz supporter for years has been Dizzy's owner Chuck Perrin. The man is responsible for literally hundreds of superb concerts. He has been looking for a permanent home for the club ever since he …

“Bonnie Wright has given new artists and different genres of music, including ‘contemporary’ classical, not only a home, but an audience.” Diane Salisbury, Executive Director of the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus emails to tell me that Wright will be …

Every music fan in San Diego is all too familiar with the traditional skipping of America’s Finest City by some of America’s laziest bands. We all know the pattern: Play Phoenix or San Francisco, hit LA and then COMPLETELY SKIP …

“This is a nice little break in the afternoon here in the house of the lord. Now let's play the devil's music.” That's how Ariel Pink opened up his Haunted Graffiti show on Thursday night at San Diego's holiest indie …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/11/33405/ Last night's concert at UCSD featuring improvising icon Karl Berger with vocalist Ingrid Sertso, contrabassist Mark Dresser, saxophonist David Borgo and the UCSD Improvisers Orchestra was pitifully attended-- maybe 50 people in the acoustically superb Conrad Prebys Music Center--which …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/11/33391/ Now that Carnifex has finished its year-long tour behind their best-selling full-length to date, Until I Feel Nothing, they've announced that they're going on hiatus. Though that's not exactly what they're calling it. In a notice posted on their …

Oceanside-based Halloween gypsy punk quartet The Burning of Rome posted a new video yesterday for their staple track "Norman Bates" following the release of their debut album With Us (Surfdog Records) last Friday at the Casbah. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6TUMMue3YgI Surfdog's artist bio …

Pump it up when you don't really need it. Pump it up until you can feel it. "It's a big risk, doing the Costello thing, but I feel very positive about it." Guitarist Ariel Levine, of Ocean Beach by way …

You have every right to instantly like Wild Wild Wets when you read their Facebook bio: "Sounds like Elvis on acid buttfucking Brian Wilson in the face." Then you notice the genre listed as “Rolling down a highway in the …

Every Wednesday throughout October and November, 4th & B will devote a night to local music, to be called $4 Wednesdays. Six bands will play each evening, with the $4 mentioned in the event’s title encompassing both admission and drink …

Last Sunday, I made the trek up north to Los Angeles to catch a performance by one of creative music's greatest contrabass virtuosos, Mark Dresser, appearing at the Angel City Jazz Festival with his East Coast Quintet, featuring reed master …

One of the best events of the year is this Saturday at 10:00 am on the campus of Point Loma Nazarene University. The event is the San Diego Chapter of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, also known as the …

Cap Lillard has died. The word from his family is that he passed away peaceably sometime early Monday morning in his sleep, of complications from diabetes. The first time I met Cap Lyons Dunn Lillard was at a strip bar, …

Following up the opening weekend of Lang Lang, the San Diego Symphony Orchestra is bringing in another world famous pianist. Garrick Ohlsson is as respected as Lang Lang is adored. Dare I say that there are some who would prefer …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/08/33179/ "I'm off to the UK for a kamikaze tour, 13 shows in 13 consecutive days," local guitar legend Greg Douglass tells the Reader. "I'm taking the Former Members, a group consisting of me, keyboardist David Bennett Cohen and bassist …

I live in my dream world. A lot of my songs come from dreams. Sharon DuBois and I have been talking for a half hour or so at Cosmo's in La Mesa. I excuse myself, tell her I'm off to …

San Diego jazz pianist Joshua White continued his inexorable quest of self-realization last night in a stunning performance with his quintet at 98 Bottles. The JWQ may be the most exciting small group performing in Southern California right now. Trombonist …

“I’ve seen some strange stuff in my musical life,” writes Stay Strange promoter/noise musician Sam Lopez (aka Zsa Zsa Gabor), “but The Armory Show is blowing my mind! “The Armory Show is cartoon electro beats filtered through the destabilizing dairy …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/oct/07/33031/ 36 years ago this week --10-7-76 -- the Who played at the San Diego Sports Arena. Beneath Keith Moon's drum kit that evening was a Persian rug that the day before had graced a reception area near his room …

On October 14, singer-songwriter Casey Turner heads to Hawaii for a tour of Hawaii, with over a dozen gigs booked. He’ll be playing the islands of Oahu, Maui and Kauai, taking time to do a bit of surfing between shows. …

October 27 will see the return (after an 8 year absence) of the local BeatleFair convention, with rare performances by mainmen from Beatles lore like Tony Sheridan (in his only U.S. appearance of 2012) and local Beatleholics like Dave Humphries, …

Sold out. Wait. Sold out? Yes. Sold out. As of Friday afternoon, both the Friday evening and Sunday afternoon performances of the SDSO were sold out. When the doors opened at 7:00 pm on Friday evening, there was a hoard …

Chuck Perrin brought guitarist Hristo Vitchev and his unusual trio of vibraphonist Christian Tamburr and pianist Weber Iago into 98 Bottles for a night of super-charged melodic, celebratory music making. Trios minus bass and drums run the inherent risk of …

UCSD will be presenting a unique opportunity to experience the music of a creative-music legend when vibraphonist/pianist Karl Berger appears Oct. 10, in their Wednesdays @ 7 series, held in the acoustically pristine Conrad Prebys Music Center. Joining Berger will …

Fresh Sound, the always envelope-pushing concert series masterminded by Bonnie Wright, continued their quest for sonic adventure in a big way last night when Ken Filiano and Anders Nilsson delivered an alternately blistering and contemplative set at Space4Art in the …

"There are some genres that are harder to play than others." Brittni Paiva (pronounced pie--vah) 23, of Hawaii, is a multi award-winning instrumentalist best known for what she can do with: the ukulele. "But I really don't believe there are …

Sounding perhaps like a modern-day Joy Division from Tijuana, Dancing Strangers released a video for a song titled The Politician on October 1st. Directed by César Ortiz, the video was inspired by the BBC television show Top of the Pops, …

The final chapter of this weekend's Lang Lang saga is a masterclass on the afternoon of Saturday the 6th. It is open to the public. If you've never been to a masterclass, you should definitely go. Masterclasses teach not only …

Wait, there’s more Lang Lang. On Friday and Sunday, Lang Lang is playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5: The Emperor but on Saturday, he’s playing Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. What gives? Saturday is the Opus Gala 2012. This event …

Brooklyn via San Diego brother duo Writer recently posted a cover of Santigold's "Disparate Youth" in anticipation of their upcoming Brotherface LP, available October 30 via 3 Syllables (UK). The video, directed by artist E. Lee Smith, features animated graffiti …

For about a year-and-a-half, some of San Diego’s most innovative electronic music producers have been getting together for regular under-the-radar hob nobs at the Kava Lounge to share formative sounds with fellow musicians. “We meet once a month as a …

"I dated a girl who was a schoolteacher and a yoga instructor for two years. She lived in Pacific Beach. I spent a ton of time down there. You could say I lived there for a summer," says a Los …

Unusual Stage Happenings from San Diego Musicians: Dan Luko (Neon Cough): “Last year, we were invited to play at a house party. We get there, set up our gear, and start playing in the backyard of this house that borders …