REAL Reason Britney Spears Tour is Skipping San Diego
She’s playing L.A. on June 20 (Staples Center) and Anaheim on June 24 (Honda Center), but that’s as close as Britney Spears’ 2011 Femme Fatale Tour is coming to San Diego. DESPITE our city hosting two venues of comparable size …
Action Andy's New All-Star Band Debuts June 18 at Eleven
On June 18, a new local “supergroup” of sorts, Action Andy and the Hightones will debut at Eleven. Comprised of frontman Andy Rasmussen (The Bomboras, The Sleepwalkers), bassist Tom Ward (Nashville Ramblers, Gravedigger V), guitarist Xavier Anaya (The Trebels, The …
Donnie Darko Sequel Doesn’t Deserve Bad Rap
Man, I can hardly find a single positive word about this movie online, and I’m frankly mystified. Given one of the most dubious and potentially pointless tasks in movie history, “Make a sequel to Donnie Darko,” I feel the filmmakers …
Reverend Stickman Wins Songwriting Competition
Reverend Stickman was named the winner by a panel of four judges at the San Diego Songwriters Guild Performing Songwriter Competition hosted by Guild president Sandi Shaner Gugliatti and held May 14 at Humphrey’s Backstage Music Club on Shelter Island. …
Imprisoned Rapper Young Mass Writes Message From Jail
“Slick Rick, 2Pac, C-Murder, Mystikal, and Lil Kim have all had different post-incarceration paths,” says Massterpiece Entertainment head 40 Oz Chris of Young Mass' latest legal problems. “No one can predict the aftermath of Mass’ incarceration, but I know we …
Royals of San Diego Recruited to Back Original Safaris
Vintage doo-wop stars the Safaris, featuring original singer Jim Stephens, have recruited Peter King, Jim Carkagis, and Kevin Jones from the Royals of San Diego to perform with them at several shows. The Safaris will appear August 11 at Tachi …
Do You Remember: The Midway Drive-in
THE MIDWAY Drive-In was constructed in 1947 at the intersection of Midway Drive and Sports Arena Boulevard, back when the Boulevard was still Frontier Street and Navy barracks stood on acreage later occupied by a FedMart. The Midway Drive-In Theatre …
Famous Former Neighbors Profile: Runaways Mastermind Kim Fowley
Born July 21, 1939, Kim Fowley was two when his mom put him in a College Grove foster home. At the age of six, his dad moved him to Malibu, though Kim frequently returned to San Diego to live in …
32 Years Ago Today: The Police at PB's Roxy Theater
5-16-79: The Police played the long-gone Roxy Theater, at 4642 Cass Street in Pacific Beach. Broadcast live on KGB-FM, the performance was widely bootlegged, the most common version being San Diego d'Amour. Several websites offer the entire bootleg, including http://www.dimeadozen.org …
The Day the Ken Cinema Made Cult Movie History
July 29, 1983, Ken Cinema: First Known “Shadowcast” Fan Participation at a screening of Phantom of the Paradise! The Rocky Horror Picture debuted as a midnight movie at OB’s Strand Theater in 1977 – soon enough, devotional fans were showing …
Taylor Guitars: The Inside Story
San Diego’s own Taylor Guitars started in 1974 as the dream of Bob Taylor (age 19) and Kurt Listug (age 21) on a loan of $10,000. In its short 37-year history, the company has gone on to be the leading …
Dateline: May 1959 - Elvis Movie Causes Mexican Riot
May 1959: While Elvis Presley’s popularity in the U.S. was arguably at its all-time peak, Mexico was in the midst of a huge anti-Elvis backlash. Tijuana tabloids called him a racist and homosexual, after the singer reportedly told gossip columnist …
Nick Cannon Responds to Drunk/Stoned Birth Allegations
Nick Cannon has responded to allegations that he and his wife Mariah Carey were drinking liquor and taking illegal drugs at the L.A. hospital where she gave birth to twins on April 30 (which happened to be their third wedding …
Local “State Controlled Radio” Online Archive and May Schedule
Jon Kanis once asked me, "Are you a Plimsouls fan?" Like any right-thinking music writer I said, "Of course" -- which is how I found out Kanis was Peter Case's newsletter publisher and road manager in the early '90s. This …
San Diego Music Thing Conference Accepting Artist Submissions
LAFAYETTE HOTEL, UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS/NORTH PARK, SAN DIEGO The San Diego Music Thing (formerly known as the North Park Music Thing- NPMT) is now in its fourth year drawing music industry professionals, talented musicians and aspiring professionals to San Diego. This …
Drive-In Movie Reviews: Black Caesar (1973) and Cover Me Babe (1970)
BLACK CAESAR (1973) I've only seen a few vintage "blaxploitation" films, so bear in mind that my POV here is far different from that of devotional (and well-informed) fans who frequent the many websites focusing on this genre, which flourished …
Liquid Blue's New Acoustic Spinoff Debuts May 27
Liquid Blue recently earned a Guinness World Record for their song “Earth Passport,” as it was sung in more languages than any other song ever to hit the Billboard Charts. All six official United Nations languages were used in the …
Local Celebs Who LOVE Star Wars!
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/may/29/25184/ With Legoland having unveiled its new Star Wars display, and the Blu-ray release of Star Wars: The Complete Saga, it’s a good time to be fool for the Force. Man of a thousand bands Rob Crow has referenced SW …
Dawn of Midi Wins Grant, Releases Live Album
Improv jazz trio Dawn of Midi were recently awarded a 2011 Chamber Music America Presenting Jazz Grant to produce new recordings. The band is using the grant to complete their multimedia work Kashmir, for which the organization Triple Canopy is …
Movies Shot in San Diego: A Force of One (1979)
THE DAY CHUCK NORRIS CAME TO THE PALMS HOTEL ON 12TH AND ISLAND (and Jennifer O’Neal, too!!) A Force of One is a Chuck Norris/Jennifer O’Neal thriller with Chuck kicking ass all over downtown San Diego, circa 1979. Some shots …