Top secret gig in top secret locale, plus Overheard in San Diego - THE MUSICAL!

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DAGO BRAVES TONIGHT WITH LIL <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />WAYNE at Sycuan

Local rappers The Dago Braves are playing their biggest show tonight/Tuesday, at Cox Arena, with Lil Wayne and Gym Class Heroes.

Their topical lyrics address subjects like the changing political climate, biracial and multiracial culture, life on the Rez, life outside of the Rez, and music and life in general.

Being both African American and Native American, the duo express the struggles and advantages of being born between races. Their music reflects their local life experiences by fusing the original native rhythms of the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation with the distinct hip hop beats of the San Diego rap scene.

The Dago Braves are fronted by cousins Terrence "Poodeezy" Brown and Mike "Odoe" Allen. "We are both three-quarters black and a quarter Native American," says Brown. "Our grandma is full-blooded [Native American]."

“Everyone has their hustle,” says Brown, “[and] the casino is our hustle. It’s what’s bringing the tribal family back together. Until we had the casino the tribal family was spread in every direction just trying to get by. Now we’re together and we’re doing alright.”

Last Fall, the Dago Braves won a Native American Music Award for Best Rap Hip Hop Recording, for their debut CD Native American Hustle. They also played the award show afterparty, and were seen walking the red carpet at the Do Something Awards (which is the official pre-party to the Teen Choice Awards).

Brown says the lyrics on Dago Braves’ first album are positive, not gangster. "Our lyrics come from our firsthand experiences; we try and keep it real. If we say we're driving in a Benz, we're really driving in a Benz. There's no lyin'."

Native American Hustle features local producers including Da Batkave, Grimmie Recs, Steve Vicious and Dave Moss.

Their recently released sophomore album Kumeyaay Cool Guyz includes locals Da Batkave, DJ Rek, J. Elliot Ness (our vote for Best Rapper name of the Month), and Haze Banger.

“Having the respect of our community means more to us than anything,” says Mike "Odoe" Allen. “It is a huge honor for us and we’re so thankful for the acknowledgement.”

“With their successes,” says Sycuan’s Paula Gould, “they're beginning to put the San Diego rap scene on the national platform. The goal; to make San Diego, and all its talent, a music force to be reckoned with, in much the same way the East Bay was in the ‘90s and the way Atlanta is now.”

Lil Wayne's Cox Arena set will stream live online tonight. His new rock single "Prom Queen" is debuting during the concert, and it will also appear on his MySpace page - the song is from his upcoming rock album Rebirth. more

Genre: Hip-hop / Rap

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WHERE IS THE READER'S HIP-HOP COVERAGE? - “Rap isn’t synonymous with hip-hop,” I’m told by DJ EVS (real name Evan McGinnis), of the three-piece Mission Infinite. “I think KRS-One [a social/political rapper, co-founder of Boogie Down Productions] defined it best: ‘Rap is something you do, hip-hop is something you live.’ Rap is the style of how you compose your words, the rhyming and rhythm. Kind of like scat. Hip-hop is how you talk, how you wear your clothes, more of the lifestyle”.....

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/aug/30/where-is-the-readers-hip-hop-coverage

 

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RACIST ROCK: DO THE WHITE THING - a History of SoCal Racist Rock - White power rock music provides the rallying call which unites racists and Nazi-inclined Skinheads who hope to develop a common culture - or at least present the appearance of one. Racist rock expouses hostile ideology, directed against non-whites, particularly anyone of Negro or Jewish descent; the lyrics are angry, nihilistic, and all about advocating intolerance, if not actual violence, against minorities....

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/aug/30/racist-rock-do-the-white-thing

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CATHRYN BEEKS’ WEEKLY LISTEN LOCAL HOTSHEET

     

Tuesday 1/27 - Bare Back Grill downtown at 5th and E with Lindsay White!  Good food and music with 7:00 Victoria Rose, 7:30 Jeffrey Joe Morin, 8:00 Megan Combs, 8:30 Sam Bybee, 9:00 Folding Mr. Lincoln, 9:30 Lindsay White - NO COVER

 Christopher Dale's birthday show is this Wednesday, January 28th, at the Handlery Hotel and will feature sets from his friends... join us in the celebrating!

 A must see!  This Friday,  Jan. 30th 

Cowboy Jack Johnson presents: The Hank Show (Hank Williams, Sr. tribute
 band) and BAND IN BLACK (Johnny Cash tribute band) 
at 4th & B.  "A double show of vintage replica country
 music from the 1940’s to 1960’s with authentic singing style, costumes
 and instrumentation.  From ‘Hey, Good Lookin’ and Your Cheatin’
 Heart to ‘Folsom Prison’ and ‘Ring of Fire'.  Tell yer friends!

My friend Scott Stimpson (who turned me onto Tami Gosnell) gave me another heads up.... don't miss Stephanie Schneiderman at Lestat's on Wednesday night January 28, at 8:00pm.

 Wednesday, February 4th:
Backstage at The Bitter End with 8:00 Victoria Rose, 8:30
Melissa Vaughan, 9:00 Mark Jackson Band, 10:00 Dave
Perskie and Session 73, 11:00 Jacqueline Grace

Artist of the Week: Victoria Rose is a highly acclaimed 7 string classical guitarist who plays a plethora of your favorite songs with a style all her own... don't miss her this Tuesday, Jan 27th, at Bare Back Grill at 7pm.

Link of the Week:  We're proud to announce that TakeLessons.com is a new Listen Local partner, offering voice and instrument lessons and helping teachers find students, too.  Visit the site and let them know Cathryn Beeks and Listen Local sent you!

www.myspace.com/cathrynbeeksordeal : As for Cathryn's own current events, she says "I'm going to be more proactive about promoting my own band, The Cathryn Beeks Ordeal.  Next weekend we begin work on the new album at Berkley Sound and we have some great shows coming up...Pretty exciting stuff happening... join The Cathryn Beeks Ordeal's mailing list and be part of the family!"

ListenLocalSD.com | The Calendar | FAQs | Venues and Partners |Contact

MORE CATHRYN BEEKS ON THE READER SITE: Musician Interviews (Dec. 30, 2004), Musician Interviews (April 5, 2007), Blurt (March 26, 2008), Hometown CD Review (Oct. 15, 2008)

CATHRYN BEEKS MP3S:

Desert Music - Add to playlist

Drive America - Add to playlist

Good To Be - Add to playlist

Keep Walking - Add to playlist

www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/cathryn-beeks-ordeal

**************************************************** COVER ME BADD'S BEATLES U.S. TO PERFORM DOWNTOWN ON THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BEATLES' LEGENDARY ROOFTOP SHOW This Friday, forty years later to the minute (minus the eight hour time difference), San Diego legends Cover Me Badd are bringing back their famed Beatles U.S. act to celebrate the anniversary of the Beatles' last semi-public performance. In the spirit of the Fab Four playing a rooftop lunchtime set to an unsuspecting London, the Beatles U.S. will play the same songs that John, Paul, George, Ringo and organist Billy Preston played on January 30, 1969. Though the exact time and location is being kept under wraps, several clues were divulged at a recent secret press conference that no one was invited to. According to singer Adam Gimbel, "People should head to Horton Plaza and be sure to bring their ice skates. When they see that the ice skating rink has been taken down for the season and look skyward in disappointment, they might just see us." When questioned about what time the set will take place, Gimbel inexplicably yelled out the name of Herman's Hermits singer Peter Noone exactly twelve times. He then bragged about how the Beatles never did encores, but they might be doing one at 8pm. The everchanging Cover Me Badd formed The Beatles U.S. two years ago for a Beatlesque installment of the Tribute! concert series at Safari Sam's in Los Angeles. Though the show was barely attended, two videos from the band's set ended up on Youtube and have been viewed over 35,000 times. Two of the group's main members, Adam Gimbel and Dylan Martinez are no strangers to having thousands of people watch them play the Beatles online. Their "real" band Rookie Card played "Back In The USSR" outside of their album release show several years ago just as a plane flew overhead in a bit of incredible timing. A video of the performance was mentioned in a San Diego Reader cover story and has become the stuff of legend. The group vowed to reform when the time was right and the time was right several months ago when they insisted on playing the first event on the roof of the newly re-opened 10th Avenue Theater in San Diego's East Village. Noticing that the 40th anniversary was just a few months away, they vowed to find somewhere right downtown to play on January 30th. Gimbel inquired with almost every building that has a roof in downtown San Diego about hosting the event but they all had either tented for winter, had never heard of McCartney's pre-Wings material or wanted $15,000. Luckily, the kind folks at Westfield's Horton Plaza stepped forward to give the band a place to play, so that they too could be part of something so historic. When the Beatles were trying to come up with a place to film their last performance for the film that eventually became Let It Be, they talked about doing it on a boat, at the Royal Albert Hall in London and even in Africa. Strangely enough, there are rumors of an outtake from the movie where John Lennon turns to Yoko Ono and mumbles something about "an MC Esher styled shopping mall that smells like cinnamon buns in San Diego....near Broadway and 3rd Street." Rather than play on a roof where no one could see them, the Beatles US decided to comply with Lennon's wishes and play somewhere a bit more retail oriented. Ever charitable, the band is playing FOR FREE while requesting donations for their friends, local soul/funk outfit The Tightenups, who recently had their rehearsal space robbed of several thousand dollars worth of equipment. Though world-famous Beatle coverband the Bootleg Beatles played the same famous fifth story roof that the Beatles played at 3 Saville Row in London ten years ago, local council and police have cancelled this year's recreation due to "health and safety reasons". Not surprisingly, all eyes have turned towards a shopping mall in San Diego, California for the next best thing. Those seeking 100% faithful renditions, fake accents, period-perfect costuming or even an actual roof need not attend. Like all Cover Me Badd acts, the Beatles US puts more of a twist (and a shout) on things than most Beatle copycat bands. An elevated time is guaranteed for all!

http://www.CoverMeBadd.com    ---   http://www.myspace.com/TheTightenups
http://www.westfield.com/hortonplaza

SECRET LOCATION: maybe Westfield's Horton Plaza at Broadway Circle, downtown San Diego

SECRET DATE: probably 40 years after January 30, 1969

SECRET STARTING TIMES: rhymes with "moon" (plus 8pm for those who won’t ditch work)

SECRET REASON WHY: Because when someone breaks into your friends’ rehearsal space and steals thousands of dollars worth of equipment, you learn Beatles songs and take to the skies.

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ROOKIE CARD GETS BACK IN THE USSR, HARGO CRIES FOR LENNON

Awhile back, somebody filmed Rookie Card's record-release party at the Casbah, where they took to the sidewalk in front of the club to perform the Beatles' "Back in the U.S.S.R." for an encore. Though some instruments are inaudible due to the amps being inside the club, there's enough acoustic headbanging to get the small crowd singing along. The whole crew nearly falls over in amazement when, on cue, a jet soars overhead on its way to land at the airport, its roaring engine drowning out the final notes, identical to the original Beatles recording. The camera catches a shot of the jet and then swings back to everyone losing their minds over the supersonic synchronicity. Also, here’s “Crying For John Lennon,” by local singer/songwriter Hargo and produced by none other than “Let It Be” producer and accused murderer Phil Spector. Spector produced the track for Hargo in early April 2007. “Crying For John Lennon” was originally intended for a documentary film Spector was being interviewed for. Hargo met the reclusive producer at the same castle-like home in Alhambra where murder victim Lana Clarkson was found in February 2003. Hargo performed the song and was interviewed on Court TV August 16, 2007, during the network’s daytime coverage of Spector’s murder trial. “He [Spector] is actually really shy,” said Hargo. “He doesn’t always look people in the eye…in fact, he had his back turned to me when I first played him the CD demo. When he turned around, he told me it reminded him of John [Lennon], especially the slap echo I used on my voice.” The following week, Spector agreed to produce the track, at no charge. The documentary is called “Strawberry Fields.” Spector produced the Beatles near the end of their career, as well as recording John Lennon in a session where Spector allegedly fired a pistol into the ceiling during an argument. A Court TV reporter asked Hargo about this. “He [Spector] didn’t tell that story,” said Hargo, “although I’ve heard it before.” ************************************

BEATLES ROOFTOP CONCERT RECREATED IN NORMAL HEIGHTS (INCLUDING COPS!) – by Bart Mendoza

On November 22, 40 years to the date since the release of the Beatles' White Album, a surprise rooftop celebration was held in Normal Heights. Announced through radio mentions on the Walrus and a few online postings, an appreciative crowd watched from the street below, as well as the parking lot across the street. Doubtless, hundreds more listened throughout the community. This was a true guerilla show, with no permits, ads, flyers or posters. With the rooftop of Mariposa Ice Cream on Adams Avenue doubling as the Saville Row offices of Apple Records, and DJ Dave Mason making introductions, the Baja Bugs recreated the Beatles infamous rooftop concert, throwing in an extra set's worth of their tunes, while the Dave Humphries Band entertained played material from their various albums, as well as some choice covers from the Beatles' solo years.

(DJ Dave Mason popping in; and a visit from the Blue Meanies)

The crowd on the rooftop grew exponentially as the afternoon wore on – consider that the day's equipment had to be hauled up to the roof by ropes and you can see it was an effort to reach that summit, but smiles were the order of the day. Smiles were visible even on the faces of drivers on Adams Avenue who slowed or stopped to watch. Ironically while The Beatles were shut down fairly quickly by the police during their rooftop performance, in this case it took authorities several hours to arrive. However, under threat of fines and equipment confiscation, the afternoon ended, though not before a final rendition of “Get Back.” The best part about the day? Take your pick. The camaraderie of the crowd, the sing-a-longs, or maybe the neighborhood introductions made amongst those who came out to take in the music. From the mother who brought out a table and chairs from her shop to have her kids watch the bands to the elderly couple that rode up on bicycles, there was a wonderful cross section of area residents and visitors. (courtesy http://abbeyrd.best.vwh.net/news/1125upontheroof.html) *************************************

DAVE HUMPHRIES: 4-TIME APPLE REJECT!

February 1964: the Beatles taught the world to play. “Do You Wanna Know A Secret” and “Love Me Do” dominated the U.S. charts in the wake of the group’s U.S. landing. British songwriter Dave Humphries remembers it well – he was there. Humphries moved to San Diego in 1996, but at one time the native of Durham City in northeast England was known as someone on the periphery of the Beatles story and as “the man rejected by Apple Records [four times] more than anyone else alive.” Humphries’ appearance at the 2003 Beatlefair allowed him to meet and play with another figure from the Beatles’ past, Tony Sheridan, for whom the fab four played on their first-ever recording “My Bonnie,” credited to Tony Sheridan And the Silver Beetles. While Sheridan was at BeatleFair, Humphries talked him into co-writing and recording a song in Mission Hills, “38 Days,” which appears on a CD self-released by Humphries. This recording was made easier due to Sheridan’s longtime keyboard player Wolfgang Grasekamp living in La Mesa, another recent transplant to San Diego.

(Humphries with the Beatles' original recording frontman, Tony Sheridan)

Humphries also tried to get one-time Beatles drummer Pete Best to participate in the “38 Days” recording, since Best was in town at the same time for a BeatleFair. Local rumor has reported Best’s reaction to the invitation to be “Show me the money.” Pete Best’s agent reports that he’s paid $4,000 to appear anywhere and upwards of $6,000 to $10,000 if he’s to actually perform. Being booted from the Beatles seems to finally be paying off. Dave Humphries' album 38 Days earned him a nomination at the 2006 San Diego Music Awards. The disc includes two tracks featuring Tony Sheridan on guitar. His newest record, And So It Goes..., from Blindspot Records, was produced by Mike Kamoo (the Stereotypes) and Wolfgang Grasekamp at Kamoo's Earthling Studios. Kamoo makes a guest appearance on the album, as do Bart Mendoza (the Shambles), Todd Hidden (ex-Rockola member), and Tony Sheridan on 5 of the 11 tracks. The album received airplay on BBC Radio Merseyside's Juke Box Jury on March 29, 2008, in a show hosted by Spencer Leigh, documentary writer and author of the Merseybeat book Let's Go Down to the Cellar. Humphries' shares his recollection of the night John Lennon died, 28 years ago next week, on December 8, 1980: "It was just like another normal December morning in Durham, northeast England, cloudy and a little cold. I heard my dad go off to work and before long would hear my mother shout up the stairs, 'Are you getting up?' But today she didn't do that, today it was 'John Lennon has been shot.'" "A sick feeling consumed me. I didn't know how to handle this. Of course we'd had deaths in the family, but this was different, it felt as if my youth had been torn away. My hero was gone, a man whom I felt I had known personally since 1963, a man I admired, a man who together with his three mates inspired me, made me laugh out loud, made me pick up the guitar, a man murdered by a bastard with a gun. I recall the BBC showed Help! that night. I didn't watch, didn't see any of the news reports, couldn't; I don't know now how I got through the days or nights. I tried to avoid friends, couldn't discuss it -- just felt raw. It was months before I could listen to John's voice without filling up and breaking down. John, who gave so much to the world, murdered for what?" ************************************************** WHY AL KOOPER HATES LOCAL WRITERS (BUT LOVES SAN DIEGO) Earlier this month, the legendary Al Kooper made another appearance at the old Normal Heights church that hosts the Acoustic Music San Diego series. Our own William Crain wrote an excellent Of Note about the man himself – go ahead and checkitout, I’ll wait - http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2009/jan/07/al-kooper Another Reader contrib, Josh Board, attended a 2005 Kooper show at AMSD and wrote about it for our Blurt column. As I found out when I later contacted Mr. Kooper, he wasn’t at all happy with Josh’s piece. www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2005/jan/27/when-i-asked-al-kooper Two things in particular seemed to irk him – Josh wrote “The sold-out show started more than half an hour late,” a claim disputed by venue operator Carey Driscoll. Josh also related some questions he asked Kooper before the show, apparently with Kooper assuming him to be just another patron rather than a reporter. But the biggie, apparently, was Josh’ toss-off comment in Blurt that “Anyone's got to sing better than Kooper.” So fast forward to October 2005 – I contacted Kooper through AMSD to see if he’d care to contribute a capsule to a Reader article asking people where they were and what they were doing on the day John Lennon was killed. Kooper, it turns out, was actually recording with George Harrison at the time of Lennon’s murder – however, it didn’t look good for the Reader getting Kooper to tell the tale, once I got this email: AL KOOPER: “IF I am not mistaken, Josh Board is a writer for your magazine. He has insulted me in print and very unprofessionally ‘interviewed’ me. That has really soured me on your publication. If I am wrong and he does not write a column in your paper, I am interested.” Well, he was not wrong, and he sent me further clarification on his position: AL KOOPER: “Y'know, Jay when it says ‘....the worst singer in the world...’ - San Diego Reader, it really doesn’t matter who does what. And when he interrupts my soundcheck just to get his personal stuff signed (which I do because he knows Carey), and he misquotes me in what he claims in print, is an interview, it all reflects on the San Diego Reader, whether you know him or not. So tell Josh the guy that spent that day with George Harrison wouldn’t do the piece because of Josh's underhanded assassination job. Maybe it will improve his style. It wasn’t that he said bad stuff about me – it’s that he interrupted me to get his personal stuff SIGNED BY ME, and then assassinated me claiming he interviewed me. Bad journalism hurts us all. Hopefully, this time it hurts him. I am truly sorry because it’s certainly not YOUR fault.” Now, to be fair, Kooper has long had an adversarial history with journalists. Including other locals. The late, great musician/writer/all-around-great-guy Buddy Blue wrote a piece for his Blue Notes column that also seemed to take potshots at the man (photo courtesy buddyblue.net): BUDDY BLUE: “As a lifelong advocate of the vastly under-appreciated Kooper, I was quite disappointed to find him personally somewhere between stand-offish to downright butt-headed when we met a few months ago at his local concert. Still, I can't deny the man his props: this, the first real Kooper solo album in 30 years (!!), is also his very best; 70 minutes of amalgamated pop/blues/jazz/soul triumph nearly the equal of his unconquerable Blood Sweat & Tears masterpiece, Child Is Father To The Man. The songs, performances, arrangements, production; all approach something frighteningly close to perfection. Welcome back. Butthead.” Kooper actually took the time to write Blue a lengthy thought-out email, which I don’t think Buddy would mind me sharing with you now: AL KOOPER: “Sorry I couldn’t live up to your expectations, or be the man you'd hoped I'd be. I was certainly happy to meet you. But I'm just another slug getting ready to play a two hour show and clear my head out to do the best I can for people who went out of their way to come see me. Then I sit in a corner and sign every possible piece of memorabilia that people bring for an hour, pack up all my own sh-t (no roadie or posse, Jack) and then travel two hours to my next hotel. Surely, you've been through this dude - Maybe you were never the prince people hoped u might be when they encountered you b4 or after a show. I don’t recall treating you badly at all. You're one of my heroes, fer chrissakes - for writing that DCT piece.... so let me pass on a little advice to you. It’s actually my mantra that has kept me virtually sane for the last 47 years of my professional life – ‘If you don’t expect anything, you're NEVER disappointed.’ Try it on, bud. It fits great - in biz and in life." "Your friend in words & music, Al Kooper." I have to side with Kooper in both instances ----- I can see why he felt unfairly maligned, without having actually done any specific thing to justify the published commentaries (surely there are far worse singers, making much more money for their warblings – Kooper may not be Caruso, but I’VE never heard him sing a note that I’d call a bum one). So, anyway, thanks to an assist from Carey at AMSD, Al Kooper did finally agree to tell me about the day he heard John Lennon had been murdered.

Here’s Kooper’s commentary, which is, as he requested, presented exactly as he wrote it ---- AL KOOPER: “I was born an insomniac. Tests later revealed that when I eventually fell asleep, I would immediately descend into the deepest sleep there is; one that takes normal folks 3 to 6 hours to reach; the filet mignon of bedtime. I usually only sleep two to four hours each evening.” “On the evening of December 8th, I was living in London in the UK and had just returned from George Harrison's home, where I was helping to record Somewhere In England, his latest album-in-progress. I had a bit of a nap on the two hour drive home in fellow musician Ray Cooper's Rolls Royce, so I was kinda up for the night. The TV usually went blank at midnight and I would switch the radio on routinely so that I had company in the wee hours.” “The news in London because of the time change came about 2:30 AM. It started with news that John had been shot.” “I was aghast. It quickly followed that he was dead. Stunned, I went back and forth optioning calling George as I'm sure I was one of a handful of Brits who HAD this info. I couldn’t be the one to tell him, I reasoned. He's gonna need that sleep he's getting now, I surmised knowing the British media.” “At 9 AM, I called Ray Cooper who was co-producer of the album, and after a lengthy chat, we decided to go ahead with the session - that it might keep George from dwelling in sadness all day. Armed with a few bottles of excellent wine, we arrived there about noon. A gaggle of reporters greeted us at the main gate standing in the English rain. We sidestepped their enqueries, locked the gate and drove up to the house.” “George was white. He hugged us both and we began the days work. We stopped three times during the next ten hours. Phone calls from Ringo, Paul & Yoko. He began rewriting lyrics to a track we had just cut the day before. In ensuing days, McCartney put backing vocals on, joining George & Ringo on that track and oh yes, the insomniac Wurlizer pianist from New York who was one of the first to purchase 'She Loves You' approximately 16 years before.” “That track soon evolved into an honest musical tribute to John, and became a #1 single in the US scant months later. By ten PM, he was exhausted and a bit inebriated. He thanked us both for coming and headed for the arms of Morpheus. Ray & I headed back to London, glad we had done what we could for George that day.” “I shall never forget that 24 hour period as long as I live.” ************************************************

THE BEATLES [MUSIC] IN SAN DIEGO

Panic at the Disco playing “Eleanor Rigby” in San Diego, December 9, 2006 The San Diego Men's Chorus performing Let It Be. The video behind the singers depicts hate and oppression toward many different group, and ends with pictures of unity, solidarity, justice, love and friendship. Performed in the newly reborn Balboa Theatre, April 2008. "Conspicuous Consumption" : San Diego shopping centers – short film set to song segments from three different versions of "Money (That's What I Want)" by The Beatles, Josie and the Pussycats, and The Flying Lizards. “Anna/I Want You” by misc ailments foundation Live at club U-31 4/9/08 w/ Circa Now, Blizzard, and the Infants. San Diego Trolley shots, set to “Yellow Submarine.” UCSD Tritones – “Because / That's What You Get” UC San Diego Tritones - January 26, 2008. Reeve Carney playing “I Want You” live at Lestat’s March 21, 2008. Local guitarist Fred Benedetti performing "Eleanor Rigby" at Dizzy's 10-8-06: UCSD student filmmakers with their Poloroid/video for "Norwegian Wood," performed and produced by Trevor Muzzy, with visuals (including Polaroids) and editing by Hillary Elder (2007): The Fab Four tribute group performs "Here Comes The Sun" at the annual San Diego BeatleFair, 6-13-07: Another local cover band, 921, performing "Day Tripper" 7-28-07: And a snippet of a member of the all-Marine band American Hitmen performing "Golden Slumbers" at the Del Mar Fair: ****************************************

THE BEATLES [FOR REAL!] IN SAN DIEGO

8-28-65 – the Beatles: For the Beatles' one and only local appearance, at Balboa Stadium, radio station KCBQ declared that Saturday "Beatle Day" and gave out pins saying so to attendees. Four local teenagers won a contest to present ceremonial keys to the city to the band at an afternoon press conference. (The Beatles being awarded the key to San Diego - hey, wake up, George!) Area DJ "Happy Hare" (aka Harry Martin) recalled for Kicks Magazine that "Joan Baez was going to visit John Lennon [backstage], and she was caught up in the human riptide, because she was on the outside of the fence with all the kids. I literally lifted her up and pushed her over the fence. She eventually got backstage, but she came close to being crushed to death." Local headlines the next day read "Beatles Quip at a Fast Clip" and "Ecstasy and Emotion: Beatles and Beatlemania Erupt." The band played around 40 minutes, with some of the show surreptitiously recorded by KGTV chief photographer Lee Louis, who smuggled in a 16mm film camera (a portion of his footage is posted on YouTube). Around 28,000 tickets were printed, priced at $3.50 and $5.50, though only about 18,000 were sold. The Beatles were reportedly paid $50,000, while promoters said their cut was around $6000. The night before the San Diego gig, August 27th, the Beatles met Elvis Presley for the first time, spending around an hour in his Bel Air mansion. According to Disc Weekly at the time (9-4-65), Elvis jammed with the Beatles to a tune played on his jukebox. A member of Elvis' Memphic Mafia talked the Beatles into signing a piece of Elvis stationary, which is due to be auctioned with an opening bid of $50,000. Helen Halmay interviewed the Beatles before their only San Diego concert. Halmay, who was 20 at the time, says she has a few regrets. "Nobody who interviewed them asked for their autograph.... I had never been to a press conference before. I didn't know I didn't need tickets since I was with the press. After the press conference, we went out and went in through the gates. I thought, 'By God, if I bought tickets, I'm going to use them.' Do you know how much those tickets would be worth if I had saved them?" What questions did reporters ask the Beatles? "People tended to ask them what they thought of San Diego. That was really dumb. They had never been here before, and they had just gotten off the bus. My one question was 'What's your favorite American TV show?' I think they said The Man from U.N.C.L.E." Halmay, who was the society editor for the weekly La Mesa Scout, says she "asked my owner/editor/publisher if I could cover it. He said, 'None of our readers are interested in the Beatles.' " Halmay got permission to go (off the job) and bought her own film to take pictures. "They are not very exciting. It just shows them sitting in a row at a table." She says all four were heavy smokers. "I guess I've forgotten how much people used to smoke in those days." As it was with Balboa Stadium, Halmay says the La Mesa Scout "...never made it out of the '70s." (Some material for this capsule written by Ken Leighton) (Beatles at San Diego press conference - see and read more at

www.moosenet.com/beatles/beatsd.html

) The Beatles: 8-28-65, Balboa Stadium For the Beatles’ one and only local appearance, the band played around forty minutes, with some of the show surreptitiously recorded by KGTV chief photographer Lee Louis, who smuggled in a 16mm film camera.  6-16-76 – Paul McCartney and Wings at San Diego Sports Arena: McCartney brought his Wings Over America tour to the Sports Arena just as Wings at the Speed of Sound was topping the U.S. charts. "They flew in on a private jet, [and] people literally wept when McCartney hit the stage," recalls local music historian and Shambles front man Bart Mendoza. "He played a hit-filled show, lasting just over two hours, and included a few Beatles tunes -- 'I've Just Seen a Face,' 'Lady Madonna,' etc. -- but stuck heavily to his solo tunes." Mendoza says that a high point came with "a pyrotechnic-laden 'Live and Let Die.' But the defining moment was likely those first two seconds as the crowd realized that, yes, he was about to play 'Yesterday.' It was pandemonium."  Several songs from this show appear on the bootleg album Oriental Nightfish, produced in 1977 by Reading Railroad Records (aka Hoffman Avenue Industries, Inc.). A double LP on colored vinyl, San Diego cuts include "Jet," "Magneto and Titanium Man," "My Love," "Soily," and "Beware My Love." ****************************************** ********************************************

UNEXPECTED BEATLES ART - The Fab Four turn up in the oddest places...

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LOCAL LENNON DOCUMENTARY: JOHN LENNON - WHY WE LISTEN

A locally-produced documentary about Lennon has been created in association with Southwestern College. It’s told through the insights of four local musicians known for making music highly influenced by the Beatles in general, and by Lennon in particular: Peter Bolland (of the Coyote Problem), Bart Mendoza (the Shambles, Manual Scan), producer Sven-Erik Seaholm and singer/songwriter Michael Tiernan. Broken here into four parts, it includes audio and video footage of Lennon. Part 1: Part 2 Part 3: Part 4: **********************************************

MAHARISHI COMIX & STORIES: MEATLESS MAHARISHI MEETS THE BEATLES, or YOGI MAKES A BOO-BOO

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is dead. 2-5-2008 - BBC reports: The Indian guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who is credited with setting the Beatles and other stars on the path to spiritual enlightenment, has died. The Maharishi, thought to have been 91 years old, died in his sleep on Tuesday evening, February 5th, at his home in the Netherlands. Sometimes called the Giggling Guru and the Meatless Maharishi, he introduced the Transcendental Meditation movement to the West in 1959, with the intention of creating individual peace and enlightenment. By the time of his death, it had grown into a multi-million dollar empire. Here are some Maharishi Comics & Stories from the locally-produced Beatles Experience comic book series, with caption narration paraphrased from published John Lennon interviews. ****************************************

       

Weird Beatles Merchandise - WTF were these licensors (and bootleggers) thinking... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/feb/06/my-brunch-with-yoko-plus-weird-beatles

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My Brunch With Yoko - Brunch with a Beatle bride... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/feb/06/my-brunch-with-yoko-plus-weird-beatles

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Yoko Ono Comics and Stories  - When Johnny Met Yoko, with dialogue and captions paraphrased from published Lennon interviews. Plus John Lennon: A Life in the Day

... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/feb/06/my-brunch-with-yoko-plus-weird-beatles

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"Lennon or McCartney?"  --We asked 25 local performers about their fave Beatle (and why), and got some surprising (and frequently revealing) answers...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/dec/13/we-asked-25-local-musicos-lennon-or-mccartney

  CELEBRITY HOUSE HUNTING IN SAN DIEGO - Real estate broker Jeff Paiste has squired several famous musicians around San Diego in their search for decent digs to lease or rent, including Bread frontman David Gates and the late George Harrison.... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/13/celebrity-house-hunting-in-san-diego

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"Joey Molland Interview" - Badfinger's last man standing, Joey Molland, reveals more about the tragic story of Badfinger, as well as meeting and working with John Lennon, George Harrison, and Todd Rundgren, plus the Concert for Bangladesh, and more.  http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/aug/21/x-jam-cancellation-controversy-plus-how-i-snuck-in/

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"The Day John Lennon Was Shot" - Local celebs share their recollections of December 8, 1980, plus guest essays from Al Kooper (who was recording with George Harrison that day) and others....  http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/jan/25/john-lennon-12-8-1980-we-ask-local-celebs-where-we/

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MORE BLOG ENTRIES:

 

"Pussycat Theaters - When 'Cathouses Ruled California" -- for the first time, the detailed inside story of the west coast Pussycat Theater chain of adult moviehouses, which peaked in the '70s but later died out. Told by those who actually ran the theaters! http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/aug/07/pussycat-theater-history-when-cathouses-ruled-ca-n/

"Before It Was The Gaslamp: Balboa's Last Stand" - Cover story 6-21-07: In the late 70s/early 80s, I worked at downtown San Diego's grindhouse all-night movie theaters, for the owner of the Pussycat Theatre chain, Vince Miranda - this detailed feature recalls those dayz, the death of the Balboa Theatre, etc.

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/jul/23/before-it-was-the-gaslamp-now-with-50-more-content/

 

"Battle Of The Peeps" - feature article about a weird gig I had in the mid-'80s, running a strip club called Jolar, for the nation's second biggest pornographer, Harry Mohney (Deja Vu Showgirls founder).

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/oct/23/battle-of-the-peeps---an-insider-history-of-san-di/ 

"Field Of Screens" - Cover story 7-6-06: Complete theater-by-theater history of San Diego drive-ins thru the years, including a few which screened X-rated fare for awhile.

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/aug/01/drive-in-theaters-in-san-diego-complete-illustrate/

THE KOMPLETE KISS KOMIX KRONICLES - Comprehensive collection of stuff I’ve done about working with Kiss on a comic book series, along with a bunch of never-before-seen artifacts from the Kiss Komix archives AND an article by Kiss comic author Spike Steffenhagen, offering his own very-different take, ala Rashomon, on the same events I describe in my essay...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/12/komplete-kiss-komix-kronicles

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ROCK 'N' ROLL COMICS: THE INSIDE STORY - In 1989, local Revolutionary Comics ("Unauthorized And Proud Of It") launched Rock 'N' Roll Comics, featuring unlicensed biographies of rock stars, most of which I wrote. Some performers, like Frank Zappa and Kiss, were supportive, while others like New Kids On The Block considered our comics akin to bootlegs and sued. In June 1992, publisher Todd Loren was found dead in his San Diego condo, brutally murdered...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/12/rock-n-roll-comics-the-inside-story

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NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK VS REVOLUTIONARY COMICS - The inside story of how a hugely successful boy band tried to sue local-based Rock 'N' Roll Comics over an unauthorized biography of the group, sparking a court case that established, for the very first time, first amendment rights for comic books. Illustrated by comic superstar Stuart Immonen (Superman, etc.)...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/13/new-kids-on-the-block-versus-revolutionary-comics

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OVER A MILLION CARNAL COMICS ARE IN PRINT - Here's how and why we made some of the top-selling erotic comics of all time, right here in San Diego, including what Gene Simmons has to do with it all, backstage tales of porn stars, and more confessions of a comic pornographer...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/08/carnal-comics-the-inside-story-jay-allen-sanfor

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COMICS AND CENSORSHIP - DON'T BE AFRAID, IT'S ONLY A COMIC BOOK - A local-centric history of comic book censorship, and the fight for the rights of comic creators...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/06/comics-and-censorship-a-local-centric-illustrated

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TWILIGHT ZONE AND STAR TREK WRITER GEORGE CLAYTON JOHNSON PRESENTS - The inside story of a local horror comic book series featuring Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, plus sci-fi king Larry Niven, Zap Comix co-founder Spain Rodriguez, Matthew Alice artist Rick Geary, Vampire Lestat painter Daerick Gross, yours truly JAS, and many more...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/05/deepest-dimension-terror-anthology-twilight-zone

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THE BIRTH OF IMAGE COMICS: INSIDE STORY OF A LOCAL PUBLISHING POWERHOUSE - Illustrated tale revealing how Spawn creator Todd McFarlane and local comic artist Jim Lee (the Punisher, etc.) conspired to create the ultimate creator-owned comic books...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/03/the-birth-of-image-comics-an-illustrated-history

 

THE ROCKETEER AND OTHER FAMOUS '80S COMICS BEGAN RIGHT HERE IN SAN DIEGO - Here's a detailed history of local Pacific Comics, who recruited comic superstars like Jack Kirby to create one of the first successful indie comic book lines. Pioneers in the fight for comic creators' rights and royalties, former employees and operators reveal how they did it, and what went so terribly wrong...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/08/pacific-comic

 

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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