Singer/songwriter Danielle LoPresti waited as the man behind the desk listened to her demo CD. When the last song came to an end, the man leaned forward, looked Danielle in the eye, and said he …
April 26, 2007
News & Stories
San Diego's indie music: a world of flakes, hooligans, and sharks
Gracia Mae Carpenter, 1939
From the daily paper: "[The] president of Young Republican club doesn't appear to be getting unduly roiled at this picture of Adolf Hitler in the German bungalow, House of Pacific Relations, Balboa Park. "When San …
April 26, 2007
Rocket Fuel
Children are a house's enemy. They don't mean to be -- they just can't help it. It's their enthusiasm, their energy, their naturally destructive tendencies. -- Delia Ephron David's sister, Michelle, relayed the usual sentiments …
April 26, 2007
Charlie Didn't Mind
Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman, who created the first fretless electric bass guitar in the '60s, came up with the idea of a lightweight metal detector. "Well, it just came out this month," says Wyman …
April 26, 2007
Time Has Told
Stephen Marley, son of reggae legend Bob Marley, turned 35 last Friday (yes, 4/20); last night, Stephen headlined at San Diego's House of Blues. He first performed on a downtown SD stage almost two decades …
April 26, 2007
Flirtin' with Disaster?
Braxton Whitley is having a rough time producing his Southern Classic Music Fest. The former electrician contracted to hire the Atlanta Rhythm Section, Molly Hatchet, and Blackfoot for a May 11 concert at the 1500-capacity …
April 26, 2007
Signs of the Times Taken Down
In 2005, ipayOne made a deal to pay $2.5 million over five years for San Diego Sports Arena naming rights. Last week, the venue reverted back to its original name and workers took down ipayOne …
April 26, 2007
Black Pharaoh Ascending
De Shjon Mitchell, a.k.a. Spectrum, is a wheelchair-bound hip-hop artist who became paralyzed after the van he was in went out of control and rolled down a 45-foot drop. He wasn't wearing a seat belt. …
April 26, 2007
Fence Foliage
The sweet old lady has moved out of her house at the bottom of our back yard. In her place are young people. Young people with tattoos; young people with a band that practices in …
April 26, 2007
Evolution of Rap
"I don't think it's ever happened that any San Diego rap group has had music on a major movie soundtrack," says Joseph Hendrick, a.k.a. J Savage. His seven-month-old group Mercenary Click recorded "Bring Your Body" …
April 26, 2007
Elvistory
Thirty-four years ago today (4/26/73), Elvis Presley appeared at the San Diego Sports Arena. He came to perform in San Diego five times (six, if you count his 4/3/56 set on the aircraft carrier USS …
April 26, 2007
Britney Skewered
When Monsters from Mars play their cover of Britney Spears's "Toxic," that spacey-sounding instrument is a theremin, an electronic musical device popularized in the 1951 sci-fi film The Day the Earth Stood Still. "It sure …
April 26, 2007
Esteban Says "Go Die!"
Title: Esteban Says "Go Die!" Address: http://www.myspace.com/estesketch Author: Esteban From: La Mesa Blogging since: 2004 Post Date: November 17, 2006 Post Title: Another Straight Edge Rant by Another Straight Edge Asshole: Dirt-e Chris xROTx Don't …
April 26, 2007
Jerry Sanders Is Susan Golding In Drag
Mayor Jerry Sanders packed his 15-person charter review committee with lobbyists and lackeys who are in the pockets of developers and downtown business interests. Now the community is fighting back. At least two groups, the …
April 26, 2007
Feliks Khatsyanov, San Diego's anti-Brezhnev homeless man, dies
The two friends were engineers, one trained in California and one in the Soviet Union. "He could talk about anything, from mathematics to world literature," says Imperial Beach resident Ralph Sherman of his departed friend …
April 26, 2007
Hillary Clinton's bundlers: Lynn Schenk, Ted Waitt, Tina Nova,
Three familiar San Diego names are on a newly released list of Hillary Clinton "bundlers," volunteer fund-raisers who channel big money into presidential campaigns. Federal law limits individual contributions to $2300 each for primary and …
April 26, 2007
Tapas, Cuban Style
I got a call about a belly-dance party in Spring Valley. I'm sure my neighbors heard my car tires burn rubber. When I arrived, the place was SRO. I found space in the kitchen with …
April 26, 2007
Padres CEO Sandy Alderson favored by Dartmouth president for board
His boss John Moores has long been San Diego's preeminent behind-the-scenes political boss, and now Padres CEO Sandy Alderson is stepping out of the shadows with his own high-dollar campaign, including a custom-designed website, sandyalderson.com, …
April 26, 2007
The Soul of Wit
In his youth, John Donne (1572-1631) was a hot Metaphysical poet who wrote salacious verses and thought Shakespeare, his elder by eight years, a doddering oaf. Donne yoked religious language and topical references to his …
April 26, 2007
Tourmaline surf park, Pacific Beach
Name:Bill Dant Home: Pacific Beach Vehicle: 1997 VW Eurovan Surfing: Tourmaline surf park, Pacific Beach Bill Dant is a soul guy with a van to match his mellow explorer attitude. "It's a '97 Eurovan. They …
April 26, 2007
The Reader's Eye on Television
Olivieri Manor is the new name of my apartment. It was formerly known as the Embassy of Cool, but I was watching a Batman cartoon on TV last weekend and it struck me: Bruce Wayne …
April 26, 2007
Bro and Jessica Do P.B. by Jessica Clarke
I had just moved to San Diego, and there was a 7-Eleven down the street from my new apartment. I decided, "What the hell, I'll get a job there while I'm looking for a real …
April 26, 2007
The Presidential Burger
I sit down, in shock. Feel like I've just found Howard Hughes.
April 26, 2007
Shakespeare For the Fun of It
'I don't just deal with the text, I also deal with the rhythm," says Julie Clemmons, director of Infinite Kids, a nonprofit after-school program. "Like Sir John Gielgud said, if you learn the text just …
April 26, 2007
Brian M. Palmer in Long Beach
Sick haircut, dude! Some time ago, a heavily tanned, broad-shouldered, six-foot-tall baseball player from Texas, who used the word "dude" to refer to males and females alike, took up residence in the cubicle next to …
April 26, 2007
Sauvignon Misunderstood
"Those of us who had been wringing our hands all that time in California said, "Well, yeah."
Broken Bones
When people ask me about the best parties I've been to, my stock answer is "mansions in Rancho Santa Fe." Heading to one recent party in Rancho Santa Fe, however, I was driving on streets …
April 26, 2007
Landscape Sports
I ask, "Where did you go in San Diego?" "Mostly Balboa Park. It's a nice old park. I think it's one of the more successful parks around." Speaking is a man I'll call Charles Dyson. …
April 26, 2007
"Don't know if you remember me. Bad Chemicals, the bartender."
I read Kurt Vonnegut throughout the '70s, a bit in the '80s, and then didn't. The last of his novels I read was Timequake. I don't remember much of it, but the memory is a …
April 26, 2007
Two Bob Barkers
Dear Matthew: I am currently a "guest" of the San Diego George Bailey Detention Facility. For those inmates who were unlucky enough to be arrested without money, the jail provides free soap, toothpaste, and deodorant. …
April 26, 2007
Eye Bags
Hello, Matt: When I get up in the morning and I look in the mirror, I resemble someone who went 15 rounds with Apollo Creed. My question is, why are there bags under my eyes? …
April 26, 2007
South Bay Community Church, National City
"This is one of the best churches that I've ever been to," said congregant John. "It's kind of like God's little secret. If you come here at nine o'clock, you'll see the other room set …
April 26, 2007
Bike ride over bouldery hills and through grassy dales on Jamul's winding, rural roads.
So far and yet so close. Only minutes away from the hectic San Diego traffic, rolling meadows lie open to the sky, and boulder-studded hills form a backdrop akin to the interior of some sleepy …
April 26, 2007