At first, Tracey thought I was an FBI agent. I'd been bidding on his eBay auctions for weeks, purchasing CD recordings of local concerts that took place from the mid-'80s onward. Though clearly not official …
July 5, 2007
News & Stories
Two decades of bootleg San Diego concert recordings
The Penetrators, 1980
The Penetrators at Western Audio recording studios in Kearny Mesa, May 15, 1980. "Need good personality art," reads the photo assignment sheet. Standing in the back of the room are Gary Heffern, Chris Sullivan, and …
July 5, 2007
Roughing It
Give me the luxuries of life and I will willingly do without the necessities. -- Frank Lloyd Wright For every five people who hear me say, "I'm going to Martha's Vineyard for a few weeks," …
July 5, 2007
Aargh!
Three weeks ago, the Federal Communications Commission fined Donald J. Payne $750 for the operation of FRSD/Free Radio San Diego, the local "pirate" station that has broadcast sporadically on 96.9 FM since October 2002. In …
July 5, 2007
Dimeless
The Hi-Lites didn't play their scheduled Warped Tour kickoff show at the Pomona Fairgrounds last Friday. Five members of the eight-piece ska band left the group due to a falling out with bassist James Trent, …
July 5, 2007
Women on the Edge
The straight-edge subculture arose from the male-dominated punk scene in 1981. The rejection of mind-altering substances and promiscuous sex was an idea presented by Minor Threat lyricist Ian MacKaye in the song "Straight Edge." Though …
July 5, 2007
Gangsta Rap in Decline?
Carlsbad resident Carlos "Numbiz" Rodriguez performs as a solo artist and with Latin rapper Blaze in a group called LPLD. More lucrative are the hip-hop lyrics and beats Rodriguez composes and sells to producers for …
July 5, 2007
First Southern Baptist, University Heights
They aren't exactly stained-glass windows at The Fellowship. They're mosaics, made from thick shards of colored glass set in hardened sand, and they lay out salvation history through landscapes: creation, the flood, the parting of …
July 5, 2007
For the Little People
Large-venue concert after-parties at which the performers show up have become more frequent at the Casbah. "We did a Faint after-party last December that was pretty successful," says owner Tim Mays. "Two of the guys …
July 5, 2007
Deuteronomy, Where's My Music?
"Due to a mix-up at the CD factory," says Shoestring Strap guitarist Dave Lowenstein, "some copies of our new CD Mudgrass have two tracks of Mormon sermons instead of our 14 songs." Lowenstein didn't know …
July 5, 2007
Frankie's Rides and Tirades
Title: Frankie's Rides and Tirades Address: http://frankiesrides.blogspot.com Author: Traci Brynne From: North Park Blogging since: June 2007 Post Date: June 25, 2007Post Title: Frankie Goes to Australia, Part 1 Six months ago, I applied for …
July 5, 2007
Potluck Recipes
Summer party season is upon us, and my clan has already attended quite a few potluck barbecues. But I'm sick of my potluck side-dish offering: penne pasta with chopped spinach, golden raisins, tomatoes, and slivered …
July 5, 2007
The Reader's Eye on Television
"Would you get off the phone?" my dad yelled. "I'm setting my watch. Give me a minute." "It's close enough." "No it isn't." I wanted to synch my Batman watch with the infallible voice of …
July 5, 2007
Fragments Of the Past
'A guy named Norm Golb just loves to follow these Dead Sea Scrolls around the country and talk about how we've got it all wrong," says Delle Willett, director of marketing for the San Diego …
July 5, 2007
Avalanche Jetty, Ocean Beach
Name: Seth Roloff Lives: Alpine Surfing: Avalanche Jetty, Ocean Beach Vehicle: 1984 Mercedes 300SD Turbo Diesel Seth Roloff's 1984 Mercedes 300SD died in its spot on this hazy Saturday morning. "I was excited to see …
July 5, 2007
Dirty Harriet
When my friend Mike told me that he was offered a gig to announce for a San Diego roller derby team, I responded, "San Diego has a roller derby team?" I had yet to see …
July 5, 2007
How many bees died to make my pollen smoothie?
Matt: Bee-ing a concerned smoothie drinker, me and a few colleagues were wondering what the actual process was in collecting bee pollen that we use in our smoothies. A few of us were hoping that …
July 5, 2007
Poised in Amber
June 23, Saturday afternoon, a celebration of fun, sun, food, tunes, jewelry, junk, and groovy funkinabulation on the planet Obie -- a cluster-funkinabulized vibefest of love. The outpouring of Obecians and pilgrims to the time-warp …
July 5, 2007
Grape Landscape
"The ethos," says Norby, "was to blend in and respect nature, be part of it."
Shrimping, Spit Roast
Janet Age: 34 Occupation: Corporate Executive Lives: North Park I follow language, especially slang. I've heard two new ones recently. One of them is "shrimping." It's a foot-fetish thing where someone's big toe is sucked …
July 5, 2007
Mayor Sanders calls state attorney general to investigate Mike Aguirre
A beggar comes to the door and asks for food. The housewife says he can have dinner if he will whitewash the porch. Ten minutes later he is back, claiming the job is done. The …
July 5, 2007
Employees at UCSD Moores Cancer Center complain of abuse
The University of California San Diego promulgates a list of nine "Principles of Community" to its faculty, staff, and students. The second principle states, "We affirm each individual's right to dignity and strive to maintain …
July 5, 2007
UCSD gives Al Gore more than $100K lecture fee
When ex-vice president Al Gore parachuted into town to give a speech at UCSD on May 21, many locals seemed starstruck. Four thousand free tickets to Gore's "multimedia lecture," based on his Inconvenient Truth, the …
July 5, 2007
Julie Meier Wright blames fines on assistant
The chief executive officer of San Diego's taxpayer-funded Economic Development Corp. and a big backer of last year's failed campaign to move the airport to Miramar, Julie Meier Wright, has quietly agreed to pay a …
July 5, 2007
David Copley's yacht at Antibes and Portofino
It's summer on the Riviera, and U-T publisher David Copley's 164-foot yacht Happy Days is making good progress through the balmy waters of the Mediterranean. Spotted at the International Yacht Club of Antibes on May …
July 5, 2007
Field Trip
Aimlessly walking a bookstore floor letting what happens happen is a 20th-century amusement. Still, every few months I'll hie to a mall, load up on some tutti-frutti, mocca-yoko yummy ice slurp and stroll a vast …
July 5, 2007
Now and Then
I hope they never make a movie of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia. The chances are unlikely, since the play's set in two different eras (1809-1812 and 1989) and takes place at a long table where people …
July 5, 2007
Within moments I was actually listening to this nearly 40-year-old record. Pure dumb luck, surely...
Though I have owned and used a computer since 1983, I am like a man who owns a perfectly fine V-8 engine automobile and uses it only to listen to the radio -- that is …
July 5, 2007
Save the Fleas!
Heymatt: I've heard during the golden era of the flea circus, there were some who complained about the mistreatment of fleas. Is it possible for a human to have so much misplaced empathy that they …
July 5, 2007
Bad Beer
MA of Reader: I have a cabin in Julian that has a collection of nine bottles of beer in the fridge. Two Budweisers were left over from a housewarming party in April of '04, two …
July 5, 2007
Plane Lights
Matt: Why do commercial jetliners fly around with their headlights on? Are they going to prevent the plane from running into something up there? -- Jeremy Barwick, Lemon Grove Sorry, Jeremy. Those are landing lights …
July 5, 2007
My Shallow Heart
At least half the menu's devoted to the sacred ritual: breaking the overnight fast.
July 5, 2007
The Fountain, Mysterious Skin, One from the Heart
Jacquelyn DaniellEnglish major, Biola University If you are looking for something artistic this summer, The Fountain will not disappoint. Darren Aronofsky's latest film is the story of a man's quest to save the life of …
July 5, 2007
Room with a View
I've always been curious about Azul La Jolla. Although it's one of the Brigantines, other restaurants in this group bespeak a chain of semiprecious metal, rather than the standard dross: Zocalo is tasty fun, and …
July 5, 2007
Hike along the Cowles Mountain crest to reach a seldom-visited viewpoint in Mission Trails Regional Park.
Pyles Peak is a prominent bump in the series of mountaintops stretching between Cowles Mountain in the south and Fortuna Mountain in the north. Collectively, these high points constitute the spine and centerpiece of the …
July 5, 2007