Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Stevie Ray, with Feeling
Alan Iglesias says his Stevie Ray Vaughan show is more a “recreation” than a tribute. “Looks, appearances, and body language are extremely important if you want to present a world-class act,” he says, “but never at the expense of musicianship. Actually, the two are entwined, I think. I explain it this way: It’s perhaps not so important that I try to look and sound exactly like Stevie looked and sounded — although I certainly give that a lot of effort — but, rather, to strive for a situation in which I am feeling some of the same things that Stevie was feeling when he played a live show.”
I mention that some musicians resent that he sells out shows on the strength of SRV’s reputation, while many all-original bands have difficulty just landing a gig. “On one level,” he replies, “I don’t blame them a bit. But these days, the people you describe are going to be typically a lot younger than me and are already considering me a musical fossil anyway. They have a wonderful chance, like I once had, to break into an industry in which the vast majority of current popular music speaks to them and the material that they are creating. This will never again happen for me. So I say to them, ‘Fight the good fight,’ and if they’re lucky they will have wonderful, soulful music like Stevie’s, and perhaps an audience who cares, to play to when they are old and washed up.”
Alan Iglesias and Crossfire perform at Tio Leo’s (Napa/Morena location) on April 26.
FIVE DESERT-ISLAND DVDs?
1. This Is Spinal Tap: “It just doesn’t get any better than that, on every level.”
2. Caddyshack: “The all-time original bucket-of-laughs movie. I have to watch this at least once a year.”
3. Fast Times at Ridgemont High: “A much better coming-of-age movie than first meets the eye.”
4. Sideways: “I’ve actually done the trip through the Santa Barbara County wine country, and believe it or not, the wonderful feel of that place does come through in the movie.”
5. The Wizard of Oz: “This dang thing is responsible for helping me remain optimistic about so much that is negative in this world.”
MOST VISITED WEBSITES?
1. eBay (“We all need to buy stuff.”)
2. Google Earth (“I love to see places I’ll be visiting soon.”)
3. YouTube (“For all the great old music posted there.”)
TOP-FIVE GUILTY PLEASURES?
1. “Sleeping in, whenever that actually happens.”
2. “Great microbrewery beer.”
3. “The Fireballs at the Akita sushi restaurant in Escondido.”
4. “Coffee every morning.”
5. “One piece of chocolate every night.”
WORST JOBS?
1. “I had a job cleaning up a ceramics studio when I was around 13. I swear they broke stuff up all week, just to watch me bust my butt cleaning everything up all weekend. I think I made a dollar an hour.”
2. “At 14 I washed dishes at a local seafood restaurant, and the guy who was my boss kept making obscene references when I was cleaning the dishwasher. You could sue people for that these days.”
3. “I once went commercial fishing with my brother — who still does this insane thing — off the coast of Rhode Island during a very cold winter. You’re 30 miles out, in minus–10-degree weather, on a 29-foot boat, amidst 40-foot swells…complete insanity. The fresh fish sure tasted good, though.”
WHY DO YOU LIVE IN SAN DIEGO?
“Um, the weather? Seriously, the weather makes me happy every day. Even on the bad days, because I know that, unlike New England, where I last lived, it will be beautiful again very soon.”
WHERE DO YOU HANG OUT?
“Rural areas, like the backcountry and the Anza-Borrego Desert area — only a relatively short drive from here. It’s so peaceful, and I need that after all the racket I make.”
WHAT’S THE LAST BOOK YOU READ?
“E=mc2 by David Bodanis. It chronicles the history of each component of that famous equation, written so that just about anyone can understand it. It gives great perspective on how man’s eventual understanding of the universe’s fundamental physical concepts have changed life on earth and how we can expect those changes to keep happening.”
HARDEST SRV SONG TO PLAY?
“‘Little Wing.’ Even though it’s a Jimi Hendrix song, in terms of who wrote it, I feel that many of Stevie’s fans — including me — think that he took it to the next level. So it’s during that song that I must be absolutely on my game. When folks say that that song moved them more than any other, I feel that I’m truly doing my job.”
YOUR DAY GIG?
“In my ‘other life’ I’m a 3-D animation specialist working on all kinds of visual effects, including for feature films.”
BEST ADVICE YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED?
“The 11th Commandment, which came from my father when I was about 13: ‘Thou shalt not bullshit thyself.’ ”
BIGGEST POLITICAL CONCERN?
“That it will be many, many years before people have the willingness to elect someone who will honestly lead the country, for the country’s best interests — as opposed to someone that seems to do things that will benefit them personally.”
Here's something you might be interested in.
Stevie Ray, with Feeling
Stevie Ray, with Feeling
Alan Iglesias says his Stevie Ray Vaughan show is more a “recreation” than a tribute. “Looks, appearances, and body language are extremely important if you want to present a world-class act,” he says, “but never at the expense of musicianship. Actually, the two are entwined, I think. I explain it this way: It’s perhaps not so important that I try to look and sound exactly like Stevie looked and sounded — although I certainly give that a lot of effort — but, rather, to strive for a situation in which I am feeling some of the same things that Stevie was feeling when he played a live show.”
I mention that some musicians resent that he sells out shows on the strength of SRV’s reputation, while many all-original bands have difficulty just landing a gig. “On one level,” he replies, “I don’t blame them a bit. But these days, the people you describe are going to be typically a lot younger than me and are already considering me a musical fossil anyway. They have a wonderful chance, like I once had, to break into an industry in which the vast majority of current popular music speaks to them and the material that they are creating. This will never again happen for me. So I say to them, ‘Fight the good fight,’ and if they’re lucky they will have wonderful, soulful music like Stevie’s, and perhaps an audience who cares, to play to when they are old and washed up.”
Alan Iglesias and Crossfire perform at Tio Leo’s (Napa/Morena location) on April 26.
FIVE DESERT-ISLAND DVDs?
1. This Is Spinal Tap: “It just doesn’t get any better than that, on every level.”
2. Caddyshack: “The all-time original bucket-of-laughs movie. I have to watch this at least once a year.”
3. Fast Times at Ridgemont High: “A much better coming-of-age movie than first meets the eye.”
4. Sideways: “I’ve actually done the trip through the Santa Barbara County wine country, and believe it or not, the wonderful feel of that place does come through in the movie.”
5. The Wizard of Oz: “This dang thing is responsible for helping me remain optimistic about so much that is negative in this world.”
MOST VISITED WEBSITES?
1. eBay (“We all need to buy stuff.”)
2. Google Earth (“I love to see places I’ll be visiting soon.”)
3. YouTube (“For all the great old music posted there.”)
TOP-FIVE GUILTY PLEASURES?
1. “Sleeping in, whenever that actually happens.”
2. “Great microbrewery beer.”
3. “The Fireballs at the Akita sushi restaurant in Escondido.”
4. “Coffee every morning.”
5. “One piece of chocolate every night.”
WORST JOBS?
1. “I had a job cleaning up a ceramics studio when I was around 13. I swear they broke stuff up all week, just to watch me bust my butt cleaning everything up all weekend. I think I made a dollar an hour.”
2. “At 14 I washed dishes at a local seafood restaurant, and the guy who was my boss kept making obscene references when I was cleaning the dishwasher. You could sue people for that these days.”
3. “I once went commercial fishing with my brother — who still does this insane thing — off the coast of Rhode Island during a very cold winter. You’re 30 miles out, in minus–10-degree weather, on a 29-foot boat, amidst 40-foot swells…complete insanity. The fresh fish sure tasted good, though.”
WHY DO YOU LIVE IN SAN DIEGO?
“Um, the weather? Seriously, the weather makes me happy every day. Even on the bad days, because I know that, unlike New England, where I last lived, it will be beautiful again very soon.”
WHERE DO YOU HANG OUT?
“Rural areas, like the backcountry and the Anza-Borrego Desert area — only a relatively short drive from here. It’s so peaceful, and I need that after all the racket I make.”
WHAT’S THE LAST BOOK YOU READ?
“E=mc2 by David Bodanis. It chronicles the history of each component of that famous equation, written so that just about anyone can understand it. It gives great perspective on how man’s eventual understanding of the universe’s fundamental physical concepts have changed life on earth and how we can expect those changes to keep happening.”
HARDEST SRV SONG TO PLAY?
“‘Little Wing.’ Even though it’s a Jimi Hendrix song, in terms of who wrote it, I feel that many of Stevie’s fans — including me — think that he took it to the next level. So it’s during that song that I must be absolutely on my game. When folks say that that song moved them more than any other, I feel that I’m truly doing my job.”
YOUR DAY GIG?
“In my ‘other life’ I’m a 3-D animation specialist working on all kinds of visual effects, including for feature films.”
BEST ADVICE YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED?
“The 11th Commandment, which came from my father when I was about 13: ‘Thou shalt not bullshit thyself.’ ”
BIGGEST POLITICAL CONCERN?
“That it will be many, many years before people have the willingness to elect someone who will honestly lead the country, for the country’s best interests — as opposed to someone that seems to do things that will benefit them personally.”
Comments