Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Have Drums Will Travel

Gabe Serbian is in the center of San Diego’s hardcore punk scene. The Golden Hill denizen drums for post-punk experimentalists the Locust, screams for Black Flag–inspired hardcore roots enthusiasts Rats Eyes, and works the bar at Casbah. But Serbian’s time in San Diego is limited. He is often touring with the Locust or Rats Eyes or, as he was for the past three weeks, playing drums for Miami breakcore DJ (and former contributor for industrial-metal band Skinny Puppy) Otto von Schirach on a tour through Europe.

“The tour began on April 23 at this crummy holiday resort in the United Kingdom called Camber Sands,” Serbian wrote in a May 8 email midway through the tour. “Our first show was at five in the morning at this crazy three-day rave called Bang Face. My favorite part was walking around all the crazy ravers’ rooms and watching all the bullshit.”

Bang Face was the first time that the two appeared on the same stage together since 2006, when von Schirach opened for the Locust during a European tour. While on tour, von Schirach asked Serbian if he would play live drums for his freaktronic tracks. Serbian agreed.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“It was pretty awesome, I would play brutal drums to tweaked versions of ’80s sitcom theme songs,” recalled Serbian.

Earlier this year, four years removed from that 2006 invite, Serbian received an email from von Schirach, who asked if he wanted to join him for a three-week trek overseas. A few weeks later, the two took the stage at Camber Sands Resort without any rehearsals.

“We just went for it. It’s been a challenge to pull it off, especially when he plays songs I’ve never heard. I’m not straying from my drum style at all, so it’s a good mashup; busy drums to Otto’s diverse, strange dance music.”

After Bang Face, Serbian and von Shirach toured across the U.K. and Europe. And despite missing his dog Lady and favored hometown burritos, the drummer managed to let loose for what he considered his favorite show of the tour.

“We played a pretty big show in Brussels for my birthday with some friends from San Diego called Narrows. It ruled. They brought a cake out to me onstage, and the entire club of 700 people sang happy birthday to me.”

Serbian is now back in San Diego and will be onstage with Rats Eyes when they open for the Melvins at the Casbah on June 1.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Victorian Christmas Tours, Jingle Bell Cruises

Events December 22-December 25, 2024
Next Article

East San Diego County has only one bike lane

So you can get out of town – from Santee to Tierrasanta

Gabe Serbian is in the center of San Diego’s hardcore punk scene. The Golden Hill denizen drums for post-punk experimentalists the Locust, screams for Black Flag–inspired hardcore roots enthusiasts Rats Eyes, and works the bar at Casbah. But Serbian’s time in San Diego is limited. He is often touring with the Locust or Rats Eyes or, as he was for the past three weeks, playing drums for Miami breakcore DJ (and former contributor for industrial-metal band Skinny Puppy) Otto von Schirach on a tour through Europe.

“The tour began on April 23 at this crummy holiday resort in the United Kingdom called Camber Sands,” Serbian wrote in a May 8 email midway through the tour. “Our first show was at five in the morning at this crazy three-day rave called Bang Face. My favorite part was walking around all the crazy ravers’ rooms and watching all the bullshit.”

Bang Face was the first time that the two appeared on the same stage together since 2006, when von Schirach opened for the Locust during a European tour. While on tour, von Schirach asked Serbian if he would play live drums for his freaktronic tracks. Serbian agreed.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“It was pretty awesome, I would play brutal drums to tweaked versions of ’80s sitcom theme songs,” recalled Serbian.

Earlier this year, four years removed from that 2006 invite, Serbian received an email from von Schirach, who asked if he wanted to join him for a three-week trek overseas. A few weeks later, the two took the stage at Camber Sands Resort without any rehearsals.

“We just went for it. It’s been a challenge to pull it off, especially when he plays songs I’ve never heard. I’m not straying from my drum style at all, so it’s a good mashup; busy drums to Otto’s diverse, strange dance music.”

After Bang Face, Serbian and von Shirach toured across the U.K. and Europe. And despite missing his dog Lady and favored hometown burritos, the drummer managed to let loose for what he considered his favorite show of the tour.

“We played a pretty big show in Brussels for my birthday with some friends from San Diego called Narrows. It ruled. They brought a cake out to me onstage, and the entire club of 700 people sang happy birthday to me.”

Serbian is now back in San Diego and will be onstage with Rats Eyes when they open for the Melvins at the Casbah on June 1.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Operatic Gender Wars

Are there any operas with all-female choruses?
Next Article

Mary Catherine Swanson wants every San Diego student going to college

Where busing from Southeast San Diego to University City has led
Comments
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
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader