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

All shook down

Brouillard and Barnes are Disconnected — and all about the bands.
Brouillard and Barnes are Disconnected — and all about the bands.
Place

Shakedown Bar

3048 Midway Drive, San Diego

“I bought the bar and the name and the reputation,” Anilee Griffin says of the Shakedown in the Midway District. “This is my dream. Why shouldn’t I be the driver?” This is said in response to news that Shakedown talent-buyer Josh Barnes has left to start his own concert production company.

“I’ve been giving the place a facelift and a woman’s touch ever since I bought the place,” she says by phone. “We cleaned it up. We painted, moved the stage from the front to the back of the venue, and installed some new sound equipment.” Griffin, 31, who also owns Boss Lady Booking, will now handle the bookings at her venue along with previous Shakedown booker Ross Nichols. “It makes sense for me to run my own dream.”

Sponsored
Sponsored
Shakedown’s Anilee Griffin has given the Midway punk club a woman’s touch.

“She’s got a different way of doing things, and I’m just not into it,” Barnes says. “I want to make sure the bands are happy. Me and [Dead] Ted, we always made sure the bands had a good time and that they were taken care of.” He’s quick to add that he has zero animosity toward Griffin. “She’s a good person. She says she wants to keep things the way they are, but it’s too different for me.”

In August 2010, Ted Thompson, along with friends Cody Coons and Dave Swain of the Queers, bought out the old Rhythm Lounge in Loma Portal and made it the Shakedown. Record-industry veteran Barnes joined the team early on as security and worked his way up to the talent-buyer slot.

Considering that Griffin’s goal was to make the Shakedown more woman-friendly, will the punk edge come off? No, she says. “But we’re bringing DJ Captain Blackie back on the first and third Thursdays of the month, Heather Hardcore on the first Tuesday, and Club ’80s every Wednesday night with Bryan Pollard.”

She plans to book live-music heavy hitters Thursday through Sunday, with Tuesdays reserved as tryout nights for new and unknown bands. She adds that the door is open to Barnes anytime he has a booking that’s right for her club.

Of the change from hired gun to freelance promoter, Barnes says, “It’s less stressful doing it the way I’m doing it now. Over there [the Shakedown], everything was under my control, but I was worn out.” Joining Barnes in his Disconnected Shows venture is Void bartender Rob Brouillard. They took a half-dozen of the shows Barnes had previously booked for the Shakedown when Barnes called it quits, and reassigned them to other area venues. He says Disconnected has bookings through Halloween.

“We’re not gonna get rich,” Barnes says. “We just wanna eat.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

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

Birding & Brews: Breakfast Edition, ZZ Ward, Doggie Street Festival & Pet Adopt-A-Thon

Events November 21-November 23, 2024
Next Article

Pie pleasure at Queenstown Public House

A taste of New Zealand brings back happy memories
Brouillard and Barnes are Disconnected — and all about the bands.
Brouillard and Barnes are Disconnected — and all about the bands.
Place

Shakedown Bar

3048 Midway Drive, San Diego

“I bought the bar and the name and the reputation,” Anilee Griffin says of the Shakedown in the Midway District. “This is my dream. Why shouldn’t I be the driver?” This is said in response to news that Shakedown talent-buyer Josh Barnes has left to start his own concert production company.

“I’ve been giving the place a facelift and a woman’s touch ever since I bought the place,” she says by phone. “We cleaned it up. We painted, moved the stage from the front to the back of the venue, and installed some new sound equipment.” Griffin, 31, who also owns Boss Lady Booking, will now handle the bookings at her venue along with previous Shakedown booker Ross Nichols. “It makes sense for me to run my own dream.”

Sponsored
Sponsored
Shakedown’s Anilee Griffin has given the Midway punk club a woman’s touch.

“She’s got a different way of doing things, and I’m just not into it,” Barnes says. “I want to make sure the bands are happy. Me and [Dead] Ted, we always made sure the bands had a good time and that they were taken care of.” He’s quick to add that he has zero animosity toward Griffin. “She’s a good person. She says she wants to keep things the way they are, but it’s too different for me.”

In August 2010, Ted Thompson, along with friends Cody Coons and Dave Swain of the Queers, bought out the old Rhythm Lounge in Loma Portal and made it the Shakedown. Record-industry veteran Barnes joined the team early on as security and worked his way up to the talent-buyer slot.

Considering that Griffin’s goal was to make the Shakedown more woman-friendly, will the punk edge come off? No, she says. “But we’re bringing DJ Captain Blackie back on the first and third Thursdays of the month, Heather Hardcore on the first Tuesday, and Club ’80s every Wednesday night with Bryan Pollard.”

She plans to book live-music heavy hitters Thursday through Sunday, with Tuesdays reserved as tryout nights for new and unknown bands. She adds that the door is open to Barnes anytime he has a booking that’s right for her club.

Of the change from hired gun to freelance promoter, Barnes says, “It’s less stressful doing it the way I’m doing it now. Over there [the Shakedown], everything was under my control, but I was worn out.” Joining Barnes in his Disconnected Shows venture is Void bartender Rob Brouillard. They took a half-dozen of the shows Barnes had previously booked for the Shakedown when Barnes called it quits, and reassigned them to other area venues. He says Disconnected has bookings through Halloween.

“We’re not gonna get rich,” Barnes says. “We just wanna eat.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

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

Trophy truck crushes four at Baja 1000

"Two other racers on quads died too,"
Next Article

Live Five: Sitting On Stacy, Matte Blvck, Think X, Hendrix Celebration, Coriander

Alt-ska, dark electro-pop, tributes, and coastal rock in Solana Beach, Little Italy, Pacific Beach
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