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

Reunite Like Jehu

"Dude, we gotta do a Jehu show with the organ... It'll be like jamming with Godzilla."

Drive Like Jehu circa when? That's got to be Off the Record in Hillcrest...sí or no? - Image by Mark Waters
Drive Like Jehu circa when? That's got to be Off the Record in Hillcrest...sí or no?

It almost seemed like a prank, the Facebook announcement that Drive Like Jehu planned to reunite, at least long enough to play one free show on the big concrete stage at the Balboa Park Organ Pavilion. But it’s no joke, says Jehu guitarist/cofounder John Reis. He checks in with the Reader by phone from his South Park home to explain that for him and the band, it’s all about the big pipe organ: “When Dang called and said he was on the Board of Trustees of the Spreckels Organ Society, the next words out of my mouth were, ‘Dude, we gotta do a Jehu show with the organ.’”

Dang Nguyen manages Bar Pink in North Park, of which Reis is a co-owner. Reis says the massive instrument is one of the reasons he’s proud to be a San Diegan. “I’m completely blown away by the sound of that organ,” says Reis. “It has amazing power. It’ll be like jamming with Godzilla.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

But Drive Like Jehu in the open air, in the park, on a Sunday afternoon? “They want to try to attract a younger crowd. That’s the way they’re looking at it.” Drive Like Jehu were a post-hardcore alt-rock band that was started here in 1990 by Reis, Rick Froberg, Mark Trombino, and Mike Kennedy. They generated two albums and a seven-inch single before disbanding five years later. The Balboa Park show marks not only the 20th anniversary of the band’s disappearance, but the 20th anniversary of the release of Yank Crime. Is this a one-off affair, or is Jehu gearing up for something else? “No, this is just the one thing. All four original members agreed to do it because it seemed like a cool thing to us.”

Civic Organist Dr. Carol Williams is slated to accompany Drive Like Jehu. A classically trained keyboard artist, had Williams ever heard the band? “Up until recently, no, she hadn’t. They agreed to do this without hearing us. She and her husband and I met and we talked. I tried to prepare them for what was coming.” Reis left her with selections from Jehu’s two albums. “I braced her for the dissonance — the way the notes rub against each other in our songs. We want to get that out of the organ, too.” Otherwise, Reis can’t say what the set list for their 30-minute segment will be. “I won’t know until we hear what works and what doesn’t. We’ll have to see where the organ fits in. But it’d be cool to have some burners in there too.”

Williams and the band plan to schedule a few rehearsals at the organ pavilion in the weeks to come. “There are logistics to work out. The band’s quite loud. The organ’s loud, too, but it’s acoustic. And there’s noise abatement stuff. San Diego’s so tight-assed about that sort of thing. Imagine Balboa Park on a Sunday,” he says. “There’s got to be six or seven couples there, getting married. The sound of guitar destruction in the background might be too crazy.”

Drive Like Jehu reunites under the organ pipes at the pavilion in Balboa Park on Sunday, August 31, at 7 p.m. It’s an all ages event and it’s free.

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

NORTH COUNTY’S BEST PERSONAL TRAINER: NICOLE HANSULT HELPING YOU FEEL STRONG, CONFIDENT, AND VIBRANT AT ANY AGE

Next Article

Pie pleasure at Queenstown Public House

A taste of New Zealand brings back happy memories
Drive Like Jehu circa when? That's got to be Off the Record in Hillcrest...sí or no? - Image by Mark Waters
Drive Like Jehu circa when? That's got to be Off the Record in Hillcrest...sí or no?

It almost seemed like a prank, the Facebook announcement that Drive Like Jehu planned to reunite, at least long enough to play one free show on the big concrete stage at the Balboa Park Organ Pavilion. But it’s no joke, says Jehu guitarist/cofounder John Reis. He checks in with the Reader by phone from his South Park home to explain that for him and the band, it’s all about the big pipe organ: “When Dang called and said he was on the Board of Trustees of the Spreckels Organ Society, the next words out of my mouth were, ‘Dude, we gotta do a Jehu show with the organ.’”

Dang Nguyen manages Bar Pink in North Park, of which Reis is a co-owner. Reis says the massive instrument is one of the reasons he’s proud to be a San Diegan. “I’m completely blown away by the sound of that organ,” says Reis. “It has amazing power. It’ll be like jamming with Godzilla.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

But Drive Like Jehu in the open air, in the park, on a Sunday afternoon? “They want to try to attract a younger crowd. That’s the way they’re looking at it.” Drive Like Jehu were a post-hardcore alt-rock band that was started here in 1990 by Reis, Rick Froberg, Mark Trombino, and Mike Kennedy. They generated two albums and a seven-inch single before disbanding five years later. The Balboa Park show marks not only the 20th anniversary of the band’s disappearance, but the 20th anniversary of the release of Yank Crime. Is this a one-off affair, or is Jehu gearing up for something else? “No, this is just the one thing. All four original members agreed to do it because it seemed like a cool thing to us.”

Civic Organist Dr. Carol Williams is slated to accompany Drive Like Jehu. A classically trained keyboard artist, had Williams ever heard the band? “Up until recently, no, she hadn’t. They agreed to do this without hearing us. She and her husband and I met and we talked. I tried to prepare them for what was coming.” Reis left her with selections from Jehu’s two albums. “I braced her for the dissonance — the way the notes rub against each other in our songs. We want to get that out of the organ, too.” Otherwise, Reis can’t say what the set list for their 30-minute segment will be. “I won’t know until we hear what works and what doesn’t. We’ll have to see where the organ fits in. But it’d be cool to have some burners in there too.”

Williams and the band plan to schedule a few rehearsals at the organ pavilion in the weeks to come. “There are logistics to work out. The band’s quite loud. The organ’s loud, too, but it’s acoustic. And there’s noise abatement stuff. San Diego’s so tight-assed about that sort of thing. Imagine Balboa Park on a Sunday,” he says. “There’s got to be six or seven couples there, getting married. The sound of guitar destruction in the background might be too crazy.”

Drive Like Jehu reunites under the organ pipes at the pavilion in Balboa Park on Sunday, August 31, at 7 p.m. It’s an all ages event and it’s free.

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

Poway’s schools, faced with money squeeze, fined for voter mailing

$105 million bond required payback of nearly 10 times that amount
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Eating dinner while little kids mock-mosh at Golden Island

“The tot absorbs the punk rock shot with the skill of experience”
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