Most neighborhood conflicts over live music involve loud bands that drive the neighbors nuts. But an unusual battle has been brewing in Ramona for over a year now, one involving musicians who most often perform …

Video:BLURT: Jazz guitarist Alex Ciavarelli pays tribute to pianist Oscar PetersonAlex Ciavarelli’s first instrument was the violin, but he stopped playing by the time he was ten. “My parents said they would give me some …

Video:GONZO REPORT: Goose may have indie vibes, but they’re still a jam bandGoose had been kicking around for five years by the time they played the jam-band heavy 2019 Peach Music Festival in Scranton, Pennsylvania. …

Angel Mariscal had a short-lived stint playing the piano when he was in elementary school. “The teacher would be, like, ‘Play this,’ and then I would want to go outside to play with my friends. …

Most people don’t notice power lines unless there’s a problem with them. And as a kid, I was like most people — until my dad pointed up at the lines as we drove the backroads …

Jerry Flack’s lifelong devotion to music was sealed at an early age. “I was three or four and my father’s band was practicing in the living room, and they were playing ‘Day Tripper’ by The …

Video:BLURT: Play "Name That Tune" with The Beard and the BirdJon Hasz met his future wife, Cathryn (Cat) Curry Hasz, at a music store in Ramona when they were both still in high school. “She …

Greg Jacobs met John Reis when they both worked at Cargo Records in the early ‘90s. Jacobs had previously worked for the legendary Los Angeles-based label SST and its subsidiary, Cruz Records in the late …

Local art-punks King Whisker filmed a video for their new single “Utopia” in late spring. The song is a commentary on how the world and life can be simultaneously beautiful and brutal. To hammer home …

Video:GONZO: House of Blues’ Voodoo Room hosts Mind’s EyeA cursory look at the downtown House of Blues’ calendar reveals that the venue has been booking nearly as many acts into their smaller events space (the …

The rise in popularity of e-bikes around San Diego County has grown so much over the past couple of years that it seems more commonplace to find cyclists utilizing them on the local roads than …

Tourmaline is a legendary surf spot nestled between Windansea and North Pacific Beach; longboarders flock to it for its mellow break. So if you’re familiar with San Diego surfing culture, you’d probably think that a …

Peak Covid-19 was a tough time for Rob “Roob” Blackwell. “I, like many people, started struggling with pretty significant mental health issues during the lockdown,” Blackwell explains. “I have always had major depressive disorder, and …

Video:GONZO: Neil Young performing "Harvest Moon" at Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theater on 4/24/2024I caught a Neil Young show last summer when he performed at the Rady Shell as part of his Coastal …

Rand Anderson’s parents were big country fans. So naturally, he rebelled against the sound at first, and embraced punk and metal. But eventually, he returned to the fold. He even played with the Phoenix outfit …

Blair Gun’s Joedin Morelock and Zach Cavor started writing songs together in 2020. “We had just met up and we were jamming with some different musicians,” Morelock recalls, “but Zach and I really connected on …

Owl Be Damned took its time getting out of the nest. In the late ‘10s, singer Douglas Thompson (Low and Be Told, The Marsupials) pitched drummer Ben Johnson (The Long and Short of It, Hostile …

Video:Save Ferris was signed to Epic Records in the mid-’90s, after fellow Orange County ska band No Doubt rocketed up the chartsSka music has a habit of popping up every decade or so to ride …

Video:BLURT: Anya True ditches school to battle on The VoiceSeventeen-year-old Anya True says she has been singing pretty much since she could speak. She picked up playing the guitar when she was five and, two …

Island civilizationWithin the Coronado Ferry Landing, you will find Coronado Tasting Room. Purveyors of Craft Spirits, Extra Virgin Olive Oils, Balsamic Vinegars, Spices and Gourmet Foods. Every other Wednesday evening, Michael Gonzales (aka Gonzo) and …

Some musicians see forming a tribute group as a way to get into the music industry. Copping someone else’s successful act may seem their only chance at earning a bit of applause, adulation, and — …

Video:BLURT: Archie Thompson sings “My My My Little Baby” from the Bill Burr film Old DadsArchie Thompson’s music-intensive life is back in full swing after being derailed by Covid for a couple of years. His …

When Ryan Ruff was in high school, his two best friends were in a band that couldn’t find a bass player. Somehow, he missed the sign the universe was holding up. “I should have picked …

Clayton Payne and Ryan Fischer met when they were both serving as drummers for The Liquorsmiths, a folk-rock trio led by singer/guitarist Drew Thams. After that band’s run came to an end, the duo continued …

<a href="http://www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/matthew-phillips/">Matthew Phillips</a> has his grandmother to thank for starting him on his musical journey. “She had a piano at her house,” he recalls. “I would go and play when I was a young kid …

Years ago, I watched a full band open for comedian David Cross at ‘Cane’s in Mission Beach. I thought it was the most unusual opening act/headliner combo I had ever witnessed — at least until …

Ethan van Thillo was a longtime violinist who basically abandoned the instrument after he had finished college. At that point, he devoted all his time to being a father and running the Media Arts Center …

Matelotage (French for “seamanship”) was, according to Wikipedia, “an agreement amongst pairs of European sailors, in particular buccaneers, in the 17th and early 18th century. As part of this economic partnership, matelots would agree to …

9/11 could have been stopped in San DiegoFormer FBI agent Mark Rossini, who was assigned to the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center, said CIA officials blocked the memo to the FBI because the agency was complicit with …

Dangerous bike spotsFriars Road, Nimitz Blvd, University Ave., Pershing Dr., Genesee, Pacific Hwy at Barnett Ave.Safer routes: SD River Trail, West Point Loma, Robinson, GovernorBy Dryw Keltz, Sept. 23, 2015The curvy road from Fallbrook to …

Brian Warren’s band <a href="http://www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/weatherbox/">Weatherbox</a> toured with Say Anything circa 2008; Warren recalls playing in rooms in front of 2000 people. Last month, Say Anything played the two-day When We Were Young festival in Las …

Big bust at the Grape Street dog parkA failed plea to city officials to install a new fence to enclose the Grape Street off-leash dog park in South Park led to a crackdown that resulted …

In late September, I headed north to Vista’s Aztec Brewing for Brew Game Plus 5, an eight-and-a-half hour overdose of bands performing video game songs. My friend and I had never been to the brewery …

All this jazz at Tio Leo’s“I see a lot of familiar faces here, and I see three or four new ones. I want to let you know that, when the music is playing, we are …

<a href="http://www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/jefferson-jay">Jefferson Jay</a> may be best known for gigging around town, hosting open-mic nights and throwing occasional 24-hour live music events. But he also created the San Diego Music Hall Of Fame (SDMHOF) back in …

“When I was really young, I was the singer kid,” says <a href="http://www.undertherugmusic.com/">Under The Rug</a> singer/guitarist Casey Dayan. “There’s a funny home movie of me in some diapers when I was around three years old, …

Jonah Paz started playing in his first local punk band in 2013, when he was 13 years old. By the time Covid reared its ugly head in 2020, he had cycled through a myriad of …

Ryan Steel lived in San Diego from 2002 through 2005 before he ended up in Chicago, where he played in The Sky We Scrape from 2008 until 2015. It was during this tenure that he …

Matt Casper was bandless for around eight years before <a href="http://www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/manthers/">Manthers </a> came together. It was an unusual gap for a gentleman known for fronting a lot of groups. “I’ve cobbled together so many things …

Lead Pony can already spot the VulturesPsychedelic blues rock has never really gone out of style — not locally, anyway. And now, San Diego is rapidly becoming a hotbed of related “concept albums,” from the space …

Back when he was younger, Trevor Ginsberg played violin for a short spell — but strings didn’t stick like his love of singing. He started off in choirs, and eventually became a member of the …

As I recall, it was around the middle of the last decade when I first encountered pickleball. My friend Andy Cox and I were nearing the end of a game of tennis at Collier Park …

Are the volunteers getting hosed? Nicio Aguilera is blunt: “Nobody up here trusts the county. We don’t trust them, we don’t like them.” Aguilera, who spent 15 years fighting fires in Philadelphia and another 15 …

Evan Hawkins’ first exposure to reggae music came courtesy of his mom, who listened to Bob Marley and UB40. Then, when he was a teenager in the mid-2000s, a friend started bringing him to see …

“We’re just dirty pop singing about pizookie appetizers at BJ’s,” says Auz Fontaine co-founder Captain Auzmo. “It always works and has this fun element, like when you go to a prix fixe and you get …

On May 11, the Federal Department of Health and Human Services will end the Covid public health emergency. But the bureaucratic behemoth is a slow-footed beast; John Q. Public knows the pandemic ended some time …

The protean Proteus: Remember Corduroy? They were a local Pearl Jam tribute act, active for around three months in summer 2019. Joe Moese recruited the musicians, they worked up a set, and then Moese up …

The brewery tasting rooms located in the Vista business park near Sycamore Avenue may be getting an added boost in early 2023. The Vista City Council is set to vote in January on a resolution …

Amy Day and Omar Musisko formed their folk duo, The Spiritual Motels, in 2017. By the tail end of 2019, the band had released their debut album, Super Tiny Disappearing Oceans, and were in the …

Missy Alcazar took up classical piano at an early age, and was considered a child prodigy. Her teacher permitted her to practice only “the greats” — composers such as Bach and Chopin. But by elementary …