Many songs have been written about brothels, from “House of the Rising Sun” and “La Grange” to the musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Add to that list “Adelita’s Song,” by Vegas-based Adelitas Way; …

A Scribe Amidst the Lions singer/guitarist Kristofer Towne says the band was unloading before a recent gig at L.A.’s Viper Room when… “Out of nowhere, a speeding car [was] careening into the parking lot at …

Atlantic Records filed a lawsuit against Scott Weiland and Eric Kretz of Stone Temple Pilots on June 12, demanding that the reunited band live up to its record contract to deliver new albums. The lawsuit, …

“By the time we went on stage, everybody had been drinking all night,” says singer Richard Gwaltney of a recent House of Blues gig featuring his Guns N’ Roses tribute band Dust N’ Bones. “About …

Nautical Disaster plays bluesy pop with a dose of ’80s new wave to keep things clubworthy. The three-piece rose from the ashes of the Daffodils, who split in July 2006. “Everything was going great,” says …

“As a singer, I sound like Elvis Presley, no matter how hard I try not to,” says James Kruk, who disbanded his former group Fake Booby Judy and became, for a time, one of Poland’s …

You may not be familiar with guitarist Greg Douglass, but you’ve probably heard him play — he cowrote and played on the Steve Miller Band hit “Jungle Love” (1977), performed on Greg Kihn’s single “Jeopardy” …

Local hip-hop artist Young Mass says he “… can’t take this disrespect from none of them stick-up-the-ass Aftermath niggas.” He’s talking about onetime collaborators Dr. Dre and Dre’s studio staff at Aftermath Entertainment. “Karma swings …

“I moved to San Diego in the 1980s and intended to earn a living as a musician,” says author R.J. McDonnell, whose just-released Rock & Roll Homicide novel is set amidst the local music scene. …

When Ted Nugent appears at the House of Blues on June 10, his catering contract states, “Absolutely no takeout meals will be deemed acceptable, i.e. McDonald’s, Fish and Chips, Weinerworld, Chinese, etc.” His dressing room …

While Elvis Presley’s popularity in the U.S. was high in May 1959, Mexico was in the midst of a huge anti-Elvis backlash. Tijuana tabloids called him a racist and homosexual after the singer reportedly told …

“I had show offers before I even had band members, as far away as Texas,” says drummer Doug Smith of Nite Romantics, a Duran Duran tribute band that debuted this month at the new Channel …

War Stories is fronted by singer-keyboardist Evan Robinson who, though he wasn’t born in San Diego, has lived here for most of his life and has “San Diego” tattooed on his knuckles. He says the …

“We kicked 2 Live Crew off the tour today,” said local musician-turned-promoter Willie Carter (aka Willie Psycho) on May 20. Just days before, he’d sent out a press release touting the Crew’s “comeback.” According to …

San Diego’s Trummerflora Collective is intended to “provide a network of support for San Diego’s experimental and improvised music community.” The musicians seem very sincere, and most have extensive academic credits, but I confess I …

Fairfield Fats Band guitarist George Davis is probably best known by his artistic alias Geo, a longtime local-concert-poster artist whose work centers around hard-rock shows. “I began by doing a banner many years ago for …

Happy Songs About the War, a one-man musical developed by local singer-songwriter J.D. Boucharde, debuts May 25 at Compass Theatre (formerly 6th@Penn) in Hillcrest. “It’s a dramatic, semi-fictional production,” says Boucharde, “using multimedia, monologues, humor, …

A craigslist post by the San Diego Repertory Theatre is generating controversy online. An upcoming production of The Princess and the Black-Eyed Pea musical was seeking “AFRICAN AMERICAN singers, actors, dancers, and musicians” for what …

Twenty-nine years ago tomorrow – 5/16/79 – the Police played the long-gone Roxy club on Cass Street in Pacific Beach. Broadcast live on 101.5/KGB-FM, the performance was widely bootlegged, the most common version being San …

“We played on the rooftop of the venue,” says local ’70s cult bandleader Gary Wilson of an April 26 gig at Sunset Boulevard’s Eighteen-Thirty club. “We went on about 12:45 a.m. I’m surprised the cops …

When an abandoned 18-foot boat loaded with marijuana washed ashore April 21 at Sunset Cliffs, a KUSI News reporter interviewed one damp, long-haired, shirtless witness who called the huge stash “the harvest of Neptune.” The …

“Chasers is the new Scolari’s,” singer Vv Morgue says of the North Park bar. “Scolari’s no longer has bands, so their crew all moved on over to Chasers to pick up the pieces.” Last year, …

Hank Easton is the guitarist for the Steely Damned, a local Steely Dan tribute band also featuring members of Rockola. The New York native began playing guitar at age five and was classically trained as …

When Alicia Keys appears at the Sports Arena on Wednesday, May 7, promoters are advised that “Alicia only eats fish and vegetables, no chicken, no beef, and no pork.” Her dressing room requires a hummus …

Local pop act bill recently returned from Toronto, Canada, where their new album End of the Hits was mixed by Steve Thompson, famed for his work on Guns N’ Roses’ hit disc Appetite for Destruction. …

Growing up, Greg Laswell says he confiscated his sister’s upright piano after she showed no interest in the instrument. “It was my sister’s 13th birthday present, but she never got into it…I remember waiting for …

Singer-songwriters Eve Selis and Mattie Mills have written a book, Forty Schmorty: Life Keeps Happening. “During the process of writing the book,” says Selis, “Mattie was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 45, and I …

“We’re here to make a stand for all who have been picked on, kicked on, but never licked on,” says singer/guitarist Eugene Over. His band the Pocket Protectors takes its sound from ’80s Freedom Rock …

Fifty-two years ago – on April 6, 1956 – Elvis Presley played his first public California concert at the San Diego Arena on Eighth and Harbor Drive (a.k.a. Glacier Garden). “I introduced him [to the …

“Amber Ojeda has aligned herself with Sellaband, which connects performers to investors interested in their music,” says Sharon Holleran of A&R Management. “It’s a free service the artist signs up for, where believers buy stock …

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 …

Miki Vale hails from Oxnard, California, making her musical debut on The Awakening, a 2004 compilation album from SGM (Sleeping Giant Music). In 2006 she collaborated with fellow Oxnard hip-hop artist Kankick for a 7” …

“I wasn’t mentally stable on that first record,” said Tom DeLonge recently to the Ventura County Reporter; DeLonge referred to the 2006 Angels and Airwaves disc We Don’t Need to Whisper. “I was spun out …

“I’m pretty anti-karaoke, so we encourage people to pick really bad songs, to sing as badly as they like,” says Rookie Card front man Adam Gimble. His “Too Cool for Karaoke” event debuts this week …

Samuel Lopez says tomorrow night’s show with noise artist Justice Yeldham and the San Diego Noise Crew promises to be a unique evening. “What can you say about a guy who plays a sheet of …

Many hip-hop artists describe themselves as activists, but Southeast San Diego native Bennie Herron fits that bill more than most. With a master’s degree in social work and a bachelor of arts in psychology from …

“After watching the lyrics come true with Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, and Britney Spears, I decided to pull the song from the Web,” says singer/songwriter Scott Wilson of “She Won’t Stop,” his ode to fame …

Mower is looking for both a guitarist and drummer. Front man Brian Sheerin admits the band has seen its share of drummers. “One dropped out after the last tour,” he recently told metalunderground.com. “Then we …

“So, last night I got hit in the head by an empty glass Maker’s Mark bottle,” said As I Lay Dying guitarist Nick Hipa after a February 24 gig in Sydney, Australia. “While it did …

“Ultimately, this music is our attempt to add a tile or two to the fluid mosaic that is California and its mythology,” says Eric Nielsen, one half of experimental space-rock duo High Mountain Tempel. “It’s …

DJ and recording artist Jon Bishop has been at the forefront of the Southern California techno scene since 1991. His radio show Sounds of the Underground on 92.5 FM was one of the first electronica/techno …

Local music lover Stacie Somers is so mad about her iPod’s limitations, she’s suing Apple. Her lawsuit seeks class-action status, contending that Apple monopolizes the music-player industry because iPods and the online iTunes music store …

Singer/guitarist Kyle Phelan was honing his rock chops while still in high school, crafting his first album at the age of 17. After graduation he kept busy appearing in concerts, on the radio, and on …

Escondido music instructor Linda Menendez locates songwriters and musicians for Rhino and Sony Records, companies that pay her to track down outstanding royalty recipients and deliver accrued funds. "It's pretty cool to see the reaction …

Before saxophonist Chris Klich founded his Jazz Quintet, he played club and corporate events with the Mar Dels, who have taken their act around the world. "When we traveled to Macau in China, I had …

Drummer Freddie Fontaine once spent six months touring with the Blue Man Group. "I was with the band; I wasn't a Blue Man," says the longtime local wedding-band vet. "It was still a difficult audition, …

San Diego ranked number 17 in U.S. terrestrial radio-market earnings last year, with the 45 stations in operation generating around $203 million of income. The same Arbitron ratings show the two most-listened-to local stations are …

Louis XIV formed in early 2003 when former members of alt-country locals Convoy chose sexed-up pop over redneck rock. In January 2005 the Illegal Tender EP, self-released on their own Pineapple Recording Group label, popped …

Fifty on Their Heels manager Scott Pactor offers advice on how bands can land repeat paying gigs: "Low bar total equals failure, high bar total equals success," he blogs at catdirtsez.blogspot.com. "The success of the …

"I broke my ankle playing a singing, dancing mermaid on the Disney Cruise Line."