Several local bands are among the 100 performers competing in NBC's mostly online Star Tomorrow talent contest, including Big Toe, Tubby, and Stolen. While practicing for the competition, "Tool's production management tried to get us …
'The Atari Lounge is there so you can take a break from the band or get away from someone you don't want to talk to," says Casbah owner Tim Mays of the club's back room …
"Since it's O.B., bartering with people seems pretty natural," says O.B. Cooperative Records owner Jose Maldonado, whose recording studio and record label are based in his soundproofed Brighton Avenue garage. "A lot of the equipment …
"San Diego isn't all swimsuits, sunburns, and palm trees," according to hip-hop website BallerStatus.net. "It's also Dickies suits, burners [handguns], and pounds of trees [marijuana]. That's the 'Daygo' the City doesn't want you to hear …
"That crowd was freaking insane," says concert photographer Jennifer Hewett of the August 18 Alice in Chains show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Hewett says guitarist Jerry Cantrell was struck in the face by what …
Sandjacket drummer Ric Root says his band's recent Hollywood performance is available at liveatthegig.com. However... "We did not hook up with the website. We hooked up with the club, the Gig, which broadcasts the set …
Again, Dave Mustaine is having trouble with Gigantour, which last summer played to half-empty venues and was booked at locales unable to accommodate both stages. The September 7 tour opener at Cox Arena has been …
Elan, a female Latin performer based in San Diego, has filed an 11-count lawsuit against Wailers singer Elan Atias, who recently began using only his first name for solo recordings. "This is the kind of …
'We recorded one of our live shows at Lestat's and mixed two video feeds along with audio," says Big Toe singer/guitarist Dave Gilbert of the tape that landed them on NBC's Star Tomorrow on July …
"They didn't knock. My girlfriend and I were still in bed when around 20 cops came busting in full-force with guns and a search warrant," says Thicker Than Thieves singer Jamin Hazelaar of the recent …
"They didn't like my appearance because I didn't dress in 1983 Metallica fashion," says guitarist Chris Knowles of his brief stint with Skeletor (named after the villain in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe …
"There was an article in [the Reader] about a guy living in a trailer who was supposed to have been the drummer for Strawberry Alarm Clock," says Randy Seol, the band's drummer in the heyday …
"First Gangs -- Now Cults!" reads a flyer circulating at El Cajon locales near the Crystal Ballroom. Neighbors of the for-rent hall at 414 North Magnolia Avenue complain that the venue has attracted gangs and …
On August 7, 30-year-old former blink drummer Travis Barker filed for divorce from Shanna Moakler, a former Miss USA (1996) and Playboy's December 2001 Playmate of the Month. The filing comes soon after pagesix.com alleged …
Billing themselves as "the Jesters of Rock," Collage Menage has gone through two dozen members since forming in 1988, with identical twins Hans and Fritz Jensen as the constant core. "To fit in with this …
"Parkway Plaza's slightly overzealous mall security apparently thinks there's something dangerous about guys handing out free CDs and flyers," says Duff-O-Cide bassist Jay Sassin. "We were giving out our Don't Munch a Duff EP, and …
"Gave her the song on a Friday and she got canned the next Tuesday," says Superdoo singer Christopher Dale of "Hilary," his musical tribute to the recently fired 91X DJ (sample lyric: "Yeah, you're the …
Over 100,000 people attended this year's Comic-Con, and Snoop Dogg almost wasn't one of them (he didn't arrive until after his scheduled appearances). The rapper missed a panel to promote his upcoming movie and comic, …
"Meeting Maxine Waters, Al Franken, Marc Maron, and DNC chairman Howard Dean was a hoot," says Jeff Berkley of DemocracyFest, a three-day political festival that took place July 14--16 at SDSU. His band Berkley Hart …
Dave Mustaine has announced that the second edition of his multi-band Gigantour will launch in San Diego on September 7. Megadeth, Lamb of God, Opeth, Arch Enemy, Overkill, and others will share the bill. The …
After much rescheduling, Jewel's "Punk Rock Angel Girl" cartoon shorts will begin airing on Nickelodeon around Halloween. According to a production assistant, "We had to wait for her script revisions, and she gets final approval …
"We are being 'hush hush' because if word gets out, this could muster competition and that would be bad," says Todd Urick of his hope to launch "a local community radio station. Not a pirate …
'I haven't gotten any heat from the Gabor estate yet," says one-man band Zsa Zsa Gabor, who doubts anyone will mistake him for the Hungarian-born socialite whose name he co-opted. "What I do is perform …
"They don't even let you load in from the back door," says Crime in America bassist Eric Marcrum about Scolari's. He says the band will no longer play the North Park bar because of inconvenience, …
Jason Mraz told a Canadian newspaper details behind his collaboration for the single "Geek in the Pink" with hip-hop honcho Scott Storch ("a guy on more rappers' speed dials than a weed-selling jeweler operating out …
Local singer/songwriter Michael Tiernan performed in Texas at the 34th annual Kerrville New Folk Songwriter Contest over Memorial Day weekend. He competed against 32 other songwriters. "It's pretty much the American Idol of the folk …
Music Trader district manager Darren Fionda was arrested in May at the chain's SDSU store for allegedly selling "pirated music." In a sting orchestrated by the Recording Industry Association of America, 195 discs were seized, …
'The first Four Eyes album, recorded for MCA in 1982--1983, remains unreleased," says Mark DeCerbo. The guitarist/bassist/singer for Rockola and the Steely Damned founded Four Eyes in 1979 and revived the group late last year …
The first drive-in theater I snuck into in San Diego was also the first one built here, the Midway, on the northwest corner of Mission Bay Drive and Sports Arena Boulevard. It was December 1979, …
1932: Richard Milton Hollingshead Jr., a chemical engineer and oil and grease salesman, conducts his first experiments in outdoor viewing by nailing a bedsheet between two trees and putting a 1928 16mm movie projector on …
Benedictum played Italy's Gods of Metal festival over the first weekend of June. Def Leppard, Whitesnake, and Guns N' Roses were the bigger acts on the bill. "On the first days, each band had their …
When Pearl Jam appears at Cox Arena tomorrow, July 7, they'll allow "no signage on, around or about the stage [including] any corporate sponsored venues, radio and TV stations, etc." And, "There is to be …
Promoters of the TeleMagica Art and Music Festival (held in Jacumba June 16--18) say, "The highlight of the event was 'The Return of the Buffalo' opera spectacle: a Scottish kilt-dressed narrator followed by children twirling …
"Yes, it is true, we have broken up," says GoGoGo Airheart drummer Andy Robillard on the band's MySpace blog. "At least I can say without any reservations whatsoever that we never put out a shitty …
"We get occasional audience members who give us a hard time over it," says bassist Mike Johnston, whose band Sirhan Sirhan is named after the assassin who shot and killed Robert F. Kennedy 38 years …
"I was a successful stockbroker with over a million dollars in the bank," says After the Crash singer Jake, "but I lost it all on April 4, 2000, as the market was having its biggest …
Before he joined a Scribe Amidst the Lions, drummer "Nate [Ball] was more or less using his drum kit for dirty laundry bins," says singer Kristofer Towne. After their first practice session with Ball evolved …
"Right before the show, the promoter, Josh Andrande, calls to say Cypress Hill wants $3000 more cash to headline," says Stiletto Silhouette singer Jason Fitzpatrick. "Something about they were paid half in Mexican money... We …
Credit P.O.D.'s Sonny Sandoval for those tykes in your kid's kindergarten class named Nevaeh (pronounced neh-VAY-uh). According to the New York Times, the name's popularity is rising faster than any other in the past 100 …
On May 25, aspiring rapper Lawrence Christopher Smith was sentenced to 84 years to life in prison for the November 2004 shooting death of Dom Perignon Champagne in Southeast San Diego. During his sentencing for …
In mid-May, Chula Vista police arrested the operator of El Jibarito Music Studio, Walter Rivera, and charged the 49-year-old with ten counts of lewd acts with a victim under the age of 14. The "inappropriate …
"Over 50 percent of my roof is gone, and all the wiring has to be replaced," says Candye Kane, who recently returned from a European tour to her partially burned North County home. "I had …
When Ashlee Simpson appears at Viejas Casino Concerts in the Park tonight, June 8, she'll be in possession of a bag of Ricola cough drops, some Dentyne Ice or Orbit gum, a small bottle of …
Crash Carter was formed in North County in late 2004 and pairs drummer John Mears and bassist Jeff Bowman (both formerly of surf rockers Tower 7) with singer/keyboardist Casey Gee. "We're just three groove-oriented guys …
"For years, it was called the KSON Flatbed Show," says Steve Nichols of the mobile soundstage he's renamed the Rolling Radio Show. "Al Turner at KSON drove it, but after he lost his vocal cords …
6-6-06 was supposed to see the reunited Slayer debut music from their first album in five years for around 11,500 fans at the Sports Arena. Unfortunately, this first date of the "Unholy Alliance Tour" was …
TRAVEL AGENTS "The name was adopted from a classic Dragnet episode that dealt with psychoactive drugs like LSD, and 'travel agent' was a term for someone who guided you on your trip, so to speak. …
The Kraken in Carlsbad celebrates 30 years' operating in the same locale on Saturday, May 20. There will be an afternoon barbeque and Blue Heat and other local bands performing in the evening. "I opened …
"New Yorkers really like San Diego music," says Grams guitarist Chuck Schiele, who has played or promoted around a dozen NYC shows during the past year. "They came. They clapped. They bought CDs. All the …
DAMARU "The Damaru is a two-sided percussion instrument that is shaken with two balls striking the membranes as part of spiritual practices in Tibet, India, and Nepal. The most powerful Damarus are created from human …