Rolling Stone's April 7, 2005, "Children of Rock" cover story mentioned the Fabulous Rudies, a North County band with ska roots. The issue included short articles and photos of 15 rock-star kids (Sean Lennon, Ben …

Forty to fifty bottles of tequila dominate occupy Whole Hog's practice room. "We were a Pabst Blue Ribbon and Jack Daniel's band before Khrys joined," says guitarist Rich Travers. "It started with one bottle of …

"He looked like a Tijuana skinhead," says Allen Camp, the soundman who worked June 18's all-day show at Heartland Masonic Lodge in El Cajon. Camp describes the primary assailant who led the charge to beat …

Hank Williams III's recent obscenity-laced appearance at the Fiesta del Sol was a topic of discussion at the June 14 Solana Beach City Council meeting. Although no action was taken, some councilmembers suggested that the …

"I just got a bill for $8000, and that was just for the orthopedic surgeon," says Ben Labrake. "I haven't even received the hospital bill." Labrake attended the June 2 Battalion of Saints and Dirtbag …

"At nine in the morning, I knew all was not well," recalls Detroit transplant Lonnie Goldberg of the 2003 wildfires. He lived in Tierrasanta at the time. "The air was acrid. It looked like we …

On June 7, smooth-jazz KIFM morning host Melissa Sharpe said something on the air that caused her to be fired in the middle of her shift. "My general manager said I don't connect with you …

"She thought I was Bono," says Pavel Sfera of Ireland's president. Sfera met her at a public appearance he made in Dublin last month. Sfera was in high school in 1982 when he started hearing …

A guy who identifies himself as Al operates a "punk, international hip-hop, and women's music" Internet radio station called www.radioactiveradio.org. Al says an anonymous benefactor is responsible for broadcasting his programming over the airwaves, on …

Last Friday, Reeve Oliver was one of the two local groups to play 91X's 11-band X-Fest show at Coors Amphitheatre. The preceding Monday (June 5), 91X DJ/music director Marco Collins alluded to some inter-station squabbling …

"They hijacked the name [UV Tigers]," says a music-scene insider who claims that Ocean Beach band Cape May registered the Internet domain name of the UV Tigers, another local band. Cape May lead singer Andre …

"We knew we would not be allowed to play [the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon], so we decided to take it over and do our own thing," says Dune Murderous of Defamation League. The local hip-hop …

On May 27, lawmen snuffed out a show at Stripline, a new all-age venue in San Marcos. The promoter, who had hosted four shows there during a two-month period, didn't have an entertainment license. "The …

Hardcore punker Sam Ilich now knows that the excessive punk lifestyle has its limits. "After I lost my home and my marriage [in 2000], after a decade of destroying clubs and fights and turning down …

Following the lead set by Jared Leto, Keanu Reeves, and Russell Crowe, Adam Brody of Fox TV's OC launched his career as a touring rocker last week at the Jumping Turtle. His four-man band Big …

Live Irish music has done well for Ned Giblin. It's been packing his Carlsbad restaurant and café Tom Giblin's (named after his late father) for six years. The Irish food/music/Guinness formula worked for him as …

After a rancorous fight with her landlord, Hot Monkey Love Café owner Alma Felan says her seven-night-a-week, all-age music venue has signed a lease for a new building. Hot Monkey Love will be moving out …

"They are good for 2500 to 3000 tickets." That's how one local promoter described Switchfoot's local box office draw at an all-age venue. But that estimation considers paying customers. How many fans would turn out …

"When the ratio of skaters to metalheads gets out of whack, that's when everything gets put at risk." For four years an empty pool on the Pala Indian Reservation has been a haven for skateboarders. …

Strangers Six guitarist Luke Johnson said his three-year-old local band didn't have to lift a telephone to get on MTV2. "They were following how many hits we got on purevolume.com. That and myspace.com." Based on …

Metal Blade Records' all-metal roster of 20-plus bands was known for death metal (Cattle Decapitation, Cannibal Corpse, Goatwhore), progressive metal (Fates Warning, Psychotic Waltz), and hard-rock names that go back to the 1980s (Armored Saint). …

"People like to keep the party going between clubs." To pay the rent, metal drummer Kurt McCracken drives a cab for San Diego Taxi. He says 60 to 70 percent of his clients are regulars …

Lil Uno released his CD, The Streets, on his Sicko Records label. The title track borrows a riff from "Still Water (Love)," the 1970 hit by the Four Tops. "We had to go through an …

"There was an incident that started inside ['Canes] and got carried outside," says Stone Senses sax player Mike Flanagan. He says "a riot" occurred outside the South Mission Beach nightclub on April 28. Irieside, C-Clan, …

Somehow, some way, someday / We're gonna burn this bitch down for what they did in Abu Ghraib / Somebody, somewhere, say something / I've tried myself and I haven't changed one thing. "A lot …

After a ten-year run, the annual Rob Machado Surf Classic and Beach Fair has been canceled. Held every September at Seaside Reef in Cardiff, the surf contest/festival hosted eight to ten bands during the two-day …

"I was the kid on the ground doing pushups with my tongue," says 13-year-old Jade Gilley of her role for a Kellogg's Mini Swirls commercial. Gilley, who attends seventh grade in Vista, has been dancing …

Twenty-five years after he opened it, George Scolari is selling his "office" on 30th Street. The new owner, Daniel Sobarnia, will shorten the Scolari's Office name to the Office. Sobarnia did not comment about his …

The Dresden Dolls opened for Nine Inch Nails at Soma last May. Two years ago, the Dresden Dolls co-headlined a New Year's Eve show at 4th & B. Some people say the band shouldn't have …

Muay Thai boxer Charles Williams isn't the only pro athlete to try to make it in hip-hop. "Roy Jones Jr. was a great boxer who came out with an album," says Williams. "It wasn't that …

Rick Reitano says he's had it with Encinitas and has put his reggae store up for sale. His father opened Rainbow Country 21 years ago. Reitano took over the Highway 101 store in '89, when …

Elliot Leib and Renee Romano have sold Trade Roots, the reggae music-and-culture store they founded 20 years ago. "We're in our 50s" is the reason Romano gives when asked about the sale. Leib says, "Music …

Before Jewel and blink-182, San Diego's most successful recording artist of the '90s was six-member reggae band Big Mountain. In 1994, the band's remake of Peter Frampton's "Baby I Love Your Way" made it to …

"Twenty-two people played on our new CD," says Burnt singer/guitarist Danny Franco. His North Park--based punky-reggae collective rehearses and records in a former tattoo parlor on 30th Street. "The space was a bona fide shithole. …

"After 9/11, people said, 'Hey, things are serious now.' It seemed like electronic music went into a decline after that," says Jon Bishop, one of San Diego's best-known techno DJ/recording artists. He moved here 25 …

Acnom, 19, is a backpacker, one of a few North County hip-hop artists (including N3RO Tactic, Simple One, Plain Jane, and Future Shock) who sell their music on the street. "It took me five hours …

"Che Café has that elite, on-the-cusp, über-indie stigma," says Brian Serocke, a UCSD senior who books bands to play on-campus Porter's Pub. Unlike the Che Café (UCSD's more famous music venue), Porter's Pub serves beer …

Lower Definition was the only local unsigned group invited to play the Taste of Chaos tour at the Sports Arena on February 16. The post-hardcore band won the slot in a Myspace popularity poll. At …

The position of rock-band manager does not come with job security. Matisyahu and the Killers, who landed major-label deals not long ago, fired the managers who helped steer them toward international recognition. Rick DeVoe began …

Hourly employees who worked at the San Diego House of Blues before January 31, 2006, may soon be able to claim their share of a $1 million settlement fund set up in the aftermath of …

John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten, formerly of the Sex Pistols) did a three-hour interview last week on 91X. According to 91X program director Kevin Stapleford, the station paid Lydon to record promotional announcements three months …

"There aren't really any gangs out there," says 19-year-old Free Mind, who graduated from Poway High last year. "There are barely any Asians where I'm from. I kicked it with black people, so I was …

Brian Witkin owns Del Mar--based record label Pacific Records and a record/CD store located inside the all-age Epicentre in Mira Mesa. Now, following the McDonald's business model, Witkin intends to break into recording; he says …

Some fans at the recent Cult show at House of Blues left with a live recording of the band's performance. A table manned by a Live Nation employee took $25 from patrons during the sold-out …

No San Diego bands played the British Invasion concert in San Bernardino on March 4. Veteran SD punker Mike Virus (of the band Cheap Sex) was in the audience at around 7:30 when the music …

Three million copies of the Walk the Line DVD were sold on February 28, the first day of its release. Record companies have released at least seven box-set compilations of Johnny Cash music. Business has …

On Super Bowl Sunday, registered nurse Morgan Mieras had an altercation with a woman in an Oceanside bar. "She was kicked out of the bar," says Mieras. "She kept trying to get back in.... I …

"We've been together for ten years," says MC Frosty. "No San Diego hip-hop group has been around as long as us." Frosty and producer/MC Sketch are original members of the Icons. DJ/producer Demon has been …

The all-age Bean Bar, located in a former McDonald's near the Sports Arena (across from Les Girls), has hosted live bands for seven months. Recently, a singer/guitarist said his band declined an offer to play …

Two years after Clear Channel fired "Dangerous" Dick Spenneberg from Rock 105.3 and KGB/101.5, he says he's back in town to settle up. "When I got laid off by Clear Channel, it broke my heart," …