This year’s Beer X fest August 12 at Waterfront Park had the same music/beer/food components as last year’s Beer X, but turnout was different. It drew a sell-out 8500, three times more attendees than last …

For the past seven years, veteran local drummer Jason Lee has played in the Kiss tribute band Kissed Alive. “My first heart attack happened when I was in Target six years ago. I started having …

Earl Thomas, the soulful belter from Pikeville, Tennessee, who started singing the blues locally after getting kicked out of the Navy for being gay, has released 15 albums. He has recorded with the late BB …

The final, 13th episode of the second season of Animal Kingdom airs tonight (August 29) at 9 p.m. TNT announced on August 27 that the series has been renewed for a third season, claiming it …

Things were different when the Widows started playing punk rock 12 years ago. Singer/guitarist Aaron Pores liked it better when things were more DIY. “I love making physical flyers,” says Pores. “The visual art on …

Rapper Heartbreaka got no support from his family. “They hated it,” says the 23-year-old hip-hop artist who grew up in Southeast San Diego as Brandon Nambounmy. “They thought it was something Asians just did not …

Subtropics bassist Dana Chavarria just got a master’s degree in Peace and Justice from USD after completing studies on both sides of the border. He knows what an American president who decries Mexican “rapists” and …

Now seems like the time for a locally based Russian rapper to come up with some rhymes about Moscow election scams. But Anton Romashev, who performs locally as Tonik Slam, won’t be. “It’s not that …

For the first time, two key San Diego FM music stations are giving up part of their Sundays for out-of-town NFL teams. Radio insiders say there’s a master plan behind why KGB/101.5 carries the L.A. …

Zak Prescott, drummer with Lemon Grove punk band P-S-O, suggests culture clash caused Industry, an all-ages music venue in Chula Vista’s Eastlake area, to close in January. The 250-capacity Industry hosted eight to ten shows …

Thanks to an intervention by UCSD chancellor Pradeep Kholsa, the Ché Café has been saved. A lease has been signed by members of the Ché Café Collective that will allow the all-ages venue to reopen …

“I think it’s safe to say I’ll be the only pregnant drummer playing at Kaaboo,” says C.C. Spina of Little Hurricane. “I will be almost nine months pregnant. That will be our last show of …

Scotty Bones’s gritty, plaintive vocals and soul-bearing lyrics remind many of early Tom Waits. Scotty and Amanda Bones’ husband/wife harmonic wailings bring to mind Johnny Cash/June Carter or Southern Culture on the Skids. With cello …

After five years of radio silence, Mike Esparza, namesake of The Mikey Show, is set to return to the airwaves Thursday, July 27, where he will hold down an afternoon DJ shift on KFMB-FM. Esparza …

Dead Man’s Party doesn’t get many gigs outside of California because their tribute focus, the quirky, new-wave mini-orchestra Oingo Boingo, was mostly a West Coast phenomenon during their 1984–’95 glory years. Maybe because Oingo’s music …

“Since we moved here two years ago one of the biggest questions we always get is what San Diego bands have we signed,” says Topshelf Records co-founder Seth Decoteau. The label has a roster of …

Media reports noted that a man was struck by an Amtrak train in Little Italy on June 24, but did not list his name. But his 20 part- and full-time employees soon knew. One of …

“It’s hard to be a band that has the punk-style influence and exist in Hawaii,” says Jin Salamack, singer/bassist of Wanted Noise. “I got island fever. I love it to death, but if you’re a …

Called scum suckers and worse. In January it was announced that ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) had sued Jolt’n Joes in La Mesa and the Ramona Mainstage because they hosted musicians without …

There’s good news and not-so-good news for local musicians regarding talent shows. Local alt-rockers Creature Canyon say they will use the $2000 second-place prize they won in the San Diego County Fair’s June 16 battle-of-the …

A longtime radio powerhouse was unceremoniously escorted out the door after nearly 30 years as a top-rated local morning show. According to insiders, the Jeff and the Showgram ensemble were told they needed to attend …

Singer/songwriter Justin Watson, known to most local rappers as producer Jay Wat, says the fact he didn’t grow up around San Diego was a good thing. “I’m from Detroit, so I have a neutral presence,” …

When XETV Channel 6 went off the air last month, guitarist Raul Gonzales was one of some 60 employees who lost their jobs; he was a programming engineer in the station’s master control studio in …

Rappers beefing in real life may be good for lyrics but it can cost you gigs. Consider local rapper Rob Stone, best known for his breakout 2015 hit “Chill Bill.” He tells how Florida rapper …

Southwestern College professor Jeff Nevin has been teaching Mariachi music for 20 years. Proceeds from concerts he organizes fund $20,000 in annual scholarships for music students. His teaching clinics help keep Mariachi alive. But Nevin …

As major record labels decline in relevance, getting well-connected managers and agents on your side has become more important for so-called “baby bands” that are struggling to get a national foothold. Consider the plight of …

In 2014, the San Luis Rey Downs golf resort in Bonsall closed. Some 118 acres was purchased by the County to augment a public riverpark, and another 71 acres is in the process of being …

All four Seattle grunge frontmen (Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, Alice in Chains’ Layne Staley) played Iguana’s, the three-story Tijuana rock mecca that hosted major headliners during its 1989–’94 run. …

Does Linkin Park mix with Petco Park? Not really, according to newly released Nielsen ratings showing the results of the first full month Padres play-by-play aired on alt-rocker FM-94/9 — the station took a ratings …

Having Lady Gaga, Jimmy Buffett, and the Rolling Stones drop by for a show may be the Belly Up Tavern’s most visible triumphs. But behind the scenes the booking staff of the Solana Beach venue …

Jason Hanna can walk from his home in I.B. to the beach where, on a clear day, he can see the bullring where Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass made one of the first music …

Jennie Duffin was not able to open her Oceanside café on Sunday. But some of her friends staged their own Mother’s Day tribute to her on the Jennie’s Café patio that runs along Coast Highway. …

A plaque says the Oceanside Historical Society deems the building on Coast Highway near downtown historically significant. It was built as a house in 1908 and first used as a restaurant by George Pernicano, one …

Cory Wilkins was playing eight gigs a week in Sarasota, Florida, before he moved to San Diego 13 years ago. He can sing, play guitar, and write songs. But he can’t see. “I had some …

About 20 miles east and a week after In-Koh-Pah 4, on June 10 San Diego Gypsyfest returns, to be held again at the nudist De Anza Springs Resort. Like last year, there will be 35 …

Drummer Matt Nelson says his band the Oxen (which has been likened to the Breeders, Love and Rockets, or “a less drugged-out Spiritualized”) has quite the random DNA. “I was a pop-punk drummer from Cleveland, …

The 15 or so active Lemon Grove punk bands make it hard to ignore the town’s thriving hardcore scene. “One time they had [Lemon Grove band] PSO play for the opening of a new library,” …

“When I came to San Diego in ’89, I played at the old Casbah with my punk band Big Tension,” says Matt Parker, who now plays guitar in the five-piece Americana band Bartenders Bible. “The …

Temo Uribe is the frontman/songwriter of Chula Vista–based thrash/punk band Steeltoe, possibly San Diego’s most politically driven band. He doesn’t mince words. Regarding local punk bands who rage and thrash without a point: “It’s just …

Bar ownership Rule No. 1: You snooze, you lose. “We learned it's not real easy,” says Shannon Sgrosso, part of the rock-star contingent that swooped in to save the struggling Brick by Brick three years …

Insiders confirm longtime local rock jock Chris Cantore is replacing Kevin Acee as host of the weekday 6 to 9 p.m. time slot on Mighty 1090 beginning April 3. Kevin Acee, the U-T sports columnist …

While the value of winning a San Diego Music Award is unclear, some insiders joke that in 2014, SDMA love seemed like the kiss of death. Just after Burning of Rome won three awards (Song …

Anilee Griffin, known to many punk and metal musicians as the tattooed music lover who hired bands at Hensley’s Flying Elephant in Carlsbad, Brick by Brick in Bay Park, and who owned and operated the …

Ian Logue says he and his dad plan to attend the “Last Waltz 40 Tour,” a tribute to the Band (with Dr. John, Warren Haynes, and Don Was) next month at Harrah’s Casino. “When I …

“It started as a joke,” says veteran rock jock Mike Halloran about the fundraising concert he’s spearheading for a fellow veteran of the local music scene. “I announced on Facebook that Chris Cantore, Steven Woods, …

Make no mistake about it, San Diego is home to its share of top talents in pop, rock, jazz, and blues. The Reader’s music crew cast its net to find out why these music makers …

Austin Steele learned the hard way that it’s hard to play pop music in San Diego. “There is no scene for our music at all,” the singer/songwriter told the Reader three years ago about his …

Few locals have more music biz experience than Lou Niles. As the host of 91X’s all local Loudspeaker show when San Diego was considered the next Seattle (1988–1996), Niles was the first to play Jewel, …

Next month will mark 20 years in San Diego radio for Hilary Chambers. Now holding down the midday DJ gig on 91X, she is also that station’s music director. Since you are responsible for what …

Sam Chammas, the co-owner (with Joe Austin) of the Live Wire and Whistle Stop is part of San Diego’s roots-rock era of the 1980s and ’90s led by the Beat Farmers and Mojo Nixon but …