“Gerbil porn will be the instrument of my demise,” I mutter in the parking lot of Dizzy’s on Morena Boulevard, where Stephanie Trick and Paolo Alderighi are performing this evening. Getting to the club, which …
February 20, 2025
Articles by Spike Steffenhagen
Gonzo Report: Trick and Alderighi's 4 hands make light work of old songs
Justin Pearson and the rest of Swing Kids reuniting for one more show
“It wasn’t something grand or unique outside of the actual simplistic meaning of friendship,” says Justin Pearson of the upcoming Swing Kids reunion show. “John Brady, the band’s bassist, is turning 50, and he decided …
February 13, 2025
Gonzo Report: Good music and great merch at T.S.O.L. show
“We have an EMT on-site if you want a Band-Aid for that,” says Observatory North Park staffer Anna when she sees my bleeding left knee. She monitors people leaving the bar area to make sure …
January 30, 2025
Gonzo Report: Substitute Gym Teacher levels the crowd at Tower Bar
“We love this place. So, even if something bad happens, we’ll still love these.” Newlywed Summer is referring to the matching tattoos she and her husband Dimitry got of The Tower Bar to commemorate their …
January 16, 2025
Queen Bee’s keeps fighting to stay put
“A city truck crashed into the building in the middle of a show,” says Alma Rodriguez, owner of Queen Bee’s Arts and Cultural Center in North Park. It’s an awful sort of poetic symbolism for …
January 2, 2025
Gonzo Report: Hockey Dad brings UCSD vets and Australians to the Quartyard
“Are you more concerned about your drinks being stolen or someone putting something in them?” I ask a gaggle of patrons at The Quartyard in East Village where Hockey Dad, Remo Drive, and Tatiana Hazel …
December 12, 2024
Gonzo Report: Bob Long played piano for Tina Turner and Ray Charles
“How’s polygamy working out for you?” I ask a man at InZane Brewery in Vista. He looks surprised, as if I’ve just deduced something that shouldn’t be common knowledge. We engage in a staring contest …
December 5, 2024
Time’s up for Doubletime Recording Studio
“You’re the last drummer I’m ever recording in this room,” Jeff Forrest tells Declan Halloran (of Gunner Gunner) in a moment shared on social media by Halloran. Forrest, whose Doubletime Recording Studio in El Cajon …
December 5, 2024
Gonzo Report: Jazz jam at a private party
“People say I’m too nice to play jazz,” says bassist Paul Tillery. He’s unloading an upright bass to perform at California English with guitarist Jon Garner as a duo. They’re replacing Amanda Portela, who had …
November 28, 2024