Pink Floyd in San Diego, Land of the Lost TV Show, Everybody Violet Returns, Bootleg Guitars, New Music Search Engine, Rhythm Turner, more

San Diego Music Encyclopedia & Database Online Now

Press illo to play the Overheard song!

NEW COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL MUSIC DATABASE IS LAUNCHED

IT'S DONE!!!! And growing every hour....

If you wanna see a list of over 1,5000 San Diego bands, with links to full profiles, photos, discographies, articles, MP3s, etc, checkout http://www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/search/

Believe it or not, you can click on ANY LOCAL MUSICIAN'S NAME (around 4,500 musicos listed!) and bring up bios of every notable band they've ever been in! Try it here with Rob Crow ---

AND, if that wasn't cool 'nuff, click on an instrument, say like this here link to "Drums" - BAM, a list of EVERY DRUMMER IN SAN DIEGO!!!

We've been working on this massively cross-linked Local Music Database for over two years now, covering a century of San Diego history --- if you're a local performer who wants to add or edit a page, go to http://www.sandiegoreader.com/band/edit/

More anon!!!! JAS

HERE'S THIS WEEK'S NEW Overheard in San Diego

AND THE NEW Famous Former Neighbors

LAND OF THE LOST: THE TV SHOW – SCI-FI GEM OR DINOSAUR DOO-DOO?

Following is a mailing list dialogue between me and writer Jamie Ralph Gardner, who had posted material about the old Sid and Marty Krofft ‘70s TV show Land of the Lost, the basis for a new Will Ferrell movie.

Jay Allen Sanford JAS SAYS: I grew up when the Krofft shows were new, and always found Land of the Lost to be their weakest work. Well, maybe not as bad as Kaptain Kool and the Kongs on the Krofft Supershow, but LOTL was no PufnStuf or Lidsville.

JRG REPLIES: Land of the Lost is my favorite of the Krofft shows. It's been one of my favorite science fiction TV shows since I was a child. I watched it again on the Sci-Fi channel during the 1990s. It still held up really well. I will admit that the special effects are weaker then I remember as a child. Some people nitpick on the acting but I think the actors potrayed a likable family. The show went down hill in the 3rd season when they replaced the Father with the uncle character.

The scripts during the 3rd year were not up to the level of the first 2 seasons. Land of the Lost had intellectual science fiction stories and message oriented episodes. There are times when Jay can be wide off the mark in his opinions.

I liked H.R. Pufnstuf as a child but I was very disappointed in it as an adult. Sometime, I will try watching it again to see if I can recapture my childhood fondness for it. I talked with [Carnal Comics publisher] SS Crompton about your being such as a fan of H.R. Pufnstuf and he couldn't understand why someone beyond 8 years old would be a fan of the show. SS thinks you like it so much because of the drug connotations of H.R. Pufnstuf.

David Gerrold (the author of The Trouble with Tribbles episode of Star Trek) was the story editor for Land of the Lost during the first season. Gerrold wrote 5 episodes of the show including the first episode. There were other Star Trek writers on the show such as D.C. Fontana (she wrote or co-wrote such Star Trek episodes such as By Any Other Name, Charlie X, The Enterprise Incident, Friday's Child, Journey to Babel, This Side of Paradise, Tomorrow Is Yesterday, The Ultimate Computer, etc.), Norman Spinrad (the author of The Doomsday Machine episode of Star Trek), Theodore Sturgeon (the author of Amok Time and Shore Leave episodes of Star Trek) and Margaret Armen (The author of the Cloud Minders, The Paradise Syndrome and The Gamesters of Triskelion episodes of Star Trek).

Walter Koenig wrote The Stranger, the LOTL episode that introduces Enik. Donald F. Glut and Larry Niven are other science fiction writers who wrote for Land of the Lost.

Jay Allen Sanford JAS SAYS: Yeah, I'm sure my fondness for Puf has to do with being so young when it aired, but I still enjoy it as an adult for the astounding sets and costumes and their trippy Wonderland-style iconography.

I was a member of the Banana Splits fan club in grade school, and one of my first records was by PufnStuf star Jack Wild - one of the first movies I ever saw by myself in a theater was the Puf feature, which was also my first exposure to Mama Cass, so yeah, that has a lot to do with my fondness --- that, and the Puf music, and Jack Wild's talent.

Lidsville was another fave, again for the imagination it displayed. The subsequent shows all seemed lesser and lesser, as did the lowlight stars like Johnny Whitaker (Family Affair) in Sigmund.

The Kroffts did worse crap than LOTL, like those semi-live action Twain shorts. Perhaps it's the cheap look and wooden acting that most turns me off to Lost - as you said, the scripts were certainly ambitious.

JRG REPLIES: I first watched Land of the Lost when I was 5 years old. I watched it from the beginning. It's one of my earliest childhood memories. This show is one of the things that got me interested in dinosaurs. I think the guy playing Father is fine in the series. I think the actors playing the brother and sister overact at times but I generally like them. I don't think the cast is wooden. I read that Wesley Eure poked fun at his own acting during the audio commentary for the Rhino Records DVD collections of the Land of the Lost TV series.

Jay, since you're a fan of William Shatner, how do you feel about people who criticize William Shatner for overacting? Michael Copner [publisher Cult Movies magazine] once said to me that overacting is not always a bad thing. He made a point that Bela Lugosi overacted in a good way that made his acting larger then life.

I think one of the problems with Land of the Lost is that it was shot in videotape. Videotape shows flaws much more then film.

If the original Star Trek had been shot on videotape, it would look much less real. There are already people who complain about the special effects of the 1960s Star Trek. I talked to some boy who criticized the stop motion animation in the first Terminator movie. The boy prefers CGI effects. I'm not as picky as many other people when it comes to special effects. On another subject, I like the music of Land of the Lost as well, not just the theme song.

Jay Allen Sanford JAS SAYS:

I tried to watch some LOTL on Sci-Fi yesterday, and found the biggest hurdle was tolerating the MUSIC. I'd forgotten how astoundingly cheap and cheezy it was - monotone drones on synth, a repeating Mellotron loop, and hideous overuse of the Theremin, a lovely "futuristic" sounding audio invention used to great effect in Forbidden Planet thru many modern pop songs, but reduced to the equivalent of a whoopie cushion sound effect on Land of the Lost. I kind of understand the sci-fi "futuristic" aspect behind the soundtrack, even tho it was a prehistoric setting, but how wonky to soundtrack the entire show like an episode of Far Out Space Nuts ---

You having seen it as a kid inured you to that kind of thing, the same way I'm not bothered by the alphabet soup scripting in Puf-N-Stuf - the shows harken back for us a time when imagination was everything and the real world with all its darkness and scariness was still fended out of our purview by the warm light of the TV screen ---

Shatner has grown on me, after enjoying his run on Boston Legal. I'd still rather watch any of the later Trek shows than the original, with a handful of exceptions, partly because Shat could be so groan-worthy.

Michael Copner and I had several spirited chats about his love of Lugosi, VS my own reverence for Karloff, tho both of us found much worthy work by the others' hero. Had Lugosi been given (or had he chosen) roles like Karloff scored, Lugosi could and should have been one of the greats.

Man, how great would it have been to see LUGOSI playing the aging horror star in Targets, instead of Karloff (in one of his final U.S. roles)! Woulda been a whole different film -

I'm watching more LOTL marathon now - "The Musician" ep wasn't awful, and the ep before that reminded me that the Suliban of Star Trek Enterprise seem to be the same transparent critters with lightbulbs taped to them from LOTL ---

Watching "Split Personality" now, and WTF, the Marshalls see a ghostly image of little Holly beckoning, and Dad freakin' tells Holly to "stand still" and LET the spirit ENTER her, cuz "It wants to communicate with us, thru Holly!" This, after Holly complained about her first encounter with the ghost-image, practically crying "It wants to get INSIDE me!!!" (really, really creepy). Thanks a LOT, Dad!!! Some stranger wants to get INSIDE his young DAUGHTER, and he tells her to just relax and TAKE it?!?!?!

There's something mighty creepy about hearing little Holly say, all tranced out, "The rocks are inside of me...the other part is out the other side." Again, WTF???

I admit today's eps are more watchable than previous attempts I've made to see this series - still hating the "future music," but I kinda dig the occasional bluegrass banjo riffing and freaky-folk flute ---

JRG REPLIES: I'm surprised by your criticism of William Shatner. You have spoken so highly of Shatner's acting in the Thriller TV series. I think Shatner did his best Star Trek acting during the first season of the show. His acting could be quite different, depending on the episode. I think Harlan Ellison's The City on the Edge of Forever has one of William Shatner's best acting jobs. With the exception of Richard Matheson's The Enemy Within (during which Shatner plays the good and evil Captain Kirk), his acting is way more toned during the first year.

I have noticed his haltering acting style is something he does when speaks outside of acting as well. In a book that Shatner wrote, he said that the reason why he halters when he speaks, is that he is pausing to remember his lines. Shatner says that he would deliberately overact to make silly situations seem more real. He has written about his acting in The World of Suzie Wong play. Shatner claims that when he overacted, the audience got more in to the play.

I think the "The Musician" is one the weaker episodes of the first 2 seasons of land of the Lost. I think a flaw of the 2nd season is that Chaka and his ape people got used too much. They were being used too much for comic relief. I like Chaka but I prefered it when he was potrayed in a more serious way. Most of the famous science fiction writers were gone during the 2nd season. Even though the 2nd was uneven, the show still had a signicant number of good episodes.

I'm glad you started watching the shows before the 3rd season. Many land of the Lost fans are very critical of the 3rd season. If you just had the 3rd season to go on, this would reinforce your negative opinion of the show. I would recommend you see the first season, this is when the show was at it's best.

Jay Allen Sanford JAS SAYS: Okay, I was 15 or 16 when the third season of Land of the Lost aired, so I wasn't watching much Saturday morning TV any more. But I can NOT be the only person watching the episode "Flying Dutchman" all these years later who CRINGES with horror at this twisted bit....

The old bearded Dutchman looks at little Holly (from behind her...), gazing longingly at her, and asks "Do you LIKE me?"

Holly says something like "Sure, you're super," without really looking back at him.

The Dutchman continues studying the little girl's backside, looking her up and down, and then he says, with weight and gravity (and what seems to be unconcealed lust), something like "It does get...." (looooong pause) "....LONELY out here."

Jeez!!! Pedophile, much??? WTF???

(JAS LATER, AFTER MARATHON WRAPUP): I admit you've greatly swayed my previous opinion of LOTL - my casual exposure to it in the '70s never revealed so much story depth, tho I still have little love for the ill-conceived music and uninspired performances. Viewing parts of the marathon on your own passionate recommendation enabled me to appreciate aspects of the series I paid little heed to (even if that same marathon also reinforced/reminded me how intolerable the music was to my ultimate enjoyment of the stories being spun) --

Hey, was that even the actor who played their dad seen vanishing thru time in the third season intro, or did they just stick a Mike Brady perm-wig on some poor hapless Sleestak extra and shove him thru two giant paper towel rolls?? Why DID they boot the dad? He was the only one who could act his way out of the paper bag sets (other than Chaka, who I thought was a female until you clarified) ---

(NOTE: I ADDED THIS AFTER ALL THE BAD FILM REVIEWS CAME IN, CERTIFYING THE LOTL FILM AS A BOMB): The one good thing, apparently, about the Land of the Lost movie is the resulting marathon of the original series on the Sci-Fi Channel. This not only enabled old fans to rediscover an almost forgotten fave, but it also allowed a second look by kids of the 70s like ME who'd dismissed the series as inferior to the preceding Krofft programs. I was completely surprised by the show background that list moderator Jamie provided, and now wish I'd seen more of the marathon - I had no idea of the many merits of the series, having given up on it back in the day due to the brain-dead music, cheezy FX, and actors who seemed to have none of the talent, appeal, and fire of their Krofft precedents (Jack Wild, Billie Hayes,etc) --

PINK FLOYD IN SAN DIEGO

10-18-70: Pink Floyd performed in San Diego for the first time at the Intercollegiate Baseball Facility (a.k.a. the Polo Field) at UCSD. Touring behind their Atom Heart Mother album, they had played the previous month for their largest audience ever -- over 500,000 people -- in Paris. Despite their popularity in Europe, Floyd was third on the San Diego bill, behind Hot Tuna and Leon Russell.

Tickets cost $3.50 for the general-admission show, which started at noon. "There was a big marijuana protest on the grounds at the same time," recalls one-time concert promoter Dan Tee, a member of UCSD's Student Body Council at the time and one of the people behind the show. "About a hundred people were carrying signs and chanting 'legalize it, legalize it,' and it seemed like there were at least that many cops around too. "[The protestors] weren't too organized, though. Before long, most of them were going into the concert instead of protesting.... We used a bunch of their [abandoned] sign poles to prop up a temporary fence that gate-crashers tore down to get into the concert."

The San Diego date was one of the few where the experimental song "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" was performed by the band. It lasted around 20 minutes. "They actually sat at a little folding table and ate for part of the song," says Tee, "with tapes of voices and sound effects playing in the background."

The band returned to San Diego one year later -- 10/17/71 -- to play a show at Golden Hall that became widely bootlegged.

10-17-71 – Pink Floyd at Golden Hall: One of the most widely bootlegged concerts of the vinyl era, collectors of ROIOs (recordings of illegitimate origin) at www.pf-roio say of this concert:

"This is post-Syd pre-Dark Side Floyd at the height of their jamming power...Each instrument is clear and, for a change, Rick [Wright]'s organ is played up in the mix."

"Possibly the best currently available show from the fall 1971 shows...'Fat Old Sun' is the extended version, with an extra verse sung before the jam." "PF shows off their quad sound effects. The music fades out and somebody enters through a door, walks around in the room opening doors with different sounds behind them. After a while, 'Cymbaline' fades in again." Among the many bootlegs available of this performance, From Oblivion appears to have the closest to a complete setlist, now available on CD and frequently auctioned through eBay.

SETLIST: 1. Careful With That Axe, Eugene 2. Fat Old Sun 3. Atom Heart Mother a) Father's Shout b) Breast Milky c) Mother Fore d) Funky Dung 4. Embryo 5. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun 6. Cymbaline 7. Blues Jam

Here’s the group’s take on “Fat Old Sun” that night (courtesy Bart Mendoza): http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=PMGbwnB

9-16-72: Pink Floyd at Golden Hall performing Dark Side of the Moon.

SETLIST: 1. Speak To Me, 2. Breathe, 3. On The Run, 4. Time, 5. The Mortality Sequence/The Great Gig In The Sky, 6. Money, 7. Us And Them, 8. Any Colour You Like, 9. Brain Damage, 10. Eclipse, 11. One of These Days, 12. Careful With That Axe, 13. Echoes, 14. Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun

4-25-75: Pink Floyd at San Diego Sports Arena

SETLIST: 1. Raving and Drooling, 2.You Gotta Be Crazy, 3. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (parts I - V), 4. Have A Cigar, 5. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (parts VI - IX), 6. Speak To Me, 7. Breathe, 8. On The Run, 9. Time, 10. Breathe (reprise), 11. The Great Gig In The Sky, 12. Money, 13. Us And Them, 14. Any Colour You Like, 15. Brain Damage, 16. Eclipse, 17. Echoes

4-14-94 – Pink Floyd at Jack Murphy Stadium: "I could easily smell the burning stench of our failed drug laws," wrote Reader columnist Allan Peterson about Pink Floyd's first San Diego concert in 19 years. The immense scope of the elaborate show, with all its effects, movie screens, inflatable animals, and (excellent) quad sound, is not what ranks this show (sans the "real" Pink, Roger Waters) among great and historic local events.

Rather, it was the stirring performance of "The Great Gig in the Sky." Peterson says, "Singer Durga McBroom's take on that classic piece was seamlessly compelling and contained all that one could hope for -- longing, sadness, acceptance, raw beauty...the terrifying immediacy of mortality, the telling reality of loss." I felt the same chill down my spine during the rendition, and over a decade later, that's "the moment" everyone I know who was there still raves about.

Bootleg aficionados apparently agree, usually ranking this date -- and that performance of "Great Gig" -- among the best of the entire U.S. tour.

SETLIST: 1. Astronomy Domine 2. Learning To Fly 3. What Do You Want From Me 4. A Great Day For Freedom 5. Sorrow 6. Take It Back 7. On The Turning Away 8. Keep Talking 9. One Of These Days 10. Shine On You Crazy Diamond 11. Breathe 12. Time 13. High Hopes 14. Wish You Were Here 15. Another Brick In The Wall Part 2 16. The Great Gig In The Sky 17. Us And Them 18. Money 19. Comfortably Numb 20. Hey You 21. Run Like Hell

Here’s “Astronomy Domine” from the show (thanks, Bart!): http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=GkBWeuBpLkQ

And “Hey You”: http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=FSV3i_T01Y8

And “What Do You Want From Me”: http://www. youtube. com/watch?v=4l0-6s6JKQg

(Me backstage for Pink Floyd at Jack Murphy Stadium - mock if you must my fanny pack, stone-washed jean jacket, jogging pants, and mullet, but they had a killer catering tent and I was having the time of my life!)

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NEWS SHORTS

AntiMusic reports: Stone Temple Pilots/ex-Velvet Revolver singer Scott Weiland has told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that STP is working with producer Don Was on material for a new album, tentatively due in 2010. (Click for more)

Mary Weiland, the estranged wife of Scott Weiland, will publish her memoir, "Fall to Pieces", on October 27 (Click for more)

Scott Weiland has issued a statement in response to media reports of the memoir. The statement, issued Wednesday (June 3), reads in part "At 16, Mary dreamed of being a famous model. She came close but she gave up her career for [the couple's kids] Noah, Lucy, and myself. She never got to see the 'what could have happened.' Well, as everyone knows by now, we are getting divorced and yes, Mary is writing a book which I have not read. But what I want everyone to know that it has nothing to do with infidelity. Neither the divorce nor the book. Please don't place the red letter upon my children's mother..."

Since January 2007, Astra Kelly has produced 123 radio shows for KPRI's local program, The KPRI Homegrown Hour. "As of May 23rd," she says, "I officially passed the torch to local music advocate, promoter and talented singer/songwriter, Cathryn Beeks. I will still be chiming in each week with in the field interviews that I'll record with different SD bands at various venues. Check out Cathryn's music HERE, and also make sure to visit her music site, Listen Local San Diego. Plus, KPRI has just re-vamped their entire website and now you can hear Podcasts of the Homegrown Hour each week!" http://kprifm.com/pages/homegrown

Switchfoot have announced their Crazy Making Summer Tour, set to kick off July 26th in Council Bluffs, Iowa, with guests Ours and Longwave. The band is currently putting the finishing touches on its seventh studio album, Hello Hurricane, produced by the band and Mike Elizondo (Eminem, Rilo Kiley, Fiona Apple).

The Fifth Annual Bro-Am will be presented by Switchfoot on June 27, with a surf contest and concert to be held in Encinitas. The event will benefit StandUp For Kids, a national nonprofit volunteer outreach organization that began in San Diego and is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of at-risk, homeless, and street kids.

Tweeter Travis Barker of Blink 182 (@trvsbrkr 162,628 followers) and DJ AM (@DJ_AM 61,128 followers) this week released the first ever Coachella '09 downloadable mixtape to fans "Free in exchange for only one tweet," crashing servers and exploding the digital airwaves! Fans went into a digital frenzy using the application built by Culture Jam Labs, retweeting the message and downloading the mixtape from the TRV$DJAM twitter website by tweeting the following message for the free download: "Download the new #trvsdjam mixtape Fix Your Face Vol. 2 - Coachella 09 in exchange for one tweet!"

Here is the official announcement from Culture Jam Labs: Superstar drummer Travis Barker and world-renowned turntablist DJ-AM are breaking new ground with the release of their second mixtape, "Fix Your Face Vol. 2 – Coachella '09". As social media enthusiasts, the two musicians have chosen to offer Twitter users an early download of their album for an unconventional price—one "tweet".

Apparently some online rat is impersonating Ratt frontman Stephen Pearcy. His official Myspace page warns fans, "If you're getting messages from Stephen Pearcy 'Under My Skin' myspace IT IS NOT from Mr. Pearcy. We have been getting notices that this imposter is sending messages saying he's Mr. Pearcy, which he is NOT!". Mr Pearcy? How un-rock n' roll. (Click for more)

Ratt have announced some new tour dates. In April, Loud & Proud announced the signing of a worldwide deal the band who are set to begin recording their first new material since 1999's self-titled album this spring. (Click for more)

Sepultura, who at various times has holed up at San Diego rehearsal rooms, will be heading back to Europe for the summer. (Click for more)

Idle Idol: Apparently it was mostly entertainment writers who were excited about this season's American Idol finale, and not viewers or fans of local oh-so-theatrical singer Adam Lambert (who poked fun at speculation about his sexuality on this weekend's edition of VH1's Best Week Ever). The karaoke contest show wrapped its eighth season Wednesday with the lowest rating ever in the 18-49 demographic for an "Idol" finale, even as the series touted its largest margin of victory yet over competitors this season. (Click for more)

Rancid is offering a full stream and a track by track commentary of their new album Let the Dominoes Fall on their MySpace page.

Rolling Stone's new issue (June 11) has a short article "Hot Scene: San Diego - a Noise Grows in SoCal ," mostly focusing on Waaves, Crocodiles, the Soft Pack, Christmas Island, and Delta Spirit.

Wavves is all over the internet, and this time not in a good way, after storming angrily from the stage at Spain's Primevera Sound Festival, leaving his drummer yelling and swearing for him to come back, only to have the sound turned off and be bum-rushed from the stage. The meltdown is being chatted up on Facebook, Twitter, Stereogum, Pitchfork, San Diego Dialed In, etc. Rosey at http://www.sddialedin.com/ has Wavves/Nathan's website apology, which was apparently removed from Nathan's blog but remains visible at a link from Rosey's site.

This one's not local, but it's my favorite news short of the day - Guitarist Oz Fox of reactivated Christian hard rockers Stryper will marry Annie Lobért, a 41-year-old former call girl who founded the international Christian ministry Hookers for Jesus, on June 5 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Click for more than you'd hope for)

******************************************************* MORE NEW MUSIC STORIES THIS WEEK

	Oh, Evan by Barnaby Monk Brick by Brick books the 30-year-strong "smart-metal" band Kings X. The Louisiana-based trio is on the Inside/Out label and touring behind their 12th proper, XV, a hook-heavy collection that allmusic.com scored four of five ...
	Crystal Antlers by William Crain Tentacles, the debut full-length from Long Beach's Crystal Antlers, opens with a looping keyboard sound, but if you think this is going to be some kind of electronic album, you're in for a shock. Soon, ...
	Joe Cocker by Dave Good The history of air guitar has got to include a footnote for Joe Cocker. In the late 1960s, Cocker, a British rock star, was mainly known for two things: A voice that -- although agreeable ...
	Come to the Cabaret by Jay Allen Sanford "San Diego stands poised to rival such musically friendly cities as Austin, Texas," says Rafter drummer Andy Robillard, who recently took over booking the Ruby Room. "Now if only we could get those archaic cabaret ...
	Tornado Magnet by Rosa Jurjevics The first track ("Hook Up") on Tornado Magnet's album Double Wide is about a fishing hole, Lone Star beers, and the good old boys who convene on a Sunday to hook up. The second, "Pistolero," mentions a six-gun
	Hey, Hoochie Mamas by Michael Hemmingson In March of this year, Revolt in Style called the Buzzbombs "San Diego's Favorite Party Band." The rockabilly trio is all about having a good time. "Our crowds are always so much fun," says Johnny ...
	Adam's Run by Josh Board I've had two Thanksgiving dinners with Eber Lambert, father of American Idol Adam. Last November, before we all sat down to eat, Eber was doing a lot of texting. He said, "My son just made ...
	Scoreboard! by Ken Leighton Goodnight Caulfield, a local pop/rock quartet with limited exposure outside of all-ages venues and coffeehouses, has signed on with Variety Artists, the same agency that books 311 and Incubus. The band's agent at Variety is ...
	Communication Breakdown by Dorian Hargrove After two years of playing drums for alternative rockers Demasiado, Wade Youman has decided to move on. "There were some creative issues with me and the bass player [Eric Shefstad]. We were banging heads, and ...

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A MESSAGE FROM MC FLOW - RECENT VIOLENCE AGAINST RHYTHM AND THE METHOD'S LEAD SINGER WAS A HATE CRIME

"A vibrant and unique member of our community was the victim of a hate crime on May 14," says Abby Schwartz, aka rapper MC Flow. "Most of you know Rhythm Turner as the lead singer of Rhythm & the Method, a successful local band that has been playing at Pride festivals and venues around San Diego for years. Some of you may simply know her as the bright, outgoing person she is – creative, spiritual, laid-back. She has a cheerful, ’60s vibe and teaches yoga when she is not in class as a full-time student."

"On May 14, Rhythm and her girlfriend were approached in the parking lot outside a San Diego venue, as they were hugging goodbye after one of Rhythm’s gigs. The attacker asked the two women to kiss and became violent when they refused. Rhythm, who has no medical insurance, was left with serious facial fractures and a fractured nose, and now requires surgery to repair the damage."

In an effort to speak out about hate crimes, she has since made a video about the incident, which can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5tGpnspl80.

"Rhythm’s attacker is not currently being charged with a hate crime, but she would like to see the charge added. Fundraisers are beginning to pop up around town to support Rhythm, starting with the first one this Thursday at FlawLes’ Thirsty Thursdays at Universal. A larger benefit with live music, raffles and silent auction is scheduled to take place at Humphrey’s Backstage Lounge on Saturday, June 13, from 1 to 4 p.m."

For more information on upcoming fundraisers or to send Rhythm a note of support, visit www.myspace.com/rhythmandthemethod.

Queer Abby - http://www.gaylesbiantimes.com/?id=14756

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THE DUMBEST GIRL I EVER DATED...

True stories about a former porn star named Susan I dated and (briefly) lived with ---

I was driving her somewhere, and she was fascinated by my ocular defect that makes it hard for me to distinguish colors, particularly on the orange/red end of the spectrum. As we pulled up to a stop sign, she asked "If you can't see red, how do you know to stop here?"

I reminded her that I CAN READ!

Less than 48 hours after getting a boob job, despite the doc warning her not to shower, bathe, or get the stitches wet lest she develop a serious infection, she went swimming in the ocean. When I found out, I asked - astounded - why???

She said "The ocean is salt water, and that's what my new boobs are made of anyway, and salt water is sterile or they couldn't put it inside me." (yes, I nursed her thru the subsequent infection).

While she was staying with me, I came home to find my kitchen stove scorched by fire and inoperable, extinguisher foam everywhere. She explained that she'd put leftover Chinese food in the oven and she had no idea what had gone wrong.

The Chinese food had been in a styrofoam container, which melted and caught on fire - Susan explained "Well, it works fine heating it in the microwave, but I wasn't in that much of a hurry."

Within a couple of days, I moved her into her own apt where I gladly paid the rent - far safer than continuing to live with her.

BTW, I eventually began to understand her strange logic - she once asked me to drive her somewhere in San Diego, but she had no idea the address, the neighborhood, or the roads to take to get there. I asked how she expected me to get her from my place off 70th street to her appointment, and she said "Follow the seagulls."

So I fired up the car, jumped on route 8 west, and headed for the ocean - sure enough, she recognized an exit just after Hotel Circle, we took it, she directed me from memory of where to turn, and I actually got her to the appointment. On time. In a city the size of Connecticut. Starting only with "Follow the seagulls."

I had clearly lived with Susan too long already at that point ---- if I showed you photos of her, tho (pre-and-post boobjob), you'd understand -------

JAS

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Jay Allen Sanford WHAT I’M LISTENING TO...

I came across the MySpace page for local punk rockers The Bugs/Dangerous Dave - all their songs clock in at around one and a half minutes, but my favorite was "Dave Navarro's Goatee F-cking Sucks," which made me fall off my chair laughing! There's a terrific video, with shots of Navarro that hopefully won't get the band sued. I was so inspired, I created a 45 single sleeve for the tune ----

Checkout the tune here - The Bugs/Dangerous Dave on MySpace

“I wrote the song when he was on that Rock Star Supernova show,” says “Dangerous Dave” Swain of the Bugs. He used to be in Jane’s Addiction/ Now he’s on TV trying to earn a buck He was so much cooler when he was on drugs/ Dave Navarro’s goatee f-cking sucks “All that makeup and jewelry,” says Swain, “what a jerk. Where the hell is he getting off wearing all that crap? He’s so full of himself. Anyone with any soul would want to tell him to go [screw] himself.” The Bugs may have a problem with their video for the song, which features a couple dozen enlarged photos of Navarro on a screen behind the group as they mock his facial hair. “I keep waiting to hear from his attorney about the video,” says Swain. “I’m sure they wouldn’t appreciate us using his pictures without consent. If they do email me, I’m printing it in the insert of the next album.” With tours booked around California, are the Bugs worried about running into the rock star? “I’m really not the fighting type. But if he came at me, he’d definitely get a little chin music. I don’t really want to [meet him]. He may try to French me.” The band’s other songs include “No More Emo Haircuts,” “Meth on My Mind,” “Lesbo Lesbo,” and “Email From a She-Male” (also an amusing video). Clocking in at around two minutes each, the songs will appear on the Bugs’ upcoming Cabana Records seven-inch vinyl album. “Yeah, that’s right, the whole album fits on a seven-inch. And there’s still room for another song or two!” ***************************************************

Jay Allen Sanford WHAT I’M WATCHING...

So I finally watched one of the new Futurama movies, Bender's Game - I was falling down laughing ---

"Eat the wizard

eat the slut

eat the robot's shiny butt!"

The Scary Door/Twilight Zone bit rocked - there were a buncha Scruffy cameos, but my favorite was when I spotted him cleaning up centaur poop. Not sher how many people "get" the Mork attack (the creatures all quote Robin Williams punchlines from the old Mork and Mindy TV show), but I almost bust a gut with this one:

Lela: Is that a hobbit?

Farnsworth: No, it's just a hobo and a rabbit. But they're MAKING a hobbit....

My face hurts again just from typing it ------

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THE SONY WALKMAN TURNS 30 THIS MONTH – a History of Portable Music Players

As children, we're warned not to talk to strangers. However, this doesn't seem to apply to adults. Take a plane, ride the bus, hop any trolley, and someone in the adjoining seat is likely to chat you up, on any number of subjects, up to and often including their entire life story-so-far.

You can bury your face in a book, put on sunglasses, put out anti-social attitude, even put off bathing and oral hygiene if you will. But the only universally recognized "Do Not Disturb" sign almost guaranteed to repel human interaction is a set of headphones attached to a visible or unseen "personal audio" device.

The grandaddy of portable stereos is the Sony Walkman, introduced 30 years ago, on July 1, 1979.

The machine was originally called the Soundabout Model TPS-L2 cassette player. Sony co-founder Akio Morita, in his autobiography, Made In Japan (E.P. Dutton, 1986), mentions bringing the prototype unit home. "I noticed my experiment was annoying my wife, who felt shut out," he says. This made him worry that his product would encourage selfishness or anti-social attitudes. "[I] thought it would be considered rude for one person to be listening to his music in isolation."

To downplay this isolation, the first Soundabout came with an orange button and two earphone jacks. Pushing the button fed sound into two headsets, so the wearers could talk to each other using optional microphones. Morita intended this feature as a "share" option, so that customers wouldn't feel cut-off from others around them.

However, this isolation proved to be the machine's most marketable feature. Surveys revealed that few customers utilized the orange button, so it was removed from subsequent models. The name was changed to Walkman and, immediately upon its release, users began retreating into their own private, solitary soundscapes.

"Individual Lifestyle enhancement" is a marketing key phrase at Sony. They and other manufacturers offer their portable players in hundreds of colors and designs, to reflect customers' personal taste and style in the same manner as fashion or jewelry accessories.

Sports models were colored bright yellow, to resemble scuba diving air tanks. The Outback Walkman was sandy colored with ribbed body texture.

In Europe, the Yppy came with a metallic finish signifying techno music's mechanical sheen, Japan had glow in the dark models, and players for the techie crowd were designed to resemble I-Mac computers.

Sony has produced more than 350 different Walkman models to date, topping the combined sales of all competing brands. Tho iPod sales are catching up….

Few dispute the convenience and appeal of portable players, but the headphones are another matter. "With regular speakers, sound goes through the air before it hits the ears, but open air lightweight headphones send the high frequencies directly into the ear canal without attenuation," notes audiologist David Perry.

"There was a study done at UCSD showing that people play their Walkmans at high volume,” according to Perry, “to drown out traffic or nearby conversation, and this increases the potential for hearing damage. When someone can't hear anything outside their headsets, they may be exposed to sound levels over 100 decibels...playing music that loud for as little as fifteen minutes can cause irreversible hearing damage."

With the rise of the Walkman, most local schools began including provisions in their student handbook forbidding students from tuning in their portable stereos and thus tuning out their academic environments.

Hector Gonzales, a substitute teacher in San Diego public schools, never hesitates to confiscate Walkmans or iPods (which he returns to students at the end of the school day). "When you wear them in public, headphones are anti-social devices [which] foster self-centered, elitist attitudes and prevent the kindling of conversation among fellow human beings. Especially with teenagers, who need as much social interaction as possible in order to be well adjusted adults. And they play [music] at such a high volume...anyone standing nearby can discern specific lyrics."

Shortly after talking to Gonzales, I come across a teenager - "Sammy" - seated at a bus stop on El Cajon Boulevard, though I hear him before I see him due to the volume of the music he's playing through his iPod headset. Once I coax him out from under the speaker pads, I ask whether he feels cut off from his surroundings when his "private" music is loud enough to drown out all outside noise.

"Some people give me dirty looks, but kids my age are into it. Like, if I see another guy [with a Walkman or iPod], we might start talking about what bands we're playing. So it's just the opposite as anti-social. It was a dude with a Walkman who turned me on to his Suicidal [Tendencies] CD, 'cause we swapped headsets to check out each others' tunes. That's a complete stranger, dude. The music's what got us talking."

Of course, some wear their personal music players not to tune in music but to tune out the rest of the world. "When I'm at the gym, I put on [this] headset but there's nothing playing," says Deborah Macey, whom I spot wearing headphones at a Family Fitness Center. This admission comes only after I prove my credentials as an inquiring reporter.

"I thought you were hitting on me. See, I put [the headset] on to keep away all the guys who come here just to use pickup lines. It actually backfires if I take them off too soon because some guys will take that as an opening to say 'hey, whatcha listening to?' Most of the time, there's not even a tape in the tapedeck. I call it my portable panty shield...it keeps guys from trying to get into my panties."

David Perry believes that Macey should always leave the music home while working out at the gym. "Exercise, especially aerobics and weight training, draws the blood flow to the limbs and away from the ears, and that takes away some of the inner ear's protection from vibration. Even with music played at half volume, the risk of hearing loss is much higher during exercise. If you must listen to something during these activities, spoken voice recordings or talk radio is your best bet, as long as you can still hear normal conversation going on outside the headsets as well."

Techno Sweat CEO Rick L. Frimmer has a different opinion about personal player workout music. His Carlsbad company sells music downloads and CDs remixed at various BPMs (Beats Per Minute), designed to assist athletes in training. “This isn’t Sweatin’ To The Oldies,” he says.

“Most of our songs are available at five different speeds, geared for different types of workouts, like aerobic, cardio, [and] treadmill training.” Continuous play music programmed at speeds from 128 BPM to 155 BPM average $5.99 to $8.99, with a 30-minute sample download running $5.99.

The BPM-sculpted music comes from four sources: Techno Sweat originals by Israeli composer/performer Silicon Monk, licensed music from established artists (Metallica, Tears For Fears, Gnarls Barkley, others), songs submitted by the performers themselves for remixing, and prerecorded music submitted by athletes wanting to reprogram BPMs in their favorite workout songs.

Performers who submit music get a licensing fee and a credit on downloads and CDs; a submission form is available at technosweat.com. As for prerecorded music submitted by athletes who want their favorite songs speeded up or slowed down, Frimmer says no licensing in necessary. “Those [CDs and downloads] are custom recorded for the customer…we don’t run multiple copies of their workout setlist and sell them to other people, so we don’t need [to arrange licensing with] the original performers.”

Providing music for athletes is a growing industry. Nike sells running shoes with a music transmitter and are working with Apple on a workout chart designed for iPods. Oakley designer sunglasses offer a sports model with a built-in MP3 player. Swim goggles by Finis can be purchased with an underwater MP3 player.

The jury is still out as to whether wearing HEADPHONES while working out to music is more damaging to your hearing.

On the premise that headphones isolate wearers and prevent them from hearing important sirens, threatening engine noise and car horn warnings, California's Vehicle Code section 27400 states that "No person operating any motor vehicle or bicycle shall wear any headset covering, or any earplugs in, both ears."

The prohibition doesn't apply to hearing aids or "molds that are designed to attenuate injurious noise levels," such as those worn by construction and highway workers and refuse collectors regularly exposed to excessive noise.

The code is rarely enforced, although bicyclists sometimes find themselves cited. "It's not very fair, because there's no law against deaf people riding bikes," argues Jeremy Porter of Senior Spokes, a North County cycling club. "Earmuffs, the kind you use to keep your ears warm, aren't illegal to wear on a bike or in a car, but they 'cover both ears' and drown out a lot more sound [than headphones]. There is one good reason not to wear headphones [while bicycling]. If someone else hits you, it's a lot harder to collect from the other guy's insurance company if you get into an accident with headphones on! They'll say it was your fault because you couldn't hear what was going on around you!"

Porter points out that car manufacturers brag about how soundproof it is inside their vehicles. "By comparison, wearing headphones doesn't block out nearly as much sound as the closed windows and soundproofing in a new Lexus. Walkman headphones are optimized for frequency bandwidths from around 600 hz to 3000 hz. That's about the same as the average speaking voice. Noise at frequencies outside this range can be heard easily through the speaker pads, as long as the headphones aren't played to loud. Lightweight open-air mini-headphones aren't going to block out the sound of a siren or a car horn or even a barking dog."

Porter says he listens to rock music with his Walkman while bicycling to and from his job five days a week, logging nearly fifty hours a week on the road. "I find that the foam pads [on headset speakers] actually block out the noise of wind whistling past my ears, and that makes it easier for me to hear cars coming up behind me, not harder."

Porter was cited for bicycling while wearing headphones, and he says the policeman who pulled him over suggested removing one speaker from his headset. "Now if you wear headphones so the speaker pads cover only one ear...that's technically legal but dangerous. The covered ear gets desensitized and sound reaching the uncovered ear gets priority delivery to the brain. When a noise originates from out of your vision range, from behind you for instance, your perception of the sound's source location is altered. It's a lot easier to tell where a sound is coming from with both ears covered than with just one ear listening to music."

"Walkman headphones don't impair hearing any more than eyeglass rims impair sight, or scarves impair the ability to smell."

Porter chose not to argue these points in a courtroom and instead paid a $200.00 fine for his traffic infraction. "Now I wear my headphones under a pullover wool hat when I bicycle. Ironically, the wool cap isn't illegal, but it blocks outside sound a lot more than my headphones."

As for wearing headsets while listening to private music on the job, some studies indicate that allowing employees to do so increases productivity and boosts workplace morale - and eliminates arguments over what music should be played aloud.

In one study of organizational behavior, 75 out of 256 workers of a retail sales company listed to personal stereos on the job for four weeks. They showed a 10-percent increase in productivity compared to co-workers. "They do seem to be more comfortable and relaxed," said Paul Wilson, a safety specialist for the U.S. Postal Service. "They can wear headsets as long as they're not around moving equipment. And we tell them not to turn them up too loud. We don't want them to go deaf."

(1998 Model WM-EX170)

As iPods become the norm for portable music players, the Walkman and related devices are seen less and less. Today, cassette machines similar to the original $200.00 Soundabout sell for as little as $20.00, some with radio tuners or recording functions, and models now play DAT (Digital Audo Tape), CDs (the Discman), minidiscs and MP3 files (Sony's Memory Stick Walkman and IBM's Diamond Rio).

Sony still ships around 10 million Walkmans annually, taking about 25% of the total portable music player market. The Walkman's 30th anniversary is being celebrated by the release of all-in-one limited-edition chrome-finished and gold-plated versions, with remote controls, digital displays, and designed to be only slightly larger than the CDs and cassettes they will play along with MP3 files.

In 2001, Sony released the Walkman SRF-S84 transistor radio and began producing portable music players capable of supporting electronic files. The NW-A series Walkman is a digital music player available in 6, 8, and 20 gigabyte versions, all working (as of 2008) from a Windows media format.

(Sony NM-A1000 SixGB MP3 player)

Sony also has video MP3 players available, like the Walkman A 800/A810 series. In 2008, the company unveiled its A720 and A820 series in the U.S. There’s also a series of music-centred mobile phones, marketed under the Sony Ericsson brand.

However, in the new digital age, iPods are now the best-selling choice for portable music, with countless peripheries available or in production, including home stereo ports, iPod hookups in planes and hotel rooms, etc etc etc.

There’s even a new iPod designed for senior citizens, with enlarged display fields and pre-loaded with up to 500 songs from the era of 78 RPM vinyl records (kids, look ‘em up on Wikipedia….)

Me, I still haven’t even replaced my favorite vinyl with CDs yet….and now it looks as though CDs are yet another dying technology.

Betcha I can find a used Walkman pretty cheap, tho -------------

"He's a statue with a Walkman.

Actually he's lying down.

Statue with a Walkman,

butterflies upon his crown.

Pretty boy, pretty rooster, pretty sound."

(Statue with a Walkman, by Robyn Hitchcock - Sequel Records, 1995)

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WHY THE PORN INDUSTRY DESERVES TO DIE - A BRIEF ESSAY

Modern day porn movies are notorious for their ridiculous and idiotic titles. Looking at a porn star's list of film names would have been funny to me a few years ago - now, it's just sad and disturbing to realize that such low common-denominator basement-level trashiness serves as some lovely young lady's "resume." Looking at such a list makes me think the porn industry deserves the virtual death it's experiencing circa 2009 -

(4th Avenue Pussycat Theater downtown, circa 1979)

There's nothing sexy or "outlaw" about today's porno movies - it's such a far cry from the early days of so-called porno chic, when patronizing a porn theater (let alone working in the porn industry) was a radical, brave, and even socio-political act.

Perhaps '70s porn only achieved "a PATINA of mainstream Hollywood respectability," as porno cheerleader Bill Margold said in Carnal Comics' Triple-X Cinema Cartoon History. But at least many of those filmmakers and performers ASPIRED for something more, for something elevated and outlaw and unseen in our then-repressive society. Some of them even succeeded. Now that the leash has been off all these years, all the pornsters aim for is pissing down the basement steps.

The reason porn has become unprofitable isn't necessarily because of its free proliferation on the internet. The reason is because 99 percent of this hideous stuff really IS worthless, in every sense of the word. I pity the people still churning out this crap, and I fear for the dispositions of their souls if they don't knock it off, whether by choice, inspiration, circumstance, luck, or by being forced to quit by the continuing collapse of the porn industry and an ability to make money at it -

I still have fond memories of the original wave of porn theaters and films, and I marvel at photos and recollections of the Times Square Pussycat era - entire city blocks full of flesh palaces, with giant marquees touting sex, sex, and more sex.

It was a necessary and utterly exciting time and manner in which to throw off so many societal shackles. But we have (hopefully) moved on and far past all that - the porn wars were won way back when Nixon failed to federalize a national obliteration of porn.

Now, the porn industry SHOULD be relegated to the relevance of ancient Rome's vomitoriums, or blacksmith shops, or milkmen, Fuller brush door-to-door salesmen, and so many other once worthy and necessary endeavors that are now useless (or even dangerous) in our modern society.

Since everybody has a camera in their phones now, and anyone can upload to the net, let them film themselves having sex and load up YouPorn or Pornhub or Pornotube or any of the other half million free porn sites, and we can all watch each other screwing if we want to. For free. No "industry," no "porn stars."

If you think about it, that should have been the aim of porn all along - giving sexual freedom (and the freedom to watch sex) back to the people. To everyone. Not just to 60s hipsters with film projectors in their basements, or 70s adventurers lucky enough like me to stumble thru ShowWorld in Time Square, or to the first early 80s VCR fans whose demand launched the video age (driven, of course, by porn). The internet has achieved this leveling of the playing field.

Now it's time to retire everyone's number - Damiano, Chambers, Lovelace, and my old boss/Pussycat Theatre founder Vince Miranda are dead. The porn industry is almost dead. But sex will always be #1 on the hit parade, as it was long before porno films and as it will be long after people finally refuse to pay salaries to dimwits and lowlifes and creatively bankrupt misogynists doing what all people do anyway - have sex. The sexual revolution has been won, or at least nearly so (the final battle probably being over gay marriage).

Sex can finally go back to being just that - sex. Not porn. Film it if you want, watch the film if you prefer, but building an industry or a career around just cinematic/videographic sex? Give mercenary sex-for-cash back to the prostitutes and pimps who can no longer delude themselves into adopting alterna-titles like "porn stars" and "movie directors."

Sex will always sell, but porn - which is at best a mere funhouse reflection of sex - deserves to go the way of the vomitorium (and don't even get me started about the many similarities between those two outdated, useless, and ultimately unhealthy institutions) ----

6-27-09 - JAS

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Freeworld Rockin' by Jay Allen Sanford

Phil Bellante comes from a long line of politically aware, socially relevant, musically adroit, and vocally unpredictable singer-songwriters like Neil Young, Harry Nilsson, Perry Farrell, Bruce Springsteen, and their ... (more Freeworld Rockin' )

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AS I LAY DYING JOINS THE "LIMITED EDITION COLLECTOR'S SHIRT" CLUB

Blabbermouth reports: Specialty clothing line Malus Clothing has released a collaboration t-shirt with San Diego metallers AS I LAY DYING based on the band's last album, An Ocean Between Us. The shirt is available currently for a one-time-only run on Malus' web site and can be ordered at this location.

AS I LAY DYING's first-ever DVD This Is Who We Are sold 4,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 2 on the Top Videos chart. It also debuted at No. 3 in Canada, where the DVD has already shipped platinum.

AS I LAY DYING has appeared on Taste Of Chaos, Ozzfest, headlined the 2006 Sounds Of The Underground Tour, Cornerstone, Bamboozle 2006 and just about every significant hard music festival around the globe. With "This Is Who We Are", AS I LAY DYING steps into new territory by releasing its first-ever DVD consisting of three discs produced and directed by Denise Korycki (CANNIBAL CORPSE's "Centuries of Torment" DVD) that provide viewers with live performances and a complete AS I LAY DYING audio and visual history.

"It's hard to believe that we've been a band for as long as we have yet have never released an official DVD documenting our first seven years," said vocalist Tim Lambesis. "As a result, we've included so much content that you hardly have to like our music to be entertained. With that said, it feels good knowing how many diehard fans over the years have supported our band and their simple enjoyment of our music has given us the chance to see the world!"

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=122331

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NEWS SHORTS

July 3: Stone Temple Pilots kicked off their U.S. tour at the Los Angeles' House of Blues during the inaugural St. Jude Rock'n'Roll Hope Show. Spin (by way of www.antimusic.com) has a review of the show here

PREVIOUS SHORTS THIS WEEK:

Herb Cohen, former record executive and manager for Tom Waits has sued journalist Barney Hoskyns and Random House, his publisher, for $1 million over claims allegedly made in Hoskyns' "Lowside of the Road, A Life of Tom Waits." Cohen also had a lot to do with the early career of sometime San Diego street icon Wild Man Fischer, who often said that Cohen "derailroaded" his career (a term later used as the title of a Fischer documentary film)... (more)

A brand new Megadeth track entitled "Headcrusher" is available for listening by calling Megadeth mainman Dave Mustaine's number (866.597.6342) at TheLiveLine, a service he launched that enables musicians to connect to their audience over the phone. (more)

Spin.com and antimusic.com reports: Three former members of goth rock stars Evanescence, all booted from the group over the years by frontwoman Amy Lee, are joining forces for a new band -- and they've tapped American Idol finalist Carly Smithson to contribute lead vocals.

Dublin-born Smithson, who finished sixth in the 2008 season of American Idol, joins ex-Evanescence guitarist/songwriter Ben Moody, guitarist John Lecompt, and drummer Rocky Gray in their new band, ORIGINALLY announced as being called the Fallen - more on this story

BUT...the band's name has changed to We Are The Fallen, thanks to a cease-and-desist letter from a Philadelphia band already called The Fallen. more on this and a preview of the new Alice in Chains.

MTV reports: It seemed too good (or bizarre) to be true, though with Blink-182 you never can be sure. Did Blink-182 schedule a one-off gig at a Cleveland nail salon?

That's what it said on the tour page of the band's Interscope Records site, which — for reasons not clear to anyone — showed the guys appearing at Alice's International Salon & Spa on July 10, nearly two weeks before their tour was officially scheduled to kick off in Las Vegas.

Obviously, this got Blink fans buzzing. Imagine catching Mark, Tom and Travis while luxuriating in a seaweed hydration wrap, or getting a French mani-pedi! And doing it all in beautiful Cleveland! - Sadly, it turns out the spa date wasn't legit - click here for more.

Billboard reports: It looks like Adam Lambert's debut album may not be released on 19 Recordings/RCA after all.

Sources confirm to Billboard.com that an album's worth of tracks Lambert co-wrote and recorded before "Idol" will be released in the summer by Hi Fi Recordings and Wilshire Records.

Entitled "On With The Show," the album is slated for release in the summer, months before Lambert's debut on 19/RCA is expected to drop. - more details

Pinback have announced a tour of the US and Canada, scheduled to kick off October 17 in Tempe, AZ (more)

www.antimusic.com reports: Rob Halford was asked by Live Daily about the band's plans for celebrating the upcoming 30th anniversary of Judas Priest's British Steel, originally issued in April 1980, by performing the album in its entirety for the first time on stages across the United States:

"We'll be recording all these shows and, at some point, we'll bring cameras in and we'll release a wonderful package of the Priest and 'British Steel' next year, which is the official 30th birthday."

"We wanted to do something a bit different on the second leg of the American tour. The first tour with Metal Masters was a great success. We were looking to give this particular tour another kind of exciting event edge to it. I think that's what we've got with presenting 'British Steel', and we have some other great people with us. We have David [Coverdale] and Whitesnake. That's another great opportunity to see two of these bands back to back. - Read the full interview

San Marcos-based Megadeth have announced Endgame as the title of their twelfth studio album. The album is expected to be released in September through Roadrunner Records. It was recorded at the band's brand new, self-built San Marcos studio, Vic's Garage, and named after the legendary and iconic Vic Rattlehead character.

Endgame is being produced by Andy Sneap and Mustaine. Sneap also manned the boards for 2007's United Abominations. Some track titles include "Headcrusher," "1,320,'" "How the Story Ends" and "This Day We Fight!"

According to the press rtelease, "Endgame boasts the technicality, ferocity and snarl that's synonymous with Megadeth and Mustaine. It's a violent masterwork that represents Mustaine's best work in nearly two decades. In a musical world dominated by bands that make generic, blanket statements, Endgame finds Mustaine, once again, making informed and substantial lyrical declarations about the state of the world we live in." - more on this story

Blink-182 plans to unveil their new song "Up All Night" on tour. Having abandoned the idea of completing a full new album as "too ambitious" before its upcoming tour, blink-182 will instead have one new song ready before it hits the road on July 23 in Las Vegas.more

As blink prepares to tour, guitarist Tom DeLonge is deeply ensconced in the next project by his other band, Angels & Airwaves -- an album and film project called "Love" that should be out before the end of the year.

DeLonge tells Billboard.com that "Love" -- which will be released for free thanks to corporate underwriting -- is "the biggest release of my life, the pinnacle of my creativity" and likens it to Pink Floyd's The Wall in the scope of its ambition.

"It's super conceptual and highbrow in many ways, very artistic, very Stanley Kubrick," he says. "But it's not a rock opera. It's a very modern version of what could happen when you blend the film industry and the music industry together in a very, very arty, kind of cool way with professionals involved all along the path." - More from Tom about the project

Scott Weiland tells ArtistDirect "I'm in the studio working on new STP music. It's coming along really, really well! We have about 18 songs written, and vocals are written on about ten of them." Read the full interview here

MySpace said Tuesday it is cutting nearly 30 percent of its work force in a bid to become more efficient, bringing its staffing level more in line with its more popular rival, Facebook. more

It's been nearly a quarter of a century since Love and Rockets formed. In 1985, current San Diegan David J (bass and vocals), Daniel Ash (guitars, saxophone, and vocals), and Kevin Haskins (drums, synthesizers) departed from being gothic rock icons with the highly coveted Bauhaus and merged sparkling new wave disco dust influenced T Rex boogie, rockabilly, punk, folk, proto-rave, and psychedelia. Their electric and eclectic blends, makes them cross over from far left to extreme right in one quick swoop which not only leaves their music timeless and classic but most memorable and to be shared, listened to and indulged in any decade.

So it's only natural that eventually similar minded multi-facted artists including both legends such as Flaming Lips, Frank Black, Stephen Perkins of Janes Addiction, Dandy Warhols, Snowden, and newer buzzworthy acts A Place to Bury Strangers, War Tapes, and Blakq Audio pay their respect to a band whom had influenced their style. Indeed, it all does circle back into one big ball of confusion. - more on this story

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WHAT I'M WATCHING...

IMDB synopsis: - A fashion model moves into a house inhabited (on the top floor) by a blind priest. She begins having strange physical problems, has trouble sleeping at night, and has some nasty flashbacks of her attempted suicide. She complains to the real estate agent of the noise caused by her strange neighbors, but finds out that the house is only occupied by the priest and herself, and ultimately discovers that she has been put in the house for a reason.

Boy, 1977's the Sentinel is better than I remembered. When I saw it new in theaters as a young teen, I didn't have the patience for the very gradual buildup, and I don't even remember most of the flick. It was a treat to finally re-watch, and see so many later stars like Chris Walken, Jeff Goldblum, and Beverly D'Angelo, not too mention old Hollywood faves like Burgess Meredith, Ava Gardner, and John Carradine.

It's odd how the forces of God are shown to be just as creepy and evil looking as the forces of Satan, and how both are equally uncaring about what they do to innocent humans in order to maintain the cosmic stalemate at Hell's gate??

One thing confused me, tho - were the previous Sentinels murderers, which seemed to be indicated? If so, what did the poor new girl do to deserve the crappy Sentinel gig? It was her boyfriend who allegedly had someone murdered. Then again, the boyfriend also gets killed and zombie-fied, so perhaps the murderers get "sentenced" to hang around the gate, while some innocent is forced to commit suicide and man the gate itself.

I'm also confused about why sentinels need to retire and be replaced - if they kill themselves first in order to work the gig, do they keep aging and "die" again anyway? The film suggested several sentinels had served over just a few generations -----

Anyway, lovable old Burgess Meredith was great in full creepy mode, and (very) old John Carradine was about as scary as I've ever seen! It was an unexpected treat to watch this again so many years later -

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IMDB synopsis: Hazel (Carol Baker) runs a beauty salon out of her house, but makes extra money by providing ruthless women to do hit jobs. K.T. is a parasite, and contacts Hazel looking for work when he runs out of money. She is reluctant to use him for a hit, since she prefers using women, but decides to try him on a trial basis. Meanwhile, the local cop she pays off wants an arrest to make it look like he's actually doing his job, but she doesn't want to sacrifice any of her "associates." Several other side plots are woven in, populated with characters from the sleazy side of life.

Since I was already in a mid-'70s mood after watching the Sentinel, I finally watched Andy Warhol's Bad, from 1977 - yikes! Felt like I needed a shower when it was done --- it reminded me a bit of early John Waters, but with more bitter and less wit. I almost turned it off a few times - I especially can't handle violence against animals - but then I'd catch some Mike Bloomfield music or hear a great line and decide to stick it out.

I've seen Carroll Baker from the original Lolita get pretty scuzzy in other movies late in her career, but this one was a shocker. And what a trip to see Susan Tyrell - who I just recently watched in the early Oingo Boingo brothers cult flick Forbidden Zone - as the lone "good guy" in the whole flick (well, until she drops her mongoloid baby in shock from finding Baker's corpse).

I think I get what the movie is saying RE rampant (& seemingly contagious) immorality overtaking both decency and sanity, especially circa '77 NYC (a cesspool indeed), but I find like-minded movies such as Jules Feiffer's Little Murders, those cynical Death Wish and Magnum Force movies (and even The Warriors) were far less abhorrant (and less abberrant) in the way they portrayed the psycho decline of civility and civilization.

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RTN - the Retro TV Network - has been airing Night Gallery half hour eps each weeknight, and tonight's was one I don't remember seeing before, "Brenda" - turns out Thriller/Zone vet Doug Heyes scripted it, but under a pseudonym.

Heyes did some of the greatest Twilight Zone eps, like the fondly remembered "Eye of the Beholder," but I'm particularly a fan of his work on Boris Karloff's Thriller, like the "Hungy Glass" episode with Shatner and Russell "Professor" Johnson - even horror author King has said it was one of the most terrifying things he remembers seeing on TV.

"Brenda" is a really strange ep about a mentally unbalanced girl who both befriends and taunts what looks to be a close relative of the Swamp Thing. There are a few Thriller-like and Heyes-like touches, such as back-to-back shots that alternate between pure terror and the young girl's strangely joyful reactions to the terror, like she's watching a Tom & Jerry cartoon instead of seeing her parents practically dumping in their drawers as they realize the swamp creature in their house (that she let in...with a giggle!) is impervious to their weapons.

(SPOILER PARAGRAPH) The girl is so wacked out that she imagines some kind of love affair with the creature, which sounds silly to type but actually made for a compelling ep, the way the actress played out a year in her character's skewed and psychotic life, managing to seem as if she's grown up when she returns to her monster's island, only to quickly crack back up into the whacked out lonely girl who may either marry or be eaten by her man-thing.

Opinions on "Brenda" are wildly mixed at IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0660795/usercomments

I enjoyed it, tho it was unlike most Gallery eps, and I would have found it worth my half hour even if I hadn't noticed Heyes' credit on the IMDB page -

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Whether or not you're a fan of Will Ferrell...Try Stranger Than Fiction sometime! Seemingly loosely inspired by "Secret Cinema," an obscure cult film by Paul "Eating Raoul" Bartel, Ferrell's character suddenly hears an unseen narrator telling his life story, with foreshadowing and hints of worrisome events to come. Ferrell seeks out Dustin Hoffman, who has written about writing and seems to understand that Ferrell is a character in a story and must do certain things that adhere to certain narrative structures.

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One of the more interesting aspects of the movie is how Ferrell's obsessive compulsive disorder is actually illustrated by bits of animations that show us how his compartmentalized mind is working - surprisingly fine little film that few seem to have heard of, let alone seen.

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Cloverfield FAR exceeded my expectations! It wasn't an A-plus effort but, having heard nothing but "yuck" reviews, I was amazed I liked it as much as I did. Perhaps the whole jiggly camera thing isn't so annoying on a little screen - I imagine in a theater I would have needed dramamine pills to handle all the jerking around.

But on a TV screen, I thought it was a unique and entertaining way to tell a story - showing a huge event like a monster tearing down NYC, but focused thru a tiny handheld camera lens.

I watched the making-of docus too, and they were also entertaining, especially to realize how much of the "script" was improvised by actors who weren't even told what the movie was about yet - like the Blair Witch concept, but done far batter and backied with really terrific special FX.

I like that the movie doesn't cheat you out of at least one long, slow, intensely closeup look at big ol' Clover.

Far better movie than I was expecting -- tho I still refuse to watch Lost, JJ Abrams is fast becoming one of my favorite count-on Hollywood powerhouses.

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STRIPPER POKER - LOCAL INTERNET CAFE WITH PORN CONNECTION SPECIALIZES IN ONLINE GAMING

BUT IS IT LEGAL?

The low key sign above an otherwise indistinguishable strip mall shop at 6311 University Avenue reads Lucky Internet Cafe, wherein patrons access internet time by purchasing a card that reads “Lucky JOLAR Internet Cafe.” Swiping the cash-reloadable cards (average $20 each) in any of the twenty-four computer terminals opens a startup screen with various internet gaming options, each accessing a website where customers can place bets and – if they win – collect their cash on-site from a Café staffer.

“Jolar” – which only appears on the internet card, not the Café sign - also happens to be the name of the X-rated peep show arcade and strip club next door at 6321 University, wherein women perform nude shows for individuals in “Private Talk Show” booths.

Both Jolar and the Lucky Internet Café are operated by longtime local smut peddler Harry Mohney, once called by the Meese Commission the second biggest pornographer in the U.S. Having gained notoriety over a $14 million tax bill and serving a three year prison stretch for tax evasion, Mohney founded and runs the Deja Vu Showgirls chain of strip clubs, as well as operating Larry Flynt’s Hustler Clubs.

Jolar, a combination porn shop, peep show arcade, and strip club, opened on Broadway downtown in 1978, before moving to its present location near College and University in 1983. Mohney’s other local porn endeavors have included everything from 8mm peep show arcades in the ‘70s to x-rated film production (Caribbean Films) at his La Costa home on 2520 La Costa Avenue in the ‘80s. In the mid-'80s, Jolar was taking in from $12,000 to $20,000 per week, much of that in peep show quarters.

More recent local porn businesses operated locally by Mohney include the Déjà Vu Love Boutique in El Cajon (run by one of Mohney's sons) and the Barnett Superstore near the airport, with the latter locale featuring the same Talk Show Booths (and many of the same Live Nudes) found at Jolar on University.

Of Mohney’s current local business interests, the Lucky Internet Café may be the one most scrutinized by authorities. With all its computers set on internet games like blackjack, keno, poker, and electronic slots, are patrons just buying internet time, or are they gambling? Does sale of the Lucky Jolar swipe cards qualify as a legal sweepstakes, or illegal betting? If the gaming sites themselves are illegal, as alleged by most federal interpretations of current law, is the Lucky Internet Café aiding and abetting illegal gambling by setting all their computers on such sites?

What about the Café paying off the winners on-site – does that qualify the Café as an unlicensed (and illegal) casino? Which business is the customer patronizing - and collecting their winnings from - the website, the Café, or both?

Is even naming itself “Lucky” on the sign out front perhaps Mohney’s bid to attract gaming clientele, rather than the coffee slurping MySpace surfers found at internet cafes where the startup screens AREN’T all loaded with onramps to gambling websites?

In the past, Mohney has circumvented local vice-related ordinances by creatively and aggressively challenging the letter of the laws. In 1985, the City changed the rules for peep-show establishments, as defined in section 33.3302, division 33 of the municipal code, stating that businesses licensed for booths had to screen at least 51 percent non-X-rated material in order to keep their operational licenses.

Instead of shutting down the peeps, as probably intended, the ordinance resulted in Mohney’s booths running whatever non-X film stock his managers could find, including cartoons and old boxing films. The ordinance was later challenged and defeated, having done little but create porn shops rocking to the sounds of both cinematic sex and Elmer Fudd singing “Kill Da Wabbit.”

The following year, the city’s vice department began requiring x-rated peep show operators to remove all doors that might hide activities being conducted within. Vice enforced the rule by citing or arresting any employees found on a premises lacking doors on the booths.

Jolar lawyer George Haverstock advised Mohney to install swinging saloon style half-doors that barely managed to meet the new requirements, while still hiding booth activities from prying eyes, including vice cops, successfully keeping the matter tied up in the courts for years.

Mohney has spent a lot of time in court himself. Aside from countless criminal complaints, and the 14 million dollar tax bill that sent him to prison upstate in Boron, he's been sued a number of times, most notably by former mistress and porn star Gail Palmer, with whom he produced the successful "Candy" series of porn films.

The space at 6311 University housing the Lucky Internet Café was formerly home to a Metabolife dealership, an operation that experienced its own protracted set of legal problems. The entire half-block strip mall, which has also housed thrift stores, a check cashing store, and a pizza parlor, is owned by one of Mohney’s companies.

The California Attorney General’s office is looking into the legality of online gaming at internet cafes, as is the local District Attorney’s office, according to Channel 10 news report aired on June 11.

FOR THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE ARTICLE EVER DONE ON HARRY MOHNEY'S PORN EMPIRE, SEE THIS READER FEATURE:

Battle of the Peeps - An Insider History of San Diego Porn Shops

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WHY CHUCK CAN'T HEAR

“Back then, we were always looking for number 11 on the loudness dial,” says Chuck Lapinsky, a working drummer for over 40 years until hearing loss forced his retirement. “We didn’t use ear protection, because it was seen as a sign of weakness. Boy, how wrong we were.”

“When my music career started in Chicago and the midwest, our stage monitors and amps were as large as possible. That’s what people wanted, and I wore a complete headset onstage for many years. In retrospect, that was a really bad decision.” Audiologists now believe that headsets focus damage to the ear’s cochlea, resulting in Tinnitus and other hearing ailments.

Today, Lapinsky shoots photographs around town (www.myspace.com/chuckl2432), a gig that still finds him working at concerts. “The ear protection much better than in the past,” he says. “I use regular earplugs in front of the stage, and I keep that time to a minimum. I do a lot of shooting from onstage right or left, or backstage when I’m able to get access. I also use a zoom that lets me back off a bit. If it gets too loud, I take a break.” He says he’s only drummed “a handful of times” over the past few years.

Musicians who’ve talked publicly about hearing loss include Ike Turner, Pete Townshend, Lars Ulrich, Bob Mould, and Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum.

“There’s no cure for Tinnitus or hearing loss,” warns otolaryngologist Dr. Sam Levine. He recommends being tested by an audiologist at the first sign of hearing difficulty or damage. “Your ears are trying to tell you something. That ringing is the scream of your hair cells dying.”

Upcoming Shows

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SLIGHTLY STOOPID, BLAZED, AND CONFUSED

Mickey Avalon is the latest act to join co-headliners Slightly Stoopid and Snoop Dogg, along with Stephen Marley, on this summer’s not-to-be-missed Blazed And Confused tour.

Reggae-influenced punkers Slightly Stoopid embarked on their first headlining run of US amphitheaters last summer and will continue supporting their 2008 album, Slightly Not Stoned Enough to Eat Breakfast Yet Stoopid. The record, which marks the group's ninth release, includes outtakes, rarities and "brand new studio joints."

Additional shows at Bicentennial Park in Miami, FL on Saturday, August 1 and the St. Johns County Fairgrounds in Saint Augustine, FL on Sunday, August 2 have been added to the itinerary.

7/10 Primm, NV Star of the Desert Arena
7/11 Irvine, CA Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7/12 Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara Bowl
7/14 Albuquerque, NM Journal Pavilion
7/15 Denver, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre
7/17 Portland, OR Memorial Coliseum
7/18 George, WA The Gorge Amphitheatre
7/19 Boise, ID Idaho Center Amphitheater
7/20 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre
7/22 Vancouver, BC Pacific Coliseum
7/24 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
7/25 San Diego, CA Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
7/30 Atlanta, GA Masquerade Music Park
7/31 St. Petersburg, FL Vinoy Park
8/1 Miami, FL Bicentennial Park
8/2 Saint Augustine, FL St. Johns County Fairgrounds
8/5 Columbia, MD Merriweather Post Pavilion
8/6 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
8/7 Philadelphia, PA Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing
8/8 Boston, MA Comcast Center

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SAN DIEGO MUSIC 4 A CAUSE - FOR THE CRITTERS

"Basically we're just two girls seeking out ways to contribute back," says Brooke Haggerty, who with Carissa Buschle founded San Diego Music 4 A Cause. "Focusing here on the community in San Diego, we aim to raise awareness on animal rights issues. Our goal is to support local organizations while showcasing the San Diego bands we all love. If you're interested in supporting our cause or having us support yours, message us!"

Haggerty met Buschle on Election Day 2008, while both were campaigning for Proposition 2. "Carissa works for Greenpeace, an independent global campaigning organization that acts to change attitudes and behavior, to protect and conserve the environment and to promote peace."

"I work for the Animal Protection and Rescue League, a local nonprofit organization which works to expose animal cruelty behind closed doors, educates the public on animals issues through outreach campaigns, and works with policymakers to implement humane change!"

"We share a love for the local music scene, and we quickly saw an amazing way to connect San Diego musicians with the local organizations fighting for humane and social change. Our goal is to support local organizations while showcasing the San Diego bands we all love, with the support from local venues."

"Right now we are planning a benefit show for APRL's SealWatch campaign. It will be at the Beauty Bar on El Cajon. We are also hoping to hold another benefit show at the Ruby room soon after. We have a number of bands excited to contribute to the cause, and so we have yet to solidify the line-ups and dates."

"We are working on posting a set schedule. In the meantime, APRL will have a booth at the upcoming Ocean Beach Street Fair, Saturday June 27th. We would love to chat with anyone interested in becoming involved."

"Bands interested in playing a benefit show can contact us via myspace, and we will get in touch!" http://www.myspace.com/sdmusic4acause

Animal Protection and Rescue League - www.aprl.org --- Animal Acres - www.animalacres.org --- San Diego Animal Advocates - www.animaladvocates.org --- San Diego Green Peace - www.greenpeace.org/usa --- Guide Dogs of the Desert International - www.guidedogsofthedesert.org --- HandicappedPets.com - www.handicappedpets.com

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LOCALS YOU SHOULD KNOW

The Secret Seven, with Zachary Goode of of the Weezer parody band Geezer, made their live debut in late April, 2009, at the Whistle Stop. "We're done tracking guitar, bass, and drums for fourteen original songs," said Goode at the time. "Vocals and overdubs are up next..."

Related links

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THE FORMER MUSLIMS - AKA SOFT PACK - HEADING OUT ON NATIONAL TOUR

PR Reports: Los Angeles transplants and irreverent rockers The Soft Pack are set to tour this fall at a slew of North American venues.

Before embarking on a headlining tour, they'll open three California shows for France's Phoenix. The four-piece, who play stripped down, straight ahead rock 'n roll, have had quite the year: They've had a successful residency at LA's venerable venue, Echo, criss-crossed the US and Canada on tour with White Lies and Friendly Fires, and found a new home with Brooklyn-based label Kemado Records.

In anticipation of the release of their debut LP (date TBD), which they will record with Eli Janney (Obits, Secret Machines) in Brooklyn this August, Matt Lamkin (vocals), Matty McLoughlin (guitar), David Lantzman (bass) and Brian Hill (drums) will bring infectious riffs, smart lyrics and incredible energy to stages across North America. - more on this story at antimusic.com

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HARE KRISHNA MEMORIES

Say, did you ever go to the Hare Krishna temple on Garnet in PB? I used to be addicted to their vegetarian feasts - when I lived at the Palms on 12th and Island downtown in the late '70s/early '80s, I bussed to the temple at least once a week, usually on Sundays when they had the biggest variety and desserts like rice pudding, halava and ambrosia fruit salads.

I still don't know what half the dishes were, but there was a lot of curry potatoes and fried tofu and veggies with ghee (clarified butter), pakoras (deep fried sweet potato, brocolli, cauliflower, peas and flavored curd sauce), thin wafer chips that were crunchy/flaky like pastry but not at all greasy...man, I'm getting hungry just remembering!

They really weren't pushy, and you could donate whatever you wanted or even eat free - they might chant for a little while before serving, but other than that it was mellow - no sermon, no drugs in the food, and the building was an amazing replica of an actual Indian temple, using plaster molds taken of all the carved walls and columns along with lots of beautiful painted artwork of their various dieties and "myths."

The PB Temple even has a MySpace page - www.myspace.com/krishnalounge

I spent the night once and wasn't too happy about everyone waking at 4am to stare at their feet and chant on their beads (mandatory participation), but - once they served breakfast (maybe the best I've ever had, with mysterious unknown fruits and chewy grains and edible flower petals!) - I was perfectly happy to have stayed over!

Gotta go check the fridge now ------------ here's an actual Hare Krishna-created cartoon, courtesy http://ramanujadasan.wordpress.com/2008/05/24/nice-iskcon-cartoon/

JAS

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STRANGE STAGE MOMENTS – Bart Mendoza

Agua Dulce : “We were on stage playing during a bikini contest when a very large (contestant) collapsed on to the conga players drums. We kept playing.”

Scott Anderson / This Holiday Life: “At one show, when it was time to hit the stage, we couldn't find our drummer, Mark (Nagel). After freakin' out, we had to take the stage without him. We started into one of our most rockinest songs without drums. Meanwhile, Mark, sitting on the toilet, heard our song and thought, "Weird, why are they playing our CD right before we go on?"

Wendy Bailey: “We played a show in East County where the only person on the dance floor was a homeless woman, who for two songs, kept flashing us. We tried to ignore it, but at least she seemed to be enjoying herself.”

Cathryn Beeks: “In 1998 I was performing with a Cleveland band called 3 Penny Pussy when the two lead front guys dropped their pants and each poured whiskey on their male extremities only to light them on fire a second later. If anyone was suspicious that it was a hoax the smell of burning hair convinced them otherwise.”

Ed Been / Y3K: “One night at The Blue Haven in Chula Vista, there was a heavy set woman in a dress that insisted on doing handstands. Much to our horror, she was not wearing underwear at the time.”

Cindy Lee Berryhill: “I was opening for Sarah McLachlan when a piece of the bridge fell off my guitar, mid-song, rendering it unplayable. Rather than stop playing, I motioned for the bassist to keep going and turned the lyric into a request for audience members to come onstage and help look for the missing guitar piece, while we continued. They found it and I reattached it as I improvised lyrics, going back into the song where we left off. That was the ultimate audience participation.”

James Brady / New Day Mile: “During my teens in New Jersey I attended a Sunday Bible study every week. The woman running it asked if my band would like to play at the youth group meeting at her church. We were a metal band, so we were a little shocked at the request, but we were happy to get our first gig. It turns out we were opening for a slide show that depicted our kind of music as the type that leads to violence and suicide.”

Brooklyn : “ I was watching a drummer friend of mine play at Humphrey's Backstage Lounge. He'd told the band he was playing with that I'm a singer/songwriter and near the end of their set they introduced me to the crowd as an up and coming singer. Well, the crowd started cheering to get "Brooklyn on stage!". (The band) pulled me on stage to sing whatever it was they were playing at the time. I don't know what they were thinking I was going to do, but it was a song I'd never heard...and it was in Spanish., so even if I had known the melody...I wasn't going to sing the correct lyrics. It must've sounded like a bunch of muffled humming. It was more than a little humiliating.”

Amy Castner / Compass Rose : “I had a seagull crap into the f-hole of my violin while I was playing at a party on Sunset Cliffs a couple of years ago.”

Ron Fountainberry / The SoftLightes/Incredible Moses Leroy : “Last year we were on tour with Wolfmother and in Austin one particular guy flipped me off the entire show. I don't know how he was able to keep his arms up the entire show. There were several times on that tour that I thought we would be murdered for our lack of hard rock.”

Greg Friedman / The Truckee Brothers: “In my old punk band we played a charity Christmas show at a school for the mentally disabled. We started off too loud and the entire audience was crying in agony. We turned down and by the end of the second song they were overjoyed and screaming out "You're better than Michael Jackson". It was amazing to be responsible for such completely opposite emotions within the span of five minutes.”

Larry Grano / Soul Persuaders: “At Dick's Last Resort. I was singing and some young lady came up who had a leash attached to a dog collar around her neck ...and handed me the leash. What does one do ? After mugging Johnny Carson-style for the crowd, I read her tags and called her owner.”

Marie Haddad : “A guy came up to me during a show and told me that he was a psychic and that he wanted to do a reading for me during a break in my set. I was, of course, intrigued, and so at the break we sat down for a little bit and i listened to his reading. he predicted that I would be getting a new pair of boots for the rain! Darn it if he wasn't spot on with that one.”

Lee Harding / Echo Revolution: “A classmate (a guy) came to our show once. He never said two words to me in class, so I was jazzed he had come out. At some point in the set, he was 2 feet in front of me while I singing at the mic and started licking himself and dancing totally homoerotic. Yeah.”

Robin Henkel : “I remember that I (fell) asleep onstage one time. Before a show with Big Rig Deluxe, I'd eaten a huge Mexican meal and was sitting in this comfy chair playing steel guitar. It was almost like trying to stay awake while driving. After dosing off, the steel bar, which weighs about a pound, fell out of my hand and hit the wood stage with a loud clunk. That's when I woke up right in the middle of a tune the band was playing and had no idea how long I'd been out.”

Dave Humphries: “In England, we were playing in a workingmen's club, halfway through a number and noticed we no longer had bass. We looked around and saw our bass player with the neck of his guitar at somebody's throat up against a wall. Some guy had been messing with his girlfriend and he wasn't very happy about it. On another occasion the same bassist left the stage to sell bingo tickets while we were still playing.”

Laurie Lewis / Mamas and Papas “We were on tour in Germany and (singer) Spanky MacFarland was green as green could be. I asked her what was going on, and she just shook her head and walked back behind the stage and projectile vomited. This was an outdoor stage and she didn’t notice that there were people behind the stage as well, so she basically threw up over a whole bunch of people. But then afterwards they brought their shirts up that were covered in puke and asked if we would autograph them.”

Jane Lui: “I once had a chick pole dancing to a song about my dad. I loved it that she responded with her whole body. You have to be strong to pole dance.”

Dune Murderous / Defamation League: “One time I belligerently kicked Khemical Ali in the ribs during a performance, prompting him to start vomiting almost immediately. Somehow he didn't miss a verse and trudged on.”

Josh Pann / Circa Now : “One time this really drunk guy starting dry humping my monitor. He nearly unplugged it so I couldn't even sing. I looked for help to my band mates and they were laughing just as hard. The song finished without vocals.”

Gregory Page: “At Lestat’s a guy walked on stage and stood at attention next to me while I was singing. I knew he was on drugs. First I asked him politely to leave, and he just stood there like a statue mumbling to himself. Then I said "Hey mister see that plaque on the wall? it reads “The Gregory Page Stage,” now get the F-ck Off My Stage." Police were called and he was taken away and I continued singing…”

Patric Petrie / Skelpin: “One night my skirt flew off mid-twirl during a performance at downtown’s annual “Shamrock” St. Patrick’s Day Street Fair. I was in the middle of playing a fast tune, jumping all around, and couldn't stop to grab it. What a show.”

Patric Petrie / Skelpin. “We were performing a corporate gig at the Embarcadero Marina in 2006, when my wireless mic’d fiddle slipped from my hand as I danced. Unfortunately, I was still in motion, so I managed to drop kick the instrument into the audience. No one in the crowd thought to catch it, instead they moved en masse out of the way. It was like watching the Red Sea part. I’ll never forget the sound it made when it hit the concrete.”

Jordan Reimer: “When I was on tour in San Francisco in ‘06. I was playing at a nearly empty coffee house/laundromat called the Brain Wash Cafe when a homeless man came in with a tree branch that had a large, white, blooming flower on it. He walked up to the stage and set it on top of my amp for me. For a while I thought it was really creepy, but after a while I realized the true meaning of it. He gave me all he could, and that is a very touching action.”

Victoria Robertson: "I was booked to sing the National Anthem at the Miramar Airshow each morning of the event. It was very unfortunate that the sound company didn't prepare for my solo as much as I did that weekend. During Friday's show, the band began but my microphone didn't kick in until "...what so proudly we hailed", missing the first 10 seconds of the 1 1/2 minute anthem. As if this wasn't unfortunate enough, the same mistake was repeated Saturday and Sunday.”

Randy Seol / Strawberry Alarm Clock: “At an open air festival we played in the seventies, there were supposed to be fireworks following our set. There were problems right away. One of the guys setting them up was showing off or something. The first blast made us wonder what was going on. The second blast slightly injured the fire marshall who came over to investigate the first. By the third blast we were running.”

Randy Seol / Strawberry Alarm Clock: “We got to play a big music festival, on a side stage. It was a big production, with modern dancers and backing singers. For some reason, we had our keyboard player playing from a hot air balloon tethered to the stage. A woman ran out of the audience and started tugging at the rope and just about tipped the gondola over while our keyboard player screamed for someone to stop her.”

Amber Shaffer / Secret Apollo : “At the Ken Club, our drummer sat down on his drum stool and his phone fell out of his pocket. It managed to fall through the 6 inch gap between the back wall and where the stage begins and slipped another 2.5 feet to the actual floor under the stage. The sound guy brought a flash light over and we saw the phone resting on a floor covered with a foot of garbage: old beer cans, set lists, sticky stuff I don't want to know about and certainly it's share of bugs and unidentifiable objects. And who was the only one with arms skinny AND long enough to fit in that 6 inch gap? It was bad enough having to lay face down on the Ken Club stage, but then to have to blindly stick my hand in that mess and dig around for a phone-like shape? Steve's still paying me back for that one.

Mike Stax / The Loons: I suppose (lead singer) Ray Brandes getting yanked off the stage by the cops mid-song back in the Tell-Tale Hearts days was kind of surreal. He reappeared a few minutes later with one of his best ever one-liners to the audience: "It seems I had a couple of library books overdue."

Anna Troy: “I played an outdoor gallery opening in North County on a makeshift stage. The gig itself was nothing unusual except that I was told to keep an eye out for poisonous spiders, because the stage had been built in an area that was known to have them. I had a hard time concentrating on the music while looking around for spiders, especially since I noticed the soundman occasionally making “squishing” motions with his foot.”

Brandon Welchez / Crockodiles: “While in the Prayers, in Los Angeles a pretty well-known Hollywood transvestite closed our show with us with an impromptu cover of “Louie Louie.”

Rockin’ Johnny White (promoter): “I've had my share of the girl with the new boob job who wants everybody in the club to check them out. But that one always starts out like this "Do you dare me to flash my Boobs?" And I always reply "Yes."

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DAYGO BEST HIP-HOP COMPILATION

Hoping to combat the notion that hip-hop competition breeds violence, several local performers are banding together for a Best of Daygo City compilation album. “We’re shooting for 99 percent exclusives, stuff that’s never been out before,” says Chris at On Fyre Entertainment. “This will not be a mixtape. A fully-pressed and professionally packaged CD will be distributed through retailers, iTunes, Amazon, and CD Baby.”

So what’s the performer incentive to donate fresh tracks? “We’re not charging these artists $50 to $2,000, like mixtape DJs do. We also provide free promotional material, and the ability to purchase CDs in bulk, so they can resell on their own.”

Chris estimates pressing and promotion costs at around $2,000, which he’ll cover with partners Kayo and Young Mass. “The money will be raised through tax refunds, sales of Mass and Kayo albums in the streets, pimpin’, recycling, blood, sweat, and tears…just playing about that pimpin’ thing.”

(Kayo)

So who gets Daygo’s Best proceeds? “The money will be invested into promoting musicians from San Diego, and to the production of the next compilation album.”

Confirmed contributors include Vokab Kompany, O.C.T./Outta-Control, James T. Powers (Clay Pigeons), Play B, Kitty, Shock G, Kayo, Young Mass, Parker and the Numberman (Pac 10), female rapper Vision, and Bucky Adams (who at this writing claims “40,904 CDs sold in the streets of SD”).

(Young Mass)

“I represent all of San Diego, but I’m from Southeast,” says Kitty. “Everyone is out for self, because the biz is so tough to crack. So people feel that, if they help someone out, they’ll be outshined.”

Pacific Beach-based Vokab Kompany say they don’t mind donating a track. “We don’t really see it as a problem, nobody owes us anything,” according to an email from Burkey Baybe and Rob Hurt. “Complaining just attracts a temporary ear. Opportunity is there to be created…maybe when this is all said and done, we can be looked at as the ones to thank.”

“There aren’t too many people in San Diego I wouldn’t work with,” says Powers (who last month held most-downloaded slot on the Reader website). “Though there are some people I’ve reached out to on numerous occasions who won’t give me the time of day. DJ Fingaz, get at me, haha!”

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CATHRYN BEEKS MOOD SWINGS

"My new cd MOOD SWING is almost done," reports Cathryn Beeks. "We started recording in late January at Berkley Sound, Jeff Berkley producing. Matt and I laid down rough versions of around 20 "Game" songs I'd written over the past 3 years and we decided on 12 of those plus a Paul Simon cover and a few others."

Since The Ordeal had never heard most of the songs, Beeks hired studio guys to expedite the process. "I was pretty excited to work with Brian "Nucci" Cantrell and Rick Nash, they helped bring these songs to life. I was also blessed to have guests such as Dennis Caplinger, John McBride, Wes Wilkes, Ben Moore, Earl Schreyer, The Grass Gypsys, Barbara Nesbitt, Steph Johnson, Lisa Sanders and Brown Sugar, Matt Hannifin, Becky Fleming, Bill Coomes and of course Jeff Berkley, The Reverend Stickman, Matt Silvia and Marcia Claire."

According to Beeks, "These songs are the first I've recorded where words and music are mine so it's a deeply personal collection and really scary this time. Despite the fear, this is my proudest work and I can't wait for you to hear it."

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HOSTILE COMB-OVER SPLITTING - MEET RATS EYES

Hostile Comb-Over played its final show August 11 at the Radio Room. According to Hostile singer/guitarist John Cota, "I've started something new called Rats Eyes with Jason Blackmore from Sirhan Sirhan, Jimmy Armbrust from Louis XIV, and Gabe Serbian from The Locust."

FML SHOOTS FIRST VIDEO

Folding Mr. Lincoln filmed their 1st music video to "Lay It All Down." They partnered with young filmmaker Geeta Malik of Shetani Films. You can check her stuff here.

A MESSAGE FROM VANJA JAMES - "HELP SOME TALENTED KIDS MAKE A MUSIC VIDEO!"

"Trying to raise funds to help my 'kids' shoot a music video. They are ages 13, 13 and 17 and very talented. If we get 50 people to donate 10 bucks we will have reached our goal. Feel free to pass it on to anybody who you think would be interested in supporting a little girl who will (hopefully) be opening for Taylor Swift in a couple years. If we don't reach our goal of $500.00 - everybody gets their money back, its an honest deal!"

Fundable.com lets groups of people pool money to make purchases or raise funds. Similar to online auctions, Fundable's collection pages are created by people who use the web site. Each page contains a description of how much money needs to be collected and what it will do. Once enough pledges for a collection have been secured, Fundable turns them into real payments and sends the total to the collection's organizer.

FUNDRAISING - Aja Alycean's Music Video

http://www.fundable.com/groupactions/groupaction.2009-07-10.3820925936/groupaction_view

LAST CALL FOR LOCAL BANDS TO GET IN ON CMJ

This is the final week San Diego bands can apply to showcase at this year’s CMJ Music Marathon in NYC.

Here are the San Diego bands who applied using their Sonicbids accounts last year and were selected by CMJ to perform an official showcase: Crocodiles and Lady Dottie and the Diamonds - (http://www.sonicbids.com/LadyDottieandtheDiamonds)

Going back farther, here’s all the Sonicbids bands CMJ selected going back to 2005: http://www.sonicbids.com/Profile/PromoterProfile.aspx?account_id=12435

Bands can apply here until midnight on Wed. 7/15: http://www.sonicbids.com/cmj

HIP-HOP BAND BACK FROM THE DEAD

A local “retired” hip-hop act, Kastle Vania, is back in the game, having called it quits after winning Best Hip-Hop at the 2002 SDMAs. Now calling themselves Kastle Creeps, their new album is slated to debut with a July 31 CD release party at Portugalia.

***************************************************** And, in honor of the late, great Michael Jackson, here’s artwork from a comic book biography I did about him (which will be released soon by Bluewater Productions, the company behind the recent Oprah and Obama comic books) ---------------------

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HiddenTracksLogoFnl

HIDDEN TRACKS - THE SHAMBLES AND MANUAL SCAN -Dontcha just love getting something for nothing? And who doesn’t fantasize about finding hidden treasure? That’s pretty much the notion behind “Easter eggs” on DVDs and hidden tracks on albums – the goodies are there, but you gotta find ‘em ---- http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/jan/21/delta-spirits-worst-and-weirdest-plus-breakups-and/

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Concert Security Wars: Battle of the Bouncers -- San Diego security firms fight (AND SUE) for their right to bounce you! http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/apr/24/concert-security-wars-battle-of-the-bouncers/ ***************************************************** **********************************************

Eyehead4 LoveIn1

"Rock Operas Were Born in San Diego" - Didja know the world's first-ever actual rock opera was staged in San Diego? "An Eye in Each Head" creator Anthony Adams is still in the stage rock biz, at the North Park Theater... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/aug/31/rock-operas-leaving-town-plus-playing-with-michael/

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MidnightHeaderFnl PhantomParadise

"Midnight Movies - the '80s Part 1" - The Fine Arts Theater, the Unicorn, the Guild, the Academy, the Loma and La Paloma, the Ken Cinema, the Strand in OB - for a time, the midnight movie crowd was its own sort of stoner subculture. Several historic cult movie events happened right here in SD, including the first-ever audience participation performance along with Phantom of the Paradise.... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/nov/09/more-on-brick-by-bricks-new-hip-hop-showcase-plus-/

"Why Jackson Browne Hates Former Reader Contrib Richard Meltzer" - The first time Jackson Browne was profiled Rolling Stone [June 22, 1972], Richard Meltzer did the interview. When Meltzer called the singer "one hell of a prototype sex symbol for the gay rock underground," Browne was VERY unhappy.... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/nov/09/more-on-brick-by-bricks-new-hip-hop-showcase-plus-/

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"An Extreme Elvis Is a Naked Elvis" - Extreme Elvis doesn’t play San Diego much any more. "I’m banned from all the clubs in town," he says. "They booted me off the stage at one place [Brick By Brick] after about five minutes"..... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/oct/22/worst-musical-halloween-costumes-plus-rock-op92d7a/

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"The Celebrity House Hunter" - A local real estate agent talks about driving celebs like George Harrison and Bread singer David Gates around town, in search of new digs... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/oct/22/worst-musical-halloween-costumes-plus-rock-op92d7a/

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"Judge Judy Takes On the Belly Up Tavern" - So I was watching an afternoon repeat of Judge Judy (I like it when she yells at dumbasses), and lo and behold the episode involved the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach. It was the case of “Beauty and the Bouncers”... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/oct/22/worst-musical-halloween-costumes-plus-rock-op92d7a/

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batten3

"Playing With Michael Jackson's Head [Guitarist]" - Local string whiz Jennifer Batten has played with the Great Gloved One, Jeff Beck, Slash, and many more... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/aug/31/rock-operas-leaving-town-plus-playing-with-michael/

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whale2 "Whales Are Changing Their Tune" - according to Professor John Hildebrand, a blue whale expert at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD who has studied recordings of whales “singing” since the 1960s. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/aug/31/rock-operas-leaving-town-plus-playing-with-michael/

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"[Paint]Brushes with Fame" - profiling three album cover and concert poster painters; Mike Clift (Psychotic Waltz, Tipper Gore's Comics & Stories), Geo (Fairfield Fats Band, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes), and Ken Meyer, Jr. (Marvel's Ghost Rider, Alternative Comics). http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/aug/31/rock-operas-leaving-town-plus-playing-with-michael/ ****************************************************

"RIP Alton Kelley: King of Collage, Prince of Prints" - my unpublished 1999 interview with the late album cover and poster legend, who died in June ’08. Together with Stanley Mouse, Kelley virtually created the very look of an entire era. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/aug/31/rock-operas-leaving-town-plus-playing-with-michael/

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"RIP Dave Stevens: Rocketeer Creator" - tribute to another fallen Great One, longtime San Diegan Dave Stevens. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/aug/31/rock-operas-leaving-town-plus-playing-with-michael/

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"Where Have All The Deadheads Gone?" Local flower children, after the head Deadhead was dead. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/aug/31/rock-operas-leaving-town-plus-playing-with-michael/

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Blacks Beach - Partying nekkid with the children of the Rainbow (and some OCD Beatles fans). http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/aug/31/rock-operas-leaving-town-plus-playing-with-michael/

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kissart

THE KOMPLETE KISS KOMIX KRONICLES - Comprehensive collection of stuff I’ve done about working with Kiss on a comic book series, along with a bunch of never-before-seen artifacts from the Kiss Komix archives AND an article by Kiss comic author Spike Steffenhagen, offering his own very-different take, ala Rashomon, on the same events I describe in my essay...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/12/komplete-kiss-komix-kronicles

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SecretsLogo

LOCALS REVEAL THEMSELVES - We asked 75 local musicos to tell us something few would know or guess -----

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/11/75-secrets-about-75-san-diego-musicians

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chik19 LOCAL ROCK CHICKS - “It’s not easy being a chick rocker,” says Vv Loveland of Scary Mary, who shares rock chick tales alongside Eve Selis, Anya Marina, AM Vibe, Elan, Lindsey and Anna Troy, Cindy Lee Berryhill, Jenn Grinels, Victoria Robertson, Rachael Gordon, Wild Weekend, and more...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/11/rocker-chicks-do-san-diego-plus-browsing-the-board

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RockComicHist1 RockNrollComicsTributeArtSansLogos

ROCK 'N' ROLL COMICS: THE INSIDE STORY - In 1989, local Revolutionary Comics ("Unauthorized And Proud Of It") launched Rock 'N' Roll Comics, featuring unlicensed biographies of rock stars, most of which I wrote. Some performers, like Frank Zappa and Kiss, were supportive, while others like New Kids On The Block considered our comics akin to bootlegs and sued. In June 1992, publisher Todd Loren was found dead in his San Diego condo, brutally murdered...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/12/rock-n-roll-comics-the-inside-story

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ac42 ac43

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK VS REVOLUTIONARY COMICS - The inside story of how a hugely successful boy band tried to sue local-based Rock 'N' Roll Comics over an unauthorized biography of the group, sparking a court case that established, for the very first time, first amendment rights for comic books. Illustrated by comic superstar Stuart Immonen (Superman, etc.)...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/13/new-kids-on-the-block-versus-revolutionary-comics

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carn23.psd

OVER A MILLION CARNAL COMICS ARE IN PRINT - Here's how and why we made some of the top-selling erotic comics of all time, right here in San Diego, including what Gene Simmons has to do with it all, backstage tales of porn stars, and more confessions of a comic pornographer...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/08/carnal-comics-the-inside-story-jay-allen-sanfor

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black75

THE ROCKETEER AND OTHER FAMOUS '80S COMICS BEGAN RIGHT HERE IN SAN DIEGO - Here's a detailed history of local Pacific Comics, who recruited comic superstars like Jack Kirby to create one of the first successful indie comic book lines. Pioneers in the fight for comic creators' rights and royalties, former employees and operators reveal how they did it, and what went so terribly wrong...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/08/pacific-comics-the-inside-story-jay-allen-sanford

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ac105 ac123

COMICS AND CENSORSHIP - DON'T BE AFRAID, IT'S ONLY A COMIC BOOK - A local-centric history of comic book censorship, and the fight for the rights of comic creators...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/06/comics-and-censorship-a-local-centric-illustrated

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deep38 joblog50

TWILIGHT ZONE AND STAR TREK WRITER GEORGE CLAYTON JOHNSON PRESENTS - The inside story of a local horror comic book series featuring Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, plus sci-fi king Larry Niven, Zap Comix co-founder Spain Rodriguez, Matthew Alice artist Rick Geary, Vampire Lestat painter Daerick Gross, yours truly JAS, and many more...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/05/deepest-dimension-terror-anthology-twilight-zone

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im51

THE BIRTH OF IMAGE COMICS: INSIDE STORY OF A LOCAL PUBLISHING POWERHOUSE - Illustrated tale revealing how Spawn creator Todd McFarlane and local comic artist Jim Lee (the Punisher, etc.) conspired to create the ultimate creator-owned comic books...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2007/sep/03/the-birth-of-image-comics-an-illustrated-history

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When Your Love Is Locked Up - On California women's prisons and the families and loved ones of prisoners. Focus is on my good friend Danielle Barcheers, the 2nd youngest female ever convicted of a capital crime in CA state history (now ten years into a 20-to-life sentence). Plus 100 Rockin' Local Lawsuits.... http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2008/jul/30/when-kids-go-to-prison-plus-100-rockin-lawsuits

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THE CHE UNDERGROUND WEBSITE AND REUNIONS: Memories Of a Long-Gone San Diego - Founded in 1980 as an all-age vegetarian eatery and gathering place for those interested in radical politics, the Ché Café at UCSD quickly became a haven for San Diego’s underground music scene. Though touring bands eventually became a staple of the venue, early shows mostly featured local groups that played punk, garage, mod, and psychedelic sounds...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/may/30/my-worst-dates-everybody-violet-rhythm-singer-atta/

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Band Members EVERYBODY VIOLET IS REBORN - Everybody Violet was an all-girl band which formed at the end of the punk, Mod and psychedelic era in San Diego, cued by the dispatch of the notorious Morlocks to San Francisco...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/may/30/my-worst-dates-everybody-violet-rhythm-singer-atta/

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TROPHY WIFE DOES IT IN THEIR PJS - "Last Sunday we played at The North Park Festival of the Arts," emails guitarist Joe MacAskill of Trophy Wife. "We were scheduled to play on the main stage at 10am. we knew it was pretty early for people to see us play..."

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/may/30/my-worst-dates-everybody-violet-rhythm-singer-atta/

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FROM A QUEEN SONG TO A BETTER MUSIC SEARCH - UC San Diego electrical engineering Ph.D. student Luke Barrington presented a new model for music segmentation that can capture both the sound of a song and how this sound changes over time. The system "listens" to songs it has never heard before, labels them based on the actual sounds in the song, and then retrieves songs, as appropriate, when people type descriptive words—like "mellow jazz"—into the team's experimental search engine...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/may/30/my-worst-dates-everybody-violet-rhythm-singer-atta/

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SARAH LAVELY BREAKS THINGS FOR A LIVING - Or rather, her clients do! One day, she had a vision of having a place where she could just go in and smash everything in sight...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/may/30/my-worst-dates-everybody-violet-rhythm-singer-atta/

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BEWARE OF BOOTLEG GUITARS - “I’ve heard too many stories of kids who are saving their money for their dream Fender Stratocaster or Gibson Les Paul, only to find out later they’ve been burned by a cheap fake,” says guitarist David Szabados. “Counterfeit instruments are being produced in China and Korea, and then sold off here as the real thing by unscrupulous sellers on places like eBay, Craigslist, local storefronts, and pawn shops..."

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/may/30/my-worst-dates-everybody-violet-rhythm-singer-atta/

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DO BANDS EVER MOVE FROM L.A. TO SAN DIEGO? - The list of local performers who seek success by moving near L.A. is long – from Ratt and Stone Temple Pilots through Stolen, Delta Spirit, Anya Marina, the Soft Pack, and more. But, once in awhile, it works the other way...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/may/30/my-worst-dates-everybody-violet-rhythm-singer-atta/

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A MESSAGE FROM

Greetings and Salutations. We just posted the last set of videos from our Live at Luce Loft series. Joel P. West and The Paddle Boat have never sounded so good. Click here to check em out.

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THE GRATEFUL DEAD IN SAN DIEGO - A tragical history tour thru several local dates, back before the head Deadhead was dead and featuring the tie-dyed and squinty-eyed...

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/bands/2009/may/30/my-worst-dates-everybody-violet-rhythm-singer-atta/

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More Before It Was the Gaslamp

"Battle Of The Peeps" - feature article about a weird gig I had in the mid-'80s, running a strip club called Jolar, for the nation's second biggest pornographer, Harry Mohney (Deja Vu Showgirls founder).

More Battle of the Peeps - An Insider History of San Diego Porn Shops

"Field Of Screens" - Cover story 7-6-06: Complete theater-by-theater history of San Diego drive-ins thru the years, including a few which screened X-rated fare for awhile.

More Drive-In Theaters in San Diego: Complete Illustrated History 1947 thru 2008

"Pussycat Theaters - When 'Cathouses Ruled California" -- for the first time, the detailed inside story of the west coast Pussycat Theater chain of adult moviehouses, which peaked in the '70s but later died out. Told by those who actually ran the theaters!

More Pussycat Theater History: When Cathouses Ruled CA

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More Music on the Reader Website:

Find a Band

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Like this blog? Here are some related links:

OVERHEARD IN SAN DIEGO - Several years' worth of this comic strip, which debuted in the Reader in 1996: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/photos/galleries/overheard-san-diego/

FAMOUS FORMER NEIGHBORS - Over 100 comic strips online, with mini-bios of famous San Diegans: http://www.sandiegoreader.com/photos/galleries/famous-former-neighbors/

SAN DIEGO READER MUSIC MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/sandiegoreadermusic

JAY ALLEN SANFORD MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/jayallensanford

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Pink Floyd in San Diego, Land of the Lost TV Show, Everybody Violet Returns, Bootleg Guitars, New Music Search Engine, Rhythm Turner, more

Battle of the Peeps - An Insider History of San Diego Porn Shops

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Find a Band

Today's Top MP3 Downloads

Reader writer Chris Ahrens tells the story of Windansea

Gonzo Report: Hockey Dad brings UCSD vets and Australians to the Quartyard

Pink Floyd in San Diego, Land of the Lost TV Show, Everybody Violet Returns, Bootleg Guitars, New Music Search Engine, Rhythm Turner, more

Pink Floyd in San Diego, Land of the Lost TV Show, Everybody Violet Returns, Bootleg Guitars, New Music Search Engine, Rhythm Turner, more

Battle of the Peeps - An Insider History of San Diego Porn Shops

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More Before It Was the Gaslamp

More Battle of the Peeps - An Insider History of San Diego Porn Shops

More Drive-In Theaters in San Diego: Complete Illustrated History 1947 thru 2008

More Pussycat Theater History: When Cathouses Ruled CA

Find a Band

Today's Top MP3 Downloads

The Birth of Image Comics - An Illustrated History

The Day the Monkees Turned Del Mar Into Clarksville

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Pink Floyd in San Diego, Land of the Lost TV Show, Everybody Violet Returns, Bootleg Guitars, New Music Search Engine, Rhythm Turner, more

Battle of the Peeps - An Insider History of San Diego Porn Shops

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More Before It Was the Gaslamp

More Battle of the Peeps - An Insider History of San Diego Porn Shops

More Drive-In Theaters in San Diego: Complete Illustrated History 1947 thru 2008

More Pussycat Theater History: When Cathouses Ruled CA

Find a Band

Today's Top MP3 Downloads

Reader writer Chris Ahrens tells the story of Windansea

Gonzo Report: Hockey Dad brings UCSD vets and Australians to the Quartyard

Subscribe and stay in touch

Pink Floyd in San Diego, Land of the Lost TV Show, Everybody Violet Returns, Bootleg Guitars, New Music Search Engine, Rhythm Turner, more

Pink Floyd in San Diego, Land of the Lost TV Show, Everybody Violet Returns, Bootleg Guitars, New Music Search Engine, Rhythm Turner, more

Battle of the Peeps - An Insider History of San Diego Porn Shops

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More Before It Was the Gaslamp

More Battle of the Peeps - An Insider History of San Diego Porn Shops

More Drive-In Theaters in San Diego: Complete Illustrated History 1947 thru 2008

More Pussycat Theater History: When Cathouses Ruled CA

Find a Band

Today's Top MP3 Downloads

The Birth of Image Comics - An Illustrated History

The Day the Monkees Turned Del Mar Into Clarksville

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Find a story.

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