Entries
Badfinger VS Bob Dylan
New car commercial song plunders three more graves
Heh heh, as cool as it is to hear the Badfinger/Paul McCartney song "Come & Get It" in that new Buick Pontiac commercial every eight minutes, I can't help but laugh at how they leave out the more apropos lyric …
Why Jackson Browne Hates Former Reader Contrib Richard Meltzer, plus Local Website Review: Pepperland
A Tragical History Tour, plus some trippy 'toons and famous cartoon neighbors
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. Meltzer had earlier written about Browne in 1968, for the San Diego based Crawdaddy …
Midnight Movies: A Local History, Part 1 - the '80s
MIDNIGHT MOVIES, A LOCAL HISTORY: The '80s Part 1 July 29, 1983, Ken Cinema: First Known “Shadowcast” Fan Participation at a screening of Phantom of the Paradise! The Rocky Horror Picture debuted as a midnight movie at OB’s Strand Theater in …
Judas Priest's Nostradamus - My Prediction, plus Swing Dancer VS Juno, Local Music Collector
Local swing dancer REALLY hates Juno
THE (NEWEST) RETURN OF JUDAS PRIEST – MY PREDICTION Judas Priest is putting the finishing touches on their double-album rock opera, “Nostradamus.” =sigh= Will I ever tell the grandkids about how I – along with a hundred like-minded miscreants - …
GigSanDiego - New Musician Resource Courtesy of Tubby Drummer Bill Ray
NEW LOCAL MUSICIAN RESOURCE On his website GigSanDiego.com, local drummer Bill Ray explains “Gig San Diego was created by professional musicians, for professional musicians. It is (currently) an open-registration format that caters to the musician who actively plays gigs in …
Backstage Moocher - Living Off Rock Stars, plus YouTube Gems: Weird San Diego
Offbeat views 'round town
BACKSTAGE RAIDER – HE MOOCHES MEALS FROM ROCK STARS “When Axl Rose found out I ate his sub sandwich, he was ready to kill someone,” says “Tweeter Donruss” (not his real name, ‘natch). He’s recalling for me one backstage party …
Backstage Diplomat - He Removes the Brown M&Ms, plus Local Website Review: Karaoke Kings
HE REMOVES THE BROWN M&MS – BACKSTAGE DIPLOMAT Brian Lewis didn’t hire the entertainment while serving as venue manager for Humphrey’s bar and concert showcase on Shelter Island. However, he feels the experience he gained there from 1990 to 1992 …
The Day Beach Boy Brian Wilson Got Busted in Balboa Park
Beach Boy bust, plus Saturday morning music television, pre-MTV
THE DAY BRIAN WILSON GOT BUSTED AS A VAGRANT IN BALBOA PARK SUMMER 1978: BRIAN WILSON was picked up by cops as a vagrant in Balboa Park... In late 1976, mercurial Beach Boy Brian Wilson was complaining about round-the-clock “treatment” …
The Day the Monkees Turned Del Mar Into Clarksville
THE DAY THE MONKEES TURNED DEL MAR INTO CLARKSVILLE 42 years ago (9-11-66), Del Mar was renamed “Clarksville” for the day, as part of a promotion for the Monkees TV show, which would debut the following …
Why Mexicans Hated Elvis, plus Celeb Sighting: Pam Anderson
Pam Anderson caught shopping at the Swap Meet.
WHY MEXICANS HATED ELVIS! May 1959: While Elvis Presley’s popularity in the U.S. was arguably at its all-time peak, Mexico was in the midst of a huge anti-Elvis backlash. Tijuana tabloids called him a racist and homosexual, after the singer …
Worst Musical Halloween Costumes Ever, plus Meet the Mansonites
Encounters with Susan Atkins and Leslie Van Houten
WORST MUSICAL HALLOWEEN COSTUMES EVER This year, Hannah Montana costumes are big, and more than a little creepy.... ******* AND JUST FOR GOOD MEASURE, HERE’S WHY YOUR PET HATES YOU and will someday kill you as you sleep: …
Backstage Rider Collection: 50 Rock Star Contracts, plus Virtual Balboa
BACKSTAGE RIDER COLLECTION EARTH WIND & FIRE are comprised of fourteen players and singers (including current bandleader Philip Bailey), earning around $28,000 per performance. That doesn’t include the cost of items appearing on the band’s backstage rider, with requirements for …
Judge Judy Takes On the Belly Up Tavern
JUDGE JUDY VS 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 …
Celebrity House Hunting in San Diego, plus Local Website Review: Mosh King
THE CELEBRITY HOUSE HUNTER “I am the Breadman, he is the Walrus, goo goo ka joob…” Real estate broker Jeff Paiste has squired several famous musicians around San Diego in their search for decent digs to lease or rent, including …
New Kids on the Block Versus Revolutionary Comics
Boy Band's litigious history with local company NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK VS REVOLUTIONARY COMICS (Here's one of the very first published comic stories ever drawn by superstar artist Stuart Immonen, later famed for his work on Superman, Supergirl, etc.) …
Komplete Kiss Komix Kronicles - Local Company's Kiss Comic Books
The Inside Story of a locally-produced Kiss comic book line
THE KOMPLETE KISS KOMIX KRONICLES I decided to compile a bunch 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 …
Rock 'N' Roll Comics: The Inside Story of a Local Publishing Empire
I told Todd Loren in 1988 that I thought his newest brainstorm was the dumbest idea I’d ever heard Comic books about rock and roll bands? I'd seen it already. In the Seventies, Marvel Comics released two magazine-sized Marvel Super …
75 Secrets About 75 San Diego Musicians
We asked 75 musicos to tell us something few would know or guess ----- 75 SECRETS ABOUT 75 SAN DIEGO MUSICIANS GAYLE SKIDMORE: “One thing people are always surprised by is that I enjoy backpacking and surfing. I guess I …
Rocker Chicks Do San Diego, plus Browsing the Boards
“It’s not easy being a chick rocker,” says Vv Loveland of Scary Mary. “One time at Scolari’s, when I went up to play, this guy shows me his penis while I’m onstage. He was drunk and dancing and jiggling it …
Carnal Comics - the Inside Story, by Jay Allen Sanford
Local Comic Publisher Reveals the Secrets of Carnal Success I blame Gene Simmons. Yes, that Gene Simmons, bassist and founding dragonlord of Kiss. Gene was a fan of Revolutionary Comics Rock N Roll Comics line, which I began writing for …