Chris Warner of Jet West, Nena Anderson, Bill Ray of Ike Turner's Band, Drew Douglass aka Grandpadrew and Bob Sale of Rockola etc., relate odd and interesting moments that have happened while performing...

Nena Anderson - “At a show with Cash'd Out in Aspen, CO, I had a bottle of whiskey sitting on top of my amp and the band also had a pitcher of beer on the stage. A man got on …

Join the struggle of all music to be free.

This Sunday, December 2 at the UCSD Department of Music, percussionist and performance artist Leah Bowden will present an evening of “Free Jazz and Reality Television” featuring compositions by Cecil Taylor, Sven-Ake Johansson, Peter Brotzmann, Max Roach, Abbey Lincoln, Clint …

Zlatkovich and company delivered a blistering fusion set at Anthology; Drummer Leah Bowden will draw on music from Peter Brotzmann, Cecil Taylor and her own pen Sunday at UCSD.

Mikan Zlatkovitch brought his unique conception of "jazz-fusion" into Anthology last night for an evening of wide-ranging, virtuosic and rhythmically challenging music, fueled by the electric bass of Dave Curtis and the powerhouse drumming of Duncan Moore. Opening as a …

A rare open session by the monthly meeting of musical minds at Kava Lounge

For over a year-and-a-half, some of San Diego’s most innovative electronic music producers have been getting together for under-the-radar hob nobs at the Kava Lounge (2812 Kettner – Middletown) to share formative sounds with fellow musicians. Kava manager and musician …

In addition to his expertise as a "pure" acoustic jazz pianist, Zlatkovich has an affinity for fusion music--look for tunes by Pat Metheny, John McLaughlin and other surprises.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/28/36157/ Mikan Zlatkovich is coming to Anthology on Nov. 29, bringing his expanded fusion ensemble JazzMikan+3, which is comprised of electric bassist Dave Curtis, drummer Duncan Moore with flutist Lori Bell, violinist Jamie Shadowlight and vocalist Allison Adams Tucker. Zlatkovich …

Garrison has been working with heavyweights like Castellanos, Rob Thorsen and Lynn Willard on a new recording--a slightly different lineup will appear in concert this weekend.

San Diego underground composer/pianist Joe Garrison surfaces on Dec. 1, at the new Dizzy's (4275 Mission Bay Dr.), to showcase music from a new album with a large ensemble of local musicians he calls Night People. Garrison has been at …

Gilbert Castellanos at the Westgate Hotel; Joshua White Quartet at the new Dizzy's; Michael Dessen Trio at Space4Art. I can't be in three places at once--so it's the Dessen Trio for me.

The discerning San Diego jazz fan will have some heavy decision-making to contend with this Friday night, November 30, as three excellent possibilities vie for an audience — all of them "can't miss" propositions. Gilbert Castellanos continues with his weekly …

Tenors are supposed to be hollow-headed resonance chambers. Nick Munson illuminates Respighi's Laud to the Nativity

Singing the part of the shepherd in the upcoming performance of Laud to the Nativity is local tenor Nick Munson. Nick has a beautiful and pleasing tenor voice which fits the shepherd’s solo like glove. Tenors are often said to …

Tired of the Messiah? Me too. Go hear Respighi in Point Loma.

Respighi’s Laud to the Nativity has long been a favorite piece of Christmas music. However, it has long been overshadowed by Handel’s Christmas oratorio thingy--you know what I’m talking about. On Sunday December 16th there is an excellent opportunity to …

Local world rocker wins TV contest, earns recording session with Don Was

“We just won a huge battle of the bands called Gimme the Gig,” says soulful world-rocker Hargo, whose self-named band scored a music video and recording session with celeb producer Don Was as part of a TV pilot taping. Sponsored …

There is a wisdom, and spirituality that Jackson sets in to motion every time he plays.

Tenor saxophonist Daniel Jackson is a monster musician, and has been for many years. His time in San Diego has seen him mentor dozens of the area's heaviest players, from Mark Dresser and Turiya Mareya, to Joshua White and Gilbert …

Early American imp produces first compositions in the colonies and young country.

William Billings seems like an appropriate composer to get to know during this Thanksgiving and Christmas season. Whenever we find any information on Billings his appearance is the first thing that is mentioned. He had a bad eye, a withered …

Live Wire in North Park is a staple El Cajon Boulevard dive for many reasons – a great selection of craft beers, free pizza most nights when nearby Luigi’s closes, a fierce jukebox, and lurching distance from Mama’s Bakery, for …

Keezer is an amazing world-class pianist, who just so happens to live in North Park.

Gilbert Castellanos, and his weekly series at the Westgate Hotel, (every Friday), Some Of My Friends Are Piano Players is one of the best things to ever happen to the San Diego jazz scene. There are several factors that make …

Electro twins post their debut video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c8jyKa3ANA Wonder twin electro wizards Pal&Drome recently posted a video for their track “All This Time.” The video was made by a Toronto filmmaker over the course of two days at Valley of the Moon (Jacumba) and a rooftop party …

Scottish singer/songwriter back from overseas tour with a new concert EP and DVD footage

"There were no overdubs done on this EP whatsoever, and for that I make no apologies," says Scottish singer/songwriter Colin Clyne, whose release party for Doon Tae The Wid (which translates from Scottish/Doric as Down to the Wood) happens November …

Hubbard, with 16 of his musical associates delivered his vision of minimalism "for people who can't skateboard."

Monday night's performance of the massive Nathan Hubbard Passengers group at Space 4 Art in the East Village was wildly ambitious and very creative. Passengers represents Hubbard's work in the field of minimalism, (think Steve Reich, Phillip Glass, etc), as …

Attention laptop experimentalists, DJs, and seasoned producers!

In anticipation of the final Elev8 of 2012, Australian glitch/neuro hop capo Mr. Bill will be hosting an Ableton Live production workshop before the show (Saturday, November 24) from 8 to 10 p.m. at Spin Nightclub (2028 Hancock St. - …

Every music fan in San Diego is all too familiar with the traditional skipping of America’s Finest City by some of America’s laziest bands. We all know the pattern: play Phoenix or San Francisco, hit L.A., and then COMPLETELY SKIP …

Each pianist displayed a personal mastery of the instrument before a packed audience at the new Dizzy's.

So, here is the rest of Piano Summit 2012. Irving Flores Flores is a monster Latin-jazz player with impressive credentials in the mainstream jazz field as well. He chose to focus on two originals in his short set, opening with …

The Celtic rock band's 9th Annual Green 17 Tour will be another rolling party bus countdown to St. Patrick’s Day

Flogging Molly will open for ZZ Top at the House of Blues 20th Anniversary party on December 4, at the HOB venue on the Sunset Strip in L.A., before launching the 9th Annual Green 17 Tour, a rolling countdown to …

The first set of the summit featured Mikan Zlatkovich, Danny Green, Barnaby Finch and Daniel Jackson. Tomorrow's review will feature Irving Flores, Joshua White, Anthony Davis and Richard Thompson.

The Baldwin grand at the new Dizzy's got a heavy workout last night at the 2012 Piano Summit, whereupon eight masters approached the instrument on their own terms for a fascinating look at the state of the eighty-eight keys in …

Don Juan makes love to us in our ear holes.

Don Juan is a legendary lover and on Saturday evening, Cristof Perick and the San Diego Symphony made love to our ears with an all German concert. The concert began with Richard Strauss and his tone poem Don Juan. This …

Pianist Danny Green and saxophonist Ian Tordella each brought a potent trio into The Back Room, and bassist Justin Grinnell was the MVP--as he laid down the bottom end for both groups.

98 Bottles held an intriguing concert last night of two local jazz groups: the Ian Tordella Trio, opening for the Danny Green Trio. Both units featured bassist Justin Grinnell with Tordella's band using Fernando Gomez on drums while Green employed …

Castellanos continues to inspire with his weekly concert series featuring top flight trios connecting in the moment.

Every Friday night, at the downtown Westgate Hotel, trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos is featuring a different world-class pianist with the bassist of their choice in a series titled, Some Of My Friends Are Piano Players. Last night it was LA phenomenon …

Skid Roper, CC from Little Hurricane, Vanja James, Stevie Harris of the Styletones and Mishey Touchie of the Touchies relate odd and interesting moments that have happened while performing...

Skid Roper: “I think it was in 1987, Mojo Nixon and I were playing at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco on a bill with Camper Van Beethoven and Ten Foot Faces. It was a packed house and right in …

Anyone who would like some music to kick off the holidays which doesn’t involve a reindeer named Rudolph or other such clichés might want to check out the third annual Holidazed and Confused show being held Saturday, December 1, 8 …

Eight exemplary pianists perform Sunday at the new Dizzy's

I don't envy Chuck Perrin, who had to pare down a list of local pianists to just eight for the upcoming Piano Summit 2012 to be held at the new Dizzy's November 18 at 7 p.m. A lot of really …

Salonen and the Philharmonia steal your children with Mahler's Ninth.

The Philharmonia delivered the goods on Thursday night at Symphony Hall. What were the goods they delivered? A colossal struggle between Western subjectivity and Eastern detachment; the Confessions of Augustin and the Tibeten Book of the Dead in musical guise. …

It’s a big weekend in Tijuana, starting with international remixes of traditional and contemporary tijuanense sounds at Festival Sonoro Norte tonight. Tomorrow is the third annual All My Friends music festival at the hillside Casa de la Cultura, where you …

A new San Diego music project has finally been let out of the bag. Taj Easton along with Zack and Shelby Wentz have embarked upon a new concept-band called (Charles) Book&Record, which they kept under tight wraps for over a …

East County high school marching bands perform for each other in the season finale

"Last year, I beheaded someone." Heather Luck, flutist, is the instrumental music director at Steele Canyon High School in Rancho San Diego. "It was really cool. The kids loved it." "We did a Civil War show," says Michael Benge from …

San Diego Opera provides historic presentation of Henry II vs. Thomas Becket

I wandered into the Cuvier Center of St. James by the Sea in La Jolla to attend a talk about San Diego Opera's upcoming production of Murder in the Cathedral. The event was well attended and almost every seat was …

The rock-solid jazz veteran assembled a killer group to fill in for NYC guitarist Mark Elf--sidelined by Hurricane Sandy.

Hurricane Sandy did a number on the KSDS Jazz Live program on Tuesday. A concert featuring guitarist Mark Elf had to be scrapped because of ongoing problems getting a flight out of NYC. Thankfully, local jazz veteran Jaime Valle was …

Plus shuttle information and time slots for the third annual Tijuana music festival

A few months ago, Tijuana's All My Friends music festival coordinator Marty Preciado told The Reader that the third annual AMF is geared toward “serving the rich cultural and musical exchange lived throughout the US-Mexico border.” As such, #AMF12 has …

Tijuana through the ears of the world, this Friday on Revolucion

DJ Rupture Last November, Northern Mexico music promoters NRMAL invited six international DJs to stay in Monterrey with host Toy Selectah (Mad Decent's cumbia/guarachero innovator and foundational member of the Sonidero Nacional music collective) to remix traditional songs recorded by …

Cristof Perick returns for a walk in the park.

This weekend, German conductor Christof Perick will be conducting the San Diego Symphony in Richard Strass’ Don Juan and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6: The Pastoral. Maestro Perick is not a stranger to the San Diego musicians. In 2011 he led …

Groundbreaking electronic bass music event Elev8 closes the year strong.

Digital art by Jesse Noemind Elev8 is closing out 2012 with a glitch, a hop, and a bang featuring three massive headliners and some serious stereo thunder from down under. Elev8 honcho Osal8 jumped on board Melbourne-based Enig’matik Records' roster …

Currently signed to NJ-based Rock Ridge Music, Fiction Family will release their sophomore album Fiction Family Reunion (with distribution via ADA) on January 29, 2013. The second full-length partnership of Jon Foreman (Switchfoot) and Sean Watkins (Nickel Creek) sees the …

One of the most august orchestras in the world is coming to San Diego to perform Mahler’s Symphony No. 9. The orchestra is the Philharmonia and they will be performing at Symphony Hall on Thursday the 15th at 8:00 pm. …

"Calypso Music Television wants to film my upcoming San Diego area concert to be broadcast as a special," says David Sherry, whose Neil Diamond tribute Diamond is Forever! did a six-week overseas summer tour that included TV performances in Malta. …

In March, Encinitas songstress Megan Combs began recording a new full-length, Home is Where the Heart is, with local reggae legend Tommy Dubs. "The album will be a digital, and physical CD release," Combs tells the Reader. "It will be …

Wanicur steps out as a leader to hone new original compositions before heading into recording studio.

I caught another encouraging glimpse at the future of the San Diego jazz scene last night when the Ben Wanicur Quartet played two sets at 3rd Space in University Heights. I've been tracking Wanicur pretty regularly since the bassist moved …

Wicked trumpet meets prepared piano in this intense and hilarious pairing of twisted minds.

Trumpet + piano duos are a relatively rare commodity in jazz — and this collaboration between Jeff Kaiser and Phil Skaller is not going to remind anyone of Wynton Marsalis and Marcus Roberts. For that matter Endless Pie is a …

Twin wonder band Pal&Drome play psychic dance jams

Twin wonder band Pal&Drome is a psychic dance duo featuring the Wheeler brothers overlaying programmed beats and software with live instrumentation and heady vocal loops. You may know of them from Scarlet Symphony, afro-funk outfit Society!, or, if you’re really …

"He sucker punched me as I was talking [and] immediately ran out the door and fled to his bus," alleges Travis Ryan of the bovine brou-ha-hah

Cattle Decapitation have announced on Facebook that they are quitting the Autumn Apocalypse Tour, reportedly because Six Feet Under frontman Chris Barnes punched Cattle Decapitation singer Travis Ryan. According to Ryan's post, “Chris Barnes is a f*cking hack. I've personally …

Reggae soundsystem Tribe of Kings pioneered San Diego's Rastafari nightlife

Since 1997, Tribe of Kings have been bringing old school steppers, dancehall, and roots reggae vibes to San Diego with weekly parties in Ocean Beach, Mission Hills, and now, North Park. On Sunday, November 18, Tribe of Kings celebrates 15 …

Industrial doom-drone machine fabricator Tristan Shone explores what "heavy" really means.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/06/35049/ It’s kind of funny to hear industrial drone-doom performer Author & Punisher (Tristan Shone) say, “It's hard to find people with the same idea of what heavy is.” It’s like Kim Jong-il (R.I.P., bro) breaking down after his third …

Inspired Flight musician Gabe Lehner releases solo album.

Gabe Lehner took time aside from the indie rock hip hop jams of Inspired Flight to record an album of dude/guitar anthems titled The Swift Death of Dysfunction (released last Friday). The Swift Death Of Dysfunction by Gabe Lehner “The …

During intermission, some opportunistic youngsters came on down and seated themselves in what they thought were unused seats in the front row of the Grand Tier. This quartet of future patrons had miscounted and were occupying the seats of Joan …

Haydn’s Cello Concerto opened for Mahler's Symphony No. 5 this weekend at Symphony Hall. It was not the San Diego Symphony's best performance. Cello soloist, Ralph Krishbaum, did not have his "a" game at the Saturday evening performance. Either Haydn …

Gilbert Castellanos and Las Vegas saxophonist Charles McNeal investigated the deep book of Shorter's music with Joshua White, Rob Thorsen and Dan Schnelle.

The music of saxophonist Wayne Shorter has served as a rich source of inspiration for jazz musicians since the 1960s. Last night, trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos enlisted the aid of Las Vegas reed man Charles McNeal to celebrate that music with …

The Lovebirds, featuring Veronica May and Lindsay White, will open for Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles at Anthology on Tuesday, November 13, their first appearance at that venue as a duo. “I was happy to learn we booked a show …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/03/34844/ Thirty-two years ago this week -- 11-3-80 -- the Police, XTC, and Oingo Boingo performed at downtown's Civic Theater. Opening act XTC was riding on the popularity of their Black Sea album. They had played in San Diego earlier …

Visionary beat label Liquid Geometry drops fourth release

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/02/34834/ Having recently celebrated two years of hosting experimental live beat shows at the Kava Lounge, Liquid Geometry issued their fourth label release on Halloween with a four-song self-titled EP from Dons of Derp aka Nino Seneris (SD/Hamburg) and Subp …

It’s been said that timing is everything, so it is that on November 3, rock-a-billy quartet Roy Rapid and the Rhythm Rock Trio will finally host a CD release show for their self released debut album, One Last Chance, at …

Noisy bass and drum duo Secret Fun Club (members of Some Girls and Dead Ghosts) posted a video yesterday for "Kathleen Turner Overdrive" from their self-titled album on Three One G Records. The silent movie style video features a pie …

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/nov/01/34785/ 11-1-64 – the Rolling Stones made their first San Diego appearance, playing an evening show at Balboa Park Bowl, having appeared that afternoon at Long Beach’s Civic Auditorium, aka Long Beach Arena. Tickets cost $3.50, with the show starting …

Retox opens for PiL at House of Blues and gets over 70 people into the show for free. Also, a mini PiL set review, Justin Pearson meets Johnny Rotten, and more spit.

This past Monday night Public Image Ltd played House of Blues downtown. "I realized that there were no other opening acts listed so I figured I would see if we [Retox] could get on the bill as an opener. Our …