(Paul Kaufman solicits support for a new project by Che Underground’s own.)

San Diego has embraced its prodigal musicians as they return after decades. Consider the Comeuppance, a “chamber pop” combo led by David Fleminger (guitar, vocals) and Heather Vorwerck (cello).

This ensemble has a distinctive sound influenced by diverse jazz, country and classical traditions, all the while staying true to the high standards of songwriting that Che Underground readers know to expect from all of Dave’s endeavors.

Readers of this blog will recall that the Comeuppance relocated last spring to San Diego. The move marked a homecoming for David after 25 years in San Francisco; it’s a return to the city where he created so many memories as the creative force of bands like the Answers and the Mirrors as well as a founding member of a wide array of musical notables from Social Spit to Manual Scan.

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(Just in time for Che Underground: The Blog’s fourth birthday, Gary Heffern shares an international collaboration featuring some of San Diego’s finest!)

Here is a new song by Gary Heffern & Beautiful People with lyrics written by myself, music by Rustman, and arrangement by Beautiful People: Selinda Shirley, Oulujoe, Mad Mulligan and Rustman.

It also features Ray Brandes, Joe Piper and Dave Fleminger on backup vocals and Ray doing some great harmonica as well. I thought if you would want to feature it on Che, you can do so and have first grabs at featuring the song.

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(Dave Fleminger evokes the Answers of 1982 and extends an invitation to see the band this week with the Sidewalk Scene.)

During the summer of 1982, the Answers recorded a series of homemade demos in bassist Tony Suarez’s garage. The “Green Cassette” session was played and sung live to cassette, two microphones, onto a grungy used cassette tape (“JSL” brand) that was chosen for its green stripes and because we probably ran out of new tapes.

The 15 songs are probably directly taken directly in order from an Iblend setlist. The lyrics of the first tune on the cassette, “Ideas,” read to me now like a time capsule left for an uncertain future:

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(Dave Fleminger revisits the sights and sounds of this cornerstone of the early-’80s San Diego scene.)

2012 still sounds to me like a year from the future (or perhaps a Rush album).  But here it is, and here we are, and 2012 will contain the 30th anniversaries of many happenings already chronicled on this blog.  In the spring of 1982 the North Park venue known as the International Blend was re-named The Kings Road Cafe.

Within an unassuming building on 30th St., an incredible stew of various musics were served up to an all-ages crowd.  There were even after-school shows that felt like a continuation of some grand afternoon dance-party tradition.

Whether it was the Iblend or the Kings Rd., the decor inside of the club was pretty much the same: bare-bones and all about the music.  The stage was immediately on your left as you walked in the door and in the back of the room was a pinball machine that would shout “The … Black … Knight … challenges …. you!” every couple minutes.

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(Bart Mendoza ushers in this salute to the big cat.)

Saturday, Dec. 17, The Casbah will be the site of the Pink Panther’s 25th anniversary party. Expect many familiar faces in attendance to celebrate the late bar’s brief existence. Founded by future Casbah proprietor Tim Mays, Peter “English” Verbrugge and Bob Bennett, the Pink Panther was the meeting spot for much of San Diego’s music scene during its run and fittingly, the night features an eclectic bill.

Tickets are $15 and available online.

Opening the night will be the soul and rock dance combo The Amandas. Fronted by Amanda Suter, the band includes the ace rhythm section of Tom Ward (bass) and David Klowden (drums), with guitarist Jon Erickson, saxophonist Aaron Rossi and keyboardist A.J. Croce.

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Here’s another dose from the July 30, 2011, event “Che Underground present Sounds of the Sunset Strip”: two songs from 1960s Los Angeles performed with skill and élan by the Ciros, making their debut at Lestat’s Coffee Shop.

Like headliners the Sidewalk Scene, the Ciros feature a formidable list of names from San Diego’s music history, as well as some notable newcomers: Thomas Ward (12-string guitar); Anthony Suarez (rhythm guitar); David Klowden (drums); Dave Fleminger (lead guitar); Dave Doyle (bass); Lou Damian (reeds); Dylan Rogers (vocals); Heather Vorwerck (cello); Graziela Damian (vocals).

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It may be a new band on the block, but the Sidewalk Scene represents a veritable Murderer’s Row of San Diego musical talent. (Don’t miss your chance to see the band open for the Unknowns along with the Comeuppance on Sept. 3 at the Casbah — Day Two of a Labor Day weekend blowout that also features an evening comprising the Crawdaddys, the Amandas and the Baja Bugs.)

Buy your tickets now for the Crawdaddys and the Unknowns at San Diego’s Casbah, Sept. 2-3!

This video clip (accompanied by photos shot by Unknowns bassist Dave Doyle) portrays the Sidewalk Scene tearing into Paul Simon’s “Richard Cory” at Lestat’s July 30, when they headlined “Che Underground present Sounds of the Sunset Strip.” A great band with hundreds of years of San Diego history among them, delivering with the passion we’ve come to expect from these consummate musicians!

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(Lou Damian salutes Dave’s relocation to San Diego after a 25-year absence and cuts the ribbon on a groovy summer night in the city.)

Che Underground presents SOUNDS of the SUNSET STRIP: Saturday night 9pm on July 30, 2011, at Lestat’s Coffee Shop.

We always wanted to pay tribute to the bands we dug from this era … And now with the return of Flem to San Diego, the scene is set and we can move forward on this idea … We also decided to call ourselves The CIROS in honor of nightclub where the BYRDS made their debut.
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A lost artifact from the heady cyberdaze of the 1990s Bay area emerges two decades later. After being hidden away since before the turn of the millenium, the album “I.O.U. Babe” by Mondo Vanilli (a k a M.V., Inc) has been officially released, and after being initially offered for free on Bandcamp, downloads of ‘IOU Babe’ have exceeded the site’s limit for free downloads. A conventional CD version of the album (with bonus tracks) will be released soon.

Download Mondo Vanilli’s “IOU Babe” album (free download limit exceeded, it’s now 50 cents to download but still free to listen/stream ) and view remix videos by Link C!

Hear Mondo Vanilli’s “IOU Babe” album for free on Soundcloud!

Quick history: A few years after a brief collaboration as the Merry Tweeksters in the mid-‘80s, cultural visionary R.U. Sirius (of Mondo 2000 fame) and Che Underground expatriate Dave Fleminger reunited to begin work on creating the world’s greatest cyber-band. Soon thereafter R.U. invited alien/artist Sim1 3Arm to join the mix, and Sim1′s boundary-pushing performance experience helped turn MV into a sirius triple-threat.

Says Fleminger, “At that point, I had literally no computer experience, and knew nothing of the music RU was referring to as a stylistic jumping-off point, but his ideas were quite inspiring to me and he said, ‘You’ll figure it out’ … so that was enough encouragement for me to give it a try.

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Che Games for May 2009 continues to pay dividends for aficionados of San Diego subculture, encapsulated here in two choice cuts from the reunited Lemons Are Yellow: “Thousand Island” and “America’s Finest City.”

The LAY lineup comprises Paul Kaufman (guitar, vocals); Dave Fleminger (guitar, vocals); Kristin Martin (bass, vocals); and Seth Affoumado (drums). Heather Vorwerck shot the performance, which opened the festivities May 29, 2009.

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