The Vintage & Handmade Market Dizzy’s is back! OK, well only sorta. The downtown blues and jazz venue, located on Seventh Avenue, has been closed for several months due to a city-mandated retrofit to the building, which is nearly 100 years old. The venue is expected to expand with the retrofit, but in the meantime, Dizzy’s will host shows at the San Diego Wine & Culinary Center, located at Second Avenue and J Street on the ground floor of the Harbor Club. The first show at the temporary home, on Thursday, Nov. 15, will feature locals The Nathan Hubbard Octet and Jim Ryan’s Forward Energy from the Bay Area. www.dizzys sandiego.com.
The Modlins are proving to be quite a busy band. In addition to playing dozens of shows around town and supporting other bands, in April of this year the band released its full-length Here’s to Being Happy, which was nominated in the Best Pop Album category for the San Diego Music Awards (SDMA). Now the band has another full-length in the bag, having finished up recording and mixing in the past week. Assuming there are no issues with the pressing, With Friends Like These will be available in December, with the band performing a pair of CD-release shows. The first will be in L.A. on Dec. 13 at The Silverlake Lounge with Swim Party; their local release party will be on Dec. 14 at Whistle Stop Bar with Joanie + Secretaries. In the meantime, fans can hear two of the new tracks on the band’s MySpace page. MS/themodlins.
When Vinyl Radio split, fans were left scratching their heads. The band had developed a solid local fan base, was nominated at the SDMAs for its release A Better Time Coming and had been doing well out of town, culminating a Southwest tour with several shows in Austin at South By Southwest. Before the split, Andrew Bernhardt joined fellow former Cape May members Dusty Paul and Mark Wiskowski, Ryan Waller (The Jury) and Andrew McNally (Rookie Card) in The Swedish Models, who have steadily been building their own loyal following. Now, former Vinyl Radio frontman Matt Binder has a new project. Hotel St. George features Binder on vocals, and he’s joined by Erik Visnyak (A Week’s Worth) and scene newcomers Brian Riley and Simon Leader. The band will make its debut on Nov. 30 at The Casbah, where they’ll share the bill with The Swedish Models, Blackout Party and White Buffalo, demonstrating that there’s no love lost between the former bandmates. MS/hotelstgeorge.
One of the most avid fans of the aforementioned bands is Laura Jane, who can be seen dancing her butt off at most of their shows. Laura Jane is also a performer herself, hosting karaoke nights at Riley’s in Point Loma and the new Wit’s End in Hillcrest and singing in Vintage Vegas at Martini’s Above Fourth, also in Hillcrest, among her many other projects. Now, Laura Jane joins Andy Robillard (GoGoGo Airhart, Lady Dottie and the Diamonds), Gerry Wasson (The Georgia Satellites) and a three-piece horn section for a new project called Tell Mama that Robillard describes as “Lady Dottie, Version 2.” Keith Hilton (Vinyl Radio) will handle guitar duties during the debut show and possibly stick with the band full-time. The band’s debut will be at the Tower Bar on Dec. 15. Dancing shoes are recommended.
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