Reports from the scene

Photo by James Norton.

At Holiday Matinee’s book-release party at Bar Basic last Thursday, there were signs all over the Downtown pizza place with cleverisms like, “If you see anything interesting please let someone know immediately.” Um, yeah (hand raised). Ohh, ohh, ohh, pick me!

Locals Only

This past week brought a storm of breakup and new-bands news, some involving duplicate cast members.
Although they have live dates scheduled through April, rumors of electro-rockers / DJ duo Shark Attack’s split were confirmed by member Patrick Heaney. “I was tired of making electro music,” he says, adding that there was also tension between him and partner Mike Delgado. “Plus, I think DJing is super lame and I’d rather play in a band I’d enjoy listening to.”

Aaron Blomberg played guitar and sang in the live incarnation of Shark Attack, but he may be working on a project with Jon Piotrowski called Dr. Popsicle, along with The Gift / Curse drummer Danny King. Best known as frontman for Demasiado, Piotrowski started Dr. Popsicle as a solo project and recently returned to it after the implosion of his electro side project, Cats from Japan. He plans to debut some of the new material on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at Che Café.

Dustin Illingworth may have recently put indie-popsters Gray Ghosts on indefinite hiatus, but he’s already hard at work on a new project with Keith Milgaten (Jamuel Saxon, Black Mamba, etc.) that he describes as an “electronic pop project” called DNK.

“The songs are rooted in nostalgic ’90s pop for me, but after Keith gets done deconstructing my guitar arrangements, they are turned into Of Montreal-esque dance-pop songs,” Illingworth says in an e-mail. “It is an interesting and unsettling process but I love working with Keith because he is a talented dude and I trust his production choices.”

Atoms haven’t broken up, but they have changed their name and revamped their punk sound for a new group called The Watusis. The group is composed of the same four members, but the sound is more grounded in melodic garage-rock. The band will make its live debut at The Casbah opening for The Adolescents and Youth Brigade on Friday, Feb. 26.

Finally, Dragons bassist Steve Rodriguez will debut his new band Red Tiger at Bar Pink on Friday, Feb. 26, along with drummer Matty Yansch (Fluf, Jalopy) and guitarist Mike Ashley (Tornado Magnet).

“The sound is still forming, and we are not opposed to any avenues,” Rodriguez says. “But, so far, it’s leaning towards a guitar-driven rock ’n’ roll sound à la Big Star, The Replacements and Dinosaur Jr.”

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Some benefit shows of note: Jehova’s Fitness, David & Me, Trashcan Fires and three other bands will play a Books For Prisoners charity show on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at Che Café. Admission is $5 or three books. Latin jazz legend Jack “Mr. Bongo” Costanzo and an orchestra featuring trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos and guitarist Jose Molina Serrano will headline a benefit / tribute concert on Sunday, Feb. 28, at The Sunset Temple (3911 Kansas St. in North Park) to help raise money for timbalero / vibist Kiko Cornejo and bassist Andy Esparza of the jazz band Storm. Both have dealt with personal and family health scares recently and proceeds will help with that. Lastly, electro groups like Gaux Nu Vaux, Inspired Flight and Illuminauts, as well as DJ Saul Q, will play a benefit show for Haiti relief at U-31 on Wednesday, March 3 (full disclosure: I’m helping coordinate this show).

—Seth Combs

The Enrique Experience

I usually shy away from hotel bars, with their stale, cookie-cutter interiors and their convention-badge-wearing patrons. But make it a motel bar that overlooks a no-lifeguard-on-duty pool, and throw in a nautical theme, and I’m in dive heaven. Located on the second floor of Point Loma’s 80-room Ramada Limited, the sui generis Captain’s Quarters (1403 Rosecrans St.) serves up the hooch to landlubbers and seamen alike. It’s a lively spot where, on any given night, you might commiserate with fishermen, Navy submarine specialists and pirates—both of the Johnny Depp and Somali inclinations.

Parked in the spot closest to the tandem lobby / bar entrance, a shady Ram 1500 van—the kind favored by pedophiles and members of tribute bands—rocking a breast-cancer awareness sticker that read “Pole Dancers for a Cure,” set the mood. Up the stairs, a sign warns “No dogs are allowed on deck,” though judging by looks alone, it’s seemingly ignored by the slew of grizzly female patrons that call “Cappy’s” their home away from floating home.

Inside, the air is salty, the hunter-green carpet is worn and a dusty ham radio rests by the cash register. The Winter Olympics played, muted, on a flat screen, much to bartender Michelle’s indifference. “I’m a doer, not a watcher,” the bar wench explained as she prepared one of her special string-bean-topped Bloody Mary’s, which one bargoer described as “a salad bar on ice.”

The veteran barmaid then shared a slew of anecdotes that would make a sailor blush, including some starring CityBeat’s own Edwin Decker, whom she bartended with at Winston’s many moons ago—heroic tales like when Decker broke up a fight that had caused a bargoer to lose an eye. As for any embarrassing moments experienced by the “Sordid Tales” scribe—the kind that would allow me to gleefully razz him at the next office party—Michelle paused for a good second, laughed to herself and asked: “How much time you got?”

Game on, Ed.

—Enrique Limón

View from a Stool

Ask anyone who was there: Missing Ron Silva and the Monarchs at the Tower Bar last Friday was a mistake.
Like every Monarchs show, it was a frenzy of sweat, beer, spine-tingling mid-century R&B and unhinged enthusiasm. Catching Silva, the legendary San Diegan of Crawdaddys fame, live (a rarity now that he no longer resides in his native town) is as fun for witnessing people hear him for the first time as it is to hear him yourself: Is that powerful, black-sounding voice really coming out of that guy?

Silva is that rare white dude with a whole lot of soul. Not many come to mind as antecedents: Long John Baldry? Doug Sahm? It seems more useful to skip straight back to the African-American R&B singers of the 1950s and ’60s who clearly inspire him: Chuck Berry, Arthur Alexander, Lee Dorsey, Otis Redding, etc.

The Tower show delivered raw but tight versions of the type of gems Silva likes to dig up and share, like Earl King’s “Come on (Let the Good Times Roll)” and Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions’ “That Rhythm”—you know, music with real feeling that puts a smile on everybody’s face and makes even the most jaded wallflower shake his moneymaker.

The Monarchs played with passion, taste and dynamics: Nick Rossi, guitar and vocals; Tom Ward, bass and vocals; Ben Wayne, drums; and David Kellerman, piano. Last time down from San Francisco, they brought L.A. tenor player Bill Ungerman along; he was missed, but they still kicked ass.

I saw a Mexican rockabilly couple slow-dancing to an Otis Redding ballad, old bikers grooving with skinny hipsters to a Bo Diddley beat: For three hours, the troubles of 50 people in a crowded little bar were rocked ’n’ rolled into irrelevance.

—D.A. Kolodenko