Music

Thumbnail image for From the Wrestling Mat to the Dance Floor

From the Wrestling Mat to the Dance Floor

by Judi Curry 05.23.2013 Culture

By Judi Curry

I hope that some of you remember the story about my grandson Colin and his goal to win a medal in the Nationals in wrestling and go on to Stanford on a wrestling scholarship.  Colin, you might remember, is 14 and had just placed 3rd in his division at the nationals held in Las Vegas a few weeks back.  Colin is an excellent athlete – excels in all sports he likes.

There is one other “sport” that he excels in that I want to tell you about.

When he entered the 6th grade he was told that “Ballroom Dancing” was a requirement. He was so upset that he cried and wanted to switch schools. He did not want to take the class, but since it was mandated, he had no choice.

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Thumbnail image for The Starting Line – Tinker, Tailor, Journalist, Criminal

The Starting Line – Tinker, Tailor, Journalist, Criminal

by Doug Porter 05.21.2013 Columns

Century Old Espionage Law Being Used to Reign in the Press

By Doug Porter

For as long as there’s been a central government in the United States, it’s been attempting to reign in the press.

The 1798 Alien and Sedition Act was an effort by the governing Federalist Party to criminalize criticism of Congress and the President.  President Abraham Lincoln signed numerous executive orders which made it both illegal and punishable by death to hold “correspondence with” or give “intelligence to the enemy, either directly or indirectly”.

Twentieth century presidents resorted to covert surveillance and even blackmail when they couldn’t find a handy law to keep the fourth estate in check.

The latest chapters in this ongoing saga involve search warrants that ultimately covered months of work, home and cellphone records used by almost 100 people at the Associated Press and secret court actions naming Fox News reporter James Rosen as criminal co-conspirator in an espionage case.

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Thumbnail image for The Starting Line – The President is Doomed: Darrell Issa’s Benghazasm

The Starting Line – The President is Doomed: Darrell Issa’s Benghazasm

by Doug Porter 05.08.2013 Columns

By Doug Porter

Well here it is folks. This is the day we’ve all been waiting for. Congressman Darrell Issa’s going to blow the lid off the foreign policy scandal that’s been festering for over six months now.

Representative Steve King of Iowa, perhaps best known for his comparison of immigrants and dogs, says:

“I believe that it’s a lot bigger than Watergate, and if you link Watergate and Iran-Contra together and multiply it times maybe 10 or so, you’re going to get in the zone where Benghazi is,”

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Thumbnail image for Richard Montoya’s Federal Jazz Project Hits a Strong Note for San Diego

Richard Montoya’s Federal Jazz Project Hits a Strong Note for San Diego

by Source 05.03.2013 Culture

By Victor Payan

San Diego-born playwright Richard Montoya has been on a prolific hot streak for the past several years. His expert mix of weight and whimsy have made him a favorite of local audiences, and his latest play, Federal Jazz Project, is yet another winner.  A collaboration with local jazz master Gilbert Castellanos, Federal Jazz Project delivers a verbal and musical tour de force that digs into the dark underbelly of World War II-era San Diego and provides a fascinating history tour of America’s Finest City.

Fans of local lore and lovers of great jazz should rush out to see Federal Jazz Project before it concludes its World Premiere run at the San Diego Repertory Theatre this Sunday at 2pm.

Federal Jazz Project shines on many levels and features some brilliant writing by Montoya.  Stellar live music by a Castellanos-led jazz quintet and strong performances by a capable cast round out the story of Kidd (Joe Hernandez-Kolski), an idealistic impresario, whose hopes of launching the careers of two singing and dancing sisters named San Diego and Tijuana, played Lorraine Castellanos and Claudia Gomez, are thwarted by the guardians of San Diego’s military-industrial complex.

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Thumbnail image for Desde la Logan’s Las Monthly Ondas May Edition: Cinco de Mayo is Not Mexican Independence Day

Desde la Logan’s Las Monthly Ondas May Edition: Cinco de Mayo is Not Mexican Independence Day

by Brent E. Beltrán 04.30.2013 Arts

By Brent E. Beltrán

Cinco de Mayo commemorates El Día de la Batalla de Puebla (The Day of the Battle of Puebla) where in 1862 a ragtag Mexican army lead by General Ignacio Zaragoza defeated a much superior and better equipped force of the French army. Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day. It’s not even a significant holiday in Mexico except in the state of Puebla where the battle took place.

After the great liberal Mexican president Benito Juarez decided to stop paying Mexico’s foreign debt for two years to help it’s near bankrupt national treasury France’s Napoleon III, pissed off by this move, decided to invade and build up it’s empire.

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Thumbnail image for Desde la Logan: Chicano Music Legends Join Forces to Play Adams Avenue Unplugged

Desde la Logan: Chicano Music Legends Join Forces to Play Adams Avenue Unplugged

by Brent E. Beltrán 04.23.2013 Arts

I’ve known Chunky Sanchez of Los Alacranes for at least fifteen years and worked with him on numerous occasions including organizing a fundraiser in 2007, called Musicians Helping Their Own, for local Latin jazz trumpet player Bill Caballero who was stricken with cancer and on a project in 2009 called Deportation Nation: Musical Migrations that featured a concert with Los Alacranes, Quino (of Big Mountain fame) and Son Sin Fronteras where the three groups at the end of the night jammed together on the Woody Guthrie classic Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos).

Los Alacranes and Los Lobos go way back.

As a matter of fact the first time Los Lobos played in San Diego was at the Centro Cultural de la Raza at the invitation of Chunky. And usually when the baddest band out of East LA plays a show in San Diego they give a shout out to Chunky y Los Alacranes. These two groups started out during the same era and continue to share a musical brotherhood.

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Thumbnail image for Drums Beat at the Heart of Chicano Park

Drums Beat at the Heart of Chicano Park

by Source 04.20.2013 Arts

By Olympia Andrade Beltrán

Drums pounding like a heart beat at the center of Chicano Park, Aztec dancers adorned with feathers and gourd rattles pound out their blessings for another year’s celebration with their feet. It has been this way since the beginning. The Aztec prayers are honored in the murals of the park by the founding artists who became danzantes in their own right, a resurgence of centuries old traditions born again in La Tierra Mia.

I was 13 years old when I first donned feathers on my head and rattles on my feet for the 19th Annual Chicano Park Day celebration. I nervously stood in line with other dancers, listening to stories from the elders about The Toltecas En Aztlán and the founding of Chicano Park, awaiting the sound of conch shells to tell me it was time to begin the procession. The smell of smoke and copal incense helped me to focus my thoughts and prayers and as I looked out at the cheering crowd, I raised my head high with a sense of pride, humility and honor.

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Thumbnail image for Jam Sessions with Bill Caballero at Barrio Logan’s Voz Alta

Jam Sessions with Bill Caballero at Barrio Logan’s Voz Alta

by Source 04.11.2013 Culture

by Bob Dorn

“At my jam everyone’s equal; nobody’s better than anybody else.”

What Bill Caballero is really saying is that the floor at Voz Alta Project in Barrio Logan is open to the worst players in San Diego, even if only for a moment. And, so long as they learn from their failures they’ll almost certainly win a few more choruses with the house band if they have the nerve to try and catch Caballero’s eye the next time they come to the jam.

No more than 1000 square feet of space within the building at 1754 National Ave., Voz Alta is where some of San Diego’s best musicians might drop by to sit in with the house band Caballero leads every Thursday night. It costs nothing to get in (tips are appreciated), though musicians often have to leave their pride behind at the doorway. The house band (which sometimes includes local music journeymen Kiko Cornejo Sr. and his son Kiko Jr. on timbales/percussion, Andy Esparza on bass, Ignacio Arango on guitar, Paul Lopez on congas/percussion and others) minus leader Caballero get a part of the tip jar; the hackers and nobodies must await their turn in the appropriate agony of anticipation.

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Thumbnail image for The Starting Line – Coachella Hipsters Won’t Be Shot, Yet. Guantanamo ‘Party’ to be Renamed

The Starting Line – Coachella Hipsters Won’t Be Shot, Yet. Guantanamo ‘Party’ to be Renamed

by Doug Porter 04.09.2013 Columns

By Doug Porter

For those of you who are terminally uncool, the next two weekends are the time of year when tens of thousands of (mostly) otherwise sane people take to the desert for a time out to enjoy the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Annual Festival.

The Indio, California shindig features music from a variety of genres playing from stages located throughout the Empire Polo Club. People have been known to get stoned and occasionally naked, but the real reason to go is to say you’ve been there, done that. It’s cooler than a tramp stamp.

Lots of auxiliary (not officially sanctioned) events occur because the crowd is large and mostly affluent. One of them caught my attention yesterday, and it really rattled my cage. Some fashionistas have decided that it would be appro to throw a Gitmo themed party, I guess because human rights violations and torture are such ‘groovy’ ideas. This is stupider than stupid.

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Thumbnail image for San Diego Concert Band: Band About Town

San Diego Concert Band: Band About Town

by Source 04.08.2013 Culture

by Bruce Rainey

April 14, 2013 Concert: 4 p.m. Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center 6845 University Ave, San Diego, CA 92115

Community Bands have been an enduring part of Americana. The San Diego Concert Band proudly continues that tradition. Based in East County, we serve San Diego and neighboring counties, and have acted as cultural ambassadors in performances overseas.

Originally founded as the La Mesa Community Band in 1989 by Charles D. Yates and Warren Toms, the San Diego Concert Band continues to provide the best in concert band music to audiences in San Diego and abroad. Celebrating almost two and a half decades of entertaining San Diego residents, this band has an exciting schedule of concerts planned this year.

Over the years, the annual spring and Winter concerts have been performed throughout the county, including East County Performing Arts Center, the beautiful setting of Point Loma Nazarene University and the Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center.

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Thumbnail image for The Starting Line – San Diego’s ‘Drone Zone’ Attracts National Protests

The Starting Line – San Diego’s ‘Drone Zone’ Attracts National Protests

by Doug Porter 03.28.2013 Columns

For many months now San Diego Veterans for Peace have been staging a weekly vigil outside the General Atomics plant in southeasternPoway. It’s a difficult place to protest, parking is very limited, the elements can be harsh and some locals have been hostile.

None-the-less, the group shows up every Thursday afternoon. They stand by the side of the road holding signs reminding passers-by that drones are indeed weapons of war and not just some abstract toy the military plays with. The Vets for Peace say they’ve been surprised at how supportive people who working in the nearby plant have been.

It’s certainly not the flashiest demonstration; there are no celebrities, no acts of civil disobedience and news coverage is a rarity. But, like the drip-drip-drip of a leaking roof, the cumulative effect of the Vets for Peace presence is starting to be felt.

Today (3:30pm, Scripps Poway Parkway and General Atomics Way) there will be a TV crew from PBS, getting advance footage for next weeks’ national-wide April Anti-Drone Days of Action.

Next Wednesday (April 3) a nation-wide coalition of anti-war and privacy groups will kick off a month long series of protests with a rally in New York, followed by three days of protest outside the facilities of companies that make drones, including the local General Atomics facility, which makes Predator and Reaper drones.

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Thumbnail image for SDSU Grad’s Sundance Film “I Am Not A Hipster” Returns to North Park April 5-11

SDSU Grad’s Sundance Film “I Am Not A Hipster” Returns to North Park April 5-11

by Source 03.27.2013 Culture

By Victor Payan

It takes exactly 42 seconds to realize that Destin Daniel Cretton’s standout debut feature, I Am Not a Hipster, is a San Diego film.  That’s when the Casbah’s iconic black upholstered backdrop comes into view.  It’s also when you realize that the music is going to be good, and the film is not going to be about hipsters.

Set in and around the vibrant North Park indie music and art scene, I Am Not a Hipster is scheduled to return to its home community for a week of screenings April 5-11 at the Media Arts Center San Diego’s new Digital Gym Cinema, located at 2921 El Cajon Blvd.

This heartfelt feature, which premiered to capacity screenings at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, tells the story of singer-songwriter Brook Hyde, an Ohio transplant who has developed a loyal following in the San Diego music scene.

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Thumbnail image for The Starting Line – Much Ado About Something? Opposition Research Dressed Up as Journalism Or Journalism to Control the Narrative?

The Starting Line – Much Ado About Something? Opposition Research Dressed Up as Journalism Or Journalism to Control the Narrative?

by Doug Porter 03.25.2013 Business

Carl DeMaio’s back in the news just months after losing San Diego’s Mayoral election. The UT-San Diego ran with a front page banner headline and the hot button sub heads using words like ‘secret project’, ‘financiers’, and ‘legality unclear’. The gist of the story is that DeMaio was the focus of a failed effort by his political enemies to dig up ‘dirt’ under the guise of a journalistic enterprise.

The cast of characters aligned against the then-mayoral candidate includes a downtown developer with a personal dislike for DeMaio, an aide to former Mayor Jerry Sanders, and several individuals ‘aligned with’ the candidacy of Republican-turned-Independent Nathan Fletcher. Additional funding came from a Native American casino and the Firefighters union.

This project was active in the early months of 2012, as a crowded primary campaign was underway for the top spot in San Diego. The contest got very ugly, replete with nasty TV advertising campaigns, charges and counter-charges. Carl DeMaio and Bob Filner emerged as victors. By then the project was dead.

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Thumbnail image for North Park’s Seven Grand and All That Jazz

North Park’s Seven Grand and All That Jazz

by Ernie McCray 03.01.2013 Columns

I love me some jazz. I love all music actually: Patsy Cline is one of my favorite singers of all time; Symphony soothes my mind; R & B practically raised me; Marian Anderson is a hero to me; Corridos stir my soul; I can’t get enough of that Rock and Roll and I have danced in a park to Blue Grass. But I love me some jazz.

And speaking of jazz, the other night I caught some nice sounds at a new place in town. Seven Grand Whiskey Bar in North Park. 3054 University Avenue to be exact.

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Thumbnail image for Desde la Logan presents March’s Las Monthly Ondas featuring: Art of Body : Body of Art – 6th Annual Día de la Mujer Exhibition at The Front

Desde la Logan presents March’s Las Monthly Ondas featuring: Art of Body : Body of Art – 6th Annual Día de la Mujer Exhibition at The Front

by Brent E. Beltrán 03.01.2013 Arts

By Brent E. Beltrán

Every March 8 throughout the world women and their male allies come together to celebrate International Women’s Day. For the sixth straight year the dedicated, hard working people at Casa Familiar’s The Front will organize an art exhibition and night of culture to honor and celebrate the artistic contributions of females in the San Diego/Tijuana border region.

As a member of the Red CalacArts Collective I had the honor of playing a minor role in The Front’s first women’s celebration. Now, as a writer, I am equally honored to help spread the word about this beautiful, annual event. Recently, I had the privilege to communicate with Leticia Gomez Franco, The Front’s Gallery and Exhibitions Director. She broke down the reason why art spaces like The Front are necessary, why it is important to celebrate día de la mujer internacional, what the local San Ysidro reaction to The Front’s work is and what makes their event so successful.

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Thumbnail image for A New “When Sunny Gets Blue”

A New “When Sunny Gets Blue”

by Ernie McCray 02.08.2013 Columns

I like days like today, days when you find yourself in a nice groove, where your every move is smooth, where you walk whistling with a cup of coffee from the Deli to your home and turn the radio on and sounds come out to where you are and take the already mellow mood you’re in to another place, another dimension.

I mean Jazz 88.3 was pouring out some lyrics in my living room that stopped me in my tracks: “When Sunny gets blue, she breathes a sigh of sadness” and it was sounding so good I couldn’t feel anything but gladness. One of my all time favorite songs; I’ve heard it most of my life by some of the greats. Johnny Mathis did it sweetly with strings. Sarah did it sassy the way she did everything. Anita O’Day swung it in her inimitable sultry way. Barbra did it. Nat did it. Mel Torme.

It was Steph Johnson hanging out with Claudia Russell on the Jazz Ride Home – and, oh, she sang the hell out of that song.

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Thumbnail image for Desde la Logan: Las Monthly Ondas February Edition featuring The HeART of Loteria

Desde la Logan: Las Monthly Ondas February Edition featuring The HeART of Loteria

by Brent E. Beltrán 02.01.2013 Activism

If you’re of Mexican descent then at some point in your life you have probably played the ubiquitous game Loteria. For those who are not Mexican Loteria is somewhat similar to Bingo except you use numbered playing cards with iconic images on them such as La Calavera, El Borracho, El Catrín, La Luna, El Diablito, La Muerte and many others instead of numbered balls.

Ruben Torres, who I wrote about in a previous column called Love Thy Neighbor. It’s Not About Charity, It’s About Humanity, has teamed up with a collective of creative Southern Cali folks to curate a massive art exhibit, to be held at the Centro Cultural de la Raza, called The HeART of Loteria.

Ruben told me that “the opening reception is meant to celebrate a family tradition through art, performance, food and Loteria game play. It is meant to be an experience that is rich with Loteria inspired imagery and art. There will be about 200 art pieces that will be featured, created by artists from all walks of life. There will be two main experiences – inside and outside.

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Thumbnail image for The Starting Line – 24 Things San Diegans Can Do to Honor the Memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Starting Line – 24 Things San Diegans Can Do to Honor the Memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

by Doug Porter 01.17.2013 Activism

“The time is always right to do what’s right.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

It has been twenty seven years since the first federal holiday marking the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King was observed. Like all good things, establishment of this commemorative day didn’t come without a serious effort. It wasn’t officially observed in all 50 states until 2000.

The movement for a holiday honoring Dr. King began as a union demand in contract negotiations. Congressman John Conyers introduced a bill four days after the assassination in 1968 to make the slain leader’s birthday a national holiday.

The bill would likely have died in committee, and stayed buried, had it not been for thousands of working-class Americans–most of them black, but also white, Asian and Latino–who risked their jobs over the next fifteen years to demand the right to honor a man they viewed as a working-class hero.

For those of us lucky enough to be able to celebrate holidays, this coming weekend is (or should be) different. I’ve combed through local listings in an attempt to create a comprehensive and easy to use guide for people who wish to honor the memory of Dr. King through community service and celebrations. There are activities listed here for people spanning all levels of physical ability, age and political persuasion. You can sign up for many of them with a mere click of the mouse.

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Thumbnail image for Desde la Logan: January Happenings in Barrio Logan and Beyond

Desde la Logan: January Happenings in Barrio Logan and Beyond

by Brent E. Beltrán 01.11.2013 Activism

Sometimes I take for granted the things that are happening in my barrio and the surrounding areas. I consider myself lucky to live in a community that cherishes culture in all it’s varied forms. I have Chicano Park, The Roots Factory, The Spot Barrio Logan and The Voz Alta Project all within two blocks of my apartment. My community is a living creature, alive and vibrant, with culture oozing out of it’s streets and alleys like sweat from a worker’s brow. For the most part I know what is going on around here.

Because I usually know the haps in Logan I sometimes fail to realize that others may not know what’s going on. Therefore as a service to not only my community but also the greater San Diego community at large I will regularly compile a list of cultural and activism related events that will be taking place. This list will not only feature events taking place in Barrio Logan and the rest of the Historic Barrio District but events elsewhere in San Diego that I think readers of this column and San Diego Free Press should consider attending. Most will be hosted by the places I normally frequent (and places I should frequent normally) and many will be related to Chicanismo, Native issues, lefty causes and other stuff that I’m down for. Please support these grassroots cultural happenings, spaces and organizations by attending their events and, if so inclined, throw a few bucks their way.

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Thumbnail image for 12/30: Live Music and Art at The Casbah Features an Eclectic Mixture of Styles, Genres and Perspectives

12/30: Live Music and Art at The Casbah Features an Eclectic Mixture of Styles, Genres and Perspectives

by Source 12.28.2012 Arts

by Brigitte Taylor/SuiteBrigitte.blogspot.com

Local artists Martin Nasim, True Delorenzo and Nick Bahula will be displaying art and painting live as part of the December 30, 2012 Casbah show with the following bands: The Amalgamated, Karlos Paez of B*Side Players, The Soulfires and Steve Harris of The Styletones. Tickets are on sale at www.casbahmusic.com. Doors open at 8:30 p.m.

The show will begin with Steve Harris of The Styletones performing his original soul music followed by instrumental funk band The Soulfires (formerly The Fireeaters) and continuing with the local ska act, The Amalgamated. Karlos Paez, lead singer of the B*Side Players will perform with special guests. We rarely see a configuration of musicians and artists of such varying styles and genres. The following local area artists will accompany the bands’ performances, displaying and selling their artwork:

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