The San Diego music sceene is the best anywhere!!! Hands down, in my opinion!
If your reading this and your not living in San Diego then you won't necessarily get this, if you are maybe you know what I am talking about? If you don't and you live here then shame on you! If you don't live in San Diego then here is a reason for visiting and maybe staying. That was the case for me!
I moved to San Diego in 1979, I floundered around went to college here and got mixed up in the drug scene and then cleaned myself up, met a girl got married and moved to Oregon for a healthier life for my kids away from major drug cultures that were here in the 80's. After 14 yrs there and several college degrees I moved back to Cali but in L.A. and then my marriage ended. My kids were going to live in San Diego near all the rest of the family so I came down here to be with family and my kids. But alas my kids are on their own now and don't have as much time for Dad. Thats ok! They have their own lives to live now.
So in the intervening time I have floundered around San Diego. It has changed a lot in its appearence and is or was concidered America's finest city but I wasn't feeling it! Except for my kids I hated it here. I just could not get a toe hold on any kind of rewarding life for me here! Then I became homeless which just made me hate it more! But that was my fault not San Diego's. Then I got sick and my family got me off the streets but still after I recovered I still ended up doing everything by myself just floundering around. Till I met a young lady from a movie club and she introduced me to the music scene here in San Diego.
Since then I have seen a San Diego I have never seen before...one I like. Which has givin me new respect for the city in whole. The problem was basically myself. I just had to make a connection to people and start making friends but I was really inexperienced at that. Thank god for all the musicians I have met since I first started going to gigs around town. I have always had an affinity towards Ocean Beach where I lived in my 20's and many of my new friends live in the vicinity or in Normal Heights another place I used to live way back when. For months now I have been going to as many things I could afford to go to and thank god for Cathryn Beeks for that, because many of the shows she promotes or sets up are with no cover! But the real magic for me here was not how good the music is and it is really rich in that respect but it is the way the music community seems to accept me and show geniune friendship. Some of this is due to the advent of MySpace. But that doesn't change how nice these people are. Sure you know they are going to be friendly to people who are fans because they are looking for noteriety, fame and a fan base. But many of them are just plain nice and not afraid to make friends with people they see several times a week. That doesn't mean they are gonna camp out at my door begging me to go do something with them.
But I came from growing up in L.A. County and I have met a lot of actors and musicians in a social setting and by now I can tell the ones who are being phony and which ones are sincere. So besides their friendliness we come to the fact that there are so many really really talented musicians here, that I have never been to any show or gig that didn't just wow me! It doesn't matter what kind of music it is? If your a person who likes to put a label on musical styles or just come out to listen to whatever is out there. I am no expert but with so many talented peole in one place I expect there to be a music scene explosion based in San Diego like there was in Seattle a few years ago. Some of these people are ready to break out now. In the last month we've seen Julie Mack on a CBS morning show nationally and now Big Toe is possibly stepping up to the plate for the national treatment on NBC. Many people like The Grams and The Cathryn Beeks Ordeal should be concidered national treasures and household names right now! Why these guys are not on world tours and accepting grammy's are beyond me, they are that talented, and I am just skimmming the barrel.
Just on the horizon I expect to see Sweettooth and Barbara Nesbitt wowing more people once their new CD's are recorded, and there are so many more! So if you haven't heard any of these people then take a look at my friends section and go to their pages and listen to their music they have for samples there. But remember, how they sound on MySpace is not a real indication of how good they really are! To find that out you have to go to some of the shows! Go to their myspace pages find out where they are playing or click on a link to their official site and buy a cd. I love music and I like commercial bands too! But right now I am only buying the cd's that my local music scene is producing because I want to support them in their endevours and and they are that good! They deserve it! If your the kind of person who isn't very good at scouting these gigs out then go to my friend Jessica's MySpace site and get a weekly overview of what's happening where and when in the music scene aroound town. She gets most of them in her report there and once you get out there start askiing questions. Or just stop by on Wednesdays in OB to hear live performances at the Farmers market. They really do want to see you guys out there. I am sure new faces really gets them pumped up to play. The more the merrier! Hope to see more of you out there! Well I'm out!
Ciao
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