Back Issue

MyWeek In Music Jan 10th thru 17th
by Scott Zensen

Photographs by:
Scott Zensen
Steve Covault

First off I want to apologize for all the mistakes and problems with the last post. But let me explain why it’s happening. MySpace wants its members to alter their profile page. They have set up that page to be extensively changed to suit the individual. But the blog section is not set up like that! They give you a section to do a small amount of customization. But nothing on the same order as you profile. You have very little control of what you get. When you upload your blog they give you a tiny window that you cannot possibly see how it will look, but you can use HTML code. But it is a generator and generators have a tendency to change stuff it perceives it needs to change to work in the blog.

Once you ask for a preview before posting it is never what it will look like because the formatting they do allow on their customization page isn’t applied yet! So if it looks good half the time it still won’t in the final output. There is no way to anticipate what the generator will do. Why am I telling you this? Well to give you all a blog that looks like a newsletter or magazine takes a lot of Html code and CSS. When the generator gets a hold of it, it adds its own codes to the code you already have. Sometimes it works fine and sometimes I have to continually tweak it to make it look right. That is why if you are on when I first upload it. It may change or you get notified more than once that there is a new blog posting. This can’t be helped unfortunately. I am working within MySpace’s boundaries. Last week was the worst time I have ever had with the generator. It kept adding erroneous code that changed everything and generally whacked out the page. Colors changed to odd colors and codes dropped out so that formatting was way screwy.

I am going to continue to fight with the generator for now but I wanted to let you know why things are screwed up. Last week I even lost a whole section in the near horizon section. What happened to Sunday? Well in my code its still there but the generator kept popping it out but I was dealing with so many other major problems I didn’t notice it till way to late. I tell you this because I want to prepare you that within the next couple of month (maybe sooner if more problems pop up) I may be taking MyWeek and making a website of it on my own, out of MySpace. But I will leave a link and I will try to make it appear like it is still on MySpace like a separate part of it. But I have to check out the logistics and get some help with code I am not as familiar with. That will take time! But be prepared! Well on with MyWeek In Music!

So here are a few things I thought you should know first! This might be the final time you will see SweetTooth in its current configuration. They are losing one of their band mates and it will soon be time for a little reconstruction. Also Matt Silvia's Brothers are in town, so if you make it to one of the shows this week you will be treated with a rare apperance of all three Silvia Brother's onstage together. It Should be fun! O'Connell's -- 1310 Morena Blvd San Diego, CA. Or at the Boat and Ski Club. More details in the Shows near the Horizon section below! Also, there will soon be some other changes in some other bands that I talk about a lot here. So be prepared for that too! But change is fun!

Wednesday: I didn't start my week out well and the rest of the week went kind of crappy because of it but I never made it to anything on Wednesday!

Thursday: I went to the house of blues for the Noches Rockeras show. It was also Lee Coulter’s CD Release party. But it wasn’t my favorite show of the week. If Lee had been left more time to play then it would have redeemed the night for me. But there were some good highlights! The night started out for me hanging out in Salvation Alley. Which is the main bar for the restaurant. They have a little section of it cordoned off as a small stage. But this was a good thing! A favorite performer from around town does a show from 6-9pm every Thursday. His name is Chris Torres and if you were lucky enough to get to the last Acoustic Alliance then you would have heard some of his music.

He calls his band the Chris Torres Acoustic Trio and is accompanied by a Dave Meade/pecussion and Nicole Peters/vocals. Chris does do some of his original songs and sells his CD their but he does covers for the crowd at HOB like tunes by Neil Young, Jeff Buckley, Nekko Case, Bil Withers, Tom Petty, Ryan Adams, Ritchie Havens. It’s a pretty good show and it was a godsend for an abysmal evening. Most of the night’s problems stem from the venue itself. Instead of calling it the House of Blues it should be called the House of Rules. There are so many rules for patron and artist alike it can be disconcerting. But I won’t get into that here. Maybe later when I do a report on Venues. Another problem of the night was sound and sound volume. I have been here before and have seen Citizen band and a few other favorites. So I know the sound can be done well. But it was just too loud and the venue is not that big. It has stacks like most outside concerts done in ballparks or other large venues. It’s just not needed for so small a place.

The evening started with the antics of Mono Mono who threw balloons and balloon animals or toilet paper off the stage while he sang and danced to original tunes he wrote and sings mostly in Spanish. He can be very entertaining. One section of his show he brought out another friend of mine, named Sweet Joyce Ann who normally sings her own songs. She writes very good songs. But tonight we were treated to an interpretive dance while Jefferey Berringer (Mono Mono) played one of his tunes on a guitar. He was very accommodating during the dance letting Joyce get the attention. He is a great guy but he does like to be in the limelight. The rest of the evening he went around the crowd wearing a sequined Uncle Sam suit with four inch sequined silver platform shoes. He is really quite a fun fellow and a good friend!

The next performer was a band I had heard before named Blizzard. Don’t remember where I heard them though. Maybe it was only on MySpace. A lot of bands ask to be my friend and I go to their site to listen to their music. I add them anyway but its fun to listen to stuff on MySpace. They were pretty good live but again to be truthful it was hard to tell because of the sound problems. Some of us who are regulars in the San Diego Music Scene (those of us in the Scene) were waiting patiently for Lee to play but there were a lot of bands. Next came Qish a Smashing Pumpkins Tribute band. During their set a lot of non-Pumpkin fans left. To tell the truth they were not my favorite set even though Smashing Pumpkins are one of my favorite corporate bands. Next came a band called the Monte Cristos’ a large Latin band with horns and over a dozen musicians. They had a lot of energy but that kind of Latin sound isn’t a fav either. Besides part of it could be that many of us who hang out in the San Diego Music Scene were waiting all night for Lee Coulter to play and we had to sit for several hours just to see him. But it was suppose to be his CD Release party.

Once Lee was able to take stage we all became a little happier till we found out the House of Rules had decided that it was time to close and Lee barely had time to do about 4 songs! It was a little disappointing after waiting all night to here him play and hoping it was a blast for him as many CD Release party’s are! The time Lee did have was great. He sounded really good and it was the only set where the sound wasn’t totally distorted. He was great for what its worth. I guess I will just have to go see him again soon!

Friday: I went to Kirin Sushi to hear Brooklyn play. Allegra was supposed to play as well but she didn’t make it. The show was good but everything seemed to be a little quieter. I sat with Barbara Nesbitt and Ken Rahn for the first set and by then several more people showed up to listen to Brooklyn and talk between ourselves. Later after everyone ate we decided to go to the Boat & Ski to listen to The Bigfellas. The boat & Ski is always a fun place to go and The Bigfellas are a fun band to listen to! The boat & Ski can easily turn into more than just listening to good music. There are a lot of people who showed up to let there hair down and listen to other bands play while they socialize and talk. If you get here early enough, most Fridays the Boat & Ski will serve steak and all the trimmings for $10 bucks. You have to grill the steak (sometimes giant Pork Chops) yourself. But that is part of the fun and charm of the Boat & Ski Club. So if you happen to see a gig happening at the Boat & Ski next time. Be sure to come on down, everyone is very friendly and you will have a great time in the process!

Saturday: I went to see Deadline Friday at Winston’s in O.B. The line up was supposed to be with Wise Monkey a band that has been around for about 11 years. But they cancelled and deadline was forced to find a quick replacement for the show. That replacement was a band called Shoestring Strap. Now the style of country they play is really not my cup of tea, but you could tell this was a really good band. Very well accomplished musicians. Just a little twangier that I tend to like in my country. I guess I like Country Rock or Americana better! Because I can’t truthfully say I don’t like country anymore or else some of my favorite singer/ songwriters would be out a fan!

That leaves us with Deadline Friday! The first few times I went to a show and Deadline Friday was playing. I always seemed to miss their set or had to leave early. When I finally heard them I was a fan from there on, but just when I thought I had heard them at their best. They come out with a new CD and sound even better. This night was so far the best evening of music I had listened to all week. (not offense to any and all bands that I saw this week) But hey can you argue? Deadline Friday kicks ass all the way to the moon baby! Tonight was especially good because Bill Coomes parents were in town. So first off you know the stops were going to be pulled out. But to top it, bill’s dad has been playing Saxophone for like 30 yr.’s and they invited him onstage to play with them the whole night and he wails on that ax. Deadline is a rock act but they have their moments of a little soul that shines through. Tonight we heard a little jazzier feel but it was great! I don’t think anyone that was there wasn’t impressed with the music they got this night! There was even one time when they pulled Barbara Nesbitt on stage to perform one of her songs. They did a fantastic job of playing her music because Barbara didn’t have her guitar with her. But it wouldn’t be hard for them since two of Deadline Friday are also in Barbara’s band. The rest of the night was just one great song after another. Tonight was supposed to be their CD release but something must have held it up. That happens sometimes. But I can’t wait! I hope I have some money when it does release, and I hope you buy one too!

Sunday: I never made it out on Sunday. Charlie of The Bigfellas made a comment this week saying he couldn’t believe I got out to 7 to 10 shows a week. He thought it was awesome. But I have a hard time making that many shows. If I was independently rich and had a car it would be easy and I would actually go to more if I could! I didn’t make it to that many shows this week because on Saturday I went to an after party at a friend’s house and didn’t leave until 5:30. I wasn’t drunk when I left but I guess walking circulated my blood and it took me an hour and 45 minutes to get home for a 45-minute walk. And I thought all along, I was doing great time! So I guess I was drunk after all! LOL

Monday: I was heading out to go see Astra at Dublin’s, but it seems some Mondays I just can’t get my ass in gear. I was running late. Then the SDG&E guy showed up! (they have been doing a lot of work on our street lately) It was after 5 but he wanted to shut off the gas for some reason to the apartments and so that delayed dinner. By the time he was done and I ate. Well I didn’t feel like going out anymore! Maybe next week!

Tuesday: Which brings me to Kiss Me Tuesday! It had an ambitious night lined up. There were some favorites who were going to play but quite a few new (to me) people for me to listen to! The evening got a real late start because there is a trivia contest that happens on Tuesday’s at Winston’s. I don’t know if it’s every week. But I got the feeling that it had happen before. So the show started almost an hour late and a lot of performers had not shown up yet anyway! Sheila Sondergard was up first and she was up and done before you knew it. I really didn’t get to hear her play much because I was still waiting on friends because I had their tickets. Next up was Edub Poet, which I only heard a little of and they were ok. After him was Jordan Loder who was pretty good. Next was Julie James who played us three of her best tunes. Jefferson Jay was a no show because he has an open mic on Tuesday’s at Portugalia. But he did stop by afterwards towards the end of the night. Don’t think he played but I left a little before the evening was done catching a ride from a friend.

The night really started to pick up when a guy named Shea Stratton got up on stage and his nice and clear strong voice got the crowd excited for more. So far this evening he was the most popular of the bunch. But then the big guns started to roll in. Kelley Winston Lee came up next and he was ok but we were all anticipating some of the people who we had seen show up to do their sets. Laura Keubel was one and she was up next and she really got people ready for some great sounds with her music. Barbara Nesbitt was up next and she dragged Bill Coomes and Mike Spurgat up on stage with her sans their instrument for a little harmony. Turnabout is fair play after all look at Saturday! Barbara was great! Next up was Chuck Schiele really got the crowd going! Dancing Bob a regular in the OB Scene was there to show us what good shape he’s in! Lots of people got up and danced to the last couple of tunes! After Chuck I am a little week on who went up next. I think it was Mike Pinto but I am not sure? I know one of the belly dancers got on the floor! But they really got going on the next act which was a group called South West Nomadic who was a great band. Some of us were not sure they were going to be that good but they were and the guy who played the violin was great! It was another great night of music. I know that there may have been more acts coming up kind of spur of the moment and there was still the belly dancers but this was when we decided to leave so I will have to leave the Belly Dancers up to your imagination?! Well that’s all for this week, but there will be a lot of great music next week for sure!
'Til then I'm Out!

Ciao