Monday, November 27, 2017

Things To Do In San Diego: Monday, November 27-Sunday, November 3, 2017

You get another kitten picture this week. Nova was gone last week, and it was sad for her to be gone, but I took advantage of the time to clean and have some nights out with Darren, and to get organized. Winter nesting, if you will. We loved Jenny & The Mexicats on Monday, and I had a pretty good time at Booty Bassment on Wednesday, too. We spent Thanksgiving with my family in Chula Vista, then had my nieces spend the night so they would be here when Nova got home. Friday the girls had a blast just catching up and hanging out. On Saturday we attempted to go to the Paradise Hills Night Market but parking was insane so instead dropped into the Vinyl Junkies Record Shack for a bit. The store looks amazing and we saw a dozen or so friends while we were there. I've been struggling with normal sleep lately, perhaps because of the new kitty who wants to play from midnight to 4am, but I have been exploring all of our streaming subscriptions. If you haven't watched the second season of One Mississippi yet, you must get on that. Don't forget about my Holiday Guide (use the tabs at the top of the page), and normal weekly listings are after the jump.

Thursday, November 23, 2017

Friday & Saturday: Vinyl Junkies Record Shack Grand Opening!

In case you hadn't heard, the Vinyl Junkies Record Shack is opening this weekend! After you've recovered from your holiday hangover on Friday and Saturday, get to South Park to join in on the festivities and pick up so new/old vinyl while you're there!! They'll be open from 10am-10pm both days. The shop is located at 2235 Fern, directly across the street from the Whistle Stop.

Monday, November 20, 2017

Things To Do In San Diego: Monday, November 20-Sunday, November 26, 2017


Fall is in the air despite the fact that it's supposed to be like 87 degrees this Thanksgiving. Things are definitely slowing down around here. Last week, we hit the zoo, I shot at the Gary Numan show, and we got to see Speedy Ortiz and Tera Melos at the Casbah on Thursday. We closed out our soccer season with a tough loss, but Nova made All-Stars again, so she'll be doing that when she returns from her Thanksgiving trip to St Louis. If you've followed my social media posts, you also know we took advantage of waived adoption fees at the Animal Shelter last week and adopted a new kitteh this weekend. Little Strawberry to go with our Kiwi (who is none too thrilled about her presence so far). We're trying to get them all acclimated to each other, and hopefully they'll make some progress by the time Nova is back on Friday but it took awhile for Kiwi and Ficus, too. This week includes pre-Thanksgiving, the.biggest.drinking.day.of.the.year. so be careful out there and hopefully all of you get to enjoy some quality time with people in your lives whom you love. Monday through Sunday listings are after the jump.

Monday, November 13, 2017

Things To Do In San Diego: Monday, November 13-Sunday, November 19, 2017


I'm definitely enjoying my homebody lifestyle lately. Ever since I had pneumonia, I've been laying low. Our soccer season is coming to an end, and it gets so dark so early that I've been thinking a lot about the holidays. In fact, it might seem like I've been a slacker, but I put together a pretty extensive Holiday Event Guide, which I haven't done in a couple years but was feeling in the spirit this year. I'll keep updating as more events roll in. I got to go to the Safari Park on Friday with my family and even my mom got out of the house for a few hours. We're hoping to take advantage of the week before Nova flies out to St Louis on Sunday. I'm still not really going to many shows, but The Heavy Guilt record release was pretty fun on Friday. Not sure if I'll be able to escape the asylum this week, but it would be pretty great to see Frank Lee Drennen on Wednesday at Java Joe's and I'll be trying to catch Speedy Ortiz on Thursday at Casbah, and maybe Diarrhea Planet on Friday at Soda Bar. I would love to get out to Pappy & Harriet's on Saturday, but with Nova leaving Sunday morning, it's just not in the cards for us. Monday through Sunday listings are after the jump.

Monday, November 06, 2017

Things To Do In San Diego: Monday, November 6-Sunday, November 12, 2017

I'm still taking it easy, but Saturday night at the Livewire Anniversary Party was pretty amazing. I was selling merch for Livewire, so it was a lot of work, too, but it was pretty sweet because Nova had a derby sleepover in Murrieta, so Darren was able to cover my shift at the Irenic then come to the Observatory to help me when he was done. The bands were amazing and it was great to see so many people who have made the San Diego music scene so vibrant for the last two decades and beyond. After we counted our stuff out, we went to Livewire where it was nuts to butts but super fun. The Amplified Ale Livewire IPA is pretty darn good, too, and it was nice to have my first beers in over two weeks. I'm still kinda taking it easy, but hopefully I'll be getting out a little more little by little. There are some awesome Beer Week events and for most working people, we have a three day weekend with Veterans Day observed this Friday, so enjoy the week. I included a San Diego Derby Doll link for a bout this weekend that Nova rostered for if anyone is interested in checking it out. I'm posting an older pic from the Safari Park because I'm hoping to get up there on Friday. Monday through Sunday archives are after the jump.


Thursday, November 02, 2017

Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, November 2-Sunday, November 5, 2017


Hanging with some friends at Balboa Park
 Holy shit. I cannot believe it is already November. Yet here we are and there are so many rad shows this weekend I can't believe I'm still in isolation for the most part. I'll definitely be slinging merch at the Livewire shindig on Saturday, though, so come by and pickup your Livewire swag. I wish I could hit this year's Brewers Guild events, but the way I feel, it looks like I'm sitting out this San Diego Beer Week 2017. But there's also tons of exciting news, like the Casbah 25th Anniversary Hoodies are now available in a zip hood and Tim + Eric are opening a record shop in South Park! I wonder if I can pick up some shifts there? Anyway, it's a big weekend, so I thought I'd clean these up a little and repost. Thursday through Sunday archives are after the jump.

Tim Mays + Vinyl Junkies Partner to open Vinyl Junkies Record Shack in South Park



I've been sick with pneumonia and haven't been out or had a drink in nearly two weeks, so just about any news is good news, but this is perhaps the best news I've heard all year. I've always wanted the Casbah to have a ticket outlet, and when I was hired at the North Park Theatre, we tried to work out a deal, then it was bought by the Observatory and they used a different ticketing company, so we could never quite work out a ticket outlet. So anyway, a new record store, a new place to pick up Casbah tickets, and I can only imagine, a great new spot for in-stores or listening parties or acoustic performances. We shall see. In the meantime, here's the big news:

Vinyl Junkies Announces South Park Retail Location & Casbah Partnership

Eric Howarth of Vinyl Junkies is proud to announce a new partnership with Tim Mays of The Casbah in the Vinyl Junkies venture.  The mobile record shop and bi-monthly record swap (held at the Casbah) has been in existence for over 4 years, and will now add a brick and mortar location to its repertoire called the Vinyl Junkies Record Shack!

Located in the heart of South Park at 2235 Fern Street, directly across the street from the Whistle Stop Bar, the Vinyl Junkies Record Shack will bring music retail back to the neighborhood.  After lease issues forced Howarth’s former shop, M-Theory Music, to leave South Park, it is with excitement that we come full circle back to this unique and vibrant, independent community.

The focus of the record store will be on used records and cassettes, with a selection of new reissues on vinyl across all genres.  From Funk to Punk, Soul to Garage, Jazz to Heavy Metal, and everywhere in between, the Vinyl Junkies Record Shack prides itself on having a knowledgable, friendly staff who can turn the most discerning collectors or those new to the vinyl world, on to their latest favorite album.

The “Record Shack” will also be the exclusive ticket retailer for Casbah shows, with minimum service charges, and will carry other useful items for the neighborhood like guitar strings, turntables, vinyl cleaning/collecting supplies, and related items.

The store will celebrate its Grand Opening on Record Store Day, Friday November 24th, with festivities going on through Saturday the 25th. Special guest DJs and bands will be performing, drinks and food will be had, and thousands of records will be for sale.  Further details will be announced soon.

Vinyl Junkies is also actively buying record collections for the store.  Those interested with records to sell can email records@vinyljunkies.net or call 619-816-1830.

We look forward to talking further about the Vinyl Junkies Record Shack and know your readers/listeners/viewers will take interest in not only the store, but the recent resurgence in the vinyl record format!

UPDATE: Check out this more in depth article on SoundDiego about the partnership.

BACKGROUND:

-Tim Mays has been a pillar of the San Diego music scene for decades.  Having started promoting punk rock shows back in 1980, that passion has continued with 29 years of owning and operating the city’s most beloved venue, The Casbah, and putting on larger shows at various venues by Casbah Presents.  Mays has also added “Restauranteur” to his resume, as co-owner of awarding winning Mission Hills restaurant Starlite and Golden Hill cafe Krakatoa.  

-Eric Howarth’s involvement in the music world has been extensive as Founder of Vinyl Junkies & M-Theory Music, Record Label Owner (Hi-Speed Soul), Band Manager, Tour Manager, Concert Promoter, and DJ.  In the past few years, Howarth has followed a new passion in the film industry as Cinematographer for the Records Collecting Dust II documentary (to be released early 2018), filming music videos, shooting live bands for SoundDiego on NBC, and taking on roles in various short films. Howarth’s current project focus is a documentary based TV show he co-created and hosts that will soon be pitched to the networks, along with his involvement in the feature length film Fanboy.