Off The Grid/Newsy Bits

I know my posting has been really limited this week and honestly, readers might not even care, but I hate not writing because then all that stuff just sticks in my brain in the form of self-dialog chatter and then everything I do or say becomes diluted. But, it hasn't been for nothing- I've been busy.

I mentioned the shows I did last weekend. This week started with Anti-Monday League at the Casbah (with one of my favorite performances by a band this year), babysat for the guitarist of Boris on Tuesday, went to a private performance by Ingrid Michaelson at the House of Blues, celebrating the one year anniversary of Radio Sophie (103.7) before seeing the full concert with opener Greg Laswell, and closing the night out at the Ken Club. Then last night I worked for The Album Leaf at the Belly Up, peddling goods to the crowd, breaking my personal record for amount of merch sold in one night and dampening the pain of all the money I lost/spent in Vegas last week. It has been a great week but I'm really looking forward to resting, reading, writing, and cleaning my house which has been completely neglected since I've been home.

I do have a couple newsy things that I wanted to mention and will hopefully be able to go into some depth about at a later time, but for inquiring minds:

• Rumor round town is that Sunday is the last official night for the Zombie Lounge. I mentioned the bar was sold to Chris, owner of Kadan, a few weeks ago. The sale is complete, Zombie will be no more. There will be a private party on Monday for Zombie regulars, then the bar will close for about 3 weeks for renovations and a makeover. All signs point to the new Radio Room continuing as a music venue and Chris has been around a long time (Brick By Brick, Kadan) so I trust he won't let us down.
• Drew Andrews (musician, artist, writer, doorguy) has been signed! He's going to be on Minty Fresh and is really excited about what the future holds for him with this relationship. He's performing with Rocky Votolato and Owen at the Casbah on July 23. I think I might buy all of his hand-sewn EPs then resell them on eBay. kidding. But pick one up while you still can.
• Last, I keep talking about a BBQ at my house on Saturday. Team Abraham, Hotel St. George and The Stereotypes are all playing at the Ken Club on Saturday night, so the boys of Team Abraham designated my backyard as the pre-party spot (and probably expect a post-party, too.) It's a DIY thing- we'll have the grill going, Abraham will make some of his amazing smoked pepper salsa, and I'll buy a kilo or two of tortillas, but if you wanna come, bring food for grilling and booze/beer for sharing. I live 2 blocks from the Ken, and about a mile in either direction of Beauty Bar and Zombie Lounge, so even if you're not doing the Ken Club, it would be nice to see everyone for a bit. E-mail if you need my address. We'll get the Q going around 5 pm.

Happy Friday and I'll be catching up soon. xoxo. (Happy Birthday, Ryan!)

Random Notes

Ah, yes. My third day of sick. Lovely. Thought I'd post a couple things while I'm back at home. (I went to work today but was sent home because I "look like shit")

A few weeks back I wrote about the passing of Ike Turner in my Notes From The Smoking Patio column. I tried to keep the column as straightforward as possible with regards to Ike's musical legacy, and to focus on the time that he was a resident of San Diego. Tonight, his band will be performing a tribute show in La Jolla. How sad, then, that the toxicology reports came back from his autopsy and attributed his death to a cocaine overdose. To me it's sad, it's pathetic, and the more I think about it, sounds like it might've been deliberate.

In other stuff, I appreciate all the feedback I get from this site as well as the column. I alone control the content, layout, photos, and opinions on this site, and if anyone ever has issues with me, there are certainly plenty of ways to contact me on this site, including my direct e-mail. At the paper, however, I'm but a tiny piece of a big puzzle. Issues there should be directed appropriately. A fellow blogger has weighed in here.

In case you missed it, Kallao was back on KROQ on Wednesday night for round 2. I guess he's being tried out, so if you get a chance to call in when he's on air, I know he'd love the feedback.

And, it's been all over the other blogs and I'll try covering it in the Locals column, but 91X has a new incarnation of Loudspeaker. It will be on late Sundays, and available for streaming 24/7 on 91X.com.

that's all for now...back to my misery.

Kallao Is On KROQ

If you're up in the wee hours, Kallao, who was one of 91X's "Merry Christmas, You're fired!" casualties, is on KROQ at the moment- it's graveyard but for a radio DJ, it's HUGE.

Congrats to Kallao- just make sure you come back to us in SD because we heart you.

He'll be on-air until 5 a.m. and you can stream it live here.

As one door closes, a better one ALWAYS opens.

Chris Cantore Leaves 91X

There are things that I sometimes don't blog. As much as I love news and can succumb to gossip, I feel a responsibility to keep certain things to myself when I hear them, because I value the relationships that I've made because of this blog and it's not my goal to screw with anyone's life. That said, I would be remiss if I didn't comment on the drama happening over at 91X.

First there was this piece in Blurt, back in November.

According to one insider, the next local morning DJ to be replaced by a
syndicated show is Chris Cantore, who has anchored the 91X morning show for 11
years. On November 14, his on-air partner Jennifer White announced that she was
leaving 91X after 2 years. She is set to get her own morning show on Sophie
103.7.

It is rumored that Cantore in the Morning will be replaced by the
L.A.-based Adam Carolla Show in January. Carolla's all-talk show replaced the
syndicated Howard Stern Show in many cities when Stern switched to Sirius almost
two years ago. Locally, the Carolla show was carried on Free FM, the now-defunct
all-talk station at 103.7 FM. Weak ratings prompted 103.7 to switch to the
female-friendly "Sophie" music format.

Then Ken, the most charming man in local journalism, did this piece about Al Guerra leaving 91X's Loudspeaker.

Chris Cantore, host of the 91X morning show for 11 years, signed off on
December 14, saying he was not sure if he would be coming back after a two-week
vacation.

When asked, Manning did not deny looking into replacing Cantore with a
nationally syndicated morning show; however, he says the next 91X morning show
will be live and local. But, Manning says he is looking "outside San Diego" for
morning-show talent.

I had the chance to talk to Chris and Ruggy at the FM 94/9 Holiday Hootenanny and it's no secret that things have been a-changing at 91X for some time now. To me, it's sad to see Kallao and Cantore go, and now Al Guerra, but I know they'll all be well. Sadly for radio listeners, things will probably get a whole lot worse before they get better.

And from Cantore's MySpace:

Aloha.
Yes, it's true.
I will not be returning to 91X in 2008.
I am sorry if you had to find out this way.
Currently, spending time with my family, friends, and surfboard.
I promise, I will tell you EVERYTHING very, very soon. Thank you for 11 years of support and all your well-wishes...melts my soul.

Good luck, Cantore. You will be missed.

91X X-Fest 2007 More photos

Kallao from 91X has posted some pics on Flickr.

Check them out here.