San Diego Scene Report
Most of you heard the San Diego scene report I did on 185 Miles South EP 232 but I didn’t include a written version in the companion Substack cuz it was too long. Also, I forgot some things cuz of course I did. So let’s do this thing in written form, shall we?
There’s your boy singing with da best band on the planet, Retaliate, in Chula Vista sometime in the late 00’s.
I’ve been coming down to San Diego to play shows since the late 1990’s. In 1997, my band Voice of Defiance played a show with The Setup somewhere out on Coronado and another one at the old SOMA Sidestage with a bunch of shitty punk bands. Also in that era, we used to drive down often to see the band Build To Last. We loved that band and going to shows in SD so much that we’d drive 6+ hours roundtrip just to see them - I even wrote a song about it. During this time we made friends with Don Diego, Dan Sant, and of course the BTL guys. Sometimes we’d go to Lou’s Records in Encinitas then hit Pokez or Mandarin Dynasty and round out the day going to the beach or Record Trader before the show. Point being, this place really started to feel like a home away from home.
In Control played down here a ton of times too. The first time was the infamous nazi beatdown where final boss bonehead, white warrior, and his nerd friends got crushed. We recorded our first LP in El Cajon, and also played our 2nd to last show down here at Che. The scene meant so much to us.
I moved down to San Diego in ‘06 to live with my girlfriend at the time who was going to SDSU. While she inevitably left me, I never left San Diego.
Of course the scene has changed a ton over the years. Much like other scenes across the country, hardcore is more popular now than it’s been in the last 25+ years. There’s a huge influx of younger kids who definitely discovered hardcore on Tik-Tok or Instagram during Covid. In fact, I’d say the whole scene writ large is very young. This is healthy cuz this thing has to stay a youth movement to be thrive.
The national name brand bands are doing better than ever, selling out the Che Cafe on the reg or packing out mid-sized venues like Brick by Brick and Soda Bar. There’s a sizable, healthy group of active bands that cover a large swath of underground styles and plenty of places for them to play.
In doing this scene report, one thing that stood out to me is just how documented everything is now - for better or for worse. Below, you’re going to see me write about ~50 bands. Even 10 years ago, if you looked at a scene of ~50 bands, maybe half would do a demo and a handful or maybe a dozen would get a record out. Now almost every single one of those bands has at least a digital recording out. It also seems like every show regardless of size is being documented visually now, with multiple photographers and at least one videographer.
NOTE: This is not a complete list. This is a snapshot of the San Diego scene through my eyes as of May 2024. If you feel some sort of way about it, feel free to take anything from this report and do your own. Don’t get at me.
BANDS
Check out the playlist HERE.
Abstain: 90's style straight edge metallic hardcore. Put out a 12" on War Records. The drummer also books a ton of shows so they deserve your support.
Adult Crash: Scene vets including ex-Amenity guitarist Tim Gonzales on vocals. Their first 12" is one of the most underrated records of the 2010s. 2nd 12" came out last year. Spoiler alert: it rips too.
Agonista: TJ D-Beat Band. Leans more stadium crust than Discharge but the songs are mostly short and they rip. Put out a new 12" this year.
All Beat Up: Really active DIY hardcore punk band. Just did a Mexico tour. “Shattered Man” is a harder song than 99% of shit beatdown bands put out.
Angel Guts: Drop-tuned crusty hardcore that falls somewhere between the powerviolence and grindcore lanes.
Axe Collector: Wild, noisy, spastic hardcore that leans powerviolence.
Bayonet: Ripping powerviolence. Put out a great 7" on Indecision Records and self released a cassette for their East Coast tour last year. One of the best SDHC bands both live and on wax.
Bent Blue: Melodic HC that’s sometimes fast and sometimes a little Revolution Summer-y. 12" on War Records.
Big Attitude: Ramones meets The Queers. Catchy and killer. Members of PSO.
Chillona: Newer band. No music out yet but they’re active playing shows.
Cold Path: Beatdown hardcore with short songs and good bounce parts.
Crashing Forward: Scene vets in a new 90s style band. 12" on Indecision Records.
Crime Desire: Scene vets made up of dudes who probably know more Scandi punk than you. Big catalog. Two of the members run the best two record stores for punk in San Diego County.
Deaf Club: Current Justin Pearson HC band. I guess they claim LA?
Dispersed: Heavy bouncy, moshy hardcore. One of the most active and best SDHC bands. Did a 2 week tour last summer.
Don’t Fear the End: Melodic metalcore band.
Dying Species: In the Screeching Weasel vein. Dudes from John Cougar Concentration Camp.
Fvnerxl Mxrch: Not the old school San Diego punk band. This is a newer band that plays a gothy style.
Genestealer: Ripping band who lands somewhere between death metal and grindcore.
Get Pieced: Bouncy hardcore band with beatdown mosh parts. Singer has a good clean voice which makes them unique for the style.
Headstone: Death Metal-eque band with some synth and big mosh parts.
Hereditary: One of the most popular bands in the area. Maybe San Diego’s answer to late 2010s Regulate?
Hong Kong Fuck You: Really cool TJ band. Most people would consider them powerviolenc-y but at their best they're playing raw mid-tempo punk in their own style. Did a three song covers digi-EP this year that rules.
Human Resources: Straight forward ripping DIY raw hardcore.
Icepield: Post-punk band made up of scene vets.
Imperfex: Punk band that wouldn’t have been out of place on a 90’s Fearless Records comp.
Intercom: Out of control, fast, noisy low-fi hardcore.
Intermission: Super cool post-punky band that is zero percent pretentious or lame. Love this.
Keepers: Punk band that leans a little death rock. Super cool. They have a 7” out.
Left To Rot: Raw fast early 80s style hardcore punk band with great manic vocals.
Mad Cow Disease: High energy ska-punk band.
Madrugado: Noisy hardcore band with with grindy fast parts and big moshes. Singer books shows.
Mankind: New hardcore band featuring SDHC scene vets. Bouncy streetwise sounding HC. Maybe San Diego's answer to Boxcutter?
Mongrel: Savage ass death metal/mosh band. Put out a 12" that's a split release between Daze and Maggot Stomp.
Mortar: Doom band.
Negative Blast: Tuneful, heavy hardcore. Put out a 12” and a split 7” last year.
No Luck: Heavy moshy hardcore - not metalcore or generic beatdown.
Nowhere Safe: Straight up aggro crossover. Ripping.
Out Of Chances: Drop-tuned beatdown band.
Palace of Mourning: Moshy metal band.
Philistine: Zero bullshit fast hardcore band.
The Plagues: Drivey melodic mid-tempo punk band.
Project Sellout (PSO): Hardcore punk band from Lemon Grove. Scene vets that held down the scene in a big way in the early/mid 2010s. Respect.
Purest Bond: Melodic Metalcore band.
Rod of Correction (ROC): Crossover band. Members of Crime Desire and Take Offense. Two 12”s out on Indecision Records.
Sangre: Noisy powerviolence band.
Sawd: Drop-tuned beatdown with personality.
Se Vende: Self proclaimed crusty pop punk band. Tuneful but raw, not unlike a band like Crimpshrine.
Seeyouspacecowboy: Self proclaimed “sasscore” band. Bounces between metalcore, mathcore, and “scene.” Extremely popular at the moment.
Serenity: Metalcore band. 2024 EP has a really good recording. Superb for the style.
Six Shooter: Slam style death metal sounding band.
Speculum: Noise band.
Spiritual Warfare: Riffy mid-tempo hardcore band.
Sumo: Bouncy mid-tempo hardcore with lots of personality. One of my favs.
Systematic Abuse: Hardcore punk band with some thrash tendencies.
Take Offense: Scene vets. The driving force in the scene in the late ‘00s into the early ‘10s and still strong to this day. You know 'em. You love 'em. They just put out their 4th LP.
Therapy: Ripping, raw hardcore punk for the troo punx.
Tiltwheel: Mid-tempo soulful punk band who was on Cinema Beer Goggles VHS tape that 185 loves. They also no showed the first punk show i ever booked up in Goleta, CA in 1996. Singer/guitarist runs Red Brontasaurus Records.
Tourist: Was a powerviolence band. Now they're more mid-tempo and brooding. Still killer.
Unbroken: Legendary HC band. They're playing Nor Cal and Europe this year.
Violencia: TJ band that walks the line between straight early ‘80s hardcore and powerviolence while masterfully mixing in some tasteful death rock shit. They put out one of the best hardcore LPs of 2023.
War Fever: Melodic hardcore punk band with scene veterans - ex Unwritten Law, The Neighbors and Dan's favorite SD band, Sprung Monkey.
Zero Trace: Bouncy mid-tempo moshy hardcore band.
WHERE TO PLAY
All Ages:
Brown Building: Small community center building that does shows on occasion and maybe holds maybe 50 people.
Che Cafe: Timeless, volunteer run venue on the UCSD campus that has been operating since the late 1980s. Inside Out and Green Day have both played there. Like CBGB when it was around or Gilman Street, this is a legendary punk club and non-poser bands usually feel the need to play it at least once.
Corazon Del Barrio: This spot was called Porkyland in the late 00s. Back then, it was basically just an empty art studio. Now they have a good sound system and a full bar, while still allowing all-ages shows.
Fraternal Order of Eagles: VFW style hall in National City. Back when In Control toured the country a handful of times in the early 2000s, we noticed as soon as you left the West Coast, you were playing basements and VFW halls all over. This place feels like a VFW in Watervliet, NY that serves 75¢ Miller High Lifes, making tipping a confounding proposition. The Slow Death dudes run this place and put on a ton of shows across a variety of styles that bring out a ton of new kids, exposing them to underground music for the first time.
The Print Shop: DIY ask-a-punk spot that does shows after hours at their place of business.
Red Brontosaurus Records: Small record store that has shows. Also, the owner no showed the first punk show I ever booked with his band Tiltwheel back in ‘96.
21+
Bancroft Bar: Newer spot that popped up out in Spring Valley that’s doing shows. I haven’t been there so I can’t speak on it.
Brick By Brick: ~500 cap venue that hosts bigger national acts like Terror/Angel Du$t as well as metal bands like Voivod and Obituary.
The Casbah: ~300 cap venue ran by old school San Diego legend Tim Mays who used to put on a bunch of legendary punk shows in SD in the early 80s. If anyone knows Tim, tell him to get at me. I’d love to have him on the podcast.
The Holding Company: Spot in OB that hosts some legacy acts like TSOL/Agent Orange. Haven’t been there so I can’t speak on it.
House of Blues: Live Nation venue. Big room is ~1500 cap. They have a smaller side stage that probably holds around 200.
Observatory: ~1000 cap space that feels like a Live Nation venue, if it’s not already.
Soda Bar: ~200 cap venue. Weird ass setup when there’s a packed show. I’d have to draw a diagram to explain it, but seeing AF or Madball here when its packed to the brim rules.
Til Two: This place used to have the perfect sized room in the back for shows but the spot got cut in half. Now there’s a tiny spot by the bar for bands to play. Cool bar regardless.
Tower Bar: Small room that gets killer shows on the reg.
PROMOTERS
PHOTOGRAPHERS/VIDEOGRAPHERS
Photographers:
Videographers:
RECORD STORES
Beatbox: Logan
Lou’s: Encinitas
M-Theory: Mission Hills
Re-Animated: Best store for punk/hardcore south of Standards.
Record City: Point Loma
Red Brontosaurus: North Park
Standards: Best store for punk/hardcore north of the 8 and south of Radiation.
Vinyl Junkies: South Park
FOOD & BEVERAGE
Ben & Esters: Vegan deli out by SDSU.
Evolution: Vegan fast food spot with a drive-thru in Banker’s Hill.
Heartwork: Hardcore kid owned coffee spot in Mission Hills. It’s now a San Diego Hardcore rite of passage to take your photo in front of the Out Of Step black sheep.
Hazel & Jade Bakery: Vegan pastries & cakes spot in Hillcrest.
Jyoti-Bihanga: OG vegan spot in Normal Heights.
Mekong Lao & Thai: My girlfriend’s spot. Best yellow curry tofu south of Nard Thai. Tip well or yer a lame.
Pokez: Downtown San Diego Mexican food staple with lots of vegan friendly options. You should get the tofu fajitas once before you die. They also have carne asada for your friends who fear lettuce.
Ranchos: Old school vegan friendly Mexican spot in North Park. I got the worst veggie fajitas of my life here. It was fucking shameful and I should’ve burned the place to the ground. Then years later I was relaying this story of shite food to a friend and he was like, “well…have you ever had the tofu torta?” Of course I hadn’t. I’d given up on this spot after ordering the wrong thing like five times in a row. Anyway, we went to lunch and he was right - the tofu torta was the fucking truth. So here I am vouching for that ONE item plus the vegan horchata.
Sipz: Vegan Chinese spot that’s been around for 20 years. Shoutout to the Clairemonsters!
TNT Pizza: Vegan friendly pizza joint downtown.
Underdog Food Truck: Vegan food truck.
So yea. San Diego. Pretty tight, eh?
- ZN
Love that Built to Last song you linked to. Was that track also on a Breakout Records comp?