SoundCheck Flix

Despite not being much of a college town, Chicago produced Adam Gimbel before exporting him to California in the 1900s. Raised on the not-so-mean streets of San Diego, he became an instant lifelong fan of Spinal Tap as a teen. In college, he attended a celebrity-filled Spinal Tap drummer audition in an empty Los Angeles Coliseum shortly before meeting Harry Shearer in an even emptier club on his 2...

Pat Beers is a the guitarist and vocalist of the rock 'n' roll band The Schizophonics. They have garnered a reputation for their explosive live shows, drawing inspiration from the raw energy of 1960s garage rock, punk, and rhythm and blues. Off tour Pat enjoys painting and hanging out with his wife and weenie dog. Purple Rain (1984) - A young musician is tormented by his abusive father and keeping...

Welcome to season 2! Lucina Mays González is a local singer and song writer, having played with Sin Sin 77, Madly, Black Hondo, and currently Scary Pierre. She is also one half of the Dot and Ollie DJ crew.  Scary Pierre formed in the spring of 2018 in San Diego by vocalist Lucina, guitarist Alia Jyawook (Hot Nerds, El Vez’s The Screamers), bassist Mike Delgado (Moving Units, Shark Attack, Bragger...

For our first show of 2024, we look back at the previous year in cinema. Casbah crew members Tim Pyles, Graham Stevens & Alfredo Tellez sit down with 2 of our favorite guests, DJ Root & Austin Mahn, to discuss our favorite films of 2023.

Robert Alan Lopez, aka El Vez  is an American institution and San Diego icon. From forming the "Mexican Ramones" in the late 70's with several friends from the South Bay, The Zeros, to Elvis interpreter or cultural ambassador bringing his Hispanic heritage into the mix as El Vez. He lived in Jane Wiedlin of The Go-Go's apartment, was in the Decline Of Western Civilization film, worked at "The Riot...

Tatiana Mac is a retired party princess who paradoxically also starred in "50 Shades- The Musical Parody" at Bally's Las Vegas. Out of the bondage and back home in San Diego, Tatiana is the lead vocalist of Toothless George's rock n' roll bandstand, Poison Hearts A.C. "Little Shop of Horrors" (1986): Based on the off-Broadway musical of the same name. Director Frank Oz weaves a tale of skid row ro...

John Roy is a legendary local musician and Ska connoisseur. Just look at his pedigree: Big Express, Citizen X, Gangbusters, Monster Zero, Spy Kids, Colorblind, Unsteady, English Beat, Windsor Hill Steppers, Self-Made Men, Fearless in Fair Weather and the Ska/Reggae supergroup Smoke and Mirrors Sound System. Not only has he played Saxophone in all those bands, he owns John Roy Sound and can provide...

Bart Mendoza is a music journalist whose work has appeared in numerous publications, from the San Diego Union Tribune to Britain's Shindig Magazine. As a musician he toured the world in the 1980's with Manual Scan, in the 90's with The Shambles, and currently performs with True Stories. Meanwhile, for over a dozen years, he worked for Capitol Records, as well as Motown, Angel, Chrysalis and others...

Ake Arndt of Operation:Mindblow light show is a local graphic artist and percussionist for groups Volcano and Banghed. Originally from Downey, CA., he moved to Ocean Beach in 1993. Apocalypse Now (1979) - A US Army officer serving in Vietnam is sent up river to assassinate a Special Forces Colonel gone rogue. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Starring Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, an...

Scott Clark is originally from New Jersey, but moved to San Diego in the early 90's. Through band connections he joined Lucy's Fur Coat in 1995, and has been a member since. He also plays currently in Mistress 77. Hes an amateur photographer, coffee roaster, and is married with 2 boys. He loves running, espresso, mafia documentaries, writing music, and hanging with the family.  "Goodfellas"(1990)-...

Marcos Curiel is the lead guitarist, songwriter of multi platinum rock band P.O.D. Curiel was born in San Diego, California, in 1974 and is of Mexican descent. He grew up in the neighboring city of Chula Vista. In 1998, P.O.D. was signed to a major record deal (Atlantic Records) and released their hit albums The Fundamental Elements of Southtown (1999) and Satellite (2001) including hit singles, "...

You may have seen Matthew Bennett at various locations around the world behind a drum kit with the likes of The Bloody Hollies, The Dwarves, Dig, and most recently with his new project: STEVE. It's also likely you have seen him pumping iron at Gold's Gym, he practically lives there. And while not onstage or dead-lifting massive amounts of Is, you may catch him behind the scenes doing live music pr...

Jake Davis is the lead singer, lyricist, & guitar player for the alternative band, Ikana. When not at a show, Jake can be found collecting records, guitar picks & posters. Drinks with family & friends are a must. "The Ring" (2002) Investigative journalist, Rachel Keller, is inspecting a mysterious video tape which seems to cause death a week later to anyone that views it. Can she solve...

Jacob Turnbloom (Mrs Magician) joins SCF hosts, Tim Pyles & Graham Stevens, to chop up the 1983 summer camp slasher flick,"Sleepaway Camp".  When a boating accident kills a young child's father, they're sent to live with their eccentric Aunt Martha. 8 years later, Angela & her cousin Ricky, head out to Camp Arawak, where kids & counselors immediately start dropping like flies. Who is t...

SoundCheck Flix Ep. #15! Jacob Turnbloom has been making sunny sounding music with none sunny themes for nearly two decades, most notably as the guitarist/vocalist for the great Mrs. Magician, a garage surf band that paired together bright harmonies, jangly guitars, and lo-fi punk. He's released his share of solo music as well, from hard to find tapes to 2019's Cemetary Luau, his first "official"...

This week Graham and Tim are joined by Authentic Sellout's Sulo King as they discuss the 1986 science fiction action classic "Aliens"! Sulo King has been working in the San Diego music industry for over 20 years in many different capacities from security to booking and promoting concerts to owning and operating a recording and rehearsal studio. He has been the lead singer of the punk rock band Aut...

Tom Kitsos is our resident Canadian here at the Casbah. He’s into Rock n Roll & Hockey. He can usually be found behind the bar after watching his favorite team play earlier in the evening. His mood highly depends on if his team won or lost. Has played bass for Jon Reis (solo), Hot Snakes, & Night Marchers. 7 year Casbah veteran. Known for his tile wizardry on the venue's floor.    “Slap Sh...

On SCF episode 11, SoundCheck Flix Hosts Tim Pyles and Graham Stevens sit down with Vaughn Avakian at the Casbah San Diego to discuss the 1980 sci-fi adventure movie Flash Gordon.     Vaughn Avakian is a San Diego DJ known for club nights such as Club Sabbat, Black Friday, Neon Beat, and more.    Flash Gordon (1980) A football player and his friends travel to the planet Mongo and find themselves f...

Artist and Musician Mike Turi joins SCF Hosts Tim Pyles and Graham Stevens at the Casbah San Diego to discuss the 1984 cult classic Repo Man on SoundCheck Flix episode 10.    Mike Turi is an artist/musician living in San Diego and was born in the fine state of New Jersey. Frontman of the psych-rock outfit, Wild Wild Wets and purveyor of the San Diego Freak Out, an event put on at The Casbah for th...

This week on SoundCheck Flix episode 9, SCF hosts Tim Pyles and Graham Stevens talk to the owner of the legendary Casbah San Diego, Tim Mays, about one of his all time favorite movies, The Wizard of Oz.    Tim Mays was a punk rock concert promoter in the early 80's, owned Pink Panther 1986-1990, Casbah 1989 - present, Vinyl Junkies 2017-present, Soda Bar 2017-present.  Former owner Turf Supper Clu...

On SoundCheck Flix episode 8, hosts Tim Pyles and Graham Stevens sit down at the Casbah San Diego with Austin Mahn (a.k.a Captain Auzmo), the singer and frontman for Auz Fontaine. They dive into The Abyss (1989), directed by James Cameron and starring Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. Austin Mahn (a.k.a Captain Auzmo) is the singer & frontman for Auz Fontaine. Hailing from the depths...

Episode 7 of SoundCheck Flix features two movers ‘n’ shakers in the San Diego hip-hop scene, Ric Scales and DJ Root. SCF Co-hosts Tim Pyles and Graham Stevens sit down with Root and Scales on stage at the Casbah San Diego to discuss the 1990 movie House Party starring the New York hip-hop duo Kid ‘n Play. Ric Scales is a hip-hop artist based out of San Diego who has opened for the likes of Mos Def...

On SoundCheck Flix episode 6, Hillary Laughery (Lead Pony) joins SCF hosts Tim Pyles and Graham Stevens at the Casbah San Diego to chat about Jim Henson’s 1986 film Labyrinth starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly.  Hillary Laughery is a vocalist and keyboardist who started playing music with friends in the early days after graduating high school when life was tough sometimes and music with fr...

On episode 5 of Casbah Presents: SoundCheck Flix, San Diego Director, Author and Musician Ben Johnson joins SCF co-hosts Tim Pyles and Graham Stevens at the World Famous Casbah San Diego to talk about the punk rock coming-of-age flim Suburbia (1983), written and directed by Penelope Spheeris. Ben Johnson is the creator of Fanboy, a feature length rock and roll thriller movie released in January of...

We have a special SoundCheck Flix Barbie episode dedicated to the summer hit directed by Greta Gerwig, during which SCF co-hosts Tim Pyles and Graham Stevens talk with the 2023 San Diego Music Award Winning Best New Artist Ash Easton and Scary Pierre’s Alia Jyawook about the summer blockbuster at the Casbah San Diego.  Alia Jyawook is a local music teacher and multi-instrumentalist. She received h...