TotW

"If you could publish your own magazine, what type of magazine would it be and what would some of your articles be about?"

I’m not a big article writer. I don’t like doing research or interviews, but if I were to put together a magazine I think it would be focused mostly on San Diego’s local music and art scene. I’m not big on either personally, but I have many, many friends who are musicians and artists and I really like going out to venues and supporting them, even if the music may not necessarily be my style. I feel like San Diego is sort of this untapped resource where art and music are concerned. I really should get into it and start familiarizing myself with it.

As I said, these things are not something I feel myself to personally be a part of. But I’m surrounded by it all the time because of the people I choose to surround myself with. My cousin is in a punk rock band called News From the Front, and is also doing a solo project called I Am Dustin Blackwell, he also runs a start up label called Shoebox Collective and does recording for another band called Buddy Banter. My other cousin is an artist who is currently in college for art and music, my friend Lisa has a marketing degree with a focus on art (having graduated from the Art Institute of California – San Diego), Dylan paints as does his girlfriend, Malisa. Dylan is also bass player for Buddy Banter. Most of the people I know, even if they don’t actually play in bands, are big into music and can play at least one instrument.

Sometimes it does make me feel like I need to take up a new hobby. I gave an old keyboard to Dustin that belonged to Scott. Dustin was able to make it work and now I’m thinking it would be cool to learn how to play it. I don’t have a lot of money and it would basically be a free pass time that’s also productive.

But yeah. San Diego’s local music scene. I don’t mean like the main stream Gas Lamp local scene either. I mean the dive bar local scene, where you get all kinds of different styles shoved under one roof in a tiny little bar where you’re rubbing shoulders with people you don’t know and screaming at the bar tender to try and be heard over the too-loud music. Places where any particular band’s biggest followings are their close friends.

I’m sure it’s probably been done on some level. There are lots of local newspapers and magazines already, but I think it’s a great idea. It would be nice to have a magazine that showcases bands and artists that don’t get out of San Diego too often.

I would mostly write articles about musicians I think, and bars where those musicians are playing. I don’t know what it is about the small, dark dive-type bars, but I really like them, and most of the time, most of the time, I like the music I hear when I’m there. The clientele are usually well varied and each little bar has its own little quirks. It’s always loud, but always fun.