Jake Peterson

6 days ago | sandiegoreader.com | Jake Peterson

Music, games, and lots and lots of marijuana My first writing credit came when I was 10 years old. I’d won the D.A.R.E. essay contest, in part by vowing to McGruff, the cartoon Crime Dog, to never touch a drug or take a drink of alcohol. Standing in front of a gymnasium full of community leaders, police, parents, peers, and teachers, I nervously read the essay into a center-stage microphone. Thinking back, I sure could’ve used a toke to take the edge off.

2 weeks ago | sandiegoreader.com | Jake Peterson

Soul Shakedown Studios started in founder Jakob John’s North County garage. It stayed there for two years before moving into a space in San Marcos. Now, five years later, the studio has grown into a still larger space where John produces all genres of music, but with a heavy lean towards hip-hop. “We’ve been able to run the studio without a loan, investor or outside source,” the producer says.

3 weeks ago | sandiegoreader.com | Cathy Rozy |Jake Peterson

“What do they call the people who follow a band from show to show across the country?” asked my friend as we stood outside Soma in Point Loma. “Lot lizards?” “No,” I replied, “lot lizards are prostitutes who crawl around truck stops.” I knew that much, but I wasn’t sure of the term for what he was asking about. "Superfans" seemed too generic, and "groupies" made me think of people who actually traveled with the band or met up backstage for “behind closed doors” activities.

3 weeks ago | sandiegoreader.com | Jake Peterson

Nature or nurture? Maybe both. San Diego born hip-hop artist Ray Riley has been around the scene since youth — because in the late ‘80s, Riley’s father, MC Willy Will, was one of the members of local rap group Legion of Doom. Thanks to that exposure and some support from his pops, Riley started his own musical journey eight years ago. “He loves hip-hop,” Riley says of his father, “and I was infatuated with it as well, because I was around it. That’s what really sparked the whole thing for me.

1 month ago | sandiegoreader.com | Jake Peterson

Hear that? That's not the first robin of spring; that's the sound of the local music festival season bursting into song. The fourth Wonderfront Music and Arts Festival will be taking place on May 16-18 at Embarcadaro Marina Park North. This year, the festival begins a new era under Event.com’s ownership; one that promises event enhancements and a heavier entertainment budget.