Jake Peterson

San Diego

Journalist at San Diego Reader

Featured in: Favicon

sandiegoreader.com

Articles

Gonzo Report: Fans follow Harry Mack to Soma in Point Loma

1 week 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.
Ray Riley: comfortable with being uncomfortable

1 week 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.
Wonderfront '25 is what's going on

4 weeks 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.
Ozzy and Angus tributes rock out at the Ramona Mainstage

1 month ago | sandiegoreader.com | Jake Peterson

A bloody nose presaged a bloody good time After Ozzy Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath in 1979, he launched one of the most successful solo careers in music history. The stories of his rock-star antics — snorting ants, licking up his own piss, and biting the head off a bat — have passed into legend. Oh, and do you remember the time he was arrested (while wearing a green dress) for taking a drunken squirt on the Alamo?
Can Mustache Bash keep 70s vibe at Mariners Point?

1 month ago | sandiegoreader.com | Jake Peterson

Will BreakBot & Irafane be in the crowd dancing? They call it the funkiest disco day on Earth. In 2008, The Mustache Bash started growing its upper-lip hair with a core group of San Diego State University pals. Eleven pals to be exact. Opposed to a typical frat party that fizzles out with a hangover and a four-year expiration date, the “mustache” themed party continues to swell.
Theory of a Dead Man and the cold facts of a lonely Valentine's Day

1 month ago | sandiegoreader.com | Jake Peterson

Valentine’s Day came and went. The origins of this chocolatey, flowery holiday remain unclear to your humble correspondent. But one old tale about the Hallmark holiday claims that drunk and naked male Romans used to sacrifice dogs and goats; they would use the hides of the animals they’d just slaughtered to whip women. These women believed it would make them fertile. The ancient Romans were — allegedly — wildly romantic like that.
Stage jump and Jupiter Flight at Til-Two

1 month ago | sandiegoreader.com | Jake Peterson

The rebirth of guitarist Ricardo Luna, plus beer and bananas One night a few years ago, while under the influence of well tequila at Til-Two, I had a moment with a friendly security guard. We were cool with each other right up to the point where I jumped on the stage after the bands finished their sets and my shirt...fell off. He came running up on stage after me, but I quickly moved out of the way, and he hurled himself head-first into an unmanned drum set.
For Anna May, San Diego lends itself to discoveries

2 months ago | sandiegoreader.com | Jake Peterson

Singer-songwriter likens SoCal to a perpetually blank canvas Like many artists, singer/songwriter Anna May had to leave home in order to find her way. Like Beat icon Jack Kerouac of On the Road fame, whom she cites as an influence (along with Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, and many others), she set out from her home in the northeast and headed west. She made stops in Nashville, New Orleans, and the Bay Area, and now plucks her guitar on San Diego sands.
P.O.D.’s podcast inspiration yields surprise San Diego show

2 months ago | sandiegoreader.com | Jake Peterson

Video:GONZO: P.O.D. performing "Alive" at Harley-Davidson parking lot charity gigIt happened, and then it didn’t: the social media platform TikTok was banned in the U.S., then it was restored. When I opened the app the morning of the ban, the message put forth was clear: the video-creating factory was closed. For now. But the app stated the new administration coming in could reverse the ban. Then the lights were quickly turned back on. Questions remained. Was it a good thing to block?
Punk Rock Rodeo to unfold across five OB venues

2 months ago | sandiegoreader.com | Jake Peterson

“People can dress up in cowboy hats if they want” Gainesville, Florida has The Fest. Birmingham, Alabama lays claim to Furnace Fest. Vegas holds down Punk Rock Bowling. Now, with the Punk Rock Rodeo, San Diego is getting its own larger-scale punk rock festival. Although it’s still in the embryonic stage, hopes are that it will match the intensity of the aforementioned festivals and perform on a comparable level.