After the Mashtis finished up, we went to the Live Wire to see a special evening with Stimy. You might remember him as the driving force behind several big San Diego bands from a few years ago, such as Inch and Congress of the Cow.



We got in just as Stimy was starting his second set and it was nice to be the young guy in the crowd, for once.



I discovered Inch just before I left for college, while still living in Cleveland. A plain white cassette was sitting in a budget bin at the record store,  and that name just sounded cool, so I took a chance and spent the 99 cents. "Stresser" lived in my car stereo for the rest of the summer. "Dot Class'C'" was amazing too, only less driving and more frantic. That album also turned me on to Kristian Dunn, who I've shot it El Ten Eleven.



Itwasn't until I moved to San Diego in 2002 that I found out that Inch was from this city, but by then they were broken up. I wish I could have seen Stimy play back then, but hearing him play some of those songs on acoustic was even better, in a way. There's nothing to hide behind when it's just you and a guitar.



I may not share any memories of Stimy, like most everyone else in the room, but I can say I've been a fan of San Diego music even from back when I lived 3000 miles away.