Soma was San Diego’s main all-ages music venue in the world of alternative music in the 90s. It still exists today (on Sports Arena Boulevard) but that’s a different Soma with different ownership (Live Nation). But back in the 90s, it was located on Metro Street (a cul-de-sac off of Linda Vista Road in the Linda Vista/Bay Park area of San Diego) in a converted warehouse and it was non-corporate and independent. There was an earlier location from the late 80s to the early 90s on Union Street (in downtown San Diego) but the former warehouse on Metro Street was where it was for much of the 90s…
90s Soma was a mainstay for local punk rock music but it also hosted a lot of national acts that came through town like:
- The Ramones
- Smashing Pumpkins
- Weezer
- Foo Fighters
- Biohazard
- 311
- Goo Goo Dolls
- Korn
- Social Distortion
- Bad Religion
- Pennywise
- Millencolin
- Strung Out
- Diesel Boy
- No Use for a Name
- No Doubt
- Good Riddance
- Rancid
- Ten Foot Pole
- Guttermouth
- The Suicide Machines
- Lagwagon
…to name some that I remember. And it of course was home to San Diego’s local bands like:
- Blink-182
- Unwritten Law
- Buck-O-Nine
- POD
- Sprung Monkey
- Slightly Stoopid
- Ghoulspoon
- Pivit
- The Neighbors
- Gimp
- The Cause
- Agent 51 (Area 51)
- Spazboy
- Swindle
- Dogwood
- Subversion
- Best Buy
- Chronic Masturbators
- Carter Peace Mission
- Turkey Mallet
- Kill Me Kate
- Notice
- One by One
- GFI
- Anti
- There
…and I’m sure there are many I missed. I always likened this Soma to venues like Gilman Street (in San Francisco’s East Bay) and Chain Reaction (in Orange County).
How Soma Worked
Soma had a mix of national and local bands because it had two stages (a main stage and a side stage). And so there were either main-stage events or side-stage events.
When show-goers entered through Soma’s doors, they were asked which band they were there to see. The bands then got $1 for each person who said their name. So it was a fair system that also incentivized the bands to go out and promote each show on their own. I know my band did a lot of flyer making and distributing…
The Soma Interior
This is a video of the band I was in during the 90s Soma days (Gimp). All of the playing shots were filmed at Soma (either main-stage or side-stage).
The Soma Exterior
In this video, I revisit the 90s Soma building today (a flower shop). I tour the grounds and show things off like the exact spots where Blink-182 filmed their famous shootout scene in the “M&Ms” video.
Podcast
The guys who ran Soma in the 90s put out a podcast on the place. It’s worth a listen…