Mira Mesa is a community of San Diego, California. It’s the community I was born in and grew up in (until after freshman year of high school) so I can talk a lot about the punk rock events that happened there in the 90s and early 2000s. Beginning with…
The Epicentre
The Epicentre was an all-ages music venue set inside the Mira Mesa Teen Center from probably around 1998/99 until the late 2010s. It opened at a time when Soma (on Metro Street) closed so it quickly became dominated by punk, hardcore, and metal towards the end.
I remember playing there with Gimp and Camerica and even putting on some of the Camerica shows…
Mira Mesa Community Park
The Mira Mesa Community Park is where I played one of my first shows (with the first version of Gimp). It’s on the same block of government buildings and sports facilities as The Epicentre/Teen Center so there was also a punk rock festival here once. The park is being redeveloped now so I’m glad I made this video when I did.
Mira Mesa High School
When I was a freshmen at Mira Mesa High (before I transferred to Torrey Pines), the first version of Gimp played lunch once.
Challenger Middle School
When I was going to Challenger Middle School in the early/mid 90s, my friend Matt (from Gimp No. 1) and I brought our instruments to school one day and we started a bloody mosh pit. 🤣
Miramar Area
The Miramar area is the industrial part of Mira Mesa (and butts up to the Miramar air base that was made famous in Top Gun). The area has some sites of punk rock significance like:
- Universal Sound (band rehearsal rooms where Unwritten Law and Camerica practiced)
- The Miramar Music Trader
- Hindsight Rehearsal Studios
- The cable company where we broadcasted In Your Face TV in the beginning (public access)