balboa park

SoundDiego Podcast EP10: β€œI Just Hope These Kids Don't Do Something Stupid” β€” Soda Bar's Cory Stier

On EP10 of the SoundDiego Podcast, Cults drummer Cory Stier shares his journey from show-goer to co-owner of Soda Bar, how he got the city to let him book a huge free Frights show at Balboa Park, where Britney Spears fits into his musical story β€” and more.

Cory Stier joins the SoundDiego Podcast for Episode 10
Eric Page

You could call Cory Stier one of the most plugged-in people in the San Diego music scene. While cutting his teeth originally in the band Pistolita, Stier eventually found himself behind the record label Thrill Me Records and behind the drum kit for such bands as Cults, Mrs. Magician, Hideout and others. As a talent buyer, his home base for the last 10 years has been Soda Bar, and he eventually branched out, presenting shows at the Irenic, Casbah, the Belly Up, the Che Cafe, House of Blues and other clubs. Fittingly, he ended up purchasing Soda Bar with Casbah owner Tim Mays and other Soda employees in 2018. Be sure to visit SodaBarMusic.com to purchase merch, with proceeds going directly to staff, and of course, head there for shows when life gets (somewhat) back to normal.

Listen to Episode 10 here:

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Episode 10 Show Notes:

  • Soda Bar celebrated its 10th anniversary just last year β€” and who else would Cory tap to ring in the momentous occasion than his own band, Cults! Relive the show with the band's SoundDiego TV performance below.
Former locals Cults helped Soda Bar ring in 10 years. They step into our Spotlight here.
  • For our sharp-eared listeners, Cory mentions "Rosey" around 2:05 in the episode. He's referring to none other than Rosemary Bystrak, who handles marketing for the Casbah, is a regular SoundDiego contributor and runs the blog SD: Dialed In.
  • Similarly, while talking about the Whistle Stop around 2:15 in the episode, Cory also throws out the name "Craig" β€” a reference to Craig Oliver, owner of one of San Diego's best independent labels, Volar Records.
  • We joined hundreds of other rabid Frights fans for their huge, free Balboa Park show at Spreckels Organ Pavilion back in February (doesn't that seem like a lifetime ago?) β€” check out the SoundDiego TV recap below.
Did you miss the Frights' unforgettable free show at Balboa Park's Spreckels Organ Pavilion recently? Don't worry: we've got you covered. Relive the show with our front-row video recap and Tim Pyles' interview with the band.
  • The co-founder of Spalding Sporting Goods, Albert Spalding, built a magnificent house in Point Loma in 1900, which eventually became part of the Point Loma Nazarene University. Take a look inside here.
  • The episode's Spotlight artist of the week is (naturally) one of Cory's own bands, Cults. Their latest album is titled "Offering" (also the name of the single we played on the episode), and if you'd like to order yourself some merch from the band, head to CultsCultsCults.com and do your thing. Be sure to follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and catch 'em at a show when bands are on the road again.

Join us for a new episode of the SoundDiego Podcast every Saturday morning. Upcoming guests on the pod include Nickel Creek's Sara Watkins, New York Times bestselling author Scott Sigler, the B-Side Players' Karlos Paez, Nine Inch Nails' Ilan Rubin, and Verbatim Book's Justine Epstein! Thanks for listening, and until next time, enjoy the music.

If you enjoyed this episode of the SoundDiego Podcast, subscribe, rate and review us on your favorite podcasting platform:

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The SoundDiego Podcast is executive-produced by Eric S. Page, and hosted/edited by Dustin Lothspeich (reach him here).

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