Hidden Hardcore Venue – Red Brontosaurus

By Ian Peyghambary

Nestled in North Park, held together by respect and love for music, is Red Brontosaurus Records. It’s a small store, but it stands out due to its unrivaled dedication to San Diego’s music scene. They often host shows with punk and hardcore bands both on tour and local. When these shows are booked, the shelves packed with records are pushed to the side to make room for the music to be played. Red Brontosaurus is an underground gem of San Diego’s music scene.

It’s a rather small room for a venue, only fitting 10-20 people, but Red Brontosaurus doesn’t care at all; it’s there for the adoration of live music and the support of the community. A hardcore venue seems out of place for North Park, but the punks outside would say otherwise. 

By day, the shop does everything it can. Red Brontosaurus sells a thousand different things: video games, records, CDs, movies, consoles, instruments, recording equipment, tapes — both cassette and VHS — and magazines; they take whatever they can. To stay even more involved, on Mondays Red Brontosaurus records a podcast based on hip-hop culture. 

The store has its own record label and has put out 6 releases so far — mostly for punk bands. At night they become a recording studio for local bands to put out their own music. 

The origins of the store began 10 years ago at Kobey’s Swap Meet where the owner, Dave Quinn, would sell music at a booth during the event. He eventually went on to open the store in North Park and started shows the first night with himself as a performer. Quinn just wants to share what he has with everyone else.

“I got four walls, I’m going to put on a f***** show,” says Quinn.