In the culture explosion of the 1960s, the Doors were the first LA band to matter. As it has turned out, no LA band has mattered as much. Since then, there have been other LA bands, but none have had the impact of Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore and  Robby Krieger.

Every other group fronted by a charismatic male singer that sprang forth as an LA band– Van Halen, Guns N’ Roses, X, Black Flag, whatever– all owe a debt to the group of UCLA film students who decided to form a band in 1965. By 1971, six studio albums later, Morrison was dead, in Paris, from the bloat and excess of  success and it was all over. Read the rest of this entry →

Vigilantly Posted at the Intersection of Chickenmen, Hula Hoopists, and Buxom Tassle Twirlers

Photograph by Michelle Lanz

Cinco de Mayo has never looked better than on the stage of Lucha Va Voom, the mindblowing spectacle that squeezes masked Mexican wrestling (Lucha Libre) and sultry burlesque dancing onto one stage at the historic Mayan theater. There is no sensation quite like the swell of pride that happens when full-grown men (and a mini-man) dressed as chickens attack skeleton-suited hombres (and a mini-hombre) as the announcer proudly proclaims: Welcome to Los Angeles… Read the rest of this entry →

Last November, I wrote about the war between millionaire residents and yuppie fitness maniacs over Santa Monica’s Fourth Street stairs and nearby median, located at the picturesque intersection of Fourth Street and Adelaide Drive. This war of attrition seemed to have gone in the residents’ (who happen to include Councilman Bobby Shriver) favor, as they convinced the police to enforce restrictions on noise and athletic activities in front of their homes. Indeed, as The Argonaut reports in a recent article, “[t]he Santa Monica City Council voted unanimously Tuesday, April 7th, to request staff to review several recommendations intended to address resident complaints regarding usage of the median at Fourth Street and Adelaide Drive and nearby street stairs.”

However, the Santa Monica Yuppie Fitness Maniacs (“SMYFMs”) have struck back with some ideas of their own. Incredibly, one idea discussed at the Council meeting involved “the proposed construction of alternative recreational stairs leading from Palisades Park down to the beach.” One resident at the meeting, no doubt a SMYFM, “encouraged the council to consider the opportunity to create ‘world class exercise stairs’ from Palisades Park down toward the beach.”

Jump to the next step

At first I wasn’t sure if it was the real shriek of a hawk hunting or not. I have had numerous false alarms, as a mocking bird has opted to mimic that cry, and does so all day outside my office window.

The swoosh and blurred vision of something across the patio confirmed one of the two nesting pairs of hawks was in my yard. I watched him eat his breakfast atop the power pole next to the garage. I grabbed a camera and was able to get one shot before he was spooked and flew away.

It’s nice to have the hawks back. To have two nesting pair on the street is new for us. I can’t wait until June when the chicks begin their first forays into their urban hunting ground here in the foothills.

 

Last week, Metblog’s contest winner Keekle had dinner with legendary porn star Ron Jeremy before riding in a limo with him to the red carpet of the premiere of “One Eyed Monster,” a mainstream horror-comedy starring Ron’s most famous body part.

But the real winner of the contest was Metblogs itself, as not only did Keekle step in to provide us commentary of the evening in the video above, but he’s provided us with a detailed account of what transpired at dinner with Ron.

What follows is entirely NSFW, includes offers of lapdances, Ron’s account of “the most outrageous thing” he’s seen in his long career in porn, and pretty much the norm of what transpires when someone wins a Metblogs contest. (okay, that’s a lie, but there are lots of pictures). Read the rest of this entry →

Back in March, I wrote about Chaparral‘s upcoming focus on noir, and now I’m here to tell you about Switchblade, PM Press‘ new imprint wholly devoted to noir. The two inaugural offerings from Switchblade both take place in Los Angeles. Gary Phillips’ The Jook imagines the would-be come-back of a pro football player after LA gets a new franchise. “Just as it seems he might be getting back in the flow, he’s enraptured by Wilma Wells, the leggy and brainy lawyer for the team–who has a ruthless game plan all her own.” Summer Brenner’s I-5 tells a story of all sorts of traffic–sex trafficking, crime, and freeways.

Switchblade bills itself as ”a different slice of hardboiled fiction where the dreamers and the schemers, the dispossessed and the damned, and the hobos and the rebels tango at the edge of society.” You can get a taste of the hardboiled goodness tomorrow night at the Mystery Bookstore in Westwood and Thursday night at Skylight in Los Feliz. (An aside: I just noticed while writing this post, that Lawrence Block and George Pelecanos will be at the Mystery Bookstore on the 19th. Wow.) Sadly, I cannot make either event, but I hope to manage the private launch party nonetheless (shameless, I know). I am assured the absinthe will flow freely.

You can go here to register your top three priorities for the spending of federal stimulus dollars in LA. Your choices?

• Infrastructure: Street lights, sidewalks, repaving
• Afterschool programs
• Gang intervention programs
• Community centers/senior centers
• Permanent housing for homeless
• Neighborhood beautification: medians, plantings
• Foreclosure prevention & counseling
• Career training centers

So. What will you vote for? I chose gang intervention, afterschool programs, and permanent housing for homeless.

There’s also a field where you can make suggestions–do you have a write-in idea for how to spend the stimulus cash? Ha. Hahaha. I just bet you do.

This is a hugely special treat for us to be able to offer one pair of tickets to one lucky winner. Steve Martin isn’t only a world-famous comedian and actor, but he’s a Grammy-winning banjo player. Seriously.

Of course, that’s not the only thing serious about next Monday’s performance. This is a fundraiser for the Los Angeles Public Library, and is presented by the Library Foundation of Los Angeles. From the Goldenvoice website:

“Martin’s banjo playing kind of took a backseat during years of movies, books and more movies. That is, until he played second banjo on Earl Scruggs’ Grammy-winning recording of “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” in 2001, holding his own against country stars like Vince Gill and Marty Stuart.”

Martin will be joined onstage by humor writer Dave Barry, who said “In today’s economy, we need to support our public libraries. And when you say ‘public library,’ the phrase that immediately comes to mind is ‘banjo music.’ So I’m really looking forward to asking Steve Martin probing questions about his new album, such as: ‘WHY?’”

Here’s all the info on the show. To win tickets, leave your favorite Steve Martin quote below either in text form or using Seesmic to record a video quote. The winner will be chosen before Friday.

Do you think you can beat the stories penned (typed?) by our clever commenters from the recent Shiny Toy Guns contest? Even if you don’t win the grand prize we still have a bunch of tickets to give away to the show. So go for it and leave a comment! We have five pairs of tickets to give away…

Here’s the contest!

RIP Dom DeLuise you were my favorite actor in the screwball comedies as I was growing up.  Between all the Mel Brooks and “Smokey and the Bandit” movies you added a lot of laughs to my life.  

I’ve attached one of my favorite clips from “Blazing Saddles” to bring a smile to some faces today.  I ask, what greater achievement in ones life than to bring in laughter and a smile? 

He passed away quietly in his sleep Monday night in his LA home according to his son. All the details and bio in the MSN Movies article that ran moments ago.

(Updated just for lezgull, I searched and found an out takes insanity clip for you, but you have to make the jump). Read the rest of this entry →

If you missed it last year, make a point of attending this year’s LA BBQ Festival.  It will take place at Santa Monica Beach just north of the pier this weekend May 9 & 10.  I am so in and so should any carnivore that loves fresh pork, beef and chicken BBQ.  Each plate of Barbecue will be priced at $10.  Add in a beer tent and a few bands and this is a party not just some parking lot festival.

The folks over at LA BBQ Festival also have in a special discounted admission for the LA Metblog readers.  Simply type in coupon code “met” and your general admission drops from $10 to $5.  The same code drops the VIP ticket from $50 to $35.  The VIP ticket gets you admission for both days and front of line privileges, which is something to consider if you are on a mission to sample all they have to offer. The first hour of each day (noon-1pm) is limited to pre-purchased tickets, so in addition to a discounted rate, you’ll also be dealing with shorter lines for food and beer.

Read the rest of this entry →

If you’re looking for something to do on a Monday night, I highly recommend that you check out LA-based retro future rockers Echoes de Luxe tonight at El Cid.

Echoes de Luxe finished their debut EP in late 2008. Mixed by Alex Newport (Mars Volta, Death Cab for Cutie) and mastered by Pete Lyman (Mars Volta, Jubilee), it’s no wonder Dave Navarro couldn’t stop playing their stuff on his L.A.-based radio show, “Dark Matter” on Indie 103.1.

There’s something so gritty about their sound, like warm keg beer, but still so tight and together, like a smart leisure suit topped off with a jaunty ascot. Are you still with me? My favorite track off their debut EP is One Minute More. Check it out here.

Echoes de Luxe at El Cid May 4 at 10pm

Echoes de Luxe is:

Richard Swan – vocals/guitar
Justin K. Smith – guitar/keys
Brahm Bourque – bass
Matt Lesser – drums

El Cid, 4212 W Sunset Blvd, Silver Lake. 10PM.

Menchie’s, my favorite of all of the many frozen yogurt chains in L.A., just opened their latest store within walking distance of my house. It’s a nice, longish walk, but can certainly be done when time permits. As mentioned on L.A. Metblogs about a year and a half ago, there is a location in Valley Village, which isn’t too far from me either, but I have to drive to it. I suppose I could ride my bicycle over. Nah.

I haven’t been in the new Burbank/Toluca Lake spot yet. I’m suspicious that it will happen within the next couple of days. So what makes Menchie’s so much better than the omnipresent Pinkberry?

Click here to read more about why Menchie’s rocks!

I just saw Anvil! The Story of Anvil last night and I am so totally enraptured that I would gladly endure another sweltering, crowded, reeling from motion sickness car ride from Silver Lake to Westwood to see it again. I would.

In fact, I may be doing that because I just found out that Anvil will be making a live appearance at the 7:50 PM screening of the film this Wednesday at The Landmark Theater in Westwood! You can buy tickets in advance here.

For those unfamiliar, Anvil! The Story of Anvil is a documentary about the Canadian heavy metal band, Anvil. This is not one of those Spinal Tap-ish fake documentaries, these dudes are painfully real. The film is directed by Sacha Gervasi and I would tell you more about it, but it won’t be as good as you just watching the trailer, so check it out:

Anvil! The Story of Anvil is only showing at one theater in LA, Read the rest of this entry →

I started seeing the faint mist of purple on the Jacranda trees in my neighborhood last week. Then last Friday night I turned a corner and saw one almost at halfway bloomed. Soon, full splashed of purple will be everywhere and I will sigh with delight. 

People say (and I’m guilty of it) that you can’t hardly tell one season from the next in Los Angeles. But there is no doubt when May has arrived in all her violet purple glory. Makes me think, “Summer is right around the corner!”

(Wish I’d had a better camera with me at the time. But just look around when you go out today, you’ll see them.)