Monday, May 17, 2010

DAVID SEDARIS REVIEW IN LA WEEKLY




Along with previewing David Sedaris' reading at UCLA, the LA Weekly was cool enough to let me review his performance. If you don't feel like clicking here to read all about it, let me summarize: He was awesome and I am very jealous of his talent.

JOHN FANTE SQUARE IN THE LA WEEKLY




This week I have a story in the LA Weekly regarding the unveiling of John Fante Square at the corner of 5th and Grand in downtown Los Angeles. I attended the event on what would have been the writer's 101st birthday (which is April 8) and was really excited when the fine folks at the LAW said they'd want me to cover it.

As I've mentioned before, I get a major thrill writing for the Weekly and when I write about John Fante, I always get nervous. He is by far my favorite writer and trying to convey how important he is -- along with his immense talent -- is never an easy task.

Let's hope I did an alright job.

Click here to read the story.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

THE ICARUS LINE IN THE LA WEEKLY




If Los Angeles band the Icarus Line ever has its own "Behind the Music," you bet your sweet ass I'm going to be one of those talking heads who tells you what the members were like "back in the day." You see, I've known the Icarus Line before they existed, when they were a ska-punk band, then a punk-punk band called the Kanker Sores. We hung out constantly and had lots of fun together.

The band has been through a bunch of lineups and such is life, the more people come and go in the group, the less I know them. But main man Joe Cardamone and Alvin "Asian Orange" DeGuzman are still holding it down, so when the five-piece played a few blocks away from my apartment, I had to go.

That's not to say I didn't want to because I really did. Regardless of the lineup and the set list, the Icarus Line have never failed to disappoint. They're a great band, one that I would like even if I didn't know them. Having them as friends is icing on the cake. Or maybe the fact that we are friends AND I like their music is the icing on the cake. Yeah, I think that sounds better.

Anyway, it's always a pleasure to get the band some ink, which is what I did (technically it was a blog post so there was no ink involved) a while back when I reviewed their show at Alex's Bar in Long Beach for the LA Weekly.

Snoop Clicky Click here to read all that noise.
Photo taken by me. Aren't I awesome?

LIGHTBULB MOUTH COVER STORY IN THE DISTRICT




My first -- and last -- cover story for Long Beach's District Weekly is about a weekly event called the Lightbulb Mouth Radio Hour. It goes down at the Basement Lounge every Wednesday and is hosted by poets Derrick Brown and Mindy Nettifee. I'd tell you more, but why not just click here and read what I already done wrote?

JIM BEAM AND GINGER ALE IN THE DISTRICT




I'm sure I'm the last person in the blogosphere to mention this, but Long Beach lost a great publication when The District Weekly decided to close its doors. I was bummed as both a writer and reader and hope something will come along sooner than later to replace the weekly newspaper.

I was fortunate enough to be published in the District many times and I have to say, writing for TDW was always a ton of fun. Ellen the editor was great to work with and was cool enough to let me write some stuff that I'm pretty sure other editors wouldn't have let me get away with. She never chopped up my work like a few others have done and was cool enough to include me in the editing process whenever the situation arose. That is a very nice thing for an editor working on a deadline to do and I very much appreciate it.

Anyway, I had a few stories in the District before they went kaboom. Here's a little tale of me drinking Jim Beam and ginger ale in a cane at the East Village's Basement Lounge. Click here for all the pertinent info.

PS Photo by Roshelia Robles.

Monday, May 3, 2010

TV STARS ON BLAST FOR THE LA WEEKLY




I swear I'm not making this up. I was standing in line at Ralphs buying acai juice for my morning smoothies when Tone, Andy and Josh from On Blast literally grabbed me and woke me up. I was almost asleep, rocking my pajamas and slippers and thinking about how awesome my bed was going to feel. Twenty minutes later we're at someone's apartment doing tequila shots to celebrate their song "Wanna Lose Control" being used on the HBO show "How to Make it in America."

Because I'm good at what I do, I turned this Sunday night impromptu party into a story for the LA Weekly about a band watching (or more like listening) to their tune on TV.

Click here to read it. And yes, I was a bit hungover the next morning. I usually am when I part with those guys.

DAVID SEDARIS IN LA WEEKLY

I hate David Sedaris, but only because I'm insanely jealous of how talented he is. Dude can write like Hendrix played guitar and he makes guys like me look like schmucks. Now that I've brightened your day, click here to read a blurb I wrote about Senor Sedaris for the LA Weekly.