Akon, David Banner, and Rick Ross lead a show of custom cars, music, and other new products at the L.A. Convention Center. The show will showcase some of the world’s top custom cars for the sixth year running.
Included in the show is the MLB Road Show tractor trailer, meant to promote baseball to fans around the country with a traveling display. In addition to the expected merchandise, in this case the “Authentic” line, the same stuff worn by the real players, the truck also gives fans the chance to try their hand at playing the game a bit themselves with batting and pitching cages.
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Tags: shows
Saturday night was the L.A. release party for JanSport’s new lines of backpacks and bags. In an effort to make the company hip again and make backpacks that don’t have to have a litany of pins and patches to look interesting, JanSport is releasing a line of “heritage bags” and a series of backpacks designed by two renowned street artists, Julie West and JoeX2. The artists have turned backpacks into canvasses for their art. The backpacks, some of which I really like the design of, are now available from JanSport.
Since the show was a promotion for a line of backpacks and bags, tickets were free and the show was open to all ages. I hadn’t been to an all-ages show in quite some time, and it’s a vibe I don’t especially miss. Despite the free admission and all-ages status of the show, it was sparsely attended, which was certainly disappointing for JanSport, but partly their own fault.
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Tags: Reviews · shows
If you’re looking for a site for info on L.A. bands and their gigs, you can’t do any better than Loudvine.com. Started by a group of people, who just like you, were looking for a one-stop source for all the concert information they wanted for the city.
Loudvine operates similarly to any other social networking site. You can create a profile with information about yourself and add friends and bands that you are a fan of. There are separate sections to search for fellow fans and to search for artists. On each profile, you can see a person’s or a band’s favorite genres and bands so that you can compare tastes and find something you might be interested in. Bands also have some of their songs and gig information.
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Tags: Music
The third installment of VH1’s lifetime achievement show, Rock Honors, tapes Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion. Unlike in years past, this year’s show will honor just one band, or at least what’s left of it, The Who. The previous two editions of the show taped in Las Vegas, but this year’s edition tapes here in L.A.
The Who were formed in mid-1960s England and were most famous at the time for their destructive antics on stage. However, they soon became one of the key bands in the British invasion with their debut album, My Generation. They followed this up with a number of other famous albums, including their “rock opera,” Tommy. The band stayed famous and popular through most of the ’70s, but was hard hit by the death of iconic drummer Keith Moon in 1978. The rest of the band remained together until 1983 until they decided to call things off. Just before what was to be a reunion tour in 2002, bassist John Entwistle was found dead from a heart attack.
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Tags: Upcoming events · shows
Former jazz prodigy Taylor Eigsti came to the Jazz Bakery for four nights last week. I managed to catch Saturday night’s two shows (more on why two instead of just one later).
Eigsti’s quartet consisted of him on piano, bassist Harish Raghavan, drummer Jamire Williams, and fellow prodigy Julian Lage on guitar. The crowd for the show was small, even for an intimate venue like the Jazz Bakery. If you’ve never been to the Jazz Bakery (or any of the other businesses that now populate the former Helms Bakery complex) it may come as a bit of a surprise â the complex is truly massive, as it needed to be to supply bread to the entire city and parts beyond, but there’s no longer any baking going on, just a bunch of modern furniture stores, a few restaurants, and the Jazz Bakery.
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Tags: Reviews · bands
More political scandals have rocked the real estate world this week. Another celebrity is faced with foreclosure. These stories and more in this week’s real estate roundup.
Celebrity Real Estate
Avril Lavigne may have finally managed to sell her Beverly Hills house, which had been on the market. According to the Times, Lavigne received an offer of $5.2 million in cash, less than the $5.8 million she had been asking, but the cash may be the deal maker. Lavigne paid less than $5 million for the house in 2004. She currently lives in the Bel Air Crest community with her husband, Sum 41 front man Deryck Whibley.
Ed McMahon is the latest celebrity faced with foreclosure. McMahon once had a fortune of over $200 million, but now has defaulted on a loan of just $4.8 million. The house, located in Beverly Hills, has been on the market for over two years and is now listed for $5.75 million.
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Tags: News · Real Estate
The Lakers are back in the Finals against their old rivals, but we have to wait until Thursday so that the TV schedule is optimum for the NBA. The Angels and Dodgers are heading in opposite directions, but both face teams that have fallen flat on their faces this season.
NBA
Lakers
- at Boston, Thursday, 6:00, ABC
- at Boston, Sunday, 6:00, ABC
The Lakers have made it back to the Finals for another edition of their traditional rivalry with the Celtics after a Western Conference Finals that was way easier than many people thought it would be. Unfortunately for the Lakers, the Celtics are a much better team than the Spurs this season. Longtime stars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce are still looking for their first championships, meaning the Celtics will be just as hungry as the Lakers, and more talented. I expect the Lakers to lose a hard-fought series.
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Tags: Games · Upcoming events
Even a Congresswoman has now been hit with foreclosure â twice! One of the more bizarre political scandals in recent years has hit local Congresswoman Laura Richardson. A fairly quiet week otherwise.
Celebrity Real Estate
Ted Danson and his wife, actress Mary Steenburgen, have sold a house in the Malibu Colony that had been on the market for about a year. The house was listed for $16.75 million, down from its original price of $18 million. Located at 23610 Malibu Colony Road, the house was completely remodeled in 2002. Danson and Steenburgen still own two properties in Martha’s Vineyard and one in Ojai.
News
Long Beach, Compton, and Carson Congresswoman Laura Richardson (featured above) has become embroiled in the most high-profile foreclosure case yet to hit the headlines. Richardson’s home in Sacramento, which she bought in 2007 while serving in the State Assembly, was sold at auction earlier this month. Richardson was sent multiple notices by her lender, but did not pay her mortgage payments or her property tax, resulting in a total debt of over $570,000, $40,000 more than she paid for the house. The house was apparently somewhat disheveled when the new owner took possession â the garage was full of trash and the lawn was overgrown. Lender Washington Mutual had to write off almost $200,000 in debt to get rid of the property.
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Tags: News · Real Estate
Even celebrities are now facing real estate problems with their high-end homes. A major L.A. real estate scam was exposed this week by the SEC. Countrywide executives may be in big trouble. These stories and more in this week’s real estate roundup.
Celebrity Real Estate
Celebrities are facing the real estate price crunch like everyone else. Numerous celebrities have been unable to sell their homes for their original listing prices and have been forced to reduce the prices to attract buyers. Sharon Stone listed a home for $12.5 million back in 2006, but has so far been unable to sell the home, reducing its price to $10 million this week. Actors Frankie Muniz and Angela Bassett and singer Avril Lavigne have also recently had to drop the prices of their homes.
News
An Altadena woman was arrested for fraud tied to real estate last Wednesday. The woman, Jeanetta M. Standefor, operated a company under investigation by the SEC for fraud in the L.A. area, Nevada, and Georgia from 2005 to 2007. Standefor offered black investors “risk-free” securities that would return up to 50% within just 45 days, claiming the money raised would help homeowners avoid foreclosure. Some of the money was repaid to early investors to make the operation, Accelerated Funding Group, look legitimate, but Standefor kept the majority of the money for herself, spending $1.9 million on personal expenses. She has now been charged with 11 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering, carrying a maximum sentence of 180 years in prison.
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Tags: News · Real Estate
Michael Jackson was saved from foreclosure, but probably not for long. One celebrity lists her home, another takes a gander at it. The city council tries to prevent mansionization. These stories and more in this week’s real estate roundup.
Celebrity Real Estate
Christina Aguilera has placed her 5-bedroom Hollywood Hills home on the market. Aguilera bought another house in Beverly Hills from Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne last year, the same house in which the show The Osbournes was filmed. The Hollywood Hills home is listed for $7.995 million, nearly $3 million more than Aguilera paid for it back in 2003. Adding more celebrity intrigue, actor Jason Statham of Transporter fame has apparently taken a look at the house with the possibility of buying.
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Tags: General · Real Estate
The Lakers are now facing their first adversity of the 2008 playoffs. It will be interesting to see how the team responds to losing twice in Utah. The Angels and Dodgers meet in Anaheim for the first of their two yearly series. Both teams are coming off rough weeks.
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Tags: Reviews · Sport Report
At least some homeowners in the area have good news this week, as 89,000 of them have had their property tax loads reduced. Now even celebrities are suffering foreclosure. These stories and more in this week’s real estate roundup.
Celebrity Real Estate
Melissa Etheridge has sold her six-bedroom house in Hidden Hills for an undisclosed price. Etheridge purchased another house in Hidden Hills for $5.1 million last year, so she no longer had a need for this property. The house, located at 5209 Saddle Creek Road, was listed at $4.995 million.
Former major league star and author of the steroid expose Juiced Jose Canseco (seen here in his less glorious days as a member of the Long Beach Armada) has become perhaps the most-famous person to have suffered foreclosure in the current crisis. Canseco, who supposedly tried to extort former teammates in the past year, may be hurting for money, but said that he decided to walk away from his mortgage because it didn’t make financial sense to pay it any longer. Canseco bought the foreclosed home, located at 18011 Karen Drive in Encino, in 2005.
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Tags: General · Real Estate
Akon, David Banner, and Rick Ross lead a show of custom cars, music, and other new products at the L.A. Convention Center. The show will showcase some of the world’s top custom cars for the sixth year running.