On April 25, 26, and 27, 2008, in conjunction with the exhibition Allan Kaprow Art As Life (presented at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA), LACMA is coordinating the reinvention of Allan Kaprow’s Fluids. First realized for his 1967 exhibition at the Pasadena Art Museum, Fluids is being built by teams of volunteers at sites across Los Angeles.

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Before I moved to LA from the landlocked Midwest, my anticipatory fantasies usually included me carrying a striped parasol and picnic lunch to the beach every weekend. Four and a half years later, I have actually driven the few miles from my apartment to the beach maybe eight times. (It might actually be closer to six.) I just hate battling the crowds, fighting the parking wars, being at the mercy of unforgiving traffic.

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Ever get stuck in the middle of the street for ages while some random sequel gets filmed? Me too.

There was a line down the block to get into the inaugural event at Royal/T in Culver City. The space was filled with art curated to explore the appealing and yet revolting qualities of Kawaii, or “cute” pop culture. The cafe was not yet set up, but there were “maid” waitresses passing around chocolates and other sweets. We expected to see a few more “cosplay”participants, but the ones we did see were dressed to the teeth, usually themed towards the American 20’s.

Check out a collection of photos below:

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In one of its last stops before hitting the UK, the Rockstar™ Taste of Chaos graced the presence of Los Angeles Thursday night to find over 10,000 fans waiting to sing along to songs they were far too familiar with. Doors opened at 3:30, but the show officially started at 5:00. Due to traffic, it took me almost three hours to get to Long Beach from Los Angeles. I made it there for MUCC’s last song, but just in time to catch an up-and-coming JROCK band, the Underneath.

Lead singer Taka bellowed to the ever-increasing crowd, “Do you wanna rock? Do you wanna rock? I can’t hear you!” He was greeted with screams of approval as the Underneath played their last song on the side stage. I’ve never known JROCK to be popular in the states, but it seems like the revolution is growing - the language barrier seems to have no hold on their audience.

UK outfit Bullet for My Valentine followed with a 30-minute set, promoting their new album with new songs. Recognizable songs were greeted with screams, but fans seemed to know almost if not all of their songs. To leave their mark on Los Angeles, the band challenged all audience members to see how many people they could get over the barrier (from crowdsurfing) at the same time.

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The Songkran festival was the most legitimate cultural fair I have been to since I was a kid.  I treat most events like this with a tired disgustedness, knowing that I will arrive, and instead of seeing anything remotely “cultural”, I will be assailed by people trying to sell me socks and cookware like you see on QVC.

This was not the case at the Songkran Festival.  All goods were Thai, not all food was Thai, but the non-Thai cuisine was occupying only 3 or 4 tents.  There was Muay Thai boxing matches all day, a Thai beauty pageant, tons of Traditional music and theatre, and a great deal of people n traditional dress.  I stayed for 5 hours and took over 600 photos, eventually ending up at The Stone (a bar on Hollywood) with curry stains all down my shirt, drinking Thai Beer until it cooled down enough outside to ride my bike home.

For those of you who missed it this year, or those of you who, like me, expect these events to be nothing more than a swap meet - enjoy my photos and try and get down to Songkran next year.

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Thai town was the place to be Yesterday. A sea of people turned out for this year’s Songran festival, and rightfully so. There were just about a bajillion booths covering everything from the DWP to traditional Thai parasol painting. Three stages, two dozen food stands and a parade were only some of the highlights of this year’s festivities.

The big draw for me was the Curry King contest. As you can imagine, I was more than eager to
see a heated competition for this title, and my mind raced at the glorious possibilities of such an event… The reality, however, was nowhere near as exciting as my imagination had lead me to believe. About 6 restaurants had set up booths for the competition, including an Indian and Japanese curry places, and two booths were actually put on by the event itself! Beyond that, it was very hard to actually find out how the hell to participate in it.

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As a character designer I have to draw all types of people and creatures, but all of us have a particular type of person we like to draw off the clock. Mine is curvy women. This week I’ve been drawing more than my usual amount of them.

There’s been so much debate over the size zero issue, but apart from the odd overboard celebrity, I’ve rarely seen women that size walking around here. What’s nice about LA is the variety of women here. The publicized women do tend to be of intimidatingly slim proportions, but we also have many Latino women who always have wonderful curves. I’ve heard such mixed reactions; some women say it’s hard to be curvy here due to Hollywood’s influence, but others embrace the fact that LA is such a diverse city.

I’ve been particularly influenced this week by Beth Ditto from punk band ‘The Gossip’, who is a plus sized girl, who often strips down to her underwear during shows. I liked her because she’s fierce - she doesn’t buy into the stereotype of ‘big girl = big jolly personality’. Ditto is sexy and unapologetic, she even appeared on the front of music magazine NME naked.

I think you just have to be happy with yourself. Size zero and obesity are obviously two sides of the scale, but as long as you’re healthy and comfortable with yourself, what does it matter.

It’s pretty easy to assume that the only horses you’ll see in LA are the ones on Polo shirts and Ferraris, but don’t be so hasty. The horse is alive and kicking right in the heart of Burbank at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. The LAEC is a massive complex situated on Riverside Dr. adjacent to Griffith Park, just east of the Disney studio lot. Rows and rows of barns house all kinds of horses and trainers; multiple outdoor and indoor arenas almost always have someone riding in them. There’s also a place where you can take a guided trail ride through Griffith Park, and although their cash-only, waiver-signing policies are somewhat alarming, it’s totally worth the twenty bucks you’ll spend.

Nearly every weekend there is a horse show or event happening at the LAEC; if I’m in Burbank on Saturday or Sunday, I always stop by to see what’s going on. There’s no admission or gate attendant and there’s tons of free parking. All you have to do is get there, wander around and enjoy the powerful beauty of the horse.

Check out their website for directions and a calendar of events.
Los Angeles Equestrian Center,
480 Riverside Dr. Burbank, CA 91506

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Huntington Gardens is a very relaxing way to spend a day, here are a collection of photos I took during a recent trip.

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Every Wednesday and Saturday morning, the crowded, lively Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica somehow manages to get more crowded and lively. From 8:30am-1pm, local farmers and artisans bring their choicest products to sell to eager, hungry crowds. Piles of fruits, vegetables, nuts, honey, eggs, herbs, orchids, beef, pork, and many other natural foods dazzle and tempt buyers. So if you’re in the mood for a bucket of unrefined honey, a radish the size of Popeye’s forearm, or the sweetest oranges you’ve ever tasted, visit an ATM and bring some cash down to the market.

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This post is the first in a series attempting to capture the lifestyle and feel of LA’s music venues. The small clubs and bars where stars are born, and destroyed. Places where you may be standing 3 feet from a Grammy winner, or simply witnessing an artist convey their passions and pain. I urge you to take one night a month and journey to one of the many internationally known stages in Hollywood, and experience a live show. You just might fall in love with music again.

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