Meet and Celebrate the Women of Venice at The Venice West!

Tomorrow is International Women's Day (but isn't it every day, really?), and March is Women's History Month. Thus, it's high time we officially celebrate the badass women of Venice with a proper gathering. When I zoomed into town last October for the world premiere of our film UNZIPPED: An Autopsy of American Inequality, it was such a quick trip that I didn't get to see all of my favorites, so for my last night I just asked a bunch of ladies to meet me, as I didn't have time to see everyone separately. It was jaw dropping that some of the best of the best Venice ladies had never met each other before, because real Venice isn't all that big. One of the great ones, Kaycee Smith, was there that night, and it planted a seed that is sprouting right now, with an event this Wednesday, March 9th at The Venice West! 

So many Venice women are doing so many cool things and running so many unique and creative businesses, so this shindig is to introduce you all to each other and realize the massive power behind women supporting other women ... plus it will be super fun, with a happy hour mixer from 5-8 pm (bring those biz cards!), and a night of music from 8-12 with an all-female lineup. Aloha Radio kick off the music at 8 pm, followed by Kat Hall,  Beebs (with her backing band made up of basically Fishbone), and my special homegirl Lacey Kay (who was also there that autumn night) and The Calamity will wrap up this excellent night of lady jams. I mean, Get DOWN! The evening will be emceed by Megan Holiday from KROQ, (who herself has been super active in supporting others in their addictions), and House of Jupiter (PR Firm) and Flying Embers (kombucha!)  and the great Beachlife Festival are helping out with sponsorships.

"When women are nice to each other, we can get so much done," explained Smith when telling me about the thinking behind this event. "I know a lot of badass women, and I wouldn't be where I'm at in my life without the help of other women." I would wager that's true for just about everyone. These have been hard times the last couple of years, and many have been isolated and lonely. There may be new transplants that have moved into town during the pandemic and haven't been able to meet the incredible women of the Venice Community yet. Well, this is your chance - and even if you've been in Venice all of your life, I promise that there's some real gems that you still don't know. 

Aside from the music, fun, and promise of meeting fantastic women, there will be live painting by Jen LaVita and Erica Lane reading her poetry. The first 20 gals in attendance will get a swag bag and there will also be new headshots taken for the first 20 ladies to finally update their Linked In pages with! Incentive to get their on the early side, for sure. 

The hope is that this mixer will be such a soaring success that the ladies will take over The Venice West for quarterly nights like these, and the always local Westside Wednesdays will feature all female bands for the entire Women's History Month of March. That, plus the mix and match happy hour (cocktail and an appetizer for $15!) make this the spot I know I'd be this month if I could be. But I can't be, because I'm still in Minnesota supporting women (my Mom). It pains me that I can't be at this first mixer with all my fun female Venice friends, but I know that a community of women supporting, inspiring, encouraging, networking, and even finding jobs for each other can only make Venice - and the entire world - even cooler. 

Have a blast, Ladies, and I'll hope to catch you at the next one! (Oh, and guys can come too ... just know that the night is all about Wonder Women).

The Venice West 

1717 Lincoln Blvd. 

Venice

The Venice West - A New Venice Live Music Venue That Celebrates The Old Venice

Hi Venice! It's been a while! I'm still handling family affairs in Minneapolis, but when I heard there was a new cool live music venue opening this month in Venice, I had to get the scoop. The Venice West is set to open for business this October 8th with a live show featuring Matt Costa. Venice has needed more live music venues for ages, and The Venice West is bringing that to Lincoln Boulevard in the space that was previously The Witz End. 

 

 

My friend (and former fellow Venice Neptune Queen!), Kaycee Smith, is the Director of Marketing and Community Outreach for The Venice West, so you know there are going to be locals up in there, and you know there's going to be good music. In the first week open alone they've got the aforementioned Costa, then back to back shows with The Samples (10/9) and The Wailers (10/10)!  That's a pretty stacked opening week, Dude. The team behind The Venice West is pretty stacked as well. Co-owners Rob Lissner and Allen Sanford are also the team behind the Beach Life Festival in Redondo Beach that is one of the best festivals I've ever covered, right there in the sunshine on the sand next to the Pacific. Sanford also owns Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach, where we've all seen many a great gig, so you know The Venice West is going to be a real good time. Looking ahead, I see The English Beat, The Untouchables/Brobots, Donovan Frankenreiter ... seriously, this is gonna be good, Venice. 

 

 

I spoke to Lissner and Smith about the venue, as, frankly, I really wanted to be sure that it wasn't going to be a situation where douchey gentrifiers think they can come in and claim Venice, and piggyback on to the coattails of the cool that was established here long before they came. Well, I can assure you that Lissner and Company are being extremely thoughtful and respectful about Venice and its history, and stressed to me repeatedly that they want this spot to be for the entire community, where all feel welcome ... and you might even learn something about Venice you didn't know about before. 

 

Lissner has been doing his Venice research in the four years since they bought the space, deep diving into the era that saw The Venice West Café (in the old Sponto Gallery space) thriving with all the Beat poets, artists, and musicians of the day in the scene that was Venice West. He really wanted to pay tribute to that history and all the supercoolness that came out of that key moment in Venice time, and as permits and neighborhood hearings, Coastal Commission appeals, and Covid and all that kept pushing the opening, he had the time to be very thorough in his research. He has been in talks with Venice historian, Gerry Fialka, to create an evening of Venice history. We talked about getting Beyond Baroque involved and hosting Poetry nights at The Venice West. They also very much want to get kids from Venice Arts, Venice High, School of Rock, the Boys and Girls Club, whoever might have a need, to use the space for performance or rehearsals during the daytime. He's over-paying on Ebay for old photos and posters to adorn the walls, and is particularly proud of an original Earl Newman he scored. As he should be. 

I was happy to hear that they are putting an emphasis on hiring locals, both as staff and entertainment. GM Carl Roberts ("Reverand Carl") has been on the scene for ages, and their talent booker, Adam Spriggs, has a solid history of getting the good national acts for his projects like the KAABOO Festival, as well as booking local favorites like Christopher Hawley and Tom Freund, who are already on The Venice West's calendar, with Freund bringing "Hold Strong Thursdays" to town - a throwback to the hallowed Stronghold days.

They're going for a supper club feel, with tables and dining from 5-8 pm, and then the tables will be moved aside for show time. Diego Balan is heading up the food program, and from what I'm hearing about the pre-opening tastings, the food at The Venice West is going to be bomb. Who doesn't love dinner and a show? Though Lissner and Sanford could have opened their venue anywhere, it was very important to Lissner that it be in Venice, where he has lived for the past two decades. Anyone who was present for The Stronghold scene knows how fun that was, and Lissner is going for some of those kind of vibes to return. And, after the last couple of years we've all been through ... the people are READY.

"To me, Venice has always been art, culture, and eccentricity based, and I've seen some of that fade in recent years. I really think music can help bring some of that back. I want people to know that Venice history, while being cool and respectful to it," explained Lissner, in a statement that I can fully endorse. The Venice West looks to be a place where the community can always find great music, good vibes, and tasty eats. Smith envisions it being the spot where you can say, "Hey, let's hit The Venice West - I don't know who's playing, but you know it's going to be good." A real Venice hang ... for REAL Venice. I can't wait. 

The Venice West

1717 Lincoln Boulevard (at Superba)

Venice, CA 90291

www.TheVeniceWest.com

 

*Photos courtesy of Kaycee Smith and Paul Gronner.

The Neptune Festival Declares It Officially Summer 2016 In Venice!

June Gloom split right on time and Sunday was hot and sunny for the annual Neptune Festival held in Venice each year to officially proclaim it to be SUMMER!

The party started at The Sidewalk Cafe, where sea-themed revelers caroused and prepared to parade together to the Ocean.

This year's King Neptune was Jeremy Parker and his Queen was Kaycee Smith, both all done up in vintage Hawai'ian threads, leis, and elaborate headdresses. Their royal court were all in similar attire, and everybody was ready to make a big scene in the name of Summer fun.

The group was called to order outside of The Sidewalk Cafe with a blast from the royal conch shell, and we all lined up behind the sparkling Venice sign to process down the Boardwalk, across the sand, and down to the water.

My favorite part of the Neptune Festival is seeing all the unassuming tourists and beach goers who have no idea what's coming or happening. The chants of "Hail The King! Hail The Queen Hail Summer! Hail Venice! Hail Yeah!" were repeated all along the way, and the parade grew in size as pleasantly surprised fellow lovers of Summer joined the gang.

Mermaid Queen Smith read her official statement, stressing the importance of our Venice traditions, especially in light of all the change going on around town. She encouraged us to live by example, "To skate more, and to love more!" Hear, hear!!!

With another blaring blow to the conch shell, King Neptune Parker read his royal decree next, urging that there be music and feasts, and "Fine wine, women and friends!" "We are all humans! We are an example of love and unity for the world! I declare that SUMMER IS HERE!!! To the Water!!" With that proclamation, we could now declare it to officially be Summer in Venice! It was awesome.

The King and Queen went into the water for the ceremonial dunking that the Neptunes must do to make it all legit. They were joined by several members of the royal court and a whole bunch of folks that just wanted in on the fun. Last year's Queen "The Visqueen" Dakota Rayfield had my favorite quote of the day when she looked out at all the summery chaos and said,  "Look, we're just reigning beautiful mischief all over the place!"

The entire group posed for photos together, then traipsed back across the sand to carry on the party at The Sidewalk Cafe with live bands and royal revelry all the rest of the day, until a golden sunset put the perfect exclamation point on the wonderful day.

May we all have a Summer absolutely FULL of beautiful mischief! Hail Yeah!!!

The Skatermade Art Of Bart Saric

A fun art opening went down last night at Trim on Rose to exhibit the artwork of Bart Saric, owner of the Skatermade skate company, and lifelong Venice guy. You could tell it was a true Venice opening as soon as you walked up, with skaters pulling tricks on the concrete out in front of the salon, and by seeing people you actually knew in town!

A whole bunch of skaters and Venice O.G.s were there to support their longtime friend Saric, and to catch up with pals around the keg. There was live music going on from Meet Me At The Pub's Jeremy Parker, keeping it all festive.

Saric's paintings of surf and skate scenes were done on skate decks, and the accompanying photography kept to that awesome theme. When talking to Saric about it, he explained that he has his art, his skate company, his filmmaking, his own surfing and skating, and all sorts of plates spinning in the air, and I commented that it seems like a lot of Venice people have multiple outlets for their creativity and expression, and perhaps that's why we were all drawn here. Saric answered, "I think it's because we all have something to share." I love that.

Sharing was in full effect at the opening party, from the tall tales being swapped to the passing of the dutchie outside on a starry Venice night. Kaycee Smith of Trim curated the art show, and it looks great. I especially liked the deck hanging in mid-air.

Smith could not say enough good about Saric, and told me that he is the ultimate example of a skater living the credo, "Biggest grin wins!" Skater Eric Dressen was there, and had a statement on the wall backing that up ...

Everyone was having such a good time that no one noticed it getting late, well past salon hours. The entire crowd cleaned and packed it up together, and then headed as one big group to the Cock and Bull.  That's the mark of a good party, when no one wants it to end, and everyone carries on to the next phase together. That is special. That is friendship. That is community. That's what this bunch is about. Good times, Skatemade.

Saric's art will be on display at Trim on Rose through June 1st. 

512D Rose Avenue, Venice.

Art inquiries may be made to info@skatermade.com