Six - From and For Paddy Wilkins

My good pal Paddy Wilkins releases a new short film today (shot in Venice by Venice people) called Six. The number six is significant, because today also happens to be the day that Paddy goes in for his 6th round (of 6!!!) of chemo to get rid of that bastard cancer.

Paddy is a superhero. Plain and simple. He is also one of the very best gentlemen I know ... and I don't throw that word around lightly. Please watch and appreciate the gentle beauty of Six ...

7. It's always been my favorite number. I like it even more now that I know 7 means the time after this chemo is done, and Paddy can move forward toward excellent health. You can help with that by donating to Paddy's Gofundme page here:

https://www.gofundme.com/PaddyWilkins

Thanks and love and SEVEN!

Big Red Sundays!

The very fun Sundays at Big Red Sun returned yesterday with an afternoon of music and friends in the charming backyard garden of this great space on Rose Avenue. Everyone is so busy these days, it was a true and rare delight to get the gang all together in the name of Summer fun, live music, and friendship.

We were out gathering up the BYOB supplies, so missed the opening set by our good friend, Scott Passaglia, but he got the party started, that's for sure. There was shopping in addition to music listening, and many friends left the day with new jewelry and art purchased from the little airstream trailer store set up out back. We arrived just in time to pull up a bench and listen to tunes brand new and old by one of our local favorites, Lacey Cowden.

Cowden fully entranced the garden party, and had every eye and ear riveted to her throughout her set. Even her dog, Bootsy, was rapt and totally flattened by the story-telling tunes of her very talented owner. It was honestly so quiet for her that I'm pretty sure all auto and pedestrian traffic had been held out on Rose out of sheer respect. It was silent - until massive applause pierced the skies at the end of every tune. Always take the chance to hear Cowden sing ... it's something special.

After a little mingling in the sun and enjoying the perfectly curated tunes from DJ Bright Moments (Paddy Wilkins) between sets, it was Matt Ellis' turn to beguile the garden. He too brought out new tunes to blend in with his well-known and loved selections, and we all tapped our toes along as the sun got a little lower and colors turned to twilight. Vavine Tahapehi joined her husband on a couple of numbers, and all was right in the world as you glanced around at all of our friends smiling and enjoying themselves, seemingly far away from any cares of the outside world. Which is precisely what afternoons like this are for  - to remind us of all the good that still exists. Right here.

We wound up the night at the always-wonderful Galley (where they had the Olympics showing out on the patio tv - excellent), and another Big Red Sunday was on the books. Be sure to keep an ear out for the next one, because it's a perfect way to while away an afternoon in Venice. Thank you to all who made it happen!

Lacey Kay Cowden + Matt Ellis = Bright Moments

Well, Lacey Kay Cowden sure ended her June residency at The Townhouse with a slam bang finish! Phew.

After entrancing audiences each Tuesday in June with her dulcet tones, Cowden wrapped it up last night with perhaps her strongest performance ever. We're great friends, so I've seen her play a lot, but last night was something special. The confidence and strength displayed as she wove her musical tales of rambling and roaming, loving and learning was of a performer both feeling it, and knowing it, down to her bones. Her backing band made it all extra powerful, with a real T-Bone Burnett kind of sound that we all just loved.

*{Note to Mr. Burnett - You should probably work with Cowden. You'll love it.}

Playing the stories off of her Go Great Guns ep, Cowden simply killed it. Like, I watched people fall in love with her in front of my eyes. I love it when you see people get turned on to new music that they DIG. It's a special kind of alchemy that only comes along every so often. Rad.

Another great friend (and Cowden's ep producer) took the stage next, and similarly scorched it. Matt Ellis and his band brought their rock and roll heat to the already boiling room, where even my hair was almost curling down there in the Del Monte Speakeasy. It really felt like Summer finally, the heat and rock and fun with your friends that pretty much define this season.

Friends! That's the best part of these shows, that everyone on the bill are friends, so all of the mutual friends are in the audience too, and everywhere you turn it's another happy greeting, another heartfelt embrace, another story to tell, another rug to cut. It was also the very last night of my friend Mario's 30's, so we got DOWN in fine fashion (there was even a little break dancing going on).

Ellis regaled us with his catchy-ass songs (mainly off his excellent most recent album, The Greatest Escape), that always stick in my head for days after I hear them. He brought up his lovely wife, Vavine, to join him on my favorite number, "Seven Years At Sea". It's so lush and sublime, and watching them sing this beauty together is so great I can barely stand it. Seriously.

I was pretty much going nuts with my friends the whole time, thus not doing any note taking, but I can tell you that every song placed Ellis and company more firmly in the collective palm of our hands. I realize there's some hyperbole going on here today, but that's what it felt like to me, so there. Aside from the two Ellis hecklers right in front (aka bff's), that is.

All that good music only made us want more, and we got it from DJ Bright Moments (Paddy Wilkins). That dude spun us right up into a frenzy, jamming everything from Prince to "Happy Birthday" for Mario. Bright Moments will not only get you dancing, but remind you that in that moment are actually experiencing for yourself a blindingly bright moment.

We collapsed out the door, singing and dancing all the way home under the almost full bright Summer moon moments.

Stoked.

Lacey Kay Cowden - The Go Great Guns EP Release Jamboree

Sunday was a beautiful day, all about dear and talented friends celebrating that dearness and talent all day long. It was also Abbot Kinney's 164th birthday, and what way to honor the founder of our wonderful town than by dreaming dreams and making them come true.

The occasion was the release of Lacey Kay Cowden's spectacular new ep, Go Great Guns, and that we did for sure, in a beautiful garden party at Big Red Sun.

The party got started at 3 pm with a DJ set by Paddy Wilkins (aka Bright Moments) under the bright sunshine, as we sipped on lemon lavender cocktails in the garden. Scott Passaglia opened the live music portion of the say, as more and more friends arrived to fete Cowden and her new music.

Even little Boots was present to party with her owner, all decked out in her Sergeant Pepper jacket.

The place got increasingly packed with more pals, all loving both the chance to catch up all evening and to hear our friends rule.

Which Paul Chesne and his band certainly did - and always do. It's just always a total blast getting down to their tunes, and Sunday was no different.

Matt Ellis (who also produced Cowden's ep) was up next and played some selections from his new album, The Greatest Escape (I actually have no set list notes as my hands were full with going nuts with my friends, but it was all great, trust).

At some point around here, trays were passed with a treat from Cowden's boyfriend, Chef Brian Dunsmoor, who had whipped up some delicious chili and served it up right inside individual bags of Fritos.

It was the perfect party food, convenient and all set to soak up the drinks that had been going down easily for everyone all afternoon. YUM.

The sun began to set and it was fully dark by the time Cowden took the stage, with the whole garden illuminated with festive lights, as cozy as could be.

Cowden's voice is so strong and beautiful, people were completely silent as they sat and stood to hear her gorgeous new songs from the ep.

She had a band backing her up for this gig, and it really complimented her songs, as the drumming by Griffen Harris really made her "Walking Song" sound like we were all ambling along together, and the electric guitar by Nick Luca really fleshed out the sound of Cowden's own acoustic.

It was touching to see Cowden sing "Southern Boy" to her "Sugarnipples" Dunsmoor, and the support they both display for each others' artistic and culinary endeavors.

"Shotgun Loving" was the first song I ever heard Cowden play, sipping whiskey around the fire one late night, when she truly mesmerized us all. It was much the same Sunday night, when as rowdy as it was all getting, everyone zipped it every time Cowden opened her mouth to sing.

As Cowden took her bows and gave her thanks, the party carried on into the evening ... until just about now, really. Massive congratulations to my dear friend, Lacey, on both an ep and a launch that will be talked about for a long time to come.

It was a truly inspiring event in every way. The place was filled to the wooden rafters with people that live, breathe and walk the walk of their creativity. I think Abbot Kinney would have loved it (as he probably loved the drink sip he got poured for him on the ground). And we'd all do well to heed Cowden's advice, and Go Great Guns after whatever it is that you love.

Go Great Guns is available now everywhere. Get yours!

These Final Hours In Venice

Saturday night was a great time of an outdoor cinema at our friend Paddy's place. My dear friend (and former roommate) Nathan Phillips brought his new film from Australia to show us all and These Final Hours had a packed yard to see it.

The festivities kicked off with beers and fellowship with all sorts of friends catching up under the stars on a particularly balmy November evening. Awesome. Joey Indrieri screened his short film, The Cycle, to much applause, and Matt Montee earned the same for his surf clip, Double Barrel.

There was a little break to stall for time so the birthday boy, Marc O'Riley could arrive and be sung and Hip Hip Hooray'ed too, and then it was time to settle in to your blanket or bean bag chair for the feature attraction.

These Final Hours opens with Phillips' naked ass, and that earned him some extra-bawdy hoots and hollers. Brave man. From there it goes on to chronicle the final hours left of Earth after a very scary sky lets you know that the bomb has been dropped and the World as we know it is over.

Phillips carries the whole film the entire way, as he races against time to return a little girl to her father before the world imminently explodes, and then get himself to the lady that he loves (one of them, at least).

It's intense, heavy, like what would YOU do if you knew it was all about to end forever?

Looking around the yard full of friends that I love as the doom played out on the outdoor screen, I thought I'd probably want to do just about exactly what we were doing ...

Feeling lucky to have talented, creative, generous and supportive people surrounding you and making you feel good about the time you do have in this life.  We're lucky people.

When the world and the movie ended, the place exploded with cheers, and then laughter, as Phillips shouted, "NO SEQUEL!"

The End.

Venice Openings Are Fun - From Hats to Art to Hair

This last Saturday was a grand old time in Venice, ringing in the new with a bunch of business and art openings. Once again, there was too much going on at once to properly get it all done, but we did our very best.

First up, I was delighted to celebrate with my guys at Nick Fouquet Hat. Co.,  creators and purveyors of the finest hats in the West.

They now have a gorgeous work/sales space in the house at 1629 Abbot Kinney Boulevard that they share with Kapital (fancy, spendy threads out of Japan), H.O.W.L. (cool jewelry) and M. Cohen (more cool jewelry). Mikey was serving up the drinks, and Nick was the charming host, and the place was packed when I headed out to the next stop with my bike posse.

It was so wonderful to see the beautiful photography work (and the big crowd there to see it!) of my dear friend, Paddy Wilkins, at Curio Studio and Collection on Sunset Avenue.

As owner, Anne Faith Nicholls said while introducing the show, "It's all about Venice," and she was right. Wilkins (who can be seen in pretty much every commercial on t.v. right now) lives in Venice, as do most of the models that appear in his gorgeous photos made on a vintage Polaroid 600SE.

It seemed that most of Venice was there as well, making the gallery extra steamy inside. That might have been helped along by the fact that the photos were fairly steamy themselves, with women in various stages of undress. As Wilkins describes in the press release:

In COLORFORM, Wilkins explores the senses with portraiture, focusing on anonymous women and the inherent beauty of both their bodies and what they cover them with. The subject's identities in the works give way to Wilkins’s focus on form, and the beautiful details captured in sheer fabrics, saturated hues, contrasting patterns and light translated through the medium of real film, without doctoring. In a world where we are manipulated by heavily altered images and impossible beauty, Paddy’s photos present a timeless, and unfiltered glimpse of woman. 

Yeah. You probably know some of these women, and part of the fun of the night was guessing who might be who. Curio is locally owned and artist operated, and always has excellent shows of innovative and profound artistry. Paddy Wilkins' Colorform will be showing until June 10th.

We then headed over to the opening of Trim's new location at 512 Rose, where it was all winding down by the time we pedaled over there. It appeared to have been a big success as all the party-goers were still standing around on the sidewalk having fun, as Venice Paparazzi was packing up the red carpet. They were handing out shirts that read, "Every man needs a little trim," so there might be your theme for the entire evening ...

 Plans were made, and the people dispersed out all over town, for points like The Townhouse, The Other Room, The Tasting Kitchen, and home ... whichever was your poison.

All in all, it was a great night, in a great town, with great and talented people making it even greater. Congratulations to Nick and Mikey and Paddy and Anne and Nik and Jaime, and everyone who went to their fun jamborees ... VeNICE!