A Venice Greatest Hits Weekend - From Art To Motorcycles!

This past weekend in Venice was full of the greatest hits of all sorts of fun stuff happening around town, and it was non-stop. I had to miss the Art Crawl on Thursday to attend the supremely awesome Prophets Of Rage show at the Forum, but was happy to hear that they had left up all the Venice Afterburn installations down at the beach for everyone to enjoy for another day. This worked out great because it was all just straight up Windward Avenue from where the Venice sign was about to be lit up in the blue and gold colors of the new Los Angeles Rams. There was a pep rally held in the street on Windward, and I raced back from work to get there in time to see my friend Lacey Kay Cowden regale the sporting fans with her gorgeous songs.

I did not get there in time to hear those gorgeous songs, but I did get there in time to party with everyone. Some (gigantic) Rams were there, the Ram mascot was there, and some Rams cheerleaders too. There was a big inflatable Rams slide for the kids, and blue and gold merch for sale. There was a good crowd there, but it felt more like they were there for the fun of it all more so than that anyone was that hardcore of a Rams fan. It also felt a bit more corporate and advertising like than the emphasis placed on the COMMUNITY at other sign lightings that are for holidays, not billion dollar sports teams. There was the usual oohs and aahs for the lightbulbs changing color and you can now cruise by and see the team spirit for L.A.

Having seen that, we went down to the beach to see the immersive art pieces that had just recently returned from Burning Man. There was all kinds of lit-up attractions, and the most popular seemed to once again be the big Unicorn Trojan horse full of dancers.

I liked a big electric bird the best, especially as it was back-lit by the actual sunset and all the people walking around with glow sticks and groovy outfits.

There was a whole bunch of stuff to see, and a whole bunch of people out seeing it. This was one of those nights that it was perfect to have visitors come down, as there was a spectacle to see in all directions. Venice was really showing off, and everyone was in rare fun form. It was a blast.

Such a blast that it resulted in a later start than planned on Saturday, but once up and about, it was time to start the fun all over again. The Venice Vintage Motorcycle Club was holding its rally in the Venice Boulevard Farmer's Market parking lots again this year, and by the time we got there it was all the way jam packed. Motorcycles of all kinds (from Euro to "Rattiest"!) were lined up to check out, and the roar of bike engines could be heard throughout Venice all day long.

The bands started early and played all day, keeping the fun going. Most bikers and biker friends were squeezed into the beer garden, and it was so fun to see all the Venice faces and do some catching up.
The highlight of the rally is always the Venice Vintage Pin-Up Girl contest and this year was no different. I saw all the beautiful retro-dressed gals walking around, but alas, we had to go before I found out who won. My money was on the burlesque dancer in red ... she was not shy.

I could have stayed at the always very fun rally all day, but had to race off, because then it was time for the annual showing of Grease on the Venice High Football Field. The event seems to get bigger every year, and it's so fun to see everyone's Rydell (Venice) High school spirit. Girls were in Pink Lady jackets and poodle skirts, guys were in greased hair and leather, and they even had a vintage car show on the side of the field with one entry looking a lot like the Greased Lightning car. The whole audience sang along to the words on the screen, and it was good old fashioned family fun in the original drive-in movie kind of setting. All under a spectacular full moon! I love it.

After having big shows and things to attend every night last week, it was actually acceptable for Sunday to come up gloomy and grey. This meant that everyone could kick back and take it easy, which we didn't really do because all the Vikings in Venice got together to see our Minnesota team debut the new Vikings stadium - and WIN! I'm quite sure the team could hear us all the way back in Minneapolis when the clock ran out and they played "Let's Go Crazy"!

A great weekend in Venice, California, to be sure, and I hope yours was excellent too, wherever you may have spent it. But you should have been here.

The 2015 Venice Vintage Motorcycle Rally - Bands, Beers, Babes. And Bikes

The 2015 Venice Vintage Motorcycle Rally is in the books, and it was another total blast of a day in Venice. It was extra HOT, so the rally held on the blacktop of the Farmer's Market was pretty much an inferno, but that only helped to give the beer gardens a brisk business.

Motorcycles and booths lined both sides of the parking lot, with gear heads and cyclists of all ages and backgrounds milled around checking out all the great bikes.

I know about nothing about motorcycles, so I'll just say this was my favorite one, and because it's a great blue, basically.

The revving of engines and the speakers blaring the live music could be heard for blocks, and gave the whole neighborhood that festive feeling that comes with a big community event.

The kid band, Detour, was back this year, blasting out a cover of Rage's "Killing In The Name" just as I arrived. They are awesome, and will only get better with age.

The Whaler had a full bar booth, so that's where you could be sure to bump into someone you knew while they were waiting to quench their pronounced thirst. Here is where I got to introduce two of Venice's best songbirds to each other, Miss Jessica and Lacey Kay Cowden - both from Louisiana, and both carrying their little dogs. I think there needs to be a collaboration here, ladies!

A highlight of the Motorcycle Rally every year is the Venice Vintage Pin Up Girl Contest, and this year brought out a large roster of lovely ladies ready to strut their stuff across the Rally stage. I'm pretty feminist, so I'm usually mixed about these kinds of things, but bikes and babes have always gone together, so it makes a certain sense. And they all looked great, all were talented, and any one of them would be great to represent the VVMC (except maybe the ones from San Francisco. We're in Venice.)

The contest is the baby of Nik Falco (of Trim fame), and she was also a thoroughly entertaining MC. I laughed out loud several times, and not just because the ladies were doing talents like ventriloquy with lips fully moving. One girl said she could fix any of the bikes there, and I thought that might be reason enough to win, but the judges, celebrity locals like Jeff Ho and Brian Van Holt, thought differently.

Several of the gals sang, and they were all pretty good. One lady (Sasha from Venice!) sang "Cool Rider" from Grease 2, and for those two things alone, we felt she really should have won. I thought the girl that laid down and jumped a bike chain with her ass might take the title, but in the end, the honor went to Elizabeth Deo.

Deo told me that she was origianally going to sing too, but as there were too many singing talents, at the last minute she decided to apply her lipstick with her cleavage, and that brought her the sash. She was lovely and gracious, and took a moment after her victory to give some pointers to a future Miss Venice Vintage, Tallah Tiger (the darling daughter of contest judge, Mersedeh Ahrablou). Adorable.

Raffle tickets had been sold all day to win a vintage motorcycle, and when the time came for the name to be drawn, the guy wasn't present. They called him and put him on speaker though, and the excited winner promised to high-tail it down there to claim his bike, putting to rest shouts for a re-draw. I'm sure he was stoked.

With the crowning of Ms. Deo, it was time to now just rock. GLR played a blistering set under the blistering sun, and the crowd was all the way into it.

People partied until the sun went down, and then branched out across town to keep the party going. Another great day in the neighborhood, and another great Venice event, that just gets better every year.

Thank you to Brady Walker, Nik Falco, the VVMC, and all the bikers and babes that came out to celebrate yet another thing we love about Venice.

See you next year!

Big Shots In Venice - A Celebration Of Guy Webster

There was another fun party at In Heroes We Trust last night, this time to celebrate the work of renowned rock photographer, Guy Webster. The man who has recorded so many of the legends and icons of the rock and film worlds was there to sign his new book, Big Shots: Rock Legends And Hollywood Icons, and to be congratulated on his decades of capturing that rich history.

It was a packed house, with revelers spilling out on to the sidewalk, clinking a beer, and toasting our still relatively new year.

Gracious hostess, Neely Shearer, has added a whole lot of good stuff since I'd last visited IHWT, so there was plenty to look at while you waited to have your gorgeous book signed by Mr. Webster.

It was great to see friends old and new, and you could feel a kind of unanimous and palpable excitement at all there is in store for everyone this year. Lots of good stories, lots of great events upcoming, lots of laughs, and lots of style.

As more and more people crammed in the store, things got a bit more loose. At one point, I turned around to see Webster donning a pair of underwear - on his head - to the amusement of those standing around him. I didn't catch that story, but it looked like a good one. I was happy to find out that Webster is a Venice local, so I'll look forward to finding out more about him and his stories soon.

Also known as an avid motorcycle enthusiast, it was perfect that a big posse of Venice Vintage Motorcycle Club members rolled up in a storm of noise, and parked out front to come inside and pay their respects to a fellow biker rock and roller. It was great.

I turned around as I left to head to the next thing, and had to smile at the scene outside In Heroes We Trust ... Street art, motorcycles, hula hoops, folks waving down friends passing by to join in ... and thought how lucky we all are here. Where we all feel like Big Shots, just to be here.

The Venice Vintage Motorcycle Club Rally

The roar of what sounded like a thousand motorcycles woke me up bright and early on Saturday morning, as what turned out to be over 200 Venice Vintage Motorcycle Club bikers took off for their morning ride up the coast, kicking off the day's VVMC Rally.

The Farmer's Market location was turned into a mini-Sturgis for the day, as bikes lined the parking lot and motorcycle-related booths showed off their wares. A heat wave enveloped the Southland over the weekend, and Venice has never been hotter, both temperature and fun-wise.

 

There was live music and a festive atmosphere going on all day, I saw as I passed by on the way to the beach (there is simply no way to not get in the water when it's hot and awesome like this, so I had a beach day first). Noting the fun, I let the gang know that day's beach day would be the condensed version.

I got there just in time for the Pin-Up Contest, where a slew of hot retro-looking ladies vied for the title of the Venice Vintage Pin-Up Girl for 2014. Bikes and chicks ... lots of guys were happy in Venice this day.

Hosted by Nik Rae Falco, the girls took their struts across the stage, where ultimately, Miss Luci was crowned Miss Venice Vintage, and received her banner, applause and whistles.

There was a special guest judge, friend and actress, Drea De Matteo. It was great to see her again, sporting her Trim swag in support.

It was a blast to catch up with old friends, while the House and PBR beer and Sailor Jerry lines were steady all day long, keeping the proceedings pretty upbeat and rowdy.

There was an awesome band (who no one seemed to know what they were called) of tweenage kids, playing covers from Rage and The Chili Peppers ... making both my day, and the future secure.

I had Brook from Minnesota visiting, so it was the perfect day to show off all the fun and hijinks that go on around town. She was not disappointed.

The VVMC donated a fresh, brand new motorcycle to be raffled off, and it was won by actor, Jason Lewis (of Sex and The City fame), who had told his friend earlier in the day, "If I win that bike, I'll give it to you." Well, he did, and he did! How great is that? You can feel the fun and friendship coming right off of this photo, with the little girl sitting on the winner's bike...

 

It was fun for all ages, as I saw grandmas in wheelchairs, the most darling kids on the planet, and everyone in between.

Then it was time for the Hell City Rockers to rock the event to a close, and they blazed through a set that had everyone dancing, fists raised.

The day had turned golden, with that California light that you just don't see anywhere else, and we really all were out there having fun, in the warm, California sun. All day.

It was fun to see the husband and wife team of Hell City's Carter Falco being cheered on by our Mistress of Ceremonies, Trim's Nik. A very Venice family, for sure.

We could have listened to the Hell City jams all night, but there were after-parties and Saturday night things to get into (and probably permits that said to stop at 6 pm), so things actually wound up as the event wound down.

A great day, morning 'til night ... and yet another reason why we love to live, work and play here.

Thanks to all at the VVMC, and all the sponsors, volunteers, performers and riders who made the day so extra fun (But aren't biker people supposed to be partiers? Can the morning ride start a little later next year? Just wondering ....) Vrooom!