Gorillaz Take Over Venice!

In the brand new video for "Humility" from Gorillaz, cartoon buddies cruise the Boardwalk on rollerskates, while Jack Black gets down with his acoustic guitar (and even jazz musician George Benson is featured!).

This summery jam is just in time for beach days and warm breezes carrying tunes out of car windows and boom boxes. There is SO much fun coming up this Summer in Venice ... you can't blame some cartoons for wanting in on it too. Let this little ditty get you in that Venice beachy vibe ... and I'll see you out there, real people!

Hso Hkam - The Prince Of Venice

If you've been out and about in Venice in the last two plus decades, chances are you've crossed paths with Hso Hkam. A real man about town, Hkam is always on the scene at every cool thing that goes down in Venice, but it was only recently that I got to know him better and find out the story behind the dude. And it's a good one. Like, did you know that Hso is a real life Prince? Yep, his family is from Rangoon (formerly Yangon), Myanmar (formerly Burma) and are the royal family of the Shan people. Hkam is the 19th Prince, but hasn't been back to his Burmese home since his family fled the country when he was 11 years old amid political strife. His aunt wrote a book about all of it called My Vanished World: The True Story Of A Shan Princess, and Hso is right there in the Lawksawk family tree. I mean HRH Hso!

Hkam's royal father married his mother, a commoner, which actually helped make things easier when the family left for Illinois, where his mother's family had already settled, and where his physician mother would immediately have work running a hospital. They got young Hkam into summer tennis, so by the time the school year began, he already had a bunch of friends, and easily assimilated (they also got him into martial arts, so he never had to be scared, because he could more than take care of himself!). His childhood friends are still his best friends, and it's amusing to see photos of the young Burmese Prince with a bunch of Italian Sopranos looking dudes ...and that's the beauty of America.

Tennis took him to the University of Illinois, and then winter took him to UCLA, and UCLA really took to Hkam. He joined a fraternity, and that really launched his social calendar. While at UCLA, Hkam and his frat buddies were super into skating and surfing, so would make the bus trek to Venice all the time. "We always wanted to come to Venice. We'd yell 'There's Christian Hosoi!', but it would only be the back of him because he was so fast." Skating around, he met the whole Venice Originals crew, and soon made the move to 6th and Indiana, mainly because there was a skate ramp in the backyard. The nightly machine gun fire got them out of there in only three months, but Hkam was having "adventure after adventure in Venice", and knew he was here to stay.




Shooting things for his fraternity got Hkam really bitten by the movie making bug, and one of his first short films won for Best Short at the Malibu Film Festival in 1993, so he knew he was on the right path. 1996 found his film Ghostown (about hijacking a taco truck in Venice) being sold to a Thai company, dubbing Hso and Block and crew into Thai! I have to see this. Hkam got work at a post facility, learning everything about film from shooting to editing. He continued making shorts and music videos, which were soon being featured on the old legit Venice Yo Venice! and then caught the attention of LA Weekly, where he continues to make short documentaries for their content, on everything from bands to chefs to the homeless issue. I like to think of him as kind of a new Huell Howser, capturing all the things that make L.A. great in what he says is "My dream job come true!"




That's the best thing I learned about Hkam, actually. His enthusiasm for good stories and people doing good reveal his own truly good heart. It's cool that he's a Prince and all, and that he can name-drop with the best of them, but he really seems to get the most excited about his work traveling all around L.A. with the homeless, health issues, and organizations like City Hearts (where 'Kids say yes to the arts!"), Coalition to Preserve LA, Housing Is A Human Right, and now also shooting things for the Southern California Burmese Association, keeping him connected with his home country. But he always comes back to Venice.

When asked what Hso was doing in Venice these days, one of his friends answered, "Teaching white people how to live!" When asked what he loves about this place, his first answer was "The tribalism of Venice. I have that in me, and it definitely exists here." It's true, and also why community means so much to Hkam - and the people he calls his friends. A painter as well, Hkam would have people over for chicken dinners while he painted every Thursday. "My biggest thing is food. I love to cook for people. My #1 is chitlins!" Chitlins! He added that any taco truck that doesn't have tripas tacos is not legit. No thank you, but I'm gonna go with him on missing Lilly's the most in Venice, and their succulent moules frites. OH, man. REALLY miss that. These days you'll likely see him at Gjelina or Canal Club (since it was Rebecca's) or James Beach, usually with a margarita.

Regarding the massive changes in Venice, Hkam says he embraces it. "If you want to be classy, go to Abbot Kinney, and if you want to be shady, you can still go to the Boardwalk and get mugged. There's no shortage of weirdo artists, they're just richer now. There will always be creatives here." Hmmm. Yeah. We can definitely agree that Venice "Should be INclusive, not EXclusive." - and that extends to greedy landlords and prohibitive rents, it should be said, as well as just the overall vibe.

While having all of his L.A. fun, Hkam is also getting ready to do his first feature film, as well as commercial directing, saying, "I'm ready for the big projects now." After being under such a microscope since he was born (as a royal), Hkam is quite content to be behind the scenes and behind the camera. Shooting all around L.A., he has gotten to know the community leaders of every area, and "I always represent Venice, but really I'm from Burma." Venice will consider Hso Hkam ours anyway, and when Hkam told me that a friend recently told him, "People in will always remember you for being so positive," I absolutely got why. He really is a Prince among men, and Venice is lucky to have him.

*Personal photos courtesy of Hso Hkam.

Björk Digital - A Trip Inside The Mind Of Björk

Björk Digital opened in downtown Los Angeles last Friday, and it is truly one of the most creative things you will ever experience. I was fortunate to attend the press preview for this visual extravaganza from the mind of the Icelandic real life folk hero named Björk. I've adored her ever since I first heard her singing "Birthday" with The Sugarcubes on a mix tape a California boy I liked had sent me, so I was thrilled just to be there. Her voice was otherworldly, and wholly original, set apart from absolutely everyone else on Earth ... because she doesn't seem to really even be OF this Earth.

That truism was further cemented with the opening of this incredible virtual reality exhibit on now through June 4th (so act fast!) at The Music Box at The Reef, a kind of odd office building in a rundown area with this maze of wonder going down in its basement. I ran into some friends in the lobby, and we were all bursting with excitement to be able to be the first ones to view this show in its West Coast premiere. After some coffee and Icelandic water, we were escorted into the theater room for a press Q and A with the major Björk collaborator and the director of three of the exhibit's videos, Andrew Thomas Huang. The L.A. Philharmonic is presenting this show as part of its Reykjavik Festival (wherein Björk will be performing with full orchestra at Disney Hall on May 30th), and the Phil's Johanna Rees welcomed everyone to this opening. Huang began the Q and A by introducing a special guest ... Björk!

She was there live via Skype from New York as an action capture avatar, and adorable even as a futuristic space alien. Her speaking voice is so sweet you just want to record it and have it with you to cheer you up when you need it, and glancing around, you could tell that everyone there was completely enchanted. Rees asked Björk why it was important to bring this exhibit to L.A., and she replied that she had to go with the flow after her new album (around which this show is centered) Vulnicura had been leaked, and she improvised to come up with something spectacular to mark its release. Mission accomplished.

The show has already seen great success in Tokyo, London, Iceland, Montreal, Mexico, and Houston, so please try to go if you can. It's something else. Someone asked how Björk had affected other artists in Iceland, and she said, "People have blind spots about themselves, but I went abroad and made the nation think that they can do it too." When asked if the Disney Hall show would have all these visuals, she responded that "All the focus will be on the music. I'm fond of extremes, as you may have noticed, so this will be all about the ears, and no visuals." But, she added, come to the FYF this Summer and there will be lots of surprises ... YES. Huang got some technical questions about film making in v.r., and Björk chimed in that "It reminds me of the future." I love that.

One reporter asked about Björk's own listening tastes, and she said she listens to so much music that her playlists are 17 hours long. I had never heard of no one she mentioned, which is just how you'd want Björk's tastes to be. She did say that she has been listening non-stop to "Ethiopian vinyl" ... Rad. Working with local orchestras has been a great way to incorporate local sounds into the performances, which I thought was cool. I thought it was REALLY cool, however, when I got to ask Björk a question LIVE. I asked how being such a performer, if this show with really no audience feedback to her was as satisfying. She never really answered that question, instead going off on a very great bunch of tangents about the differences between her live orchestra shows, her D.J. gigs, her recorded song versions, her new composition book, 34 Scores, for people to play and sing her songs at home with family, and said that whatever medium she uses, "My intention is to reach intimacy with the listener," and added that the virtual reality is her at a distance, but it's actually even more intimate than a concert or c.d. experience. She was right, because within this exhibit, you pretty much inhabit Björk's body and mind.

The exhibit is fairly easy to put on, as it's really a bunch of headsets in empty rooms, and as Björk said, "The magic happens in the headsets." After she said an adorable "Thank you" and the avatar waved, signing off, it was time for us to experience that magic for ourselves. We watched the premiere of her "Notget" video, directed by Warren duPrees and Nick Thornton Jones. Björk is a woodland moth-like creature emerging from the Earth, and I don't think it's hyperbole to say that while watching it I could only think, "Björk is the most creative person living today." She just is.

After the video, we lucky few in the first group to go through the exhibit went to the "Biophilia Room", an educational space that has a bunch of Ipads with apps custom developed by Björk to teach about music and science. I didn't really get it, to be honest, and would need a whole bunch more time to check out the apps, as they're pretty involved, and the proceedings need to keep moving along, as everyone is on a timed ticket. There should be (and maybe there is) an app you can just fool around with at home.

The first v.r. video we saw was "Black Lake", an immersive experience directed by Huang, where you walk around a room surrounded by 50 speakers. You listen to the pristine sound while watching emerge from a bunch of dirt as a waterfall cascades out of her body. Her masks and costumes are utterly incredible, and it's hard to keep your jaw from dropping all the way to the floor.

Moving right along ... to "Stonemilker", a 360 degree experience directed by Huang where you sit on a stool and rotate around to see Björk dancing along the Icelandic sea in a yellow dress, singing about "emotional respect" as the waves crash on the volcanic sand all around her ... take a look (and rotate it!):

"Quicksand" was directed by Neri Oxman, of a show Björk performed in Tokyo in a 3D printed headpiece that was again simply amazing. Part two of this room was "Mouth Mantra", directed by Jesse Kanda, and the only one that made me kind of sick. The whole thing is shot from inside of Björk's mouth, and as it all swirls around, I thought I might throw up. It's pretty intense, and I was cool for this one to be over and remove the headset, but also totally impressed again by its creativity.

My favorite room was "Family", again directed by Huang. You're tethered by your headset to keep you from smashing into things, but you get handsets that allow you to create right along with Björk there in her world. I actually walked through her body, and it felt extra strange - and had me wishing I'd eaten some edibles before I got there. You spin yellow swirls around via hand triggers as you move through what seems like outer space along with Björk in her awesome costumes. This one is the centerpiece of the whole thing, and captures Björk's emotional journey "from despair to empowerment", according to the materials. It. Was. So. Cool!

"Notget" the v.r. version is less interactive, and you stand there while a golden Björk dances right around you, super in your face. Once again, I was fully mesmerized by the outfits, and want only to wear one like hers someday ... just completely out there and over the top and driven only by fantastical imagination and unparalleled creativity.

The last stop is back to the Cinema Room, where you can sit on the floor on pillows and watch up to two hours of all Björk's past - and stunning - videos. I took in a good few before my friends in the group after me caught up. We all compared notes, and all unanimously named this as the coolest thing going on now in Los Angeles. There is also a merch area at the exhibit's check-in area, so you can take home a memory of your time with Björk - not that you'll ever forget it. I really, really hope you get to see it while it's here, because you will remember it for always. Sincere congratulations to all of the über-creatives who made this experience possible, because you are all at the very top of the game today. And see the fantastically wonderful Björk any chance that you get, because I've seen no one out there creating as impressively, and as consistently, for so long and so beautifully. Wow. Just WOW.

Tusen takk, Björk and the L.A. Philharmonic!


Björk Digital is on now through June 4, 2017. 
Magic Box at The Reef
1933 South Broadway
Los Angeles

*Q and A photos by Jeanette Oliver
**"Notget" stills courtesy of the L.A. Philharmonic


 

How Did I Get Through The Day?

There's a gorgeous, dreamy new video out from Har Mar Superstar for his song, "How Do I Get Through The Day?" and it was directed by my good friend, Phil Harder. It stars Minneapolis along with Har Mar, in all its fall glory ...

Harder is a veteran award winning music video director, always known for his stunning visuals. I hope you saw his sublime and just as gorgeous, Low: Movie - How To Quit Smoking, and if you haven't, I can wait while you do ...

Cool. Harder told me that Har Mar called him on a Friday saying he wanted to do a video floating down the Mississippi River while the fall colors were still in all their glory. They shot the following Sunday, after quick building a wonderful Huck Finn type raft/boat that Harder's wife Isabelle fitted with mirrors for Har Mar to stand on, giving it all a beautiful, reflective, mysterious wonder. Harder shared a making of video with me that showed how the magic was created, showing just how very close Mr. Superstar was to falling into the Mighty Miss. Many of the shots had Harder propping him up from below for safety purposes, as Harder told him, "Act like you're on a stage, but we're not." Interestingly, the iffy balancing act was because they had to go fast to create the slow motion effect. Some shots were also flipped in post. Simple (but not) as that. I love every frame (especially going by the Grain Belt sign and the bridge with a train going by).

I also love the tune itself. Aside from its cool oldie crooner style, with so much bad news going on every day, it really does beg the question some days of how in the holy hell did I get through today?! But you somehow did. Songs like this help. Beauty as seen in this video helps. Awesome people coming together to create something fantastic really helps.

Shout out to Har Mar and Harders (and crew) for this very special piece of work. And for helping me get through today.

Matt Ellis Thanks Los Angeles (Venice)

Why don't you stop what you're doing and take a spin around Los Angeles? In his new video for "Thank You, Los Angeles," off the excellent The Greatest Escape album, Matt Ellis cruises Venice (and other parts of L.A. thrown in for good measure), playing in the backseat of an invisibly driven car (steered by director, Phil Harder).

An Aussie ex-pat, Ellis has spent the last decade living, loving, and now thanking his current home of Los Angeles (Venice). Beautifully.

To catch this and the rest of the Ellis catalog live, please join us this Saturday (March 7th) at The Hotel Cafe!

(But probably take Uber vs. trying this yourself.)

Tom Freund's Same Old Shit, Different Day - A Venice Video

In the latest collaboration between my brother Paul and I, we made a video for Tom Freund's "Same Old Shit, Different Day," from his recent Two Moons album.

It is a love letter, to and from Venice.  The Venice Freak Show (and just Venice in general) teaches us that nothing is normal, and that we should come together through celebrating our differences. Tom sums that up in song right here. This is what it feels like to be in Venice ... where we NEVER want to say, "Same old shit, different day."

Enjoy!

*Thanks to all the skaters, bike riders, dancers, clowns, piano players, freaks, seagulls, artists, performers, sailboats, drummers, sunsets, friends and neighbors who go nuts with us every single day.

Low Movie - (How To Quit Smoking)

Last night we had a little Venice backyard screening of a film that is so gorgeous, so creative and so impressive that I really felt like we should be watching it in one of those video installation rooms in a modern art museum. Stunning.

The film was Low Movie (How To Quit Smoking) and it truly is one of the most visually inventive and beautiful things I've ever seen, and I'm not just saying that because it was shot and directed by my longtime friend, Philip Harder.

Phil started Phil-ming the band Low before their first album even came out (1993-ish) and collaborated together with them over the next two decades to culminate in this heirloom of a picture. The trailer hints at what you're in store for, but one really needs to sit back and absorb the whole thing.

Low first attracted the attention of Harder because the Grunge times were ending and Low sounded like nothing he'd heard before. Low is from Duluth, and that might be enough to explain it (and we're all from Minnesota, where you try to help each other). Opening sequences were shot on a frozen Lake Superior and look almost exactly like classic shots from Nanook Of The North ... everything sounds a bit frozen and slowed down ... molasses in January. Sweet AND bracing.

From there, it all just gets more inventive. Pretty much all of it was shot on 16 mm, so that lends itself to the artistic feel of it all, but it could probably have been shot on video and still been breathtaking. A robot in the big city, alien abductions in a snowstorm, I-pod ad style silhouettes commenting on I-raq, Fellini-esque scenes with red balloons, and Silent film era looking vignettes all accompany the unique sounds - both tranquil and punk rock at once, at times - to give one the complete "Low experience," as Harder states in the introduction.

(*Warning: And, perhaps counter-productively, it also makes you feel like smoking.)

Over the duration of their artistic partnership, Harder became a much in-demand music video director, but whenever Low called, whatever the budget (often low itself) or vision, Harder would always answer with, "I'm there."

And thank goodness, or we would not have such unforgettable images as a wintry 35W Bridge, pre-collapse. A woman in red lying in snow, shot from high above,  as St. Anthony Falls rushes underneath her. A montage of Harder's son, Otto, right there alongside his father as he grows from infant to wild-haired boy running to the ocean to robot on the subway. Or my favorite segment/analogy, of lush plant life growing up and out of the equipment inside the recording studio.

Our collective jaws were all hanging open as we watched all of this splendor under a crisp Venice sky. We're so lucky to be surrounded by such vast talent and creativity in this world, it's almost overwhelming, but more so, it's straight inspiring.

So if you're Low's biggest fan, or have never yet heard of them, do jump at any chance to watch this collection of beautiful sounds and images by some of the most talented, creative people out there. We missed the one showing of it in downtown L.A. and thus begged for this backyard showing/Q & A with Harder, which he thankfully granted.

There will probably be more festival screenings (All Tomorrow's Parties in the UK next month) and a dvd/on-demand release, so check in with the Low website (www.chairkickers.com) to get your chance. I can see it showing outside the Walker Art Center in the Summer, or in Loring Park, as the perfect venue - right after your friend's yard on a glorious October night by the fire in Venice. As an added bonus, you might even quit smoking! Just because.



*Photos courtesy of Philip Harder (and shot by Andy Grund, Tom Herbers, Katie Maren Nelson, and Karl Raschke)

**Screening courtesy of Philip Harder and hosted at Ellis Farms. Thank you!

Only For You

My darling friend Amelia moved from Venice to Austin, Texas last year, and now she's starring in music videos! Here she is (the little red haired girl) in the new one from The Heartless Bastards, "Only For You".




I'm so proud of her I can't stand it. Enjoy!