Bike Retrieval Vigilantes!

OK ... so the more I relay the happy story about the return of my bike, Delores, the more I hear about other bikes having been ripped off. So ... The Free Venice Beachhead - which was so instrumental in my getting Delores back (see September Blogtown or Beachhead) - Collective has agreed to run photos in the paper with descriptions of the stolen bike for the low, low, Beachhead-sustaining cost of $5.00 US. It really can work, so spread the word. Let's run these photos and keep our eyes and ears open so that we can share the story of happy reunions all around town.

We're still on the hunt for Nathan's (BON VOYAGE, NATH!!!) Purple Stingray:
He's out there somewhere. The Audacity of HOPE!!! But for real, it worked for me, and this town checks out bikes and is not afraid to say something to that low, low form of humanity - bike thieves. Blech.

Send photos and bike descriptions to Beachhead@Freevenice.org.

Send your check for 5 bucks to Free Venice Beachhead, PO Box 2, Venice, CA, 90294.

Let's do this.

Norman Ollestad: Venice Guy/Best-Selling Author.

I've seen Norman Ollestad around Venice for years, but only more recently became aware of his dramatic life story. That's because I read his best-selling memoir, Crazy For The Storm. And so must you. It's downright flabbergasting. And one of my favorite books of the Summer*.

When Norman was 11 years old, a small plane carrying him, his Father, his father's girlfriend, and the Pilot crashed on the way to Big Bear, where young Norman was heading to pick up a trophy for a ski race he'd won. Norman was the only survivor, and the book alternates between chapters telling about Norman's upbringing, and chapters about his harrowing descent down the 8,600 foot icy mountain to finally be rescued. You just simply cannot believe such a little kid had not only the knowledge and skills to get himself to safety, but also the mental stamina that it had to take.

The upbringing chapters are what helps you to believe it. Norman's Dad (Norman Sr.) had him either surfing or skiing every spare moment since he was a baby. Literally a baby, as the back of the book jacket shows a black and white photo of his Dad surfing Malibu, with tiny baby Norman strapped to his back like a backpack. It's such a poignant photo, not merely because we know how their story together ended, but because it shows the trust and confidence baby Norman had in his Father from the very beginning of his life. Even though, lots of times, Norman would resent having to ski or surf when all the other kids were at birthday parties or watching cartoons Saturday mornings - it was those same times that saved his life. He had the skills and mental preparedness to handle those extreme sports, and thus, could handle survival.

It's an incredible book, and when I sat down to chat with Norman (and his very sweet 12 year old dog, Telluride/Telly) yesterday at the Equator Books Cafe, I wondered what reactions he'd been getting while going out around the country doing book readings and signings. What seems to have struck him most profoundly is how reading the book has made people examine their own lives and childhoods in ways he didn't expect. The Father/Son thing is there, and dominant, but also has made people (including me, who also grew up without a father) realize that kids are intricately involved in what's going on in the world of adults. Divorce, parents fighting with their new boy/girlfriends, stress, demands, freedom (the likes of which it seems kids of today have lost) ... all of it shapes the kind of people the kids are going to grow up to be. And now that Norman is a father himself to his 9 year old son, Noah ... it was time to examine these things, and put it down in writing to share with Noah, and the world.

The main themes, both in the book and in life, seem to be the importance of sharing your passion with your children (whether that's surfing or music or stamp collecting or hula dancing or whatever), and instilling in them how important it is to "Never give up." There will always be struggles, but if kids have those basic ingredients (along with the basic lodging and LOVE, of course) given to them, most likely they'll be alright.

Having grown up in Malibu, Norman has lived in Venice for most of this Millenium. We were talking about what we love about it and why we choose to live here, and Norman had what is really about the best answer there is, "the People." Absolutely, and why I'm trying to introduce us all within this site - the COMMUNITY of it all. There is also the bonus of walking or riding bikes everywhere we go, the Surf, the ability to get GOOD food nearby, and that nice feeling of walking down the street and having people know you and wave, or how you like your coffee, that kind of thing. Whereas a lot of people like to romanticize the "Old, rugged days" of Venice, Norman said those days were also sorta scary and dangerous ... you could just PLAN on getting mugged ... and now it's "Beautiful and friendly", and a much nicer place to live and raise your kid/s. I'd have to agree ... to a point (NO Chain Stores, please).

Apart from doing press and signings for Crazy For The Storm (which will also be a movie - but don't wait for it. The book is always better.) and raising Noah (who is now a member of the Mammoth Ski Team, following in Dad's footsteps), and moving into a new house with his girlfriend, Jenny, Norman is about to get underway on his next book, which he says will be about the years in his 20's when he set out around the world to "Invent himself". He had been so defined in an instant by the plane crash, that he didn't want that to be what his life was only about. I won't tell you more because you'll want to read about it for yourselves.

For someone who has seen and lived through so much already as a young man of 41, Norman is extremely calm, composed and kind. You can tell that he was already like that when you see old news footage of him as a freshly rescued 11 year old kid. And I think what makes him like that are the basic principles taught to him by his Dad. Which he now teaches his own son. What I liked best is when he said, "Noah will know beauty. And he can return to that no matter what else is going on in his life."

Earlier in the Summer, I had just finished reading Crazy For The Storm when I was out swimming in the ocean one morning. A couple of surfers were heading right for me, and when they got closer, I saw it was Norman and Noah. It was so touching to see them together like that when the book was so fresh in my mind. We waved and yelled our greetings as they passed, and I celebrated the fact that we ALL know beauty living here, and hopefully do our best to constantly recognize it, no matter what else is going on in our lives.




* My other two favorite Summer books:

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
The Road To Woodstock by Michael Lang

Tsunamis in Venice?

The "Tsunami Evacuation Route" signs have been up for a while now ... they just appeared one day, without any explanation. Do you know what to do in the event of a Tsunami? Just follow the signs? Yesterday's few hours long blackout in Venice - just as a result of high winds - made us feel pretty scantily prepared in the event of any big deal disaster, so I thought we should at least stop and think about it for a second.

Venice is obviously a low-lying Coastal Area, and that means we're in the "Red Zone" for Evacuation if a Tsunami should hit. You just stop what you're doing and head to higher ground. Period. They explain it all fairly well here. You can download a good pdf about Tsunami Evacuations at www.lacity.org/epd too. The main thing to remember is that if you feel an Earthquake, get to higher ground by any means necessary ... car, bike, or foot.

They suggest some things that you'll want already in a bag - to GO - like:

Food and water
Medications and copies of Prescriptions
Change of clothes and shoes
Personal hygiene/First Aid Supplies
Pet care supplies
Baby stuff (diapers, formula, etc ...)
Copies of Important documents

I have a new neighbor who is psychic (had a shop for 15 years psychic - I'm always more impressed if they can pay rent on an actual structure with their abilities, for some reason) and she told me that I should be aware that there WILL be a major natural disaster involving water (in other words, a Tsunami) in the next two years in Southern California. I told her I'd seen the signs and wondered about it, and she said, "They're up because it is GOING to happen."

Eek. She's lived here most of her life and said, "I know that it's time for me to go." I don't find myself there in my thinking yet, but whatever the future holds - it's good to be prepared, not scared.

And have a lot of fun while you can!

Earth Sounds - Literally!

Damian Wagner and his darling wife, Anne Greene Wagner, returned to live in Venice with their son, Luke (Skywalker), after a while on the East Coast. Only upon their relocation have I had the privilege of getting to know them better ... and the more I know, the more I am intrigued.

After chats at various social functions, where I kept finding out more and more cool things about them, I went over to their house last weekend to listen to the Earth Sounds Damian had recorded for a museum project in Brazil. And when I say "Earth Sounds", I mean - literally - the sounds made a mile deep in a hole reaching for the Earth's core. Sounds that must be heard to be believed.

The American artist, Doug Aitken, approached Damian about helping him with an art installation for the Instituto Cultural Inhotim (pronounced "In-Yoo-Cheem") in Brumadinho, Brazil. An installation that had never done before. Aitken's vision was to bore a hole a mile deep in the ground on the campus of the AMAZING Contemporary Art and Environmental Studies Center (that I'd never heard of until Damian told me about it), to record the sounds made in Inner Earth. Then build a "Sound Pavilion" (2009) to blast the sounds while visitors looked out at the 360 view of the natural landscape.

After a ton of research and experimentation, the exhibit is open in Brazil, and is currently blowing peoples' minds. It blew mine the other night in Damian's home studio, where he and Anne had us over to take a listen. You've really never heard anything like it. Damian said that some people were bursting into tears inside the Pavilion, as the sounds are so incredibly visceral, you really don't know how it will affect everyone. For that reason, Damian even had to consult with Doctors about the noises, "since we didn't want to kill people, or give them heart attacks." My bigger fear once I donned the headphones Damian handed me, was that I could go crazy. It's like you'd think Outer Space would sound like, but Inner Space. A deep humming, with occasional explosion sounds (magma?) and throbbing, otherworldly swells and pauses. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine looking out the glass windows at the Brazilian greenery while these sounds blasted out of hidden speakers, but don't think I did it justice. This place in on my MUST SEE List in life now, to be sure.

They had a lot of trial and error while building the Pavilion and digging the hole. The three microphones (or "Accelerometers") had to be encased in crystals (natural) and put in PVC pipes, then covered in sand, then loose gravel and rock, which would secure it down deep to pick up the Earth's vibrations, and then the vibrations are converted to sound. They had to install a water pump so if the hole filled up with rain, the whole thing wouldn't be ruined. They had to put limiters on the mics so the explosions (or whatever they are?) wouldn't blow up the speakers, since they blew up 4 different giant sub-woofers while experimenting. As Damian said, "I'd never experienced sounds like this before, there was no definition, and normal sound scales (EQ) did not apply. It's the Earth, Man."

They had a big disappointment when they originally tested the whole works, as they cranked up the sound and nothing happened. NO!!! But then Damian put his hand near the speakers and the vibrations coming off it you could practically grab onto, so they knew they had something and just had to harness the sound. Hence all the sand packing, etc ... and they finally got it to work and not only work, but STUN. Much like if you've ever seen lava flowing, or felt an Earthquake, listening to these sounds make you feel both connected to and dwarfed by the infinite possibilities of our Planet (and the Universe itself).
Damian is also a visual artist, of massive brightly colored sculptures and paintings alike, and you can look for a show of his new works very soon. Oh, and he's from Minnesota, so that makes him extra cool. His Dad ran one of the biggest mines in South America, so rocks, gems and crystals abound at his house, and probably gave him some insight as to how to approach the Earth hole digging. He creates it all in his back studio, where he also has his sound equipment. He and Anne (she is a singer and a writer, and comes from Baltimore, Hon!) recorded an album of songs together (D And A) that sound extra-modern and classic all at once. This is one creative family, as Luke's art projects and imagination already show the influence of his inspiring parents.

It just goes to show, how you can be just casually talking over cocktails on any given Venice night, and wind up learning about the most interesting stuff you've ever heard. Literally.

Thanks to the Wagners, for a scintillating evening of learning, awe and wonder!

The Angels & Daniel Johnston

Daniel Johnston played the last show of his U.S. Tour at the Henry Fonda Music Box in Hollywood on Saturday night, and my dates were a four year old (Truman) and a seven year old (Amelia), and their Mom, Christina. You don't know how often you'll get to see Daniel Johnston in life, so we figured the kids should share in the experience with us. They rocked us up with their own songs on the car ride over, my favorite selection being "Golden Guitar" sung with cup microphones.

We found our seats in the balcony (Thank God. The kids fell asleep two minutes into the first act, and that would've been a heavy load to haul down on the floor. Phew.), and settled in for the evening, Transformer cars and all. We told the kids it would be fine if they had a nap, and Truman said, "No, I want to stay up and see if the ending is happy." We wanted to see that too.

The evening opened with a lively set by Soko and all her friends/band. She hopped on to the stage screaming, with a stuffed tiger worn like a backpack on her back. OK. She's eclectic, that was established from the get-go. She's French, and has a very Bjork-y voice, that raises up into a straight out yell quite often, for emphasis mostly. She has that song on KCRW that goes, "I'll never love you more than ..." - a whole bunch of eclectic things, that I kind of like, but she's so fidgety that I started to feel loopy myself from watching her. She has a very good fiddler named Paul sawing alongside her, a drummer, a drum-stick girl, a flannel shirted guy that banged whatever, a accordion girl, a horn player ... Kind of Edward Sharpe style. Then I heard she dated him. Aha! I get it more now. Even though I thought out loud that she'd make a better girlfriend for Daniel Johnston ... who I think would really like one ...

"Treat Your Woman Right" was a lovely song, and sent out "as a message to all you evil guys!" Soko's skirt was giant and falling off of her so she took over sitting at the drums for a ranting one, screaming, "I'm getting closer to an Elvis breakdown!" One believed her. That was followed by a group sing-along with the whole joint ('cept us - we weren't comfortable with the lyric for the kiddies ... who were just asleep ... ) yelling, "People are mean, people are bad, they're trying to ruin my life!!" After a few more high-spirited jigs, Soko (really Stephanie Sokolinski) thanked Daniel Johnston for having them aboard, and the curtain fell on ring one of the circus.

Next up was The Hymns. Four guys from Brooklyn. Truman kinda snored next to me, and that's how I felt about this group. The guitar player was distractingly hyper, and the singer's voice began to grate. Though they were enthusiastic, it didn't seem as if the audience was. There were a lot of people crammed on the floor to see Daniel Johnston, and this band was unfortunately on as the night grew restless. They got the good fiddler Paul back to join them on a song, and that was the highlight for me. They thanked Daniel Johnston too, and we shifted the kids heads to a comfier angle, looked at the time, and hoped for the best.

Daniel Johnston was the subject of the 2006 documentary, The Devil And Daniel Johnston, and I hope you've seen it, but if not, you can't truly understand how remarkable it is to be seeing him play anywhere live. He suffers from manic depression, and that heartbreaker of a film shows how he's struggled with his demons, while simultaneously having vast influence on all sorts of artists and rockers - most notably Kurt Cobain - who one senses identified both with the pain and the genius of Daniel. He is very medicated and fairly reclusive, so a National Tour at this stage ... is real, real impressive.

He began playing his small guitar even before the curtain rose, and the hoots and hollers that arose from the crowd threatened to wreck our great scenario with the fast asleep kids. They're hard core kids though, and all was well. All appeared well with Mr. Johnston too, as he said, "Hi. How are you these days?", asking his famous t-shirt quote. The audience made it clear that they were doing great to be here and now with him. They LOVE him. (and AGAIN, we had the people shouting their love in the house. So dumb and annoying. Respect one another.) I have to confess I'm not extra familiar with the entirety of Daniel Johnston's discography - mostly because it can get a little depressing. Even so, every time you hear one of his songs, you can hear the HOPE seeping through the jagged edges of the darkness he obviously endures. His voice and rhymes are child-like, his guitar playing is rudimentary and jangly, but the raw feeling and wit contained within every line of Daniel's music is something both shocking and true.

Pop culture references abound, like, "Maybe the Wizard Of Oz ran out of consolation prizes ..." and "This is the beginning of Star Wars ..." sung as he read them off his big folder of papers on a podium. There is also a patina of wistfulness over everything he sings; sometimes overtly so - "I wish I had a girl, or even a boy ..." - and sometimes more subtly, "Let your hair hang down, let your love come around ...". The honesty with which he communicates, and the uncensored thoughts that pour out of him, would be reserved for a shrink or priest for most people. Not Daniel Johnston. He's up there singing them all loudly, and inviting you along, to know that dark as things can get, where you really don't know if you can go on ... there is humor, there is hope and there is love.

Even in the ominously named, "Life In Vain", the resonating line is "I don't want to be free of hope." And "Flip on your t.v. and try to make sense of that." This and the next few were sung as Daniel was backed on beautiful acoustic guitar by his long-time friend, whose name I sadly did not catch. Sung with shaking hands clutching the mic, but full of love, "Live In Light", "Hey, Joe" and "Summer Love" were inspiring, especially the latter, which even wished for a "Happy ending to us all" - like Truman wanted! Daniel loves The Beatles, and ended his first set with the John Lennon song, "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away", with an emphasized, "HEY!", announcing that he would take a break and be back shortly.

When he returned, he brought back The Hymns to be his backing band. Which I preferred them as, and they were quite good at - other than the distracting guitarist's antics. They did a rocker of a song about "Stinking Motorcycles" and then one about "Rocking the night away", and then Daniel said, "Thank you for all the money you gave me. That's' going to buy a lot of comic books." So you can see what I meant about Uncensored.

Next was a song about a girl he liked going out with a Mortician called, "Man Of Death" - with the cheerful cynic line, "the only way you can get her to look at you is to die." Daniel Johnston's latest album, "Is And Always Was" was just released this month, and the next three were selections from it: "Fake Records Of Rock and Roll", "Freedom" and High Horse". People went crazy when he stopped to say, "How do you feel tonight?" and one tool yelled back, "How do you feel?!" Daniel took a second and then said, "I feel alright. I take a lot of drugs. You should go to the Doctor and ask for antidepressants, they're better than marijuana." We covered the kids' ears for that one. But whatever works.

The Beatles' "Revolution" was a raucous crowd-pleaser, and then the even rowdier, "Rock and Roll", that perfectly summed up how the night, and music in general, can really be an uplifting power ... "There was a day that I was so lonely, I looked for Hope but all around me, people didn't seem to care ... But OH, that Rock and Roll saved my SOUL!!" Right? Doesn't it feel just like that sometimes? And it's even better when you all share the load together, like in The Henry Fonda this night.

Daniel then said, "Thank you, Good Night" and picked up his folder, walking off the stage while the music was still playing. People were yelling so loudly, whistling and clapping, that the kids now woke up (Perfect timing!), just in time to see Daniel Johnston return to say, "This is my Christmas wish for you all", and play what is my (and a lot of peoples') favorite of his tunes, "True Love Will Find You In The End." His acoustic guitar friend was back to play with him, and it was so beautiful and heart-felt, and the words so sweet:

"This is a promise with a catch
Only if you're looking will it find you
‘Cause true love is searching too
But how can it recognize you
Unless you step out into the light?
But don’t give up until
True love finds you in the end"

... that you actually did have hope that this happy ending could happen for us all. Looking at the kids waking up and smiling as they heard this gentle man share his heart, made you pretty sure of it.

Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions at The Mayan!

"I feel tingles," is how my brother, Paul, explained the anticipation he (and the super long line waiting to get in outside The Mayan Theater in downtown L.A.) felt last night to FINALLY be seeing Hope Sandoval live. He has loved her - and I mean LOVED her - since her Mazzy Star days in the 90's, and had never seen her in person. Happy Birthday, buddy - got tickets to Hope Sandoval in October! And the night had finally arrived.

If you didn't at least make out to "Fade Into You" back in the day, you really should turn in your Player's Card. That's when Mazzy Star really made their big splash, but one album after that, they were done. Hope reappeared with her band, The Warm Inventions, and released an excellent album, Bavarian Fruit Bread, back in 2001 ... but that's been quite a while now.

They released their new one, Through The Devil Softly, last month. It carries on the Dreamy Shoe Gazer genre perfected by Hope and anyone she's ever played with, and I love it. You're never going to play it to get hyped up for a night out on the town, but if you're anywhere dark and candle-lit, with someone you really like ... (or better yet, LOVE) - it's on. That's how her music makes you feel, anyway.

We were somewhere dark and (faux) candle-lit last night - The Mayan. What a great venue. I hadn't been there in ages, and forgot how funny and Epcot Mayan Temple it is. It's trippy to walk around pre-show with a cocktail and imagine all that's gone down in the space, from Mexican Lucha VaVoom Wrestling to last night's love lullabies. A perfect place to hear them in too, considering Ms. Sandoval's East L.A. roots.

Suki Ewers and her band opened the night, and you can really tell she used to play guitar in Mazzy Star. I'm always a bit mixed on having a band open that sounds SO much like the headliner - it can make for a kinda somnambulist night. But then I saw my old pal, Abe Smith, playing guitar for them and that perked us up. Suki did not introduce the band, and they ended abruptly, so I only know what I know from Abe. They were really good, but I would try and vary up the sound a wee bit away from Hope's so as not to draw such stark comparisons with someone that everyone in the place is dying to see.

The next opening band was Dirt Blujean, which is basically the Warm Inventions sans Hope and Colm O'Ciosoig (of the influential Irish outfit, My Bloody Valentine), her musical partner/ drummer. They were very good too, with a lot of instrumentals and slide guitar ... but it was actually a lot like sitting in a band's rehearsal space and watching them jam. Which is great, but lulled the crowd vs. building up the buzz. A guy in front of me on the balcony was sitting there reading "Tristessa", if that tells you anything.

{After that, it felt like it took a long time for the main event. Hope's very kind manager, Frank, came up to meet me to let me know that he'd sort me out with a photo to use here, since the Security detail were watching like hawks for illicit camera use. I guess that's never allowed at a Hope show, which is sort of a drag as she is such a unique and lovely subject. That tells you that he's a good manager though, Hope should be stoked. That's the kind of professionalism you want on your side.}
Then the room went wild for Hope just walking on stage. At least I think she did. She performs in the total dark with just a red bulb somewhere around her to see her Xylophone set-up, so I wasn't even sure she WAS on stage yet. But then she said, "It's good to be back home. It's really bright up here." - which it was not. At all. I was chatting with Abe, who I hadn't seen in ages, so I missed most of the first song (sorry), but I think it was "Fall Aside" from the new album. People were just eating it up, yelling, "WE LOVE YOU, HOPE!" every other pause.

{Which I cannot stand. Folks - Knock that off. It's distracting to everyone involved, and you are just basically pointing at yourself and yelling, "DORK!" You are not a 12 year old girl loving Taylor Swift or someone. This is a shy flower of a woman who commands silence, and you fools snap everyone's reverie. The artists know you love them, or most likely you wouldn't be there. Let us all grow up, and just listen. Bless.}

Anyway. Hope and the band next played "Thinking Like That", with her in the total dark. I heard some people at another show wanted their money back, thinking she wasn't even there and it was a recording. She DOES sound more like she does on her albums than almost anyone else I can think of - not an easy task. But she WAS there, I saw her skin-colored legs between her black boots and dress. "Blanchard" was next, which I love, it's so lush. Hope jammed the Xylophone on this one, with firm command of the instrument. "There's A Willow" featured a plaintive harmonica solo by Hope, which was met with whistles and hoots. Her time away did nothing to dispel her fan's love, that much is clear.

The fans also love an oldie, and they got "Lose Me On The Way" from the last album. "I've got it going on," goes the chorus, and indeed she does. "Charlotte" was also a favorite from the last album, and the line, "She's got a smile like a flower", has always made me smile. How cool to see her sing it all live, honestly. It's interesting because Hope's voice is so self-assured, I wish I felt like she herself was. It's an odd mix of feelings one has about her, as you feel both protective and timid of her all at once. It's all just so breathy, lilting, melancholy, dreamy and rad ... it's not hard to understand why at this point Paul insisted on smushing up front closer to being somewhat able to see her face. So we did.

"Wild Roses" led into what I think is my favorite from the new album, "Trouble". It's jazzy and confident ("Don't talk to me, if you're not on your knees ..."), and begging for a seduction to accompany it's listening. Seriously. Phew. Then it was "Bluebird", which opened with Hope's hand on a little mouse-pad, doing trippy sound effect stuff from it. Oh, and the whole time there was a screen overhead playing exactly the kind of images you would want above Hope Sandoval: ballerinas, flowers, uh, some war looking footage, perhaps lava, old silent movie faces, and back to dancers. At this point, my brother and I both noticed that the scraggly-bearded homeless guy from outside who had been asking for an extra ticket - that we assumed was to re-sell for whatever - was standing right near us, rapt as anyone else there. That is actually the lasting image I took from the show. That and Paul's gaping maw.


"Suzanne" was another gift from the old album, and everyone ate it up. Then came, "For The Rest Of Your Life", the most haunting tune (complete with ghosty "Ooo-ooo-ooo" part) from the new one, that was to be the last song of the regular set. It was the hardest rocking of the bunch too, with a whole cacophony of sounds, lit up by Hope on the Xylophone. I've never seen the old X is for Xylophone get so much glory in one evening. And it's a perfect fit. The last note died out and Hope simply said, "Thank you, Good Night" and walked slowly off the stage.

It took quite a while for Hope and the band to return for an encore, the rhythmic clapping swelling and ebbing with the energy of the assembled. "HOPE, COME BACK!" rang out, from one of the I Love You Hoper's, probably. Then come back she did, and said, "I want to say hi to my Dad. He's here tonight. Hi, Dad." That was met with happy yells for the Man that sired this shy, mysterious, and obviously beloved singer. And it was the most she said all night.

The last song on the new album is "Satellite" and it was the first of the encore. I wish she put her lyrics in the c.d. envelope, because I love the poetry of her songs, and sometimes the precise words can get lost in all the sounds. But it was beautiful, like everything of the night. The MOST beautiful to me, was the very last song, and my very favorite of the last album, "Feeling Of Gaze". It's very cello-heavy, and just plain gorgeous. The two guitars, bass, drums, keys, sound effects and Hope all coalesce in this one to be something from another, more ethereal world. The lyric, "Gonna play my favorite song, gonna play it all night long ..." was wishful thinking, as it had to end sometime. Once again, at the dream's conclusion, Hope just said, "Thank you, Bye.", and floated off into the darkness.

As did we. Paul was literally gasping for air, and cracked me up as the first thing he could speak to say was, "If I had Hope Sandoval come to my room and sing little things to me, I'd never have to do anything again. I'd be happy to just lie there and eat Jell-O."

So if that is an appealing offer, dear Hope Sandoval, your cool manager Frank has my contact information. Thanks for a wonderful, idyllic show for me, and a dream come (well, almost) true for my brother.

* Photo of Hope by Luz Gallardo
**Photo of Paul sneakily taken by me.

The Undisputed World's Greatest Wino!

Bobby Brown ("No, not like the singer, he's like ME!") is better known as The World's Greatest Wino on Venice Beach. I sat down to talk with him this morning ("Let's sit on a bench in the sunshine."), and can assure you that he lives up to his title. Except that he's sober, and has been for 12 years.

Bobby was born in Georgia, lived in Florida and New York, until making his way to the West Coast in 1978 to get away from a crazy ex-wife (among a few). That's also when he began drinking himself into oblivion - to forget about the bad marriage. He has children (two sons) and grandchildren, but he doesn't keep in touch with them anymore, as there were a lot of rough years, and when his Mother died, the link to the rest of the family died with her.

The World's Greatest Wino routine began when he lost the title of World's Greatest "Flatfooted Panhandler" in a contest with THE Greatest Panhandler, in New Orleans. He still hates that he lost. His beat used to be walking the sidewalks between The Hollywood Athletic Club and The Cat and The Fiddle, yelling, "Support your local Wino!" It occurred to him then that whatever you're going to be, you should be the best at it - hence The World's Greatest Wino was born in 1993.

He brought his bit to the Boardwalk, with all its foot traffic, and kept up the heavy drinking until a little stint in jail for "being a pharmacist." An excellent Parole Officer (named Aaron Davis, "my Eskimo", who Bobby wanted a shout-out to) was physically responsible for getting him sober and into AA meetings. Bobby had been drinking until he was sick - throwing up blood sick - and that was that. It dawned on him that if a sign and a cup (to collect his tips) could keep him drunk, it could help him do a lot of other things.

He said, "I've drank up 747's, and now I fly in them." He saves up his collections and travels now instead of spending it on the sauce. He's been all over Europe ("Though I never got to Istanbul. My fantasy was to sit in the Casbah and smoke hash."), South America, and more recently, The Philippines and Thailand - where he has a 22 year old young lady (He showed me a photo. He's heading back over the holidays. Yep.) currently "driving me nuts, emailing me all the time." For the record, Bobby is 72. And he's replaced his drinking vice with the ladies, or as he put it, "I'm a Sucker. Ladies IS my problem now." Yeah, but they likely help keep him young and at it, working the Boardwalk, bellowing his trademark song, "Jingle bells, Jingle bells, Help me get drunk!" That's exactly what he's singing right here:

And he IS going to get drunk - just not until the year 2209. That's a date he chose to sit on the hill by the Skatepark and finally drink his favorite - Remy Martin - out of a brandy snifter in the sunshine, because "You don't know" - you don't know how long you're going to live, and all he can think about is TODAY, for not getting drunk. But you always have to have something to look forward to. Asked if he's false advertising a bit, he answered, "I hate a liar more than anything. I'm not lying, I'm asking for the MEANS to go to the liquor store - but the liquor store sells a lot of things." He gave me his business card, and I said, "This is a fresh card." He gave me a sly look, and said, "I AM fresh!" Again, he does not lie.

He alternates his signs (his favorite: "Dr. Kind Love, S.O. {Sex-Ologist} - Sex Counselor and Happiness Dispenser") and hats (his current one is an Oktoberfest one, "for October"), and has a million songs and jokes to entertain the crowds with. Like this one ...

"I was in Hollywood and saw this giant guy with a little tiny head. I asked him how he was so huge, and had such a tiny head, all out of proportion. The guy told me that he had woken up in a hotel room and a Leprechaun was there, with a Fairy Princess. The Leprechaun said the Fairy Princess would give him anything he wanted, and the Guy said, "How about a little head?"

We shared a laugh and a firm handshake, and Bobby Brown, World's Greatest Wino, carried on down The Boardwalk, dispensing his own special brand of happiness.