Tom Freund - Pledge Allegiance To His Album To Be

This is shaping up to be Venice music video week! My friend, Tom Freund, Venice/International musical phenom is launching his Pledge campaign today to fund raise for his new album to be.

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/tomfreund

Tom often includes "I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends" in his sets, and this is a perfect example of that. We need to support our musicians at a time when the industry really does not. This campaign features incentives that are like fantasy camp for musicians: Guest appearance on stage! Play the shaker on his recording! Get an original song written and performed for you! Have a private concert in your own living room! Or good time Venice activities, like walk dogs with Tom. A bike tour/happy hour around Venice. A signed skateboard. All sorts of good stuff like that - or just do what you can by pre-ordering the new album while simultaneously helping to pay for it. Very insider.

You'll get updates along the way, and most of all, you'll feel good for helping out someone super talented bring more beautiful music into this world, that needs way more of that, every day. As his new song, "Angel Eyes" states, You gotta know who's got your back and who's pretending ... You make it possible to do the things I do ...

Help Tom make it possible, and stay in touch to hear how good it all comes out! Thank you.

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!

Matt Ellis "Candy" Video - Co-Starring Lincoln Place

The great new video from Matt Ellis (my awesome friend) is done and ready for your viewing pleasure! The cover of Iggy Pop's "Candy" is directed by Jordan Levy (my awesome neighbor),  co-stars Matt's wife, Vavine (also my awesome friend) and Lincoln Place, the embattled apartment complex off of Lincoln Boulevard in Venice - that sat vacant for years over legal wrangling, while houseless people slept outside in the cold.

It's a historic place, and the video bridges past and present ... and offers a hint at the future too.  It's beautiful, and entirely a Venice production, from all the people involved to its transforming location. Without further ado .... "Candy"!

The Venice Artblock - Excellent and Free!

The very first Venice Artblock was held on Sunday, and it was fantastic. And FREE! After many of our local artists were denied participation in the official Venice Art Walk this past Spring, they took it upon themselves to create - in a very Venice-spirited way, a little anarchist, take the power back style - their own event, free and open to the public, without any lines, wrist bands, or corporate headquarters ... just art, art and more art! In these times, that's both highly commendable, and historical.

It was done just as legit (if not more) as the Art Walk, with a great map, balloons and signs to signify where the stops were, and even a shuttle to get you around if you forgot your bike (always the best way to cover the most ground at these type of events). It was very spread out, from the beach to almost Lincoln, and from Venice Blvd. to Rose. The area around Vernon and Sunset was kind of the hub, with the most concentrated number of studios to hit.

It's so great to go around, and get to see inside the studios of artists that you may just know socially, or have heard of, and then get to peek inside their work space and understand how they operate. What a treat to have them share so much of not just their art, but themselves.

It was a party atmosphere at the studio of William Attaway, with Argentinian barbeque being grilled up, and music thumping. Attaway has a new series of paintings going that feel very bright and tropical, and it's always fun to see his sculptural works in progress.



Alberto Bevacqua's photographs are always haunting and provocative, and stood in stark contrast to the wooden circus animals of Pamela Weir-Quiton down the street. There is certainly something for everyone to admire in Venice.

Gary Palmer had his studio open and shared some stories about his recent excursion to participate in a big sidewalk chalk drawing event in Atlantic City. If you saw his Abbot Kinney in chalk at the Street Fair, you know Palmer is a master of this craft. His oil paintings are collected all over the world, and it's cool to see where it all begins. Very cool.

I always love to see what they have going on at the Curio Studio, one of my favorites in town.  

361 Vernon, where Palmer's studio is, also had a whole slew of studios open, from video installations to ceramics and everything in between. There is so much going on all the time, that you don't have any idea about, which may explain why so many people feel that Venice truly IS a creative vortex.

With SO much going on, it was difficult to hit all the points on the map, especially when you get held up chatting and catching up with other art lovers enjoying such a remarkable day. I stopped by to see what performance artist  and awesome lady Amy Kaps had going on, and she showed off her works while performing hostess duties all decked out in black, white and hot pink. She is a Venice treasure, for sure.

Across the street on Electric, Rohitash Rao was showing his paintings done mostly on garbage. Faces and phrases painted on empty coffee cups or other flotsam, all comic with an edge. Good stuff, good hang too.

I got a late start so it was already almost 5 (closing time) when I got over to SPARC. The talented and erudite Kay Brown showed some of us how her gorgeous wood block printing, and how the printing process is done. Her floral print reminded me of Attaway's flowers at the first stop. Full Circle.

SPARC always has wonderful things to look at, and the murals surrounded by the old bars of the town jail that the building once was lend even more power to the images you're seeing. SPARC is a hallowed institution and if you live in or care about Venice, it really warrants your time to explore and know about.

Every person I ran into along the way raved about how excellent this event was, and how wonderful that it was free and open to absolutely anyone, not just those who can cough up the steep admission price of the official Art Walk. It somehow felt more REAL too ... like art for art's sake, not necessarily profit, though work was being sold, and perhaps as importantly, being seen, learned and known about. The community was out in force, great conversations were being had, and every artist I encountered was beaming with the success of the day ... and the FUN!

Artblock was in fact SO cool, that I have to imagine they're already plotting the next one. And you should be there. It's the REAL deal. Thank you to all the artists involved, for inviting us all into your creative spaces, and for being there in the first place. Venice needs you!!! Sincerely, Thanks.

Venice's Symphony Orchestra - From Beck To Bach

When I first heard there was going to be a Venice Symphony Orchestra, I thought it was just about the best idea ever. Then I heard them, and that is now confirmed. Led by founder/director/conductor/musician, Wesley Flowers, I heard the VSO play for the first time at the September Venice Art Crawl, and as their tag-line goes, they did indeed play everything "From Beck to Bach." Beautifully.

Flowers grew up in Georgia, playing the bass and piano - a little.  As life goes, opportunities spring up and you either grab them or you don't, and when Flowers was offered a gig playing on tour with Butch Walker, he grabbed it. Flowers played with Walker for five years, and that gig is what first brought him out to Los Angeles. He found that he didn't like L.A. at all, but when he came down to the beach in Venice - near the studio they were working out of - he said the clouds parted and he knew these were his people. I've heard that same story so many times - and told it - where people arrive in Venice and just either get it or they don't. The ones who get it stay ... and then do their best to not only preserve what they loved about it upon arrival, but to add to it in creative and positive ways. That's just what Flowers set out to do, right from the beginning.

After attending a performance of the Santa Monica Symphony Orchestra, Flowers was blown away - and then even more so to find that Venice did not have an Orchestra of its own. What?! A creative hub of the entire world did not have an Orchestra?! Something had to be done. Flowers approached some friends with his idea, and Venice architect/developer Jason Teague thought it was a fantastic idea, and said that Flowers was exactly the kind of person we want living in Venice. Exactly right. Teague helped to get a non-profit set up, and Flowers was off to the races, recruiting musicians through Craig's List, Yo Venice and The Free Venice Beachhead. The VSO had their first performance in the fall of 2012 at The Electric Lodge, where they were also allowed to hold rehearsals. Flowers said, "This is the only town this could happen in." Everyone is a volunteer at this point, everything has been donated, and all are in it for the love of music.

The music. With so many talented musicians in town, there has been a kind of revolving door of VSO members thus far, as everyone has busy schedules and also need to make a living, so sometimes well-paying gigs need to take precedence while the VSO gets up, running, and more self-sufficient. Watching them perform at last month's Art Crawl, one would have no idea that there was so little time for the group to rehearse as a whole. The program (Mozart AND "Good Vibrations"!) was flawless and had the entire audience jam-packed (with a line down the block to get in!) into Teague's shipping container compound applauding and elated that we now DO have a symphony orchestra of our own!

Their hopes are to keep growing, to offer free music lessons to at-risk local youth, have free performances for the neighborhood, tour with the VSO, have a permanent home (how about a concert hall in the Windward Circle?!) to play in, have a staff, score films, stage a performance at the end of the Venice Pier ... the great ideas are really endless. To make them a reality will require help and support from our whole community. You can donate through their website. You can sign up for "LivnGiv" where participating restaurants donate 20% of your tab to the VSO, at no extra cost to you. You can book them for a private function (what a great work holiday party idea!). And as the membership is now only about 1/4 as big as Flowers would like, you can dust off your own instrument and join in on the music-making!

"We put the Venice in symphony orchestra," Flowers said, and added that the people and the music selections are "funky enough to be the VENICE Symphony Orchestra." It's great to see a younger generation not only getting involved with orchestral music, but creating it for the whole community to enjoy. "I think we can revolutionize the movement and redefine what an orchestra can be. We can re-invent the classics, while still honoring them, and incorporating things like electronic music, because it all ties together."  A pretty apt mission statement for an orchestra for Venice, California if you ask me. I think Abbot Kinney would not only be proud of these guys, but would probably see a little bit of his dreamer self in them ... and the part that then goes out and makes it happen.

Celebrate the music of Venice! The Venice Symphony Orchestra will be playing monthly at First Fridays at Trim Salon on Abbot Kinney, at the next Art Crawl on December 19th, and wherever our town books them to share the gift of their music.

Please support our VSO. Contact them at Veniceorchestra@gmail.com. Like them on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/veniceorchestra) Sign up for LivnGiv (https://www.livngiv.com/los-angeles )and select VSO as your cause. Thank you, and Enjoy the music!!!

It Takes A Village ... To Keep It A Village

I have to admit, I'd never attended a LUPC (Land Use and Planning Committee) meeting in Venice before October 2nd. I, like my friends and neighbors, was compelled to go in absolute opposition to the new hotel proposed at 1033 Abbot Kinney Boulevard. A HOTEL! What?! NO. That was the gist of the entire sitting and standing room only meeting at the Oakwood Rec Center, where even the youngest Venetians jammed in shoulder to shoulder to use their voices against yet another project determined to turn Venice all upscale and not Venice anymore.

Led by committee chair, Jake Kaufman, in a bit of an abrasive, tough guy manner ("If you even whisper, I'll point you out in front of everyone and ask you to leave."), it was clear that almost 100% of the folks in the room were there for the hotel issue, in the hopes of "Keeping Venice eclectic," which was mentioned several times. Outside you could hear the kids playing basketball and having fun after dark, which only added to the community aspect of it all.

The team behind the hotel, led by the new land owner, Dan Abrams, kept their presentation very short, and stood there with crossed arms and sullen faces while listening to what came in the next two hours. They seemed to think that it was a big deal that just that very afternoon, they decided to take the proposed fourth floor off of the project. They announced that change a couple hours before the meeting in an open letter on Yo Venice, in a move that smacked very much of the old trick where you ask for way bigger to come down to the scale that you really want in the first place. To seem like open guys, "listening to the community." Almost no one in there was buying it, or having it. Many said, "Disingenuous," about it all. When Abrams said, "A lot of people want nothing to go on this site - that is not an option." To which someone yelled out, "Yes, it is!" and everyone else clapped (and got scolded for it by Kaufman). The removal of the fourth floor also eliminated affordable housing that was originally included, something Venice NEEDS - far, far more than some posh boutique hotel.

This whole deal is still in the very early stages, which is why it was so heartening to see such a massive turnout for a preliminary meeting. Venice people know what they want - and what they for sure do NOT want - and they're not afraid to speak up.

All citizens were to be kept to a one minute speaking term, unless they respectfully asked for two, which many did. It was on a first name basis in there, and Tibby went first, setting the tone when she said, "I do NOT support this project," and surmised that committee member John Reed had already taken a side and was advocating for the project. It did feel like that as the night went along, as he kept sticking up for it all. Joan said that the "concession" to three floors is still absurd when all the other buildings are one story, and shows a lack of understanding of the community. A community of walkers, bikers, artists, and activists that already struggle with the congestion on Abbot Kinney, a main concern.

Dov read a letter from someone that couldn't be there and then said his own, and powerful, piece. "I'm TIRED of the poor being kicked out of Venice! This gentrification was funded by gang wars and crack cocaine!" He riled the place up, earning claps and shouts of agreement. Gail was opposed. She said Abbot Kinney is successful as a tourist attraction, but we don't want to become victims of that success. The PEOPLE gave it the color, diversity, and eclecticism that made it so, and they're being driven out. "All that will be left is an over-developed, congested, gridlocked mess ... I object to this project in TOTALITY." Lara was concerned about this development setting a precedent, and losing all the diversity of the neighborhood.

Joe, Antoinette, Chris, and many other voiced concerns that the hotel was going to be across the street from an elementary school, and with a roof-top bar, pool and transient hotel guests, it might not be the best idea to have all that swirling around little kids. Everyone seemed to agree on that.

Traffic was a major issue, and most speakers mentioned it. As a hotel, there will be 24 hour deliveries (which I'm sure the close neighbors will love - never mind the ages of construction it would all take), and loading docks blocking traffic on Electric, an already extra-narrow thoroughfare. Caskey spoke eloquently about how when she moved here 18 years ago ("and still consider myself a newbie"), she loved that she could ride bikes down the boulevard to the beach, but she would never dream of taking her young boys down the street on bikes now, with all the traffic and oblivious tourists ALREADY here, and this will only make it way worse. "The tourist money doesn't stay here, and it will only detract from the Venice we love ... Expect to hear from us." Word.

Parking was another biggie, and almost all mentioned it. Where are all the employees going to park? Where will the people go to park that don't want to pay high hotel parking prices? Into the neighborhoods, that's where. It's already difficult for people who live adjacent to AKB to find parking anywhere near their homes, and this will, of course, only exacerbate the problem. Steve and many more mentioned that they already avoid the street at all costs, which is sad when you figure it is there for US first. Or should be.

The open letter from the owners said that Venice "needs" a hotel. One prepared speaker named Lisa did some quick research before she came and told us that there are 35 (!) hotels in a 2 mile radius, so yeah, we don't need it. One guy whose name I missed said, "This is a NOT in my backyard situation. This is our village, and this project will fundamentally shift the vibe of our town. No." Another guy said, "You walk down Abbot Kinney and you think, 'I wish I had a cup of coffee.' No one says, 'I wish I had a hotel.' This project is pure arrogance." Yep.

Danny was recently in Amsterdam, and was impressed at how developers there built things to conform to the historical nature of the area, which these guys should emulate. "Venice is in crisis now, this is a wonderful area that we want to preserve." Amen.

Logan said "We do NOT want this place to turn into the 3rd Street Promenade," which was echoed by David. Angelo said that if the hotel people were FOR community, they would never have even THOUGHT about putting a hotel there, and that he saw "No way to solve these problems in that location." Kim said she was opposed to a hotel that would cater to the wealthy. "Everything coming in is high end. I own two stores on Abbot Kinney (the lovely and reasonably priced Ananda and Skylark, proudly NOT corporate chain stores) and I can't afford to buy a house here. All my employees walk to work, but they're finding it hard to afford to even rent an apartment here anymore." That isn't right. That isn't Venice.

Marta asked for a show of hands opposing the hotel, and almost every hand went up. She said, "We, as Venetians, get to choose the character of our community!" and felt that the hotel group were making their "concessions" because of the pressure they're getting, not because it's what's right to do. She then plunked down over 100 letters of opposition in front of the committee for good measure. Bam!

There were maybe three or four people who spoke that were for the project, and at least two of them felt like total plants. One was so gushy about it, you'd think a Nobel Prize was next for people who want to put up a boxy, fancy hotel in a surf, skate, art neighborhood. She said, "I'm 100% in favor of this, and we don't need to hear another 'No' tonight," to which the entire place drowned out anything else she said after in a chorus of "NOOOOOOs!" It was kind of great, a very power to the people moment. Both Abrams and Kaufman said at different points in the evening, "Not to sound sarcastic (which it did) but if you don't like it, tell your neighbors not to sell." True enough (DON'T SELL!!!), but it came off as a screw you.

When all had spoken, the hotel team had a chance to respond. That was the "Then don't sell" time, and Abrams said he had bought the property before someone else - that didn't care as much - came in to build BIG without any regard for the community, and if they didn't get to build their hotel, they'd sell to someone who would. To that, someone radly yelled, "Don't threaten us!" More claps. When Abrams said, "We want to do something in the context and reality of Venice's future," that got maybe two claps. They ended with "We're listening and we hear you and we want to work with you, thank you." That might be true, but in demeanor and tone, it felt like some pandering to get what you want.

At the end, one guy said, "Look us in the eye and say you're going to do the right thing. Honor this exceptional community." Another lady said, "This project is NOT inevitable. We care. We fight. We are active activists. This is NOT a given, and CAN be stopped!" That got big applause, in solidarity.

And it can be stopped. As someone said, "Nowhere else do you see a community coming together like this. This is Venice, and our community is authentic." We all milled around in the lobby after the hotel part of the meeting was done and discussed it all. No one likes that it seems to be a matter of "Old, crazy Venice" vs. "Nouveau riche Venice," because time and money spent do not make the spirit of a place. A thoughtful population - from 50 years to 50 days living here - that honors the past, respects its beautiful diversity of residents in all income brackets (including none), and looks forward in a cool, conscientious manner is what makes a place great. We still have that, and we WILL fight for it. There will be more meetings, debate and votes about this, and we will be there. Defend Venice!

*You can learn more for yourself at AbbotKinneyHotel.com and at http://www.venicenc.org/committees/lupc

** Additional photos by Marta Evry and Mario Signore

Menotti's Coffee Stop Opens On Windward

Way back in the day, there was Menotti's Bar on Windward. Then came the Prohibition Era, and it became Menotti's "Buffet", a little grocery store to serve as cover for the Speakeasy downstairs, which also served as a distribution center for the liquor being smuggled through the underground tunnels from the off-shore ships hauling it in. Well, now we can all drink freely, but Menotti's is making its return to Venice with the opening of Menotti's Coffee Stop, next door to our current Speakeasy - The Del Monte/Townhouse.

As the owners of The Townhouse, Louis and Annette Ryan, continue to expand and honor the historical roots of Venice, they have turned the empty space now filled by Menotti's into a gorgeous venue for your neighborhood coffee fix at the beach. They also found the very best guy to run it, Christopher "nicely" Abel Alameda, a true coffee professional and three-time World Latte Art Champion. He KNOWS his coffee. And his name is nicely (because he played "Nicely Nicely" in Guys and Dolls and kept getting voted "Most Courteous" in school!) so you know you're going to get good service.

Alameda is from Far Rockaway, New York (and you can hear it in his accent) but began his career in coffee when his Mother moved them to Seattle when he was 15 for a better life out West. Seattle was pretty much the world coffee center at the time, and Alameda learned his trade at Espresso Vivace - known internationally as a center for "coffee technique". Contacts made there led him to leave Seattle for Venice and a job at Intellegentsia. He considers his time spent there to be his "Grad School" in coffee. "I was embraced by Venice while I was there, even in such a sterile environment." When he felt they were getting a bit too corporate for his taste (and mine), he embarked on his "accelerated business school of coffee" at Handsome Coffee downtown. The back of his neck features a tattoo tribute to all of the above places, showing how seriously he takes it all.

While at Handsome, Alameda was approached by Derek G. Taylor, who is in business with the Ryans. Taylor explained that the Ryans were interested in opening a coffee venue next to The Townhouse on Windward and asked if Alameda would be into partnering up with them. With his first son about to be born (the darling baby Abel) to Alameda and his lady, Kailani Rodde-Ector, they were looking for somewhere close to home for him to work (Kailani was born and raised in Venice, and they have made their happy home here). Alameda appreciated that "Menotti's is going to be a Mom and Pop place, because Louis and Nettie are a Mom and a Pop. We want to focus on raising our family in a great family town." The Ryans have raised their own children here, and he liked that it was going to be a family operation, geared to our locals. We like that too. 

As Alameda explained, "The Ryans are interested in doing positive and beautiful things for Venice. They take care of their businesses and the history behind them." To that end, Menotti's truly has that sense of place that could only be Venice. The tables are old whiskey barrels and the cream and sugar holders are liquor bottles, both tipping their hats to the original vibe of the place. The counter is made of the original tin ceiling of the place. The music will be played on a record player - vinyl.

The Four Barrel Coffee (from San Francisco) will be made on a special La Marzocco machine (in a custom turquoise shade to match the ocean outside). The pastries will be sourced by our friends at GTA. There will be record listening parties, photo exhibits, seminars to make your own coffee at home way better, and always an excellent place to stop in and get your caffeine and say hi to friendly faces that you know.

"What's left of the REAL Venice is the community engagement," said Alameda. I both second this and appreciate it. We NEED people like this to honor our past and establish a new classic Venice spot for years to come. Menotti's is pure Venice, top to bottom, and I hope you will join me in warmly welcoming them, supporting them, and thanking them for helping to keep Venice Venicely.

Menotti's Coffee Stop will be open daily 8 am - 8 pm.