Docuweek, sponsored by the International Documentary Association, is on now at the Arclight and one major treat is “The Wrecking Crew”. I’ve mentioned it before, and I really really really want you to see it. I saw it again for the second time last night and just can’t get enough. Hal Blaine and Don Randi were there last night along with filmmaker Denny Tedesco. If you are serious about 60’s rock and pop and LA music history, this is the film and Q&A panel for you.
The film is screening twice a day at the Arclight Hollywood until Thursday, but there will be Q&A with Denny Tedesco and Don Randi this weekend: today at 4:30 and 9:45 and tomorrow at 7:00 pm. For full schedule and ticket purchases, click into the Arclight webpage.
For some of the songs you will hear and awesome photos, join me after the 8 count intro.
Surveillance cameras at the building I live (near Franklin and La Brea) caught a bicycle theft in action. As you can see from the video below, a man in a construction helmet and reflective vest is able to casually rip off a bike with the help of bolt cutters. As he finishes, a tenant walks right by, thinking nothing of the thief.
This video, which shows the pathway between the building’s backdoor and parking lot, was taken last Tuesday, August 12th, shortly after 8am. The theft itself wasn’t reported to building management for 3 days.
Valorie Keegan with the Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council tells me that similar incidents have been reported of thieves posing as DWP workers and tree trimmers. And couple days after the bike theft, a neighbor reported that another man dressed as a construction worker tried to talk his way onto building property claiming he was with the housing department.
During both incidents heavy construction has continued on the street in front of the building, lending the perps plenty of opportunity to blend in.
While I hope the DWP and police take this situation very seriously, this incident demonstrates the need for residents to be more vigilant and report crimes as they happen.
If you see someone suspicious or out of place in your neighborhood, report it ASAP, to your building management, the police, and your neighbors.
As I write this, three brush fires continue to burn in the northeast corner of Griffith Park. The first was reported by the Los Angeles Fire Department at 2:17pm near the Travel Town area, followed by reports of two additional fires 30 minutes later.
According to ABC7, City Councilman Tom LaBonge has described the fires as “suspicious.”
This is the third fire since July 27 to strike the same general area of Griffith Park. The second fire was on August 4 burning approximately 3 acres while the one in July scorched around 25 acres.
Is a serial arsonist at work in Griffith Park?
*Update (6:42pm): In an email, LAFD spokesman Brian Humphreys responded to me:
Barring some formal statement today from our Arson Investigators or our PIO’s (Captain Hogan or Captain Haro), the earlier fires in Griffith Park remain - as far as our office is concerned [emphasis added] - under investigation.
He adds that LaBonge’s comments “should rightfully be attributed to him as a City elected leader.”
The International Documentary Association is having its annual festival, Docuweek, at the Arclight Theaters August 22 - 28. Included in the line-up is the “The Wrecking Crew” (previously mentioned by me). If you missed the sold out screenings at the Silent Movie Theater, here’s your chance to see this amazing documentary about the most famous musicians you’ve (probably) never heard of.
Here again is a synopsis of this important piece of Los Angeles music history:
You heard them playing on the Beach Boys hits, on the Mamas and the Papas’ tunes, on Frank Sinatra records, on Monkees’ singles and they were Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound. Simply put, you heard them everywhere. They have performed on more number-one charted singles than the Beatles, and were one of rock and roll’s most legendary bands, a hit-making machine. Most likely, you never heard their name; if you knew who they were, you called them the Wrecking Crew. Denny Tedesco, son of Crew member Tommy Tedesco, knew their story was too important to leave to just a small circle of friends, and set out to film his father and other members of the Wrecking Crew to capture their story firsthand. The film features conversations with Brian Wilson, Cher, Nancy Sinatra, Mickey Dolenz, Herb Alpert, Lou Adler, Dick Clark, Jimmy Webb, Brian Wilson, Roger McGuinn and many others.
Click into the Arclight Theater website to buy tickets. (There are two showings a day on each day of the festival.)
To learn more about The Wrecking Crew, watch a trailer, hear just some of the music they played and to get on their email list go to their website: The Wrecking Crew
To learn more about the IDA and Docuweek, please go to their website: International Documentary Association
(If all of this is not enough to get you to see the Wrecking Crew, then read this from comments made by LA’s own Militant Angeleno: “It’s a great doc and part of it even delves into some Los Angeles history…MILITANT APPROVED!” Need I say more?)
Hello, friends! We were on hand for The Dark Knight midnight movie madness at the spectacular Cineramadome/Arclight! Crowds abound and news crews were there to point bright lights and cameras at them with the intent to annoy and interview those of us in line. There was also some kind of butt-tasting ice tea drink being bandied about, but the price for tasting it was to pretend on camera that the vile liquid was indeed delicious. It was not.
Last Saturday night’s free screening of “The Wrecking Crew” was a huge success with about 1500 people enjoying the outdoor movie and the concert afterward. (I had blogged about it here.) If you wished you could have gone you are in luck as tomorrow night, July 3rd, you get another chance. The Silent Movie Theater is showing the film twice. The film’s Director/Producer Denny Tedesco, son of legendary guitarist Tommy Tedesco, will be there for a Q&A after the screenings.
A synopsis of this important piece of Los Angeles music history:
You heard them playing on the Beach Boys hits, on the Mamas and the Papas’ tunes, on Frank Sinatra records, on Monkees’ singles and they were Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound. Simply put, you heard them everywhere. They have performed on more number-one charted singles than the Beatles, and were one of rock and roll’s most legendary bands, a hit-making machine. Most likely, you never heard their name; if you knew who they were, you called them the Wrecking Crew. Denny Tedesco, son of Crew member Tommy Tedesco, knew their story was too important to leave to just a small circle of friends, and set out to film his father and other members of the Wrecking Crew to capture their story firsthand. The film features conversations with Brian Wilson, Cher, Nancy Sinatra, Mickey Dolenz, Herb Alpert, Lou Adler, Dick Clark, Jimmy Webb, Brian Wilson, Roger McGuinn and many others.
(Tomorrow night’s event is part of the weekly “Don’t Knock The Rock ‘08″ festival in July and August. Click right here, baby, for all the details of this series.)
The Silent Movie Theater
611 N Fairfax Avenue
323-655-2510
Showtimes: 8:00 PM Sold out!
10:30 PM
Tickets are $10 each and you can buy tickets online right here.
(Again, full disclosure: the filmmakers are good friends of mine.)
Berta one of our readers and commenters from Far East LA (West Covina) dropped me a note about a free event they were attending at Hollywood & Highland and how they got there cheap and fast.
She has lived in LA for many years with the exception of a couple of years in New York. While in New York she and her husband learned to rely on their subways to get around fast and cheap. When they returned to LA they missed efficient public transportation.
With the price of gas coupled with the time to get into some events as it is too close to normal rush hours she has turned to looking at the train as a way to get around. With her husband disabled public transit was a bit of a worry. They found quickly that it was no problem and he got a cheaper ticket in the process. Her story after the jump. (more…)
UPDATE: via LAist, here’s a link to the Notice of Hearing, which notes that there’s also petition “stating the non compliance with the conditions of the Zoning Administrators’ grant approvals” with a whopping 31 signatures and “photographs of illegal activity within the establishment use.”
The Knitting Factory, which opened its doors in a beleaguered, beat down section of Hollywood eight years ago and helped spearhead the neighborhood’s dramatic improvements since, is apparently facing the possibility of revocation of their Conditional Use Permit by LADBS. This would effectively put them out of business:
Dear Friends of The Knitting Factory,
I’m writing this letter to garner support for an upcoming public hearing by the LADBS (Los Angeles Bldg. and Safety) against our venue on Thursday July 17th 2008.
The Los Angeles Building Department is aggressively trying to revoke our CUP (Conditional Use Permit). For those of you who don’t know, a CUP is the conditions that all restaurants, bars, clubs etc must run under in order to keep their doors open. If you lose your CUP, you are essentially closed for business. After eight years in a crime riddled Hollywood corridor, the LADBS and vice state that our venue is a “nuisance” and we do not comply under “upscale restaurant guidelines” (nonsense, food is always served and continues service and will someone please define “upscale” for me). They are also trying to say we do a steady stream of Erotica here, which is absurd, as we’ve only had 3 Adult Entertainment parties over 8 years and 10,000 shows.
Bar owners beware; the city is on a major crack down for what they deem CUP violations.
More info about how you can speak out on behalf of one of Hollywood’s most creative and energetic venues after the jump. (more…)
Do you find yourself absently singing the line, “Who’s the puffy guy who’s a big blurry sex machine? Mitchell!”
You ever wake up in a cold sweat in a twist of sheets and realize you were dreaming about Torgo’s knees?
Chances are, you’ll be at The Ford Amphitheater on June 21st when the crew of Cinematic Titanic steam in for the Los Angeles Film Festival. Mystery Science Theater 3000 is no longer, but its two chief alumni are still out there tearing bad movies to shreds. One of them, the show’s creater, Joel Hodgson, is bringing his current incarnation to Cahuenga Boulevard where he and four of the show’s greatest comic minds will be riffing on the film Wasp Woman in front of a live audience.
Torgo terrifies me, Mitchell is a sex god and I haven’t the faintest idea what a sampo is. But I do know where I’ll be that night. See you there, right?
Bottomfeeders Guide to LA
