Mike Watt and Kira Roessler
Watt in action
Dos, live
11/8/2000 - 00h30 - Los Angeles, CA
The arrival in LA is impressive.
After flying over desert land, the edge of the LA region starts 20 minutes before
landing. The size of the smog cloud is incredible. The plane lands and at the
end of the landing strip you can see this immense cloud of smog which covers
the ocean completely out of view. The airport is uninteresting. I take a minibus
that will take me to Hollywood. The first difference is traffic. People drive
more nervously here, but we're still far from Italy. There's still a LOT of
space around. Pedestrians seem to be rare considering the excellent weather.
Looks like they're all concentrated in the large avenues. Arrived at the youth
hostel, which is a bit far from my points of interest, I'm told that I'll have
to spend one night in a dorm, with 5 other people. I wouldn't care a lot, but
since I had made strict reservations, I don't accept that and while discussing,
the manager interrupts and tells me he has rooms available in another hotel
which he's refreshing. Coincidentally, that hotel is situated exactly where
I had meant to go, so, at 40$ a night, I accept the deal. Problem: no airco
and the room is very far from the average comfort. I knew it and I've seen worse,
so there I go...
I take a fast cold shower and head to the venue of this evening's concert. Rapidly
I realise that indeed, walking distance is an alien concept here. I learned
recently that Mike Watt, the legendary Mike Watt, my favourite bass player,
who played in the Minutemen and fIREHOSE, plays live tonight with Kira Roessler,
as a duo appropriately named Dos. Kira was the bass player in Black Flag, the
great punk rock band of the eighties which influenced the best and was headed
by the mighty Greg Ginn on guitar and Henry Rollins on vocals. I would have
flown here only to see Dos. It's a set of two bass players and I loved the records,
so I'm in for a great time, whatever happens. So far, I've been very lucky.
I arrive at the venue after 30 min walking, and luck n°3, they have a restaurant,
which I badly need after a slow traveling day. Food is excellent, Watt and Kira
are inside chatting, I feel like telling both how much they are great in my
opinion, but I don't. I don't like to invade someone's privacy in general, so
I don't see why I'd do it with them. Instead I wave and say hello, and I'm greeted
with the beautiful smile and sparkling look of Kira. Still a beautiful woman.
The concert was, as expected, excellent.
| Mike Watt and Kira Roessler |
Watt in action |
Dos, live |
During the performance I meet a fellow member of the Mike Watt mailing list. He works on promotion for the legendary jazz label, Blue Note (founded in 1932). This is a cool guy, drives a cool car, and with a friend they take me to a typical hollywood bar to see the local fauna. Excellent. People are very colourful, yet you can see that there's a LOT of attitude. Excellent music. Of course, everyone's an actor, musician, or producer here, forgetting their true daily job for the moment. There's an incredible queue of people waiting to get into the trendiest place around (for this week, that is). The way they're dressed, while they look like they're waiting for the bus is hilarious. Mark is of Italian origins, so I tell him about Europe and Italy and he tells me about Hollywood. Cultural differences are always an incredible matter to discuss about. Fascinating. He insists to pass by his place before taking me home, and he offers me Blue Note CDs and merchandising, stuff that I wouldn't be able to buy in Europe special US editions of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Jimmy Smith, etc. This is the luckiest day of the year. I'm still impressed by the generosity of all the people I've met so far.
14/8/2000 - 14h30 - Los Angeles, CA
After a very warm night I decided to walk most of the Hollywood streets. Nothing very impressive, except watching the tourists fall like flies in the very nice traps organised for them. I went to the Griffith Park in the afternoon, the largest town park in the world, actually its a natural reserve with several hills, and the entrance part is organised like a picnic area. A fairly interesting botanical garden (Arboretum) can be visited. At the top of the street that snakes up the hills (do not atempt to *walk* up there unless you have water with you), there's the Griffith Observatory, from where you can experience an incredible sight: on the sides: beautiful wild landscapes under the sun. In the middle: LA, covered by smog. The sea is only visible in winter...
 The Griffith Planetarium |
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Since I had walked the
whole time (about 40 Km), I came back to the hotel and slept for a while. I
wanted to see at least one of the touristic attractions, the Mann's Chinese
Theater, so I bought a ticket to see the useless "Space Cowboys" movie;
after all, I'm in Hollywood, what could I expect... The theater is an impressive
amount of chinese-like decoration, and was the set of the first film industry
academy awards.
I woke up early this morning and rented a car. There's no way I'm doing the
rest by foot, I visited all the nearby places worth visiting yesterday. Buses
are slow and rare, taxis are slightly cheaper than a limo, maybe the metro but
it offers no view. This is a place made for cars, so I take a car. Immediately
everything changes. You see the place from a completely different point of view.
I decided to drive on all major boulevards, and indeed most of the time, there's
nothing interesting, like in all the large cities of the world. It's much more
interesting to pinpoint what you want to see and go there straight.
 Sunset Boulevard |
I had lunch with C. , she
runs a publication company owned by a famous american artist. I met K, who works
with C. We go to C's house before lunch, she must feed a sick cat and let him
out for a while. C lives with T in a wonderful little house hanging from the
hill with a breathtaking view over LA and the sea. This is probably one of the
ten most beautiful homes I've been in in my whole life, especially for the location.
You enter through the garage and on a porch hanging over the valley. The view
from the living room is amazing. I've seen a great view like that only in Kampala,
Uganda. Everything is decorated 50ies/60ies style and they even organised a
room into a Tiki bar complete with straw-and-wood counter and hawaiian imagery.
This is too cool. The garden, of course, is organised in steps. Part of one
steps contains a pond for fish and plants, you'd better not be drunk in such
a garden. There's a lot of prickly pears, like in Sardinia. The house would
be dangerous for a baby but that's about the only problem I'd see with it. After
feeding and letting the cat out, we drive straight to Sunset Boulevard, to a
restaurant called "Toi" (You, in French), which C. pronounces "toy"
(or maybe it's an oriental word, I don't know). C. Is a very nice woman, tall,
blonde, of scandinavian origins, which takes her job very seriously and could
teach a lot of people about efficiency, while wearing typical norwegian braids.
She's firmly anchored in her business, she wears the weight of the company alone
with the help of K. who works half-time. Of course all this is far away from
the average job in LA, and certainly very different from her previous occupations
in the music industry, where she spent 5 years. She confirms that it's a disgusting
environment and that she's happy to be out of it. During lunch, I gather a lot
of info for another long-term project, more than I could get by reading music
magazines or mainstream books about this business. Back at ther office, C. offers
me a book I've been looking for during the last year, unsuccessfully as they
stopped publishing it. It's a slightly scratched and used edition but otherwise
in pristine conditions. Another gift! I don't know what to say or to do to thank
her. She obviously doesn't see how much value it has for me now. I leave C and
K to their work and drive on Sunset towards the ocean.
Venice is truly disappointing, I must have come during a bad day. The promenade
is a series of tourist trap shops, clothes sellers and henna tattoo artists.
The only interesting thing is the tourists themselves. The sea has nothing to
offer, especially today, as it's covered with fog. Good average waves for body-surfing,
otherwise nada. Back to Hollywood via Santa Monica Boulevard. Another Boulevard.
Identical to all other Boulevard: cars, cars and more cars, a few shops, a lot
of distance for little substance. No architectural or cultural value at all.
Except for rich people in search of a brain.
15/8/2000 - Hollywood, CA
Walked Melrose Blvd for the small shops, considered "original" by many. Nothing you can't find in Paris, except some brands, of course. Everything is there to buy yourself an attitude or a provocative look. London is way ahead. I have an appointment with Hamp at noon, my latest lucky happening. R gave him my e-mail address while I was in Ann Arbor and he offered to guide me through Santa Monica. Hamp is responsible for the planning of a cultural budget by the town's administration and knows everything about Santa Monica's architecture and urban assets. I still can't believe my luck I've had the best guides one could hope for. I meet Hamp at the Bergamot Cultural center, one of those things tourists can't see unless they know someone local. We have lunch on the center's terrace and then visit the different art galleries, the small museum of modern art and a photo exposition of Wim Wenders and his wife, made in Cuba while filming his excellent "Buena Vista Social Club" movie. Then we drive through town to see many interesting places and artifacts that were so well integrated in the urban landscape that nobody would notice them unless indicated. Santa Monica rapidly became THE place on the coast where many are moving to, even the large record companies got tired of Hollywood's mess and obsolenscence. We visit some workshops and expos organised and kept by counterculture artists, very politically incorrect. This is far from what the books say about this place, mostly describing an American imitation of Nice or Cannes in France. Hamp made me see the place from a completely new point of view; compared with the first impression I had of Santa Monica, I must say that a long way was travelled.
 Santa Monica 1 |
 Santa Monica 2 |
 Rubber playground on the beach at Santa Monica |
 Santa Monica - painted building |
Back to Hollywood with a stop at the giant Beverly Hills Shopping Mall. Hilariously decadent.
---------------------- 16/8/2000 - Hollywood, CA
I have visited the Getty Center. It's an enormous structure in the hills of Santa Monica. Paintings, sculptures, furniture are exposed, its basically a large museum of ancient art and photography in very contemporary buildings surrounded by splendid gardens. It's impossible to describe the whole thing in a few lines. It's too complex and amazing. One must go there in the morning. When I left, around 3 PM, the crowd was impossible. you must reserve the parking and the restaurant, if you need them, many days in advance! The whole thing is incredibly well organised. The view from above is marvelous. All the exposed items are clearly described and explained. Of course I hadn't booked the parking and there was one especially made for the people who forget. This place is certainly a must see for any tourist interested in culture. I even saw a a painting by Hyeronimus Bosch, one of my favourites.
 Gety Center 1 |
 Getty Center 2 |
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 Getty Center 4 |
 A splendid Maria Magdalena |
I decided to go see Malibu, said to be one of the nicest places around here. I took the famous Pacific Coast Highway, the one that goes up the coast to San Francisco. Arrived in Malibu, I wondered what was so special about this place. A few surfers on uninpressive waves, the sea isn't even good-looking or inviting, the beach is flat and straight. Some stars apparently spent a lot to buy a house here. What a joke. Sardinia, or even the mediterranean region has much more to offer than this, both in terms of luxury, landscape, nature and wilderness. Back to Hollywood via Sunset Boulevard. This is the true cruising experience. lots of nice places to look at, the road has plenty of curves letting you discover the sights at the last moment, I go through Bel Air, an impossible place with absurd houses which must be hell for the cleaners, even only the houses along the Sunset Boulevard are enough to make you feel on a different planet. I'm glad I have a return ticket to mine, when I think that humans live in there. They must be a weird species to watch. I had dinner with C and T in a nice mexican restaurant. They're a great couple and great to be friends with. There should be more people like them everywhere.
17/8/2000 - LAX Airport, CA
I left the hotel after saluting some of the cool students and globetrotters that live there. Some work there to pay the rent while they stay in LA, waiting to leave for another part of the planet. Some do the cleaning, others keep the reception, or work in nearby restaurants. Some of them are pros in DIY so they help refreshing the hotel by painting or fixing stuff around. One bothering thing about LA are the late opening hours. Early birds won't find anything around here. After waiting until 11h00 for a shop to open, I head for the LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum). Many expos on 4 buildings, Architecturally interesting, by the way. Unfortunately, the contemporary section is in maintenance. All is very interesting but very badly indicated or explained, if at all. The Getty is much better for that aspect. On the other hand, the LACMA is richer in quantity and covers more time periods.
I drive to LAX, where I leave the car and head for the airport. The shuttle bus driver makes announcements, like an airplane pilot would: "Ladies and Gentlemen aaahhhhh, good afternoon, we thank you for having chosen Budget Rentals, the transfer to the airport will take aaaahhhh approximately 5 minutes, our first stop is terminal 1, if you need any assistance, my name is Mike, I wish you a nice journey". All this for five small minutes! Like if we had to go through the streets of hell. I can't imagine any European bus or tram driver doing the same. And he kept asking if everyone was allright between each terminal!
The airport itself is still as uninteresting as a few days before, except the incredible amount of asian travellers. After the metal detector, a lady asks me to put my briefcase on the side of a table, takes a pair of electronic tweezers with which she passes a sort of small cloth on the zippers. Then she puts the small cloth inside a machine that goes PING! and flashes a green light. That was an explosives detector. I love this place.
Adios LA, goodbye USA, I'll be back someday.
