“WonderDreams” Art Exhibit at Chango

“WonderDreams” is an art exhibit about to launch at Chango here in Echo Park. The exhibit features paintings by singer/songwriter and actress Carmen Perez. According to the press release, the series is “inspired by dreams and the unseen. Dreams and journeys through other dimensions, realms, and the subconscious of the Universe expressing wonderment in worlds of color.”

Carmen’s background includes not just singing, painting, and acting, she was also in the Army and was a Sergeant by the age of 22. She has her Bachelor’s Degree in Government and International Politics from George Mason University. With over 50 acting credits, she also had two songs in both the Top 50 Billboard Dance Club and Top 10 UK Commercial Pop Charts.

Curated by Heather Mendoza, the opening date for the free exhibit takes place on Sunday, August 22, 2010 from 4-7:00 pm at Chango, located at 1559 Echo Park Avenue.

Empanadas from Nonna’s and wine will be served, and there will be live performances by musicians/artists Lee Whittaker, Byron Gore and Carmen herself.

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Open Mic Nights at Fretted Frog

Fretted Frog, the acoustic guitar shop that opened recently near Sunset and Alvarado, recently threw its first in-store concert and is now hosting an open mic night!

Starting Saturday, August 28 from 7-9:00 pm, the open mic night will host singer/songwriters and acoustic bands for the evening. You can sign up to strut your stuff (pun intended) two hours prior to start at 5:00 pm at the store. Email them at info@thefrettedfrog.com for more info.

Fretted Frog is located at 1200 N. Alvarado St.

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Mishka Fall 2010 Release Party

Mishka of Echo Park is throwing its Fall 2010 Release Party on Friday, August 20 at the Echoplex.

The lineup for the 8-11:00 pm time slot includes: Pictureplane, Blessure Grave, Puro Instinct (formerly Pearl Harbor) and Tearist.

From 11:00 pm – 2:00, there will be DJ sets from Acid Girls, The Captain and Star Eyes (of Trouble & Bass), and Killing Spree (Zane & Gibby).

The party is free if you RSVP in advance, and only $5 at the door if you don’t RSVP.

Visit Mishka of Echo Park’s blog or the Facebook event page for more info.

Friday August 20th, 8pm-2am
The Echoplex located at 1154 Glendale Ave.

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A Shipwrecked Boat Inside Machine Project

Beginning on Sunday, September 5 (opening reception from 5:00 to 10:00 pm) and running through October 8, Machine Project will be transformed into the site of the shipwrecked Sea Nymph. The wreck is being built by artist Josh Beckman and will “act as an environment for a whole series of events, performances, workshops, and operas made by and for for dogs. Inside the capsized hull of the ship there will also be a crystal cave.”

They are currently looking for volunteers with steady sea legs to help them build the wreck.  Email them at machine@machineproject.com if you’d like to help out!

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Echo Park’s Week in Music

For the week of Tuesday, August 17 through Sunday, August 22

Note: Sunset Junction is this weekend, so a lot of the normal weekend stuff in Echo Park may be taking place down the road.

Echo Curio is now an alcohol-free establishment as requested by the LAPD, meaning no more BYOB. Our best guess is that it’s because they didn’t have the necessary permits, and neighbors were probably complaining. But the show must go on!

Tuesday, August 17
Aquarium Drunkard presents Cotton Jones, The Parson Red Heads, Roadside Graves @ Echo
KCRW and The Fold present: Darker My Love, Wounded Lion, My Pet Saddle @ Bootleg
Dunes, Masters and Johnson, Naomi Punk, Geffrika @ Echo Curio

Wednesday, August 18
Dub Club with the Dub Club DJs, Chicano Batman, DJ Ron Miller @ Echoplex & Echo
Childish Gambino (Donald Glover Of Community) @ Bootleg
Adeline and The Phillistines, Rad Clouds, Old Toy Trains @ Echo Curio

Thursday, August 19
Jogger, Matthewdavid, Sun Araw, M. Geddes GeNgras @ Echo
Childish Gambino (Donald Glover Of Community), Limited Tickets Sold Day Of Show! @ Bootleg
Aures, Greg Davis, Ezra Buchla (With Emily Lacy), Mirror To Mirror, Guests @ Echo Curio

Friday, August 20
Mishka La Fall Release Party @ Echoplex
Chief (Domino Records) and Grouplove @ Bootleg
Gabriel Sullivan And Taraf De Tuscon Returns with Alec K. Redfearn, Orion Rigel Dommisse @ Echo Curio
Club Underground With Mndr, Chain Gang Of 1974, Kisses (DJ Set) @ Echo
Liz Pappademas And The Level, CarleE Hendrix And The Whole Earth Catalog @ Pehrspace
Origami Comedy Night Hosted By Matt Braunger: Kumail Nanjiani, Pete Holmes, Joselyn Hughes, + More @ Origami Vinyl
Backyard Boogie with Heretic, DJ CRS?, Dip Vertigo, DJ APX1, Jahwy,  @ M Bar

Saturday, August 21
Bootie La With Faroff / Dj Paul V. / R.A.I.D. @ Echoplex
Funky Sole @ Echo
Heather Woodbury’s As The Globe Warms 8p Followed By Kazai Rex + The Middle Initials + Rabbits Running + La Font @ Echo Curio
Cat Party @ Origami Vinyl

Sunday, August 22
Part Time Punks – The Cure Nite With Guest Dj Lol Tolhurst @ Echo
Boats + The Clorox Girls + The EnLows + Meka Leka Hi’s + Cum Stain @ Echo Curio

For more information on weekly musical events like club nights, see our community resource pages.Visit the venue website for more information on the cost and times of shows. Venue information can be found in our community resource pages.

This list may not represent all the musical events happening in Echo Park this week – feel free to add more events in the comment section. All events listed are subject to change at any time. New events announced for the week after this posting may not be included.

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Machine Project Gives Plants a Vacation

Photo by Machine Project

I had the pleasure of visiting Plant Vacation at the Hammer a few weekends ago. Machine Project has been doing all sorts of wonderful things at the Hammer recently as part of the artist in residency program. This new adventure is a month long vacation for your houseplants. I bet a lot of these plants came from Echo Park. The plants are spending the month of August being cared for and entertained by volunteers and artists. You can join in on most of the fun by checking the schedule below. I was surprised by how many people actually brought their plants. We even witnessed plant triage on the museum stairs when one couple’s plant broke. The pot shattered but they created a makeshift home out of newspaper. It was a wonderful act of plant love. The plants look beautiful on the Linbrook terrace in the museum against a long wall of windows. If you find yourself in the UCLA area you should check it out. Thursdays are free! If you go on a Saturday be sure to stop by the coat room near the entrance, also one of the world’s smallest theaters known as the Little William Theater. The music wafts through the lobby and into the courtyard of the hammer. For such a little theater, the sound is amazingly large. These performances are also brought to us by the wonderful minds that orbit Machine Project.

Plant Vacation Schedule:
* Saturday July 31st 11am to 5pm: Drop off at the Hammer Museum and plant portrait photography
* Saturday August 7th 1-4pm: Musical performances, dramatic readings, and psychic plant healing
* Friday August 13th 11pm-Midnight Plant Pornography screening (no humans allowed, sorry)
* Saturday August 14th 1-4pm: Musical performances, poetry, and psychic plant healing
* Saturday August 21st 1-4pm: Musical performances, historical accounts of botanical exploration and psychic plant healing
* Saturday August 28th 11am to 6pm: Plant pick up at the Hammer Museum

The Hammer Museum is located at 10899 Wilshire Boulevard.

Here are the numbers for Machine Project this week:

1) Plants lucky enough to be on vacation at the Hammer Museum will receive their second straight week of poetry, music, and psychic healing. From 1-5pm the plants will enjoy tarot card readings by Kristina Faragher, poetry by Anthony McCann and Kirsty Singer, a performance by ing, and an artist talk from self-proclaimed plant pornographer Jonathon Keats, more info here.

2) The Little William Theater Festival of New Music continues with duo accordion performances by Daniel Corral and Isaac Schankler. Each piece is under two minutes in length and takes place in the Hammer Museum coat room, 1-4pm.

3) The gallery-sized Camera Obscura by j.frede is currently on view at Machine through August 18th. The camera is on view 4-7pm on Saturday and Sunday, 12-6pm weekdays, or by appointment (only during daylight hours) by contacting machine@machineproject.com.

4) Rachel Schmeidler will be offering a presentation on 3D Photography Sunday August 15th at 1pm. She’ll be showing examples of her work, and answering questions about 3D Photography.

5) Machine presents a hands on Pinhole Camera Workshop taught by j.frede in conjunction with his Camera Obscura installation. The workshop will cover the mechanics of pinhole camera construction, as well as developing positive prints. This will be offered on Sunday August 15th from 4-7pm. Space is limited, register for the class here.

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Last chance to donate to Spelling Bee for Cheaters

Spelling Bee for Cheaters, a fundraiser for 826LA’s many programs that help kids in Los Angeles get free tutoring (among other things), is just two days away! Last chance to get your donations in to help the teams out – the money raised helps each team order from a menu of cheats, helping them do better in the competition and helping 826LA raise more money!

We do have some Echo Park residents participating in the event: Ashley Atkinson, along with two other Echo Park residents, belong to the group called “Marmoset There’d Be Days Like This.” So far, the team has raised almost all of its needed funds, but still needs a little bit more. To donate, you donate to an individual on that team, so to help our Echo Park residents I suggest you donate to Ashley by clicking here. A little bit goes a long way, so $10 or $20 will help!

The spelling bee will take place on Saturday, August 14 from 2:00 to 6:00 pm at Lincoln Middle School in Santa Monica. This year, Spike Jonze, John Krasinski, Judd Apatow, Dianna Agron, and others are scheduled to appear.

Click here to buy tickets to the event (admission is $25.00 plus online fees).

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Learn about album production at Origami Vinyl

Ever wondered about how to make picture discs, custom vinyl or specialty record jackets? Plan on releasing a vinyl record soon? Origami Vinyl is offering up a FREE panel discussion on the basics of album production on Sunday, August 15 from 7:00-9:00 pm.

“Getting Your Record Made: A Step-by-Step Look at Album Production” is a panel discussion with Q and A led by Origami Vinyl owner Neil Schield. On the panel is: Christian Dwiggins (mixing and mastering engineer from Engine Rooms Studios), Pet Lyman (owner and chief mastering engineer from Infrasonic Sound Recording), Kevin Smith (owner of Bill Smith Custom Records), Jennifer Freund (owner and CEO Dorado Music Packaging), and Benjamin Heywood of Summer Darling.

Along with beer, the event will also include some special offers and discounts from panel speakers on their record production services.

You do have to RSVP no later than TODAY, August 12, by emailing RSVPOrigami@gmail.com

Origami Vinyl is located at 1816 W. Sunset Blvd.

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David Yow show Opening Reception at DIY Gallery

The DIY Gallery (which took over Bandit on Sunset Boulevard), is hosting a new show with an opening reception coming up on Saturday, August 14. The gallery will be presenting David Yow’s one-man exhibition of paintings, collage and digital drawings starting Saturday through September 11.

There’s been a lot of excitement revolving around this show. David Yow is not only a cool artist, he is the former frontman for Jesus Lizard, Scratch Acid, and Qui. The show at DIY Gallery in Echo Park is his first solo art exhibit and will be presenting (we’ve heard he will be there for the opening) his new collection of work along with a limited edition of posters for sale benefiting Eagles of Death Metal bassist Brian O’Connor, who is undergoing treatment for cancer.

According to the press release, the artwork in the show “are rooted in Yow’s personal and psychological history, and feature a broad spectrum of mediums. From acrylic, pencil, charcoal, crayon, hair, bugs, collage, and tar on wood, to line drawings digitally combined with photographic textures, Yow reveals an uncommon artistic perspective.”

In addition to the exhibit, the DIY back patio will host drinks and projections, along with musical performances to be determined.

Opening Reception: Saturday August 14, 2010 from 7:00 pm-11:00 pm.

The exhibition continues through September 11, with a special event TBA for closing night.

DIY Gallery is open Tuesday-Saturday 12:00pm-6:00pm and is located at 1549 West Sunset Boulevard

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Echo Park’s Week in Music

For the week of Monday, August 9 through Sunday, August 15

Monday, August 9
Peter’s Pool Boys & Sean Carnage Presents: Essay, Aunt Dracula, Amir Coyle, plus a very special appearance by Jamaica Man @ Pehrspace
Monday Night Residency: Fol Chen, Learning Music, Lesands @ The Echo
New Music Monday With Devin Sarno, Bobb Bruno, Kandyce And The Killdozer, Howardamb @ Echo Curio
Zoe Muth And The Lost High Rollers, Vagrant Valley, Erin Mclaughlin @ Bootleg

Tuesday, August 10
Smog Sessions: Truth, Machete, Deco, Kemst @ The Echo

Wednesday, August 11
Dub Club: Dub Club DJs, Viernes 13, The Hashishans @ Echoplex and The Echo
The Joy Formidable, Division Day, The Arkells @ Bootleg

Thursday, August 12
Hit + Run presents: Soundcrash with Blu, Blackbird, Thavius Beck, Ras G, Zackey FOrce Funk, Kofi, Teebs, and surprise guests @ The Echo
Social Studies @ Origami Vinyl

Friday, August 13
Club Underground with Torches in Trees, Go West Young Man, Waterlaso @ The Echo
Rooftops @ Origami Vinyl
Opening of the Photobug Exhibition plus the works Of Styles Wolff Baker @ Echo Curio

Saturday, August 14
Ema and the Ghosts Birthday Show @ Pehrspace
Hercules and Love Affair, DJ Paul V. @ Echoplex
Funky Sole @ The Echo
Heather Woodbury’s As the Globe Warms, followed by John Hearts Jackie, The Clouds, Children Of The Kai, Alyssyndra and the Day Makers @ Echo Curio

Sunday, August 15
When You Awake presents Free For All @ Echoplex
Part Time Punks with Swahili Blonde + Black Flamingo @ The Echo
From Vision To Vinyl: A Step-By-Step Look At Album Production. Panel Discussion + Q&A. To attend email RSVPOrigami@gmail.com by August 12th @ Origami Vinyl
Echo Obscura Presents Andy Warhol Films @ Echo Curio

For more information on weekly musical events like club nights, see our community resource pages.Visit the venue website for more information on the cost and times of shows. Venue information can be found in our community resource pages.

This list may not represent all the musical events happening in Echo Park this week – feel free to add more events in the comment section. All events listed are subject to change at any time. New events announced for the week after this posting may not be included.

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Filmed in Echo Park: Mi Vida Loca

On my list of to-dos this weekend is to watch Mi Vida Loca, a film I haven’t seen in a long, long time. With Echo Park in the background, and a good movie overall, I’m looking forward to re-watching it now that I live in Echo Park. Here’s a little trailer/overview from the 1993 movie:

25 seconds into the video, you can see how big El Batey used to be at Chicken Corner on Echo Park Avenue (now Chango at the corner and a smaller El Batey shop next door).

UPDATE:

How silly for me to forget, the Echo Park Filmmobile is screening Mi Vida Loca tonight (Friday, August 6) at 8:00 pm, 1559 Echo Park Ave at Delta. Perhaps I will see you there!

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Ballard’s and Raven-Lily Grand Opening on Saturday

We wrote recently about Ballard’s Artwork Framing re-opening at its new home on Sunset, and we now know it is sharing the retail space with a fair trade gifts and accessories organization called Raven + Lily.

The grand opening event is coming up on Saturday, August 7 and includes drinks and cupcakes from 11:00 am – 7:00 pm followed by wine and cheese until 10:00 pm.

Ballard’s is located at 1568 Sunset Blvd.

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Echo Park Film Center’s Filmmobile Screenings

The Filmmobile is back from its summer hiatus to bring you films on wheels screened in unusual outdoor locations. Here’s what’s coming up:

MI VIDA LOCA – Friday, August 6 at 8:00 pm
Mi Vida Loca tells the story of young Mexican-American women in Los Angeles and the struggles they have in a life of gangs, drugs, and personal betrayal. Mousie (Seidy López) and Sad Girl (Angel Aviles) are best friends from childhood, growing up in gang-infested Echo Park and remaining loyal to each other. But when Sad Girl sleeps with Mousie’s boyfriend (a drug dealer who is killed) and becomes pregnant, their friendship is ruptured. As the violence of their neighborhood erupts around them, they must try to stay together as friends despite their betrayals. This is an unforgiving look at a world where women seem to have no choice but to raise their children, deal drugs, and survive by whatever means available.

ROLLER BOOGIE – Friday, August 13 at 8:00 pm
“Roller Boogie is one movie you won’t want to miss! In addition to the roller skating scenes, the fantastic music, slapstick humor–and tender love scenes, you’ll find some of the cutest guys you’d ever hope to meet. Jim Bray stars as Bobby James, the skating champion (and Olympic hopeful) who sweeps pretty co-star Linda Blair off her feet (literally). In real life, Jim’s a skater, but now that he’s had a taste of acting, he really thinks he might like to make a career of it. And when you see Jim in the movie, you’ll have to agree he’s the cutest thing on wheels.” – Tiger Beat Magazine

All screenings are free and open to the public. The locations are secret until a few hours before the screening. You can call (213-484-8846), email (info@echoparkfilmcenter.org) or follow them on Twitter (http://twitter.com/EPFCfilmmobile).

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Summer Nights in Chinatown

Flickr Photo via Steven D'Antoni

Another way to keep cool this summer and enjoy some family-friendly activities is actually not too far from Echo Park in nearby Chinatown. Summer Nights in Chinatown starts this weekend, August 7, and will continue every Saturday throughout the month. The event showcases food trucks, neighborhood shops, restaurants, bars and art galleries, along with cooking demonstrations and other cultural activities. You can get some great discounts at the restaurants and shops during Summer Nights, just be sure to click here and print out the coupons for your discounts.

It’s a pretty easy bicycle commute from where I live in Echo Park, and they even offer free bike valet courtesy of Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. This weekend, there’s a cooking demonstration, family workshop with Chinese calligraphy, food trucks (non-Chinese, like Nom Nom Truck, India Jones Chow Truck, Spring Street Smoke House, The Patty Wagon, Papas Tapas and Fry Smith), dancing and DJs.

Click here for the Chinatown Summer Nights website to view the event map and full schedule.

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Historic Filipinotown 5K Run/Walk

The Historic Filipinotown 5K Run/Walk is this weekend, kicking off the 8th celebration of the founding of the neighborhood. The run takes place at 7:30 am on Saturday, August 7, and starts at 1925 West Temple Street.

The run goes through the heart of Historic Filipinotown headed west on Temple Street to Hoover, up past the 101 and back again. The event coordinators recommend you check out some of the cafes in the area, including: “Gigi’s (Cuban Bakery), famous Brooklyn Bagels,  Original Tommy’s Burger, Tribal Cafe or specialty Filipino restaurants namely Salakot, Kapistahan, Nanay Gloria’s, Bahay Kubo and more.”

Community Partners include: LAPD Rampart Div., SIPA, FASGI, TWNDC, MOTHER Movement, Burlington School, Rotary Club of Historic Filipinotown. Primary Sponsors are the Office of LA Council President Eric Garcetti, Silverlake Medical Center and Seafood City.

You can still register online at www.active.com until Friday, August 6 at 11:59 am.

After the run, there will be a free film screening of “Little Manila” and sneak preview of “Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the United Farm Workers”  by Emmy award winner Marissa Aroy.  Screenings will be at the SIPA Gateway Community Center at 3200 W. Temple Street at 12:00 noon on Saturday.

Check out the Historic Filipinotown website for more info, maps and photos from runs from previous years.

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