Echo Park’s Week in Music

For the week of Monday, February 13 through Sunday, February 19, 2012

Monday
42nd Anniversary of Black Sabbath’s Debut LP with Back Stabbath, Ace Diamond Experience, Special Guest DJ Pete Majors Of Harassor & Vacation Vinyl @ Pehrspace
Monday Night Residency: Electric Guest, Cuckoo Chaos, Summer Camp, Haim @ Echo
NO Record Release Party @ Origami Vinyl
LA Underground Presents: Incan Abraham, Nightmare and The Cat, Pity Party, High Rise @ Bootleg Bar
Motown Mondays @ The Short Stop

Tuesday
Valentine’s Day Song Massacre aka The Sad Hour: Grant Langston, The Driftwood Singers, Matt Adams & The Blank Tapes, Aaron Ballard, Alex Maslansky, The Far West, Yellow Red Sparks, Don Chiant, Ryan Fuller (Fort King), Steffaloo, Michael Ubaldini, Andrea Cohen, Death To Anders, Aaron Kyle, Aaron Ballard, Andy Siara & Clare Paladino, Soft Swells @ Echo
Filter Presents: The Asteroid Galaxy Tour, Vacationer, DJ Paul V @ Echoplex
The Grind: 90s Dance Party, featuring DJ Automation and Lifepartner @ Los Globos
Romantic Event In Lounge with Gem Silver and Her Jazz Rhythm Players @ Taix Lounge
A Valentine’s Day Release Show for ‘A Sleep & A Forgetting’ (Anti-): Islands, Idiot Glee @ Bootleg Theater

Wednesday
Mucho Wednesdays presents Love & Liberation featuring two performances with Las Cafeteras, Irene Diaz, Mucho DJ’s @ Echo
Dub Club @ Echoplex
Kip Boardman @ Taix Lounge
Liquid Love Letter, John Gold, Stephen Sowan @ Bootleg Bar
Live Jazz every Wednesday night at 7:00 pm @ Downbeat Café

Thursday
Howlin Rain, The Allah-Las Plus Very Special Guest Neal Casal @ Echo
Riton And Others Tba @ Los Globos
Marcus Watkins, Claremont Voodoo Society @ Taix Lounge
Tammy Faye Starlite As Nico In Chelsea Madchen, Blaqstarr @ Bootleg Bar

Friday
KSPC Presents: Space Age Bachelor, Poppet, Habits, Letters @ Pehrspace
Neutral Uke Hotel (a ukulele-fueled sing-a-long of Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea” Album), Michael Epstein Memorial Library, Golden Bloom, Miracle Parade @ Echo
Bearracuda LA, Bears Love Honey, featuring Honey Soundsystem (San Francisco) DJs Jason Kendig, P-Play, Robot Hustle @ Echoplex
Moris Tepper, Pete Fahey @ Taix Lounge
Buddha: A Fantastic Journey @ Bootleg Theater
Tammy Faye Starlite as Nico in Chelsea Madchen, Mad Planet @ Bootleg Bar

Saturday
Sara Radle (Record Release), Rachel Haden, Kissing Cousins @ Pehrspace
Emily Wells (early show), Funky Sole @ Echo
Retox @ Origami Vinyl
The Lift (LA) featuring Rich Medina, Jeremy Sole, Wiseacre, Jonathan Rudnick @ Los Globos
Buddha: A Fantastic Journey @ Bootleg Theater
Tammy Faye Starlite as Nico in Chelsea Madchen, The Fling @ Bootleg Bar

Sunday
LARecord, Blundertown, City of Devils present: Vektor, Witchaven, Exmortus @ Echo
Part Time Punks presents: Smiths/Morrissey Nite with guest DJ Jose Maldonado (Sweet & Tender Hooligans) @ Echoplex
French Toast: Weekly Stand-Up Comedy @ Taix Lounge
Hi Ho Silver Oh, Keychain and Friends @ Echo Country Outpost
Broadcast Station: Cave Country, David Rosales @ Bootleg Bar

Visit the venue websites for more information on the cost and times of shows. Feel free to add more events in the comment section. All events listed are subject to change at any time, and new events announced for the week after this posting may not be included.

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“Parenthood” turns Echo Park into San Francisco

Screenshot via Hulu - click to view larger image.

Tuesday night’s episode of Parenthood opened up with a strangely familiar – but different – scene. As the characters walk into the frame, we realized this is the episode they filmed in Echo Park in front of The Echo, Two Boots, and then inside Origami Vinyl (you can see The Echo on the left in the above screenshot).

But there’s something a little different with the skyline – the colorful apartments on the right hand side, and the steep hills going up are all added in. While the first hill in the distance might actually be Reservoir Street, the rest is a graphic. It’s pretty strange to watch the clip as the camera pans over!

Another part later on in the episode is filmed at 1134 Lemoyne St. in Echo Park (where the pregnant character is standing outside). Both locations were filmed on or around January 23, 2012, and rumor-mill has it the production interfered quite a bit with surrounding businesses (they take up quite a bit of parking).

While Echo Park isn’t a stranger to filming, recently there’s been a surge of filming in Echo Park, Angelino Heights, and Elysian Park, including Taco Bell commercials, and other TV series like Southland and Up All Night.

Click here to watch the episode and pay attention to the first couple of minutes.

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Echo Park Lake rehab update meeting tonight

Screenshot from echoparklake.com

Tonight is a meeting of the oversight committee and odor monitoring group of the Echo Park Lake rehabilitation project. All are invited to attend to get updates about the project, and share information on how you think things are going.

Echo Park Lake Rehab Meeting
Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 6:30 pm
St. Paul’s Cathedral, located at 840 Echo Park Avenue

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Sunday: Open house for Echo Park eco-home, complete with yurt

We don’t normally write a whole lot about real estate here in Echo Park, but it’s on our minds all the time since we got married and have started to think we could buy a place in Echo Park. This particular piece of property caught our eye because, well, it’s just so COOL! There aren’t that many places that are so self-sustainable in Echo Park that you could hide out through a zombie apocalypse.

Although a zombie apocalypse isn’t why this home is super green – owner Michael Jacob Rochlin told Echo Park Patch he spent $100,000 converting the 1922 bungalow into a “green” home. The property features a tankless water heater, gray water appliances, an organic vegetable garden, drought-tolerant landscaping, rainwater harvesting, ten composters, and a plant nursery. The property is 10,000 square feet total, and in addition to all the delicious fruit trees is a certified farm and wildlife habitat.

I can also see why the current owner, who is an author and historian, wrote three novels and compiled two photographic essays while living there – there’s a gorgeous 225 square foot yurt retreat in the far corner amongst the trees. Though the place is only a 1 bedroom/1 bath at 700 square feet, there’s a studio in addition to the main house, and plenty of porch space to chill. Oh yes, and it’s listed at only $399,900 – which, for safe and quiet Lake Shore, is a good deal.

Enough with the sales pitch, there’s an open house tomorrow, Sunday, January 15, hosted by listing agent Darren Hubert from 1:00 – 5:00 pm. The address is 2006 Lake Shore, and you can view more photos of the place (yurt and all) by clicking here.

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Are you going? Echo Park urban planning workshop Saturday!

From the placeit.org website

SATURDAY, January 14, 2012
10:00 am – 12:30 pm
@ The Echo Country Outpost, 1770 Glendale Blvd. in Echo Park

Echo Park Improvement Association member and activist Josh Post, who organized the recent Glendale Boulevard community cleanup, has put together a great event this weekend that will help further the efforts to get fix up the historic Echo Park corridor for good.

Urban planner James Rojas is leading a workshop on, you guessed it, urban planning! Using props, blocks and salvaged items, workshop goers will create individual 3-D models reflecting how members of the community would like to see Glendale Boulevard used and changed. Ideas will be presented to the group and discussed, and results of the workshop will be shared with local government and organizations.

Rojas was just featured in the LA Times for his work on his project in Long Beach. The event is free, and everyone is welcome to come share ideas for change and have some fun!

RSVP is recommended. Email echopark@patch.com to rsvp or with questions.

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In case you missed it: Headlines from around Echo Park

Amish journey from homespun to hipster – LA Times
How Refuge salon and Form Academy owner Miriam Jones went from an Omish upbringing to Echo Park.

Capping an era of L.A. oil exploration – LA Times
This week the city started plugging an old oil well just south of Glendale Boulevard and Rockwood Street to make way for a 45-unit apartment complex. Just up the street, where the Echo Park Pool is now, was the first oil well in Los Angeles.

Robert DeLong’s electronic dance music residency, Monday nights at Los Globos – Examiner.com
If only we didn’t have to work on the weekdays! The Examiner.com gives out rave reviews for Echo Park resident Robert DeLong’s Monday night residency at Los Globos: “He is salvaging what is left of everything great about electronic music and creating something fresh and so immediately appealing that you can’t help but start moving to the music as soon as he starts playing.”

Planning board supports Elysian Heights coffee house plan to serve wine and beer – The Eastsider LA
Fix Coffee in Elysian Heights is one step closer to serving beer and wine after an appeal failed to convince the planning board to block the application. The coffee shop will still need to obtain a state beer and wine license from ABC.

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Alfredo Market on Glendale Boulevard gets a colorful makeover

Driving along Glendale Boulevard just got a lot more colorful!

LAist got the story on who’s behind the new colorful mural on the wall of Alfredo Market on Glendale Boulevard, between Alvarado and Berkeley. Street artist and Echo Park resident Kophns One (aka Koffinz) painted the mural at the end of December. According to The Site Unseen website, “Kophns is well-known within the LA street scene for his distinct and bold artistic style, dynamic characters and his always engaging art placement.” Hopefully a city-wide mural ordinance being debated won’t interfere with local art like this!

The Site Unseen uploaded this video of the mural process. Enjoy!


Kophns One: Kophenjoy from The Site Unscene on Vimeo.

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Echo Park spots to curb your cravings for National Pizza Week!

This week is National Pizza Week, and what better way to celebrate than with a gallery of Echo Park’s most delicious pizzas? It should, after all, have its own food group.

Masa's Chicago deep dish (vegan style). Flickr photo via veganbakesale

Masa of Echo Park lures people from all over Los Angeles with its authentic Chicago-style deep dish pizza. In addition to the amazing service and ambiance at Masa (we love you guys!), the kick-ass owners and great food, they offer a hearty selection of vegan options (which includes a vegan deep dish option).

Read more

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Mark your calendars: Redistricting meetings tomorrow and Monday

Every ten years, the city takes a look at the borders of each district to ensure those commmunities are getting fair representation in the city. That’s the idea anyways – and that’s why we’re getting involved. There have been rumors about combining Echo Park into one council district instead of two – a very small but not forgotten portion of Echo Park is represented by CD1, which is Reyes’ district. The redistricting process could affect Echo Park, and it’s up to the members of the community to make sure any changes in the borders are in our best interest.

The commission in charge of redistricting is holding a series of public hearings where we can share our thoughts and opinions on the redistricting. As Echo Park residents, we should be attending both CD13 and CD1 meetings, which are on Saturday and Monday, respectively:

Council District 1
Saturday, January 7, 2012 at 11:00 am
St. Peter’s Italian Catholic Church
1039 N. Broadway 90012

Council District 13
Monday, January 9, 2012 at 6:30 pm
Los Angeles City College Theatre
855 N. Vermont Avenue 90029

Click here for the full schedule PDF, which includes all council districts and the meeting dates. Public comments can also be submitted ahead of time by downloading this PDF, and email the form to redistricting.lacity@lacity.org

You can also follow the Los Angeles City Council Redistricting Commission on Facebook and Twitter.

h/t Cindy Marie Jenkins for keeping us informed!

We’ll see you tomorrow!

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Keep Echo Park clean: Neighborhood cleanup on Saturday

Photo via the LA Stormwater website

This is the second neighborhood cleanup organized by the Echo Park Trash Abatement Program (TAP) in the past couple of months – the last one on December 3 collected more than 60 bags of trash (according to the LA Stormwater Blog).

This weekend, treat yourself to some sunshine, pack your bottled water and work gloves, and join Echo Park neighbors for the first neighborhood cleanup of the year!

Saturday, January 7, 2012 from 8:00 am – 11:00 am
Meet on Sunset by Metro Bus Stop between Echo Park Avenue and Logan
Dress for weather. Bring water as needed.

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Echo Park’s Week in Music

For the week of Monday, January 2 through Sunday, January 8, 2012

Monday
The Echo and LA Underground present Monday Night Residency with: Seasons, One Trick Pony, Count Fleet,  Torches @ Echo
Princeton, Lesands, Red Pony Clock @ Bootleg Bar
Sean Carnage Monday Nights: Manhattan Murder Mystery, I.E., Nicole Kidman + Pawko, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and more @ Pehrspace
Motown Mondays @ The Short Strop

Tuesday
Beer and Bingo Tuesday with Olin & The Moon and Maxim Ludwig, Willoughby, Jeff Crosby @ Echo
Bikos, Lovers Drugs, Son Ark @ Bootleg Bar
Ray Argyle of Sunken Ships, Craig Elkins, Davd Shane Smith @ Lot 1 Café

Wednesday
Hepa, Titus with Virginia Reed, Dead Dawn, Kill Kill Kill @ Echo
Dub Club Featuring: Anthony B with His Band @ Echoplex
Hi Fashion, Professor Possessor, Actually, Waterlaso @ Bootleg Bar
Live Jazz every Wednesday night at 7:00 pm @ Downbeat Café

Thursday
Summer Darling, Birds & Batteries, Vice Cooler, The Hunting Accident, Baron Von Luxxury @ Echo
Stonefeather, King Devil, Bad Lamps @ Bootleg Bar

Friday
Backbeat- Northern Soul Dance Night with DJ Mark Morales @ Echo
Echo, Origami & Kxlu Present: Black Flamingo, No, Crooked Cowboy, Batwings Catwings @ Echoplex
Jacuzzi Boys and Hanni El Khatib, Marcus Very Ordinary @ Bootleg Bar
Chuck Dukowski Sextet, Voodoo Merchant, and more @ Lot 1 Café
Kate Earl, Patrick Park, Ema and Her Lady Parts, Tenlons Fort plus special guests @ Pehrspace

Saturday
Bootie La @ Echoplex
Funky Sole @ Echo
Salon Music Night with members of Shadow Shadow Shade, Henry Clay People, Jail Weddings, Square On Square, Just an Animal @ Bootleg Bar
Tenlons Fort, The Wildbunch, Avi Of Avi Buffalo, Will Courtney @ Lot 1 Cafe
Dream Homes, Foot Foot, Pek Pek, Dali’s Rose @ Pehrspace

Sunday
Echo, Grand Ole Echo & Art Fein Present: Elvis Presley Birthday Party @ Echoplex
Part Time Punks presents: David Bowie Nite with guest DJ Jose Maldonado (Sweet & Tender Hooligans) @ Echo
Coyol, Molly Marlette, The Mowgli’s @ Bootleg Bar
Elvis Brunch: Celebrate Elvis Presley’s Birthday With An Elvis-Themed Brunch, Karaoke, Live Music, Games, Special Guests, Bloody Marys, crazy surprises, and more @ Echo Country Outpost

Visit the venue websites for more information on the cost and times of shows. Feel free to add more events in the comment section. All events listed are subject to change at any time, and new events announced for the week after this posting may not be included.

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Annual Christmas Bird Count at Echo Park Lake tomorrow

Join fellow bird lovers on Monday, January 2 for the 112th annual Christmas Bird Count at Echo Park Lake! Even though the lake is drained and undergoing construction, it’s important to keep track of what and how many bird species are still hanging around. Bird counters will be able to enter the construction site (with hard hats!) rather than just stay on the periphery.

Over 70 bird species have been counted at Echo Park Lake over the years – the last Christmas Bird Count saw 41 species (winter is usually a popular month for the migrating birds at the lake).

Meet at the Boathouse at 8:00 am for the two-hour count. Bring $5 to participate (make checks payable to the National Audubon Society)

For more information contact  judycalifornia@yahoo.com, or call (323) 663-6767.

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A look back: Echo Park’s year in review

A lot has happened for Echo Park in 2011… Our personal lives got a bit busier – I got married and had a grand celebration, and have been spending all my free time this year involved in many civic activities. We’re still living in the same spot, for about 6.5 years now, doing laundry across the street from Masa, but we’re hitting up some new watering holes. And that’s the big news for our community – Echo Park became a destination for our libation of choice (if there’s no tequila): Beer! Redefining Echo Park as a beer destination are two new establishments, Mohawk Bend and Sunset Beer Company, along with a slew of new beer/wine permits at existing locations. Xoia and Fix Coffee are the most recent ones, and about to join in on the fun are Red Hill and Cookbook’s new restaurant on the eastern end.

Land-use issues defined a lot of our time spent on civic activities, including the proposed 74-unit complex at the former Echo Park Community Gardens, 7-11 vying for a spot on Glendale Boulevard, and lots of community cleanups. Next year there will be a lot of new places to dine at (Cookbook, Red Hill, a new pizza place, and probably more), and hopefully we’ll get some more food trucks coming through.

And in case you missed it all, here’s a few things to get you updated – our top three posts of 2011 (based on how many times you all visited).

Top posts of 2011:

What they found at the bottom of Echo Park Lake

We got the scoop on what (and how many) they officially found at the bottom of the lake after the lake draining and some dredging. So if you were taking bets, they found 20 trash cans, one toilet, and two guns (and no dead bodies, guys).

A modern Echo Park Lake draining in pictures

As much as we want our lake back, the two year rehabilitation project (which started in August 2011) started off with a slew of images from many Echo Park residents. We’ve even got our own webcam of the lake progress, courtesy of a couple of nearby residents and their camera. Unfortunately the article sparked some debate, for a reason we’re not sure about, the comments sparked debate about the whole eastside vs. not eastside, which we won’t touch with a ten foot pole.

Maria the Goose takes up new residency away from Echo Park Lake

The infamous Maria the Goose was moved away from the lake in March 2011 to her new pad at the Los Angeles Zoo. The impending Echo Park Lake rehab project was, at that time, scheduled for that spring (it didn’t end up starting until August). Her bestie, Dominic Elhrer, was on the zoo guest list and was allowed to visit. But of course, once she got to the zoo, the veterinarians discovered she was a HE – and aptly renamed the goose Mario. We’re still partial to Maria…

Resolutions for 2012

Last year we made some promises of “Echo Parkian” things to do in 2011. We still haven’t read the Madonnas of Echo Park, but we’ve been reading a lot more after joining a book club. We haven’t climbed all the stairs year either, but got really close during the pre-wedding intense workouts I was doing. We have been doing a lot more farmers’ market shopping, have supported local businesses, and even wrote a lot of articles. We did the most amazing thing ever as an Angeleno and saw the lunar eclipse and sunrise at Griffith Park – that’s going to be hard to top!

For 2012… well, we got a new camera this year, so we will be taking a LOT more photos of Echo Park to document its place in the digital history books. We hope to write more articles on the sister blog, Atwater Village Now. We’d still love to have some more writers contribute to the website, so if you’re looking for an excuse to get out there in Echo Park and write about something or someone, do it! There’s no better way to get to know your community better!

A lot of people keep asking about advertising on Echo Park Now, and I’ll just say it’s not looking like that’s going to happen any time soon, but you’ll be the first to know if we do!

And finally, we’d like to wish everyone a wonderful new year. May 2012 be the best year yet!

Happy New Year!

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Portlandia coming to Echo Park

Did you know…. In Portland you can go to a record store and sell your CDs?

That’s right – we’re talkin’ Portlandia. They’re coming to Echo Park on January 17, 2012 and well, let’s face it – you could re-name the show EchoParklandia and it’d basically be the same show. I have to say, I’m a fan!

The event at The Echo is one of six city tours (dubbed Portlandia: The Tour), and features co-creators Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein. They’ll be performing live music, talking about the show, and playing clips from the show’s second season, which premieres on January 6, 2012. Here’s a little sneak peak of what you can expect (from the show’s website):




Tickets are $20.00 advance BUT here’s the deal – it looks like it’s already sold out. You might be able to get the $26.00 tix on the day of the show, if there are any available.

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How to recycle your Christmas tree

Flickr photo via patrick_cates

Turn your Christmas tree into compost and mulch!

You can still enjoy your Christmas tree for a few more days until the next trash collection day, during which the Bureau of Sanitation will collect all those curbside trees (just make sure to place it by your cans on collection day). If your tree is small enough, you can also place it in your green bin for collection. Multi-unit residential houses can also place the trees curbside for collection.

Of course, make sure to remove all your ornaments!

Fire stations and Parks and Rec will also collect your trees, but only on Sunday, January 8, 2012 from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. The closest station near Echo Park to drop off your Christmas tree is Griffith Park in the LA Zoo parking lot.

Click here for more information and additional locations for drop-off.

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