Sean of the Dead

Jay Burger was one of my favorite joints to sober up at in my earlier LA drinking days. the place was perfect. But sadly the landlord booted Jay out, built a shitty business structure in its parking lot, but for some reason kept Jay's hut sitting in the midst of it all.

Its been brought to my attention that the hut will be reopened under the name Sean's Burgers. Unless Sean is some long lost brother of Jay...I don't have high hopes.

NELA?

Our hood makes the NY Times

Jettisoned

I failed to remember to bring my camera when i walked down to the Hill Country event with my friends...So when Jenny and the others had to leave, I charged my camera and drove back down to the event. About a half a block away from the intersection i saw smoke rising from the street and a few people running in panic and stopping traffic. When i reached the corner i witnessed what seemed to be an awesome car crash just seconds after its occurrence.

Unfortunately, such events aren't uncommon...but there were a few bizarre things about this crash. A. there was one car...and its front end was obliterated. B. the engine of the car had been literally Jettisoned from the car about 20 yards away.

In addition, a traffic light lay on the sidewalk in pieces. The woman didn't seem to be injured but the site was of substantial devastation. None of us at the scene could really make sense of it...we had no idea how the whole event could have happened. It seemed like the woman must have been going terribly fast...and how the hell did she manage to hit the traffic light...and how the hell did that engine fly out of her car like that. All a bit nuts.

The Hills Are Alive

This last Saturday I dropped by the aforementioned SW Hill Country store to check out the event as well as the store itself. It was all I had hoped it to be.

The store is mixed with a good mix of cool and functional western supplies. Hip "Reverend Horton Heat" style shirts and suits made by such brands as Scully, big Elvis and Hank Williams belt buckles, tooled belts and the like. I briefly talked to one of the owners who was pleasant and helpful. She explained that the "for sale" sign on the outside of the building was the residuals of a moment of panic by her husband, but assured me that they are staying put for the moment.

The event drew a small but pleasant crowd. The bands were good, ranging from roots rock to more orthodox country. The crowd, a mix of locals dressed either in their best rockabilly, western, and even hillbilly garb. But you needn't be rooted in this culture to have a good time...its just a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon. There was a small grill off to the side, but I've been told that you are welcome to bring a cooler of whatever gets you through the day.

Its been assured to me that next months line-up will be great. The plan is to have this be a monthly event and i believe they'll also be showing movies there at some point.

Please check this place out...I think it teeters on success.

Hill Country

SW Hill Country has all the makings of a diamond in the rough from a totally naive perspective. I say naive, because I have yet to step foot into this Western Wear shop. Since I've moved within spitting distance to it, the facade has intrigued me. What I do know about it is this: It's located on the outskirts of Eagle Rock on the corner of Colorado and Eagle Vista blvd. a quarter of a mile from Figueroa. The only other commercial space in the vicinity is Cindy's diner and the upcoming Larkin’s restaurant. The outside of the store looks as though this shop has been there for 30years but evidently it opened in 2004. Minimal online research has determined that this shop is devoted to the modern day Los Angeles equine enthusiast. It's an odd location for such a place. I haven't noticed much "western" culture in the Eagle Rock area and regardless the place is disjointed from any common shopping district. To be sustainable SW Hill must either have a devoted group of enthusiasts who come back, or something that sets them apart and attracts people to this out of the way pup-tent of western wear.

Although I've been on a horse maybe twice in my life, my yet largely untapped fascination with the classic days of Hollywood’s star cow-boys (i.e. Tom Mix, and even Clint Eastwood) make this place very promising for me. But here is what really suggests that this place could be something great. Through a relatively obscure mail list I’m on I was informed that SW Hill Country is putting on a Jamboree of sorts.

The details are as follows:

Saturday, March 24,
MUSICX SW HILLCOUNTRY PARTY – Eagle Rock
Parking Lot Party at SW Hill Country Western Wear Store
1412 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock 90041 (Plenty of free street pkg)

1:00 – 5:00 pm
Free Music, BBQ and Suds!, Bring your lounge chairs or sit on our hay
bales. Bands are: Triple Chicken Foot (Bustin’ down Old Time Banjo and
Fiddle Music), The Running Kind (Classic Country Rock), El Ten Eleven
(An experimental instrumental musical journey; the next big thing!),
and Rockwood (Cosmic Country!)
Visit http://www.myspace.com/swhillcountry to hear the music. Store specials throughout the day!
For more information, call 323-256-2500 or http://www.swhillcountry.com

Sounds like a good time to me!

You aint Sh*t

Sadly, once more a cherished piece of kitsch in LA bights the dust. My lovely "Burgers 'n Shit has closed its doors and painted over the 'n Shit part of the sign. Yeah, Main street downtown is slowly gentrifying and the crackheads and whores who used B'nS as their goto spot for....shit have been slowly swept from its streets. Art galleries, clothing shops, and one solid vietnamese restaurant (Blossom) have replaced the stench of homelessness. Personally, I would have kept the joint named the same, but just upgraded the shit. But it doesn't seem as though downtown business owners share my sense of irony.

Burrito Brothers

Take a few minutes to check out this short film that combines a few of my favorite things, Mexican food, urban guarilla cyclists, and charity. It's an inspiration.

Found out about it here. Check out the comments and find one of many reasons I'm beginning to hate Curbed LA. But more about that later.

A moment

It's been ages eh?

Sorry, lots to deal with. Moving, wedding, and a variety of other things.

Some ask, Doug since you've moved from Skunk Central will this blog persist? Well, my current answer is, as long as the waft of skunkage (i think we have a friend living under our house) remains and so do things that symbolically "stink good" I think i'm fine with keepin it stinky. With that said, I'm also thinking about starting a new blog soon, so be on the look out.

So, allow me to pick up the ball again...