There’s some good news for L.A. crate diggers. Salt Box Records is back IRL. The record shop operated by modern funk musician and DJ XL Middleton recently reopened inside Little Tokyo venue Hello Stranger after focusing on Instagram drops and pop-up events for the past few years. The soft open was last week. I stopped … Continue reading Salt Box Records Is Now Open in Little Tokyo
It’s a been a minute, but the Giant Robot Biennale is back. Between 2007 and 2015, the group exhibition developed by Erik Nakamura and the Japanese American National Museum popped up roughly every other year, bringing together a cross-section of artists that you might recognize from shows at the GR2 Gallery in West L.A., or … Continue reading Go See Giant Robot Biennale 5 at Little Tokyo’s Japanese American National Museum
“Viento,” the Caifanes song, plays as a mild, downtown wind blows the papel picado hanging above Dia de los Muertos altars at Gloria Molina Grand Park. There’s a sizable crowd milling about on Sunday afternoon, investigating the details of the large, often elaborately decorated altars, or ofrendas, that local artists and community groups have … Continue reading Dia de los Muertos Has Started at Gloria Molina Grand Park and Olvera Street
It was an ordinary Sunday in Los Angeles. I heard one driver blasting Zapp while walking from the Metro station to Salt Box Records, another blasting Debbie Deb as I walked back. Second Street was packed with teenagers dressed in goth garb and anime gear and indie sleaze vintage with Labubus hanging off their bags. … Continue reading “Les Yeux de Laura” and More of What You Heard at Salt Box Sessions on 10/19/25
Are you going to see French Police at The Novo on Thursday? Not only is Riki playing, but I’ll be on hand DJing as part of Klub Nocturno’s support set. I got to play with Klub Nocturno for the French Police shows at the Glass House and El Rey earlier this year and they were … Continue reading French Police, Salt Box Sessions + More Happening in L.A., 10/15-10/22/25
It’s been a minute since I’ve DJed at The Mermaid, long enough where I hadn’t seen how the corner near the DJ booth now looks like an underwater cave (see pic above). It’s super cute. Anyhow, last night was an open format set, so you heard everything from new Alison Goldfrapp and Tyler the Creator … Continue reading New Alison Goldfrapp, Tyler the Creator and Everything Else You Heard at The Mermaid on 8/17/25
The first thing I saw inside La Plaza de Cultura y Artes on Saturday afternoon was Brenton Wood’s zoot suit, a gray number paired with a black-and- white tie and wide-brimmed fedora. The dapper mannequin gave me some kind of sign (sorry, couldn’t resist) of what was to come. Stage outfits like Little Willie G.’s … Continue reading Brenton Wood, Thee Midniters and More Featured in Museum Exhibition “A Great Day in East L.A.”
The right record will always find you at the right time. Take last Saturday afternoon as an example. I was in Little Tokyo, flipping through 45s at Salt Box and just happened to come across “(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang,” the 1981 single from Heaven 17. Did I have this? Did it matter? … Continue reading Heaven 17 Was Right, ‘(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang’
Mayor Bass finally lifted the curfew that was thrust upon downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday, so this weekend is a really good time to support the venues who were impacted by the 8 p.m. shutdown. Over at the Grand Star in Chinatown, Club Tenderness is on Thursday, June 19. Underground is still happening on Friday, … Continue reading This Is a Good Weekend to Support Downtown Los Angeles
If you’ve spent a good amount of time in Arizona, you probably know about Bookmans. I’ve only been to Phoenix a few times and all of those were quick-turnaround work trips, so I hadn’t heard of the bookstore chain until the Saturday after DJing with Klub Nocturno at Crescent Ballroom, when we had enough time … Continue reading Digging for Fire at Bookmans in Mesa and Phoenix, Arizona