Happy Mother’s Life

By CJ Gronner

Please let me take this opportunity to spill my heart all over the place and humbly THANK my two homes, Venice and Minnesota.

If you’ve ever met me you know that my Mom is a big deal to me. I’ve never met a better lady, ever. She had a heart attack in Minnesota while I was on the phone with her in Venice. I was beside myself. Minnesota friends went to her even before I could. Venice friends got me there overnight.

Minnesota friends picked me up at the airport, took me straight to the hospital, and gave me strength to handle seeing my Mom all hooked up to a million things. The way her face lit up when I walked in abso- lutely proves the power of love to heal. Venice/LA friends called and texted and let me know that we had thoughts and prayers going in my absence. People everywhere that I didn’t even know attended Church told me about adding my Mom to their prayer chains. Facebook blew up with beautiful messages and offers of ANYTHING to help, from every place I know people internationally, especially Venice, especially Minnesota, particularly from the unusually close and timeless friends that were/are Richfield Spartans.

Minnesota friends brought me lunch, stole me away for a stiff drink, made a party for me when I got home late one night so I could see friends, and held me while I cried on their shoulders, both from fear and joy.

When I’d leave the ICU to check messages, every time there was new love and light shining on us from sunny Venice. This was extra needed when there were not one, but TWO April blizzards while I was back, which I was totally unprepared for, packing wise. I was the only person in Minnesota thrilled about it, since I’d missed Christmas back there this year, and tried to keep it to myself as they are OVER it.

As I became used to the awful lighting (and food) of the hospital, I started to feel sick and in pain my- self. Stress piled up on my neck and shoulders, and I started to feel hypochondriac-ish. That’s when my dear friends, Christine, Jane and Kate stepped in and took me out of the hospital to hear some music and get some fresh air for an hour at the MacPhail Center for Music, where Jane is the lead singer in her 10 year old rock band. Perhaps to Jane’s embarrassment, her “Fairy Godmother” also needed to rock, and blow off some steam, even if for just a sorely needed hour out of the Heart Center. The 10 year olds gave me the uplift and spirit to go back to the hospital, stronger and more hopeful – both for my Mom, and the future, with kids as great as these coming up.

I would read Mom messages from my family of friends in both homes, and see her eyes regain that familiar twinkle every time. Just knowing that you have so much love lifts you up to feel like you can handle anything. And we did.

Mom had scary surgery on her beautiful heart. It went well, and the only reason they didn’t have to admit me to the Psych Ward during that was because all of my people from all over had my back so lov- ingly well. Every day Mom is getting a little better, though it’s a whole new life now, and a lot of change is underway for her. I could only leave (real life still rolls on) because I saw first (and grateful) hand how very sweetly she is being taken care of, both by the lovely nurses and our friends.

I left Minnesota last night amid another blizzard. I was a sobbing wreck, and even the airport security guy was tender to me about it. That’s Minnesota.

I awoke (after a long and crazy-delayed journey) back in Venice, to sunshine and profound feelings of gratitude. I came back to the news that my good

friend, Bobby Brown (The World’s Greatest Wino) had died from his battle with throat cancer. Another Venice icon is gone. More than ever, I feel the truism that life is short, and you honestly have to do your best to have the best time you can, while you can. Venice friends – that I didn’t even know KNEW about my Mom’s ordeal – have stopped me every day, asking about her, and tell- ing me to call if I need anything at all. People care. I went to the beach to inhale the fresh sea air, and close my eyes to give thanks … for this life I’ve been given, for the abundant love I’ve been shown, and for the peo- ple and places I call home. Gratitude is glory!

As truly hard as that week was – it was also deeply beautiful. The humanity – that we were surrounded in like a huge embrace – was a lesson in how to be a friend. In how to live your life gratefully and positively. If you’ve ever thought I was sappy and gushing about that kind of stuff before … well, now it’s really on. For all time.

Thank you, dear friends and family of mine, wher- ever you live. From the bottom of the Gronners’ com- pletely full (and on the mend!) hearts.

Crawling for Art in the Snake Run

By CJ Gronner

Last night was the March Venice Art Crawl, and it was great. It kind of felt like First Fridays used to feel, where you saw a lot of locals and neighbors, and places served up free booze and music. The Art Crawl is actually better than First Fridays used to be, because the whole point is to appreciate local art … the very reason Venice became cool in the first place.

Cool doesn’t begin to describe how excellent it was to approach the Venice Skatepark just after sunset, seeing it all lit up, with a DJ blasting out good jams over the entire Boardwalk. They built a little entrance ramp so that people could go down in the snake run of the park, where the art of Mark Farina was hung.

It was a party, seeing all sorts of familiar Venice faces and catching up, all while checking out the brightly colored and highly political pieces from Farina.

These are the kind of original, fun ideas that make Venice special, and the kind of things we NEED – to show the world that they can keep their corporate chain stores and hum drum sameness.

WE have art openings IN skateparks. Bam.

There was a lot to see and do, so I had to crack the whip and keep us moving along … to Small World Books next.

Among all the zillions of books I covet every time I walk in the best book store in the West, I now also want one of the pieces by Christina Mills showing at Small World.

Her work feaures the typical Venice scenes, with surfers and the Venice sign type images, with scads of tweets from Venice 311 behind them … truly an example of “Where Art Meets Crim

On to The Gallery on Market Street, where we saw the gorgeous photography (featuring a bunch of Venice neighbors – Tawney! Shawn!) of Nicol Ragland.

The sign said, “A photographic exhibit raising questions about our ability to access primal and immaterial forces within the commercial ethos of western industrial society. The images stir a vital and confrontational animism by juxtaposing taxidermied wild animals in the arms of domestic U.S. citizens provokingly situated in the iconic centers of mass commerce.” Phew. That’s weighty stuff … but the photos sure were lovely.

We stopped in to see my girls at Kiki Designs (and spied even more cool rings we all wanted) and raise a glass, then did same at Gotta Have It, where the lovely Venice native, Mattea Perrotta, was showing her work. I knew almost everyone I saw, making it such a delight to be out and about, among friends.

Art was everywhere, and it was hard to take it all in when there was also so much socializing to be done. We did pretty well, but did get to Shulamit Gallery a bit too late to fully enjoy it, since they were kicking people out.

James Beach had Shark Toof and Tom French work featured – always a pleasure – and across the street at the Canal Club, owner Danny Samakow showed his very Venice paintings, that he was auctioning off for his upcoming AIDS Lifecycle Bike-A-Thon. We drank champagne with “Team Venice” and I soon found myself being the person that drew the raffle tickets for the lucky winners of Danny Samakow originals. We had a blast with the boys, even more so knowing that it was all going for such a good cause (that you can still donate to. Contact Danny.)

We covered a lot, but we didn’t cover it all … so there will be a lot to look forward to when the next Art Crawl rolls around June 20th. The night was starry as we strolled back home, way later than I had planned. We passed underneath the Venice sign again, and I smiled to myself that I get to live here, where there are still staunch preservationists of what is truly cool, proven by nights like this.

I love you, Venice. (We say that a lot here)

Happy 25th Birthday, Hal’s Bar and Grill!

By CJ Gronner

Hal’s Bar and Grill is celebrating 25 years on Abbot Kinney in Venice, and loyal fans turned out Wednesday night to hear Linda and Don Novack and Hal Frederick in discussion with Jeff Gordon from the Writer’s Boot Camp (and Hal’s regular) at the Electric Lodge. It was packed with the fine folks that you can regularly see bellied up at Hal’s, eager to hear and share stories of the many years of fond memories.

They opened up with the question, “What was Venice like 25 years ago?” to which an audience member piped up, “It was GREAT!” You could tell that most in the room were nostalgic for times when it really was more about the people, and the art, than the great money grab of the present, which Novack commented on, saying, “The street’s gone crazy.” True story.

Escalating rents are pushing out many of our old standbys, and a rumor was flying recently that Hal’s would be another victim of the greed, but that was put to rest with a relieved sigh. This night of story-telling was pure appreciation for a true neighborhood landmark.

I knew many of the stories from having done an article on Hal’s a while back, but it was a delight to hear all the locals chiming in with their 2 cents, in what became sort of an open forum. Artist Ed Moses made the room laugh when he said, “The food is always B+, which is very good, always consistent, I love the Chef (Manuel), and that’s why I like it.” Meaning that Hal’s food is very good, and he didn’t WANT it to be A+, because that’s for foodies and that’s what makes you not be able to get a table, and what brings all the people from all over, not all your favorite people in town that you can catch up with whenever you want. For instance, Don got more laughs with, “I love Gjelina. If people can’t get a table, they come to Hal’s for B+ food.” Which happens a lot. Which is great for everyone. (If they can find parking … which is why locals should walk or bike and take it all back over again).

All in attendance agreed that Hal’s has been the center of the Artist’s community in Venice, and as Linda Lucks of the Venice Neighborhood Council decreed (with certificates handed out), “Hal’s is the unofficial City Hall of Venice.” Another audience member said that no street has gone through as much change, so quickly, as Abbot Kinney, not even in New York … and the locals come to Hal’s to feel comfortable. And they do. Because of the consistent menu and local favorites – we learned that their famous (it has its own Facebook page!) turkey burger is due to Stockard Channing wanting a burger back when they were not on offer – to the familiar faces and warmth extended from everyone involved in the operation. Hal’s is clearly a local treasure, and has been since they opened their doors back in the 1980′s, when its address was the hard to locate West Washington Boulevard.

Local artist Peter Lodato spent a lot of time in New York, and he said that when he arrived back in L.A., Hal’s became his spot because, “It felt like home.” Don Novack added to that, saying, “Venice has STUFF. Grit, like New York.” At least it always has, and God willing, that will remain in spite of the best (worst) efforts of the developer vultures circling.

Certificates were given, lovely Linda Novack got a beautiful bouquet of roses, and all the artists and locals in the Electric Lodge were thanked by the grateful panel from Hal’s. Then we all ambled across the street, to get swept up in what Frederick called “The Mix” in the bar at Hal’s. “It’s ALWAYS been about the mix.” By which he means, everyone is welcome … struggling artist, millionaire artist, all ages, all races, all genders, all sexual orientations, any and everyone is in the mix. ALL will be welcome, at this beloved place that is “just a restaurant, but NOT just a restaurant … it’s so much more.” It’s Hal’s.

Congratulations to all the Hal’s family on 25 years of great times in Venice! And many more.

Carol Tantau is Just Tantau – And So Much More

By CJ Gronner

March 8 is International Women’s Day, so we at The Beachhead like to have the March issue be one for the ladies. There is probably no one better to speak to about women and Venice than Carol Tantau. Not only has she owned and operated her shop, Just Tantau, on Abbot Kinney since 1982, but she also heads the advocacy program at Sojourn Services for Battered Women and their children in Santa Monica.

We sat down to talk in the back of Tantau’s shop, as her cats, Ricky and Lucy, cruised around and walked over her bare feet, all totally at home. Tantau grew up in Northern California, and headed to Venice in 1971, like so many who found their way here, “because it seemed like a good idea.”  She had her BA in music, (there is a grand piano in the middle of the shop) and was making her living as a seamstress, which led to a stint teaching quilting classes. Again, like so many who not only found their way, but MADE their way here, she often stumbled into her situations quite by accident. Like when she met her husband, Leon, who was making jewelry on the Boardwalk when she happened upon him.

They married and lived in a little one room pad on the beach, where the jewelry manufacturing soon outgrew their place, and needed to find a space for a work shop and storefront. In 1982 there wasn’t much happening on West Washington Boulevard (which you now know as Abbot Kinney) other than The Merchant Of Venice (open only for breakfast and lunch) and The Comeback Inn. That meant that they could afford the space they found at 1353, where Just Tantau still operates right now. They could afford it because back then the idea was that rent was based on “fair market value” – meaning a rent that enables a business to survive. Ahhh, the good old days …

Anyway, Carol and Leon made and sold their jewelry in the shop, never adding t-shirts and sunglasses to cater to any tourists that might have happened by, because “Why would you want to be the same as everyone else?” Another point that might be well taken today, People.

They attended trade shows all over the place and began to wholesale their wares, and began buying from other jewelry sellers to bring to their shop back home. The business grew and grew, with show rooms across the country. Busy as they were, when The Merchant of Venice closed at three in the afternoon, that meant the work day was pretty well done for everyone, and they’d wrap up and enjoy the rest of Venice. They were good times. (Ok, and it was not a good neighborhood at all back then, so it may have had a little to do with safety too, as they slid the metal gates closed at 3 to be closed by dark. But still.)

Years of travel and trade shows went by smoothly, but then the manufacturing business started to tank, and so did the marriage with Leon. In 2001, they split the business and the marriage, with Carol keeping the retail store, and Leon taking over the wholesale side of things. They remain friends today, and Just Tantau remains a crucial, ORIGINAL store on Abbot Kinney.

Not having to travel so much anymore, Tantau began to get more and more involved with the Venice community. She was the head of the West Washington Merchant’s Association (and was instrumental in getting the street’s name changed to Abbot Kinney, as well as getting the palm trees planted up and down the boulevard) and then became President of the Chamber Of Commerce. That led to involvement in the Community Police Advisory Board, and after the O.J. Simpson verdict in 1995, it was made clear that there really was no domestic violence bridge to the LAPD. Sojourn Services (the second oldest shelter in the state) created an Emergency Response team to respond to domestic violence calls, and soon Tantau found herself not only training and becoming a volunteer, but suddenly in charge of the program! Once you know her, this is not at all surprising. As she said about herself, “I have the personality for it.” She now manages 35 volunteers, support groups, a legal clinic, court accompaniments, and acts as an advocate/liaison to the LAPD, where she recently began teaching about domestic violence at the Police Academy. Women, Carol Tantau has your back.

Tantau is able to do all of this important advocacy work, on top of being a small business owner on Abbot Kinney, which is a luxury she attributes to her “wonderful employees.” They enable her to have the best of both worlds, and keep her perspective fresh for both. Obviously, Tantau has seen her share of change in Venice, as she has lived and worked on Abbot Kinney for over 30 years. The thing that keeps her here and that she loves the most is the diversity – endangered though it may be.

“I am in Venice by choice. This is my chosen home, I wasn’t born here. There is a depth that ties me to this place …” We share this feeling, and acknowledged the changes around here now. First Fridays and the food trucks have scared off a lot of old school regulars and neighbors from the shops because it’s such a hassle, and not that fun when you don’t see anyone you know anymore. But as we were talking, Tantau made a great point. “We are still here. Real, true Venetians can still take ownership, but not if they’re not here. Don’t forget US.” Yeah. C’mon, Venice! We can hole up and avoid the masses on Abbot Kinney, or go out there and take it back. Show THEM what Venice is about. Have OUR fun. Be nice, but don’t kiss ass. Don’t be all about the money, but about the sense of place. I remember hanging out once with Bunny at The Green House, and someone came in and asked if it was ok to bring in their dog. Bunny replied, “Of course, this is VENICE.” Somewhere different. Somewhere special. Somewhere not like everywhere else. Somewhere with a strong history of that diversity, and somewhere that has always had our sense of fun and creativity.

Carol Tantau has so many stories of Venice through the decades, she really needs to write a book. But she’s awfully busy, so take the opportunity to stop in to Just Tantau and hear some tales for yourself. Be a regular again. Be a neighbor. Share your stories. Take ownership of YOUR chosen home.

El Bordello Alexandria

By CJ Gronner

I’ve walked by the big, crazy looking gargoyle house on Westminster and Speedway for years, always wondering what the story of the place could possibly be. I finally got the chance to hear it the other day when I sat down to talk with owner, Tony Wells. I had heard varying stories of its origins, none of which were correct. The one I most wanted to be true was the one I’d heard about an old man building it for his love to be protected from evil spirits by the gargoyles (as in Venice, Italy) as a Valentine to her. Not true … but it is still a love story of sorts … to Venice.

The building was a rat trap back in 2001, populated by tweakers passed out in the hallways, and left to crumble in its squalor. Wells and his partner, Brittany Stevenson, were looking for rental properties (both are in real estate), and were intrigued by the cool balcony on the front of this particular house. They liked Venice and its eclectic people, and thought they could maybe unearth a treasure if they bought it and gutted it.

As they began to renovate, they dug out the walls, finding a whole bunch of nice, restorable shiplap wood underneath, and then the real treasure was discovered – a hatbox of notes from a Madame Alexandra, who ran the bordello that was this house back when it was built in 1906. The railway lines ended nearby, and the ships pulled up to shore not far away, so it was an excellent location for this mysterious woman (no photographs were found) to run her business servicing the railmen and sailors. Racy. Stevenson always felt the house had a spirit, and a pulse, and began to decorate accordingly.

The house was entirely transformed in about three months, and Stevenson put up a couple little stone gargoyles on the roof for protection (ala Italy Venice), as the area was still a little iffy. Wells is not a guy to do things on a small scale, however, and decided that if they were having gargoyles, they were REALLY having gargoyles. Driving back from a trip in Baja, Wells saw a big metal statue on the side of the road near Ensenada. Intrigued, he stopped and met the metal worker (who he knows only as Perfidio) and inquired about his doing some commission work for him. Perfidio’s first gargoyle so impressed Wells, that they’ve created a lasting collaboration. Over recent years, Wells keeps getting ideas, and Perfidio keeps bringing them to life.

The big, scary, devil looking gargoyles have been joined by a St. Michael angel, and a Poseidon driving dolphins, and it doesn’t look like they’re going to stop adding them anytime soon. It’s a whole process of guys yanking the statues up over the side of the house via ropes and brute strength, and they’re stuck in solid, with interior metal poles and things. They’re not going anywhere.

As Wells likes things to be over the top, and both he and Stevenson are very creative types, they had to keep adding things. As they did, the photos started happening. People started lining up out front, asking “What the heck is this place?!” and slowly, a landmark was born. “If this was anyplace else, I’d have a church group out front picketing, but this is VENICE. It works. Just please give us this ONE place in the world to be unique!”, said Wells, creating a forever friend in me and everyone else who feels that exact way about our Venice.

The seven individual apartments inside soon filled up, all with artists and creative types, all of whom are now friends. Some have started businesses together (a family crest Iphone app – Crestmaster.com – inspired by the art and crests on the building, where you can create your own crest), they take ski trips and things together, and all speak of what a great time it is living there, and what great landlords Wells and Stevenson are.

Especially Brian Mylius, the resident painter. He had been homeless, and Wells hired him to do some commission paintings on the house. Mylius now lives in El Bordello Alexandra, and adds to its splendor in some way every day. His paintings (mostly of “badass women to protect the place, because men would fuck it up” – T. Wells) are all over the house, inside and out. The still-wet one in progress in the back stairway features Madame Alexandra, how they think she might have looked, with her Mona Lisa smile keeping her secrets intact.

Her secrets still attempt to get out though, as when I asked if it might be haunted (it feels like it could be), the answer given by Mylius was a firm “Yes”. Even after burning “pounds of sage”, weird electrical things happen, shapes have been seen walking, and odd sounds are occasionally heard when they shouldn’t be. The gargoyles might be slacking, but it doesn’t stop the tour buses from unloading out front, or the constant questions to residents from passersby as to its real deal. The residents aren’t above messing with people, and may tell you it’s a ship, or a whorehouse, or a recovery center … but really it’s just a super dope place to live. As tenant Anton Pereiaslavtstev told me, “I liked circuses when I was little, but now I live in one … What could be bad about that?”

The interiors are painted all brothel purple, red and gold. It’s all very bordello chic. Gothic furniture, stained glass windows, painted guitars, paintings of women who look like they probably worked there back in the day, and a sly sense of humor permeates it all. A bathroom overlooking the beach features a sign reading, “The Confessional”. A Captain Jack-like passed out pirate mannequin watches over the rooftop deck, and a comfy couch/fire pit area make it a perfect scenario from which to watch the sunset, as the statues cast their fairytale shadows all around you. Trippy. Venice.

After living in a colorful place like this, you can’t really go and live somewhere vanilla and boring, so the residents tend to stay a long time. When someone does leave, the residents have to approve a new tenant, co-op style, to make sure that the harmony, creative flow, and friendships made within can continue seamlessly. Everyone seems to be having a good time, and to Wells, that’s the whole point.

“Venice needs color. Venice needs creativity. Venice needs attractions. If you live here, it’s your duty to step it up. Be colorful, show people a good time. Let’s bring it back. And let’s start now.”

Obviously I whole-heartedly agree. I was so happy to discover that this house’s story was indeed a true love story. Pure love for Venice is lived out in these walls and on the sidewalks around it, every single day. A Valentine to the town that inspired the fun and creativity and Why Not?! attitude that literally leaps out at you as you pass.

We were standing out front talking, wrapping it up, when Wells said, “Do good things … it comes around.” Just then a car drove up, stopped to take pictures, the people inside smiling and happily asking questions. Community, color, fun, conversation with strangers …. All good things, all coming around, at the end of the street, at the end of the country, in the gargoyle-protected, X on the treasure map … Venice, California.

Normal Is Dead

By CJ Gronner

I am thrilled to report that my good friends at the Venice Beach Freak Show are getting their own reality show on AMC, called, appropriately, Freakshow, which starts airing this Valentine’s Day, February 14th at 9:30 pm.

Todd Ray, his wife Danielle, kids Asia (now the youngest sword swallower in the world!)and Phoenix, and their extended family of performers invite you into their world, where “Normal is relative”. I first got to know and write about the Ray family in 2010, and am so happy to see their message of fun and acceptance blowing up all over the world.

“Normal is an illusion, there is no such thing is normal … some people have a problem with the word ‘Freak’, but we should have a problem with the word ‘normal’,” explains Todd, as everyone has a struggle to fit in and appear “normal,” but no one really knows what that is. So the Freakshow cast decided to have a funeral for Normal, and held a parade carrying Normal’s casket all the way down the Venice Boardwalk, celebrating its death, and our differences. Todd old-timey preached the funeral, asking for a moment of silence for Normal. When it was through, the entire Boardwalk erupted in two minutes of joyous shouting, proclaiming that we are ALL Freaks in our own way. That funeral will be in the show, along with supercool things like the Freak Show performing in a huge tent during Fashion Week in New York, and also just the every day happenings that make it all tick.

Venice is as much the star of the show as any of the performers, and beautifully portrayed. The Tallest Man in The World (8 feet!) joins Amazing Ali (the tiniest lady), Larry the Wolf Boy, Murrugun The Mystic and all their friends at the Freak Show, in a real behind the scenes portrait of Todd Ray’s childhood dream not only coming true, but growing and growing.

While you’re learning the story of the Rays and Freakshow, you’re also learning what Venice still means to so many people around the world. Todd is inspired by the place that another man with a dream thought up long ago. Abbot Kinney would appreciate the renaissance that the Rays are trying to bring back to Venice, and as Todd says, “We NEED it here now. It’s a piece of history, and a piece of Venice that is positive and creative. Everything we love about Venice is in this show.”

That’s all I needed to set the dvr for every single episode. Join us Freaks, starting February 14th on AMC.

Our Venice Skatepark – A Diamond in the Rough

By CJ Gronner

Happy New Year, People! In the interest of shining a light on the things that are still awesome about living in Venice in 2013, I recently dug a little deeper into the everyday goings on at the Venice Skatepark. I grew up with my brother’s half-pipe in our backyard, smashed my own face trying to drop in off that thing, and was always surrounded by skaters, so I have a soft spot for the whole scene, but also recognize the beauty and importance of this place in our community. Officially known as the Dennis “Polar Bear” Agnew Memorial Skatepark, this gleaming jewel of a skatepark smack in the middle of Venice Beach is maintained – every single day – by the Venice Surf and Skateboard Association (V.S.A.), which really means by professional skate legend and V.S.A. President, Jesse Martinez, and his helpers.

After working for over 20 years to erect a skatepark in what many believe is the birth place of skateboarding, Venice finally got its skate home in 2009, and skaters have been tearing it up ever since. Which is why the maintenance of the park is such a big deal. Many places have skateparks put in by well-meaning skate companies and foundations, or grants or whatever, but then they leave and it’s up to whomever else is left to keep it up and running. Venice Skatepark is on Park and Recreation (City of L.A.) territory, but no one from the city has ever stepped a foot into the park to clean it. Ever. ALL the clean up and maintenance of the park is done by beyond dedicated, hard working and meaning it volunteers (hmm … kind of like The Beachhead).

The head of these volunteers is the very reluctant interviewee, Mr. Martinez. He’s out there seven days a week, before dawn, cleaning up the sand, glass, piss, blood, booze, graffiti, and whatever else winds up in the bowls of the skatepark overnight. I don’t think people really know how much work this takes, and that the skatepark isn’t just magically sparkling pristine and perfectly skateable every day on its own.

I’m impressed to my core that someone of such legendary skate stature as Martinez (which he completely down-plays every time it comes up – and it comes up a lot down at the skatepark) is the one that willingly gets up at 4 a.m. every day to make sure the park that he and his friends all worked so hard for so long to bring to life, is given the respect it deserves. As impressed as I am though, Martinez isn’t. He suggested I go interview a guy who lives down the street from him, a doctor, “that saves kids. THAT’S someone worth interviewing …”. As much as I admire his true humility, I would also argue that Martinez, in his own way, also saves kids.

Kids that – because of him – have somewhere safe to skate, which in turn, may be saving them from a more thug life, like the one Martinez came from, and feels that skateboarding really saved him from. He rejected gang life for skate life, and has dedicated most every waking moment to that end. Injured now (ankle), and a couple healing months away from shredding at his normal level, you can feel Martinez just aching to be in there, as he watched the others skate a few days ago, offering pointers (like leaning forward when you drop in, not back. That might have helped me out years ago …) and encouragement. You can also feel the very tangible respect all the kids down there have for Martinez. Respect not just for his Pro/Dogtown/Bones Brigade status, but for the fact that they can feel the deep care he has for the park, the up and comer skaters, and for skating itself, and that respect is infectious (if also a little fear-based, as no one wants to get chewed out by Martinez and Company).

That respect is there because of the specter of Venice’s skate past. Dogtown, Z Boys, the Bones Brigade … all those guys had was the streets and the pools, and look what they did with it! They created a legendary time, legendary tricks and styles, and legendary names for themselves. Now that today’s skaters have a beautiful skatepark, perfectly kept and maintained by one of their own, they need to step it up, and represent VENICE, like the guys before them did. Martinez remembers when every contest they went to, it seemed like every other name called was “So and So – Venice, California!” Now you’re lucky if you hear of one or two competitors called out for Venice. With that gorgeous park as their home turf, we’d like to see some new legends coming out of here. And not just coming out of here, but respecting it on the same level as the guys before them did. Which also means helping. If you appreciate that you get to have this unreal, super clean, amazing view, skate mecca as your home park, maybe you’d like to give back a little too – take turns helping on a dawn patrol clean-up one day a week. Push yourselves to charge it, and not just because you want a cool sponsor or a rad photo in a magazine, but because you love it to your core, like they used to and still do. Have PRIDE, like they used to, and still do. They knew what they represented back then. That is how you stand the test of time. And the Dogtown guys still do, which is why THEY are giving back now, in so many ways.

The reason why they’re giving back, is to keep that legacy going into the future, to raise another generation of pros from Venice, and to keep the Venice skate scene vibrant and exciting. This is the home of some of the best skaters of all time EVER, and that fact is honored and built upon every day that our skatepark exists.

And it exists in large part because of the V.S.A. In talking to Lauren Wiley of the V.S.A., I was very surprised to learn that here is no help from the City of L.A. or Park and Recs with the maintenance. When film crews shoot at the skatepark, they are charged a clean-up fee, which the V.S.A. never sees, nor do they see anyone else out there doing the fee-charged cleaning. When the V.S.A. wants to put on a contest or an event, they are charged for expensive permits and a usage fee by the City – for their own park that they use every day. These fees can run into the thousands, making it hard to pay for simple things like cleaning supplies (which also do not come from the City – but from donations and the V.S.A.’s own pockets), never mind putting on the contests themselves, or even paying a small salary to the guys out there keeping it all clean and safe. They don’t see a dime as it stands now, and that just doesn’t feel right. Not when they work so hard, and the park is such a tourist attraction, and when it provides such a home away from home for so many of our local kids. Though the V.S.A. is extremely grateful and appreciative for any help they do get from the City, Park and Recs, the “awesome” lifeguards, the LAPD Pacific Division, Councilman Rosendahl (a champion for the skatepark from day one), and from various local business donations, I’m pretty sure we can do better for it, as a community. Like Martinez said, “ALL locals should look out for their neighborhood.” Of course.

By doing better, I mean getting more involved. Local businesses can be sponsoring events at the skatepark. Local parents, grateful that their kids have a safe, fun – and FREE – place to hang out, could be donating, taking their turn doing some clean-up, organizing fundraisers so that the kids can have contests (like the one coming up in early 2013 for slalom and the crowd-pleasing Highest Ollie!), attend away contests, get prizes, have a summer camp where kids learn to surf and skate … and the good ideas just keep flowing. Those kinds of cool things are so possible, but they also cost money. Money that is as scarce at the skatepark as it is most everywhere else, but this is a place where you can actually see the few dollars they do have in action.

Ideally, it would be great to have the skatepark take in enough donations and monies earned from contests, summer camps, etc .. that they can be entirely self-sufficient and not have to worry about scrounging funds up from the City and grants and all that to do anything. The V.S.A. has already saved the City multi-thousands of dollars, because if they had to employ (and they would HAVE to) a couple full-time city workers to maintain the park, that would add up in a hurry, especially at the pre-dawn hours that it all has to be done. It would help to actually see those clean-up fees that the city collects from shoots used for clean-up – that they aren’t is shady, in my opinion. It would also help to NOT charge those usage fees for use of their own park – that just doesn’t make sense, Park and Recs, C’mon! Let’s give them a little break. So much good can be done, with just a very little help.

SO much good. I talked to V.S.A. member and the pretty much lone consistent volunteer, Victor Blue, who like Martinez, was born and raised -and hell-raised – his whole life in Venice. After a life of trouble-making, Blue got into skating, which led him to spending pretty much all day, every day at the skatepark, giving back and helping out today’s skaters. “I get to be a good example here,” Blue told me, after sharing a story about how a local mother interrupted a meeting to find out who this “Mr. Blue” was that her kid had been talking about so much. She wanted to thank him for putting her son on the right path, with his counsel and support every day down at the park. As Blue sees it, “The skatepark is the brightest spot in Venice right now … this park was built to stop destroying other areas … and you can see the positivity down here spread through Venice like a virus.” Let it!

This sentiment was echoed by local skater, Sean Vasquez, who told me that he loves to come skate Venice because “It’s one of the nicest skateparks around, it’s really well-kept and smooth, which makes your skating better.” He went on to say that “It’s all about the friendships, and the good vibes. Who wouldn’t want to skate on the beach?” I think Martinez and Blue and Wiley alike would be happy to hear that Vasquez also said, “I just come here to relax and skate. This place keeps kids here skating, instead of on the streets getting into trouble … I do it for the love of skating, which is a lifestyle, not a trend.” If Vasquez’s sentiments are the common ones held by today’s skaters, Martinez may be able to rest a little easier.

But he won’t. Because he has to get up at 4 a.m. to go clean the park all over again. Please think about that the next time you cruise past the wonderful Venice Skatepark, remember how it got that way, and consider what you can do to help preserve and protect both the history and the future of skating in Venice. Thank you in advance.

Venice – Where Art Meets (White Collar) Crime

By CJ Gronner

If you had left Venice even a year ago, and returned today to stroll down Abbot Kinney, you might think you got lost and wound up on Robertson or Montana. If you ever cared about Venice being cool and unique and outside of the mainstream, you would certainly be aghast to find corporate-owned chain stores – once thought to be forbidden – open for business for people that like Mall clothes. I’d like to think we as a community are better than this mass sell-out of cool … but money talks, apparently. LOTS of money, and lots of talking.

Many of the businesses that made Abbot Kinney a cool destination in the first place – Surfing Cowboys, Jin Patisserie, Venice Vintage Paradise, Plantation, Capri Restaurant (and its great pop-ups), Glen Crest BBQ, but of course, etc … – are now either getting the boot by outlandish rent increases or choosing to sell in the big money grab of now. It’s stomach turning, and sneaky too.

Places like Steven Alan, Robert Graham, Jack Spade, Civilianaire, the soon to open Scotch & Soda, and Flannel, and the mall-looking row of LF, Lucky Brand, and Gant are all corporate-owned, and sneaky because some sound like little boutique shops, but are really owned by massive conglomerates. They are turning our beloved Venice into a place just like anywhere else … the last thing we who care about the history and freedom of Venice would ever would want it to be. That big mural of Abbot Kinney on South Venice Boulevard, looking down over his creation, now appears to be cringing every time I see him.

I had a good chat with Wayne Gunther, owner of Surfing Cowboys, who told me that his pioneering and well-loved business on Abbot Kinney is seeing its building being sold – and its rent skyrocketing – to a Dutch company called Holland Investments, LLC, headed by a Benjamin Derhy (no phone number listed), who seems to be doing a lot of the big buying out of Abbot Kinney. Gunther told me that Derhy’s “Henchman” is Drew Glickman of Abbot Kinney Realty, who according to Gunther, tips off the buyers when the leases are coming up, so they can pounce on it, and offer such astronomical sums that sellers are obviously finding it hard to refuse. No one can make a profit when all the revenue is going to rent, so the business owners have no choice but to pack up and move elsewhere – if they can. Surfing Cowboys is moving to a bigger, cheaper space on 12553 Venice Boulevard, which will be great, but is an extra bitter pill to swallow for the Gunthers, who even lived in the back of their current space at one point, when NOTHING else was around. They’re excited for the new prospects (their own parking lot!) and do a lot of great business online too, so they’ll be fine. But still. In discussing why we loved and ever wanted to live in Venice, Gunther said, “I mean, just that there’s VALET PARKING in VENICE is ridiculous!” Agreed.

These corporate wheeler dealers all claim to want to maintain the integrity of the street, but MAN, are they not looking at the big picture. First of all, they don’t know the community. Venice doesn’t want to buy stuff to look like everyone else in the world. The Venice that I know/knew and love takes pride in its individuality and free spirit. The Venice I believe in ran the corporate Pinkberry out of town with pickets and protests. I heard there were some picketers outside of the new Lucky Brand store, and that might be the kind of deal it’s gonna take. If not outright picketing, which I encourage, then certainly boycotting. Let the Abercrombie T-shirt wearing tourists go there, because they’re going to anywhere they go, but don’t let that be YOU. If you chose to live here, with all that Venice is, good and bad, then YOU know better.

If Venice becomes a place full of chain stores that anyone can go to anywhere, then we lose all that made Venice cool in the first place, and there’s no reason for all these international tourists roaming around to come here anymore. We’ll be just another mall, and then a ghost mall, when all the boarded up shops and fancy build-outs sit rotting because no one could afford the rents anymore.

Like the $40,000 (!!!)  the guy that owns the Jin building thinks he’s going to get for that space. Jin’s lovely owner, Kristy Choo, told me that someone else said they could get $47, 000 a month for the little cottage with the charming patio SHE created, that they are now using as a selling point. She’d have to sell a whole lot of her perfect chocolates and pastries to meet that rape of a rent, so is looking for a new space, and hoping she’ll get to stay on through the holidays. The buyers use the GQ article claiming Abbot Kinney as “the coolest street in America” as a bargaining chip, again failing to realize that as soon as the chains and big money take over (if we LET them!), it ceases to be any kind of cool – immediately.  Like I always say, “If it’s in In Style, it’s out of style.” Please let Choo know if you know of anything REASONABLE, because it would be a damn shame not to have Choo and her  flawlessly delicious wares here anymore … booted out of the happening boulevard that she helped to create.

If only it all wasn’t such a sad commentary on the role of greed in our community these days. Greed that simply can’t be sustained. Not in this economy, when people still need JOBS. I could tell you stories for days about artists that can’t afford it here anymore – the very ones that settled here because it was the only place they COULD afford. My own rent has gone up already and I’ve just lived in this place since May. Building sold, new owners wanted even more money. So less money to spend locally. Again, a failure to understand the bigger, longer-term picture.

There are success stories on the block, of unique, family-owned businesses like Hal’s, Principessa, Abbot’s Habit, Abbot’s Pizza, Firefly, The Green House, The Rooster Fish, Tumbleweed and Dandelion, Zingara, Joe’s, Primitivo, Just Tantau, Trim, Urban Escape, Strange, Invisible Perfume, Huset, The Beauty Bungalows, Ananda, the Shoe Repair Guy and a few more, that I encourage you to shop and eat at every chance you get, because they DO know and care about their community. But they are increasingly rare, and on the endangered list too, if their leases come up and dollar signs are still blinding people to what is truly cool, and what set Venice apart from the rest of the Universe.

Venice is not just Abbot Kinney remember … You could also get your holiday gifts -  something original and handmade (ART!) – at the Boardwalk, still the most Venice place around. Or I know! You could make something your damn self! Yes.

I also encourage the folks who like to ride naked down the street on their bikes, or roller skate down the middle of AKB in a chicken suit just for fun, or leave art installation treasures, or wear a sign that’s funny, or let your kid wear their Halloween costume again, just because it’s Tuesday, or  …. you get what I mean. Be Individuals! Be Fun! Smile and say Good Morning, like we always have done, none of this cold hipster biz I’ve seen. Be decent, at the very least. Be Venice, for goodness sakes!

Remember Mobay? Venus of Venice? The Korean liquor store where Wabi Sabi is that had like three items in stock? The Hydrant Cafe? Slave? Stroh’s? Van Gogh’s Ear? Ten Women? I do, and fondly. Wouldn’t it be sad to be having this talk in a few years saying, “Remember when Starbuck’s was Abbot’s Habit? Remember when Domino’s was Abbot’s Pizza? Remember when The Gap and Gap Kids was Firefly and Kid Firefly? Remember when some b.s. like Chili’s was Hal’s? Remember when Joel Silver’s office was the Post Office? (wait, that DID happen!) Remember when Venice was cool?!” It could happen. It IS happening.

(And by the way, not even big corporate stores are fine, as the still-new Quicksilver store right around the corner on Venice Boulevard (former Samy’s Camera) is already gone. I never even went in, and I think it’s because it felt too mall store chain same, which holds no appeal for me. Bye. Exclamation pointing on this entire discussion. )

A couple of days before Thanksgiving, I walked by a massive line outside of the Vera Davis Center, where they were distributing food to those who really needed it for the holiday. The line (of mostly elderly people, so you can save your “Get a job” comments, if that’s your argument) stretched down way around the corner, past the Electric Lodge, made up of our residents and neighbors who need help. It wrecked me all day to think that one block over from Electric, on Abbot Kinney, there are those who could take one month’s proposed (filthy with greed) rent and feed everyone in line for a year, at least. Who do we want to BE, as a People? Geez … It’s just sick.

I recently saw a bumper sticker that read, “You Ruined Venice”.  Please don’t let that be you, and please don’t let that happen. You can’t take any money with you, but you will always have the golden memories of your time in OUR Venice. The preservation of those sweet times is in OUR hands. Don’t. Ruin. Venice! BE cool.

Another Night at the Other Venice Film Festival

By CJ Gronner

The Other Venice Film Festival 2012 is in the books, and once again, a great time was had by all. Due to logistics, I could only partially attend this year, but according to all the attendees that I spoke to, it was another smashing success organized by long-time Venetian, Reuben “Ruby” De La Casas.

Opening night was another big party at OVFF’s headquarters at Beyond Baroque, with all the fun and casual order of an event in Venice. In accordance, the friend that I brought with me said, “I’ve never seen such a group of characters in one place before.” I had, but it was close. The red carpet was rolled out for the occasion, and local and international luminaries strode down it to get inside and behold the films and the spectacle.

Natural Hi-Fi was the band kicking off the festivities, and they blew our mind – truly – with their one-armed guitar player, Paul Gunby. I don’t know how he does it, but their version of The Doors’ “Roadhouse Blue” was very true to the original. With one arm on guitar. We were super impressed.

I was not as impressed with either of the films featured this opening night. The Ballad of Danko Jones was all over the place, but featured cameos by Elijah Wood, Selma Blair, Ralph Macchio (the Karate Kid!), and the best one, Lemmy.

The feature presentation was Tony Tarantino’s Underbelly Blues, and was perhaps the very worst movie I’ve ever seen. Ever. Mr. Tarantino told me that, “It’s a spoof on Pulp Fiction, it’s funny, and it’s really, REALLY nasty.” Well … He got the last part right. I have nothing good to say about it, so I’ll say nothing more other than I know for sure how much hard work getting a film made is, so good for them for getting something done, but bad for them that this thing was what they used their efforts for. Bllllech.

Highlighting Day Two was the inspiring (Slamdance winning!) documentary Getting Up from director Caskey Ebeling.It’s the incredible story of disabled graffiti artist, Tempt One. He suffers from ALS, but can continue to draw and create with crazy new technology that allows him to create with his eyes. See it.  By far the best entry in this year’s festival, in my opinion. Wow.

I wish I’d been able to attend every minute of all the films, musical performances and parties … but Congratulations to all the Abbot Award winners and artists that got to see their hard work pay off with an audience of supportive Venetians at another of our good time events. Cheers!

Best Feature: Bring On The Mountain

Best Documentary: The Webtel.mobi Intercontinental Challenge

Best Short: Franky and The Ant

Best Music Video: Dogtown Days

Featured Artist: Matthew Schildkret

See you next year!

Sparkly Party for SPARC’s 35th Anniversary

By CJ Gronner

It has been all about the art lately in Venice, and a recent Saturday night was a big one for it. C.A.V.E. (Center for Audio and Visual Expression)  Gallery on Abbot Kinney had the opening of renowned street artist Shark Toof’s Ping Pong Show AND it was the big celebration for SPARC‘s (Social and Public Art Resource Center) 35th Anniversary. A full night of greatness.

My dear friend, Shana Nys Dambrot, wrote the introduction for Shark Toof‘s new and completely gorgeous coffee table book, and we discussed Shark Toof’s fine art works on canvas with the man himself.

Shark (I’m gonna call him that, as I have a hard time with the f) opined on the state of sexual taboos in the world that gave his show its name.

“Ping Pong” does not refer to the hooker trick of yore, but rather the sex industry mores of Asia vs. here in the U.S.

Bright fluorescent stripes on the walls caromed about and around the paintings, giving the whole gallery an installation feeling, picking up the colors exploding off the art. The gallery was packed with collectors and hipsters, locals and even a couple tiger face-painted babies that could have climbed out of one of the paintings.

Shark is best known as a street artist, and his work has shown up on exterior walls all over the world, often featuring sharks.

With this new, crucial book, and gallery shows like this, Shark has taken his outdoor pieces inside, and successfully bridged that gap previously crossed by folks like Shephard Fairey and Banksy. “Post Art Bills” reads the box that houses his book. Yes.

The show is bright and profound and you can check it out on Abbot Kinney now through November 11th.

I raced from C.A.V.E. over to the SPARC affair at its headquarters in the old jail on Venice Boulevard. The entire building was lit up, with murals hanging from every inch of it.

The back parking lot had been transformed into a Big Fish style outdoor party, with lights strung up everywhere and music blasting from the stage, courtesy of Venice’s own Tom Schnabel spinning his KCRW brand of world beats, and later jazz and blues legend Barbara Morrison and her band getting everybody up and dancing.

SPARC was founded by Judy Baca, Christina Schlesinger and Donna Deitch in 1976 with their first project, The Great Wall of Los Angeles. It is the longest mural in the world, taking the viewer through important moments in our history all along the L.A. River bank. They offered tours of the massive mural (all done by volunteers and at-risk youth), led by Baca. I couldn’t attend the mural tour, but encourage everyone to get down there and see this true wonder of the world as soon as you get the chance. It is truly massive, and makes abundantly clear the importance of art as a tool for social expression and teaching history.

Awards were given, speeches were made, and there was an air of jubilation over the entire affair. It was a delight to see so many neighbors all out and having a good time under the stars, dancing, drinking (theme drinks like “The Mural”), and eating delicious fare from the booths set up by Hal’s, Casa Linda, and Ben’s BBQ.

You could participate in live mural painting on one of the back walls, and it gave you a sense of the camaraderie and effort that goes into creating the more massive pieces that adorn our fair city.

Every surface was adorned with a mural illuminating important cultural characters and events. Even in the bathroom. In a time when street artists (folks like Shark Toof) get busted and jailed for beautifying spaces, and murals are under attack by small-minded building owners and corporate advertising, this was an especially satisfying evening in homage to the importance of art’s role in social justice.

Once all the donation pitches and speechifying was complete, it was time to simply party. Barbara Morrison and her excellent backing band tore it up, and people kept dancing even as the event was being cleaned up around them. A great cause, a great night of wonderful art, and another exclamation point on the SPECIAL! place that we call home.

As SPARC’s saying goes, “BE the Spark – to bring the past into the present to inspire the future.”

Shark Toof

The Ping Pong Show

C.A.V.E. Gallery

1108 Abbot Kinney Boulevard

Through November 11th

SPARC

685 Venice Boulevard

Hopefully Always