Invisible L.A.

I love anything retro, and many things silly, if they are well done. So the other night, when Anne, my adventure buddy, told me about Charles Phoenix’s Retro Holiday Slideshow from the 50’s and 60’s, I was so excited! Especially since I had never been to the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, certainly a cinematic landmark in our Mecca of film.

A little back story before the film portion of this post: Charles Phoenix grew up in the L.A. area and always had a love for things kitsch-y. One day, several years back, he was rooting around in a thrift shop when he came across a small blue box of slides marked “our trip across country 1957″ and in that fateful moment, his life came into sharper focus (pun intended). What began as a casual collection (ok, an obsessed collection), soon turned into an passion shared with the world at large through these slide-show-cum-commentary presentations. Charles has been asked to present these glimpses into American history in the innocent years all around the U.S. and in Europe. I think it says on his website that he now has over 500,000 slides that he has collected from thrift shops, estate sales, flea markets and the like. His audience members often give him their family slides when they come to the show. They are amazing because of their momentary look into the living rooms and front yards of regular people, and I have to say my favorite of all was a slide of a home-fashioned styrofoam and tinfoil tree on a raft, listing to the left, in someone’s swimming pool.

Wikipedia has a great definition of kitsch (and here’s part of it):

Kitsch is a German term that has been used to categorize art that is considered an inferior copy of an existing style. The term is also used more loosely in referring to any art that is pretentious or in bad taste, and also commercially produced items that are considered trite or crass.

Because the word was brought into use as a response to a large amount of art in the 19th century where the aesthetic of art work was confused with a sense of exaggerated sentimentality or , kitsch is most closely associated with art that is sentimental; however, it can be used to refer to any type of art that is deficient for similar reasons—whether it tries to appear sentimental, glamorous, theatrical, or creative, kitsch is said to be a gesture imitative of the superficial appearances of art. It is often said that kitsch relies on merely repeating convention and formula, lacking the sense of creativity and originality displayed in genuine art.

Though kitsch and kitschy may be terms used to criticize, the term is sometimes used as a compliment as well, with some finding kitschy artwork to be enjoyable for its “retro” value or unintentional, ironic humor or garishness. [my emphasis]

Well, Charles’ performance piece (those words don’t do it justice, I promise!) was certainly ‘enjoyable for it’s retro value and ironic humor’, no doubt, but it really was also surprisingly touching and screamingly funny (I laughed so hard that tears were pouring down my face) and smart at the same time. Charles is a true chronicler of what he calls ‘Americana’: the cultural mores of the American 1950’s and 1960’s. In fact, he has a book by that name: God Bless Americana.

If you’re a fan of retro (which I am!!!!), check out his great website CharlesPhoenix.com and don’t forget to sign up for his “Slide of the Week“, where he sends out one of his retro postcards (plus commentary) every week via email.

Also, Charles will be presenting his slide show several more times during December at the Egyptian, it’s well worth the trip to Hollywood!

Charles Phoenix Retro Holiday Slideshow

Here are a couple of video treats for you! Charles showing us how to make the famous ‘Astro Weenie Christmas Tree’—wow!

I’m sorry, I am experiencing technical difficulties, so please come see the video in my ‘Christmas Hacks’ post on my other blog, It’s Not About Your Stuff. (photo courtesy of sheer incompetence)

And here, dear new readers, is the first ever of my fabulous hand-crafted cellphone videos! This one is called

A night in Hollywood

(still in the working stages. You have to have the free and friendly Quicktime Player installed on your computer, and I didn’t realize that if I held the camera sideways, I wouldn’t be able to flip it like a photo, so forgive me!)

I am an avid reader of blogs— I have to be, as a blogger– but also, it’s my passion to find out what’s going on. It used to be I would read bullitin boards and the local free newspapers around where I lived or was visiting to find out what was happening, but now I can do it in my P.J.s. and I like that.

So, last week, when I got an update from one of the myriad of food blogs in L.A. (I wish I could remember which one) and they were talking about a new concept in dining that is sweeping the country; underground restaurants, I knew I was in!

There’s a lot of snobbery and dissing of these roving eateries in the food review world, but I was curious and wanted to see what it was all about, to judge for myself. So I called my friend Anne Block, who is a fabulous tourguide in L.A. and beyond, and owner of Take My Mother Please* custom tours (and who by the way, will be one of my regular guest bloggers on this site) and said, “let’s go!”. She was in, too. She’s like that.

I didn’t know where to start looking, but as it turns out, The Ghetto Gourmet, normally based out of San Francisco, was holding an event every night this week in Los Angeles. We signed up right away at the reasonable cost of $42.00 and made our battle plan for the evening.

What is an underground restaurant? It’s a roving dining experience where chefs, waiters and entertainers come together in different people’s homes and offer a prix fixe [the fancy way of saying fixed price] dinner to hungry and adventurous guests. Often the menu is posted on the internet or in a confirmation email (if you are lucky enough to be privy to the super-secret lists I keep hearing about). They operate in a quasi-legal atmosphere and have been compared to speakeasys of the Prohibition Era and the early verison of raves.

 Here’s what I found when googling around:

Bruce Frieseke, head chef at Manzanita [an underground restaurant in Silicon Valley in California], believes the appeal of underground restaurants comes largely from diners’ shifting attitudes toward the entire restaurant scene. “I think this is part of a trend,” he says, “even in traditional restaurants, to make the dining experience more homey.”

This change toward wanting a dining experience to be more comforting and less highly formalized is a welcome one, according to many restaurateurs. Taking a restaurant out of the traditional context and putting it–quite literally–in a homier setting allows people to relax. Providing this type of low-key atmosphere is much easier when running a restaurant out of a basement or a garage, and these illegal dining spots are rapidly gaining cult status.

So…what was it like, I hear you wondering? It was SO MUCH FUN! Anne and I were among the first to arrive, as we wanted to make sure we got comfortable seats. Jeremy Townsend, the host of GG, was there to warmly greet us and, as we would later discover, to memorize the name and occupation of every single guest. (the night we were there, there were over 30 people). We chose a table in the stylish Silver Lake living room and opened our delicious wine.

The food was very good, local Chef Anita Bergman offered up a delicious 4 course meal, well described at our tablemate H.C.’s L.A. food blog here. But to me, the most fun part was the way Jeremy worked the crowd. His warm and engaging energy and personality made the night what it was.

Of course, sitting in a strange house with people you don’t know can be quite awkward, but the way it came down, it was as if we were at a party of good friends and so there was little or no social anxiety. (I am sure the 5 bottles of wine at our table helped!). By the dessert course, we were exchanging email addresses, phone numbers and promising to stay in touch. We all left with a sense that we had participated in something that was out of the ordinary.

The cool thing is, Jeremy not only tracks down local chefs, but also local entertainment wherever he hosts his soirees. The other night, we were regaled with the caffeinated song stylings of Mr. Jose Promis and the quite politically incorrect comedy of Ryan Stout. (I did laugh anyway, I admit). Was he funny? Ummmm, not really, but I am one of those people that figures it’s good to laugh when you can. It feels good.

I like what Jeremy does and I really appreciate where he comes from. He is most excited that he can bring crowds of people together all over the country (and soon the world!) and create a magical evening where everyone is involved and everyone goes home happy. That IS a good mission, Jeremy! Thank you, and I will be back again for sure.

see you on the freeway…

jessica

PS Tonight, Anne has invited me to see a funky slideshow offered up by Charles Phoenix at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. I can’t wait! He is known for his retro-snarky (in a loving way) look at America and Americana in the 50’s and 60’s and I am hoping to scoop and interview for you with him!

Greetings, friends and welcome to the newest addition to HomeTurfMedia’s growing list of city sites!

My name is Jessica Duquette and I am a professional organizer/lifestyle management consultant and adventurous person, lover of the quirky, the fiery hot, the heartfelt and of delicious food and passionate art in whatever form. As long as the inspired one is coming from their heart, it works for me!

InvisibleLa is a blog about the city I was born in, was not raised in, but currently (happily!) live in: Los Angeles. No, it’s not just another LA blog, it’s my mission to ferret out the cool, the weird, the freaky, the marginal and the touching, in people, events, architecture, food and fun. I will be asking regular guest bloggers to add their talents and insights to the blog each month and I always love to hear from you, the reader, on what you think and feel about what you see here. Let’s get this party started!

Even if you don’t live in LA, I hope you will come back and visit to see what’s going on here!

see you on the freeway…

jessica

PS please come visit It’s Not About Your Stuff, my blog about the reasons people find their lives cluttered and stuck and what we can do about it.