Adrienne Crew

On Monday we interviewed Michael Walker, author of "Laurel Canyon: The Inside Story of Rock-and-Roll's Legendary Neighborhood." Today, Michael channels his alter ego "Mick" St. Germain-Walker to answer the LAist Interview as if it were 1973. Mick lives in Laurel Canyon and once played bass guitar for Cat Mother & the All Night Newsboys. We don't know his exact astrological sign, but we suspect he's a Leo. Age and Occupation: None of your f----- business;...

As any Angeleno will tell you, Los Angeles is less a unified city than an assemblage of distinct districts and neighborhoods. Due to the fame or notoriety of its inhabitants, some L.A. neighborhoods take on mythic status. Michael Walker, a journalist who resides in Laurel Canyon, explores the legendary attraction and inspiration his neighborhood--if you can call winding canyons a neighborhood- held for a generation of rock and roll legends, their fans and assorted...

Today is more than just Friday the 14th of July, it's also Quatorze Juillet, as the French call Bastille Day, their holiday celebrating the storming of the Bastille as the beginning of the French Revolution and independence from tyranny. What better way to say "Vive La France" than posting a French-flavored LAist Interview with Gilles Amsallam, co-founder of French Tuesdays, a weekly members-only social club that has just established a presence in Los Angeles....

Los Angeles may not be dreamy all of the time, but the area certainly seems to inhabit the dreams of Angelenos and non-Angelenos alike. Local writer Michelle Markel collected her favorite LA landmarks and wrote "Dream Town," an illustrated book for children about a grandma telling her snowbound grandchildren about her days living in a magical land called Southern California, highlighting the best in LA's unique architecture in the process. Michelle has a couple of...

Yesterday, LAist interviewed Michelle Markel, author of "Dream Town." Rick Reese illustrated the book. Her story begins with a young boy saying "When my nana told me where she came from, I didn't believe it. I was slipping on my snow boots to go outside. "Did you play in the snow when you were a kid? I asked her. "We didn't have snow," she said "No snow?" I said. What about fall. Did the...

Our series of interviews with 20 cool Angelenos under 30 is winding down. But we were lucky to snag an interview with the busy Ben Goldhirsh, founder of Reason Pictures and GOOD Magazine (Ben is the fellow in the middle, posing with two friends in the above photo). Ben moved to Los Angeles when he was 25 in order to attend the Peter Stark producer program at USC Film School but dropped out to launch...

Our "20 Under 30" interview series with the coolest Angelenos under 30 continues (don't despair, we're almost done) with an interview with Jack Cate. A third party nominated Jack with this description: "Why they're cool: Jack's developing embedded electronic systems, handling IT for an international firm, and being a father to 3 kids. He's just 28 years old and on the fast track. He's been on the cover of MSI Magazine and speaks around...

Happy Summer Solstice! Summer is finally here. It's time to chill out, take a vacation, sit on the beach and get lost in a good book. Angelenos are lucky to have so many literary choices and librarians like Eileen Ybarra, a young adult librarian at the Los Angeles Central Library, to guide our tastes. As Eileen notes below, the library is still one of the best places to access information, preserve free speech and celebrate...

Meet Jed Shoemaker, a 24 year old from Florida. He's a film grip trying to make his way up the Hollywood food chain. He documents his experiences on his blog, Jedediah's Film Rant, featuring tales that are all too familiar to seasoned production types. Jed's intense energy, stamina, and dedication to his profession impressed LAist and reminded us of what so many newcomers go through in the Industry when they are just starting out....

The folks over at the World of Wonder (WoW) production company never cease to amaze LAist with their entertaining documentaries. Anyone paid to probe the minds of Tammy Faye Bakker, Linda Lovelace or showbiz parents at the bidding of WOW principals and directors, Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato, must be super-fascinating in their own right. At least, that's what we told ourselves when we selected WOW employees, Steven Corfe and Moye Ishimoto, as two of...