So billy... how hard is it to get into largo on a friday?

Any L.A. musicians on the board for brain picking?

Any good open mic type scene?

Any nice rehearsal spots that musicians congregate at?

Which venues should I hit?

That kind of thing...

oh yeah, dates of break are 4/7-4/16, but i probably can't afford to stay there that whole time due to saving up to move.

Are there any equivalent sections of town to chicago's wicker park or logan square where the artsy farts live?

If only you could find someone's house to crash at for the week...

Largo takes reservations so that shouldn't be an issue. Silverlake and Los Feliz or Venice on the westside are the artsy fartsy areas. I can't think of any open mike nights off hand although I'm sure there are some. I'll do some digging.

There are tons of good venues so it just depends who's in town playing and where they are playing. Its a little early to know that yet. I'm sure Tania, Dri and I can all show you around a bit. You need a place to crash or are you good on that front?

I don't really know anyone in town, the gf might be coming with for moral support. I can sleep anywhere, floor, driver's seat, etc... she's fine with roughing it too.

Should I drive it or fly it? The only reason I'm thinking of driving is to bring bare bones gear in case I can hook up an audition(s)...

-P

You can probably crash at my place assuming I'm in town which I have no reason to believe that I wouldn't be.

Having a car in la is definitely helpful, but that's a 2000 mile drive each way so by the time you add up gas, hotel rooms along the route, wear and tear on your car, etc you could probably ship whatever equipment you wanted to get out here for cheaper and avoid the hassle of driving.

2,000 miles should only take a day and change without stops, and I'll just nap in the truck.

I'll keep an eye out for tickets... I'm betting that splitting the gas with her will be cheaper than two tickets though.

Thanks for the offer, I'll take you up on it, provided you're in town...

All right, more later...

I too can offer a bed for you to sleep on.

(Sidenote: you have a gf now?)

recent development. but she's cool.

Really cool. And she thinks I ought to be in L.A. trying to make it happen.

just saw this...

never been to largo on a friday night so can't help you there.

as far as venues, where to start? we have everything here. i highly recommend checking out the local scene in silverlake - silverlake lounge, spaceland... spaceland would be great for networking with the local musicians. silverlake lounge is tiny and it depends on who is playing otherwise it's dead.

open mics? not too sure about that... billy or tania do you know if hotel cafe does those? i hear about that venue a lot, but i'm always at burgundy room or beauty bar.

as it gets closer, keep us informed and i would definitely be more than happy to show you around.

is the m-bar still around?

The rest of their FAQ is pretty amusing.

I'm sure someone has one...Molly Malones, maybe? or that acoustic place in Santa Monica (name not coming to mind)? I'll do some digging prior to April.

HA! wow.... um, okay nevermind then. i didn't know. i'll ask around, i'm sure there are a few spots here and there.

any opinions on any of these?

http://www.halsguide.com/o.m.guide.html

so what should I see/do?

Of the ones listed as having open mike nights, Rainbow room is probably a good one. I've never been to Fais Do Do but I've noticed the occasional good show there so I'll take the guys word that its a good venue.

McCabe's Guitar Shop is the one in Santa Monica I was trying to think of. He says they may start up an open mic again in 2006 so that's a maybe.

The Gig is a decent venue for local talent if someone good is playing. I've only been to each a few times. It makes no mention of an open mic night. I think the guy just liked some bands that were playing there.

I agree with the guys comments re: 14 Below. I've had lots of fun there before. Good beers on tap and Mike Watt is a regular.

Come to think of it your best bet for playing while you're in town might be to get a hold of David Bash, the guy behind International Pop Overthrow. I'm sure Spade knows him. I'm almost positive that he still sponsors weekly shows about town. I used to be on his mailing list, but I can't recall seeing anything from him recently. He could probably also introduce you to a lot of the indie pop guys around LA. There's a pretty big pop/powerpop scene.

now THAT is a good idea.

That is good. He he.

It'd be funnier if they knew the municipality of Saskatoon Dink changed its name to Dogsbum back in '81.

Dogsbum is the kind of comedy gold that only Canadians enjoy. Not bad.

Auditions, auditions, auditions.

If i could get auditions, i could get a gig playing bass. Not every audition, but a decent bunch, I'm sure.

So how do you get an audition with a band that actually makes a living?

I guess management, but sifting through a google search of that is inhumanly possible.

damn.