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HOLLYWOOD ROCK BABYLON
The L.A. Musical History Tour
by Art Fein
2.13.61 Publications, 1998
K5 pp.; $15
In the second edition of The L.A. Musical History Tour. Art Fein
has created a fine compendium for the rock and roll pilgrim in
search of salvation. In his lexicon of notable restaurants, hotels,
nightclubs, record company offices, houses and apartments, all
alphabetized and cross-referenced, the average fan would be hard
pressed to find any stone of L.A.'s illustrious rock history left
unturned.
From its early beginnings as a stop on the burgeoning rhythm
and blues club circuit in the 1950s to the heyday of heavy metal
in the 1980s, Fein details each of L.A.’s most famous rock and roll
landmarks and a few of its lesser known eyesores.
Few places on earth can claim the same rich musical history as
Los Angeles. Seemingly every comer of the city holds some piece
of rock and roll history, from the location of the numerous estates
occupied by The
Beatles to the bun
galow where The
Germs' frontman
Darby Crash com
mitted suicide. Fein's
tour covers ail the
stops in L.A.'s raucous
past, debunking its
more sordid myths,
while proliferating a
few others. There’s
Pollywog Park, the
site of the first
appearance of the
legendary Black Flag,
who had assured
themselves a slot on
the bill by telling
park officials that
their music was
"kinda like Fleetwood
Mac," the house on
South Gramercy where Marvin Gaye was shot and killed by his own
father in an argument; Roy Orbison's unmarked grave m a
Westwood cemetery; the small frame house where Richard Berry
penned "Louie Louie;" as well as the coincidental corner of
Morrison Street and Densmore Avenue.
However thorough his treatment of the L.A. scene, some of
Fein's entries are a bit of a longshot, historically speaking. For
instance, there is an entry on the Las Palmas Theater, which is
otherwise unremarkable except for the fact that Sly Stone failed
to show up there for a gig one night. Fein also neglects to include
some of the more dubious L.A. landmarks, such as the Church of
Satan, the locations of the Manson family murders, and the apart
ment of famed "Nightstalker" murderer Richard Ramirez — each
one a must see for those who wish to understand the broader cul
ture from which the music sprang.
Fein has a wicked, under-the-table, you didn't hear-that hom-
me brand of humor, as well as an endearing dislike for disco that
he can't help but reiterate. Like a true fan, he highlights his
odyssey with grainy black and white snapshots, some of them
showing his friends waving at the cameia like dopey tourists. He
also includes, apparently for the sake of continuity, pictures of
the vacant lots where famous landmarks have fallen prey to the
wrecking ball.
All of this lends an amateurish vibe to the book. Fein’s com
mentary in some places is too excited, as if he was in the midst of
realizing that things have turned out exactly as he planned them
in the ninth grade. He attempts in some passages to take the
lighthearted rakishness of the book to the level of senous pop cul
ture discourse, but only succeeds in making himself seem like a
dedicated Star Trek conventioneer.
As a whole, the book is entertaining, and somewhat essential
for the rock obscuratinist. Did you know that Alice Cooper once
donated $27,000 to assist in the refurbishment of the famous
HOLLYWOOD sign, dedicate? the last 0 to his friend, Groucho
Marx? Or that Stephen Stilts auditioned for The Monkees and was
soundly rejected? You're not the only one.
/
'sV'-if -r
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