For immediate release
 
August 19, 2008
 
Explore A Century of L.A. Secrets on Esotouric's Many Downtowns Bus Tour

WHAT: Esotouric presents The Many Downtowns urban history bus tour with guests Terry Ellsworth, Bert Green, Emmeric Konrad and Christine Silvestri
WHEN: Saturday September 20, 11am-3:00pm
COST: $58, includes snacks
WHERE: Departs from Philippe the Original, 1001 N. Alameda Street
INFO: http://www.esotouric.com or call 323-223-2767
 
LOS ANGELES- It seems like the whole world is interested in Downtown L.A.—the Germans have commissioned a neighborhood travel guide, overseas visitors fill the hotels, and folks from the Westside have even been spotted making the trek out to Art Walk. But few people really understand how Downtown LA works and where it comes from.

That's why Esotouric, the eclectic bus adventure company whose tours reveal the secret history of L.A. through crime, culture, literature and architecture, is offering THE MANY DOWNTOWNS, a provocative tour in the "Reyner Banham Loves L.A." architecture and urbanism series, meant to put the old ghosts and memories that cling to the streets and structures of the historic core into context. Esotouric is uniquely suited to explain Downtown, since they were named purveyors of the Best Downtown Tours by the Downtown News, guested on the BBC's "Globe Trekker L.A." episode, host the Art Walk Hippodrome shuttle and are the creators of the On Bunker Hill and 1947project time travel blogs.
 
THE MANY DOWNTOWNS is a guided social history of the mysterious, complex and rapidly evolving center of L.A., a thriving neighborhood that was intentionally depopulated in the 1950s and is currently experiencing an extraordinary rebirth. Everyone complains L.A. lacks a center—this tour explains why. Passengers will visit exquisite architectural gems, including some seldom seen by the general public, but they'll also enjoy a sophisticated analysis of the economic and social tools used to rebuild downtown, meet creative residents and explore unique destinations.

Featured locations include the intentionally depopulated Bunker Hill and its Angels flight funicular railway, Grand Central Market, Title Guarantee Building (including its landmark Hugo Ballin murals), Pershing Square (with its tribute to novelist John Fante), the European-style dining alley St. Vincent's Court, the Mercantile Arcade Building (an exact replica of a London landmark), Bert Green Fine Art (for a chat with the creator of Art Walk), a circuit of the Santee Alley shopping zone with Urban Shopping Adventures proprietor Christine Silverstri (no time for bargain hunting, sorry), and an insider's tour of the Arts District including Al's Bar, Bloom's General Store and a reception in artist Emmeric Konrad's studio.
 
ABOUT THE GUESTS: Painter EMMERIC KONRAD is downtown's signature artist, a 1980s Marine Corps vet whose experience working an Arizona rescue squad auto wreck continues to inform his neo-expressionist paintings packed with raw American symbolism, incorporating the blues, cinema, Mad Magazine, Walt Disney and iconoclasm. CHRISTINE SILVESTRI runs Urban Shopping Adventures, offering individualized tours of the complex and confusing Fashion District (and points west) since 2003. Gallery owner BERT GREEN is the architect of the hugely popular monthly Downtown Art Walk. Promoter TERRY ELLSWORTH has been a seminal Arts District figure for decades, curating the underground Bedlam space, hosting exhibitions at Bloom's General Store and presenting original film programs.

So climb aboard THE MANY DOWNTOWNS tour and explore one of America's most fascinating neighborhoods with the tour company Lonely Planet calls "hip, offbeat, insightful and entertaining."
 
Upcoming Esotouric bus tour schedule
Sat Aug 23 – Skylight Books - John Fante's Dreams from Bunker Hill
Sat Aug 30 - Crawling Down Cahuenga: Tom Waits' LA
Sun Sept 7 - Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: South LA
Thurs Sept 11 - The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Sept 13 - Blood & Dumplings  
Sat Sept 20 – Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: The Many Downtowns
Sat Oct 4 – Bodhi Tree – Visionary Hollywood
Thurs Oct 9 - The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Oct 11- Vroman's Bookstore - Raymond Chandler's LA
Sat Oct 18- Raymond Chandler's Bay City
Sat Oct 25 – Halloween Horrors with Crimebo the Clown
Sat Nov 1- Noir November: The Real Black Dahlia
Sat Nov 8- Noir November: The Birth of Noir: James M. Cain's SoCal Nightmare
Thurs Nov 13 –The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Nov 15- Noir November: Wild Wild West Side
Sat Nov 22- Noir November: Hotel Horrors & Main Street Vice
Sat Nov 29- Noir November: Blood & Dumplings
Sat Dec 6- Haunts of a Dirty Old Man: Charles Bukowski's LA
Thurs Dec 11- The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Dec 13- Pasadena Confidential

For more info on Esotouric, please visit http://www.esotouric.com
For more on Reyner Banham, see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reyner_Banham
And the BBC documentary "Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles"
http://reyner.notlong.com
 
Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: The Many Downtowns tour host Richard Schave is available for interviews, as are guests Terry Ellsworth, Bert Green, Emmeric Konrad and Christine Silvestri. Members of the press on assignment are always welcome on the bus, space permitting. Contact Kim at amscrayATgmailDOTcom, 323-223-2767.
 

For immediate release
 
August 18, 2008
 
Bus tour explores the San Gabriel Valley's legacy of weird crimes, mad genius and great eats
 
WHAT: Esotouric's Blood & Dumplings Crime Bus Tour
WHEN: Saturday September 13 2008, 12pm-4pm (repeats 11/29 in a special Thanksgiving edition as part of the Noir November series)
WHERE: Tour departs from Philippe the Original, 1001 N. Alameda Street
COST: $63, including dumplings (vegetarian options available on request)
INFO: http://www.esotouric.com or call 323-223-2767

LOS ANGELES- On Saturday, September 13 (repeating 11/29), offbeat bus tour company Esotouric presents its most bizarre true crime and cultural history tour, BLOOD & DUMPLINGS. Starting from the premise that the secret heart of Southern California's weirdo culture beats strongest in the Eastern San Gabriel Valley, the tour introduces passengers to such fascinating local characters as the Man from Mars Bandit, record producer Phil Spector, lion tamers Charles and Muriel Gay, and indie filmmaking icon Timothy Carey, whose notorious "The World's Greatest Sinner" was shot on location in 1960s El Monte.

Heading due East out of downtown, the tour explores several historic communities that reflect the growth and eccentricity that are hallmarks of 20th century L.A. Crime Bus passengers will be explore notorious, strange and fascinating forgotten tales from the past hundred years, each told at the scene of the crime. They'll thrill to the freakish case of the Man from Mars Bandit who stalked area supermarkets for months in 1951 before meeting his match in a police sharpshooter, shock to discover the deadly infighting among El Monte's American Nazi Party members, mourn the Case of the Buried Bride dragged beneath her home on her wedding day by her secret lover, gnash teeth at the weird lion farm (home to every MGM lion) that served lion meat barbecues on special occasions, and view scenes of notorious cases including Phil Spector's spooky hilltop castle and James Ellroy's slain mother Geneva (the true-life inspiration for his Black Dahlia novel).
 
And since no visit to the San Gabriel Valley is complete without a delicious Chinese meal, the Crime Bus will stop at 101 Noodle Express (one of L.A. Weekly critic Jonathan Gold's picks for 99 L.A. restaurants not to be missed) to pick up a dumpling feast, which will be enjoyed picnic-style at Monster Park, a remarkable sea-themed folk art environment recently saved from demolition. There passengers can enjoy their snack in the mouth of a concrete whale, or under a grinning octopus, then pose for photos with the creatures.
 
All this, plus wild shootouts, dope-dealing druggists, missing Salvador Dali paintings, the original "little girl down a well" 1940s television sensation, and a very strange story about ducks. Don't miss the Crime Bus tour that guide Kim Cooper calls "My personal favorite of all our tours, packed with more offbeat history, horror, roadside architecture and fabulous Route 66 vistas than any other."
 
For more info on Esotouric, visit
http://www.esotouric.com
 
Tour hosts Kim Cooper, Joan Renner and Richard Schave are available for interviews. Members of the press on assignment are always welcome on the bus, space permitting. Contact Kim at amscrayATgmailDOTcom, 323-223-2767.

Upcoming Esotouric bus tour schedule
Sat Aug 23 – Skylight Books - John Fante's Dreams from Bunker Hill
Sat Aug 30 - Crawling Down Cahuenga: Tom Waits' LA
Sun Sept 7 - Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: South LA
Thurs Sept 11 - The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Sept 13 - Blood & Dumplings  
Sat Sept 20 – Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: The Many Downtowns
Sat Oct 4 – Bodhi Tree – Visionary Hollywood
Thurs Oct 9 - The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Oct 11- Vroman's Bookstore - Raymond Chandler's LA
Sat Oct 18- Raymond Chandler's Bay City
Sat Oct 25 – Halloween Horrors with Crimebo the Clown
Sat Nov 1- Noir November: The Real Black Dahlia
Sat Nov 8- Noir November: The Birth of Noir: James M. Cain's SoCal Nightmare
Thurs Nov 13 –The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Nov 15- Noir November: Wild Wild West Side
Sat Nov 22- Noir November: Hotel Horrors & Main Street Vice
Sat Nov 29- Noir November: Blood & Dumplings
Sat Dec 6- Haunts of a Dirty Old Man: Charles Bukowski's LA
Thurs Dec 11- The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Dec 13- Pasadena Confidential

For immediate release
 
August 11, 2008
 
Offbeat South L.A. bus tour follows in the steps of architecture critic Reyner Banham
 
"I learned to drive in order to read Los Angeles in the original" -Reyner Banham, Architecture of Four Ecologies (1971)

WHAT: Esotouric presents "Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: South Los Angeles" architecture & urbanism bus tour
WHEN: Sunday, September 7, 11am-4pm
COST: $58, or save $25 on four tours with a Season Pass
WHERE: Departs from Philippe's downtown, tour covers Vernon, Bell Gardens, Santa Fe Springs, Downey, East L.A.
INFO: http://www.esotouric.com, 323-223-2767

LOS ANGELES- Turning the notion of an L.A. architecture tour on its ear, Esotouric's latest bus adventure delves deep into the uncharted wonders of South Los Angeles, where some of the city's most compelling and unexpected landmarks rub elbows with stucco taquerias and seemingly endless sprawl.

Inspired by the British architectural critic Reyner Banham, who Esotouric's Richard Schave and Kim Cooper studied under at UC Santa Cruz, the four tours in the REYNER BANHAM LOVES LOS ANGELES series (South LA, Route 66, The New Chinatowns and The Many Downtowns) offer a fresh way of looking at the urban web of history, mass transit, migration and mystery that somehow holds L.A. together.  

This Esotouric bus adventure begins downtown and works its way south through Vernon, Bell Gardens, Santa Fe Springs and Downey, and through the past two centuries, exploring some of L.A.'s seldom-seen gems. The bus goes into areas not traditionally associated with the important, beautiful or significant, raising issues of preservation, adaptive reuse and the evolution of the city from Spanish ranchos to the 'burbs. The locations all speak to the power, mutability and reach of the Southern California Dream.

Tour stops include:

Pueblo del Rio (1942). The first African-American housing development in LA, this mass-produced International Style public project was partly designed by Paul Williams and Richard Neutra.

The Gage Mansion (1808). The oldest adobe structure in L.A. County, this fascinating home sits in the middle of a 65-year-old trailer park on the banks of the Rio Hondo River in Bell Gardens. Between the layers of context at this site is the history of migration and growth in the Southland, from Spanish land grants to the dust bowl to the vast waves of stucco suburbs.

The Clarke Estate (1919). A recently rediscovered masterpiece by tilt-slab concrete innovator Irving Gill, this Mission Revival-inspired dwelling features symbolic leaves pressed into the walls and feels like a time capsule from a simpler California.

The Downey Space Plant (1929-present). It began as airplane factory carved out of a castor bean field and grew to be the hub of North American Aerospace development, before being sold off in pieces in the early 2000s. Currently it's a motion picture sound stage. Is the only long-term solution for this awe-inspiring, 160-acre space a vertically-integrated condominium and retail development?

East Los Angeles Train Station (1932). A prominent location in the 1946 film "The Postman Always Rings Twice," it was built to deal with congestion and overcrowding in the existing downtown terminals. Currently a picturesque Mission-style ruin in the shadow of the wacky Citadel shopping center, will it rise again as the rail lines reassert themselves?

Johnie's Broiler (1958/2008). A cautionary tale about historic preservation, this beloved Downey diner with its landmark neon sign was illegally demolished by a renter who wanted to park use cars in its place. The site was barred from further commercial use due to public outcry, and is now being restored as a Bob's Big Boy.

These are just a few of the extraordinary buildings and stories we'll explore on the South L.A. edition of "Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles," Esotouric's unique architectural tour series.
 
Upcoming Esotouric bus tour schedule
Thurs Aug 14 - The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Aug 16 - The Real Black Dahlia
Sat Aug 23 – Skylight Books - John Fante's Dreams from Bunker Hill
Sat Aug 30 - Crawling Down Cahuenga: Tom Waits' LA
Sun Sept 7 - Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: South LA
Thurs Sept 11 - The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Sept 13 - Blood & Dumplings  
Sat Sept 20 – Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: The Many Downtowns
Sat Oct 4 – Bodhi Tree – Visionary Hollywood
Thurs Oct 9 - The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Oct 11- Vroman's Bookstore - Raymond Chandler's LA
Sat Oct 18- Raymond Chandler's Bay City
Sat Oct 25 – Halloween Horrors with Crimebo the Clown
 
For more info on Esotouric, please visit http://www.esotouric.com
For more on Reyner Banham, see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reyner_Banham
And the BBC documentary "Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles"
http://reyner.notlong.com
 
Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles tour host Richard Schave is available for interviews. Journalists on assignment can often be accommodated on the bus. Contact Kim at amscrayATgmailDOTcom, 323-223-2767.

For immediate release
 
August 4, 2008
 
August 14: THE HIPPODROME, Esotouric's Curated Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle
 
WHAT: The Hippodrome, a rolling curated salon on a custom vintage school bus
WHEN: Every Second Thursday (Aug 14, Sept 11, etc.) during downtown LA Art Walk, 6-10pm nightly
WHERE: The shuttle route circles Gallery Row (Main and Spring Streets between 9th and 2nd Streets)
COST: Free shuttle and entertainment
FEATURING ON AUGUST 14: 1) Hosts Kim Cooper & Richard Schave of Esotouric bus adventures sharing tales of historic downtown vice, answering visitor questions and passing out Esotouric discount coupons; 2) Mooey Moobau performing with live marching band; 3) Mime Patrick Ian Moore honoring Downtown's silent film legacy; 4) Comic magician Erik Tait; 5) Acoustic combo The Hats playing transportation-themed tunes; 6) Nance Broderzen and Draco the python present the Dadaist Manifesto; 7) Tarot and palm reading by Zella Grant; 8) Mike The Poet rockin' poems about L.A. authors and the city's underground.
INFO: http://www.esotouric.com/hippodrome, 323-223-2767

LOS ANGELES- The Downtown L.A. Art Walk, held every second Thursday year round, is one of the great success stories of the neighborhood's revival. Launched in 2004 by a small group of independent gallery owners in what was then the western edge of Skid Row, the event now draws upwards of 4000 people, and includes live music, a thriving bar and restaurant scene, book signings, and of course art exhibits.
 
August 14 sees the third month when Kim Cooper and Richard Schave of Esotouric--the eclectic bus adventure company whose tours reveal L.A.'s secret history--transform what's been a sleepy free city DASH bus shuttle into something more appropriate to the Art Walk: The Hippodrome, a curated rolling salon. Art Walk visitors can still use the Hippodrome to get from Bert Green Fine Arts to The Hive -- but with so many interesting things happening on the bus, they may find they don't want to disembark when they arrive.
 
The Hippodrome shuttle is named in honor of promoter Adolph Ramish's legendary Hippodrome Theater, formerly located at 4th and Main. With 3000 seats, it was the biggest theater west of the Mississippi when built in 1913, and featured Toddles the Elephant on opening night. In 1952, the theater was demolished for a parking lot, and the site is now under development as the mixed-use Medallion project.
 
The new Hippodrome is a customized former school bus brightly painted on the outside with lively graffiti-style scenes of beautiful women. Inside, passengers and performers sit face-to-face in a comfortable nightclub-style setting, with checkerboard flooring, cocktail tables and softly blinking lights. The Hippodrome Art Walk shuttle bus is sponsored by DLANC and the tour guides by the Historic Downtown BID.

Every month the Hippodrome features interesting performers channeling the spirit of the neighborhood's storied past. Appearing during the August 14 Art Walk:
 
MOOEY MOOBAU (6pm-6:30pm) appearing in exaltation of his new CD, "All Murmur of Our Mothers' Waters" (Ebola Music Records), which features many, many guests, including the Killsonic Marching Gang, who will be Mooey Moobau's backup MARCHING band for this show.

PATRICK IAN MOORE (7pm-7:20pm) presents a mimed performance in the spirit of Downtown's vaudeville and silent film legacy.

ERIK TAIT (7:30-8pm) on-loan from Magicopolis, has won awards for his comedy and magic across the U.S. and Canada. This devilish wit brings comedy and magic up close and personal, the way it should be.

THE HATS (8pm -8:45pm), will transport Hippodrome passengers by singing them songs of transportation (train, truck, boat and plane), including "The L & N Don't Stop Here Anymore," "Six Days on the Road," "Willin," "Coming into Los Angeles" and "The Water is Wide." And of course there will be a song about the bus: their crowd favorite from the July Art Walk, ZonaLilly's "The Hippodrome Song." (The Hats and ZonaLilly share band members.)

NANCE BRODERZEN (9pm-9:15pm) accompanied by her pet python, Draco, will be performing spoken-word, inspired by Tzara's "Manifeste Dada 1918," in honor of the freak show snakes who enriched life on Main Street during World War 1, and of the international art movement, born of this era.

Hippodrome regular MIKE THE POET (9:15pm-10pm) rockin' poems about LA authors & the city's underground and an open mic for the roaming poets of downtown Los Angeles

And throughout the evening, tarot and palm reading by Miss Zella Grant.

Link for Mooey Moobau: http://myspace.com/mooeymoobau
Link for Patrick Ian Moore: http://www.myspace.com/patrickianmoore
Link for Erik Tait: http://www.myspace.com/DelusionMasters
Hear The Hippodrome Song (Hats/ZonaLilly): http://esotouric.com/hippodromesong
Link for Nance Broderzen: http://www.broderzen.com
Link for Mike the Poet: http://www.myspace.com/mikethepoet
Link for general Hippodrome info: http://www.esotouric.com/hippodrome
 
Hippodrome host/curators Kim Cooper and Richard Schave are available for interviews, as are all performers. Contact Kim at amscrayATgmailDOTcom, 323-223-2767.

For immediate release

August 1, 2008

Open call for historic Downtown LA designs for the Hippodrome Art Walk Shuttle

WHAT: The Hippodrome Transformed, an art competition inspired by the lures of old Main Street and Downtown LA
WHEN: Artists' designs accepted through 9/26; newly painted Hippodrome debuts 10/9
during downtown LA Art Walk
BASICS: Entries judged by historic LA bloggers of OnBunkerHill.org; Two winning artists each paint a side of the Hippodrome bus; Honorarium includes Esotouric bus tour tickets and gift certificates from popular downtown bars and restaurants
INFO: http://www.esotouric.com/transform, 323-223-2767

LOS ANGELES- The Downtown L.A. Art Walk, held every second Thursday year round, is one of the great success stories of the neighborhood's revival. Launched in 2004 by a small group of independent gallery owners in what was then the western edge of Skid Row, the event now draws upwards of 4000 people, and includes live music, a thriving bar and restaurant scene, book signings, and of course art exhibits.

No Art Walk would be complete without making a circuit on Esotouric's curated salon and shuttle bus, The Hippodrome, a custom vintage school bus transformed into a unique free entertainment venue starring magicians, musicians, fortune tellers, freak show performers and poets. But this fall, the Hippodrome will be transformed anew when two artists win the Hippodrome Transformed competition, each earning the right to paint one side of the bus with their own images inspired by Downtown LA's astonishing history.

For the first half of the Twentieth Century, Downtown LA teemed with the most exciting and bizarre entertainment imaginable. Silent movie stars filmed chase scenes, burlesque babes shimmied, vaudeville acts got big laughs, B-Girls hustled drinks and cash, anarchists preached revolution, and great writers like Raymond Chandler and Charles Bukowski sought inspiration among the rabble. It's scenes like these which will illustrate the sides of the Hippodrome shuttle when the winning designs are unveiled at the October 9 Art Walk.

Entries will be accepted until September 26 and judged by the writers of OnBunkerHill.org (formerly 1947project.com), the alternative history website that explores the incredible lost neighborhood of Bunker Hill. Two winners will be announced on September 30, and will immediately begin painting the Hippodrome for its transformed debut on the October 9 Art Walk.

The honorarium for the winning artists includes: four seats on upcoming Esotouric bus adventures, a post-Art Walk party aboard the Hippodrome to any place in Los Angeles they desire, and $50 gift certificates from Cafe Metropol, Daily Grill, one of Cedd Moses’ many downtown watering holes, and Takami Sushi & Robata Restaurant, with more sponsors and prizes to be announced.

For a full call for entries, please see
http://www.esotouric.com/transform

For historic resources about old Los Angeles, please see
http://esotouric.com/resourcetransform

Link for general Hippodrome info, including August 14 performer schedule: http://www.esotouric.com/hippodrome

Hippodrome hosts/curators Kim Cooper and Richard Schave are available for interviews. Contact Kim at amscrayATgmailDOTcom, 323-223-2767.

For immediate release
 
July 28, 2008
 
"Fante was my God" – Charles Bukowski
 
Skylight Books Hosts Bus Tour Celebrating Downtown LA Novelist John Fante
 
WHAT: Esotouric's John Fante's Dreams from Bunker Hill bus tour
WHEN: Saturday August 23, 11am-2:30pm, followed by book signing and reception
COST: $58, which includes post-tour reception (or get a four-tour season pass for the Summer Sale price of $180 through July 31; price is $207 after August 1)
WHERE: Departs from Skylight Books, 1818 N Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA, tour covers downtown locations
EXTRAS: Tour guests include Fante's daughter Vickie Fante Cohen and his biographer Stephen Cooper, signing his books at Skylight after the tour
SAVE: See the UCLA Film Archives restoration of Kent McKenzie's Bunker Hill classic "The Exiles" (screenings start 8/15) and save your ticket stub to save 15% on this tour
 
LOS ANGELES- On August 23, Esotouric, L.A.'s most eclectic bus adventure company, presents its occasional downtown literary tour celebrating the life and work of the great, underappreciated L.A. novelist John Fante—in the tour's only 2008 appearance.
 
John Fante was cult hero Charles Bukowski's favorite writer, his "Ask the Dust" was the film Robert Towne wanted to make after "Chinatown" (it finally was made in 2006 starring Colin Farrell, Salma Hayek, and Donald Sutherland) and he is honored with an annual festival in Italy—but in 21st Century Los Angeles, his name often gets a shrug. That's too bad, because Fante might be the funniest, most heartwarming, honest and appealing writer to ever take this city as his subject. This tour is a chance to discover a great writer and the lost downtown he celebrated, through the words of tour guide and local historian Richard Schave, Fante's daughter (and bratty teenage heroine of his late short stories) Vickie Fante Cohen and his biographer Stephen Cooper.
 
Downtown Los Angeles is a neighborhood on the rise, with trendy loft developments, huge crowds attending the monthly Art Walk, and some of the hottest bars and restaurants in the city. But the New Downtown exists on the footprint of a fascinating old neighborhood whose stories are in danger of being lost.
 
Many of Esotouric's tours are devoted to revealing this lost downtown, from the crimes of Hotel Horrors to the burlesque and freak show delights of Main Street Vice, the secret post war woman's history of The Real Black Dahlia to the architectural anthropology of The Many Downtowns. On JOHN FANTE'S DREAMS OF BUNKER HILL, host Richard Schave follows in the footsteps of Fante and his anti-hero Arturo Bandini, from the lost Bunker Hill Victorian rooming houses where Fante starved and dreamed of fame, the main library where he roamed the stacks (and later, where Bukowski discovered "Ask the Dust"), the Skid Row bars where b-girls pocketed his royalty payments, the Grand Central Market where kindly Japanese farmers gave the poor writer free oranges, to the retirement home Angelus Plaza to see Kay Martin's stunning paintings of Bunker Hill's mansions just before the city condemned them
 
Finally the tour visits the Berendo Street apartment in Koreatown where "Ask the Dust" was penned, and which neighbors believe is haunted by Fante's spirit. Last time this tour was offered, the abandoned Berendo Street structure had been condemned after an alcoholic transient died inside; this time the tour finds this literary landmark happily in the midst of renovation.
 
Get on the bus to bask in the spirit of the weird old L.A. that's not there anymore, where a poor Italian-American Colorado kid could sell a novel, become a screenwriter, and inspire a new generation of writers just by telling the raw and funny truth.
 
To learn more about Esotouric's forthcoming tour of John Fante's Bunker Hill, visit
http://www.esotouric.com/fante
 
For info on the UCLA screenings of "The Exiles," see
http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/calendar/calendardetails.aspx?details_type=2&...
 
Upcoming Esotouric tour and event schedule:
Upcoming Esotouric bus tour schedule (special events starred, all others may be ridden by Season Pass holders):
Sat Aug.2 - Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: Route 66
*Sat Aug 9- Vroman's Bookstore – Haunts of A Dirty Old Man: Charles Bukowki's LA
Thurs Aug 14 - The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Aug 16 - The Real Black Dahlia
Sat Aug 23 – Skylight Books - John Fante's Dreams from Bunker Hill
*Sat Aug 30 - Crawling Down Cahuenga: Tom Waits' LA
Sun Sept 7 - Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: South LA
Thurs Sept 11 - The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
Sat Sept 13 - Blood & Dumplings ($5 dumpling fee for Season Pass holders)
Sat Sept 20 – Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: The Many Downtowns
*Sat Oct 4 – Bodhi Tree – Visionary Hollywood
Thurs Oct 9 - The Hippodrome (Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle, free)
*Sat Oct 11- Vroman's Bookstore - Raymond Chandler's LA
Sat Oct 18- Raymond Chandler's Bay City
Sat Oct 25 – Halloween Horrors with Crimebo the Clown
 
John Fante tour host Richard Schave, the author's biographer Stephen Cooper and his daughter Vickie Fante Cohen are all available for interviews. Contact Kim at amscrayATgmailDOTcom, 323-223-2767.

For immediate release

July 25, 2008

Italian Waiter Hangs Up His Apron and Rocks out as Queen Acoustic

WHAT: Queen Acoustic Record Release Party and Buffet
WHERE: Colori Kitchen, 429 W 8th St., Los Angeles, CA 90014, (213) 622-5950
WHEN: Tuesday July 29th, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
COST: $10 includes buffet dinner and music; Members of press can get in on the VIP list

LOS ANGELES – As he serves pasta at downtown's most popular family-run trattoria, the celebrated Colori Kitchen, you might not guess that waiter Luca Spanio was nursing rock and roll dreams. Sure, there's the long black hair, and that certain bop in his step, and the graceful fingers that never drop a plate... but let us fill you in. Luca came to America to study guitar and singing at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, and for his first CD he's recorded an all-acoustic celebration of the band he loves: Queen.

In live performance Luca sings like Freddie Mercury while picking ala Brian May on a sea blue guitar, offering sing-a-long favorites like "We Will Rock You," "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and elegant rarities, plus a selection of original tunes.

Queen Acoustic was recently the hit of the downtown LA Hippodrome Art Walk shuttle bus, and has performed at The Derby, Charlie O’s, Rainbow Bar & Grill, Knitting Factory, Kibitz Room and The Joint. On Tuesday, July 29, there's a rare chance to enjoy the music of Queen Acoustic and the stunning cooking of chef Luigi. Members of the press are welcome to attend as Luca's guest.

For more on Queen Acoustic, including song samples, visit
http://www.myspace.com/queenacoustic

For Colori Kitchen info, visit  
http://colorikitchen.wordpress.com/

For a review copy of the Queen Acoustic CD or to get on the VIP list for the release party, contact Luca Spanio at (213) 925-9223 or lucaspanioATyahooDOTcom. For Colori Kitchen info, contact Kim, infoATexplosiveprDOTcom.

For immediate release
 
July 21, 2008
 
Black Dahlia Murder Bus Tour Discovers A Ghost Where Beth Short Checked Her Bags

WHAT: Esotouric's Real Black Dahlia Crime Bus Tour
WHEN: Saturday August 16, 12pm-4pm  
WHERE: Departing from The Millennium Biltmore Hotel, 5th & Olive, L.A.
FYI: Despite the myths, the Biltmore was the actually second-to-last place Beth Short was seen alive; this tour goes to the real last spot as well.
COST: $58/person (15% off for KCRW members)
INFO: http://www.esotouric.com, 323-223-2767
 
LOS ANGELES- Since January 1947, one iconic murder mystery has lingered unsolved at the forefront of the American imagination, with dozens of books, films and websites dedicated to solving the slaying of Beth Short, the Massachusetts girl who came to Hollywood hoping to make it, and ended up cut in two in a vacant lot. Suspects in the Black Dahlia murder have included L.A. Times publisher Norman Chandler and Orson Welles, crazed lesbians, twisted drifters and more than one writer's father, but still the mystery abides.
 
When Esotouric launched their offbeat L.A. crime tours in spring 2007, The Real Black Dahlia was an immediate hit, and has remained their most popular tour. Esotouric recently updated the tour, and it now begins at the historic Biltmore Hotel lobby where Beth Short spent some of  last moments before vanishing. Among the new tour stops is a visit inside the original Greyhound Bus Terminal where Beth checked her bags, bags which would become the King Tut's Tomb of true crime reportage when located by newspapermen. Inside the moody, spooky Greyhound Terminal, now a nest of tiny shops, tour guides will share the newly discovered tale of the building's lady ghost. Is it Beth, or some other lost soul?

The Real Black Dahlia tour dedicates itself to revealing who victim Elizabeth Short really was by exploring her life in Los Angeles from mid 1946 to her January 1947 murder through examination of the police investigation and news coverage. The various theories are up for discussion during the onboard Q&A sections, and the hosts share their idea of who the killer might have been, but the focus is firmly on the 22-year-old woman whose death continues to fascinate. Along the way, passengers will explore the social history of postwar Los Angeles and its lively downtown scene and learn the role the city played in Short's mysterious death.
 
The tour begins at the Biltmore Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles, where Beth Short went after checking her bags at the Greyhound Terminal. Many people mistakenly believe this was the last place she was seen alive. Passengers will tour the beautifully restored hotel before heading south, to the low rent Olive Street bar where she met her murderer. The Downtown portion of the tour includes the Examiner newspaper offices, where the crime became myth, and the Figueroa Hotel, where Short stayed in happier times.
 
The bus then heads west towards Leimert Park and the formerly vacant lot where Short's bisected body was discovered on January 15, 1947. Also in this neighborhood, passengers visit the site of another unsolved 1947 kidnap-murder and the home of Dr. Walter Bayley, who has emerged in recent years as the most compelling suspect, with his personal ties to Beth Short's family and the crime scene, and the surgical skill needed to bisect the body. The tour includes a cop-approved snack stop for Krispy Kreme donuts near the body dump site.
 
Also featured: a special presentation from cosmetics historian Joan Renner exploring Beth Short's unusual proto-goth make up, so different from the popular girl next store look of 1947, and a key to understanding her psychology.
 
Passengers on this eye-opening and informative tour will leave with a new understanding of the Black Dahlia case and what it was like to be a single woman in 1940s Los Angeles. It is highly recommended for natives and newcomers, crime and history buffs and anyone who likes to seek out the unexpected.
 
Upcoming Esotouric bus tour schedule (new tours starred):
Sat July 26 - Pasadena Confidential with Crimebo the Clown
Sat Aug.2 - Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: Route 66
*Sat Aug 9- Vroman's Bookstore – Haunts of A Dirty Old Man: Charles Bukowki's LA
Sat Aug 16 - The Real Black Dahlia
Sat Aug 23 – Skylight Books - John Fante's Dreams from Bunker Hill
*Sat Aug 30 - Crawling Down Cahuenga: Tom Waits' LA
Sun Sept 7 - Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: South LA
Sat Sept 13 - Blood & Dumplings
Sat Sept 20 – Reyner Banham Loves Los Angeles: The Many Downtowns
*Sat Oct 4 – Bodhi Tree – Visionary Hollywood
*Sat Oct 11- Vroman's Bookstore - Raymond Chandler's LA
Sat Oct 18- Raymond Chandler's Bay City
Sat Oct 25 – Halloween Horrors with Crimebo the Clown
 
For more info on Esotouric, visit http://www.esotouric.com
 
For more on the Dr. Walter Bayley theory, visit Larry Harnisch's "Heaven is Here" website http://www.lmharnisch.com/
 
Tour hosts Kim Cooper, Richard Schave and Joan Renner are available for interviews, and journalists on assignment can often be accommodated on the Esotouric bus. Contact Kim at amscrayATgmailDOTcom, 323-223-2767.

For immediate release

July 8, 2008

UCLA hosts 100th birthday Screening Celebration for indie filmmaker Sid Laverents

WHAT: Los Angeles Premiere! THE SID SAGA: SID LAVERENTS' CENTENNIAL BIRTHDAY PARTY ("The Sid Saga" and short "Multiple SIDosis," both directed by Sid Laverents), part of the series "Preservationists Choice: Selected Hits from the Archive's Festival of Preservation"
WHO: 100-year-old filmmaker Sid Laverents (health permitting), UCLA Film Preservationist Ross Lipman, Sid's filmmaking buddy Fritz Harshbarger, pop culture critics Kim Cooper (Scram magazine, Esotouric) and Jake Austen (Roctober magazine).
WHERE: James Bridges Theater, 1409 Melnitz Hall, UCLA Campus, Westwood. 310-206-8013.
WHEN: Thursday, August 7, 2008, 7:30pm
COST: $10

"Mr. Laverents is a distinctively American artist: a rec-room tinkerer with the can-do optimism of someone who got through the Depression and found comfort in the suburbs. Following his own whims rather than any cultural movement, he turned himself from a one-man band into a one-man independent movie studio. Mr. Laverents makes multitalented feature filmmakers like Robert Rodriguez and Steven Soderbergh look like slackers." –Matt Haber, New York Times

"Multiple SIDosis” is THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER MADE! Everyone I’ve ever shared this film with has been amazed." – Jake Austen, Roctober

LOS ANGELES- Amateur filmmaker Sid Laverents burst into national attention in 2000 at age 92, when his deliriously funny short film "Multiple SIDosis" was selected for inclusion in the National Film Registry. He turns 100 on August 5th, and his friends at UCLA are throwing a party on August 7th so everyone can get a chance to meet this astonishing artist (who still answers his own email and sells his films directly to fans), sing "happy birthday" and see Sid's wonderful work for themselves.

Screening on August 7 as part of the series "Preservationists Choice: Selected Hits from the Archive's Festival of Preservation" is "The Sid Saga"--Sid's magnum opus and an undiscovered masterpiece. The film's three parts (the shot-on-video Part 4 is not included in this screening) chronicle Sid's ambles across the country in the early part of the century, his marriages, his saucy adventures and his many uniquely American jobs--which included barnstorming vaudevillian, dishwasher, sign painter, Fuller Brush salesman, carpenter, soldier, sheet metal worker and, yes, rocket scientist. In Part 3 we meet the mature Sid, who became a filmmaker in his 50s, and explore everything from his surprisingly erotic backyard nature documentaries to such mind-boggling comedies as "It Sudses and Sudses and Sudses," in which Sid has to jump out his bathroom window to escape out-of-control soap bubbles. "The Sid Saga" is the story of one life through one American century. Twenty years in the making and soon to be preserved by UCLA, this unknown gem will receive its Los Angeles premiere in a special tribute evening for Sid Laverents.

Preceeding "The Sid Saga," the audience will enjoy UCLA's 35mm preservation of "Multiple SIDosis," Sid's National Film Registry classic. This short masterpiece of visual and audio multi-tracking will drop your jaw through the floor as you watch the incredibly ordinary-looking Sid replicate his Vaudeville-era one man band act, transforming himself with funny hats, kitty whiskers, mouse ears and ingenious comb-overs while playing a delightful tune. Soon there are multiple Sids up on the screen, the very special effects created with just one (very smart, deceptively non-descript) man, one camera, and no fancy editing equipment.

In addition to the films, this never-to-be-repeated evening will include a group singalong of "Happy Birthday to Sid" and special guests including Fritz Harshbarger, a fellow member of Sid's amateur movie making club in San Diego; Roctober Magazine editor and author of the definitive Sid Laverents webpage, Jake Austen; and pop culture critic and Scram Magazine editrix Kim Cooper.

Screening copies of "The Sid Saga" are available on request from Ross Lipman (film restorationist/event coordinator) at rlipmanATuclaDOTedu, (323) 467-9364 ext. 235. For "Multiple SIDosis," see the youtube link below.

The following people are available for interviews, with their individual contact info listed below. For general Sid Laverents questions, contact Kim Cooper. For UCLA event questions and screening copy requests, contact Ross Lipman.

Sid Laverents - director and birthday boy (contact Kim Cooper, below).
Jake Austin- Sid Laverents expert (jakeATroctoberDOTcom)
Kim Cooper –pop culture critic/ Sid's publicist (amscrayATgmailDOTcom; phone 323-223-2767)
Ross Lipman - film restorationist/UCLA event coordinator (rlipmanATuclaDOTedu; phone 323-467-9364 ext. 235)

LINKS
Jake Austen's Sidography article
http://www.roctober.com/roctober/greatness/sidography.html

UCLA's restored "Multiple SIDosis" on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cRZmvr-2QM

For immediate release
 
July 7, 2008
 
July 10: THE HIPPODROME, Esotouric's Curated Downtown LA Art Walk Shuttle
 
WHAT: The Hippodrome, a rolling curated salon on a custom vintage school bus
WHEN: Every Second Thursday (July 10, Aug 14, etc.) during downtown LA Art Walk, 6-10pm nightly
WHERE: The shuttle route circles Gallery Row (Main and Spring Streets between 9th and 2nd Streets)
COST: Free shuttle and entertainment
FEATURING ON JULY 10: 1) Hosts Kim Cooper & Richard Schave of Esotouric bus adventures sharing tales of historic downtown vice, answering visitor questions and passing out Esotouric discount coupons, 2) Trio "ZonaLilly," debuting the Hippodrome Theme Song and playing LA-themed country rock classics, 3) Madame Pamita telling fortunes and playing weird old timey American music on her ukulele, 4) Senor Stretchy Skin, a real live circus freak, 5) Mike The Poet rockin' poems about L.A. authors and the city's underground.
INFO: http://www.esotouric.com/hippodrome, 323-223-2767
 
LOS ANGELES- The Downtown L.A. Art Walk, held every second Thursday year round, is one of the great success stories of the neighborhood's revival. Launched in 2004 by a small group of independent gallery owners in what was then the western edge of Skid Row, the event now draws upwards of 4000 people, and includes live music, a thriving bar and restaurant scene, book signings, and of course art exhibits.
 
July 10 sees the second month when, Kim Cooper and Richard Schave of Esotouric, the eclectic bus adventure company whose tours reveal L.A.'s secret history, transform what's been a sleepy free city DASH bus shuttle into something more appropriate to the Art Walk: The Hippodrome, a curated rolling salon. Art Walk visitors can still use the Hippodrome to get from Bert Green Fine Arts to The Hive -- but with so many interesting things happening on the bus, they may find they don't want to disembark when they arrive.
 
The Hippodrome shuttle is named in honor of promoter Adolph Ramish's legendary Hippodrome Theater, formerly located at 4th and Main. With 3000 seats, it was the biggest theater west of the Mississippi when built in 1913, and featured Toddles the Elephant on opening night. In 1952, the theater was demolished for a parking lot, and the site is now under development as the mixed-use Medallion project.
 
The new Hippodrome is a customized former school bus brightly painted on the outside with lively graffiti-style scenes of beautiful women. Inside, passengers and performers sit face-to-face in a comfortable nightclub-style setting, with checkerboard flooring, cocktail tables and softly blinking lights.
 
Every month the Hippodrome features interesting performers channeling the spirit of the neighborhood's storied past. Appearing during the July 10 Art Walk:

MADAME PAMITA (6:30pm-7pm), who uses the powers of euphonious prognostication to tell fortunes and plays original and covers of rural blues, old time, jug band and proto-jazz numbers about romance and revenge and mirth and mayhem on early 20th century ukuleles. Fans of "the Old Weird America" will be transported to the birth of recorded music when an evening's entertainment meant surprises, amusements and a singular experience like no other!

SENOR STRETCHY SKIN (7:00pm-7:30pm), the guy who makes Stretch Armstrong look like a sissy. Watch as he stretches the skin on his face over two feet and places over 130 clothes pins on it--backed by appropriate musical accompaniment.

Guitar and vocal trio ZONALILLY(8:00pm-8:45pm) debuts their original "Hippodrome Theme Song" followed by a set of classic Los Angeles country-rock and blues tunes by the Flying Burrito Brothers, Guy Clark and many more.

Hippodrome regular MIKE THE POET (8:45pm-9:15pm) rockin' poems about LA authors & the city's underground.

Link to hear ZonaLilly's Hippodrome Theme Song: http://esotouric.com/hippodromesong
Link for musical guest Madame Pamita: http://madamepamita.com/
Link for Mike the Poet: http://www.myspace.com/mikethepoet
Link for guest Senor Stretchy Skin: http://www.myspace.com/senorstretchyskin
Link for Hippodrome info: http://www.esotouric.com/hippodrome
 
Hippodrome host/curators Kim Cooper and Richard Schave are available for interviews, as are performers Madame Pamita, Senor Stretchy Skin, ZonaLilly and Mike the Poet. Contact Kim at amscrayATgmailDOTcom, 323-223-2767.