Tom Everhart

Artist Tom Everhart at his studio with Surfing with Franz and Willem from Waves of Influence

TOM EVERHART

At Everhart Studio
Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice

“I’ve been here on Abbot Kinney for 18 years, and it’s been like sitting in a time machine, watching everything around you change,” says artist Tom Everhart. “Even in the past few months, it’s been on such a roll. It’s amazing.” 

As the only fine artist authorized to paint Peanuts comic strip characters, Tom is mostly known for his Charles Schulz-influenced paintings, which decorate the walls of his studio located on bustling Abbot Kinney Boulevard. He discusses Schulz, his upcoming exhibit at Mouche Gallery of Beverly Hills and the constant evolution of his Venice Beach neighborhood after taking me on a tour of his home base.

Tom incorporates media like acrylic paint and varnish on canvas and paper, but he also utilizes raw wood, medium-density fiber panels, plastic cups and polyester pom-pom balls to create the visually stunning Chop Chop Chop, Performance Art and Medal of Free Dumb pieces that line the main showroom of his studio space. While he’s widely known for these brightly colored works, it’s his black-and-white Schulz-influenced pieces from the past 13 years – as well as 15 exclusive new works – that are being featured in Raw: Black and White Works From 1998-2016 at Mouche Gallery from Feb. 27 through March 16.

“There are about 50 different reasons why it’s titled Raw,” he explains. “The moment when it’s black and white on that rack being drawn – that’s raw right there. In that raw state there’s a whole other beauty to it than there is with all the color that’s even sometimes more meaningful because the original approach doesn’t get lost.”

Chop Chop Chop hanging in Everhart Studio

Appreciating the black-and-white rawness of a drawing is something Tom has done since his childhood in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco.

“I always had coloring books, but sometimes I didn’t even color in them. I would just carry the black-and-white pages around because I thought they were strong enough without the crayons,” he shares. “That’s how the black-and-white work happens now. I start everything in black and white, and if I think it stands up strong by itself – which is rare, it happens a few times a year – then I keep it. It’s almost the same as with the coloring books where I felt there were certain things that just didn’t need color.”

In his downstairs workroom, where he normally works on small paper drawings and paintings, a beautiful black-and-white painting on raw wood and a massive plastic-cup sculpture that have been retrieved from other locations for the Mouche Gallery show fill the area. Tom instructs me to look at the sculpture from a certain angle to see how it resembles a piano, and I wonder how much time the artist has spent staring at work of his own as well as others over the course of his life.

“When I was a little kid, I spent a lot of time in art museums. I saw so much art, all these different movements, especially in Washington where my grandparents lived,” he recalls. “There was everything from the oldest of American art to the newest of contemporary art in those museums.”

Young Tom eventually studied art and architecture at Yale University, performance independent study under Earl Hofmann at St. Mary’s College and did post-graduate work at Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris. He began exploring artistic anatomy, doing muscle and skeleton paintings, and as he was finishing school in the early 1980s, the art world was taking a turn.

“At that point in time, most of the art world had declared painting dead for many reasons: conceptualism, minimalism, photography, the list goes on and on of why painting couldn’t go forward anymore because everything had been done. The group of people that I was playing, partying and painting with in East Village refused to believe it. We had conversations constantly about what we could do to save it before it was buried and came up with all these painting constructions that were slightly offensive and completely uncomfortable for most people in the art world. We thought that was the only way to get the art world to take painting back as a living thing was to make them uncomfortable with painting because it would make them stop and look at it,” he remembers. “Keith Haring was doing multiple paintings of penises everywhere, and I did some with him in the subways. There were paintings about racism – all sorts of subject matter. I was heading in the direction of doing a whole body of work of skeletons as religious people.” 

Then Tom met Charles M. Schulz.

The main showroom of Everhart Studio

“I was trying to draw his stuff for a project, and I couldn’t get it. I just didn’t understand the language, the cartooning to it. It was so abbreviated compared to the kind of drawings that I was used to doing that I couldn’t get past it – until I put his drawing in a projector, blew it up on a huge wall and saw the lines as paintbrush strokes. I went, ‘Oh my god, this looks just like the abstract paintings in black and white that I studied in school,’” he says. “I was expecting to meet a cartoonist, but because I got to know him as an artist, I got to know him in a completely different way. How does a cartoon strip get published every single day for 50 years and not have something else to it than just cartoon strip with cute characters? There’s got to be something much deeper in it, and that’s what I saw in his work when I was studying it. 

“From that first meeting on, he and I became friends and had lots of discussions over the next 20 years about pictorial problems simplified in black and white. Thats what we talked about for 20 years. As we got to know each other, he started telling me all these things: ‘I use this line to represent this,’ ‘If you draw three lines together they never look the same because each line is seen at a different time,’” Tom continues. “One of Schulz’s quotes hangs in his museum: ‘A cartoonist’s job is doing the same thing every day without repeating themselves.’ It’s got to be the familiar done in an unfamiliar angle for it to be art. To me, that wasn’t like a cartoonist at all. That’s a complete painter’s way of looking at the world. That caught me. It was so raw, and I was completely innocent, visually open and ready to be changed.”

After a couple of years, Tom could draw Schulz’ line just like him – not copying him but drawing an object the way he would draw it – and began creating authentic Schulz-style drawings for magazines such as Time and Good Housekeeping, in art for the White House and the majority of the MetLife campaign. Knowing Tom could draw his line exactly like he would draw it in these marketing pieces allowed Schulz to continue dedicating himself completely to the comic strip.

Simultaneously, Tom’s discussions with Schulz were influencing him so much that his skeleton paintings were becoming a bit boring to him, but after eight years of these talks he wasn’t ready to take the plunge and incorporate these techniques and theories into pieces of his own.

“I knew I could somehow work in his visual subject matter but didn’t know how without just doing Peanuts paintings because neither of us wanted that. It couldn’t be a painterly version of what he did, it had to be something that came from me, with a direction that came from me,” he says.

“In 1988 I got sick and was told I had two years to live. I was able to break through mentally and start working like he influenced me to do on paintings. This was my one chance to do it. I had to get back to the studio and do as much as I could as fast as I could. That’s what happened, and I just kept living.”

Psycho Cyclone

It took death staring him in the face as a cancer patient to give Tom the epiphany he needed to incorporate Schulz’s characters into his own work but never in a literal way. 

“It wasn’t like we ever sat down, and he said, ‘This is how you draw Snoopy.’ We would just be drawing, and he would say, ‘Look at this line. Doesn’t that express a sad feeling to you? Here’s why: It starts thin and then gets very heavy – almost like an opera would.’ He had this encyclopedic range of human emotions in his lines and that caught my eye intensely. It was never his storyline that caught my eye, it was his line,” Tom tells. “A lot of times people mistake my paintings as paintings about Peanuts when – this sounds very odd people have a hard time with it at first – they really have very little to do with the Peanuts comic strip. They have a whole lot to do with the line construction of Charles Schulz the way he breaks down line and express emotion with line. They have nothing to do with character development. I don’t follow any character relationships, I don’t pick the character because they’re the character. They always represent something else. It’s another way of seeing the world in the way he saw it but with using the influence of the visual subject matter that I learned from him.”

He made sure that the work upheld Schulz’s idea of the familiar done in an unfamiliar way, as well as infusing life into each piece as much as possible.

“It’s a line that’s gone from drawing to painting – fused it into one thing,” he describes. “The work is influenced by my relationship and the things that I’ve learned from Charles Schulz from that 20-year period, but what makes it happen, what pushes it to happen is being alive. That came from almost dying and realizing that the world only could be about being alive, and it’s been about that ever since. Every piece is about being alive and not taking it for granted.” 

This principle is certainly felt when viewing Tom’s latest group of paintings, entitled Waves of Influence, which he’s working on in the upstairs area of his studio. As I examine, the black-and-white piece for the Raw exhibition, Surfing with Franz and Willem – as in Franz Kline and Willem de Kooning – Tom explains that not only is the tiny Snoopy in the painting influenced by Schulz but so is the giant wave.

“The wave came from a Peanuts strip published on April 21, 1991 that I think Schulz did from when he was playing golf at Pebble Beach. I cut that wave out in ’91 and said, ‘One day I have to do something with it,’ and this is it,” he says. “The initial visual articulation of the wave came from that strip, but since then I’ve been spending the last two weeks at the Venice Pier just watching the breaks going out for a good hour each day, and of course in Tahiti I’m always watching. It is a combination of the rhythms in Tahiti and the rhythms of the waves here in Venice put together. That’s what I mean by being alive: I’m taking things from life that I’ve experienced, that have made differences in my life and putting them into these waves, so it still feels like it’s something alive.”

After having lived in D.C., San Francisco, Paris, New York, Baltimore and London, Tom and his wife, Jennifer, decided to make Venice their home. The couple also spends part of the year on the island of Taha’a, Tahiti. Tom says he fell in love with Venice Beach at first sight.

“The first time I ever saw Venice was in 1982 when I came with my neighbor and friend, Jean Basquiat, who was getting ready to have a show with Gagosian Gallery. He had a studio on Market Street, between Pacific and Speedway. There were one or two other studios and a hip restaurant [72 Market Street Oyster Bar and Grill]. The area was deadly with heroin addicts and gangs, but we loved that. We were from the East Village in New York and thought this was cool because you could see the violence here. In our neighborhood guys were hiding under and in between cars to hit you over the head, but out here you could see them coming for you,” Tom laughs. “I fell in love with it instantly and always had a part-time place here from that mid-‘80s period until 1997 when we moved here full time. I was just dying to move here for the weather, the not-New-York feeling. There was an art community, but it wasn’t like the one in New York where it was so amped up and on full time. Here you could just hide in your studio. Ed Ruscha had a studio right across the street up until a year or two ago, Sam Francis had a place around the corner. This felt like a sanctuary to me.”

“For every single reason possible to love L.A., I love it. I’ve always liked to be by the water. I love the rhythm out there on the bike path. I ride from here to the Palisades and back – that rhythm of the bike, the wind that goes with you, the blank peaceful water on one side and the thrusting cliffs on the other side when you’re on PCH in between those two forces,” he continues. “Even more than inspiration, it’s a key that opens a door because you’re no longer hung up on the things you get hung up on in daily life. It’s a blank canvas, and you’re in the middle of it. I do most of my effective thinking work out there.”

It’s obvious why Tom has kept Eberhart Studios in the same location for almost 20 years, even through all the ups and downs the area has experienced.

“I watched that bar across the way go from a serious biker bar where you could watch some fights at 2 a.m. to a cool hipster-like bar [The Brig]. There was a guy camped out in the middle of the parking lot, bathing himself as everyone was parking, dressed all nice going to Gjelina – we still have a balance. That’s why when people start yelling about regentrification, I say come over, spend some time at my place and watch,” he laughs. “I love it having all this new stuff grow like this, it makes the street feel alive. How can you ask an artist to be upset about growth and change because that’s what we’re supposed to do, we’re supposed to see things in a different way all the time, continuously growing and changin. That’s what Schulz and I talked about: The work had to keep feeling like it was growing. If it wasn’t growing, it wouldn’t feel alive.”

Raw: Black and White Works From 1998-2016 debuts with a premiere party from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 27 at Moche Gallery (340 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills 90210). The exhibit is open to the public from Feb. 28 through March 16. For more information, visit mouchegallery.com and everhartstudio.com. 

Megan Darwin

Ayurvedic practitioner and massage therapist Megan Darwin (Scout Hebinck, scouteephoto.com)

MEGAN DARWIN 

At Kreation Kafe/Juicery 1202 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice (310) 314-7778

For the past few years, juice diets like the Master Cleanse have been all the rage, but they often make you feel so lightheaded, dizzy and famished that you want to give up after the first day. With that in mind, Ayurvedic practitioner and massage therapist, Megan Darwin, has developed her own program called the Juicy Yogi Detox that incorporates traditional principles with modern juicing to give Angelenos the ultimate cleansing experience.

I met up with the L.A. native to talk about growing up in Arcadia, her discovery and training in Ayurveda and the Juicy Yogi Detox at Kreation Kafe/Juicery in Venice Beach. This is where she regularly stops for a bottle of juice on her way to treating clients at Spa Sophia, which is also located on Abbot Kinney Boulevard.

Megan Darwin at Kreation Kafe/Juicery

As we take a seat in Kreation’s busy yet comfortable patio, surrounded by wood paneling and live succulents covering sections of the wall, the long list of juice options can be a bit intimidating. They offer several cold pressed juices, like the Green (apple, cucumber, romaine, kale and pear), Trinity Twist (lemon, apple, carrot and beet) and Rosy Aura (rose water and cantaloupe). Megan shares that her favorite of their Premium Detox blends is the Synchronize with dandelion, kale, cilantro, pear, pineapple, jalapeño, fennel, basil, turmeric, mint, cucumber, parsley, celery, spinach, romaine, lemon and Himalayan salt. She is also a fan of the refreshing Limonana (alkaline water, lemon, mint and raw cane sugar) lemonade.

This Abbott Kinney Kreation location also serves a full menu that includes kabobs and wraps, as well as cold and hot tapas. After ordering a Quinoa Chopped Salad and some Synchronize juice, Megan explains that the imbalance people experienced while doing a strictly juice cleanse is one of the factors that inspired her to design the Juicy Yogi Detox, which is also based on techniques she acquired in her five years of studying Ayurveda’s traditional cleansing process of Pancha Karma.

“Ayurveda is an elemental healing paradigm. Everything in the universe is made up of ether, air, fire, water or earth. Your body contains a different ratio of those qualities depending on what you take in, so if you’re only drinking juice it’s easy to get lightheaded or dizzy because you don’t have anything grounding you. In traditional Pancha Karma, you only eat kitchari, which is very nourishing but lacks the fresh, live enzymes you get from juice,” she begins. “Every day in my five-day program, the Juicy Yogi Detox, you get a detoxifying massage with warm herbal therapeutic oils, Shirodhara therapy to clear the mind, Chi Machine therapy, an herbal steam and I provide you with herbs to take every night eating, juices and a mono diet of kitchari – an ayurvedic superfood made with yellow mung beans, basmati rice, vegetables (usually carrots and celery), spices and ghee (clarified butter).”

In Megan’s cleansing detox that supplants traditional practices with modern juicing, your body receives all the nutrients, energy and elemental balance it needs so you’re able to go to work and take your dog for a leisurely walk without feeling completely spent. She encourages minimal physical exercise and the lowest stress-filled environment as possible, because “any energy you’re expending is energy that can’t be used to healed whatever needs to be healed within your body.”

While her life currently revolves around total health and wellness, Megan didn’t always maintain the healthiest of eating habits as a child in the suburb of Arcadia, Calif.

“When I was growing up, I would eat at least one pack of Hostess chocolate donuts every day. Cereal bowls weren’t big enough for me, so I would eat my Lucky Charms out of a big tupperware. When I was sick, it was Rite Aid and Walgreens for Tylenol, Advil and NyQuil,” she remembers. “I went to UCLA and studied political science. After graduating, I took a year off and had a roommate whose mom was very into yoga and natural healing. When we would get sick she would say, ‘Drink this tea with this herb.’ The world of natural healing opened up to me, and I was amazed by it. ‘A tea is going to help me? That’s so cool.’”

Megan began researching different paradigms of natural healing but was a bit overwhelmed by all of the different philosophies: Chinese healing, homeopathy, naturopathy, etc. That is, until she was introduced to Ayurveda.

“I happened upon a book that I got from a friend written by Christy Turlington called Living Yoga with a whole chapter on the basic, fundamental principles of what Ayurveda is, and it totally clicked. It made so much sense to me that I had an emotional response to it; I started to cry,” she recalls. “When that happens you pay attention, so I researched colleges and found the California College of Ayurveda.”

While taking a Pancha Karma training workshop, Megan’s abilities caught the attention of the college’s founder, and she was offered an apprenticeship at a private Ayurvedic retreat center.

(Scout Hebinck, scouteephoto.com)

“I was supposed to intern at the Blue Sage Sanctuary for a year but ended up staying five years,” she exclaims. “From L.A. to studying Ayurveda in San Francisco, there I was on 20 acres of land in Nevada City, it was so grounding. I really needed that time to settle in, learn and get really good with my skills. It was so cool to watch people go through the detox process there away from distractions, because with it comes an emotional detox very often.”

Megan thoroughly enjoyed her time at the center and even returns there each fall to lead people through detoxification, but she always knew she would return to Los Angeles to open her own practice. 

“I love Santa Monica, there’s nowhere else in L.A. that I would like to live. I like the vibe, the culture, and that the beach is so close. San Francisco is a beautiful city, but the weather killed me – having grown up being so blessed with great weather, then having gray cold summers and wearing a sweater in June,” she says. “I love that it’s so health conscious in L.A., it’s fairly clean. I love driving up to Malibu and looking at the blue of the sky. I need sunshine!”

Aside from Kreation, you can often find her grabbing a bite at Golden Mean or taking in a concert at the Santa Monica Pier during the summer since she is an avid music lover. 

In addition to the Juicy Yogi Detox Program, Megan also offers any of her Ayurvedic therapies (herbal massage or steam, Nasya sinus therapy and Shirodhara) as separate or coupled services.

“It’s so cool to see the reactions from people who have never Shirodhara before. Hot oil is poured over your third eye/chakra and flows down your head and over your scalp, inducing a meditative state or you can just fall asleep if you need it,” she explains. “It’s the perfect therapy for stress, anxiety or insomnia.”

Just hearing her describe the relaxing therapy has me ready to make an appointment ASAP. Megan is also planning to host discussions to educate Angelenos about the different ailments that Ayurveda can treat, from cancer and insomnia to sinus and allergy problems, so make sure to check in at her website for updates.

For more information, call (310) 780-5006 or visit integrative-ayurveda.com.

Rob Decoup

Rob Decoup on the Venice Beach Pier

ROB DECOUP 

At the Venice Beach Boardwalk 

Whether you’re an Angeleno or visiting tourist, the sights of the Venice Beach Boardwalk – the different street artists and performers, bodybuilders of Muscle Beach, colorful street art, bikini-clad women – are instantly recognizable and representative of Los Angeles. It’s where I regularly take out-of-town visitors and a place that has become special to New York-based music artist Rob Decoup.

“When you come to [Venice Beach], you can spend the whole day looking around at the art, going in the water, taking a walk. It just looks great with the palm trees and the unique buildings,” he describes. “It’s one of those places that, if you’re blindfolded, once the blindfold drops you immediately know where you are. Not everywhere is like that.”

Venice truly is a unique neighborhood, as Rob’s own story is quite special. While in town to rehearse with an L.A.-based band of musicians for a Midwest tour with Saving Abel in support of the January release of his full-length debut, Rays of Sun, he shares these experiences with me as we enjoy the cool ocean air.

“It’s good to be in L.A. when I think that we’re walking right where Jim Morrison once walked. He was so inspired by this place. One of the greatest frontmen of all time, Perry Farrell of Jane’s Addiction, would surf here. That’s the charm of L.A. for me,” he confesses. “I was very influenced by that kind of music, alternative rock, as well as the classic rock of the Doors.”

Music wasn’t the only sound to fill Rob’s childhood, though. Having been born in Iran and spending his early childhood there while the country was at war with Iraq, explosions and sirens filled his 5-year-old ears. It’s a time when his dreams of coming to America were born. Rob remembers his first taste of American music occurring around this time.

“I saw an Elvis Presley movie, and that was my first exposure to rock ’n’ roll,” he says. “I was really into his songs for a long time. That was the beginning.”

After his family relocated to Vienna in the early 1980s, Rob attended an American school where he learned to speak English and German. From the Beatles, Pink Floyd and the aforementioned Doors to Alice Cooper and Megadeth, his love for rock music continued to grow. His path to becoming a musician himself began on his 12th birthday.

“I wouldn’t shut up about getting a guitar so my mom finally got one for my birthday. But she didn’t know much about it and got me an electric guitar without an amp,” he recalls with a laugh. “I thought it was too much to ask for an amp then, so waited a year for my next birthday. I could still play on it, though, quietly. It was good for practicing.”

We begin our Venice Boardwalk afternoon in front of one of my favorite L.A. bookshops, Small World Books, which is located on Ocean Front Walk. A bookstore is fitting since 30 percent of all proceeds from the sale of Rob’s latest single, “War Hero,” is going to the Books for Soldiers Fund Drive http://booksforsoldiers.com that brings books and care packages to deployed American troops. 

Poetry and literature have always played a huge part in Rob’s life. 

“I started writing poetry at a young age, and it was always in English because somehow that was most appealing to me. I was reading a lot of Shakespeare, William Blake, a lot of French poets like Arthur Rimbaud and modern ones like Allen Ginsberg,” he tells. “I loved rhyming and playing with words since I was 9 when I wrote my first poem, so when I learned guitar I started to write melodies and combine the two passions. I loved the idea of writing a song and one day performing it. That seemed like the most gratifying thing to do ever, but it got shelved a little bit since it’s obviously not something that you’re secure in making a living out of. I always knew that I was going to go that way at some point, it just got postponed a little bit.”

The delay actually lasted several years, as Rob began his PhD studies in Political Science at the University of Vienna.

“I thought it was going to be a quick endeavor, but it took me five years. That’s what held me back from diving into music full time. I kept saying to myself, ‘As soon as I finish my PhD, I’m going to do it,’ but it just dragged on.” 

After receiving his PhD, Rob decided to move to New York and begin this new chapter of his life.

“I was writing these songs, wanted to get my music to the world and realized that since I write in English that I should move to America because it’s not just a myth. This country really is the land of dreams, where dreams can come true, just because the mentality is different than Europe. Europe is a bit more old fashioned and the people are not really supportive, whereas people that I’ve come to know in America, I’ve known them for less time than my European friends, but they are much more excited and supportive. They really want to hear my songs,” he admits. “Also, rock music isn’t that big in Europe. You have lots of metal heads in Germany, but in America it’s much more of a culture. You go out to see hard rock band perform, and it doesn’t have to be a huge band it can be an emerging artist. In Europe people only go to see huge bands like Alter Bridge or Metallica and kind of ignore the emerging artists. Here they understand that emerging artists are more real because they’re not tied to a contract with a major label that dictates so much of the songwriting process.”

Rob released his first EP, Pain, last year, and since his music career is something he worked so hard to be able to pursue, self-expression is very important to Rob. He pointedly brings up the subject as we encounter a bright wall mural, a man with a (fake?) boa constrictor wrapped around his neck and a performer about to walk on shards of broken glass.

“I like graffiti artists because of what graffiti represents in general, the idea of street art: expression coming naturally,” he remarks. “That’s why I like Venice, you never know what to expect. Danger is looming everywhere.”

Rob first became acquainted with Venice when he spent a month recording Rays of Sun in Los Angeles last year. He would come to the beach to surf, and as we stand on the Venice Beach Pier watching the waves roll by, he says that he might consider moving to Los Angeles one day.

“For the kind of music I do, hard rock, this is more the scene for it. There are way more musicians here in that field than in New York.” 

In fact, all of the musicians who played on Rays of Sun are based in Los Angeles. Joined by Dan Welby on drums and Phil X on guitar, Creed’s Eric Friedman was on guitar while Marty O’Brien, who also plays with Lita Ford, assumed bass duties. The album was helmed by Mike Plotnikoff (Aerosmith, Drowning Pool), whose work Rob had admired for a while. 

“There was an album that I really liked by Buckcherry. I really liked the production quality of that album, so I was curious and found out that it was Mike behind it. Through my connections I was able to reach him and send him my demos. He liked them and said he would be happy to do it,” he relays. “I’m so happy to have become connected with him because he’s such a great guy, so down to earth and easy to work with.”

Since Rob is so busy preparing for Rays of Sun’s debut, he doesn’t have much time to keep up with recent literary releases. However, this doesn’t mean that he’s out of touch with world events in the least.

“I read a lot of online journals with political analysis, foreign affairs, economics – boring stuff,” he laughs. “When I read those things and try to get a glimpse into a scholar’s or professor’s take on current affairs, I feel my brain start to wake up.” 

Rob is all about waking up others’ brains as well, particularly with the release of Rays of Sun.

“Rays of Sun is about the idea of hope. Even though things might seem to be going wrong, and the standard of life is diminishing. Corporations are getting richer, profits are soaring, but the majority of the wealth has been concentrated in a minority, one percent. That exploitation of people is a reality, but there is still hope,” he says. “The idea behind the title of Rays of Sun is that if we get together we can make real change happen.” 

Rays of Sun will be available Jan. 27, 2015. For more information, visit robdecoup.com.

STREET SIGNS - Dolly

Saw this piece as I was walking along a construction zone near Trim salon on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice Beach (1424 Abbot Kinney Blvd.). The bikini-clad beach girl is typical of many people you might come across on the street – although, she does possess an antlered animal head.

STREET SIGNS - Bunny Explosion

Bunny Explosion is located on a wall just west of the Brig as you approach the Farmacy at 1509 Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice Beach. The animals make frequent appearances in the work of artist Max Neutra, a Venice native who painted the piece last year. Whenever I look at the mural, the phrase 'pull a rabbit out of the hat' comes to mind, and indeed, Neutra's style is often full of whimsy and the unexpected.

STREET SIGNS - Many-Armed 'Beat It' Man

The blue skull-faced man in the forefront of this piece wears Michael Jackson's red jacket, heart-adorned T-shirt and black pants from the artist's "Beat It" video from the waist up. A tribal costume covers the bottom half of his body. It seems like another man in a black coat is lurking just behind him, too. This many armed figure stands at the corner of Rose Court and Pacific Avenue in Venice Beach. 

STREET SIGNS - Blue Gorilla

Blue gorilla spotted in Venice Beach! The giant primate seems a bit menacing, perched on an archway at 76 Market Street. While the sight of him is totally unexpected, one can't help but smile at his expression. This blue gorilla is just one of several lifelike creatures hanging around the beach town, courtesy of Venice-based artist Isabelle Alford-Lago.

STREET SIGNS: Girls in Venice

You can see this quintet of lovely ladies as you stroll along Ocean Front Walk, between 24th Avenue and Washington Boulevard, in Venice Beach. Each woman has a true-to-life saying written on her chest that anyone would find inspiring.

Terraplane Sun

Lyle Riddle, Ben Rothbard and Johnny Zambetti of Terraplane Sun at Venice Ale House

TERRAPLANE SUN

At Venice Ale House

2 Rose Ave., Venice 310-314-8253

A lot of people like Los Angeles for the fact that they can surf and ski in the same day. I love how it not only appeals to surfers and snow bunnies but also to those who love exploring nature in the Santa Monica Mountains, dancing at a trendy club in West Hollywood or grabbing a beer at a dive bar Downtown. There really is something for everyone here, including bands that run the gamut of musical genres.

However, few local acts fully encapsulate the spirit of Los Angeles like Terraplane Sun. Since 2009, the Venice-based quintet has put their own spin on classic rock elements from the blues, country and soul – delivered with a deftness that comes from years spent honing their skills on various instruments. You can feel the laid-back vibe of sun-drenched days at the beach along with the coolness of a nighttime drive beneath the city's skyscrapers in their songs.

The band is somewhat of a rarity, in that, four of its five members (vocalist Ben Rothbard, guitarist Johnny Zambetti, keyboardist Gabe Feenberg and drummer Lyle Riddle) actually grew up in Los Angeles. Bassist Chris "Cecil" Campanaro, who was raised in Florida, is the lone exception, although he has lived here for a few years now. Having just released their latest effort, the Friends EP, last month, Terraplane Sun took some time during a brief respite in between tour dates to share their wealth of L.A. knowledge with me at one of their favorite neighborhood haunts, Venice Ale House.

The New American gastropub is situated on the north end of the Venice Boardwalk, where Rose Avenue meets Ocean Front Walk, and prides itself on serving organic, wholesome food, as well as an extensive list of craft beers. Its patio is the perfect place to sit in the sun, take in the ocean view and a Skate of Beers: six (or four) four-ounce samplers served on a skateboard. Since it's walking distance from Lyle's place, Venice Ale House is a great meeting place for the guys.

Venice Ale House

 "The Corn on the Cob à La Mexicana [roasted in lemon, cayenne, sea salt and Cotija cheese] is outrageous," says Johnny. "They've got a really good beer selection, too."

"The Grilled Portobello Sandwich [with grilled zucchini, roasted red pepper and chipotle aioli] is so on point," says Lyle. "It's one of my favorite things ever."

While they have no problem spilling their usual orders at Venice Ale House, when it comes to planning out an itinerary for a visit by some out-of-town friends, Johnny is less confident in giving an immediate answer.

"That gives me so much anxiety! I went to school back east and when all my friends there want to come out, I get anxious because there's so much to do with someone who has never been to L.A. before. Do you take them to Hollywood and do the Walk of Fame? I mean, that's not really fun."

"You have to break it into individual areas instead of trying to go everywhere on one day," suggests Ben. "Spend a day seeing Silver Lake, then a few days in Venice."

"If we were talking specifically about Venice, then definitely Venice Ale House is a good spot," offers Lyle. "The canals, you always have to stroll through the canals. My favorite is Obsolete Art Gallery right on Main Street. A lot of people that live here don't even know about it, there's so much going on there. The Santa Monica Promenade. Hotel Erwin."

"Abbot Kinney's cool," adds Ben.

After taking time to ponder the idea, Johnny chimes in: "You've definitely got to have the beach aspect. I always try to go up to Malibu. It's always going to be nice because of the weather. Then you go to dinner here in Venice or inland, like at the Foundation Room at the House of Blues. There's one table, Dan Aykroyd's private table, you have to ask for it, and it's on the balcony with such a great view."

Knowing that Ben loves to surf, I have to inquire about his favorite spots.

"I normally go up north," he says. "I like Zuma Beach, that's probably my favorite place. The whole Paradise Cove area and Ventura, too"

On a typical Saturday afternoon, Johnny says they would normally hop on some bicycles.

"We would make our way down Main Street to the waterfront," he says. "You run into so many different people along the way. One time we ended up with 14 person crew."

"People love to day drink here in Venice," says Ben. "We usually end up at the Whaler."

No matter where they're hanging out, it's evident from spending just a few minutes with the guys that they have an innate chemistry with one another. Ben and Cecil are founding members of the band, who released a self-titled debut in 2009 before taking a brief hiatus during which time Ben met Johnny as extras on the set of an Allstate Insurance commercial. Gabe and Lyle were added to the mix, and they released Coyote in 2011. The band caught the attention of the media and many listeners when its songs were featured on television shows like "The Big C," "Nurse Jackie," "Relapse" and "Damages." The group enlisted veteran producer Dave Trumfio (Wilco, My Morning Jacket) for Friends, which has once again resulted in Terraplane Sun's placement in TV ("Teen Wolf," a Citibank ad campaign) and film (21 Jump Street, What To Expect When You're Expecting) spots.

The band has been touring in support of the EP, from a residency at the Satellite to festivals like South By Southwest, Fiesta Del Sol and Sunset Strip Music Festival, which was quite significant since several of the members played their first shows ever on the Strip.

"I played my first show at On the Rox," shares Ben.

"The first show I ever played was on the Sunset Strip, I was 11 years old," says Johnny. "I grew up going to shows on the Strip. I used to go see Mickey Avalon after school. I had my school uniform on and would change in the car. I was still underage."

"Playing Sunset Strip Music Fest was really cool," he continues. "I don't think I would have normally gone out of my way to see Marilyn Manson. Ray Manzarek came on stage, and Manson really channeled Jim Morrison on some of the Doors covers."

"Early on, the first shows I ever went to on my own were at the Troubadour," admits Lyle. "The (International) Noise Conspiracy with Minus the Bear was a crazy show. It was packed. In a way, T(I)NC turned me onto the Rolling Stones, kind of ripping their style off. I was about 16 years old, and it was cool seeing live rock 'n' roll. That show was definitely historical."

When asked if he prefers playing small club shows or big festivals, Lyle replies, "It's like whiskey and wine – I love both, but for different occasions. Sometimes you want to take a shot and sometimes you just want to chill."

One commonality that exists among all of Terraplane Sun's members is that music was a constant presence in each of their childhoods.

Lyle comments, "Music is in all of our backgrounds really. My stepdad was a drummer, Johnny's dad was a pretty awesome musician. My dad was always bumping Zeppelin, Genesis, the Beatles and the Who. I just came out loving drums, always banging on pots and pans and wanting to learn really badly. About fifth grade I became a huge Nirvana fan, listening to their records all the time. I remember the first time I sat down at a drum set at my cousin's house. I was playing them backwards. My brother was like, 'That's not how you do it,' and it tore my heart out."

"Environment definitely influenced me, growing up there were guitars hanging on the walls. They didn't push it on me, I kind of found it on my own though. I tried everything _ the piano, the drums, but guitar is what struck a chord," laughs Johnny. "I've been playing since I was 8, I'm a child of rock 'n' roll. The first album I found on my own was Rancid's …And Out Come the Wolves. I think I stole it from Kmart, put it in my pocket and ran out the door."

"I had to play an instrument," says Ben. "I started on the piano, and then the guitar. When you're young and get upset, all you want to do is play guitar with your friends. I tried to write when I was younger but never found my voice until I was older."

While tracks like "Ya Never Know" and "Get Me Golden" definitely resonant with audience and are quickly becoming crowd favorites, there's another song on Friends that really touches Lyle in particular.

"'No Regrets' had a big impact on me when we were writing it. When we were going into the studio to do that record, I walked away from a pretty secure job. There's a line, 'Trade my car for a pair of boots,' and a lot of people are latching onto that," he says. "It's probably my favorite song on the record. It's so important to have no regrets to pursue what feels right in your soul."

Ben adds, "The worst that can happen is that you fail. A lot of people are driven by fear itself, and you can't let it determine your path. Collectively we're all—"

"We can't really do anything else," interjects Johnny with a laugh.

Whether it was picking up an instrument at 8 years old, seeing that first influential band at the Troubadour or continuing to discover new music together while listening to the radio on the road, music has been and continues to be the lifeblood of the members of Terraplane Sun.

Friends is currently available. For more information, visit terraplanesun.com.

STREET SIGNS - Get a Rhythm

Two hands present a heart to the outside world, while also sheltering it, in TipToe's Get a Rhythm. This piece by the Chicago-based artist is located on Pacific Avenue (at Rose Court) in Venice Beach.

Paul Chesne

Paul Chesne on the patio of Primitivo Wine Bistro (facebook.com/boodahboyphotography)

 

PAUL CHESNE

At Primitivo Wine Bistro

1025 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice

Whenever I have friends visiting from out of town, I take them to see the Paul Chesne Band. There is no other group whose shows represent my idea of a quintessential fun night out in Los Angeles – drinking, debauchery and damn good music –  more than the band of musicians led by native Angeleno Paul Chesne. When you come right down to it, nobody else works as hard to guarantee you have a good time.

"We don't really play venues anymore. If you're playing 12 to 15 gigs a month in Los Angeles, you can't expect people to go to the Troubadour and spend $12 to park. Or, say you go to the Viper Room with a date, you've got $10-$15 to park, $10-$15 each to get in, then with one or two drinks a piece, you're already $80 deep. It's just not sustainable," says Paul. "I'm here to promote the tip jar. I don't believe in [making money from selling] records anymore. [Although you can purchase copies of his three albums at shows.] The tip jar is good, you just put it out there. You can't do that at a venue, and most of the venues you have to pay to get into, they don't serve food. We mostly play at places where it's free to get in and there's food."

One such place is Paul's favorite neighborhood restaurant, Primitivo Wine Bistro, in Venice Beach. Known for their delectable selection of classic Spanish tapas – such as Bacon Wrapped Dates, Patatas Bravas and Tortilla Espanola – and extensive list of wines from around the world, Primitivo also hosts a popular brunch that features performances from musicians like Paul on their picturesque patio.

"They have a late-night happy hour, too [10 p.m.-11 p.m., Thursday through Saturday]," informs Paul. "My house is so close that I can walk over, and I come here at least once a week – usually more than that."

His frequent patronage of the establishment is evident when almost every staff member knows him by name. As we take a seat at the bar, Paul goes over his menu favorites.

"They're always changing the menu, so I don't really have a 'usual.' I'm trying to be a vegetarian, and the mushroom veggie burger is super good. The Falafel Pita is a great choice, as well."

Paul orders a much-needed cup of coffee since he just barely woke up after playing for nearly five hours straight at another of his local haunts, O'Brien's Irish Pub & Restaurant, in Santa Monica.

"I just left there, I think. if they saw me right now they'd be like what the fuck are you doing here now," he laughs. "Last night, the second set was maybe the best that we've ever played. It was really good. We've been playing so much that I'm trying to do this thing where we haze each other to get better. So many bands that I know that get signed, they never play. They play like once every three months. I would rather play every day, as much as I can."

What he loves best about playing: "the crowd." Audiences love it when the Paul Chesne Band breaks into one of their unexpected covers, like Prince's "Gett Off", Cee Lo Green's "Fuck You" or Britney Spears' "Toxic." The previous night's song that the band members challenged each other to learn was "Sail" by AWOLNATION.

"That song is so fucking good," he says. "It's cool for the audience to see us try something new. There's something galvanizing and energetic that you can see in the crowd when they see you struggling a little. That's really the only thing that makes you grow as a musician, like when the Beatles played for eight hours a day, 300 gigs a year. You can see eight years later when they did Let It Be how good they were at playing live. They didn't even play live together for like four years in between. But the Let It Be sessions, if you watch that video, they're perfect; they didn't need overdub or anything. That's basically what I'm trying to do with my band right now."

The band is a revolving door of sorts, comprised of several talented musicians whom Paul has been playing with for years. Currently the lineup consists of keyboardist Jon Niemann, drummer Rich Berardi, guitarist Josh Norton and bassist Stephen Tegel, formerly the guitarist for the Vacation.

"Steve had never even played bass before," Paul remembers. "You just throw these people into the fire, and you can watch as we all get better individually and as a unit. I have so many different musicians on call because we keep playing every weekend, and sometimes people have to go out of town. This past weekend was the first weekend that we didn't have a gig in six months."

No matter the venue or who is in the crowd – fraternity brothers, Paul's good buddy who often participates in the shows Willie Chambers, a dancing Red Hot Chili Pepper (Anthony Kiedis) or groups of hot girls grinding against each other – the Paul Chesne Band's shows never fail to captivate. However, their recorded material is just as entertaining. Paul is a prolific songwriter, who is always honing his craft.

"I wake up with totally realized songs every day. I come up with stuff and then I tell myself, 'This is too good to forget,' and then it's gone," he says. "My friend, Malcolm, is a songwriter, and he just writes songs all day. He doesn't have them recorded anywhere, they just go away. I have SoundCloud, my phone, my iPad and Evernote on my computer. I also write stuff down on paper, and I have no idea where anything is! But we had a party a few weeks ago at my house – I have a piano and we wrote a song with everyone, and I recorded it on my phone. Someone ended up leaving with my phone, so I thought the song was gone. But the crazy thing is, the song was stored on iCloud. I plugged my phone in for the first time, and all these voice memos showed up, and there were three or four different recordings of the song."

From the debut album Wet Dog Man in 2005 to 2008's White Man's Curse and last year's PCB, Paul's insightful lyrics and soulful vocals are married with exceptional musicianship that skims the borders of straightforward rock, folk and Americana. All of his albums are available for 'pay what you want' on his website. Another commonality between all three releases is their eye-catching cover art.

Paul recalls how the PCB cover came about: "The photographer, JD Narro, did this cool thing in Photoshop, but I was like, 'Let's make it analog,' so he made this huge stencil and bought spray paint. We went to an underpass on Motor Avenue in Culver City, and we graffitied it all over. There were homeless people and cars driving by, and he had to get the photo before people started parking in front of it. People think it's Photoshopped, but JD had a tripod and we just had to stand there for a long time. All the lights are just taillights from cars going by." 

Another photo from that album features the band in front of a Venice landmark, the POW/MIA memorial on Pacific Avenue. Paul has always lived on the West Side ("I grew up going to the Brentwood Country Mart, eating chicken baskets."), and has only ever lived in one other city besides Los Angeles.

"I was in Portland for three months for college. I went back to Brentwood with my tail between my legs then I picked myself up and went to Santa Monica College for a couple years," he remembers. "During that time I would go to Elvis Perkins' house like three nights a week, playing music. It's funny, if you asked us to play a song together, we can maybe play one. We were just trying to find our voices as songwriters."

One of the latest songs Paul has written is about an experience that is uniquely Los Angeles.

"It's kind of like Frank Sinatra 'That's Life' and Dean Martin meets Ray Charles' 'Let's Go Get Stoned,' but it's about getting tacos in the middle of the night after a gig, the post-gig burrito/taco."

But the band does try to eat healthy for the most part.

"Our studio in Los Feliz where we recorded the PCB album and some of White Man's Curse, if you stand outside the door you can see the Green Leaves Vegan sign. Our routine for a year or two, up until three or four months ago, we were at the studio every Tuesday or Wednesday. We worked, ordered food from Green Leaves and recorded. Eat vegan, that was our deal. I even wrote in the liner notes of PCB that 'I forced them to eat vegan food, we imbibed (or didn't?), hunkered down and explored the brink of our own sonic frontiers.'"

Besides Primitivo and O'Brien's, the band regularly plays at Basement Tavern and the Kibitz Room at Canter's Deli, a place that holds special significance to Paul since he's played there so much and has met many of his band members there.

"I probably went there first in high school. I have a Canter's menu that Elvis [Perkins] stuck in his pants like 10 years ago."

As for his earliest concert-going experience growing up, Paul gets a huge grin on his face at the memory.

"The first show I ever went to was the Jackson 5 at Dodger Stadium," he tells. "We were down on the field but way in the back, so we couldn't see anything. It was raining so people left early, and my mom and I walked all the way to the front. I had on little Michael Jackson glasses and gloves."

Another memory with his mom is part of why Paul has so much love for where he lives in Venice Beach.

"I don't want to give away the secret, but Venice is like 10-15 degrees cooler than most of the city," he jokes. "I love that I don't have an air conditioner, that I can walk to places like Primitivo. Where I live, if I walk to the Boardwalk and stand there, it reminds me of one of my first memories ever. I remember it was about 1980, I was 4, riding bikes with my mom. It's literally 100 yards from my house."

As we reminisce about growing up in the city, I ask Paul what personalities he can think of that are unique to Los Angeles.

"Huell Howser. Artie Vegas," he answers immediately. "Stan Chambers has been on KTLA for 60 years. I love that guy. That's an L.A. icon right there."

Paul Chesne Band performs Dec. 29 at O'Brien's and Jan. 12, 2013 at Basement Tavern. For more information, visit paulchesne.com.