Sunsets and fireworks

Top 5 Karaoke Bars Near El Camino College

Sing-along to your favorite artist with family and friends

Story and photos by Sharlisa Shabazz

All you need is a mic, music and a group of friends, family, and colleagues. If you’re a music lover, love to sing or just like to have fun with your peers, consider a karaoke spot near El Camino College’s campus. These are the top 5 establishments near El Camino.

1. Muse Karaoke 4. San Franscian

Muse Karaoke is 8.5 miles and 18 minutes away from El Camino. The Muse has happy hour 50% off from 6 p.m.to 8 p.m.The last call for happy hour is 7 p.m. If you bring food it would be an additional charge of $1. Price is per room size, small (2-4) people $30 medium (5-9) people $40, and large 10-16 people.

Address:1555 Sepulveda Blvd., Ste. T, Torrance Phone: 310-325-4408 Hours: Open daily: 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Website: https://www.yelp.com/biz/astro-karaoke-torrance

2. Forever Music

San Franciscan is well known for its famous clam chowder bread bowl and steak. The steakhouse restaurant/bar has karaoke on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 p.m. until close and live entertainment on Fridays 9 pm until 1am.They offer large group reservations of up to 16 guests. Karaoke is free as long as you buy a drink and food. Gifts cards and 4.6 miles from El Camino campus.

Address:2520 Sepulveda Blvd., Torrance Phone: 310-325-5231 Hours: Monday-Thursday: 3-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday: 3-10 p.m.

Website:https://www.the-sanfranciscan.com/karaoke-and-livemusic/

Forever Music karaoke is(5 minutes away).This location has a nice sitting area with chairs and couches in the receptionist area. Prices are $20 an hour for room size two people, five people for medium rooms $25 an hour and 17 people in large rooms for $40 an hour.

5. Artesia Bar

Address:15208 S Western Ave., Gardena Phone: 310 324-7770 Hours: Open daily: 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Website: https://www.yelp.com/biz/forever-music-studiogardena

3. Astro Karaoke

Near the entrance, there are six rooms, a bar, and three archery arcade games.Visitors can take advantage of great bargains and low pricing at this place.This place is 1.3 miles from campus and the arrival time is 5 minutes away. The rooms are open for walkins and reservations. Prices range from $20 to $50 depending on the size of the group.

Address:2212 Artesia Blvd., Torrance Phone: 310-329-9006 Hours: Tuesday-Sunday: 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Artesia Bar is a 21 and over LBGQT bar in Redondo Beach with free karaoke on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursday at 8 p.m. as long as you purchase a drink. DJs on Fridays and Saturdays at 10 p.m.They have themed events,trivia nights, birthday bashes, outdoor seating, and reservations are required for groups. The arrival time is 12 minutes and 3.2 miles from El Camino’s campus.

Address:1995 Artesia Blvd., Redondo Beach Phone: 310-318-3339 Hours: Sunday, Tuesday-Thursday: 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday-Saturday: 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Website: https://www.artesiabar.com Social Media: FB: https://www.facebook.com/ArtesiaBar-2398733403674606/ IG https://instagram.com/artesiabar?igshid=NjY2NjE5MzQ=

Marcus Rodriguez stands in front of Offering III, an archival pigment print by artist Matt Lipps. Marcus curated the art gallery "Closer Now" in Torrance Art Museum that ran from April 2 to May 14. (Maureen Linzaga | Warrior Life)

Finding belonging across different spaces through art

Student, teaching assistant and art curator tells stories of identity

Story by Maureen Linzaga Photos by Greg Fontanilla and Maureen Linzaga

His journey in art began in the first space he occupied – his own home.

The ceramic mug that holds his coffee. The textiles of the plastic cover draped over the dinner table. The engraved kitchen tiles. The religious images such as the Crucifix on the walls. The sculptures of the Virgin Mary adorning the altar.

Even from simple objects one can make practical use out of every day, Marcus saw works of art in his Mexican household at an early age.

“Those are pretty to look at, but they're also things that you wrap yourself around and feel comfort with,” Marcus says. “My hope, my vision is that kind of art could bring comfort and solace to the human experience.”

Through the emphasis of cultural identity and individual belonging in art, El Camino College studio art and psychology student Marcus Masaki Rodriguez tells stories of domesticity across many spaces – whether in a classroom, the museum or his own abode.

Born in Los Angeles to a Japanese mother and Mexican father, Marcus spent a lot of his life navigating two cultures and seeing how concepts of intimacy and domestic life differ from home to home.

“Growing up like that, the idea really stuck with me, like how do we find a home? And what constitutes as a home?” Marcus says.

Outside his biological family, he found a deeper sense of belonging in a “found family” as a queer individual. Valuing domesticity and vulnerability through his experiences, such themes ultimately inspired the art gallery Marcus later curated for the Torrance Art Museum.

“Cultivating a space where you can be yourself and be vulnerable with people around you - that’s an important idea to me,” Marcus says.

His parents met in a cosmetology school in Hollywood, where

both studied creative careers such as movie production and doing actors’ makeup. This exposed him to the world of aesthetics and creativity at a young age. Marcus’ dad is now a writer of children’s books who creates detailed pen-and-ink illustrations of creatures in the fantasy stories, which further encouraged Marcus’ imagination as a child. “I think my art style’s very, very different,” Marcus says. “But I definitely have that same love for the arts and the same artistic eye.” His mother no longer pursues the arts and is now working as a social worker among the Asian homeless population in Downtown Los Angeles. Like her, Marcus felt a strong fondness for his Asian roots. Marcus recalls sitting in the backyard of his grandparents’ house in Osaka, Japan, letting his curiosity run free by making ‘plant soup’ or makeshift tea by cutting grass, putting in water and telling his mom to eat it. “Although obviously she wouldn’t,” Marcus adds with a laugh. “I was always curious, always enjoyed beauty, I found a lot of value and comfort in aesthetic practices.” Marcus spent most summers visiting his Osaka home, observing Japan’s culture of An artwork created Marcus Rodriguez including magazine clippings, communally living with extended lace trimmings and patterned paper that reminds him of tablecloth and family and relatives. themes of domestic life taken on May 2. (Maureen Linzaga | Warrior Life) “In Japan, there’s such a big emphasis on the collective and working with other people. In America, my experience has been very individual, it’s a very ‘Man for himself’ kind of idea,” Marcus says. Marcus says the biggest similarities in both his Japanese and Mexican homes are the environments where a lot of people lived closely, allowing him to spend time with many generations of different cultures. Marcus moved from his Mexican household at 13 years old to now live with his mom and brother in Torrance, which he finds more suitable as an adult who values independence. His dad currently lives in another area of California for work.