Los Angeles Downtown News 12-26-22

A girl can dream, can’t she?

By Ellen Snortland LA Downtown News Contributing Writer

Writing a weekly column is a privilege. It’s also sometimes a pain in the patoot. Imagine having to come up with topics that might interest someone other than yourself. I sit in my office chair daydreaming, staring out the window, hoping for crows to visit our fountain. I am dithering, barely writing.

My window lets me admire our indestructible garden of drought-tolerant plants. I walk out to see if I can smell petrichor, a scent that is a reliable indicator of rain coming. We still have vegetation “trash” I’ve collected in the front of the yard. To Hugel, or not to Hugel? We also stash our tree detritus out by the fence to deter the dogs from getting through. That’s important, as outside the garden’s boundaries is the almost freeway-like traffic of Altadena Drive.

I’ve written this column for 30 years and I never run out of ideas. That said, let me remind you of a T-shirt I saw years ago: “Watch what you say: I’m a writer.” There’s also Anne Lamott’s invaluable wisdom: “If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.”

It’s de rigueur to do a 2022 round-up, but I barely have the strength. That in and of itself is a ringing indictment of the year we’ve just had. It’s also customary to make a list of New Year’s resolutions. I can’t do that either, since my 2022 resolution was to never make another resolution as long as I live. Resolutions are like candles. They shine bright until the wax melts onto your favorite antique table, causing you to curse the candle and vow to not light one again … until you forget and do it again. Do not be tempted!

I have also promised myself that I will refrain from giving unsolicited advice to people … except in my column! If you are reading my unsolicited advice, consider it a solicitation of what I think. Here goes:

Instead of resolutions, make promises and manufacture some “No kidding” consequences if you don’t keep them … then tell someone who can hold you to account. For example, “I promise to eat healthily for six months, and if I break my promise, I will eat 10 spiders.”

Making promises is far more powerful than namby-pamby resolutions. Resolutions are typically obliterated when said “resolver” misses one gym visit, eats one slice of pie, or picks their nose in their car. This is especially true if there are no consequences for breaking the resolution.

However, if you make a promise to another person to never pick your nose in the car, and you vow that if you break it, you have to stand on the corner of Lake and Colorado and pick your nose every time a car goes by? Hoo-boy, now you’ve got some real “skin” in the game! Or, in this case, boogers in the game.

I’ve intentionally built my promise-making and promise-keeping muscles over the years so that, usually, promising another person I’ll do something is enough. I also get some added oomph by giving myself a star that I paste onto my progress board. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I work for stars! Enough of my Lutheran Sunday School goody-goody two-shoes legacy remains intact that affixing metallic stars on a prominently displayed sheet still does it for me.

Digital companies have also figured this out. Services like Wordle and Duolingo keep tabs on their users’ “streaks” and provide bragging rights and rewards to keep you going. My Duolingo Norwegian streak is now at 1,105 days straight — woo-hoo!

Speaking of Duolingo, I have an image of their staff somewhere in digital land laughing their asses off. Or, in Norwegian, “ler ræva av seg.” Really, Duolingo? You’ve taught me to say phrases in Norwegian like, “I do not eat spiders,” “I am the cheese,” and “pull my finger,” but you haven’t yet taught me how to say the days of the week or the months or even weather conditions? Really? I suspect that Duolingo subscriptions skyrocketed during The Great Lockdown, and they had to hire a bunch of out-of-work Norwegian comics to fill in for actual linguists. Al-

though it’s possible that “Norwegian comic” is an oxymoron.

I am skittish about wishing you a better year in 2023. During 2022, every time I said, or even thought, “It can’t get any worse,” it did. Although there were also glimmers of hope, such as Sen. Warnock eventually triumphing over what was a dead heat against a barely sentient Herschel Walker.

For a bigger dose of hope, I’ll end with the shimmering image of Drumpf finally facing consequences. Maybe he could take a jet out of the country and beg for asylum with the Russians. Or maybe all the MAGA maniacs could get hit by a lightning bolt of common sense. Frankly, I hunger to see Drumpf in shackles, wearing an orange outfit that goes nicely with his face. That idea just yanked me away from staring out my window, wondering what I’ll write about today. A gal can dream, can’t she?

Happy New Year!

2023 marks the 30th year that Ellen Snortland has written this column. She also teaches creative writing online. She can be reached at: ellen@beautybitesbeast.com. Her award-winning film “Beauty Bites Beast” is available for download or streaming at vimeo.com/ondemand/ beautybitesbeast.

OPINION

Hey you! Speak up!

Downtown News wants to hear from people in the community. If you like or dislike a story, let us know, or weigh in on something you feel is important to the community. Participation is easy. Go to downtownnews.com, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the “Letter to the Editor” link. For guest opinion proposals, please email christina@timespublications.com.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Christina Fuoco-Karasinski

DEPUTY EDITOR: Luke Netzley

STAFF WRITER: Morgan Owen

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Jeff Moeller, Ellen Snortland

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER: Chris Mortenson

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Travis Shinn ART DIRECTORS: Arman Olivares, Stephanie Torres

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Catherine Holloway (213) 308-2261 Michael Lamb (213) 453-3548

EMERITUS:

Denine Gentilella (323) 627-7955

DTLA coalition calls on city council to adopt 2040 community plan

By Luke Netzley LA Downtown News Deputy Editor

The Central City United coalition was formed to addresses the needs of vulnerable communities in Downtown LA, particularly residents and small businesses in Chinatown, Little Tokyo and Skid Row. In a recent letter to the Los Angeles City Council, the CCU coalition called on the Planning and Land Use Management Committee (PLUM) to place their DTLA 2040 Community Plan on its agenda.

“(The coalition) came together … because we are all organizations and neighborhoods that have been negatively affected in the past by planning processes,” said Grant Sunoo, director of community building and engagement at the Little Tokyo Service Center. “With the looming DTLA 2040 update, we’re really concerned about issues like gentrification and dis -

placement and cultural erasure and sustainability in our neighborhoods and wanted to pull together a collective vision rooted in our organizing work for a plan that we felt like could start to undo some of these past harms and really focus on things like affordable housing and the preservation of businesses in the cultural district.”

According to projections, Downtown will see a net increase of roughly 125,000 people, 70,000 housing units and 55,000 jobs by 2040. The DTLA 2040 Community Plan was built by the CCU coalition with the vision of strengthening the voices of community leaders in the future planning and development of Downtown’s lower-income neighborhoods, sustaining present cultural practices and institutions in areas like Chinatown, Little Tokyo and Skid Row, and prioritizing tenant protections and

creating a net gain of affordable and supportive housing to curb displacement.

“I think homelessness and homelessness prevention is a huge part of the work we do as well because, obviously Skid Row, but all of our neighborhoods are extremely low income, and so a lot of the tenants in all three neighborhoods are at high risk of becoming not just displaced, but homeless,” said Sissy Trinh, executive director of the Southeast Asian Community Alliance. “I know a lot of our tenants that we’ve helped over the last two and a half years through COVID are one rent increase away from becoming homeless, so a lot of the advocacy is not just getting, for example, more affordable housing, but affordable housing at the levels in which our communities can afford because, in fact, a lot of the housed residents in Downtown are too poor to qualify for traditional afford-

able housing.”

“As the plan is proposed now, there is an inclusionary housing component that would create brand new affordable housing units in any new development,” Sunoo added. “There is the creation of a new category of affordable housing, acutely low-income housing for 15% AMI (area median income) or lower, which is kind of a category of housing that hasn’t really been contemplated before and really speaks to the needs of folks in our neighborhoods.”

The plan also calls for benefits towards local community-serving shops and entrepreneurs, inclusive standards for public green spaces and community amenities, and a racial equity analysis and program that would investigate racialized impacts of DTLA planning and development to prevent further harm to vulnerable com-

munities through displacement and gentrification.

“Our neighborhoods were all created in order for the city to engage in racial segregation,” explained An Le, assistant director of community building and engagement at the Little Tokyo Service Center. “Skid Row, Chinatown and Little Tokyo weren’t created by residents. (They were) created by the city to kind of segregate us from the rest of the city, from the more desirable residents of the city, and as a result we’ve lived through over a century of just pollution and poverty and all of these different things … how do we prevent that from happening?

“(The DTLA 2040 Community Plan) is trying to think about how we can create healthy, equitable communities. And I think that’s what we’re really excited about.”

In their letter to City Council, the CCU coalition and its partner organizations casted shame towards the actions of Council President Nury Martinez and Councilmembers Kevin de Leon and Gil Cedillo in the recent leaked audio recording, but expressed hope for a future in which Downtown leadership, namely City Council and PLUM chair Marqueece Harris Dawson, center the needs and voices of Downtown’s most vulnerable communities by creating new opportunities for safe affordable housing, opening the economy to small and local businesses and establishing a model for equitable community development through the 2040 community plan.

“Typically with these types of policies, when it comes to neighborhood-specific development and community plans, the council tends to defer to whoever represents the district,” Trinh explained. “However, what do you do when two of the councilmembers that represent the districts in Downtown are on a ‘leave of absence’ because of racism and attempts at gerrymandering and collusion? And who do you listen to? … So there’s been a lot of uncertainty about how the Downtown plan should proceed, but the problem is that the Downtown plan is more than just about whoever is the sitting council member. … It’s about planning for the future.”

“There’s a fair amount of urgency around it because the benefits that we’re trying to achieve through this plan are really important to the communities that we work in,” Sunoo added. “Every day that the plan isn’t heard or doesn’t pass, there’s more market rate projects that are approved which might not have the affordable housing that we would achieve through the plan, or more legacy businesses that get displaced that could have benefited from the funds that the community benefits program might provide.”

Both Sunoo and Le of the Little Tokyo Service Center and Trinh of the Southeast Asian Community Alliance worked with community members on the ground throughout the pandemic, pivoting their organizations to address the immediate needs of their neighborhoods. They distributed PPE and ran vaccine clinics while providing language services and access for COVID relief programs.

“A lot of our planning work is really rooted in decades of understanding the needs of our communities, what the priorities are, and trying to find solutions that address those needs,” Trinh said. “One of the other policies that we were drafting was around public open space, and how do we create public open space that targets the needs and priorities of the heaviest park users and the most vulnerable park users? And in the case of CCU, it’s seniors, it’s people with disabilities, it’s youth and it’s houseless residents. (We’re) talking about discouraging hostile architecture, making sure that there are water fountains and bathrooms and adequate seating and shade.

“I think a lot of the policies that we work on are really rooted in understanding how existing systems don’t support or have been detrimental to the needs of our residents and small businesses and workers and stakeholders, and how we can create solutions.”

Regarding the DTLA 2040 Community Plan’s ability to enact meaningful change in Downtown, Trinh pointed to the TOC Program, created as a result of Measure JJJ’s passing in 2016, that was built to give development incentives for affordable housing construction along transit lines.

“I think a lot of folks originally thought that Measure JJJ was going to kill development, and it became this new tool that developers love and are like scrambling to make happen,” Trinh said. “Even us as advocates who worked on that campaign were taken aback. … It’s like almost all the new developments that are getting built are at 30% AMI. So in some ways, the Downtown plan is, I would say, like TOC 2.0. It’s kind of taking what worked in TOC, maybe making some fine tuning and some tweaks, of course adding the acutely low income category as well. So I don’t think we need to go far to look for an example (of a similar program’s success).”

“Better communities with the same neighbors,” Sunoo echoed. “(We’re) also thinking about it from a cultural preservation and cultural sustainability lens, as these are three communities of color, and thinking about the history behind our three communities and how we can continue to grow these communities and continue to be centers for our respective cultures. But then also evolving with the rest of the city as well.”

Fentanyl causes a rise in teen deaths

By Morgan Owen LA Downtown News Staff Writer

This month, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer declared that LA could receive the first $1.8 million payment out of $4.2 billion awarded as part of a national settlement against drug distributors McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health, Inc., AmerisourceBergen Corporation and separately with manufacturer Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

Over the coming twenty years, LA will receive millions of dollars to respond to the opioid crisis, which has become increasingly deadly due to the rise of fentanyl.

“Throughout the nation and across Los Angeles, the opioid crisis has shattered lives while powerful corporations watched the profits roll in,” Feuer said. “We filed our lawsuit to hold them accountable, change their conduct and obtain resources to contend with the impact of this epidemic on LA’s streets. … This payment is just the beginning.”

Since 2010, the rate of teen overdose deaths has remained stable, averaging around 500 deaths a year. But from 2019 to 2020, teen overdoses increased by 94%. In 2021 alone, at least 1,146 adolescents nationally (aged 14-18) died from substance-related causes.

While the data relating to overdose-related deaths would appear to indicate more teens are dangerous and taking illicit drugs, The Department of Health and Human Services reported 2021 marked the largest single-year decrease in adolescent substance use since 1975.

However, in September, Melanie Ramos, 15, died from a suspected fentanyl overdose after taking a fake Percocet. Alexander Neville, 14, died of a fentanyl overdose in 2020 after taking what he thought was an oxycontin pill. Zachary Didier, 17, also overdosed in 2020 after buying fentanyl laced Percocet on Snapchat. In 2019, Trevor Leopold, 18, died after taking what he believed to be oxycodone.

In California, fentanyl-related overdose deaths increased by 625% from 2018 to 2020. In 2021, UCLA researchers identified that fentanyl contributed to as much as 77.14% of adolescent overdose deaths, far outpacing other drugs as the leading cause of substance-related deaths.

“That’s why we say fentanyl changes everything,” explained Julie Shamash, president of the Drug Awareness Foundation, which she founded after her son Tyler died from a fentanyl-related overdose in 2018.

“Most of the kids that are dead from fentanyl — It’s not like they used too much of something. It’s because fentanyl was in what they used,” Shamash said.

When Tyler Shamash died from a fentanyl-related overdose, he had been recovering from a long-standing addiction. He was at a sober living facility when he died of an overdose. It was later that Shamash and her family found it was fentanyl that had killed Tyler.

“The number one thing I want parents to know is never say ‘not my child,’ because fentanyl is killing anyone and everyone. It’s killing longtime users, and it’s killing kids that are trying to experiment,” Shamash warned.

Fentanyl is a highly addictive synthetic opioid, 80-100 times more potent than

morphine and 40-50 times more than heroin. It is odorless, tasteless, and as little as two grains can be fatal.

The drug first emerged on the market around 2015. At that time, the primary use for the drug was as a cost-effective way to cut and make heroin more addictive. But as opioid pills, like oxycodone, Percocet, oxycontin, and stimulants, like Adderall and Ritalin, became more popular, illegal drug manufacturers began to lace pills with fentanyl too.

Many teens are obtaining these drugs through social media and online, even getting them delivered through the postal system. A quick google search will yield multiple websites a teen might be able to purchase illegal opioids. Snapchat and other social media platforms are also popular platforms for dealers and customers to connect.

One way to protect yourself or someone else against a Fentanyl overdose, or any opioid overdose, is to carry Narcan. Narcan is an over-the-counter nasal spray that can help reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. It is used by first responders, is needle-free, and is easy to carry.

Another way to keep someone safe from a fentanyl overdose is to use Fentanyl testing strips. However, to use a testing strip, the pill must be crushed and placed in water. This makes it less cost-effective for dealers and customers to test batches of pills, and there is no guarantee all pills you purchase are from the same batch.

“I’m not going to tell you not to do drugs, because you already know you shouldn’t be doing drugs,” Shamash said. “But if you’re going to do drugs, make sure you use with a friend, make sure you have Narcan, (and make sure you have) fentanyl testing strips.”

$95M distributed to

consumers

harmed by fraudulent

student

loan debt relief companies

By Luke Netzley LA Downtown News Deputy Editor

In a joint prosecution with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the states of Minnesota and North Carolina, newly elected Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto’s office will distribute over $95 million in restitution to 87,285 consumers nationwide who were allegedly harmed by fraudulent student loan debt relief companies, namely Consumer Advocacy Center Inc., doing business as Premier Student Loan Center (Premier).

This will include more than $7.1 million to 6,546 California consumers who made claims against Premier, which operated its student loan debt relief enterprise at locations throughout LA and Southern California through multiple corporate entities and under multiple names, including co-defendants True Count Staffing Inc., doing business as SL Account Management; and Prime Consulting LLC, doing business as Financial Preparation Services.

The LA City Attorney’s Office, under the leadership of Mike Feuer and on behalf of the People of the State of California, sued Premier and related companies and individuals alongside the CFPB, and the states of North Carolina and Minnesota. The plaintiffs also obtained an asset freeze and a preliminary injunction prior to the restitution just announced.

“Student loan debt continues to be a crushing burden for too many Angelenos,” Soto said. “My office will prosecute these types of claims using every tool at our disposal and continue to help victims get their money back. This announcement is a continuation of the strong consumer protection work that the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office has become known for throughout California and the nation. We will never hesitate to step-in and protect consumers.”

The lawsuit alleges that Premier violated states’ consumer protection statutes, as well as the federal Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 and the Telemarketing Sales Rule by making deceptive representations about Premier’s student loan debt relief services. Premier also allegedly charged and collected improper advance fees before consumers had received any adjustment to their student loans or made payments towards an adjusted loan. The lawsuit against Premier continues, with trial currently set for spring 2023.

CFPB has already started sending out redress checks to consumers who were allegedly harmed, and the City Attorney’s Office suggests that consumers visit the U.S. Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid website to learn about student loan repayment programs.

Dodgers to host 3rd strength and conditioning symposium

By Luke Netzley LA Downtown News Deputy Editor

Ahead of the 2023 Major League Baseball season, the Los Angeles Dodgers will host their third strength and conditioning symposium on Friday, Jan. 20, and Saturday, Jan. 21, at Dodger Stadium. Strength, conditioning and baseball coaches, as well as students in the field of health and performance, are invited to learn from the Dodgers’ award-winning strength and conditioning staff during the two-day event.

Participants will get an inside look at the Dodgers’ philosophy of athletic development, training and continued development of the physical aspects needed to perform at one of the highest levels of baseball. The symposium is led by Dodger vice president of player performance Brandon McDaniel and his staff as they will provide insight into the Dodgers’ use of movement analysis, technology and performance.

The event will be hosted at Dodger Stadium for the first year since its inception in 2020, as the Dodgers will have a mix of classroom and active participation along with access to training facilities.

Dr. Greg Rose, co-founder at Titleist Performance Institute, will serve as the keynote speaker for the event. He has helped pioneer the field of analyzing 3D motion capture models of the golf swing by combining an engineering background with an expertise on the human body.

“We are excited to be hosting our annual symposium,” McDaniel said. “This gives a chance for our talented staff to be able to share their knowledge and passion with other talented members of our field. This year we are excited to welcome Dr. Greg Rose to present over the weekend as well.”

Registration and travel information, a list of presenters and the agenda can be found at dodgers.com/symposium.

Stu Grimson: the original Mighty Duck

By Jeff Moeller LA Downtown News Contributing Writer

Stu Grimson’s NHL career was defined by toughness. One of the game’s top enforcers during an era when players dropped their gloves quicker than a giant slapshot flies across the ice, Grimson – nicknamed The Grim Reaper for his ability to fight – also enjoyed a unique first.

He was an original Mighty Duck of Anaheim.

Jade and eggplant are unusual team colors for a sports team, but being unique was the norm for the then-expansion Ducks. Founded by The Walt Disney Company in 1993 and featuring a name inspired by the “The Mighty Ducks” PG-rated film, Grimson was an integral member of the upstart team which made its on-ice debut nearly 30 years ago.

Grimson has fond memories of the time in his life in which he intimidated the opposition while sporting a jersey featuring a duck-billed goalie mask on a black circle and a jade green triangle.

“To be part of the Mighty Ducks team, the first in franchise history, was a totally unique experience,” he said. “We are playing in Southern California and all the cool stuff that goes along with it. The climate was attractive as was being so close to the water. Add in the different theme parks and the whole experience was so memorable and one I will never forget.”

Grimson scored 17 career goals in 729 career games. He also accumulated

2,113 penalty minutes, the 44th most in NHL history.

Despite playing a role where the word “goon” is often associated with it, Grimson is the exact opposite of a thug. A true pro and ambassador for his sport, he is an author and broadcaster, and he returned to school after hanging up his skates to complete his undergraduate studies in Economics. He later earned a law degree from the University of Memphis.

In Orange County, Grimson – who later played for the Kings and Red Wings among other teams and now lives in Tennessee – remembers being part of something special.

“It was great the way Orange County residents embraced us,” he said. “I think there were even a few Kings fans who switched their allegiances the moment an NHL franchise was in their backyard. It was fun to be part it. We drew well right out of the gate, and we were fairly competitive, at least in the first year.”

Grimson also recalls being part of something well beyond the standard.

“Having Disney behind us was huge,” he described. “Think of how they market, and it was, and is, such a family-centric company. I think guys like me, guys on the team who had small children, really embraced it. So unique, so fun.

“We would get the characters like Goofy and Mickey and Minnie in the team family room. My kids were like 2 and 4 years old then and they were in shock with what was going on. It is too bad they didn’t understand what a spe -

cial moment that it was but that was life when you were working for The Mouse.

“We also felt very, very connected to the parent company right from the start. We always felt like we had their support and appreciation. Disney always maintained a connection with the team.”

Within the organization, as he was around the league, Grimson was widely respected.

“Stu Grimson was one of the most humble and professional people I ever worked with in my now 30-plus years in sports,” said former Mighty Ducks executive Bill Robertson. “Off the ice, he was as nice a person as you could meet and so articulate. I know the Anaheim fans always liked to see Stu mix it up on the ice, but he was always a leader and protective of his teammates.”

After being awarded an expansion franchise late in 1992, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (the team later changed to its current Anaheim Ducks moniker) began play in the 1993-94 season. The team needed players, of course, and Grimson was one of the players the Mighty Ducks selected in a special league-wide expansion draft.

Grimson was still establishing himself in the NHL at the time of his arrival to Anaheim. He had seen limited action with Calgary and more in Chicago with the Blackhawks, his second club.

He also knew his defined role. Despite scoring as many as 24 goals in a single season at the junior hockey level, he also that year recorded 248 penalty minutes, Grimson knew his size (6’5”, 230 pounds)

was his pro calling card and not his scoring prowess.

Grimson was a member of the team for their first two seasons (he came back for two more seasons later in his playing career). When he first played in Anaheim, the club’s merchandise was so hot initially it could melt an entire ice rink.

“It is always interesting to see what part of a new franchise, in a new region, the fans will look to adopt,” Grimson said. “The logo is something that really establishes that connection in a new environment. The logo can be an extension of hockey culture in a way.”

The unconventional hockey culture in Anaheim featured loud plastic duck calls in the arena and Tinkerbell appearing on TV screens after a Ducks player scored. The traditionalists were alarmed.

The marriage between pro sports and Disney eventually ended but the company certainly left its mark on the pro sports industry, especially in terms of combining cross-promotional efforts and media muscle.

And, to this day, the brand remains an entertainment force with The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers television show a hit on the Disney+ streaming service.

“The Mighty Ducks organization when started is something that may never happen again in major professional sports,” Robertson said. “I do not think it will ever be duplicated again in sports. Most important were the tremendous bonds formed and having the backing and ownership of The Walt Disney Company made it a special organization.”

Bruce Bennett, LA Kings/Submitted

Grimson played for the Ducks (twice), Kings, Flames, Blackhawks, Red Wings, Hurricanes, Whalers and Predators. He recorded more than 200 penalty minutes in four different seasons.

Mike Powell, LA Kings/Submitted

Bill Robertson, a longtime sports executive, referred to Stu Grimson as “one of the most humble and professional people I ever worked with.”

Derek Day says Classless Act thrives on energy

By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski LA Downtown News Executive Editor

Classless Act frontman Derek Day bounces with energy first thing in the morning.

He’s feeling great and strives to always have fun, whether it’s on or off the stage. Day said he’s here to make people happy.

“We like to have fun,” said the Eagle Rock resident, calling from snowy Syracuse, New York. “That’s pretty much all we do.”

Fans can get a taste of it themselves when Classless Act plays the Knitting Factory North Hollywood on Friday, Dec. 30.

“It’s rock ‘n’ roll,” he said. “You’ll hear a little bit of something fresh going on. If you hate every single song on our album, you might like a 2-second piece of music. That’s what I tell people: we have 2 seconds for everyone. When you see the live show, you’ll get it. The vibe is always great on stage.”

Day honed his skills busking on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. He admitted it was a little daunting at first, but when he loosened up, he found his calling.

“The first year or so was really tricky,” he said. “But it was something I was looking at since I was a kid. I would go visit there. At 13, I already had so many ideas. It was hard to break out of my shell, but that’s how I learned to break out of my shell.”

Influenced by Queen, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Guns N’ Roses and Bowie, the LA-based five-piece Classless Act brings a fresh, young take on a golden age of music.

“I have a little disco in my blood, too,” Day said. “My mom bumped disco in our living room. That got me into my true passion, which is melodies and what makes a song really groove and sing.”

They’ve been applauded by the likes of Jane’s Addiction and only released its debut single, “Give It to Me,” in 2021.

“It’s humbling,” Day said about the compliments. “You just want to make these guys proud. We’ve had the chance to work with some of these people like (Metallica producer) Bob Rock and (The Darkness singer/guitarist) Justin Hawkins, who’s a real clever dude; very artistic and awesome. At the end of the day, you can only speak with your work.”

Classless Act’s debut, “Welcome to the Show,” quickly racked up 2 million streams, which led them to The Stadium Tour with Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Joan Jett and Poison. Motley Crue’s Vince Neil appears on Classless Act’s album.

While the music tells its own story, so do the members of the band, hailing from around the globe. The band — which also features guitarists Dane Pieper and Griffin Tucker, bassist Franco Gravante and drummer Chuck McKissock — formed in 2018 when they met through friends via social media.

They quickly bonded over anthemic

rhythms, shreddy guitars, soaring vocals and clever arrangements. For Day, writing lyrics wasn’t the easiest thing at first.

“Lyrics are daunting,” he said with a laugh. “It has to sound good. It has to have voice. It has to sound fresh. You don’t want to write about what other people are writing. Now, I really love lyrics. Once you start journaling for yourself, it’s not bad.”

Young veteran

Before joining Classless Act, Day recorded a few EPs and one full length by his first year of community college. After releasing his first solo-experimental EP in the summer of 2016, he opened for Steve Vai’s 25th anniversary tour of the “Passion and Warfare” album.

From there, he hit up NAMM and then opening slots for Ted Nugent for his “Rockin’ America Again” jaunt. His resumé also includes stints with Living Colour’s Vernon Reid and Corey Glover for

Travis Shinn/Contributor

Classless Act is, from left, guitarist Griffin Tucker, bassist Franco Gravante, vocalist Derek Day, guitarist Dane Pieper and drummer Chuck McKissock.

the Chuck Berry tribute at the Lincoln Center. The Fender-endorsed musician joined Living Colour on its “Shade in the USA” tour, and Steel Panther in Fort Lauderdale.

In 2018, he and Reid collaborated on music and that March, Classless Act asked him to join. Their sixth show as a band was a gig opening for Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators at the Palladium.

Classless Act is filled with young veterans, if the two words can be used together. Day said he’s been in the business for 15 years and everyone has released records.

“We’re all in love with each other. We’re all brothers,” he said. “It’s crazy to say our first album dropped this year. It’s like, ‘Whoa. This is crazy.’ This weird social media thing has been intertwined

with beautiful synchronicity and good timing. We went through different members. They had two other singers before me. Once we got this right combination, it was like the Power Rangers.”

When he’s home in Eagle Rock, he writes music and works around town as a session artist. He loves his German shepherd, Stella, to death, even though she’s the “clumsiest thing ever.”

He’s looking forward to his hometown show.

“It’s just the most electrifying kick ass, you can’t take your eyes off it spectacle,” he said with a laugh. “We love to have so much fun on stage. I learned how to move around from the streets, from busking. I love having a good old time. We’re a little funny, a little jokey, a little classless — it’s all in the name.”

Classless Act and Satellite Citi

WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 30

WHERE: Knitting Factory, 5303 Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood COST: $15 in advance; all ages

INFO: noho.knittingfactory.com

Travis Shinn/Contributor

Classless Act will play the Knitting Factory North Hollywood starting at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 30.

By Luke Netzley LA Downtown News Deputy Editor

For their last major exhibition of the year, DTLA’s Corey Helford Gallery (CHG) will welcome over 70 contemporary artists for “The Last Unicorn 40th Anniversary” group show, a tribute to the 1982 fantasy film animated by Topcraft born from the beloved novel by Peter S. Beagle.

The exhibition, presented in partnership with creative consulting firm Sweet Streets, marks the first time in history that the film’s original artwork will be displayed.

“This is very much a ‘by fans, for fans’ project,” curator and Sweet Streets founder Caro Buermann said. “I am a diehard fan.

… When I was 14, I started collecting the art for the film, so I’ve had a personal connection to it as a collector for many, many years.

“After I started collecting, a friend of mine in Japan was looking to organize the symposium in Japan with some of the original Topcraft studio artists, and he asked me to help. … We wrote an open letter to ITC (entertainment company), and we put it out on Twitter. It reached

ITC, then they gave my company the license to do this and the rest is history. Here we are about two years later, and we just launched the official anniversary celebration.”

Originally produced by Rankin/Bass, “The Last Unicorn” follows the story of Amalthea, an immortal unicorn who searches for others like herself, but is the last of her kind.

The film’s 40th Anniversary group show will be on display at CHG until Friday, Jan. 21, with interpretive pieces from a wide array of internationally acclaimed artists in the Main Gallery, original film production art in Gallery 3 and a pop-up shop with exclusive merch in Gallery 2.

“If I’m going to do an exhibition, I couldn’t do it anywhere else,” said Buermann, who has been a curator at CHG for around 10 years. “They’re an amazing, massive gallery. … I wanted to go as big as we could, and I wouldn’t have done it any other way.”

During her curation process for the exhibition, Buermann wanted to limit the show’s criteria so that the artists would have more freedom to express their own

interpretations of the film and its artwork, drawing on wider themes like love and coming of age.

“Part of what I love about curating, my greatest takeaway is the personal relationships that I have to the artists,” she said. “I definitely had a vision. Being the curator, I invited the artists anticipating what their artwork would look like for an exhibition like this.”

While Buermann described the entire art collection as one that “takes your breath away,” she felt particularly drawn to Australian-based artist Pip & Pop’s installation, a fountain that acts as the centerpiece of the Main Gallery.

“The materials that she puts into her art includes glittery, magical sculptures that she arranges into like a sugary landscape,” Buermann said. “She also collects artifacts from places where she is visited all over the world throughout her career as an artist. Little cute toys and things that she’s collected along the way, those are all incorporated into this gorgeous fountain.

“For anyone who’s seen the film, in the beginning of the film, there’s an animated sequence inspired by the unicorn tapestries that are on display at Cloisters by the Met. And that was the inspiration for the fountain. … (We had) a lot of really fun days in the studio putting this together.”

The exhibition at CHG stands as the

most recent stop on the film’s global, twoyear anniversary tour sponsored by nonprofit film society ASIFA Hollywood that began in July with the film’s first screening at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ David Geffen Theater. For Buermann, it’s an opportunity for DTLA residents, art enthusiasts and both new and old fans of “The Last Unicorn” to come together to celebrate the film and the artists.

“I think with any show that I curate, I want people to just escape from their lives for a moment and step into this beautiful, magical place that I think exists in ‘The Last Unicorn’ story,” Buermann described. “I also think the exhibit, like the film, is also rooted in a place of reality, which I think is something anybody coming to the exhibit can take away from because the world that ‘The Last Unicorn’ lives in is not this perfect fantasy world. It is a beautiful fantasy world in the beginning of the film, but she comes to terms with … what it means to live in the human world throughout the story in the film.

“I think there’s definitely something for everybody. I want people to feel a sense of fantasy and magic, and also be able to take something away from that incredible coming of age story and just have a smile on their face as they walk around this beautiful exhibition.”

Corey Helford Gallery/Submitted

Corey Helford Gallery/Submitted

Pony

by Gary Baseman.