Pianist Wayne Bethanis listened to his heart, found success
Protesters rally amid controversial abortion pill ruling
+ Cinco de Mayan
In her first State of the City address, Mayor Karen Bass was realistic about Los Angeles’ standing, yet appeared optimistic about how her policies and directives have impacted the city.
“Tonight, it is my honor to fulfill my duty under the charter to report on the state of our city. I am 127 days into my administration, and I cannot declare that the state of our city is where it needs to be,” Bass said. “But I am proud to report that together we have brought change to the city of Los Angeles.”
Headlining the speech, Bass addressed one of the leading topics in her campaign: homelessness. Since taking office, Bass has led the charge in declaring a state of emergency on homelessness that has rippled throughout the LA metropolitan area from the county board of supervisors to Culver City.
It’s not a coincidence that Supervisor Janice Hahn, the chair of the LA County Board of Supervisors, introduced Bass. Since Bass has taken office, the city and the county have worked closely together on the issue of homelessness.
“It was all too easy to blame one another, especially when it came to homelessness. Mayor Bass ran a campaign on changing that and putting politics aside to meet this humanitarian crisis on our streets,” Hahn said. “In the weeks and months since (we declared a state of emergency), the county of Los Angeles and the city of Los Angeles have locked arms, coordinating our resources to get people off the streets.”
In her first 100 days, Bass pioneered the Inside Safe Program, which has sheltered more than 1,000 formerly homeless Angelenos. Inside Safe relies heavily on motel vouchers and working to find transitional housing for people living on the streets. At the State of the City, Bass announced she created a provision for the city to purchase motels and hotels in her
proposed budget, which the city released the day following her address.
“We have finally dispelled the myth that people do not want to come inside; they do. … (With Inside Safe) people can keep their property and stay with their partners and pets. We are removing the barriers that have been in place for far too long,” Bass said.
Bass conceded that the solution to homelessness takes more than acquiring temporary housing. She highlighted that the city is creating a comprehensive approach by addressing substance abuse, calling on landlords to accept housing vouchers, and working to dismantle bureaucratic obstacles presented by the Coordinated Entry System that determines which Angelenos qualify for transitional housing.
The second item on Bass’ agenda was addressing public safety. At the beginning of Bass’ term, three Angelenos expe -
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riencing a mental health crisis lost their lives during police encounters. This controversy sparked a plan to reform the LAPD, something Bass and Chief Michel Moore agreed to during his reappointment process.
“We (Bass and Moore) agreed to a clear set of metrics that chart a new direction for the department, including reducing the number of officer-involved deaths, revamping the disciplinary system, and providing enhanced mental health training for every office,” Bass said.
Bass announced that her new budget will form a new city department, the Mayor’s Office of Community Safety. According to Bass, the office will allow the city to develop a greater capacity for community intervention workers, social workers and other response teams for nonviolent situations that do not require law enforcement.
“This approach saves lives, and it saves money. The Office of Community Safety will launch a citywide effort to engage with Angelenos in community meetings, through surveys and scientific polling to create a citywide strategy to make Los Angeles safer,” Bass declared.
In addition to creating the Office of Community Safety, Bass’ budget accounts for hiring hundreds of firefighters to the LA Fire Department. According to the LAFD, 81% of the department’s emergen-
cy responses are medical, which is why Bass has arranged for the LAFD to hire qualified paramedics before they complete the Fire Academy. While they will still be required to complete fire training, paramedics can do so while on the job as they respond to medical 911 calls, Bass said.
Even though Bass aims to increase unarmed alternative response, she believes the city must increase recruitment for the LAPD. Bass said that the number of LAPD officers could drop below 9,000, numbers the city has not seen since 2002. In response, the city will launch an urgent recruitment campaign with incentives for recruits and the employees who recruit them.
Even though Los Angeles has received record rainfalls, Bass was firm that the city will not rely on short-term water stores to solve a long-term drought. Bass wants Los Angeles to build its climate and water resiliency. In her first 100 days, Bass has worked to get a new advanced water purification facility in Van Nuys, supplying water to more than 200,000 Angelenos.
Bass is also committed to bringing the city closer to zero emissions. She has
committed to increasing ridership along Metro to take cars off the roads. She hopes to make Metro more accessible by improving sanitation and safety and building a more robust system.
Pivoting off Metro, Bass said she wants to take a hard look at the physical condition of Los Angeles, from potholes to graffiti. The recent storms showed how quickly streets can deteriorate. According to Bass, the city has responded to 6,500 fallen trees and branches, 1,700 flooded strains and more than 17,000 potholes.
“A city that is clean and in good repair is safer, prosperous and provides Angelenos with a better life. My office is currently working to improve how the city addresses graffiti. And we are also working with Caltrans so that our freeways and underpasses will be covered with murals instead of graffiti,” Bass said. “Can you imagine that?”
To conclude the State of the City, Bass recognized that LA is built on the “bedrock of our middle class.” She stated that she is committed to fair labor practices and settling union disputes, as demonstrated in May when she mediated union negotiations between United Teachers Los Angeles and LAUSD. Bass thanked the workers who made sacrifices for the city,
including the three LADWP workers recently injured on the job.
“A new, more affordable LA — one that provides peace of mind is dependent on the jobs businesses create. As mayor, I know that LA doesn’t just feel the good parts of our entertainment industry. When we watch a comedy here in LA, the greatest impact isn’t emotional — it’s economic. And that’s why I’m a steadfast supporter of Hollywood and for expanded and improved tax credits.”
One of the bright spots of the pandemic, Bass said, was the LA Al Fresco program, which showed the city a better way to work with businesses. Building a new Los Angeles means building what has already made it great. Bass plans to make programs like this permanent to help build communities and create partnerships between the city and businesses.
“I said when I took office that being elected mayor was the honor of a lifetime. But serving as your mayor is the true honor,” Bass said. “People come from all over this country in search of the American dream. I want all of them to experience a new LA.
“But more importantly, I want Angelenos to experience (a city) that is stronger, healthier and safer — one that is affordable. This is the new Los Angeles that we will build together. This is the new LA.”
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Amid the recent push to further limit access to safe abortion on a federal level, hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Downtown on April 15.
Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance, calling on Americans “to be the next generation of the people who will help lead and fight in this movement for freedom and liberty.” She continued, “I fundamentally believe that you can gauge the strength of a democracy based on the strength of women in that democracy. … When you attack the rights of women in America, you are attacking America.”
Also in attendance, feminist lawyer Gloria Allred declared, “For more than 50 years, our wombs have become political footballs. … There are already women in many states who have no right to legal, unsafe abortion.”
Allred detailed her horrific abortion prior to Roe v. Wade, explaining that “we have to continue to fight because we’ve seen the full arc of change. … Nobody is ever giving us our rights. We’ve always had to fight for them to win them.”
The protest follows a controversial ruling from U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who suspended the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the abortion pill mifepristone last week.
Although the ruling was temporarily blocked by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, keeping the FDA approval, the court simultaneously reimposed restrictions on the drug’s usage and distribution. These restrictions would prevent the drug from being dispensed by mail and reduce the window of time when the drug could be administered.
On April 14, proceeding the rally, conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito halted restrictions until 11:59 p.m. ET on April 19, following the Biden administration’s emergency appeal to restore drug access. The brief delay was extended until April 21. A decision was not available before press time.
Mifepristone was approved by the FDA more than 20 years ago and is used to end a pregnancy, working in conjunction with another drug, misoprostol, which empties the uterus. The two-drug combination is used in more than half of all U.S. abortions.
Following this, the conservative majority Supreme Court will decide whether to roll back recent restrictions on mifepristone or keep the current constraints on the drug’s usage and dispersal, limiting millions of
American women’s access to the drug, even in states where abortion remains legal.
The rally, organized by the Women’s March Foundation, also included notable speakers like Rep. Judy Chu and Maxine Waters, City Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, Women’s March Foundation President Emiliana Guereca, Sue Dunlap and Kara James of Planned Parenthood, LA County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, LA County Board of Supervisors member Hilda Solis, Rep. Jimmy Gomez, California state Rep. Wendy Carrillo, California Latinas for Reproductive Justice Executive Director Laura Jimenez, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
Protesters came from across LA County to voice their discontent with the decision. “I’m marching because women’s rights matter to me,” demonstrator Kathy Harren explained. Harren has been a registered nurse for 45 years and works at a rape treatment center in the South Bay. She explained that mifepristone is integral to the treatment protocol to prevent rape-related pregnancies.
“I’m here today because I’m a woman, an aunt and a human being. I have as much of a right to control my body as that white man,” protester Carmen Ramos Chandler said about Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of Texas who ruled against the FDA-approved medication.
“For people of color in particular, the access to reproductive health care is already limited — that’s why I’m here. … Demonstrating and exercising your First Amendment rights are important whether the crowd is three people or tens of thousands — people don’t hear you unless you speak up.”
“This is an escalation of an assault on women — on their rights and very lives,” said Michelle Xai, the Revcom Los Angeles chapter leader. “They went after Roe v. Wade and now the abortion pill — they’re not going to stop. … We’re looking at a situation where young girls and women will rely on seeking abortions that could end their lives when they need safe, legal abortions.”
Erica Mallen, stylist and activist, described the importance of intersectionality regarding access to women’s health care. “It’s important to stand up for this issue because, at the end of the day, it will affect Black, Latina and Indigenous women the most,” Mallen explained. “Anyone who is woman-identifying or has a uterus should have access to abortion no matter your demographic; you have the right to make your own choice and not face crisis.”
There are nearly 3,000 young adults and children currently experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County, according to reports. To help shed light on a side of the crisis that has often fallen under the radar, volunteer-based organization My Friend’s Place has built a continuum of programs and services that have helped uplift young people for the past four decades.
“The nature of the organization is really to create a sense of safety and belonging and to see a whole young person so that they can truly connect with themselves in all the opportunities around them,” said Heather Carmichael, executive director at My Friend’s Place. “We work very hard to create a plethora of opportunities for a young person to continue to learn, to discover, to evolve, while also addressing the crisis that they’re in.”
Alongside supplying services like food, water, showers, clothing and transportation, My Friend’s Place offers crisis care, education and well-being programs focused on creating stability and self-sufficiency. The Safe Haven Program provides daytime shelter and drop-in services; the Transformative Education Program hosts workshops and oneon-one sessions in educational fields like creative arts; and the Health and Well-Being Program connects youth with on- and off-site medical, health and wellness systems.
“The needs of young people are different; they’re distinct,” Carmichael said. “We want to create pathways for young people that orient them away from the homeless service system if that is possible for that young person. We will always have vulnerable community members that will need a larger safety net so that they can live their most purposeful, meaningful life, but if we intervene early in young people’s lives, they’re going to take this on and they’re going to be your neighbor. … They’re going to be your teacher. They’re going to be your legislator.
“That is the power we need to remember in early intervention in young people’s lives. … We have very intentionally garnered a beautiful community of support so that we have the most flexible funding possible to address the most
benign to complex issue that a young person might bring forward.”
Carmichael worked with My Friend’s Place for 17 years before becoming executive director in 2009. She previously held leadership roles with the Hollywood Homeless Youth Partnership for over 20 years and worked on staff at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
She described one of the biggest takeaways from her work throughout the decades as the fact that “these are our young people from the Los Angeles community. I would say that the largest portion of who comes seeking My Friend’s Place assistance are from our neighboring communities. … It might be Glendale; it might be somewhere in the San Fernando Valley or South Los Angeles.”
Carmichael explained that, on a citywide level, homelessness is primarily approached through the lens of adulthood and that the response systems and legislation built for the crisis do not account for the pathway of a young person.
“Young people are being hurt in communities and in families, and they’re fleeing for their safety or they’re pushed away because of who they are,” she said. “When we are thinking about develop -
ing affordable housing (and) permanent supportive housing, which is really, really important, what is that opportunity for a young person that is new to the street?
“As we’re emerging from the pandemic, our community understands that affordable housing is out of reach for a lot of people, and particularly for younger generations. Coming up and through school looking for a livable wage does not really afford for them to have the same independence that many generations have had, so we’re really anticipating that we’ll see more young people from our community and other communities. We’re positioning ourselves, getting ready to ensure that we can be responsive.”
Carmichael said that young people experiencing homelessness often come from marginalized communities. They’re in schools that have not been invested in or that don’t have the resources to recognize and accommodate for their struggle. There may have been an economic disrupt in their own life or their family’s life, and this disruption may have landed them in a foster care system that Carmichael described as “completely overwhelmed” in LA.
“I think it’s really important for us to remember that young people’s pathways are different, and the response system may need to be different,” she said. “It’s really the beauty and the brilliance of our community of support that has afforded us to really invite a young person in as a whole being and to love them. Social services are not supposed to love someone, right?
“What we are learning is in crisis, for you, for me, for the young person, you must feel safe. You must feel like you belong. You kind of need to feel loved in order to imagine that you are able to do something else, that you can trust a community to help you transition beyond this particular moment in time. … Being loved, that kind of feels like being a part of a community that is not only about you but about something bigger.”
Carmichael also explained that building an identity is paramount, as young adulthood is a time when many people begin to develop and explore who they are and what defines them, and that labeling someone as a “homeless person” can cause damage.
“If we force a young person to identify with the experience of homelessness, that’s not a destination,” she said.
“You do not want a young person to define themselves around this experience. You’ve got to keep a person future oriented and believing in their future.”
Youth homelessness is often difficult to observe and measure, as many young adults and children do not engage with public institutions at the same rate as other demographics, according to reports. Carmichael expressed gratitude for the support of people across LA in helping My Friend’s Place shed light on the issue, including celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Kobe and Vanessa Bryant, and Halsey.
“My Friend’s Place has been so fortunate to be a small but mighty organization with a lot of heartbeats that has gotten star power, beautiful people that have platforms to stand on, to share their platform, to draw attention to the issue, to the young people and to the organization,” Carmichael said. “Visibility can be a game changer for young people. I think, as a response system for
many years, all the beautiful organizations working with young people experiencing homelessness tried to do it under the radar, thinking it was a protective mechanism for young people. But now we absolutely know that we must garner visibility in the mind, heart and soul of our community so that young people don’t get left behind.”
To help support its programs and services and to celebrate 35 years as an organization, My Friend’s Place is hosting a Ending Youth Homelessness gala on Saturday, May 13, at Hollywood Palladium. Carmichael hopes it will help raise more awareness to the issue.
“We want these young people to exist in the collective mind and heart of Los Angeles as we vote, as we create response systems, as we develop laws and responses that don’t further marginalize young people,” Carmichael said. “As a community we’re only as strong as our most vulnerable.”
WHEN: 6 to 11 p.m. Saturday, May 13
WHERE: Hollywood Palladium, 6215 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles
COST: General admission is $250
INFO: myfriendsplace.org
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Wayne Kramer isn’t thinking of himself on his 75th birthday.
The guitarist and founder of the rock band the MC5 is gathering friends like Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Raul Pacheco of Ozomatli to perform at Rock Out! 6 on Saturday, April 29.
The concert will celebrate Kramer’s birthday, but it fetes the 15th anniversary of Jail Guitar Doors USA, the national nonprofit he founded with his wife, Margaret Saadi Kramer, and fellow musician Billy Bragg. Jail Guitar Doors USA provides music and arts education to incarcerated individuals and marginalized youth and advocates for the reform of the criminal justice system.
“What we do is pretty simple,” said Kramer, best known for the MC5 song “Kick Out the Jams.” “We find people who work in corrections who are willing to
use creativity as a tool to help people change for the better.
“My experience in prison has taught me if we don’t hope for the better while in custody, they will most certainly change for the worst. The prison experience is so destructive, nobody comes out better. It’s a medieval concept.”
The legendary musician was working with Detroit soul great Melvin Davis in their new group Radiation when he was convicted of selling drugs to undercover federal agents.
He was sentenced to four years at F.M.C. Lexington, where he befriended Red Rodney, an American jazz trumpeter who played with Charlie Parker.
The new Jail Guitar Doors C.A.P.O. (Community, Arts, Programming and Outreach) Center will host the event. At the Third and Fairfax center, they help marginalized youth develop their talents and capacities; disrupt systemic root causes of inequality, poverty and racism;
and advocate for families and communities impacted by the carceral system.
“I can’t do everything, but I can do something,” he said. “After I was released from prison in the 1970s, I started clocking what was happening in America with justice — the administration of justice. In other words, after they went to the courts, what happened to them.
“I found that more and more people both like me and more and more people of color and limited economic means were going to serve longer sentences with worse conditions. At a certain point, the solution to my anger is to take action.”
He ran into Bragg, who told him he launched an independent initiative in the United Kingdom, providing guitars to prisoners as tools for rehab. Kramer carried that concept to the United States and, today, the program is in 200 correctional facilities — prisons, county jails, women’s prisons and youth facilities.
“We’re trying to do something to mitigate the damage being done,” he said.
“I believe in the rule of law. I think it’s crucial to a healthy society, but the punishment has to be appropriate to the offense. We’re locking people up for too long. Even for violent offenders, the sentences are too long. Programming is not a high priority. I see it changing. The Titanic is turning. The Queen Mary is turning slowly but surely. We have a golden opportunity with people in custody. You’ve got their full attention. We need to help them find a way to understand where they’ve made their mistakes and what they can do to make sure they don’t come back to penitentiaries again.”
Aligned with the concert is the online Jail Guitar Doors Fresh Tracks auction from Monday, April 24, to Monday, May 1, supporting JGD’s Fresh Tracks, a 12week music and film production workshop held at the C.A.P.O. Center.
The auction features items like an au-
tographed Nile Rodgers Fender guitar, a gold suit worn onstage by Bauhaus and Love & Rockets co-founder David J, a VIP package for a performance by Rodrigo y Gabriela’s at the YouTube Theater in LA, a piano/keyboard lesson from renowned keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr. (Beck, Morrissey, Jellyfish), an Epiphone guitar autographed by singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat, an exclusive photographic print signed by Deadmau5, and an autographed Rams jerseys.
“We have all kinds of items, really great guitars, artwork and strange things,” he said with a laugh.
“We’ll have the concert that’ll feature some of our students, our teachers and friends. Our board member, Tom Morello, will do a set and we’ll probably all play together for a big finale.
“I’m still looking for artists. I’d like to find a woman who would be willing to come and play. It’s kind of a boys club at the moment. That doesn’t reflect the real world.”
Through Fresh Tracks, youth will learn how to tell their stories and collaborate with producers, beatmakers, engineers and other artists at a professional level. This includes hands-on experience creating music, videos, photos, bios and digital art assets.
Kramer’s “day job” is writing music for film and television in LA. The Detroit native moved to the West Coast because the “possibilities are broader” in LA.
“I just finished a terrific documentary called ‘Coldwater Kitchen,’” he said.
“It’s a documentary set in the Michigan Department of Corrections. There’s a chef who teaches a culinary arts program to prisoners, but it’s not like learning how to be a line chef. It’s a gourmet cooking, four-star, high-end culinary arts program. He just has devoted his life to the work. It follows three of his students as two are released and how they handle the adjustment back into the world and getting a job. It’s just a really heartwarming confirmation of our humanity.”
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday, April 29
WHERE: C.A.P.O. Center, 7944 W. Third Street, Los Angeles
COST: Tickets start at $20
INFO: one.bidpal.net/rockout6/ticketing
Auction: bidpal.net/rockout6
For famed professional wrestler and rocker Chris Jericho, music and good times go together like the perfect tag team.
Raised on healthy doses of Journey, AC/DC and Metallica, Jericho admired the way they filled stadiums with their hook-laden songs.
Because of this, in 1999 he formed the Georgia-based hard rock band Fozzy, which currently features guitarist/backing vocalist Rich Ward, rhythm guitarist/backing vocalist Billy Grey, bassist P.J. Farley and drummer Grant Brooks.
Jericho described the band as the child of Metallica and Journey who was raised by AC/DC.
“Those are the bands that we always kind of related to, and I think that that’s just how it comes out in our music,” Jer -
icho said.
These influences have paid off. Fozzy’s last eight singles have hit the top 20 of the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart.
Additionally, the tracks “Judas” — which has also become Jericho’s entrance theme to his All Elite Wrestling matches — “Sane” and “I Still Burn” have become rock radio staples.
“We never realized how big rock radio still is in the states until we started getting played on rock radio over the last five years,” Jericho said. “It really took the band to a completely different level, and I think that’s what we’re known for at this point with Fozzy.”
That being said, Jericho felt that it was important to go out with a band that could offer a unique spectacle that Fozzy could complement.
Fortunately for him, the band was booked to accompany multiplatinum rockers Ugly Kid Joe on its triumphant return to the states in nearly three decades.
“We’re excited to come out with Ugly Kid Joe, who hasn’t toured in the States in (27) years,” Jericho said. “We’re always looking for a different band to go out with, and we thought, well, let’s do something with a band who hasn’t done anything for a while in this country that has a huge fan base, and it just
really worked out with Ugly Kid Joe.”
Despite playing similar styles of rock music, Jericho feels that his band brings a distinct vivacity to each venue it rolls into.
“It’s all about the party vibe,” he said. “I think that’s what Fozzy brings to the table, and what we’ve worked on very hard over the years is to make sure that people have a great time when they come to our show. That’s the No. 1 most important thing.”
Because of this, Jericho curates the band’s set list to prevent the energy from eclipsing until the moment he leaves the stage.
“Our whole set and our whole show revolve around that party attitude, and that’s why we play the songs that fans can sing along to, the ones that make them feel a certain way and react a certain way,” Jericho said.
This has become an easy task for Jericho, as his band now has the champagne problem of cramming as many hits as possible into a set list that could span between 60 and 70 minutes. He said he feels that his hits keep the party going.
“Every single song has a certain reaction and a certain part where there’s fan involvement, whether that would be some kind of a gimmick that involves a singalong or a fog gun. Every song has
something to it that makes it more exciting to see live,” Jericho said.
Although the radio singles will likely serve as high points in the set, Jericho is also excited to dust off some songs that the band hasn’t played in a while.
“I always like doing songs like, for example, we just put a song called ‘Spider In My Mouth’ back into the set and a song called ‘God Pounds His Nails’ back in the set from one of our older records,” he said. “Those are fun songs to play, and the fans like them. Plus, we always have room for a couple of those types of tunes with a show like this.”
However, no song goes over better than his entrance theme.
“I started using ‘Judas’ in Japan when I was headlining the Tokyo Dome because we were hoping to get a tour in Japan and our thought was, ‘Maybe a promoter will hear this song,’” Jericho said with a laugh. “But it worked so well for my character and then, obviously,
when people started singing it in the arenas, it had taken on a life of its own.
“Now we hear it anywhere from football games, soccer games and hockey games to pop culture and TV shows.”
And each time Jericho belts out his entrance theme, which typically serves as a finishing move for each set, Jericho can’t help but get goose bumps each time fans drown him or a loudspeaker out each time that song gets played.
“It’s just cool that people are into it and it’s become part of the show,” He said. “That’s what you always want as a performer; you want people to be involved organically because they want to, and the singing of Judas is a perfect example of that.”
However, for the song that takes the set list to its final bell, Jericho teased that there could be “a really cool cover song.”
Ugly Kid Joe w/Fozzy and Pistols At Dawn
WHEN: 6:45 p.m. Thursday, May 4
WHERE: The Regent Theater, 448 S. Main Street, Los Angeles
COST: Tickets start at $30
INFO: fozzyrock.com/tour
By Luke Netzley
LA Downtown News Deputy Editor
Born in Los Angeles, Lucha VaVOOM is a colorfully chaotic combination of Mexican masked wrestling, aerial acrobatics, comedy and burlesque. The troupe has sold out 1,000-seat venues around the world and returns home to DTLA on Thursday, May 4, and Friday, May 5, for its annual Cinco de Mayan engagement.
“We thought it would be a really good opportunity to make our mark on Cinco de Mayo in a very LA way,” said Liz Fairbairn, co-founder of LVV. “It’s one of my favorite shows, personally. … Everything about it makes it more festive.”
As one of LA’s longest-running and most-celebrated variety shows, LVV will blend its professional lucha libre-style wrestling, energetic burlesque performances and aerial stunts with lowriders, folklórico dancers, mariachis, tequila, tamales and more.
“We have the most astounding lineup of dancers, like really over the top, … the best one we’ve ever had,” Fairbairn said.
This year’s Cinco de Mayan wrestling lineup includes four-time AAA Reina de Reinas champion Taya Valkyrie, former LVV champion Dama Fina, Tijuana-based Lady Pink and Amazona, AEW star Zyra, former Lucha Underground and Ring of
Honor star Rey Horus, Magno “The Man Mountain” Rudo, former WWE cruiserweight champion El Bombero, “Pretty” Peter Avalon, and Jack Cartwheel.
The show will also feature LVV fan favorites Li’l Cholo, Los Crazy Chickens, Chocolatay Caliente, Chupacabra, Paquita and Dirty Sanchez, along with a star-studded cast of performers like fire eater and sword swallower Emma Vauxdevil; 2019 Miss Exotic World and Burlesque Hall of Fame inductee Frankie Fictitious; burlesque, fire and aerial showgirl Marie Devilreux; burlesque company Empowerment in Heels founder Miss Marquez; and internationally renowned neo-burlesque dancer Lou Lou
la Duchesse de Rière.
Both nights will be led by guest ring announcer Melissa Santos, whose career in wrestling, modeling and acting has led her to work on El Rey Network’s “Lucha Underground,” AXS TV’s “Impact Wrestling” and Disney/Pixar’s film “Coco.”
Fairbairn said she hopes audiences can “have fun like nowhere in any other place in LA” and that there is no better home for this experience than The Mayan Theatre in Downtown.
“It’s the perfect venue for us,” she said. “It’s part of the show, and we have such a lovely relationship with Sammy Chao, the owner of the Mayan. He’s been true blue to us this entire time, unfailingly. …
Plus, it’s an independent, family-owned venue, which is kind of hard to come by these days.”
The Cinco de Mayan engagement comes at a time when LVV is preparing for its Las Vegas residency at the House of Blues. The first shows to go on sale are for Friday, July 28, to Saturday, July
29, and Friday, Oct. 27, to Saturday, Oct. 28.
“Growing up in the ’80s in San Francisco, me being an aging punk rocker, I miss that energy,” Fairbairn said. “I miss the pit and all that you-never-knowwhat’s-going-to-happen type stuff. … This is a slightly more civilized version
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“As an ‘adult learner’ returning to school, the challenges posed by learning in a cohort, combined with the faculty’s knowledge and related work experience, was exhilarating. I feel it is important that no matter what stage you are in your career, education is key.”
Applications for the fall 2023 FEMBA Program at Cal State LA Downtown are open through May 31.
Lucha VaVOOM’s Cinco de Mayan
WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursday, May 4, and Friday, May 5
WHERE: The Mayan Theatre, 1038 S. Hill Street, Los Angeles
COST: Tickets start at $45
INFO: ticketweb.com
By Jeff Favre
Julie
is loaded with some of musical theater’s iconic roles — but she never imagined the list would also include an American founding father.
It’s unlikely any woman imagined taking the stage as John Adams, Ben Frank-
That’s before Jeffrey L. Page and Diane Paulus, along with Associate Director Brisa Arelis Muñoz, transformed the 1969 Tony-winning musical “1776” by casting ethnically diverse actors who identify as women, nonbinary and trans as the white men who crafted, debated
and, eventually, signed the Declaration of Independence.
The show ran for three months on Broadway, closing in January, before embarking on a national tour beginning April 12 at Downtown Los Angeles’ Ahmanson Theatre.
Cardia first heard of the plan for the revised show in 2018, while touring as
“I was completely intrigued at the thought of it,” Cardia said. I could imagine seeing this show done with female bodies, trans bodies, nonbinary bodies, people that you would see onstage that were not given a seat at the table, but now they were actually going to be able to tell the story.”
As part of the audition process, Cardia had to memorize and recite the Declaration of Independence. She realized they were looking to see who she was an individual more than her ability to portray an historical character. She read for several roles before landing Hopkins, who was one of the oldest delegates and who was an early, strong proponent for independence.
Getting to see Hopkins and his colleagues portrayed by people who historically have been marginalized excited Muñoz, who as a director consciously incorporates social justice work in her artistic endeavors.
“You’ll see that in this particular production, there are characters who are living in this text that didn’t actually appear in the original production,” Muñoz explained. “For example, there’s Robert Hemings, who actually was an enslaved person of Jefferson’s. We have added images to these characters so that we see they were also a part of this story, and they deeply informed who we are today.”
For Cardia, a moment that resonates strongly is when actor Gisela Adisa, who portrays Adams, is discussing enslaved people with Thomas Jefferson.
“To see this incredibly talented woman, who is Black, say the words that these are people and not property, it’s incredibly impactful in a way that it can’t be when it’s said by a white man,” she said.
Center Theatre Group presenting this “1776” falls in line with the company’s overt, concerted effort to increase its diverse offerings. In a Commitments to Change document, CTG affirmed its
continued efforts to “producing and amplifying more voices from Black artists and artists of color in our mainstage programming.”
Ahmanson presentations manager Eric Sims said the production had been on the company’s radar since 2019.
“I would say that what really drew us to this particular storytelling is the opportunity to look at a classic American musical from a new and relevant perspective and to really explore what it means to open up the history of this country to those who were previously excluded from it,” Sims said. “I think we feel that the production does a great deal of credit to the material and explores more deeply what America means to everybody 240-something years after its founding.”
Though its strong social messages are central to the production, both Sims and Muñoz made it clear that those aspects were never highlighted at the expense of the show as a source of entertainment. The changes, they said, make these 50-year-old lyrics and retelling of the 18th century story more interesting and valuable.
“This “1776” leaves us space to imagine, what if this group of humans were running the United States today, what would that mean for us?” Muñoz asked.
“How might that resonate? What tensions might arise within us? And what is it going to take for us to imagine new possibilities because of this piece, as opposed to just affirm what we already know about the foundation of this country?”
“1776”
WHEN: Various times through May 7
WHERE: Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles
COST: Tickets start at $40
INFO: 213-628-2772, centertheatregroup.org
LA Downtown News Staff
By LA Downtown News StaffLumbini Child Development Center opened its doors in 1977 with the notion of filling the need for day care in the downtown area.
Lumbini Child Development Center opened its doors in 1977 with the notion of filling the need for day care in the downtown area.
Forty-four years later, its philosophy remains the same. To provide a nurturing learning environment in which children can grow and develop with each passing year.
Forty-six years later, its philosophy remains the same. To provide a nuturing learning environment in which children can grow and develop with each passing year.
The center is a year-round academics-based school that fosters socialization within the program to give children a well-rounded preschool experience.
The center is a year-round academics-based school that fosters socialization within the program to give children a well-ounded preschool experience.
The classrooms are unique to each of the age groups. The curriculum used in each of its classrooms has been developed in creative ways to make learning fun and exciting by teachers who have been with the school for 13-plus years.
The classrooms are unique to each of the age groups. The curriculum used in each of its classrooms has been developed in creative ways to make learning fun and exciting by teachers who have been with the school for 16-plus years.
For more information, visit lumbinicdc.org, email lumbini.missleslie@ gmail.com, or phone 213-680-2976. The preschool is located at 505 E. Third Street, Los Angeles.
For more information, visit lumbinicdc.org, email lumbini.missleslie@ gmail.com, or phone 213-680-2976. The preschool is located at 505 E. Third Street, Los Angeles.
Lumbini Child Development Center provides a nurturing learning environment in which children can grow and develop.
(Photo courtesy of Lumbini Child Development Center)
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Licensed to care for children 2 ½ through Kindergarten. Year-round program with individual classrooms unique to each age group.
Established in 1977, our philosophy remains the same. To provide a nurturing learning/social environment in which the children can grow and develop with each passing year.
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New age pianist Wayne Bethanis has hosted successful TV and radio shows in LA and abroad. His chart-topping album “Measures of Light,” was the most awarded piano album in the world last year.
But the DTLA resident is always looking for that next challenge.
“When I released ‘Measures of Light,’ I thought to myself, ‘That’s my Fleetwood Mac ‘Rumors’ album. What am I supposed to do now?’”
The result is 2022’s “Listen,” which he said is “all about listening to yourself.”
“It’s a concept album,” he said. “It
starts with a meditation, from a grand dream to a big climactic song in the end. Then there’s ‘The Bexley Bop.’ I didn’t want to wallow in self-pity, so I wrote an upbeat, delightful song, which is new for me. I always sought refuge in jazz when I have the blues. This album is groundbreaking for me.”
Like his other collections, he recorded in South Pasadena at Bird of Paradigm Studios with Julian Shah-Tayler, a musician in his own right. Shah-Tayler — who records as The Singularity and serves as a keyboardist in the Depeche Mode tribute act Strangelove — engineers and produces all the piano tracks.
“Pasadena is just magical,” Bethanis
said. “There’s something mystical and metaphysical about it. It’s like a vortex of creativity for me. My last two albums have been so successful, and every single note has been composed, recorded and released in Pasadena.
“I would never work anywhere else. I don’t think I would be as successful if it weren’t for the vibe of Pasadena.”
Born in Philadelphia and raised in Maine by his grandmother, Bethanis began formal classical training age at 5. By 8, he was recognized as a piano prodigy. His passion has come from his aware -
ness about himself. He had the skills from a very young age to be a strong musician, but the passion came from discovering his strength along the way, just by living life, he said.
Bethanis’ grandmother supported his efforts throughout his life. She allowed him to feel like every note he played “was the most important note in the universe.”
“I was allowed to believe, from a young age, that I could really make a go of becoming an artist,” said Bethanis, who won the prestigious Bartók Competition at age 19.
“That was critically important. I want everyone to know that they can do it.
That has made the difference for me. It allowed me to always keep an open door in the framework of my artistic psyche. I felt free to express myself in any way. I do feel that freedom, and there’s something joyous about it. Joy is very closely related to passion.”
Thanks to that passion, he earned several advanced degrees in music, including Bachelor of Music in piano performance from Chapman Conservatory and a Master of Music and Ph.D. in music from Claremont Graduate University.
“When I was 17, I received a piano scholarship to Chapman Conservatory in Southern California,” he said.
“I was just literally airlifted out of New England as a teenager and dropped into the urban hub of LA. It was fascinating. The wheels of fate started turning really quickly for me. I studied with a famous teacher and earned a Ph.D. in music by the time I was 30 from Claremont Graduate University, for which I received a fellowship.”
While earning his Ph.D., at age 24, he taught at several junior colleges and turned those classes into a “big party,” he said.
“I taught a lot of English to second-language students. I had so many students from Vietnamese and Latino backgrounds, and it was one of the best chapters of my life because many of these cultures treat teachers with the highest respect,” he said.
“You’re teaching a form of notation that goes past linguistics. The bonding is very deep, and it transcends culture. It was a very rich experience. I was just a kid having fun.”
He imparted an important piece of advice to his students.
“I believe that music is an expression of love,” Bethanis said. “I celebrate human expression. One of my goals in life is to let everyone know they have a creative spark in them and it’s one of the best parts of life.”
He wasn’t sure where to go from there, so he headed to New York and started modeling and acting. While some work as servers to pay their bills, Bethanis modeled to support his musical aspirations. He was successful, but when he returned to LA, he wasn’t ready for the pool of talent.
“I had no idea how competitive the modeling and acting world was,” he said. “I was in such a bubble in the East Coast. I thought if I couldn’t get a bunch of piano students or kick-start my recording career, I could go into TV commercials.”
After just four albums released, Bethanis is considered a luminary in the contemporary instrumental new age music scene. When he’s not recording,
he’s hosting the One World Music Radio show “Piano Garden,” which is produced in DTLA.
“We just hit No. 1,” he said. “It stayed No. 1 for the full seven days of charting. I always had a show going in addition to my recording career. That’s an exciting thing for me.”
In addition, his resume lists “The Wayne Zone,” an internationally broadcast radio show on Europe’s No. 1 new age radio station, and the LA TV show “The Wayne Bethanis Show,” featuring guests, musical numbers and interviews.
Bethanis also jokingly said he has a piano instruction empire, teaching students from 5-year-old child prodigies to A-list celebrities.
“The Bexley Bop,” Bethanis’ first jazz crossover hit, has only cemented his own celebrity.
“Everyone knows me now as the guy who jumps up and down on the piano,” Bethanis said about his accompanying video.
“A whole new audience broke for me. I’m this really fun guy dancing on the piano. It makes me feel really connected to a more fun-loving kind of audience.”
That audience led to a dance challenge on TikTok — a platform that isn’t generally associated with new age music.
“That album is breaking new ground,” he said. “I was just so scared. I had this big album last year. All I did was write the music that inspired me.”
His latest single is “Tender Years,” from “Listen.”
“‘Measures of Light’ had some very big songs that did really well, but my new album, ‘Listen,’ has big radio hits, like ‘Tender Years,” which makes it surpass ‘Measures of Light.’”
Currently, Bethanis is working on a new album with Shah-Tayler. He called it his most intimate album yet.
“I’m exploring different aspects of the world we live in presently,” he said. “We’ve all had to start observing our world more carefully in the last couple of years.
“This album is about how we should love each other and how we should explore the divine in all of us. This divinity rises to the surface when life becomes intense. That big, grand idea translates into really beautiful piano songs that are very melodic and engaging.”
The world is headed into the spiritual realm, he said; into a higher dimension of communication. It’s important to expression love for one another while not getting distracted by technology.
“When I was a kid, the thought of having a phone, this little TV where I could see my grandmother and she could see me, was something we would see in a sci-fi cartoon or something,” he added.
“Technology is reaching such a high
point. Our spirituality is going to become more apparent because it will stop us from getting lost in technology.”
Bethanis’ career hasn’t always been easy, but he’s proud to have found success in his craft.
“I’ve run into monsters along the way,” he said. “There have been some
monsters at the gate. If you’re cut out for this business, then you discover a muscle in yourself that mitigates the whole experience — the high highs and the low lows. That’s what I’ve learned about myself. I hope I’m on the threshold of something even greater.”
Wayne Bethaniswaynebethanis.com
The Los Angeles Mission, one of the largest providers of services to the homeless in the country, hosted its annual Easter dinner on Sunday, April 9, in Skid Row.
Led by LA Mission CEO Troy Vaughn, the mission and its team of volunteers provided hot food and other basic necessities to those in need. Staff photographer Chris Mortenson captured the event.
The traffic intersection at Western Avenue and 11th Street was formally renamed as Alejandro and Rosa Borquez Square, in honor of El Cholo’s owners, on March 30.
The ceremony marked the beginning of a yearlong celebration of the restaurant’s 100th anniversary.
Ron Salisbury is the grandson of Alejandro and Rosa Borquez. He’s also 90 years old and works every day.
“I’m enjoying working harder than I ever
have. I’m very blessed,” he said. His parents met at the original location near USC, when it was named the Sonora Cafe and offered a limited menu of tacos, tamales and enchiladas. His father, George, was a customer and his mother, Aurelia, was working as a waitress, when they began courting and planning their own venue.
In the meantime, another guest of the Sonora Cafe after dining left a tip accompanied by a drawing of a Mexican fieldhand with the caption “El Cholo.” Alejandro saw the drawing and rebranded the restaurant El Cholo with the cartoon as the new logo.
The local, multigenerational dining legacy was born.
After Aurelia and George married, he used a $600 loan to open his own El Cholo location on Western Avenue in 1927. The loan came from his mother, who refinanced her home mortgage to raise the money for the restaurant’s launch.
“They got married and started their own El Cholo over on Western, which is the one that’s there now,” Ron said.
“The two restaurants ran concurrently. In 1931, my dad moved the restaurant across the street from a little storefront to a California bungalow, which is on the west side. That’s basically the story.”
The young Ron grew up in the popular restaurant, and there was never too much question that he would continue the legacy.
“My very first memories in life are actually sitting in the restaurant,” Ron said.
“I’ve been there my whole life. I worked (there) from all ages, particularly as a teenager after school.”
Ron graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in business, after initially studying journalism. “It was 1954 when I graduated from college and went right to work at the restaurant. (My father) sold it to me 13 years later,” Ron recalled.
“When I first came to work for my dad (after college), the entire restaurant was much smaller. Everyone (on staff) had been there 10 or 15 years. My job was not difficult. My job was to unlock the door, take the money out of the safe and put it in the register. And then just turn everybody loose and it just ran like a basketball team. At night, I’d count the money, put it in the safe, lock the door and I went home. I never had to hire or fire or discipline. It was a marvelous time.”
The family’s ambitions for the restaurant
chain began to grow robustly. In addition to Western Avenue and Flower Street, there are now El Cholo locations in Santa Monica, Anaheim Hills, Corona del Mar and La Habra. Ron and the family’s company Restaurant Business Inc. also owns and operates The Cannery and Louie’s by the Bay, both in Newport Beach.
“I joke and say El Cholo is like a soloist playing its instrument and Louie’s and The Cannery are like symphony orchestras,” Ron said.
“On a day-to-day basis, I became more involved. I had a lot to learn, and I’m still learning. The more you learn, you shed the things that don’t matter and you focus on the things that do matter, and they’re more rewarding.”
It should also be noted that Ron’s older son, Blair, owns and operates the El Cholo location in Pasadena at The Paseo, which exists as an independent entity, apart from the family’s ventures. “It just made sense for (Blair) to get out on his own. So, I said, ‘You can go open an El Cholo on your own.’ It was a whole process of raising the money and doing the buildout. It was a great education for him,” Ron noted.
El Cholo’s staff loyalty is as remarkable as its family history. Chef Joe Reina helmed the original kitchen for 54 years. Chef Gerardo Ochoa, now at the Western Avenue location, started as a dishwasher and his brother Sergio runs the kitchen at the DTLA location on Flower Street.
Their father served as a line cook at the original El Cholo in the 1970s. “They’re both great guys,” Ron noted. “One of the most difficult things in the restaurant business is developing a crew and a staff that stays with you and takes ownership.”
The pandemic lockdown and its ensuing
confusion provided a variety of challenges, including staffing.
“Obviously, it was one of the worst times ever for us, in life and in the restaurant business,” Ron said.
“When we reopened, a lot of people had moved on, a lot of people had chosen to do other things. Initially, it was touch and go. We couldn’t open for lunch. Or we couldn’t open but for five days. Now it behooves you to be a really good restaurant to work at, where the pay is good and the working circumstances are good. Eventually people are going to gravitate to you. They are going to gravitate to the places where they really want to work.”
The generational stewardship of the restaurants reflects a generational loyalty in the clientele as well. As Ron likes to joke, if guests need to ask for a menu, they are definitely newcomers. Most regulars have their usual favorites. Ever conscious of its own history, the entree names on the menu are accompanied by annual dates, indicating when they were introduced and new dishes are only added very deliberately.
“There’s always a reason for everything we add. It comes carefully,” Ron said.
“I don’t want to load the menu up. The worst thing is to go to a restaurant with a big menu, where you have to turn pages. There are so many things (on the menu), there’s no way possible they can do them all really well.”
He points to the chicken mole enchilada as a dish most recently added to the menu to commemorate the 100th anniversary.
As to popular menu favorites, there is one entree option that can’t be ignored.
“One of the biggest things we have is the Taste of History Plate, which if you go back to my grandparents’ restaurant, (the menu) really was focused on an enchilada, a taco, a relleno and a tamale with beans and rice,” Ron said.
“That’s all they served. We have a beautiful (dish) with all four of those represented on the plate.”
It might also be mentioned that El Cholo is known for its margarita varieties, an innovation that helped revivify the business in the late 1960s.
As a part of the yearlong commemoration of El Cholo’s 100th anniversary, Ron also launched a charitable initiative to raise $1 million on behalf of pediatric cancer research.
“I wanted to do something major. Half of the money will go to Los Angeles Children’s Hospital and half to Orange County’s Children’s Hospital/ CHOC Foundation,” Ron said.
“So I committed to it. You can name a margarita for $500. If we can pull it off well, I’d like to take one big charity every year and help them. Call attention to what they do and raise some money. That’s really important to me.”
More details on the fundraiser and various donation opportunities can be found on its website, elcholo.com.
Rest assured the family legacy will continue. Accompanying Ron at the formal ceremony for the renaming of the intersection was his youngest son, Brendon, the CFO of the family’s restaurant group. As Ron explained, “I had six children from my early life. I remarried late in life, and we adopted Brendon. I was 55 when we adopted him. My other children participated (in the restaurant), but none of them wanted to take over the whole thing that we have, and Brendon does. So, I’m very lucky. He was my last shot at it.”
During the intersection renaming ceremony, Ron reflected on the family’s accomplishments.
“I hold my parents and grandparents in the highest respect,” Ron said.
“I thought how special (my grandparents) would feel, coming to Los Angeles and struggling so hard to create this humble little Mexican restaurant, seeing this intersection named after them. I wish they could have been there. Every day, I get up now it haunts me how special that was. It’s a tribute to the American dream.”
An impressive and sweeping array and local pizzerias and pizzaiolos will show off their talents at the Pizza City Fest Los Angeles on Saturday, April 29, and Sunday, April 30, at LA Live.
With more than 40 featured vendors — from greater Los Angeles and Orange County — offering fresh slices of their pies, Pizza City Fest provides a great opportunity to sample and assess the status of the city’s undeniably burgeoning and robust pizza culture.
The city’s pizza festival has been produced and curated by a Chicagoan: James Beard award-winning journalist Steve Dolinsky. Dolinsky (aka “the Pizza Guy”) is also the host of the popular “Pizza City” podcast and launched his first iteration of this pizza festival in Chicago last year to positive acclaim.
He now brings his critical focus and attention to Los Angeles. Although some local foodies may balk at the notion of an outsider presenting a lineup of our town’s best pizzerias, Dolinsky is well liked and deeply respected in the local pizza community. The fact that he has his eye on LA only speaks to the gravity and depth of the pizza scene here.
It should be noted that the sprawling festival is quite tightly curated. All restaurants and chefs are invited directly by Dolinsky to participate. Each participant is paid an honorarium for their time and are also given access to sponsored ingredients to offset food cost for their participation in the festival.
Brad Kent, an original founder of the popular chain Blaze Pizza and the creator of Highland Park’s Bagel + Slice — a Sunday participant at Pizza City Fest — has nothing but praise for Dolinsky.
“I’m a huge fan of his podcast,” Kent said.
“He only interviews the best pizza shops in the country. When Steve Dolinsky asks you to participate, it means you’re in a club of some of the best pizza makers in Los Angeles, otherwise you would not have been invited. Nobody has done this in LA. It’s the best of the best, and he’s drawing all of these fanatics. I guarantee you, they’re (the pizza fan attendees) going to be inspecting (the pizza). They are going to look at the crust on the top and the bottom. They’re going to rip apart the crust and look at the
Fest attendees on Saturday can try Eric’s Little Red Corvette, his take on a classic margherita with fresh basil, as well as bread samples from the dough formula.
Also on Saturday’s lineup at Pizza City Fest, DTLA will be well represented by the Brooklyn Avenue Pizza Company from Boyle Heights and chef Jorge Sandoval. Opened during the pandemic in late 2020, the pizzeria is housed in the original 1923 home of the Jewish Bakers’ Union and the historic Paramount Ballroom is located on the second floor of the building. The pizzeria operates with a sense of pride in its location and history.
Notably, Sandoval is a graduate of the Cordon Bleu culinary institute, when it was located in Pasadena. He has been with Brooklyn Avenue Pizza Co. from its original buildout and opening with Mario Christerna.
Sandoval also takes his dough quite seriously.
“I use certain blends of flours, different percentages,” Sandoval said.
crumb and the cell structure, because these are … freaks.”
Kent is at the vanguard of local pizza science. Bagel + Slice sources only regenerative certified organic product, and it also mills its own flour on-site. It should also be noted that Kent now serves as an unpaid adviser to Bagel + Slice, having sold his share to his longtime chef and collaborator Michael Robles.
Bagel + Slice will be featuring samples of its signature pizza bagel at Pizza City Fest on Sunday. “Steve asked us to do pizza bagels,” Kent added.
The question “What is LA-style pizza?” could arguably be the theme for the festival itself. Dolinsky has some well-informed opinions on the topic.
“The landscape has changed so much. What is LA style? It’s a hybrid,” he said.
“You have Mexican, Korean, the different culinary cultures here and the local baking culture make LA unique. Putting kombu (seaweed) into dough water? That’s very LA,” Dolinsky remarked.
In the case of kombu-infused dough, Dolinsky is referring to legendary local chef and restaurateur Fred Eric. He’s the mastermind behind Pi’ L.A., which he opened during the pandemic in a small
shop on West Fourth Street, just around the corner from Grand Central Market. He’s also the “Fred” behind the 24-hour legacy hipster diner Fred 62 in Los Feliz.
Eric began experimenting with pizza dough during the pandemic lockdown. He discovered that adding kombu to the water in his pizza dough resulted in a lighter crumb and a distinct umami note of flavor.
“Umami is a flavor chord,” Eric noted, as he attributed the use of kombu to a Japanese baking innovation dating back to the 1890s. “The dough is super light. It’s easier to digest.”
Eric’s pizzas at Pi’ L.A. are served in square pans, reminiscent of Detroit-style pan pizza. However, as Eric aptly explained, “It’s kind of a take on Detroit style, but I made it LA style. They make cars in Detroit, but we customize them here.”
Indeed, that metaphor carries over to Eric’s menu at Pi’ L.A., where all the pizzas are named after car styles: the GTX (with pepperoni), the Dodge Ram (smoked chicken and buffalo sauce), the VW Van (vegan with eggplant), the Opel GT (four cheese), or the Love Bug (white pie with potato gratin and gruyere). Pizza City
“It’s more of an artisan style than Neapolitan or Roman style. The hydration always dictates how your dough is going to come out at the end of the day. Every ingredient that goes into our dough is our final product. I’m trying to translate that to our cooks now: having passion for what we do, taking into consideration all of our ingredients, the flavor profiles, and how to layer everything. They appreciate the fact that I give them time to go over every little step of the dough program.”
Here again, we get a hint at what LAstyle pizza means. Sandoval will serve samples of his well-reviewed mole’ pizza with warm Oaxacan mole and cheese, curtido slaw, fresh crema, mozzarella and pickled onions. Sandoval will also sling slices of his special Birria pie, available occasionally at the restaurant.
“We’re doing more of a TJ-style approach,” Sandoval noted, referring to his Tijuana-style birria prep. It features a slow-braise of brisket, chuck roll and beef cheek, smoked mozzarella, queso fresco, radish, cilantro and a jalapeno habanero aioli, served with a traditional consommé on the side.
“Boyle Heights has really influenced Latin cuisine, mainly Mexican, and it’s really known for the LA taco scene,” Sandoval explained.
“Influences from Tacos El Momo,
The current, comprehensive vendor lineup for both days:
Saturday, April 29
Participating pizzerias
• Brooklyn Ave. Pizza Co. (Boyle Heights)
• Double Zero (Venice)
• Dtown Pizzeria (West Hollywood)
• Fire & Wood Catering (mobile)
• L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele (Hollywood)
• LaSorted’s (Silver Lake)
• LBK Pizza (Studio City)
• Long Bridge Pizza Company (San Francisco)
• MacLeod Ale Brewing (Van Nuys)
• Pi’ L.A. (DTLA)
• Pizzana (Brentwood)
• Prime Pizza (West Hollywood)
• Riip Beer & Pizza (Huntington Beach) + Heritage BBQ (San Juan Capistrano)
• Ronan (Fairfax District)
• Slice & Pint (El Segundo)
• Slice House by Tony Gemignani (Thousand Oaks — coming soon)
• Tribute (San Diego)
• Truly Pizza (Dana Point)
• Two Doughs Pizza Co. (Agoura Hills)
Special Guest Chef (VIP only)
• Rob Gentile, Stella (West Hollywood — coming soon)
Desserts
• Bulgarini Gelato (Altadena)
• Lei’d Cookies (Culver City)
Sunday, April 30
Participating pizzerias
• Apollonia’s Pizzeria (Miracle Mile)
• Bagel & Slice (Highland Park)
• Best Bet (Culver City)
• Bettina (Santa Barbara)
• Cosa Buona (Echo Park)
• De La Nonna (Downtown)
• Eataly (Century City)
• Ghisallo (Santa Monica)
• Gorilla Pies (Valley Village)
• Grá (Historic Filipinotown)
• Little Coyote (Long Beach)
• Long Beach Bread Lab (Long Beach)
• Olivia Restaurant (Koreatown)
• Schellz Pizza Co. (Inglewood)
• South End + Peppe Miele of VPN Americas (Venice)
• Speak Cheezy (Long Beach)
• Stella Barra (Santa Monica)
• Stellar Pizza Truck
• Zelo Gourmet Pizza (Arcadia)
Special Guest Chef (VIP only)
• Ludo Lefebvre, Petit Trois
Desserts
• Nonna Mercato (Long Beach)
• Sweet Rose Creamery (Santa Monica)
which is right around the corner from us; Mariscos Jalisco, every really good taqueria is where we’re drawing most of our influences from on most of our specials right now.”
It might also be noted that Sandoval and Brooklyn Avenue Pizza Company share a charitable interest with Dolinsky in their support of C-CAP — Careers through Culinary Arts Program — the venerable nonprofit that introduces middle and high school students to training and employment options in the culinary industry.
Brooklyn Avenue Pizza routinely sponsors C-CAP internships at the pizzeria. Meanwhile, on behalf of Pizza City Fest Los Angeles, Dolinsky — along with co-producer Caryl P. Chinn, who is a member of C-CAP’s board — recently presented a $10,000 donation check to the organization.
In addition to the impressive array of pizzerias and pizzaiolos offering fresh samples of their masterworks, there will be four hourly “Collab Labs,” where local chefs team up creatively with their favorite farmers or vendors.
For instance, a 2 p.m. Saturday highlight will feature chef Michael Fiorelli teaming with the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills and Weiser Family Farms. On Sunday at 1 p.m., Akasha Richmond from Akasha in Culver City is mashing it up with Andy Kadin from Bub & Grandma’s in Glassell Park.
There will also be four hourly panel discussions each day from 1 to 4 p.m.
Highlights on Saturday include “The Dough Whisperers,” a discussion with chef Evan Funke from Mother Wolf and Felix, Pizzana’s Daniele Uditi, and Andy Kadin from Bub & Grandma’s.
At 4 p.m., writer and editor Karen Palmer will interview Brian McGinn, the producer of the recently popular “Chef’s Table: Pizza,” joined by featured pizza stars chef Chris Bianco of Pizzeria Bianco and chef Ann Kim from Pizzeria Lola.
Sunday’s panels include the must-see “What is “LA-Style Pizza?” featuring DTLA’s Fred Eric and Pi’ L.A. joined by Chad Colby from Antico Nuovo and Justin DeLeon from popular Apollonia’s Pizzeria.
At 4 p.m., a large, lively and illustrious panel will convene on the topic “From Clicks & Likes to Bricks & Lights: Building a Pizza Brand.”
Participants for this panel will include Kent of Bagel + Slice and Blaze; Rick Rosenfeld, co-founder of California Pizza Kitchen; Danny Holzman from DTLA’s Danny Boy’s Pizza; and Marc Schechter from San Francisco’s Square Pie Guys.
All events will be staged here in DTLA at L.A. Live’s Event Deck. Dolinsky is effusive about the support he’s been given by L.A. Live in presenting Pizza City Fest Los Angeles. “They are the A-Team,” he noted enthusiastically.
Pizza City Fest Los Angeles
WHEN: Noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 29, and Sunday, April 30
WHERE: The Event Deck at L.A. Live, 1005 Chick Hearn Court, Los Angeles
COST: Tickets start at $95
INFO: pizzacityfest.com, lalive.com, 1-877-234-8425
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